This morning had been like the last three. She had woken up in cold sweat as her heart pounded thunderously in her chest. The only difference from then and now was Dani. June had gone downstairs to find her cousin preparing for battle.
And that battle was a dinner. With hybrids. What could possibly go wrong?
In the complex, there were very few reasons to dress up. The school never held dances and the only social events planned by the council were for older adults. Once a year, the hunters honored those who had broken records, but the fanfare was short and not worth the effort of leaving the house for.
So, facing the mirror, June couldn’t help but stare. She was prudently aware of how her straightened hair framed her face and the way the chiffon peach dress hugged her curves. Between the outfit and the makeup, June’s skin itched, and she debated changing into jeans and a sweater.
Donovan didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would say anything, but it wasn’t really him she was worried about. Tonight, she would be the center of attention. Most of the pack had yet to see the mysterious hunter turned shifter sympathizer living in their midst. If she was in their position, June wouldn’t hold back a sliver of scrutiny.
“Can you please relax?” Dani asked from behind June where she sat on the edge of the bed. Her movements were smooth as she slipped on her black stilettos one at a time. “The wolves won’t bite…probably. Just don’t talk about hunting or your father or your childhood or—”
“I got it, thanks,” June remarked bitterly. She tugged at the bottom of the dress in a half-baked attempt to make it longer. “Did you have to pick out something so flashy?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
June turned to stare at her cousin with disdain. Dani wore a long black dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was simple and classy unlike what she had supplied June. Since Donovan had been busy lately, he hadn’t had the time to bring her shopping and had assigned Dani to find something suitable and play chauffeur.
She ignored the question. “Doesn’t it bother you that Donovan made you spend your whole day helping me get ready? You told me in Asylum your purpose wasn’t to serve. What changed? Is it because he’s the alpha?”
Dani didn’t seem offended that she was being called out as she answered, “Yes and no. As the alpha, Donovan’s job is to help everyone in the Ashby thrive. He knew making you leave your safe space would be detrimental and I wanted to see you so it’s a win for both of us. Still, I could’ve said no. This isn’t like how it was with the hunters. The council didn’t care what you wanted or what was in your best interest.”
June took a deep breath, unlodging the words stuck in her throat. “He’s giving me a choice, Dani. He told me I can leave after tonight.”
Sensing her rising turmoil, her cousin stood up from the bed to stand beside June at the mirror. In the reflection, their eyes clashed, and Dani asked, “Will you?”
The decision should’ve been easy. After all, she had been imagining her escape since waking up in that cell with Rosie. Donovan hadn’t treated her terribly, but a gilded cage was still a prison. She couldn’t past the fact that he had, to some degree, kept her hostage.
And yet, when June thought about leaving, it made her heart hurt. The thought of never seeing Donovan again, or Dani, made her feel sick. And then she felt guilty for wanting to stay because of her father and the family she left waiting for her at the complex.
“I don’t know.”
“We’ll figure it out later.” Dani forced a smile as she patted June’s shoulder. “Until then, my dear, you have a pack to meet and a mate waiting for your arrival.”
June groaned and looked at the bed with longing. She wondered if she still had time to fake a fever but then Dani was pulling her out of the room and through the house. Outside, parked haphazardly near the porch, was a flashy red sports car with a gold stripe going down the center of the hood.
Dani grinned as she pulled a set of keys out from her dress pocket, waving them in the air. “Courtesy of Noah. I swear, being mated is the best. If I so much as shed one tear that man gives me whatever I want. For instance, his car.”
“If I cry, will you let me drive us back here later?” June tried, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Not a chance,” Dani scoffed, starting towards the vehicle while laughing. The car chirped as she opened the driver’s side door.
June followed and slid into the leather seat, grumbling, “Are you sure about that? Technically, I am higher ranking than you.”
“Nice try but that doesn’t kick in until you and the alpha are fully mated,” Dani countered. She backed out of the grass and onto the dirt road, dust flying behind them as the car sped up. “And that won’t happen unless you and Donovan…get at it.”
June didn’t have to ask for clarification. Donovan had graciously left a copy of Mating Biology on her nightstand and chapter about bonding hadn’t spared a single detail. In summary, mating began when the parties made eye contact. Once a physical connection was established, instinct would drive the shifter to claim their mate with a bite.
Not only would the bite, or mark, allow the mates to sense each other’s emotion and speak telepathically but it would change those who were human. June hadn’t had the courage to bring the topic up with Donovan.
If she did decide to stay and they consummated the bond, would she be okay with making the change? She didn’t want to be a monster but after spending time with Dani, she could see that her cousin wasn’t that much different. Plus, a part of June couldn’t get past the idea that one moment with Donovan would be worth giving up her humanity.
Imagining his skin against her free of barriers, clothes, and doubts, made June’s skin tingle and her heart leap in her chest. She knew without a doubt that he would be a gracious lover. He wouldn’t leave when the deed was done. He would keep her close to his warm body, his hand on her hip as his lips brushed against her neck…
Swallowing hard, June leaned forward to turn on the radio. She tried focusing on the music but every song that played has overly sensual lyrics. By the time Dani parked in front of pack house, June’s desire to see the alpha had only grown.
As soon as the car was idle, she escaped the small cab. She didn’t wait for Dani as she marched up the porch of the Victorian mini mansion. However, facing the front door, her bravery waned. Just as she was about to turn away, fate intervened, and the door was pulled open from the other side.
June eyes clashed with Donovan’s striking blue eyes and an internal switch was flipped. Staring at the alpha, it felt like something stolen had been returned. The last four days hit her in all at once and without precedence, she was moving towards him and her hand was latching onto the collar of his shirt. On the tip of her toes, she pulled the alpha down to her level.
Time slowed and neither of them breathed as they met each other in the middle. June let out a soft sigh as his arm looped around her waist and he took over the kiss which was both demanding and gentle.
When they broke apart, the stunned expression on the alpha’s face was well worth. Silently, June waited for the guilt to set in, for her mind to revolt, but all she felt was peace. At once, her heart and brain had finally come to an agreement over the man in front of her.
“Are we going inside or not?” June asked, holding back a laugh.
“Uh, yeah, in a minute,” he coughed, blinking away the aftershock in his eyes. “I wanted to talk to you about something first.”
She was wary as he led her away from the door as pack three members walked by. Ten seconds of silence stretched before June rolled her eyes at his hesitation. “What’s going on?”
Donovan grimaced. “Under normal circumstances, shifters mate within days after meeting. No one is expecting us to move at that pace, but the pack needs to see that we’re a united front. A few people are…nervous given your past and the only way I know how to placate them is if we both play our parts.”
June absorbed the information and then asked, “What do
you need me to do?”
“Think back thirty seconds,” the alpha replied, his cheeks flushed bright red.
Keeping her face passive, although her heart was thrumming hard in her chest, June stepped forward. She held the alpha’s gaze as she placed a hand on his chest. His breath hitched when she slowly it up to cup his cheek. Standing on her toes again, June whispered low in his ear, “Like this?”
Donovan audibly swallowed and his response was stalled. “Yes. Mates are almost always touching.”
June couldn’t count how many times she had wanted to do just that only to stop herself. The more time she spent around him, the harder it was to resist the need to gravitate towards the man. Knowing she had an excuse to be close to him all night made her feel weightless. If she wasn’t grounded by her anxiety of meeting the pack, she could’ve floated away.
As if sensing her emotions, Donovan grabbed the hand that held his face. His lips were feather light as he pressed a gentle kiss to her palm. “You can do this, June. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
“Promise?”
“With the moon as my witness.”
Half smiling, her eyes went to the door, waiting for it to vanish. When it didn’t, she forced herself to relax. An entire decade could’ve passed but Donovan stayed silent as she collected herself. Once June was sure she wouldn’t combust, she looked back up and found his soft gaze, nodding.
Placing her hand in his with Donovan in the lead, they stepped through the open doorway. At the first sight of the shifters sitting in groups in the crowded living room, June’s grip tightened. She held her breath, waiting for someone to shout in indignation. Instead, she was surprised when those that had turned to look at her quickly went back to their hushed conversations.
“See? There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Donovan stated easily, an expression of relief plastered on his face.
Before she could ask what he had been expecting, they were moving on. He stopped at the side of a ‘U’ shaped couch in the center of the room. Closest to the end where they stood was a group of three consisting of a pretty brunette woman and two middle aged men.
She spotted the alpha first, standing quickly, her friends followed suit. Donovan flashed the trio a smile. With his free hand he gestured to trio going from the woman, the grey-haired man, and lastly, the red head, saying, “June this is Kayla, and her mates, Lawrence and Bradley.”
“Oh, wow.” June hoped she had heard Donovan right as she met Kayla’s gaze, asking, “You have two mates?”
“Not exactly,” Kayla said, stifling a laugh. Her eyes flickered between the two men on either side of her, both wearing matching amused expression. “The goddess blessed all three of us with two mates.”
“How does that work?” June inquired. She had heard of people being polyamorous back at the complex but that was by choice. The trio in front of her had had no choice. What if Lawrence or Bradley weren’t attracted to one another? What if Kayla didn’t want two partners?
“With a lot of patience and understanding,” Lawrence supplied.
Bradley rolled his eyes. “What he’s trying to say is that with any relationship, some days are better than others. The three of us have known each other since childhood and were always together as kids. While this wasn’t what any of us expected, it’s what we needed.”
“We balance each other out,” Kayla finished, reaching out to grab her mates’ hands.
June was about ask another question, but Donovan beat her to the punch. “Excuse my mate, please. She’s still learning our culture.”
Lawrence let out a bellowing laugh that made Bradley and Kayla’s eyes light up. They watched him with adoration as he spoke, “Trust me, Alpha, we don’t mind. In fact, we wished everyone in the pack was like June. It’s much more pleasant that our future luna is curious and not indifferent like some people here.”
June’s brows pulled together. “They scrutinize your relationship?”
“Ashby is nice, but no place is perfect,” Bradly stated, his smile melting into a frown. “We’re just happy it isn’t like our old pack. They were traditionalists and turned their backs on us when Kayla refused to choose between Lawrence and I. Luckily, we found Ashby before we could be labeled as rogues.”
Hearing a big guy like Bradley speak with such raw pain triggered something in June. She couldn’t explain the feeling and wanted to protect the trio in front of her. No one, hybrid or human, should be scared that they wouldn’t be accepted because of who they were with.
Hell, in June’s mind, they had much more of a right to be together than a hunter and an alpha. With that, she looked up at Donovan. “Did you know about this?”
“If I did, it wouldn’t still be a problem,” the alpha replied. His eyes sparked as he told the trio, “I’ll make sure the pack knows that bigoted opinions and behaviors are not welcome in Ashby. From this point forward, any problems you have shall be either reported to me, the beta, or gamma. We’ll deal with it directly, I promise.”
The group visibly relaxed. Kayla laughed when they guys planted a kiss on either side of her head at the same time. Eyes still shining, she smiled. “Thank you, Alpha, and you as well, Luna. We’ll find a way to show you how grateful we are.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” June told her. She nudged Donovan with her hip, adding, “It’s what we’re here for.”
After talking with the trio for a few more minutes, she and Donovan let them be. He gave her a short tour of the packhouse along the way, introducing her to every shifter they came across. The introductions were kept short but by the time they reached the kitchen, June knew she wouldn’t remember most of the names of those she had met. She wondered how Donovan did it and then realized that for him it was literally second nature.
The thought was running through her head when Donovan pulled her aside. Her back hit the corner of the wall and her heart raced as he pressed his chest to hers. Attempting, and failing, to steady herself with an even breath, June swallowed. “Yes?”
Donovan’s eyes ran over her from head to toe and back, narrowing when she shivered. Taking that as an invitation, he ducked his head so that his mouth was beside her ear, warm air caressing the skin of her neck as he asked, “Did you mean what you said back there?”
“You’ll have to be a bit more specific,” June stated, praying her voice came across as steady. “I’ve talked to a lot of people today.”
Truthfully, she already knew he was asking about Kayla and her mates. However, this was the first moment of privacy she and the alpha had had in hours. Or days, depending if their short rendezvous on the porch counted or not.
Having him this close was heavenly and she would gladly stall for the rest of eternity if it meant he stayed put. Every fiber of her being sang when Donovan acted like she was the only other person in the universe. When he dropped the alpha act and traded it for his softer side, June’s knees went weak.
Head still ducked, Donovan continued, “That it’s our duty to look out for the pack.”
June stomach turned at his misinterpretation. He was so desperate that he was reading into a simple promise she had made to a mistreated woman. In his eyes, she could practically see him willing her to say that she was staying.
Not wanting to fight in front of an audience or make a rash decision under the influence of his touch, June forced a smile. “Of course.”
At her clipped tone, Donovan’s brows furrowed, and his lips pursed. Before he could speak, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips. The alpha froze and she used his own shock against him to wiggle free. He was practically pinned to her back a second later as she fled through the kitchen doorway.
In the center of the room, a gaggle of older women stood around a granite topped island. A lady with bright blonde hair greeted them loudly in a thick brogue, “About time! Me and the girls were starting to wonder if we were going to have to corner you and your lady after dinner.”
Donovan didn’t seem bothered that she hadn’t addressed him a
s alpha like everyone else had. In fact, the passive expression on his face molded into a large smile as he approached the blonde. Something in June stirred as he embraced the woman but before she could think too hard about it, he was back at her side. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her into side while he spoke warmly, “These are my mother’s friends, June.”
With a toothy grin, the blonde responded, “I’m Thelma, love. The hunched over lass behind me is Ann. Lori is the gremlin with one thumb, Kelly has the witch nose, and Harper is wearing the granny glasses.”
“Say I have a witch nose one more time and I’ll kick your ass,” Kelly grunted, sharing a look with the Harper, the only one in the group wearing glasses. “Remind me again why we hang out with this pompous—”
“Language,” snaped a short woman with a pixie cut. When she lifted a hand to move hair out of her eyes, June noted the missing thumb.
Ann groaned as she locked eyes with June. “I apologize on behalf of my friends, Luna. It seems they left their manners at home…again.”
“Speak for yourself,” Harper muttered. She waved a hand in the air. “Goddess knows we’re a lot more civilized than the hunters she was spawned from.”
June felt Donovan tense beside her and acted fast, asking, “Is your mom coming to dinner?”
The alpha went still and when he answered he spoke slowly, “No, uh, she lives in Quebec with her mate.”
“Your parents live in Canada?”
She knew from her reading that it was rare for retired alpha couples to leave their pack. Once the title was passed on, they became advisors to the new alpha and luna.
“My dad died eleven years ago,” Donovan disclosed, looking elsewhere.
June could feel the eyes of the room on her. Clearing her throat, she backtracked, “I’m sorry—”
“I know, it’s alright, June,” he sighed. “My mom, Christina, was a shifter from a pack in Maine. She used to come here very summer to visit her cousins and work at Lucille’s, which where she met Rodan, my father. When she turned sixteen, he approached her parents and they agreed that if she didn’t find her other half by her twentieth birthday then she would mate with Rodan. My mom spent the next four years of her life visiting different packs for her true match. When no one turned up, it was safe to assume that her real mate was either dead or with someone else, so she mated with my father. When my dad died, I could tell that she was finished with Ashby. Her and my dad didn’t have the best relationship and the pack took it out on her. She always wanted to travel. When I took over the pack, Marigold and I let her go. We never thought that she would find her true mate in Canada. I wish she was here with us, but Patrick gives my mom everything Rodan couldn’t.”
Genesis: (Book One of the True Luna Series) Page 17