An Alpha's Duty

Chapter 59

Lenah sat on her and Ryan's bed, fiddling with the frayed edges of the cut in her skinny jeans. She worried the loose threads between her fingers betraying her emotions to Ryan who had just entered the room.

"Why do you look so nervous?" She jumped at his words not realising she was no longer alone. She cursed werewolves for their almost silent footsteps. There would be next to nothing she could hide from her mate so long as he was in her fascinate.

Her fingers paused in their damage to her jeans as she looked up at her mate, taking in his own jeans and clean shirt. She could almost see the subtle differences between him and the man she'd met on that fateful night she'd arrived at the Northridge pack.

His tanned skin was unblemished and free of the black bags that used to live permanently under his eyes. His cheekbones were still slightly gaunt but the stubble lining his jaw gave him a hard rugged look that made her go weak at the knees. He was bulkier after the intense training he'd been enduring under the watchful eyes of Callum.

But the biggest change she saw in him was his eyes. When she'd first met him she'd seen the sleepless nights, he'd endured and the worry that haunted him from the inside. As she looked at him now, all of that was gone. The worry was still there underneath, as an Alpha nothing anyone could do would ever remove that completely, but there was so much hope in them now. They twinkled with life as he looked at her.

He growled at her, jogging her out of her admiring.

"Stop looking at me with those 'fuck me now' eyes and tell me what's bothering you." He knelt down in front of her, gathering her hands in his as he rested them in her lap.

It thrilled her how much he adored every inch of her. She always thought her black eyes would make people uncomfortable but Ryan loved them. Her markings had always been something she'd been conscious of, before Ryan she always concealed them with magic, except to those she trusted, but he gave her confidence to be herself. The way he trailed his hands over them when they made love made her feel like the most treasured person in the world.

It made her realise just how much anyone looking at her would think she had changed since meeting Ryan. She was happier, and she felt more accepted, she still missed Elaina every day and wished that her mother in every sense of the word could have been with her now, but she felt like she'd found the place she belonged.

"The packs will be here soon. I just worry that we're not ready for this yet." She wanted her voice to be strong and confident, but even she could hear her nerves.

Ryan smoothed her silky hair away from her face, pushing it behind her ear so he could see all her beautiful face.

"We're ready Lenah. The pack is ready and so are we. When they arrive, we're all behind you in this." Lenah threw her arms around him, enjoying the feel of him pulling her closer to his body.

They'd trained for as long as they could but now was their time for action. Tomorrow they'd be leaving for Oregan but for the moment they still had to meet with all the packs who'd agreed to stand with them. In total, three of Callum's closest friends from the werewolf council and eight packs Lenah had contacted would be sending several pack warriors to meet them today. Over a thousand extra werewolves would descend on the Silverstreak pack in the next few hours.

Delicate knocking sounded on the door before Lenah could say anything else.

Placing a lingering kiss on her lips, Ryan returned to his feet and opened the door to reveal a serious-looking Nate.

She still couldn't quite get used to seeing him without his wheelchair. After his first shift, Ryan had made sure the young man was trained alongside himself and Luke, meaning that like Ryan he'd piled on more muscle. Gone was the teenage boy she'd first met but stood in front of her was a young man only just beginning to find himself in this world. She couldn't help but be proud of him as if she was his actual mother.