"Zane, Mercedes' parents have arrived."
Jace entered my office, where I wanted to get some work done while my mate was asleep. I nod and get up from my chair. Together we enter the elevator to the Alpha floor. When we step into my bedroom, we see Mercedes sleeping like an angel on my bed. Seeing her like this fills my heart with so much love for her. I immediately swear to myself that I will always protect her and make her happiness my number one priority.
Elise has fallen asleep next to her but is up as soon as we arrive.
“She was drained. While bathing her, she was already falling asleep," my sister whispers, not to wake Mercedes right away. She's slept for about two hours, probably not nearly enough to rest fully. But her parents are waiting, I have to convince them that their daughter is unharmed. I am well aware that I am under strict surveillance, everyone will want to know how I maintain the relationship with my mate.
Carefully I sit down next to my mate.
“Little one, you have to wake up now”, I say softly, stroking her face lightly. Slowly her eyes open and a happy smile crosses her lips. "Zane". She sits up and wraps her arms around my neck. My wolf purrs with pleasure to have his mate so close.
"Did you sleep well? Go wash your face so we can meet your parents." I pick her up and put her on her feet. We wait for her to finish and then walk out of the room. Much to my surprise, she grabs my hand on her own and stands next to me in the elevator as we zip down. "Are you still hungry, shall I ask the cook to bring you some more?" I ask to disguise my pleasure in her act. She nods furiously, making us all laugh. Everyone knows by now that eating is her favorite activity.
I see Jace go straight into the mind link. “Well, the cook has counted on you to be hungry and has already prepared your Cereals,” he tells her. Immediately her face lights up as she looks happily at me.
When we are on the ground floor, we go straight to my office. There is a sitting area where Mercedes can entertain her Cereals while I talk to her parents. When we are all seated, a servant brings the food. Immediately afterward, the Head Warrior enters with the parents. We all get on our feet, I walk with outstretched hand to the Beta and his mate.
“Welcome to Midnight Moon, Beta”, I greet them. "As you can see, your daughter is safe here in my pack." I take them to the table where Mercedes is feasting on her meal. But when she sees her parents, she jumps around their necks in a gathered embrace. “Daddy, Alpha Zane is so sweet to me. He says I can stay here when I'm on vacation at school”, she exclaims enthusiastically. "I told him I would ask you first."
Her parents nod but remain silent. "Why don't you stay here finishing your meal while we talk to the Alpha, sweetie?" says her father. "Then we can go home." Mercedes glances at me before turning back to her diet.
The couple returns to my desk where I offer each a chair. “Beta Marc, Selin. We found your daughter at our pack site. We don't know how she got here, but I detected the scent of Silver Moon pack members on my land," I tell them. “I cannot confirm any connection to your daughter's disappearance. We are still investigating.”
Beta Marc looks at me intently and I resist his gaze.
“Alpha Ahri suggested that you kidnapped her and brought her here. And now you're claiming she's your fated mate," he declares in a high tone. His mate immediately takes his hand to calm him down. “Yes, as soon as my Beta informed me of his discovery, I went to the site. Never before has anything like this happened, at least I've never heard of a pup being found miles from home on its own.”
I deliberately ignore the Beta's subtle accusation. He knows it is not his place to make such a comment, but he now has the advantage of being my father-in-law. Any other lower-ranking who had made such a comment in my presence would be already on their way to the morgue.
“And I confirm that she is my fated mate. My wolf Jax recognized her as such. I hope he can convince your wolf too”, I tell him. “So, I have a proposal. You know that mates need to be together to strengthen their bond. Especially for me, it is important as an Alpha. My mate will not only strengthens me but also takes my pack into a better mental balance”.
“And what's your suggestion, Alpha? My daughter is just a pup. The mating is only possible when she is eighteen," her mother now says with concern. Mercedes is a miniature of the woman sitting in front of me now, albeit with a conspicuous birthmark near one ear. She is probably of Alpha descent, from a different pack than Silver Moon. It is common for sisters of Alphas to mate with Betas on their own or from another pack.
“I know that too. I don't have any plans to claim Mercedes before she's eighteen. Again, I'm a healthy man, not a pervert," I say dryly. “I propose to have Mercedes in Midnight Moon during the school and public holidays whenever there is an opportunity and she wants to. And I will visit her at your house. Until she's eighteen and she accepts me as her mate. Then we will have a grand Luna ceremony here in my pack”.
My thoughts drift to that moment. An adult Mercedes comes on stage, our hands intertwined, and is greeted enthusiastically by my pack as their Luna. In the meantime, we already have each other's marks. My heart is already beating at the prospect.
I hear someone laughing softly and when I look up, I see a smiling Beta female Selin. “Alpha, my wolf is convinced. And the look on your face at the prospect of my daughter accepting you at eighteen is priceless," she claims, before turning to her mate. “Honey, the Alpha's proposal is acceptable. If the Moon Goddess has arranged for them to meet this way, we shouldn't keep them apart. I do trust the Alpha.”
Beta Marc looks at his mate doubtfully. “Indeed, I've never heard negative reports about Midnight Moon with minors,” he admits reluctantly. “Let's let her come here on weekends first before she goes out for long periods,” he offers. Yes, that can do. I stare happily at my new in-laws. I stand up and shake hands with them both. “I assure you that you will never regret this. I will be in your pack in a week to confirm our agreement with Alpha Ahri.” In the mind link, I instruct Jace to prepare appropriate gifts for my in-laws while I have a meal with them in the dining room.
“Beta, I insist you have the meal here with me. You would want to know more of me, know who your daughter's mate is," I suggest. Thankfully they accept my offer...
Mercedes Three Years Later…“Clarita, I'm not feeling well. My head hurts terribly and I have cramps in my stomach”, I tell my friend who is sitting next to me in the classroom. “This has been going on since last night. This morning I took some medication and thought it would be over by now.” I clutch my stomach again as a stab of pain pulls through. I can barely contain a cry.Clarita looks at my miserable self.“Go home quickly. I'll tell the teacher that you’re feeling sick”, she exclaims, already standing to help me out of my seat. Bending slightly forward, I walk out of the classroom. When we are outside the school building, Clarita looks around. “Is Zane coming to get you today? I don't see his car anywhere," she asks with interest.I look at her from the corners of my eyes.For a long time, I have suspected that she has a crush on my mate. Every time she mentions his name, I hear a longing undertone. At first, I thought I imagined it, but when I noticed she inquired about him a
Zane jumps out of his car and sprints to me.“Love, let me take you to the doctor quickly. Since this morning, I already felt that your body is changing," he explains, picking me up bridal style. I put my face on his neck and inhale his scent deeply. Just as I expected, the cramps immediately subsided and were not as painful anymore.Zane told me a long time ago that he can sense certain emotions in me. But once we are mated, that will increase. Because of the mate bond, I will also experience everything he feels, joy and anger, pain and sadness. But now he’s only able to perceive my pain and utter joy.He places me in the passenger seat and kisses me on the forehead. “Hold on, we'll be there in a minute”, he encourages me. Quickly he is back behind the wheel, turns the car nimbly and then we are on the road at high speed. Within a few minutes, we are at the pack’s hospital. He puts me on a bed and walks to the reception. “Can a doctor examine my mate? She has severe stomach cramps,"
The great hall of Silver Moon is bursting at the seams.The heavy base of the Afrobeat reverberates from the speakers, shaking everything on the pack land to its foundations. It's my sixteenth birthday, Zane has thrown out a big party for me. We have live bands performing on the massive stage and later in the evening, a DJ will mix the best songs all together to a powerful beat.The mood is top, never before has Silver Moon experienced so much bustle. Just for this day, Alpha Ahri permitted members of Midnight Moon entry to celebrate this day with me in my pack. This makes my birthday doubly special.And I’m telling you, everyone is present, young and old enjoy to the fullest. The drinks flow freely and the huge catering offers so many choices of dishes. The hall is also beautifully decorated, Zane has appointed a team responsible for the decoration and I must admit they did quite a successful job. This is the most lavish birthday party in my pack's history.I stand on
The party is lit. I dance in my mate's arms all night long, we grind, touch and kiss on the big dancefloor. Sometimes we are interrupted by new guests who still want to congratulate me, but we stay close to each other. In our relationship there is no room for third parties, we have enough of each other and remain true to our golden rule that the opposite sex does not come too close. Then we come close to Alpha Ahri, the old fox swings with a young werewolf, like he's in the old eighties. “Ahem, Alpha, are you having a good time?” I can't help teasing. Behind me, I hear a muffled laugh from Zane. Alpha Ahri looks up and when he sees me watching him, he turns beet red with embarrassment. Guilt is written all over his face. “Yes, yes”, he stammers while making frantic efforts to keep the voluptuous woman away. “Congrats Alpha, this party is amazing. Thank you for taking such good care of my pack member,” he turns to Zane, guiltily avoiding eye contact with me. Alpha Ahri clearly had no
Alpha Zane's POVThe expression on the rejected Alpha's face is priceless.I can barely suppress a grin. The boy clearly didn't come with the intention of having an innocent dance with my mate. He has been following her with lusty eyes all evening. He has his sights set on Mercedes.If that’s really the case, he has underestimated me. I was well prepared for evil hawks like him.For years I've done research on girls' development through puberty. Look, I'm a man, I only have experience of how boys transform into men. So, I did some research, talked to the elderly, kept my sister busy and spent evenings on the internet obtaining information. That is inherent in having a young, up growing fated mate.I learned that girls experience hormonal changes early on and in their innocence, seek the attention of boys who are eagerly waiting for their first sex. Their attention to beauty and make-up, their insecurities, I immersed myself in all these factors and sought advice. I want a confident Lu
With eyes full of disbelief, my woman stares at the car.I hold the keys in the air, but she won't take them. Mercedes takes my hand and pulls me with her to this exquisite model, I was also very impressed when I first saw it. At the vehicle, she runs her finger over the body while making a round. I follow her like a puppy, observing her closely. She is clearly happy, I think I passed here too.“Do you like it, love?” I inform to be sure. She raises her eyes to me and then I see the tears. "Did you really get this for me, Zane?" she whispers in awe. "I've just learned to drive, aren't you afraid I'll wreck it?" I smile. “It's yours, my heart. You can do whatever you want with it. But I know that you take good care of the things you love.” A broad smile comes over her face, with a jump, she is in my arms.“Thank you, Zane. I love you too. You made this day so special for me,” she screams aloud. She lets go of me again and walks to the passenger's side. Even before she gets in, she shou
Carefully I place her on the bed full of roses. I take off my jacket and unbutton my shirt halfway. My mate watches all my movements, I can hear her breathing a little faster. I spread her legs with a knee and slowly lay over her, propped up on my elbows. I give her all the time to get used to the new situation, I know that after tonight our relationship will be completely different. “Zane,” she whispers expectantly. My hand runs over her thighs and pushes her dress up. She helps me pull it over her head and throw it in the corner of the room. And then she lays before my eyes in sexy lingerie. Aahh, my mate had her own plans for tonight too. Just as I thought before, if I didn't intervene in time, she would drive me mad, to the point where I wouldn't be able to control myself anymore. Mercedes knows she's my weakness, seducing me would be a piece of cake for her. I was able to resist her previous attempts with so much difficulty. When she came naked into my room at her parents' ho
Mercedes' POVStill with my mind on our great adventure in bed last night, I get out of my Bugatti.The striking red color immediately attracts all the attention of the students in the parking lot and at the school building. And suddenly I've got some enemies, the gossip machine has picked up speed after Zane gave me this impressive gift last week. On the Facebook Fan Page of the school, I am called all kinds of names, some students I thought were my friends are now posting all kinds of hate speech. My name is a hot topic, the comments are piling up every second. I’m called a gold digger, material girl, greedy and more of that nonsense people like to say about others. One thing's for sure, I'm the star of the school just because my mate highly values my love.But I really don't care at all.It was Zane who claimed me as his mate and not the other way around. In addition, a ten-year-old girl cannot be accused of materialism. I mean, the people who kidnapped me and took me to the Midnig