The Luna

Maple

*Through Sage's Eyes*

    While there were now less people, dinner was the same as the last few meals. Xander sat next to me and I fought to control myself. 

    It was getting more difficult with each passing hour. Once they found each other, mates were supposed to be together. While it was my choice to remain distant, Jasmine and the rest of my body did not like it. Hopefully I could figure out what I wanted to do with him by the end of the week. 

    At dinner it was decided that Xander would take his father’s place in the rest of the meetings. Being stuck in a room with him all day would make Jas go insane, but it made sense and I couldn’t object to decisions Elijah made about his own people. 

    I knew Xander would want to talk so when everyone was done eating I mentioned I had a lot of work and locked myself in my office. 

    This wasn’t totally true, but I did have a few things I had put off since their arrival. A new proposal had come through from Alpha Liam but it wasn’t much better than the first. I sent him my rejection. 

    I had my head buried in a review of the month’s data report from the solar plant when there was a knock on my door and Ben walked in. 

    He took his usual spot on my couch and stared at me for a few minutes, waiting for me to talk. He caved first.

    “Dude you know we need to talk about Xander,” he said. 

    “Sure but we can deal with that later.”

    “He’s gonna be joining the team right?” 

    I glared at him. I would never insult Ben or Mark by giving Xander their job and he sure as hell wasn’t taking mine. 

    “Honestly, I haven’t thought that much about the details.”

    “What are you waiting for?”

    I paused. Ben and I were very close, but there were some things I didn’t tell him and some things he’d just never understand. 

    “Oh s**t, you’re scared!”

    “No, I’m annoyed,” I responded. “Things were going very well. We do just fine with the four of us.”

    “Why are you seeing it as a negative? Finding your mate is supposed to be good! He probably has a lot of suggestions.”

    I think he saw a glimpse of annoyance and anger in my face because he quickly held his hands up in surrender.

    “I know you hate bad suggestions or the idea of someone hijacking your s**t, but that’s not what I mean. He seems like a smart guy and I think he’d be a strong addition. You just have to talk to him and give him a chance.”

    I put my feet up on my desk and laughed a little.

    “Oh you guys are best friends now after a day by the pool?”

    Ben stood up to leave since it was getting late. 

    “Someone has to keep him company. But I can’t give him what he really wants,” Ben said with a mischievous wink. 

    I threw my pen at him which he easily dodged as he opened the door.

    “By the way, he’s coming to training with us tomorrow morning,” he added as he left and shut the door. 

    Goddess give me strength, this was gonna be a long week. 

**********

    The next morning Xander was standing next to Mark and Izzy when I arrived at training. I took my usual place next to Ben as he started giving us the session plan. 

    A warm up of 10 miles and two laps around the obstacle course was just what I needed. I pushed myself to stay slightly ahead of Xander so the wind wouldn’t make his scent stronger. It wasn’t easy, he was definitely a strong beta. 

    Ben then grouped sparring partners randomly and I was happy to be paired with Brett. The moves we were practicing this morning were a combination of boxing and krav maga that Ben had made up. 

    After practicing for a while, some pairs were chosen to demonstrate. Brett and I went second. We got into our fighting stances and Brett lunged. I was a very good fighter but not invincible. Brett still got some good shots and each time I got hit I heard a growl that got progressively louder. At a point when Brett and I were circling each other I took a second to look for the source. 

    Of course it was coming from Xander. 

    I shot him a death glare that hopefully conveyed the message to shut the f**k up. This was a fighting ring. I was not a luna or a woman or someone’s mate in this ring. I was just a fighter. 

    The distraction allowed Brett to get the better of me and after being put into a painful headlock I had to submit. Brett instantly let go and we touched knuckles to show our respect for one another. 

    Luckily Xander got the message because he managed to keep himself together throughout the rest of the session. Although I did notice he kept most of his attention on me or Brett. 

*Through Xander's Eyes*

    I was impressed with the way Ben ran the training session even though I wasn’t used to being the one taking orders or being on the receiving end of pointers and tips. 

    But I was much too distracted to be a successful leader. Sage looked so good even though she was wearing athletic shorts and a baggy t-shirt. Every move she made was graceful and powerful. 

    It was clear she didn’t like my reaction to her sparring, but how did she think I’d feel? Watching someone, especially a man, repeatedly hit your mate was torture even if it was sparring and even if she got twice as many hits in. And I think she was furious that she lost because of my distraction. But like always, she didn’t show it. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her for the rest of the session. 

    She left a few minutes before everyone else, presumably to get ready for the meetings. 

    I walked back to the packhouse with Ben, Mark and Izzy and had breakfast with them before we all went upstairs to shower. 

    As I was leaving my room I ran into Mark. 

    “Hey, I was just coming to find you. I figured I’d show you to the conference room since you haven’t been there yet,” he said.

    “Thanks, man.”

    “Tough to see Sage fight this morning, eh?”

    “I’ve seen countless girls fight, hell I’ve even fought them, but watching someone hit her was torture,” I admitted.

    “I know how you feel. It took me a few weeks to deal with watching Izzy during training. I still don’t love it but what are you gonna do?”

    At this point we had reached the conference room. Elijah and Jordan were already seated and I took my seat next to them. Mark sat across from us as Ben and Sage walked in. 

    She wore a plain grey pencil skirt that went to her knees, a tight black tank top and nude heels. It wasn’t revealing at all but it was tight, and I fought back a growl as I imagined all of the men in the room looking at my mate’s curves. 

    She looked at me first and knowing her, I tried to find her emotions in her eyes. Now it was a feeling of longing… maybe? The rest of her face was stoic as always. She sat down and the meeting started. 

    My dad was right, she was brilliant. She didn’t speak all that much, but everything she said was helpful and accurate and impactful. Her questions were posed as statements and her comments were spoken as fact, keeping a neutral tone and portraying her intelligence. When we had been alone, her body language had been solely directed at me. Now, she made everyone feel as if this meeting and the people in the room were the only things in the world that mattered. It seemed to make everyone else more productive. 

    The first meeting was about creating an exclusive partnership between her construction company and our cement company. It took a few hours due to the size of each company. Lunch was brought to us as we only had time for a short break. 

    Next on the list was the creation of a strategic alliance between her real estate firm and our hotel chain. This took slightly less time because it wasn’t as strong of a relationship but there were still a lot of details to go over. 

    When we were almost done, Sage mentioned something else.

    “I was hoping we could discuss a relationship for just one other thing. I understand you have a strong maple farm,” she stated. 

    “Yes we do, we provide maple goods to humans and wolves all over the east coast,” Elijah said. 

    “I think maple would be a good addition to some of our whiskeys, do you agree?” she asked Ben and Mark. They strongly agreed. 

    “Of course we can work something out,” responded Elijah, pulling out some files related to Cold Maple Company. 

    “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you start your distillery?” I needed to know. I was desperate for facts about her life and decisions. This one stuck out to me because it was so small compared to her other companies and there were already plenty of places that made alcohol for wolves.

    She looked at me and gave me her full attention, as if the answer was only for me. 

    “It was my father’s passion. He started it when I was younger and I’ve kept it up in his name.” 

    Finally! A small tidbit of information about her that wasn’t as basic as her favorite color. 

    “I can’t wait to try some.”

    “You already have,” she said to me before turning back and giving her attention to the whole room. The way she could shift her approachability from a single person to a group was an impressive show of her leadership. 

    An hour later we finally finished all of the business on the agenda. 

    Dinner was uneventful and after when Sage said goodnight I decided to follow her up to her room. I needed time with her. This was getting ridiculous. 

    She walked into her room but froze when she sensed my presence. I leaned against the door frame and waited for her to speak.

    “Can I help you?” she said as she crossed her arms in front of her like a barrier. 

    Why the f**k is she still resisting? Zane said in my head. 

    I don’t know! Don’t you think I’d do something about it if I knew! 

    If you don’t make any moves by this weekend I’m taking over, he threatened.

    I didn’t fight back because I sort of agreed. 

    “I was hoping to get some more of your fantastic whiskey,” I said, slowly raking my eyes up and down her body. I needed to get her to respond to me in some way. 

    She took an involuntary step towards me but stopped. 

    I walked in towards her until we were chest to chest. I gently pushed her by the shoulders until her back was against the wall and put my hands beside her head. Looking deep into her eyes I noticed the turquoise color swirling with a darker grey, making them look like the ocean in a storm. I leaned my head down and trailed my nose across her shoulder to her neck where I inhaled. The scent of fresh water and rain was stronger than the pine and sandalwood today, matching her eyes. I started to kiss her neck and went deliberately to the spot where I would eventually mark her. Her heartbeat sped up and with my next inhale I could smell her arousal. 

    But she still remained frozen. How could she possibly be controlling her emotions this well when we were this close? 

    She took a deep breath and ducked under my arm and away from me. 

    “Xander, you need to leave.” 

    The emotions in her eyes didn’t seem to match her words. She had to stop denying that this was what mates do. 

    I growled and turned to her. Spending all this time so close yet so far from her had really messed with my wolf and my temper. I took two steps towards her and her eyes darkened a bit more. 

    A knock on the door made us both jump. 

    “WHAT?” I yelled rather rudely. 

    She glared at me before going to open the door. 

    “Hi ma’am, I’m your guard for the night,” said the large security guard standing at the door. 

    “Thank you Seth,” she said to him before turning to me. “He was just leaving.” 

    I guess I didn’t really have a choice. I walked out without another word or even glancing at her. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to do but I was pissed. And why did she need a guard at night?

    I needed my mate and Zane needed her wolf. I really didn’t know how much more of this I could take. 

    Time for another f*****g run. 

*Through Sage's Eyes*

    Last night was another close call. I guess I could have given in, but I needed to be super focused today. 

    I got up early and went for a run by myself. I sent Ben a message to pass on to Elijah, Jordan and Xander. I would be unavailable all day and Ben and Mark were perfectly capable of dealing with whatever business matters Cold Moon wanted to discuss. If there was nothing, everyone was free to do their own thing. There wasn’t much left to do except wait for an elder to arrive for the sister alliance ritual and finalize some details.

    After my breakfast I gathered my laptop and books and went to my hidden office. It had been a kind of panic room when my office belonged to my dad. There was a lever behind some stuff on the book shelf that caused it to swing open. I had converted it into my own secret space. 

    Today I needed privacy. The first semester of my latest school endeavor had started on Monday, but because of the Cold Moon visit, I was already very behind. I was studying to get a degree in environmental engineering through a human university that offered the degree online. 

    A lot of wolves looked down on humans, but that was stupid. There was so much to learn from them. And even in situations where I didn’t learn anything, I got new perspectives which allowed me to think about werewolf related things from different angles. 

    I spent all day catching up and getting ahead on notes, lectures and assignments. I got a few mindlinks but nothing urgent happened. When I finally looked at the clock it was almost midnight. 

    You didn’t even give us a chance to see Xander today, Jasmine whined. 

    I had better things to do. 

    There is nothing better than him, she replied before shutting me out. 

    Whatever. I had a productive day and I enjoyed the stuff I was learning about. Xander could wait. 

    I went back to my room and crawled into bed. Tomorrow was Cold Moon’s last day and we still had a few minor things to work out. 

    I fell asleep quickly thinking about chocolate and oranges and raspberries on my tongue.

**********

    I woke up with a plan and joined the fighter training session. Xander was going to pay for distracting me the other day during the fight. 

    He looked like he was in a horrible mood when I arrived. I assumed it was because I hid all day yesterday. Izzy kept cracking jokes and trying to make him smile. When he finally lightened up and started joking around with everyone I had to fight back a growl. Jealousy and possessiveness surged through me and I hated the unfamiliar emotions. I loved Izzy but she better watch it around him. 

    After the warm up Ben called random pairs to spar. I linked him a message that caused him to look over at me in shock.

    "Are you sure that’s the best idea?" He responded.

    "No but just do it," I said quickly before I could change my mind. 

    “... Izzy and Brett, Ryan and Mark,” he continued out loud. “Xander and Sage.” 

    Xander looked completely shocked and followed me to the closest ring.

    I got into a fighting stance. 

    “Ready to fight me, mate?” I spat.

    He started to actually look a little sick as he got into a stance. I’m sure he hated the idea of having to fight me. But this was payback and I wanted to see how strong he was.

    I took advantage of his shock and rushed him. I delivered a few punches before stepping back and delivering a perfect roundhouse kick to his head. I hopped back and bounced side to side on my feet as he regained his balance. 

    “Come on! I know you hate me! Let’s see what you got!” I said to try and egg him on. 

    When he looked back at me he had a smirk on his face. 

    “Oh that’s how you wanna play it then?” he said as he began to circle me. 

    I lunged again. I don’t know why. I was a great fighter and I knew that you should always wait to see how your opponent fights before attacking. Even when punching him I could feel our sparks. I wanted to feel that more.

    I only got in two punches this time before he responded. He literally swept me off my feet and flipped me over. I ended up pinned down on my back with his face close to mine. He looked slightly concerned but recovered and smiled. 

    “I would never hate you,” he whispered before sloppily licking my ear.

    I threw him off of me and jumped up to my feet. This continued for about fifteen more minutes. I would get the better of him before he threw me off and got the better of me. Both of us were more aggressive than usual to feel the sparks we were craving.  

    He was already starting to use some of the moves Ben taught the rest of the pack. I was very impressed with his ability to master them so quickly and that he lasted this long. Usually the only person who could keep up with me at this rate was Ben. I had alpha blood but Xander was skilled. And I’m pretty sure he understood this was a test and wasn’t holding back. 

    We were still going at it when everyone else finished. They started to gather around us to watch. I thought I heard some bets being placed. I wondered if they could feel the electricity between the two of us. This was the most we had touched, even if it was through violence. 

    Finally when it was clear neither of us would be the winner, Ben stepped in between us. I didn’t hear what he said. 

    Xander and I couldn’t tear our eyes away from each other. We were breathing hard and covered in dust, sweat and blood. There were no wounds because of how fast we healed but I knew I’d be sore later. 

    "SAGE!" Ben’s voice came through our link to get my attention. He knew I wouldn’t like it if he yelled at me in front of the pack. 

    I finally looked around. All the fighters were smirking or laughing. Izzy had a big smile. 

    After narrowing my eyes at Xander, I left the ring to get some water. 

    “Alright, now that you’re all tired, we’re shifting. Pick a new partner and spar as your wolf,” Ben announced to the group.

    That was my cue to leave. The pack knew what my wolf looked like but almost no one outside of it did. Most wolves who I saw in battle didn’t live to tell others. Mate or not, Xander had not earned that trust yet. 

    I left to shower and eat before our last meeting. I met everyone in the conference room. Ben was taking over this meeting since we were discussing security. If we were to become sister packs, we needed to coordinate potential action plans and get familiarized with the other’s tactics. Xander kept looking over at me, concerned about the fight. I think he was trying to figure out if he had hurt me. 

    Ha! He had a lot to learn if he thought a twenty minute sparring session would bring me down. 

    Since he was a beta, Xander spoke the most for Cold Moon. As much as I hate to admit, he impressed me. He and Ben got on like old friends and the way he presented everything was eloquent and professional. 

    When we walked back to the dining room Stella came and notified us that the elder had arrived. The rest of the group went to eat while Elijah and I left to greet him. 

    “Alpha Elijah, Luna Sage. Pleasure to meet you. Shall we get going then?” he said as he shook our hands. 

    “Of course Elder, if you’ll follow me this way,” I said, leading them into the forest. 

    The sister pack ritual was unnecessary in my opinion, but it was needed for the elder council to recognize the connection. 

    We stopped when we came to a particularly dense spot in the forest. Ancient wolf packs only lived in forests, so the ritual was always done deep in the woods. 

    Elijah and I knelt before the elder and waited as he said a bunch of things in an ancient language that no one understood anymore. He then took out a dagger. 

    “Shift,” he said. 

    Damnit. Thankfully I had chosen to wear jeans and a nice blouse today instead of one of my suits or dresses. But I still hated losing clothes. 

    I let Jasmine take over, my shredded clothes falling to the ground. I looked over at Elijah’s massive black and grey wolf. He and the elder were looking at me. I hoped Elijah wouldn’t run around telling everyone what my wolf looked like. 

    The elder cleared his throat and picked up the dagger. He knelt down and drew it across the top of our four front paws in one swift motion. Elijah and I faced each other and put his left paw over my right and my left over his right. I think it was supposed to signify the blood sharing ritual one took to join a pack without actually sharing blood. 

    The elder then handed us each a robe. I went behind a tree and shifted back and put on the robe. Elijah and I then shook hands, which was the only thing that happened in the last hour that I thought was actually needed for the deal. 

    When we got back to the house everyone was out on the back porch chatting and enjoying the last few hours before Elijah and Jordan left. I pulled up a chair and sat in the only open space: next to Xander. 

    “So we’re officially sister packs?” Ben asked us.

    “Hell yes,” Elijah said. Everyone laughed at his excitement. Stella brought out two more beers for him and me. 

    “Thank you for hosting us this week Sage. It was a very productive time and I’m excited for our packs to work together and see how strong we can become,” he said as a toast.

    Everyone clinked glasses before going back to the discussion they had been having about football teams. 

    Just as I was about to put Jordan in his place for s**t talking my beloved Broncos, Ryan walked out onto the deck. 

    “Luna, we have a situation.”