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""I'm your mate, Jeremiah. Get her out of here now!" My best friend, Alpha Jeremiah, has found his mate, which should be a cause for celebration. Yet she hates me — because I'm a human girl, and because Jeremiah and I are tight. Ever since I was adopted by Jeremiah's parents into the werewolf world, I've never felt so unwelcome. Maybe it's time to stop being their problem and return to the human world for good... I grab my clothes and stuff them all into my bag before another wave of tears hits. Once everything is packed, I walk my two bags downstairs and set them by the front door and grit my teeth. I need to say something to Aunt Beth or she will tear this whole pack apart looking for me. I follow sounds to the common room. It doesn’t cross my mind to make myself known before I walk in. A moan and grunt and then “WHAT THE HELL?!” A female screech pierces my ears. “Oh sh*t! Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” I shield my eyes. “I was just looking for Aunt Beth before I head out.” I start to back out of the room as quickly as possible. “Ken, wait! Come back.” I hear a ton of cloth rustling and I move faster. “Nope! Not a chance. Continue, I will find her on my own, sorry for the interruption.” I continue down the hallway heading for the door fighting tears. It took less than an hour for him to be distracted enough to forget I’m even here. ‘Important’ is no longer a word anyone gets to use when it comes to how Jer feels about me. “Ken, stop.” He’s so fucking fast and right in front of me now, blocking my way to the front door. I slam my eyes closed. I’m not going to have his mate try to beat me up for looking at him naked. “Where are you going? Why do you have a bag packed? And why are you looking for Mom?” Now he’s worried? I mentally roll my eyes. “I was going to tell her I was heading out. Are you dressed? I like my eyes where they are in my face. I don't need them ripped out.” I squeezed my eyes tighter and ignored his other questions. “Yes.” He laughs. “Now look at me and tell me where you are going. What’s going on?” “I told you, I haven’t been sleeping well. I’m going to go stay at Ben’s so I’m not a problem.” “What are you talking about? I left you my shirt, that usually works when I’m gone. And since when have you ever been a problem?” “Really? Are you that dense? The shirt isn’t working anymore.” I lied. “And It became a problem when you found your mate, who you very obviously forgot to say anything to, cause she didn’t expect me based on the welcome I got when you brought her home. She doesn't want me here and you aren't going to choose.” “I’m right here, you know. Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room.” Her voice comes up close behind me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in, then out. Don’t get an attitude, don’t get an attitude, don’t get an attitude. I have to keep repeating to myself. This is not her fault, she’s just as much a victim here as I am and she has just as much if not more right to be angry than I do. “I still don't understand the problem?” Jeremiah looks from her to me and back again. It’s my turn to glare and growl and I don’t even have a wolf. Jer’s eyes go wide and he takes a step back from me. Hands up in a surrendering gesture. At least he’s smart enough to know we are both pissed, even if he doesn’t understand the problem. “Why are boys so stupid?!” I don’t yell, but my temper is getting harder and harder to control. I let out another sigh and decided to get this over with. I turn around. “Rayna, I’m Kennedy, Jeremiah’s best friend, his female best friend. I live here in the packhouse.” I gesture around me. “I’ve been here for the last three years. My mom was his mom’s best friend and I’m here because my parents died three years ago. I still have nightmares from that day and Jeremiah usually sleeps in my room with me…” I get nothing else out when she launches herself at me snarling and grabbing for my hair. She’s strong but I don’t know if she trains much, her movement is clumsy. We both fall back and I take the brunt of both our weights before flipping us both over trying to gain the advantage. I don’t want to hurt her, but I also don’t want to get hurt by her. She’s clawing at everything she can and her legs are kicking wildly underneath me. She’s snarling and growling but having a hard time getting words out. “You b*ch! You can’t have him!” She yells as she swipes at my face with her nails and distracts me enough to shift our positions and move on top of me. I can feel the blood trickle down my face. She thinks I’m just a rando girl trying to claim her man. With all the time he has spent with her even since she found out about me, he still never explained who I was. Jackass. Now I understand her frustration, I would find that shady too, and I’m fighting to get words out to reassure her while not letting her hurt me. I can only get a few choppy syllables uttered here and there while trying to hold her off. “I don’t f*cking want him you crazy ass. He’s like my brother.” I grunt as she gets a good punch to my stomach. “But you would know that if you two spent just as much time talking as you do f*cking! Now stop trying to claw my eyes out!” That made her pause long enough for me to thrust my hips and flip her on her back. I have her wrists in my hands and finally get them pinned above her head. She’s still flailing as I’m straddling her torso leaning in almost nose to nose. We are both panting, but she’s slowly stopped fighting me. Maybe she realized I’m not trying to hurt her back or my words are sinking in. Whatever, it’s working. “Stop trying to kill me. He’s like my brother.” I say again, breathing hard, now that I seem to have some of her attention. “He should have told you about me and to be honest a heads up about you would have been nice. But sometimes these boys aren’t the brightest.” I rolled my eyes and finally looked up at him just staring at us and noticed we have a whole audience. “Oh Goddess! That is so f*cking hot! How did you get so lucky?” Tommy slaps Jeremiah on the back and bites down on his lower lip. Such a perv. “So all four of you assholes just stood there and let us fight? You weren’t concerned for your best friend or your future Luna hurting each other? We should beat the sh*t out of all of you instead.” Ben and Jason roll their eyes, then Ben walks over. “You two get it out of your system?” He reaches his hand out to me. “Maybe.” I raise an eyebrow looking back at her, slowly releasing her arms and sitting back, straddling her waist, waiting for her to take a cheap shot. Nothing comes so I take his offered hand. Jason helps Rayna up. I fix my clothes and run my fingers through my hair, not looking at anyone. “I’m ready Ben, let’s go.” They need to talk and decide if this is something she can deal with. I don’t want to walk away, but an Alpha needs his Luna. In this case she is more important. My friendship with Jeremiah is solely in her hands. If she says no, then that's it, for now at least. I start walking toward the front door. I set my jaw, I will not cry again. I have said my peace and I can only hope she believes my words. This is for Jeremiah to explain and fix if he wants to keep me in his life. He has to make her see what he and I are, and she has to believe it’s not romantic. “Wait, don’t go.” Her voice is sweet but confident and I don’t know if I can do this. I shake my head and keep moving. “Please, we should talk.” I keep looking at the door. “I really do need to try and sleep, that wasn’t a line. Don’t make this any harder for me. Please. I need to go.” My plea came out barely audible to my own ears, but I know they can hear me. It is getting harder to breathe. “But you live here…” She’s right behind me whispering. I know the guys can hear us though. I keep my eyes locked in the door. Each breath is controlled in and then out. “Yep… for now… and soon you will too. I need to learn how to work through the nightmares and bullsh*t on my own anyway, but this was kind of a shock.” I bend over and grab my bags, my hands still sore from my impromptu workout earlier. She stops me, her hand on mine. The first tear falls. I shake my head side to side, my heart is breaking. “Let’s go put these away and we can get to know each other. It seems like we will be spending a lot of time together.” She pulls on my hand holding the strap to my duffel bag. It wasn’t anything harsh or controlling, but something in me just snapped, and I don’t have the energy to fight her anymore. There go my tears again, stupid emotions. She takes my bag and slides her gentle hand on my upper arm turning me around. I sling my backpack on my shoulder, eyes down just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. We both walk up the stairs to head back to my room, Rayna right behind me without a backwards glance at the guys. “Ken…” Jeremiah breathes. I just shake my head and keep walking. “I think your girls just left you hanging, I hope you finished whatever you started in here brother otherwise you’re going to sleep with some blue balls.” Tommy is always the charmer. But the rest of the guys laugh as well. We get to my room and I drop my bag by my desk and take a deep breath before I turn around. I move to take my duffle from her and drop it next to my school bag. “Were you really just going to leave? No fight at all?” She seems appalled. “He’s my brother, not my boyfriend.” I’m kind of getting tired of saying that. “There’s never been anything like that between us. I understand how mates work, how integral they are. He’s an Alpha and an Alpha needs his Luna. There is nothing more important than that for the future of the pack. So yes, I was going to leave, because you don’t want me near him. You don't want me here.” I rub my face and go to sit on my bed and pat the place next to me. “I have never once run at my brother like that. I’m usually more inclined to throw something at him.” This has the effect of breaking the tension as I let out a strangled laugh. “But how close are you and your brother? In age, I mean?” “Six years difference. He’s 26, I’m 20” I nod. “ Jer and I are the same age, literally. We were born on the same day in the same hospital. That’s how close our mom’s were. My mom was visiting and they both went into labor at the same time. We are more like twins, basically raised that way.” She nods. “That explains a few things then. Not why he sleeps in your room, but we’ll get to that. What about the other guys?” “What about them?” I am trying to get my breathing under control now that she isn’t growling at me. I have a headache from all the crying too. “Oh, come on. There’s no way you left all of them alone! That much hotness and no mate yet. And they are all so protective over you. You are close with all of them, anyone can see it.” “What are you talking about ‘no mate yet?’ I’m human, do you know the odds of me being mated to someone? I can’t even be inducted into the pack, because the elders think it will kill me. I’m sure being marked would be just as bad.” I chose to skip her other statement. I don’t know her that well. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before. We don’t have any humans in our pack right now though, so I’m not sure how that works.” “No idea, but Aunt Beth won’t even entertain the idea. So I’m a human in a werewolf pack with no actual connection to the pack, living with the Alpha’s family, but not blood related.” I say darkly. “So…I believe you’ve never had any romantic interest in Jeremiah. It’s written all over your face.” She giggles, like an actual little girl. “But, you avoided my other question, that means you have given the other guys a test drive.” She winks and I look at the door, sure someone is probably listening. “Test drive is a strong phrase.” I try to dodge. "Besides, what we've done are not nearly as hot as what I walked into downstairs a little bit ago. Did he forget other people live here or is that like a mate bond thing where you get horny all of a sudden and have to f*ck right where you are?” I was kind of joking, but I admitted I wanted to see her blush. “Maybe a little of both. I mean I didn’t know you lived here and his parents are still at the meeting. They'll be back in the morning so I didn’t see anything wrong with it. And it is kind of hard to keep my hands to myself when he’s around, you’ve seen him. ” She’s blushing, but there’s a little tone of disbelief in her voice. “Knock, knock! Is it safe? I would like to be able to have kids someday, Ken.” My door cracks open and my best friend stands in the frame, but waits for me to give him the okay. “We’re fine Jer. We just had to fill in some gaps you missed because you are a moron and let your d*ck take over thinking for you.” He huffed a laugh and walked in with two mugs, set them down on the side table and climbed on my bed behind Rayna. “I brought tea, thought it might help. We have an early start tomorrow, we all need to sleep.” He can’t keep his hands to himself either and it’s really cute watching him wrap her up in his arms. Her dark hair frames her heart shaped face contrasting with his light blonde hair. She leans back into his embrace. “What’s tomorrow?” I ask, confused, grabbing for the cup of tea. It’s a blend that the healer made when I told her I was still having nightmares and nothing else is working. “We are traveling to my pack so Jeremiah can meet my brother. He’s the Alpha, but was dealing with another urgent matter so my dad and I went to the meeting in his place.” “I'm glad you did.” He nuzzles her neck and I can hear his wolf purr. “Okay please don’t have s*x in my room. You have your own for those extra curricular activities. Jer,” I slap his leg. “Thank you for the tea, I should be good. Did the guys leave already? I didn’t even think to say goodbye.” I’m trying to rush them out. As cute as it is, I have heard that new mates escalate from light touching to f*cking quickly. And that isn’t something I want to see, no matter how hot my best friend and his new mate are. “Nah, they're all in the Media room. We figured it would be easier for everyone if we all just left from here in the morning.” “Why do you all have to go?” I’m still learning all the nuances of pack politics, but the thought of all of them being gone makes my heart sink. “We are all going, you included. When an Alpha travels for more than just a couple days, usually his team goes as well as long as someone is here to run the pack and Beta Daniel is still here and my parents will be back tomorrow too.” “What does any of that have to do with me?” “I’m sure that Rayna would like to have another female along. Traveling with all males all the time, can’t be fun. Besides, you’re one of my warriors and my best friend, I would like you there when I have to meet Rayna’s brother.” “Is that code for you’re afraid of my brother?!” Rayna laughs at him. “Umm, yes Luna!” He growls in her ear. “No sass from you. She’s always the buffer when there’s too much testosterone in the room. Kennedy has actually been to several meets with me. She’s really good with all the small talk and she remembers everything. It’s very handy. It doesn't hurt that she's beautiful and typically earns attention quickly. And your brother has the biggest pack territory and is one of the most notoriously dangerous Alphas, not to mention I’m about to take his sister away. I need all the help I can get.” I ignore the backhanded distraction comment and ask, “Wait, what pack are you from?” “Dark Moon.” My eyebrows shoot up. Even I have heard of them. I can’t remember the Alpha’s name, but he is ruthless from what I have heard. He takes over weak packs and eliminates Alphas like I go to school and turn in assignments. “Relax, He’s not that scary.” “Maybe for you, he loves you, for the rest of the world he’s intimidating. If the situation was reversed and someone came and told me they were Kennedy's mate and she’s packing her stuff and leaving today. I would probably try to beat the sh*t out of them. Mate bond or not.” I laugh with Rayna and then stop and stare at him. A thought just occurred to me, “Is that why no one here tries to date me? Cause you told them you’d beat the sh*t out of them?” “Uh…no…not exactly.” “But pretty close to being accurate?” “We may have insinuated that you could handle yourself and we would take care of whatever was left over.” “Good to know there’s a ‘we’ to yell at.” I look at Rayna. “How far is the drive to your pack? I need to make sure I have enough topics to yell at them for over the whole drive.” She giggles again and Jeremiah blanches, knowing I’m not lying. He only calms when she turns her head and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Okay go, you two are making me nauseous. I will see you in the morning.” They both get up to leave and make it to the door when Jer turns, “Do you need a shirt? I can grab one.” “I still have the one you gave me a couple days ago, I should be good. I have to start weaning sometime.” And just like that, we’re back to being weird. Even with a little history I don’t know how Rayna will feel about him giving clothes that smell like him to me. “Let me know if you need me, alright?” I just nod my head. There’s no way I’m yelling for him with his mate here. I fall asleep more quickly than I have in the last 3 nights. But, I’m not sure if that’s from him being back in the packhouse or being so tired from the days' drama I had no choice. Ryker I am so sick of all these damn meetings, but I can’t say that out loud, because this was my idea in the first place. I just didn’t expect all of these former Alphas and Betas to be whiny b*tches. They get worse every time we do this. I guess this explains why they couldn’t hold onto their packs. I am supposed to be getting ready for the new Alphas ceremony. I do not envy the three new Alphas coming up. Some of the old pompous assholes like to throw their weight around and try to make these kids bow down and convince them not to make waves, but that is the point of appointing the next Alpha, new blood, new ideas. We get better and learn from past mistakes and triumphs. Some of these guys though, they need to be put out to pasture and not even allowed a seat on the Elders council. We haven’t had new Alphas come of age in a couple years. I’m not the most recent, but not too far off. I am an exception to the rule though. My dad was injured in a huge war and even with his Alpha lineage and healing powers he never fully recovered, so he appointed me Alpha at sixteen. I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for a decade now. I just know how these kids feel and I prefer to be there as a buffer. I’m known as an asshole and wear that badge proudly, especially to egotistical pricks who have worn out their welcome. Some of the other Alphas are afraid of me, or more accurately my reputation, which I use to my advantage. I tend to keep my mouth shut and let my actions do the talking and some of these kids need help straightening their backbone. “Alpha Ryker? Will you help us?” The man in front of me asks, breaking me out of my thoughts. Alpha Edward has a small pack and no heir. His Luna died in childbirth and he never took a chosen mate or found his second chance mate. This has been inevitable and he and I have been in negotiations for his pack for a while now, but there is a threat from some of his pack members that think they should be able to fight him for the position of Alpha and his warriors have come to me with rumors from neighboring packs with the same ideas. He is getting weaker and more vulnerable. He’s held on for as long as he can, but he can’t risk his pack any longer. Normally I wouldn’t get involved and let the herd thin itself out before taking over, but the neighboring packs are not known for handling business and calling it a day. They are more likely to use this as an excuse to kill at will no matter if the victim is innocent or not. Meaning women and children are going to get hurt in the fight or worse. And the fight won’t end there, it will bleed into the packs surrounding Alpha Edwards. That is where I come in. If Alpha Edward hands his pack to me willingly then there will be no, or more likely very little blood shed. There’s always one person who thinks they should be in charge and tries to challenge me. It’s rarely one of the ranked leaders too. They are usually on board with the transfer since we talk and negotiate for months before a transfer like this actually happens. They make sure that their pack is taken care of and I make sure that their future leaders have a place in my ranks. It makes no sense for a future Beta to be cut off simply because the pack merged with another and the position is currently filled. Those ranked members maintain their title as long as they understand the hierarchy. I have had to make a few examples of what happens when they don’t fall in line. “Yes, of course, Alpha Edward. How soon will you need me in your pack? I was under the impression that those challenging the merger were being handled. “I think they were just biding their time until they thought I would be too weak to stop them or fight off the challenge. I received reports of some aggression today after I left. My Beta and Gamma both have young families. I do not want to see anyone get hurt and I think they will take out anyone loyal to me, or you. I think we need to transfer immediately, I have a terrible feeling about this.” “Do not worry. I have warriors in your pack now and they will ensure that your pack members are safe until I arrive. I believe you should stay close to me though, just as a precaution. We will leave tomorrow morning and can be in your pack by midafternoon. Have your Beta set up the ceremony and we will transfer as soon as we are able.” “Thank you, Ryker.” He sounds so weary. I think he has been holding on until he could see his pack safely taken care of. I’m surprised he made it as long as he did after his mate died. Many don’t. The pain from the loss of your mate is supposed to be the worst kind of torture imaginable. Many die from a broken heart or just go mad and have to be eliminated for everyone’s safety. I have dispatched many alpha’s for that alone. That’s one of the reasons Alphas are so protective of their Lunas and why I am sometimes glad I still haven’t found mine yet. My wolf always grumbles in my head when that thought crosses my mind. An Alpha is at his strongest when he has his fated Luna by his side and would burn the world for her and anyone who managed to capture her or hurt her would have a level of control over that Alpha. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do to save her, including sacrificing anyone or anything. I ripped a man’s arms off for having the audacity to touch my little sister after she said ‘no.’ I would probably do worse to someone who even looked at my mate. Just the idea of that kind of possession presses on my chest and terrifies me. I don’t want anyone to have that kind of effect on me. Kennedy “Holy Sh*t Rayna. Your pack is beautiful!” I exclaim. We are finally in Rayna's pack. It's weird that I slept so well these days with her in the same car. I have never had another female settle me enough to sleep though, not even Aunt Beth. Maybe it’s because she’s a part of Jer, an extension of our connection is in her too because of the mate bond. Who knows. When I think I understand werewolf nature something always throws a wrench that makes me question the things that really should make sense, like mates. The hill we were going up didn’t dip back into a valley like I thought. It leveled out and the trees were full and lush, some of them even starting to change colors with the season. The path we were driving on was well maintained and the larger trees made a sort of canopy over us. Once we got past the long entry drive the path opened up to a large town that looked so classic and from a different era. It was something people would put on Christmas cards with red brick buildings and large shop windows. Everything is cozy and inviting. It looks like there are blocks of buildings that stretch into neighborhoods of homes. I knew this pack was big, but I didn't realize it was this big. We drive past a center square where a roundabout circles a central gazebo that is decorated for some special occasion. Off to one end there is a large park. I can see the top of a jungle gym in the distance. I’m going to have fun exploring here. As we drive further into the pack territory I can see the first industrial looking building and just beyond it looks like stadium seating. I wonder if that is part of their school. “Hey, Rayna. What is that over there?” I point to the building and seating. “Oh, that’s our training ground. My brother has built our pack so big that we have groups of warriors that come from all over to train, so the building is a dorm for them to stay in while they are here.” “When do they train? I would love to go watch.” “Evening training starts in a couple hours. Why don’t we all go to the packhouse and drop off our stuff, change and grab a bite to eat and then we can join. I’m sure the guys would love to move around after being your pillow the whole trip.” She laughs at me. “Food sounds amazing!” Tommy chirps from next to her and the rest of us laugh. She guides Jeremiah through the town pointing things out as we go and I can’t keep my jaw off the floor. This is nothing like the rumors say. Everything is classically timeless and gorgeous. We get to the pack house which is very grand and has a touch of the old world look to it too, but I don’t have time to admire for long, my boys are hungry and in a hurry. One of the Omegas helps us all to our rooms. I’m surprised to learn that we are on the Alpha’s floor as guests, but when I mention it to Rayna her explanation both helps me understand and confuses me. I don’t always get pack hierarchy culture and didn’t really think about different packs doing things in different ways. I always thought the Alpha and the Alpha’s immediate family liked to have a floor to themselves. It was a way to escape the pack a bit, like celebrities having a gate surrounding their mansions to keep out paparazzi. A place where no one but their designated Omegas went. I was only allowed on the Alpha floor when Aunt Beth took me in. Even Jeremiah moved down to my floor when I moved in so we could be closer, and then it helped with the nightmare problem. I guess because Rayna’s room is on this floor and Jeremiah is an Alpha and expected to stay with her, obviously, his team is housed near him. It’s to make us all feel more comfortable, being close together, rather than feeling wary of being separated. We get special treatment since we are a packaged deal with Rayna. When we get to the floor I stop in my tracks as I smell the most amazing thing I have ever smelled in my whole life. It’s Rosemary and mint and something just inherently male. Whoever is wearing this cologne might get attacked by me later, it makes my whole body tingle in ways it never has before. I notice it’s all over this floor as we walk towards our rooms. I wonder if it is a warrior who patrols here. Damn. All my lady bits are on high alert now. “You alright?” A low voice sounded behind me."