Rise of the Crescent Moon

Chapter 11 August

Arlo was howling and whimpering in my head all night long after our mate left and asked us not to follow her. I heard her deny being the Luna to Hayden and I hated myself for rushing things. I was pushing her too hard, I was moving too fast. She may be an Alpha's daughter but she still didn't feel the bond in the same way I did, she still had human emotions and craved a human relationship. Not to mention all that she had been through in such a short amount of time.

I ordered my father out of my sight for the foreseeable future unless he wanted to end up banished. I wasn't even close to being ready to forgive him for keeping my mate from me, even if it was an order from his past Alpha. Covering up a mate bond or forcing a rejection was the number one most inexcusable offense.

I dismissed Hayden and Ethan immediately, not ready to deal with any of their questions. I mindlinked Scout, Ford, and Avery, the other half of my top 6 warriors, and ordered their wolves, Dax, Max, and Ash, to relieve the other three wolves from Josie's protection patrol. I wanted the patrol to be fresh and alert. But, I did what my girl requested and I ordered them to only patrol her house, nothing more.

I locked myself in my room on the third floor Alpha quarters. Not that we were going to be able to sleep without our mate. I turned on the TV and mindlessly flipped through the channels. I must have dozed off at some point because I was awoken by the screams of my beloved. I shot out of bed and started mindlinking the patrol.

"It was just a bad dream, Alpha. The Luna just came out and asked us to let you know that she's okay." Dax called back to me. I saw an image of Josie with her wild red hair and bright green eyes. I growled through the mindlink. She was in a sexy night gown that clung to her hips and had a deep V on her chest. Dax quickly removed the image and shrunk away in my mind.

I looked at my watch, it was 6:00am. I jumped in the shower and resisted the urge to immediately go to Josie's. I knew I needed to respect her time and slow things down. I decided that I would train this morning before bringing breakfast over to the cabin. Ethan and Hayden were waiting for me on the training grounds.

"The whole place is buzzing man, the secrets out." Ethan slapped me on the back with a grin. Sometimes I really hated this guy. I looked at Hayden for confirmation.

"It's true, they want to know about our new Luna." Hayden was the calmer of the two, sometimes I wonder why I didn't make him the Beta.

I knew the answer though, Ethan was stronger, a better fighter, and bold. He wasn't afraid of a fight and could handle meetings on my behalf. Hayden was perfect for smoothing over alliances, managing patrols, and working out strategy. He would also be my Luna's personal protection, which I kept in mind when I chose him as Gamma. Hayden was a quiet guy who valued the mate bond while Ethan was a manwhore.

"Well they're just going to have to wait." I mumbled. I wasn't ready to share my mate and she wasn't ready to be a Luna.

"I'm just going to ask you once, man. When we called her Luna last night, she denied the title...are you sure ...." I growled at Ethan and he snapped his mouth shut.

"You're an idiot." Hayden slapped Ethan on the back of the head.

"She's not going anywhere, she'll make a perfect Luna. She just needs time. She's still human." I said, even though I didn't owe him an explanation.

"She's a Valentine." Hayden said. I nodded,

"She's an Alpha's daughter. She knows her duty." I replied.

"Let's train." Ethan said, quickly changing the subject. In response, I rewarded Ethan with a right hook.

Two hours later, I was picking my shirt up from the ground and wiping my face down with a towel.