Mated

The Summoning

When Kieran woke up, he had a mild hangover—perks of being a werewolf with higher metabolism—but it was still enough to be annoying. He groaned when rolling over made his stomach flip and his head howl. Somehow, he managed to get out of the comfortable bed and made it to the bathroom just in time to be sick. Maybe he was a little more hung over than he originally thought. He rinsed his mouth, washed up after peeing, splashed some water on his face, and went to head for the kitchen.

"Jett," he groaned when he opened his door and the Beta was standing there—hand poised ready to knock. "What do you want?"

"There's a Summoning," he whispered. "We need to get packed up. It'll be three days, maybe four."

"Now?" he all but whined. "Are you fucking serious? Do they know I've just been mated and need to be here?"

"All I know is there is a Summoning," the Beta sighed, shoulders slumping. "And it's urgent. Whatever happened to cause it is bad, Kieran." Looking at the Beta's face, he knew something horrible had taken place to cause the Summoning.

"Ok, let me wake Lyric up and just tell her that we will be leaving and she needs to pack--."

"Nope, not Lyric. They were very specific about her not coming just yet."

"What? Why? She is my mate, she needs to figure out how these things work."

"What's a Summoning?" a sleepy voice whispered from behind him, making him jump.

"A gathering of several Pack Alpha's and Beta's to discuss things," he said, trying to be as simple as possible. "Usually important matters. Normally, you'd be allowed to come but for some reason, it's being requested that you stay home."

"It's a sensitive matter and they said that they would like to have a proper greeting Summoning to welcome her," Jett said.

"Ok," Lyric yawned. "Wait. You'll be leaving?" Brown eyes widened and looked at him in shock. "How long will you be gone for?"

"Three to four days," Jett said with a mild impatient tone. A Summoning wasn't something to postpone. "Kieran, we really need to get going."

"I'll hurry," he said, shutting the door in the Beta's face.

"You're going to be gone for three days?" Lyric whined. She actually whined at him which shocked him. Their bond was forming faster than he imagined. He liked it.

"It'll fly by," he said as he went to the closet to pack his Summoning bag. Suits and ties and pajamas and toiletries were hastily stuffed into his duffel bag. The whole time he worked, Lyric watched him with sad eyes, and it made his heart hurt. "I'm sorry, Lyric but this is something that I can't say no to."

"I understand that," she said, sniffling. "But why now?"

"I have no idea. But something bad must have happened for them to call one early. Usually we have one every six months just to get a feel for how things are among the Packs."

"Packs?"

"Yes, there are six Major Packs in Michigan," he explained. "As I said, the Alpha's and Beta's from each Pack get together to discuss important matters. Matings, land agreements, any Pack disagreements. Important stuff. Don't worry, the next one will be to bring you into the fold."

"What am I supposed to do here while you're gone?" she whispered.

"Get to know the house. Get to know Gram. Meet more Pack members. You can raid my study if you'd like." There was an impatient knock at the door and Kieran had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to prevent snapping. "I'm almost done," he called. "Give me a few moments to say goodbye to Lyric."

Lyric's head dropped and he could hear her sniffles intensify. It was breaking his heart to have to leave her. It was also infuriating him because it was breaking her heart. He took her in his arms and pulled her close to his chest, a little surprised when she resisted for a half second. She started crying quietly as soon as she came into contact with his body and he held her hard.

"Lyric, these next three days will fly by," he murmured into her hair. "I promise."

"I don't understand why I'm so upset," she whimpered. Her hands grabbed at his back. "Why am I so upset?"

"Because our bond is taking hold and is stronger than I could have hoped for," he said. She sniffled against him and nuzzled into his chest. God, he hated the idea of leaving her. "Lyric, I have to get going. I hate to do it, but it sounds very urgent and one thing we don't want is me holding up the whole Summoning." She nodded and pulled back enough to get a gentle kiss. "I'll be back before you know it. I promise."

Five hours later, Kieran was seated between his father and Jett at a large conference table in a hotel. They were waiting on one last Alpha and Beta set to arrive before they could begin and the curiosity was getting to them all. Kieran was constantly being congratulated on his being mated (to a Rarity no less) and he was barraged with questions about her and how he felt about his new mate. Just as it was about enough to drive him insane, the last set arrived and the Summoning began.