Page 28 of Wulf's Pack
Oh. Right. I shifted right out of my clothes.
I take the offered clothes, and he hands a second set to Preston. Preston is as tall and broad-shouldered as I am, though his muscles are a bit emaciated. Frankly, after being stuck in wolf form for two years, I’m surprised his human form is able to hold him up. He’s a stronger wolf than the others. Quite a bit more dominant. Not an alpha, but not weak either. I have a feeling he’ll work hard to get his human form back into a healthy state quickly.This man is my second.I have no idea what to do with that.
Elise breaks the heavy silence. “Alpha, sir…” Her voice is meek, and I realize she’s nervous to speak to me.
I mentally smack myself. I don’t want my pack to be afraid of me. I meet her eyes, and she quickly drops her gaze. “It’s okay,” I mutter, feeling like such an ass. “Say whatever’s on your mind.”
She looks up again and then frowns at Skylar. “How come I can’t feel our luna?”
It takes me a moment to register her question. Skylar, as my mate, is the pack luna—the top-ranking female in the pack. Panic hits me again. Usually, the luna is the strongest alpha female. Is Skylar’s omega status going to be a problem? Will my alpha status put her in even more danger? She is, by design, the weakest wolf in the pack. Any female in my pack will have the right to challenge her for the position of luna, and they would win. Skylar could never win a challenge, either physical or of dominance. Her body is built to reject confrontation. She literally can’t fight.
As if guessing the reason for my sudden distress, Elise squats down in front of me. “I would never challenge my luna. We’re blessed to have an omega, and I will gladly follow her.”
Sophia crouches next to her and gives me a soft smile. “I would never challenge her either. She is my luna. I will serve her and protect her with my life.”
My body deflates with relief as the breath wooshes out of me. Skylar, though she’s being very quiet, seems to be taking all of this very well. She throws her arm around my shoulder, and I sag against her. “I’m here, Wulf. You’re not in this alone.”
I feel weak for needing her reassurance, but I still grab hold of her words as if they’re a lifeline.
“We can’t feel you, Luna,” Elise says, bringing the conversation back around to her original question. “In our last pack, we could feel our luna the same way we were connected to our alpha. Is there something we need to do to complete the bond?”
Beside me, Skylar hunches in on herself. I glance her way just in time to see her wince. Her cheeks are bright pink. She flicks her gaze to me, then looks at her lap. “I’m not pack,” she mutters. “Wulf hasn’t claimed me.”
My wolf snarls at this. How can she think I’ve not claimed her? I place my fingers under her chin and lift her face so she’ll meet my gaze. “You aremine.” The word comes out on a growl. “I claimed you the second I saw you.”
Skylar holds my gaze, but she bites her lip and shakes her head. “Not officially. You haven’t claimed me as pack. Nor have we completed the mate bond.”
“You aren’t mates?” Preston asks.
I can’t bother with his question. I’m disgusted with myself. Skylar is right. For all that my wolf and I consider Skylar ours, we haven’t claimed her. How could my wolf claim these others and not think to claim his own mate? Why did I not think of it as well? Even my wolf is angry with himself at the oversight. “Shit. I’m already screwing this up.” I take Skylar’s hands in mine and bore my gaze into hers, silently begging for her forgiveness. “I’mso sorry. I already consider you mine, and I didn’t think. I don’t know what I’m doing. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m going to be a terrible alpha.”
Skylar squeezes my hands and then lets go to cup my cheeks. “You are kind and thoughtful. You put others above yourself. You protect me without trying to control me. You trust me. You will make a great alpha.”
I gulp, finding it hard to accept her praise. I lean forward and press my forehead against hers. I close my eyes and take a moment to simply breathe in her scent. I’m borrowing her strength and her confidence. “I’m sorry I didn’t claim you,” I say. “Will you allow me to do so now? I can’t be an alpha without you by my side.”
Skylar shocks me when she leans in and presses her lips to mine. She keeps the kiss gentle, but my wolf surges forward, as desperate for our mate as I am. I try to restrain myself, knowing she’s shy about me, but I need this kiss. I need my mate. I reach for her face with both hands and pull her closer, fusing us together and deepening the kiss. My body sparks to life like a live wire, my nerve endings all firing off simultaneously. It’s as though I’ve been struck by lightning. I’ve kissed a lot of women in my life, but it’s never felt like this.
I force myself to break the kiss, not wanting to overwhelm Skylar and accidentally set our relationship back. When our eyes meet, her face heats with a beautiful blush, and she looks at her lap. Her shyness is so refreshing after dealing with so many alpha females lately. And she’s so beautiful. How can this woman be mine? “May I claim you now?” I ask, not wanting to waste another second without being bound to her in some way.
When she nods, I quickly shift. She bows to me, and I place my mark on her shoulder the way I did with the others. My wolf howls with joy when our pack bond snaps into place and our mental link is formed. Feeling her on this level is so comforting, Ican’t imagine how intense the mate bond will be when we finally complete it. I reach out through our connection.Skylar?
I’m here.
I shift back and kiss her again. I can’t help it. At least I manage not to maul her this time and keep it short and sweet. She’s still red as a tomato, but she manages a small smile. We get to our feet, and I quickly dress in the clothes Matthew gave me.
There’s a moment of silence from everyone in the room. I can’t quite get a feel of it. Illren seems merely curious, but the worry from Nora is suffocating. Neither of them has said anything for a while now. I don’t know if it’s because they feel this is my business, or if they’re upset with me. I hate to think I’ve let them down in some way.
The Kellers are all excited. I can feel their relief and joy through the bond. I can’t blame them. They left their pack unwillingly. Most wolves need a pack. We crave family, friends, and the bonds that come along with a pack. It must have been hard for the Kellers to be on their own without an alpha pair. They’re all watching me. Waiting for some kind of direction. From me. Because I’m their alpha. Only I have no idea what to do next. Where do we go from here?
I glance around the room, feeling overwhelmed again. “Perhaps you can start with securing your pack,” Illren says, throwing me a bone. “You’re small and haven’t got a lot of muscle. You’ll be safer if you are all together.”
He’s right, and his advice gives me a task to focus on.One step at a time.
I look at the Kellers, and they all straighten up. “What would you have us do, Alpha?” Preston asks, stepping into his role as my beta.
I glance around the room. “How attached are you to this house?”
Matthew snorts, and the sound makes me smile. Perhaps my new pack has a sense of humor. I really hope that’s the case. “All right. I guess, pack your things. I have two spare rooms at my place. We’ll be a bit on top of each other, but it’s in a nicer area, and the building is heavily warded with a state-of-the-art security system.”
