Page 69 of Conner's Luna

We don't feel weak right now, but Sean looks like absolute dog shit.

We lope over and look at him seriously.

"If Doc Mattie had seen you like this yesterday I think he wouldn't have called your dad and ratted you out."

I shift back to feet with a groan. It's easier than it was yesterday, but it's still not a smooth transition. "He did what?" I ask as soon as I'm able to.

"Yeah, so Beta was all ready to come down here, but Alpha Alex volunteered to come instead."

I nod, shaking off some of the dirt still clinging to my skin. My wolf circles, whining and gnawing on a bare patch of skin on his side. All of his happiness fades. We were in our little bubble with Bailey and now that's burst. Reality can be such a bitch.

"Did you..." Sean's voice trails off.

"I asked Bailey to date me," I tell him. I won't kiss and tell, even if Sean can smell Bailey all over me. Sean knows how serious this is. I'm doing my best to let Lydia go by allowing Bailey to sink into my life more and more.

"Don't hurt that girl, Con."

"I won't," I say firmly. "I'd kick my own ass if I hurt her."

Sean nods, looking away from me, pensive. "I don't know how long you can resist your mate, Con. Wasn't that the point of coming here? You were chasing Lydia hard, man."

"That's done," I say firmly. "Bailey's not a rebound."

"Yeah," Sean says doubtfully. "Alpha Alex will be at the house in about a half-hour."

---

Uncle Alex can be an absolute dick. It's not a bad quality to have in an alpha, but I can't say that I've ever been on the receiving end of it before.

"You are in a vulnerable state," Uncle Alex says flatly. His dark eyes stare at me with a cold calculation that doesn't bode well for me. "Physically and emotionally. This girl, Bailey, is as well. She has recently lost her mother, been rejected by her mate, and is living in the dark amongst monsters."

I stare at him, shocked by the last statement. Even my wolf reacts, his fur rippling along his spine in agitation. "Monsters? Fuck, Uncle Alex, isn't that a little overboard?" I run my hands through my hair, still damp from the shower. I don't reek of Bailey. I made sure of that, but Uncle Alex still cuts right through my bullshit.

"Is it?" he levels me with a stare. "I wonder if Trey Wilkinson rejected Bailey, not because he doesn't want a human, but because it scares the shit out of him?"

"What do you mean?" I stop rubbing my head, going still.

"How will she react when she finds out what we are?" Uncle Alex says quietly. "Will it frighten her? Anger her? Horrify her?"

"She knows me," I protest, but it's weak as hell. The truth is she barely knows me. The idea of scaring her off rubs me wrong.

Uncle Alex clearly knows I'm full of shit. "Eventually, she'll either figure it out or you will have to tell her. It's risky. She can walk away from you. You, Conner, will not be able to easily do the same."

I shift, my fingers flexing as claws threaten to erupt. That's the problem, isn't it? My wolf and I were rejected and the threat of insanity, of becoming feral, looms.

"There are two schools of thought regarding humans in our world, Conner. One way to look at them is to see them as disloyal and selfish. They don't have mate bonds, pup bonds, pack bonds, to guide them. They divorce and break-up and-"

"So?" I interrupt him. "Dad broke up with his first mate. The Mark didn't even take. Fuck, it was with Trey's auntie," I sneer. "So it happens with wolves, too."

"Yes," Alpha Alex gives me a hard stare for being rude, "and your father and Jennifer weren't mates and weren't from the same pack. They had different loyalties as well as incompatible personalities."

"Bailey doesn't have anyone to be loyal to," I point out. "No warring factions or shit. She doesn't like Trey at all and she likesme." She let me touch her, hold her, kiss her. I made her come with my mouth and fingers. I can still taste her on the back of my tongue.

"And that is the other way of looking at it. Humans are independent and free to love who they choose." Alpha Alex looks at me seriously. "Do you know what Sean told me on the phone this morning, Conner?"

I shake my head silently. Sean's been running his mouth. I should've known. He's shit at keeping secrets.

"He told me that he hadn't seen you this happy and healthy in months. He said that around Bailey you're the happy, cheerful alphason again."

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