Rise of the Crescent Moon

Chapter 24 August

I was so proud of my mate and her ability to handle the pack like a true Luna. Just being around her calmed my body and helped the healing process along. I stroked Josie's hair as she rested against my chest. After a few blissful minutes of breathing in her scent, Josie shifted and began to pull away. A low growl escaped my throat.

"Oh, enough of that." She rolled her eyes at me as she stood up.

"What can I say, I don't like sharing you with other men." I smirked at her.

"They weren't other men, August, they were your patrol and Beta and Gamma and whoever that other dude was." I laughed at Josie as she tried to calm me down.

"Vincent will be dealt with, I promise you that." I nearly growled. Vincent was a brute fellow, great at tracking and torturing our prisoners, not so great at speaking appropriately to anyone. Josie began bustling around the kitchen and living room, cleaning up the mess that my injury left her with.

"It's partially my fault." Josie said from the kitchen. I tried to stand up but one glare from my mate had me settling back down in the chair.

"Vincent's behavior is not your fault." I snapped at her.

"He didn't know that I was your mate and he definitely didn't know that I'm the future Luna, so how was he supposed to know to not be an ass?" Josie shrugged as she tidied up the table, wiping it down with an antiseptic wipe and throwing the bloody towels in the garbage can.

"I don't care." Was all I said. Josie glared at me again,

"August...." I stopped her,

"You're not gonna win this one, love." She said and pressed her lips together, staying silent. I shifted in the chair and groaned at the pain shooting through my arm. Josie was at my side in a second,

"What is it?" She said quickly, examining the wouldn. I grabbed her hands,

"It's just a little sore, I'll be fine. You did an excellent job, baby." I tried to soothe her but only succeeded in causing her to roll her eyes at me.

"I don't understand why it's not healing quicker." Josie stated.

"I don't know either, must be something new the rogues are trying." I shrugged. I was attempting to appear calm and unbothered. I didn't want to worry her, but, the truth was, I was very concerned over the new tricks the rogues had.

"If I had you in a hospital, I could run some tests and see if they left anything in your blood." Josie suggested.

"You think you could find something?" It hadn't occurred to me that they may have used a substance that would show up in bloodwork. Josie just nodded, biting her lip.

"My smart, sexy, doctor mate." I purred, my hands brushing against her waist. She swatted at my hands, blushing at my compliment.

"Shut up." She mumbled and I laughed at her embarrassment.

"We have a pack hospital." I said, knowing perfectly well that Josie knew about our hospital.

"I know." She responded.

"I can have one of our nurses draw the blood and run the lab work." I suggested delicately. Josie quickly shook her head and I swear I saw a flash of lust, maybe even jealousy, in her eyes.

"No way, I'll do it." She said determinedly.

"Josie," I pulled her back down to my lap and she didn't argue,

"I promised that I would give you time to adjust to everything before announcing you as my mate and Luna. But, I won't hide you or deny you. If you come to the packhouse, I can't lie about who you are. It's just not possible, it's not in my nature; Arlo wouldn't let me even if I wanted to." I brushed Josie's hair from her face and looked into her eyes for a reaction.