Page 98 of Rising Luna
“I’m Kage Nightborne.”
“I’m Serafine Osmera.”
Both of their chests rumbled hearing my name. As my gaze bounced back and forth between these two wolves, the thought of them both claiming me overwhelmed me. How did I know they would even claim me? The last wolf didn’t want me. I was nobody when he wanted someone powerful. If he had met Dylan while visiting me at the academy, he would have tried to convince her to take him as a mate. I felt my heart break again at the thought of the person who threw me away, and seeing these two standing here, staring at me, helped nothing.Hedid the same thing at first.
“Sera... what pack are you from?”
I didn’t want to answer that. They would learn who rejected me. Both of them would learn how my mate didn’t want me for being unapologetically ME.
“That’s not important. I’m not ready for this.”
Both of them approached me, surrounding me with the warmth of their bodies again. I desperately wanted them to wrap me up in their arms and tell me it was okay, but I knew this wasn’t how this would go. If I was rejected before, I would be again.
I couldn’t risk my heart again.
I wouldn’t survive it a second time.
“Luca Howlcrest and Kage Nightborne... I reject you as my fated mates.”
“NO!”
Chapter Thirty-Four: Dylan
It felt weird moving into my parents' room. They occupied the Alpha Quarters, and it was big enough to house up to five people. It had been a long time since I came in here and forgot about how big it was until now. It was its own apartment and was built on the top floor of the packhouse. There were two bathrooms for crying out loud. I understood the reasoning behind it. I have three bulky ass men living with me. Most females had anywhere between one and four mates. It always depended on the female and power levels of them. Our little pack? Sometimes there was too much power and this was going to be a hard dynamic to keep contained.
But this room would be my escape now that I have taken over the pack. The pack bonds were no longer responding to them being the alpha and luna of the pack. With all my bonds completed, I outranked my parents. It was an adjustment, feeling every one of my pack mates through the bonds, but this was what I trained for my entire life. The boys all renounced the ties to their pack and came here, and my room wasn't big enough to even make it comfortable for me and Hunter to live in.
The space had a living area for us to hang out and watch television. There was a small kitchen and island for us to eat. Then the two bathrooms and an oversized bedroom. The bedroom itself was half of the space with a large enough bed for us all to sleep on, which Jackson launched himself into as soon as we moved in and acted like he was swimming on it.
As I stood in the doorway as Jackson and Hunter moved things around for us all to claim this place as ours, I felt an arm go around my shoulders. The spicy scent of Silas wrapped around me and I leaned into his side. It still felt a little weird knowing he was my bonded mate now. After everything with Lupe, Wilcox stepped up as the councilwoman and was looking for a new Pack Magic professor now that she took on a new role.
"Wilcox is here to see you." He told me and gave me a gentle squeeze.
We hadn't been back to the academy. Too much was happening here for me to return and I wasn't about to take time away from the pack and wait for my first official business to come through from the Monarch about my role as an Ambassador for the Shadowborns. I did see Sera briefly before she returned to the academy, taking my damn beta and a rando shadowborn along with her.
Teowulf had taken them with him as he went back to the academy. He wouldn't speak to us much after the battle. We allowed him to take Lupe's body to give her a proper funeral, but outside of him stating he planned to return to the academy, he didn't say much. As long as he didn't go to the dark side like Lupe, I didn't care. When things were settled, I would reach out to him and see if he needed anything since I was the one who killed his mate.
"What does she want?"
He chuckled knowing I wasn't in the mood with how much was on my plate. "An update on Sera and she wants us to come talk with her too. Something about us graduating."
I rolled my eyes. "Boys! Wilcox is here and we are needed."
Jackson and Hunter dropped everything, literally boxes from my old room, on the floor and came to my side. I don't think I will ever get used to knowing how these powerful men did everything I told them to do. It's going to go to my head someday, but I feel like these three would actually enjoy it.
Wilcox was waiting on the porch for us. Her wavy brunette hair was tied back and in a black pantsuit. It somehow made her brown eyes look brighter with this look, but I had a feeling there was something else happening. She looked lighter, like the drama from her life was finally gone. I felt her power sweep across me and I raised my eyebrows. I forgot how the position of councilwoman to the werewolves gave her a boost. That's how Lupe almost managed to take over in the first place. The only reason she was accumulating power was from her bonding the other wolves to her before she came here.
"Hello, Dylan. A pleasure to see you."
I bowed my head and saw my guys bow theirs, too. She smiled at us before moving her arm over to signal she would like us to sit for this conversation. My wolf growled knowing she was giving us a small command, but I reminded her that we liked Wilcox. It was a suggestion, not a command. Nonetheless, we sat down. Jackson pulled me onto the porch swing while Hunter stood by it and Silas on my other side. To get Hunter to sit down, period, was a war in itself. He was always on alert for any threat that may come our way. The battle had done a number on him since he wasn't there to stop Lupe from injecting me. Wilcox sat in a chair by the porch swing and had a folder in her hand that I had missed before.
"I'm glad I was able to see you today, Dylan. I have your diplomas here for graduating the program. Your bonding with your mates, especially Silas, overrode the rest of your classes."
I smiled. "I'd sure hope so. Not only did I bond with all three of my mates, but I also brought down the person who was kidnapping and killing students. Even if I didn't bond with my mates, don't you think I should have graduated?"
She laughed. "I'd agree with you there. It was more of a formality for me to come by and give you these."
She handed me the folder and her smile remained when I looked at her. There wasso many questions I wanted to ask, but they didn't seem to matter anymore. Lupe was gone and wouldn't ever come back. The only person at the academy that really mattered to me was Sera.
