USELESS?

20

"We need to send out two scouts with scent blockers to see if they can find him" Anthony says. "I'll search his files, see what I can find."

"We need to hold a pack meeting, love, before everyone starts to panic." I say, "in case we're wrong and it wasn't Ty, we can get a head count, see if anyone else is missing."

"I think Joseph is right," Angela says. "He may not have been my mate, but I know the feeling of his presence in the pack as well as my own. It's Ty, he's dead."

As she speaks, she looks at the rings on her left hand. She looks at Anthony and asks, "I've always hated these rings...I was always asking your father to replace them, but he said they were a family heirloom. Would it upset you if I remove them? They won't likely fit Hunter, but you could have them turned into something he would like."

"Go ahead, mother," Anthony says. "If he was as poor a husband as he was a father and Alpha, I've no doubt you hate them."

Angela gently removes the rings from her hand, and as soon as they're off, they suddenly have a strange feel to them. I wonder if anyone else feels it.

"Do any of you sense something wrong with those?" I ask.

"I do, but I'm not sure what it is." Joseph answers. "Can I see those?"

Angela hands him the rings, and he slips one on his pinky. Nothing happened, but they no longer feel strange. We continue discussing arrangements for finding Ty, until there's a frantic knock on the door.

Raising his eyebrows, Anthony answers the knock, to find a distressed Victor standing on the other side. He glances quickly around the room, spots Joseph, and rushes over. With a confused, miserable look on his face, he says "it's gone."

"What's gone?" I ask.

With a matching expression on his face, Joseph answers me, "the mate pull. It's gone."

"Wait a minute. Is that possible for regular wolves? The pull was there before you came to the office, right?" I ask

They answer simultaneously, "Yes"

"Ok, then, Victor, since you seem to have noticed it first, when did it disappear?" Anthony continues my line of questioning.

Victor seems confused. "About ten minutes ago...I just suddenly lost the sense of being able to feel my mate near. I thought something had happened to him, so I rushed straight here."

"Ok, then." I muse, "what happened ten minutes ago in this room?"

Angela answers, "I took off my rings, you and Joseph sensed something strange about them, and he put one on his pinky..."

"Joseph, did you leave it on?" Anthony asks.

Joseph looks down at his hand, and looked surprised to see the ring still there. "I guess I did, Alpha."

I see the conclusion Anthony has come to, and tell Joseph to remove the ring. As soon as it is off of his hand, both he and Victor breathe sighs of relief. Joseph jumps up from his seat, and into Victor's arms, burying his head in the crook of the doctor's neck.

"Mom, you've had those rings since you and dad got engaged?" Anthony asks.

"I have. He gave me the first one even before I moved to this pack when we got married." She answered. "He pitched a fit any time I took them off. Told me even if I took the diamond ring off to shower, the band was not to ever come off, and if I took them for cleaning, I couldn't have both done at the same time. I just thought he was possessive, and wanted to make sure no one tried to take me from him."

"Looks like it was a bit more than that. It seems to suppress the mating bond or pull. I wonder if it works on fully mated wolves." I say. "Let me see one of those."

I take the rings from Joseph and, as he did, slide one on my pinky. Nothing changes. I still feel the mate bond with Anthony. I breathe a sigh of relief, take the ring off, and set them both on the desk.

"Well, Angela, I'm sorry to say this, but I think we now know why you haven't found your true mate." I tell her. "Perhaps now, you will."

"You know," she says, "one of the reasons your father insisted on leaving as soon as you were old enough to lead the pack...there was an unmated gentleman here who I was very close to leaving your father for, and Ty decided that we should go away to 'work on our marriage,' though nothing really changed while we were gone. Which is why I insisted we return when we found out from Tonia that you found your mate."

"Well, tell us who it is, we'll call him here, and see what happens." Anthony says. I think he's excited to give his mother a chance at happiness.

"He's the senior pack doctor, Victor's supervisor, Xavier." Angela says, blushing lightly while keeping her gaze on her hands.

"Victor, Joseph-why don't you return to the infirmary and send Xavier this way," I suggest, giving them a wink. "Don't tell him why or that anyone is here other than Anthony."

"Yes, Luna." They say, in sync, before heading for the door, hands clasped tightly together.

"Mom, if you want me to talk to him first, about dad and what we discovered about your rings, I can," Anthony offers. "You can go into our personal quarters with Hunter if you'd prefer."

"No, thank you, son." She answers. "But, I know this is going to sound strange, but can I put the wedding band back on until we explain?"

"Of course, that way, we'll be able to explain everything, then you take the ring off, and find out if he is your mate." I say. "That's clever."

"Thank you, Hunter. I think..." Angela is interrupted by a knock on the door. 

Anthony quickly slides the ring across his desk, and Angela slips it on as he goes to the door. He opens it, greeting the handsome, dark haired older gentleman standing on the other side warmly.

"Xavier, wonderful to see you. Come in and have a seat," he says, gesturing at the chair next to Angela. Xavier smiles at her, blushing lightly, as he takes it.

"Now, as I'm sure you are aware, we lost a pack member a short while ago. According to our new Elder, and my mother, the member lost was my father." Anthony begins. He waves off Xavier's condolences. "Now, we have come to discover something odd, and would like to discuss it with you. It seems my father had my mother's engagement ring and wedding band enchanted by a warlock."

"Why would he do that?" Xavier asked.

"Well, we discovered that the rings suppress or block the mate pull," Anthony says. "Although it has no effect on marked and mated wolves, pairs who have not completed the mating can no longer sense their mate while wearing either of the rings."

"A curious enchantment," Xavier whispers "but what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, Angela said that 4 years ago, she had some kind of feelings for you before she and Ty retired and left." I state, "so you're here to test a theory."

I glance at Angela, who takes a deep breath, and pulls the ring from her finger for a second time. As soon as the ring touches the desk, Xavier stands from his chair and pulls Angela into his arms. She nuzzles his neck as he kisses the top of her head, whispering "mate."