LUNA'S BAGGAGE

Chapter 7

Asher

I had finally found my mate, after all that waiting, she was here. Literally fell right into my arms but the joy I had been anticipating to accompany this milestone didn't come.

Instead, I was stuck in my office. My mind was filled with thoughts. My parents and I had a falling out because I had refused the political marriage they had arranged for me. No, I didn't banish them from the pack but went above and beyond to never be in the same place at the same time.

All I wanted was a mate destined for me by the moon goddess. My parents had a political union, but my dad ended up meeting his mate later in life. I was already born then and was there to witness just how devasted the poor woman had been, having abandoned everything to find a mate only to find a married alpha with a pup already. No way was I going to put my mate through that.

She had stayed in the pack with us for a while trying to accept her unexpected reality only for my mother to accuse her of trying to seduce her husband. She got sentenced to death but luckily managed to escape in the middle of the night. To this day, I still think my dad aided in her escape.

My mum must have had the same thought too, because their relationship hasn't been the same since then. To the public, they presented a strong front, but behind closed doors things were different.

I vowed then that I would wait for my predestined mate. My parents, of course, did not share the same sentiments but I stood my ground. I had shut down all talks about marriage and they had begrudgingly let me be.

I could already hear them mocking me for having a human mate. Even though most wolves hadn't been exposed to humans before, it was a well-known fact that humans were lesser creatures. No one respected humans in this part of the country. A human Luna would be the biggest joke.

I could hear the grumbling of my pack through the pack link, the upcoming full moon and the arrival of my very human Luna. Yes, word had gotten round. “Ah s**t! I'm doomed”, that was the recurring thought in my mind. What to do, what to do? Not once in my life had I ever thought of rejecting my mate. Call me a stickler, but I believe the moon goddess made someone specifically for each wolf. Some that fit perfectly.

The only problem was, I had refused to have a political marriage and the pack didn't look like they were ready to accept a human Luna. Heck, even I was't ready and she was mine!

‘Go see mate now' my wolf demanded, interrupting my internal struggle. He didn't seem enthusiastic when he realized our mate was human, much less a mother of three. Did that mean wolves stayed chaste till they found their mates? Not really. My parents would be a great example of this. Not me though. I had decided to wait and it seemed really unfair that my mate didn't accord me the same courtesy.

Yes, she's human, I know that. I also know that humans don't have the concept of mates, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less.

'GO SEE MATE NOW!' Of course he was pissed off. 'FIND MATE NOW!'

He was even more anxious than he'd been earlier.

I heard the howls right when I got out of my office, talk about good sound proofing! I needed that for my own sanity, whilst all werewolves had super-hearing, mine proving better than everyone else's.

I knew very well where the howling was coming from. The place I frequented most in the pack and the house I had just handed to my human mate. I did the whole project myself, well, most of it. For my mate, everything had to be done to perfection. Therefore, it took years, perfectly laying down each stone, the interior furnishings, everything I thought my mate and I would need.

It was almost sunrise and there were several pack members still surrounding the house, howling at the top of their voices as if trying to irritate the occupants as much as possible.

How petty.

"DISPERSE!" I growled out an Alpha's tone. None of us were pleased with the current situation, throwing childish tantrums wasn't going to solve anything.

Deep inside I felt bad that they had probably had a terrible night, especially after the tiresome trip all the way here.

'Hopefully they get some rest now.' I sighed to myself, making sure to warn them against repeating the same. (What he didn't know was that the people he was trying to let have a good rest had an unwanted guest, rendering his help useless.)

The quiet morning I was expecting didn't come either. I walked into a scene that had me ready to strangle whoever got in my way. There she was, my mate, surrounded by the very pack members I had warned a few hours earlier. I could hear everything they were shouting at her. She had eggs dripping down her whole back. The exposed parts are dotted with ugly bruises, showing just how much damage has been done to her. Then I noticed the one thing that made my heart flutter. Her babies were dry and safe under her protective arms.

'Would she protect our pups like this too?' I couldn't help but wonder to myself. Banishing the thought as soon as it arose, she is a human and I hadn't considered accepting her, much less having pups together.

It suddenly got quiet, they had finally noticed my presence, the look on my face showing just how angry I was. A wolf's first instinct was to protect its mate and I had witnessed mine being abused right before my eyes.

"What do you think you are doing?" At least they had the self awareness to feel ashamed of what they were doing. I had to repeat my question. No one had the guts to answer me, especially since I had warned them earlier. It was the same group of people that were howling at her window the previous night.

"Whose idea was this to attack this lady and her children?" It was obvious they had planned these events. The first time may have been written away as a coincidence, but the very same people appearing together at the same place at the same time twice was obviously a plan.

What a loyal bunch of idiots. No one was willing to sell out the mastermind, so I did what I did best, singled out the weak link and threatened her. It did not take much effort to find the culprit.

Melanie! That b***h!

My anger was quickly dissolved by the sound of my mate's laughter. The pack members had referred to me as Alpha and she had thought that was my actual name. Her eyes glistened with joy as she informed me of my parents' obsession with the letter A. She rambled on for a bit before introducing herself and her children to me. Apparently she was a J person, which was why all the children's names began with a J.

Alison, beautiful name for a beautiful person. I could not stop myself from smiling when she put our names together before giggling and saying we were destined! If only she knew how right she was. The self-introduction made me happy. This was the only time I had seen her genuinely smile. So beautiful, I was so caught up in my happy thoughts that I failed to avoid her hand.

The tingling feeling that arose from where our skin made contact was something expected, but somehow my heart still raced faster, my wolf demanding that I pull her into my arms. She must have felt something too because she tried to hold onto my hand to see if I had done something to her.

I quickly snatched my hand away, doing everything I could to calm down my heart and wolf, before ordering the problematic pack members to follow me to the pack house. Only Gracey was left behind to cater for Alison's needs. I specifically chose her because one, she was the shop owner and two, she feared authority. Which explained why I had also singled her out to find out the mastermind of this plan.

I looked like a jail warden followed by inmates going to face disciplinary actions for mistakes made. Not a voice could be heard as we made our way across the pack grounds. Melanie, of course, tried to act less scared. When I remembered just how pitiful Alison looked as the crowd she had gathered threw insults and eggs at her.

I avoided pack females. That was a fact, mostly because half the unmated ones threw themselves at me and Melanie tended to attack anyone of the opposite gender that I treated differently. A visiting Alpha and her daughter had to leave early because of Melanie playing 'pranks' on her. Her shampoo had been replaced with hair removal cream and the horror that had ensued later was unimaginable. The peace treaty I had just signed was torn to pieces right before my face before they stormed out of my pack. That wasn't the worst of it.

If it were my wish, she would not exist in this pack anymore, but she was my best friend's sister and my parent's best friend's daughter. Every time I was going to punish her, these people always spoke for her with my parents, using the fact that I had refused their proposal for a political marriage to force me into agreeing to let her be.

Not this time, that was my mate! Her new plan had hurt my mate. I had let her go other times because the things she'd done hadn't affected me personally, but not this time. Alison must have been devasted before my arrival at the store. She hadn't chosen any of this but was bearing the brunt of the moon goddess' decision.

"Lock her in the pack dungeon." I told the guard at the pack house entrance, pointing towards Melanie. It was about time she faced the consequences of her actions. This time no one was going to talk me out of it, her getting away with many things had made it easier to mobilize people to attack Alison, as most of them believed she had some sort of authority in the pack.

I had taken the long way back to the pack house, making most of them anxious enough for them to start arguing through the pack link. Some were remorseful, whilst others believed 'the human', as they referred to Alison, should not be the Luna and therefore needed to be chased away. The only thought they had in common was their support for Melanie to be the pack Luna.

I knew Melanie had wild ambitions, but I didn't think she had managed to convince pack members to side with her. It was better to nip things in the bud before they get too far.

"You can't do this to me! Asher!" See what I mean? It had gotten into her head that she would always be safe no matter what she did. "Throw her in the dungeon!" I would think of ways to punish her later.

"Don't touch me! I'm the Beta's sister!" All her screaming landed on deaf ears, of course. Pack warriors only listened to the highest authority. I watched with satisfaction as she was dragged away kicking and screaming.

"The rest of you shall take over omega duties for the next three months." Sure they had been instigated by Melanie but they were adults and should have known better. A group of people with big egos making them do the duties of people they considered less than them was the best punishment, but above all, I was trying to warn the pack against going after Alison.

Would my mate still want to live here after the bad experiences?