James knew that they were stuck with the reality where he was James Redmayne, the future Alpha of the Red Moon pack without an Alpha aura, and he was facing the most beautiful woman in the world who was his mate and who squirmed under his hungry gaze, and somehow… she made his heart sing, which was not a bad thing, not even a little bit.
James chuckled. "You are lovely when you blush."
"I'm not blushing.", Cornelia said quickly.
James lifted her hand to place small kisses on her knuckles. "Whatever you say, gorgeous."
Caden whistled loudly. "Who said that teens don't have their courting game on?"
James knew that this jab was directed at him, but he couldn't care less. His chocolate-colored Goddess was in front of him, and nothing else mattered. He didn't want to allow dark thoughts about his father to spoil this moment, and compared to that, Caden's teasing was nothing.
"Maybe you should look at your mate, and not at teens.", Maya said from the door, getting Caden's full attention.
Caden grinned at Maya. "I see that the Moon Goddess gave me her blessings early." He sashayed toward Maya and pulled her close to him, making sure that their hips were connected firmly so she can feel that he was hard already.
"Tonight, we make pups.", Caden's breath splashed against her ear.
Maya burst into giggles and pushed him away, but without any strength, careful not to make smudges of the black patterns that still didn't dry on his skin.
Mindy made a beeline toward Gideon and twirled on her toes so that he can see her from every angle. "What do you think?"
"I fear I will forget the steps for the ritual.", Gideon said.
Mindy didn't get it. "Nonsense. We practiced more than once. But just in case, I will stand close to you and whisper if you forget something."
Gideon chuckled. "The closer you are, the more I will forget."
Mindy stifled a laugh when she realized that he will forget steps of the ritual because of her. "I take that as you approve of your mate in this outfit."
"I approve of you without an outfit, just how mother nature intended, but this will do.", Gideon said with a straight face, but the twinkle in his eyes spoke about mischief and all the X-rated things he wanted to do with Mindy.
Mindy slapped his shoulder playfully. "Come on, we should go out first. People are waiting."
Mindy was nervous. For everyone else, this was the ceremony before the pack run, but for her, it was also the ceremony where she will officially become a member of the Dark Howlers pack. She wished that Maddox and her parents were present, but she knew that according to ancient customs of werewolves when a she-wolf finds her mate, he becomes her family. Mindy's family didn't want to cut their ties with her completely, and she loved that part, but she still missed them.
A pair of strong arms circled Mindy's waist from behind.
"How about tomorrow you call your brother and decide on a good time for us to visit your family?", Gideon asked.
Mindy craned her neck to look at him. "Are you serious?"
Gideon kissed the tip of her nose. "I am serious about getting to know the family where my spitfire mate grew up. Who knows, maybe we will get along? I have a suit and a necktie, and I wonder if it still fits me well."
Mindy smiled and leaned into him. Somehow, his words made her miss her family a bit less. "I will call Max tomorrow."
Dawn peeked into the room in time to see Gideon and Mindy stepping out through the side door.
Dawn's whole world stopped as she gaped at George. His torso was exposed, showing not only the tattoo on his chest but also numerous patterns that were drawn with black paint, telling stories of fights worthy of an Alpha that was presenting himself as a Commander from the Red Moon pack. Dawn was confident that only Damon had more artwork on his body, but she couldn't look away from George to compare and confirm.
George's lips lifted into a smug smirk at the sight of Dawn who was obviously dazed by his appearance.
George regretted that he didn't have his spoils from hunting handy that came in form of impressive necklaces so that he can put them all around Dawn's neck, and he regretted even more that this was not their pack where Dawn would show up as his Luna and be celebrated by their people.
"What's got into you?", Dawn asked George. She could feel his emotions through their mate bond.
George didn't want to share his thoughts and spoil the mood. "I regret that I can't join the pack run." As an outsider, George will attend the ceremony, but not join the run. When in wolf form, werewolves are more susceptible to following their instincts than reason, and another dominant wolf would definitely confuse members of the Dark Howlers pack which can be seen as a challenge to the existing hierarchy. George didn't want to fight with Damon or his generals, at least not in this setting.
Dawn smiled and put her arms around George's neck. "We can have a run of our own.", she said teasingly. "Wouldn't you like to hunt for your mate tonight?"
A low growl formed in George's throat.
"The hunt is on.", George said, and then he took Dawn's breath away with a kiss that made her toes curl.
Petra, Zack, and Erik entered the living room, dressed for the occasion. Three teens were not of age, but as junior warriors, they had the right to join the pack run.
The teens were not sure if they should approach James and Cornelia who were holding hands and talking in whispers; the mood over there was definitely cozy.
Petra smiled at the sight of James who embraced the idea of meeting his mate early. She didn't know how James and Cornelia will make it work, but she was confident that the Moon Goddess wouldn't arrange for them to meet if there was no way for James and Cornelia to end up together. The Moon Goddess knows best, and she doesn't make mistakes.
"You three!", Caden called for Petra, Zack, and Erik to come closer. "I have a task for you. I need you to go out there and spread information about how Alphas have something special going on. Talia won't be here for the ceremony because Damon will need to find her, and after the ceremony, the rest of the pack will join them…"
It was to cover up the fact that Talia and Damon will be absent, and Caden added, "Feel free to shut up any Elders who are using this to sow discord. Tell them that our Alpha needs to prove himself as worthy of his mate by hunting for her. It's a tradition we all followed and if they have a problem with that, they can complain to the Moon Goddess."
Petra, Zack, and Erik moved out, this time with a goal on their minds.
