The Mates Bond

Two

-Chapter Two-
Ambush

I stood next to Braxton as he used his booming voice to speak to everyone in the vast backyard.

There seemed to be a never ending field of people but every single person had their eyes glued to Braxton and listened on as he spoke.

"...so it is with the great honor and pleasure that I finally get to introduce you all to my lovely mate, Harper Carson."

The crowd clapped and some (literally) howled with excitement.

Braxton settled them all down, his own smile on full display, "now Harper, from this day forward you are hereby a part of this pack, and I will speak for everyone in saying I can't wait for the day when you become our Luna."

Everyone cheered a little and I couldn't help but smile in return.

"Now, let the celebrations begin." Braxton finished before the music started up and everyone seemed to go on with their business, some made their way inside while others simply turned to the people they were standing next to and struck up conversations. There was a ton of food and drinks and no lack of people.

Priscilla came over to me excitedly and pulled me into a tight hug, "oh congratulations hunny, if you're ready it's my duty as the former Luna to present you to pack members as their future Luna."

I looked over at Braxton, he gave me a proud smile and nodded, I half expected him to kiss me goodbye like he use to...but as soon as his mother wrapped her arm around my shoulders and began to walk me away he too seemed to take off.

I was ushered to group after group meeting this person and that person...Priscilla introduced me to so many people that I felt like I was being ambushed and I couldn't remember any of their names.

"Final group." She smiled.

"Thank goodness."

She walked me over to Elise's parents and Patrick's family, thankfully Elise, Vance, and Mariah were also there.

Seeing as Patrick and Braxton were gone I knew they'd still be patrolling.

"Future Luna." Elise's dad said with a teasing sort of curtesy.

It made us laugh but I mimicked him as well, "Mr Ocklan."

The mood seemed lighter as we all continued to laugh and the conversations came easily. Of course it didn't last long as soon the music seemed to stop and everyone was confused. Worried looks and wild whispers erupted before a scream sounded.

Vance didn't waste any time in rushing us back into the house, he took us into the office and closed the door behind us.

"Vance we should go out there and find out what happened." Elise sounded angrily.

He merely shook his head.

"Elise is right, what if something happened to Braxton or Patrick." I spoke up.

"I promised I'd keep you ladies safe."

"It's Patrick." Mariah sounded weakly before she fell to the floor.

Shocked and scared we all rushed forward to her side, being the one to help her sit up slightly.

"I-I...he's hurt." She cried. "I can feel it, He's in pain and I'm not there."

My heart fell.

Elise moved quickly, taking mariah into her arms, the commotion outside the office was crazy. Then everything stilled, the only sound that could be heard was Mariah's soft sobs.

"Vance seemed like he was in a trance before he acknowledged us. "Braxton's sending everyone home, he knows we're in here...Patrick was attacked but the people responsible are being dealt with." He filled us in.

Just then Braxton let himself into the office, I gave him an unsure smile but he looked away from me as he approached Mariah, he talked to her a little before offering her a one armed hug, "if you'd like Patrick is up in the room you two share, seeing as Dr Pollock was here for the presenting, Patrick's already being treated."

She thanked him and wiped her face before leaving the office, Braxton thanked Vance for handling the situation well and keeping us safe and soon both Elise and Vance were gone.

Braxton walked over to the front of his desk and placed his hands on the edge, he leaned a little before he sighed heavily and hung his head.

"What a night huh." I offered, trying to lighten the heavy mood.

He shook his head, "It was all my fault."

"What? I asked, "No...Braxton this isn't your fault-"

"My mind was preoccupied," He continued as if he didn't hear me at all. "I was so worried that something was gonna happen to you while I was away that I wasn't paying attention and that's when they got Patrick."

"What happened?"

"There were two of them, we were right about the whole scorned lover thing...only it was more than one girl, one named Lola, the other named Whitney...turns out the girls met when Whitney found her mate in Lola's older brother, the girls were pissed at the fact that Patrick basically used them...then to add fuel to the fire so to speak, after her time with Patrick; Whitney got pregnant... she didn't tell her parents and couldn't afford to take care of a baby on her own so she went with what she thought was her only option, a back alley abortion a few towns over."

"With all of today's modern medicine and medical advances people are still getting botched abortions?" I asked skeptically.

"In the Were community it's as big a no no as it is for old Catholics." He responded, "see Weres are all about loyalty and family so to knowingly kill a baby is one of the worst things a Were can do."

I wanted to go all hyper feminist on him and start yelling that it's her body and therefore it's her choice what she does with it, but I could see this was weighing heavily on him.

He merely continued, "there's a guy who offers abortions a few towns over, he's a rogue so you can only find him through the grapevine, but his work is known to leave lasting problems, one of those problems is the inability to have any more children...you can see now why the girls were so pissed, Whitney can never have kids and both Lola and Whitney thought it was Patrick's fault."

My head was swimming with all of this new information.

I watched as Braxton looked down at his watch and sighed once more, he took a moment to himself and soon Ryder was in the office.

"You called for me Alpha?"

"Yeah," Braxton sounded tired. "Harper and I are taking off to the lake house so I'm gonna need you to hold down the fort, keep me up to date on Patrick and with the threat gone Mariah is more than welcome to go back home if she wants to...of course she's also welcome to stay as long as she'd like as well."

Ryder nodded his understanding.

"Braxton we can't leave now, your cousin is injured to who knows what extent..." I said.

I know I shouldn't question him or talk about our arrangements in front of other people, Ryder included...but how could he possibly expect us to leave at a time like this?

"That'll be all Ryder." He added.

He waited for Ryder to leave the office before turning to face me, he wasn't upset, more worried than anything. "Harper come midnight you will be in full on Heat mode, I've already explained the dangers of having you around other guys and so help whatever bastard who tries to mark you."

I rolled my eyes, "the trip can wait, what if the brother tries to attack in retaliation for what happened to his sister and mate?"

He shook his head firmly, "this isn't just a fun week away to ourselves like a mini vacation, no this is me keeping my mate safe even if that means I send you away alone while I stay here to make sure everything is fine."

It seemed like no matter what I said or did, one way or another it looked as if I was going to the lake house whether I liked it or not, and to make things worse...it looked like I may be going by myself now.