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The sun had just set when Leanna sensed the Alphas enter their territory. She stood outside with Phoenix, Maire, Sean, Becca, Gemma, Jagger, and a few of the warriors.
How close is he? Leanna mindlinked Gemma privately.
Twenty minutes.
Crap. He was too close and, when Gemma tried to postpone it, he refused. He wanted his mate now and he was not going to wait, the consequences be damned. Leanna admired his will but he was being reckless and if he came in running without a word, the guards would kill on sight.
Three black SUVs came into view, rolling to a stop in front of them. Alpha Valor and Luna Frey of the River Gold pack stepped out of the first car, followed by Alpha Kai and Luna Rhea of the Midnight Sky pack.
Their perspective warriors fanned out, analyzing the territory and searching for signs of danger.
"You fucker!" Alpha Kai laughed as soon he saw Phoenix. He was a tall man, a few inches taller than Phoenix's 6'3, and he had heavily tanned skin with brown hair and large, hazel eyes.
Phoenix smirked and they shook hands before Kai pulled him into a hug.
"You're an absolute shit, you know that?!" Kai pulled away, his bright hazel eyes narrowing. "You've got a lot of explaining to do. But it's good to see you, brother."
Brother? Leanna mindlinked Gemma, completely baffled.
Adopted. Super long story.
Phoenix laughed, nodding, "It's good to see you too, brother. You as well, Rhea."
The tall woman gave him a kind smile, giving him a brief hug. She was beautiful, with raven black hair and round eyes the color of cherry wood.
He turned his attention to Alpha Valor and gave him a respectful nod, holding out his hand. The large, burly man took it and gave it a shake, "It's been a while, Thaddeus."
"That it has," he chuckled lightly. "It's good to see you as well, Luna Frey. You look lovely as ever."
Luna Frey shook his hand, smiling, "You as well, Thaddeus." The bump was obvious in her dress and she looked close to full term.
Leanna's eyes lingered on the bump before she cleared her mind of those thoughts and looked away.
Phoenix let out a deep breath and Leanna could sense his sudden anxiety, "I want to thank you all for coming. I know it's not exactly ideal but we have a lot to discuss. But first, I would like to introduce you to my mate, Leanna."
He grabbed her hand, pulling her forward. Suddenly on display, her heart began to thump in her chest as she was scrutinized by the four powerful strangers standing before her.
Kai's eyes widened and he gave Phoenix a quick glance before stepping forward and wrapping her in a bear hug.
"Welcome to the family!" He shouted and then set her down, smiling widely. "Name's Kai. It's a pleasure to meet you, Leanna."
She felt the tension leave slowly and she smiled back, "It's nice to meet you too, Alpha Kai."
He quickly waved her off, "No formalities, please. We're family."
"It's a pleasure," Luna Rhea stepped forward. "I'm happy to see Phoenix looking so freely relaxed."
Rhea gave her a hug and then Leanna turned to Alpha Valor and Luna Frey.
"It's lovely to meet you-"
She was cut off by Frey giving her a giant hug. When she let go, she had large tears in her eyes, "It's just so nice to meet you and see him so happy! Ugh, these damn hormones!" The Luna smiled as she cleaned her tears and Alpha Valor chuckled, pulling her close.
"We've been close friends for a very long time," Valor explained to Leanna. "It is very nice to see him happy and in one piece."
Phoenix shook his head but he had a small grin on his face as he laughed.
"We should move this inside. It's getting late so I say we just relax and talk business tomorrow," Phoenix explained as they started to move inside.
How close?
He's at the border.
Leanna's eyes widened and as everyone crowded inside, she pulled Phoenix back. He looked at her, confused until he saw the look on her face.
"What's wrong?" He ran his fingers down the side of her face, concerned.
"Well, uh..." She looked at Gemma who sighed, wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans.
"I have a mate!" She blurted out.
Phoenix's eyes widened and he turned to her, "That's amazing! A weird way to say it but that's good!"
She laughed nervously, "See, he's a rogue and I didn't know how to say it and there's a lot more to it but long story short, he's at the border and he's ready to run through but I don't want him to get killed on sight. I told him now wasn't a good time but, you know, he's a rogue so he's not used to boundaries so I need your okay to make sure he's not harmed trying to cross through."
She sucked in a deep breath as she finished her rant. Phoenix's expression had darkened as she spoke and now his face was devoid of any emotion.
"You couldn't have picked a better time to bring this up?" He glared at Gemma who crossed her arms.
"Well, it's not like I expected this to happen. I was going to bring it up eventually..." she trailed up, mumbling.
"What?" He raised an eyebrow, his lips tight.
"Nothing! Can you just let him in?" She snapped, her eyes dark with irritation.
He growled, "Fine! But keep it as far away as possible. We'll be speaking about this later."
"Thank you," she huffed. "Come on, Lena."
"No," Phoenix stopped when they started to leave. "She's the Luna, she can't skip out in important visits because you want to do whatever the hell you want."
Gemma's eyes snapped toward him, "It's not like I told him to come today, specifically."
He shook his head and walked up the steps to the house, slamming the door behind him. Leanna turned to her, giving her a sheepish smile,
"I'm sorry, Gem."
She shook her head, "Whatever. He's an ass." She turned away, rushing toward the forest and out of sight.
Anger was rushing through her as she ran, dodging the branches that hung low and jumping over fallen logs.
Phoenix was an amazing Alpha but when it came to family, he was utterly blind. He didn't see logic or try to understand; all he processed was his little sister doing something slightly inconvenient and went ballistic.
She growled but shook her head, focusing on the current task. The heat in the air clung to her skin as she sped up and as she neared the border, the smell of fresh rain and pinewood filling her senses. The closer she got the more concentrated it became and when she hit the very edge of the border she stopped, her heart pounding in her chest and her wolf going wild.
"Sebastian?" She called out, looking around.
Despite her sharp eyes, the night was so dark she could barely make the trees in front of her. She knew he was close and she took in a deep breath, following the scent along the border.
"Gemma," his deep voice rolled through her and she shivered, turning around.
His lips crashed down on hers and she gasped, throwing her arms around his neck. Heat and electricity shot through her and she sighed into the kiss. All these months without him had been tortuous and she was so ready to run and join him just to placate his wolf but she held herself back. She knew he had business to take care of before he could even think of joining her.
But here he was and it was all she could think about.
"I've missed you," she whispered and felt tears drip onto her cheeks. She felt ridiculous crying but she couldn't seem to stop.
"I'm right here, angel," he cupped her face, breaking the kiss. "Can I cross?"
She nodded and pulled him across the threshold, smiling, "We have to keep you hidden for now. We've got some visiting Alphas and Phoenix doesn't want anything to throw off the treaty."
Sebastian nodded, his blue eyes wary, "He's not going to try to kill me, right?"
Gemma shook her head but her laugh was uneasy. There had been a lot to accept when she found out who her mate was. She was furious at first, and even contemplated rejecting him, but after connecting with him, the thought of rejection made her physically sick.
"We'll get to that later, when the Alphas are gone. For now, I've got a nice little cottage close by," she gave him a soft smile and turned around, leading him to their temporary home.
Reaching the small cottage, Gemma unlocked the door and stepped inside, flooding the house with light. It had an old smell, as if nobody had been in there for a long time.
"It belonged to my parents. My mom left it to me after she and my dad resigned as Alpha and Luna," she explained as she shut the door behind them.
Sebastian turned to her, "I love it. It's very homey."
After showing him the rest of the house, she headed to the kitchen. She was going to hide him in the cottage if Phoenix had said no, so she'd brought over some food, along with leftovers. Sliding the plate in the microwave, she grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped it open, handing it to him.
"How did he take it?" She asked, leaning against the counter.
Sebastian snorted, taking a sip of the drink, "Not well. He was a complete dick about it. Said I couldn't give myself over to an unjust system and all that fuckery. He's still pissy about what went down between him and his former pack years ago."
Gemma bit her lip, suddenly insecure, "Are you going to be happy here? With an Alpha and rules?"
He set down his drink, moving toward her. He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her close against him.
"As long as you're here, I think I'll be just fine," he leaned in, kissing her deeply.
She smiled against the kiss, momentarily forgetting about the storm looming over them.
.
.
Rick walked through the pack house, his eyes wide with excitement. When he reached the Alpha's office he threw open the door, barging in.
Vincent was cradling his daughter and gave the Beta a low growl,
"Can't you see I'm busy?"
Rick scoffed but didn't reply. It's not like it's your kid anyways, he thought to himself.
"River Gold and Midnight Sky have arrived at Hope Lunar," Rick stated as Vincent set the baby on the couch, adjusting a few pillows around her.
"How do you know this source is trustful?" Vincent raised an eyebrow.
Rick chuckled darkly, "Oh, I know. Seems our little Luna has found herself wearing the same title over there and she's stirring trouble."
Vincent rubbed his chin, anger burning in his chest. She wasn't his mate anymore, he knew that. But she didn't have the right to escape and rub her status in their faces. She was a rogue and she was nothing. She didn't deserve anything. She should've thanked Vincent for even allowing her to wear the Luna title, even temporarily.
He was going to show her what her rightful place was.
"We know where she is and we have our allies. We should strike while they don't see it coming," Rick stated, his eyes darkening.
He was eager to get his hands on that little Luna. He was never able to finish what he started and he had so much planned for her.
Vincent shook his head, "We can't be rash. We have our allies but we need to strength our warriors before we even try to attack. In the meantime, see who else we can ally ourselves with."
Rick nodded and turned around, heading down the hall. His hands were balled into fists and when he got outside, he found the nearest person and threw a punch. The girl went down with a scream and Rick didn't stop until he was being pulled off by Brandon.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" Brandon demanded, standing in front of the whimpering girl.
"I have some pent up anger and she was perfect target, weren't you, sweetheart?" He gave the girl a cruel smile, unfazed by the fact that he was splattered with her blood.
Rick turned his glare on Brandon, "Interrupt me again and see what happens to that daughter of yours."
Then he walked off, pulling out his phone. He dialed the familiar number and it rang once before the line connected,
"Hey baby!" Addie's voice was grating on his ears and he shuddered.
Out of everyone on the planet, he didn't understand how someone so clingy and desperate could be his mate.
He rolled his eyes before he spoke, "I have project for you."
"Anything!" She responded eagerly.
"I need you to go to Maine and bring back some people," he explained, walking toward the woods.
"Who am I bringing back?" She questioned curiously.
"Our secret weapon."
Who are the secret weapon? What do you think Sebastian and Gemma are hiding? What about Phoenix and Gemma's surprise brother? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please vote and comment and let me know what you think!