Moon Bound (Forgotten Series, #5)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"This is where we keep the paperwork." Azrael turned on the light of the small closet. Teetering boxes were stacked one on top of the other and I raised an eyebrow. "Everything the Hunters send us, comes here." There was a heavy note of amusement to his voice before he gave me a conspiratorial look. "We don't do their paperwork." At that he gave a full out laugh.

"They don't mind?" I looked at all the boxes. I doubted the Hunters would let that slide. At Nox there was a seriousness that surrounded Hunter paperwork that came into my father's office. Not doing it was considered taboo.

He shrugged. "They aren't going to come here and say anything." He shut the light off before waving me back and closing the door. "Head hurt?" He looked me up and down as he said it.

I shook my head. "Didn't drink enough last night." I had stopped before I had reached a point where I would have a hangover. My mind had been elsewhere, mainly on Lynn. I wanted to smirk at that. She had kept me... well occupied despite me not drinking.

"Count yourself lucky. I drank way too much." He winced slightly before he headed down the hallway. I was surprised he admitted it but then again everything this pack did was a surprise to me. Females training and even the children. Little ones ran in and about the training field without pause or fear. Everything was so... inclusive.

"Daaaaaadddddyyyyy!" At the childish screech, Azrael chuckled as a small boy ran down the hall towards him.

"Eli, what's wrong?" He scooped the boy up, kissing his cheek as the little boy hugged him tight. There was a small pang deep in my chest as I realized I would never be able to do that. There would be no little boys calling me daddy or running up to me for hugs.

"Caden is bein' mean." His face twisted up with his anger and Azrael chuckled.

"Is he? Well then, let's go sit in the office and figure this out." He pushed open the office door and I followed him carefully. It was the first day of my training for becoming Beta and I wanted to make sure I was going to do it right. I had surprised everyone, including myself, when I had managed to take Jacks down in the final trial. Everything Lynn had told me had helped and she had been one hundred percent correct. I had been treating my leg as a burden rather than an opportunity.

It had been nearly laughable at how easy it had been to use my leg as a distraction against my opponents. No one could have called the outcome, not even me, but my wolf and I had succeeded. He was so incredibly proud of his accomplishment. This wasn't that place in life that we had been destined for, this wasn't a claim we had been given. We had fought long and hard for the position we now had and that seemed so much more than something we would be given.

We had earned it.

My wolf huffed, a self satisfied look on his face. He was proud of becoming Beta and I was too. We had purpose now, a rank that was befitting of our female and even ourselves. We were a Mountain Beta and that was something no one could ever truly take away from us.

"So what was Caden doing to make you say he was being mean?" Azrael sat down at his desk, Eli settled on his lap.

"He wouldn't play with me." The four year old huffed and crossed his arms over his tiny chest and scowled darkly.

Azrael laughed loudly. "That doesn't make him mean, Eli. We all need some time to ourselves and we need to learn to respect that."

Eli looked up at his father as Azrael opened a drawer and pulled out a colouring book. "Is that why mama an' you don't stay together allll day?" He drug the word out and Azrael nodded, kissing the top of his messy mop of blond hair.