Bonded

Chapter 5

Alpha David smiles at me and stands, politely offering me his arm as he had last night and leads me out of the dining room. I notice him look down at my bare feet and take in the large flannel shirt I’m wearing and he frowns.

“I’ll get some clothes for you today,” he says casually, and I can feel my cheeks instantly turn red from the embarrassment of showing up to a pack with, quite literally, nothing.

He leads me to his office,and holds the door open for me to enter. His office is fairly small, no real hint of personalization around. A large, wooden desk sits at the end, with a bookcase behind it and two chairs in front. To my surprise, though, he leads me over to the tan, leather couch that is sitting in the corner of the room. The walls are dark brown, making the room feel dark and ominous. The window behind his desk lets in the sunlight, but it doesn’t do much to lighten the feel of the room.

“Celeste, I’m glad that you’re here and that you’re safe,” he tells me with a smile. “You escaped a terrible situation, and you don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. I’m thankful that you felt our territory would be a safe place.”

I nod, thankful that he’s been so kind to me. Many Alphas would not have been, and many would have sent me straight back, or even have captured and sold me themselves. I had run straight here because I thought that Beta Ralph would jump in and, at the very least, keep me alive. I did not expect there to be such a young and kind Alpha here who would have granted me safety, even without my connection to Beta Ralph.

“Thank you,” I whisper, still feeling embarrassed. “I’ve never been in a position like this before.”

“I hope you never find yourself in a situation like this again,” he says, sitting back and crossing his legs, stretching his arm across the back of the couch as he turns to me. “When my dad was killed, I don’t think I would have been able to talk about it the next day. He was a good Alpha and a good father. I know that your dad was also quite a good Alpha. I knew your brother, Tyler. We did our training together.”

“He was a really good brother,” I say softly, a few tears escaping. “He would have been a great Alpha.” I hadn’t realized he knew my brother, though his immediate kindness makes a bit more sense now.

David nods sadly. “He would have, I’m sure of that. I need you to tell me what happened. We need to be able to keep you safe, so I need to know everything. I need to know what happened, and who was involved. And I need to know what led up to it, if you know. Any details can help in keeping you safe.”

“A few months ago, I walked in on my dad and his Beta, Daniel, arguing,” I begin, thinking hard about every little detail I can think of. “He was upset that Dad wanted to send the children of the omegas to the pack school. Dad had decided that everyone in the pack should be educated properly, that having uneducated wolves wasn’t good for strengthening the pack. He wanted Omegas to have a chance to move up rank in the pack. Daniel was upset about this. He wanted to keep a clear distinction between the warriors and workers in the pack.”

“Was it a heated argument?”

I nod, looking at my hands. “It was. I’ve never heard a Beta speak to their Alpha that way. My dad smelled me from outside the door and sent me away quickly. I didn’t see them argue again, but Tyler told me it wasn’t great between the two of them. Dad was considering stepping down and letting Tyler have the pack, and bring in a new Beta.”

I sigh and look around the room again, not really sure what information is important to him. “They didn’t tell me much about what was going on. They all just treated me like I couldn’t handle knowing any information, so they just kept me in the dark about everything. I don’t know if they were planning to actually have Tyler take the pack or if it was just an idea, but they took out all his friends last night, too.”

I swallow hard as a few tears escape and I quickly wipe them away. “It’s alright, Celeste. This information is helpful.” He reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket and hands me a handkerchief.

I take it from him and offer a weak smile of appreciation. “I was with my mom and brothers when they started the attack. There were some omegas upstairs gathering laundry and they hid me in a basket and took me away quickly. I didn’t see them kill my brothers,” I say, stopping to take a breath and compose myself. “I saw their bodies after they found me, though. I’m certain they’re dead.”

“The Omegas tried to hide you?”

“Yeah,” I nod, now just freely crying. “The scent of the laundry on top of me was enough to get me out of the house, but the warriors still tracked my scent. Daniel seems to have been working with most of our warriors. I guess they didn’t want the omega kids in school with their own, but I really don’t know if that was the problem. They… they tortured and killed my mom and made me and my dad watch. I thought they would kill me next, but Daniel wouldn’t let them hurt me. He said I was valuable and they could sell me. They killed my dad next, right in front of me.”

David moves his arm and places it around me, gently rubbing my back in an attempt to comfort me. “How did you get away?”

“They let me go,” I tell him, sniffling. “I think it was just supposed to be a way to torture me. They didn’t expect me to actually get away.”

“I’m glad you did,” he says softly, gently pulling me to his side and wrapping his arm around me. “I’m sorry, but I really needed to know so we can keep you safe now.”

I nod against his chest, understanding, but that doesn’t make the situation any easier. We stay like that for a while. It’s odd, because I don’t know this man, but I feel so very safe with him.

“My parents were killed in an attack by another pack,” he says and I pull back to be able to look at him. “I don’t think it was targeted, but they also killed my mate in the attack. I hadn’t marked her yet,” he says with a small chuckle. “She wanted a big ceremony, so I was waiting for her to arrange that.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him softly and place my hand over his where it’s resting on my knee. “That’s horrible.”

He nods at me, continuing. “I find myself without a Luna, or the knowledge of how to do anything that she would do. I’m a 19-year-old Alpha who has no clue how to do any of this. I kept my dad’s Beta just to have help from someone who knew what to do.”

“I’m sure you’re doing a great job,” I tell him and he smirks at me.

“Ralph has done all the work, so far,” he tells me, shaking his head. “He’s been so helpful. I would have lost the pack without him.”

I nod at him with a smile. “He’s always been very kind to me.”

He nods at me with a small smile. “You find yourself with all the knowledge of how to be a Luna, but without a pack or a mate to protect you.” He’s right. It’s probably my one applicable skill.

“So what do you think?” he asks me and I shrug, unsure of his very generous offer. “I know that eventually you’ll be of age and meet your mate. Or maybe since you’ve already shifted you’ll find him sooner, but can you help me out until then? I think we could make a pretty good team.”

It’s generous, almost too generous. “How will I meet my mate? What if they’re not from this pack?”

“You can accompany me to all Alpha conferences,” he tells me confidently. “Your mother was right. With your Alpha genetics, your mate is likely to be an Alpha, or in the line of one. At the very least, a Beta, and they’re usually in attendance, too. You’ll become a member of this pack and when the day comes, I’ll willingly let you leave with him. There won’t be any issues, and I’ll make it clear that you're my acting Luna, and not my mate.”

It’s a good deal. I’m all alone and have absolutely no one to protect me now. Audrey’s dad would probably, but he’d never put me before her and her mom if things got bad. But how do I know he’ll keep his word?

“Can I think about it and let you know soon?” I ask him and he nods. “It’s just a really big decision and so much has changed so quickly.”

“I understand,” he tells me with a smile. “Take all the time you need.”