The Hexed Luna (Book 4 of Forest Wolf Series)

Harvest Moon

Jack’s POV

   I stepped out of my truck with my phone in my hand as I walked up towards the packhouse. I just got back home from a business meeting with the newspaper and magazine company that I own. I hated driving to Denver for meetings and having to mingle with humans. It was necessary though. Most of the time these trips lasted a good portion of the day. It was now mid-afternoon so I wouldn’t get much more done today. 

   I walked through the front door and headed straight for my office. I opened the door and saw a red envelope waiting on my desk. That was a sign that an Alpha Council meeting would be held soon. 

   I left the door open to my office and walked over to my desk. I put my phone down and grabbed the red envelope before opening it to take the letter out. I read over it quickly and huffed out in frustration. I hated Council meetings with a passion. Someone always pissed me off somehow and then someone would try to calm me down which just made me blow up more. 

   I sat down at my desk and mind-linked my Beta, Orson, to come to my office. He came walking in a few minutes later while eating a bowl of grapes. I just shook my head at him. He was always eating something. He sat in front of my desk and placed the bowl in his lap. 

   Orson’s an average height guy with short black hair, light tan skin and dark brown squinted eyes. I can always tell when he’s close by because he smells like cinnamon and citrus. His heritage is Chinese even though he and his parents were born to this pack. His grandparents came to us from the Chinese pack. 

   As the Beta of the Harvest Moon pack, he is in charge of schedules with the warriors on guard duty and training schedule. I’m the one that heads what training needs to happen though. 

   “So what’s up?” He asked. 

   “I have an emergency Alpha Council meeting to go to in a week.” 

   “You’re favorite thing to do. Don’t worry I’ve got everything here covered as usual,” he tells me. 

   “Thanks.” 

   “No problem. What’s the emergency about?” Orson asks before shoving a grape into his mouth. 

   “Several of the packs are having crop issues suddenly,” I tell him. 

   “I wonder what the problem is,” he says worriedly. 

   “Me too. I also wonder where the new Forest Wolf is. He could fix whatever issue there is.”

   “What if the Moon Goddess decided to end the Forest Wolf after your grandfather?”

   “I don’t think she would do that. Maybe the Forest Wolf is just waiting a while to come back.”

   “Well, I’m going to finish my scheduling for the next week and check on a few warriors,” Orson says. 

   “Alright.”

   He got up and left my office after closing the door. Recently I’ve been leaving it closed wanting to work in peace and quiet. Every time I left it open Adria, my ex-girlfriend, would come walking in like she owned the place. She was a mistake that I should have never made. 

   I dated her for a few months and thought I could choose her as my Luna because I was tired of waiting for my mate to show up. The problem is, I was waiting for her instead of looking for her like all the others had to. 

   As I talked about making Adria my Luna a few months ago, I started to really see what type of person she was. There wasn’t a nice bone in her body and the pack deserved better than her. I deserved better than her. Being in her presence was annoying half of the time and s*x with her wasn’t completely fulfilling. It lacked the passion and love I wanted from my mate. We only had s*x a few times thank the Goddess, but it was enough for her to start thinking she would be mine by choice. I was an i***t.  

   I got to work with basic emails as usual and made some phone calls. I spent the rest of that day in my office uninterrupted and peaceful. Once it was six in the evening, I shut my office down and headed to the dining hall to have dinner with part of the pack. The kitchen normally cooked for the two levels of unmated pack members that lived in the packhouse and me. Not to mention all the unmated warriors that the pack had, which wasn’t that many, to be honest. Our unmated members numbered about seventy for a pack of three hundred and fifty. 

   The dining hall floor was polished cherry wood that had deep marks on it from a fight that had broken out between my dad and someone else before I was born. We left the marks there to remind everyone that our wolves weren’t allowed inside. The tables and chairs were made of African Wenge wood with metal twisted legs. I took a seat with Orson and a few of the other warriors. 

   Everyone greeted me with a slight bow saying, “Alpha.” 

   I nodded my head in return as I listened in on their conversation about guard duty. The newer warriors were finding it hard to stay awake at night. They needed to find things to occupy the mind so they could stay awake and alert. 

   We enjoyed dinner and conversation with the pack members. I liked to stay in the dining hall until it’s empty for members to talk with me if they needed to. Orson normally sticks around with me and we talk while waiting to see the hall empty. It was a great way to catch up with everyone without being distracted by work. 

   I was impressed to see that no one needed my attention tonight. This hardly ever happened but it was nice when it did. Orson and I both got up from our seats and left the dining hall to go to our rooms for the night. 

   Orson lived on the third floor close to the stairs that led to the fourth floor. He lived here in the packhouse since he still hadn’t found his mate. I went up to the top floor of the packhouse which was for me and the family I would have one day with my mate. 

   As I walked down the hall to my room I noticed a scent that lingered on the air that shouldn’t be here. It was the smell of wisteria, telling me that Adria was there in my room. Somewhere she didn’t belong unless I invited her and I hadn’t invited her in a while. We had only ever shared a few nights together, but she still wanted more. 

   I opened the door to my room and found her there sitting seductively in the middle of my king sized bed. She had long slender legs and small curves. Her dirty blond hair was long and loose. Her dark brown eyes reminded me of how shitty of a person she is. 

   I left the door open and walked towards my bed. She moved and started to lay down submissively on my bed, something she knew I liked. She was wearing a blue lace teddy bodysuit with the crotch cut out. It was sexy but I didn’t want her. 

   “What are you doing here?” I rumbled out. 

   “Waiting for you of course,” she answered sweetly. 

   “I didn’t invite you nor do I want you, so get out,” I said going over to my nightstand to plug in my phone and turn the lamp on. 

   I listened to her abruptly sit up on my bed and move towards me. I felt her hands on my arms trying to get me into bed with her. I pulled away easily and looked at her with a pointed look. 

   “I told you to get out, so go,” I told her. 

   “Why baby?” she whined. 

   “I’m not yours Adria and you're not mine. I’m sorry I thought I could live a life without my rightful mate and let you believe that you would be the Luna to our pack, but you aren’t welcome on the top floor anymore.”

   “What happens when you never find her?” She hissed out. 

   “Oh, I will eventually. Now get out,” I said, walking towards the door of my room. 

   I grabbed the door handle and motioned for her to get out. She got off my bed and walked towards the door, grabbing her robe to cover up as she left. She paused right in front of me and placed her hand on my chest. 

   “I’ll be back on the top floor again I’m sure,” she said in a honeyed voice. 

   I was getting really tired of this and felt my anger bubbling to the surface. I took a step closer to her and lowered my head. My face is now inches away from her. I knew she could see my anger. 

   “No, you won’t. Now stay out of my room for good,” I growled. 

   She dropped her hand and quickly left. I slammed the door shut behind her and thought about locking the door. That was ridiculous that I would need to lock my door in my own packhouse. 

   I mind-linked Orson, “make sure that Adria makes it to her room and doesn’t get back to the top floor.”

   “On it. She was there again?” 

   “Yes. This is getting old.”

   “What are you going to do?”

   “If she doesn’t stop I might have to ban her from the packhouse or find her a new pack.”

   “I’m here for you buddy... I have her in her room. You're good.”

   “Thanks!” 

   “Never a problem.”

   I made my way to my bathroom and stripped my clothes off. I took a relaxing shower before pulling boxers on and climbing into bed to watch some TV. I turned the TV on and flipped to Orange Is the New Black. I laid there watching the show for a little over an hour before I turned it off and settled into my bed to find sleep. I fell asleep dreaming up what my true mate would look like, be like and feel like. I needed her.