His bluntness took me, so by surprise I wasn’t sure what to say. He expected me to reject him? Something in me softened at that. “Is that what you want?”
Michael laughed again, shaking his head. “Is that what I want? No one has given a damn what I wanted in my entire life, Peaches. Why start now?” His tone was bitter through his laughter.
“Peaches?” I repeated. Where had that come from? He shrugged as a reply. I sighed and sat cross-legged on the floor. “I should reject you. It’s what everyone expects and might even insist. Your father’s cruel hand has hurt people even here.”
“My father was a thorough man, if nothing else,” Michael replied, his voice dull and flat.
“He was also strong and
“Yes, Luna,” Koreyon said with a quick nod.The third elder, Brandon, scoffed, then sniffed in his obvious disapproval. I ignored him. Charles pinned me again with his stare. “You want to continue this absurd course of action, fine, but what is your plan? Just wait and see what happens?”“Of course not,” I replied. “I have selected a few men who will go undercover as rogues to find out who is recruiting them. From there, follow up the chain until I find out who is responsible for this, then deal with them accordingly. Our patrols will increase in number and frequency, acting harshly on any activity that seems suspicious.”Again, Brandon scoffed with a sniff of disapproval. Edward scratched his wiry chin. “And what of that Michael Howe?”
“He came into my territory…” I started.“Is Mike causing trouble?” she asked. The shortening of his name in such a familiarity threw me a little and a hint of possessiveness stabbed at me.“No, not exactly,” I said, trying to regain my footing. “He got caught up in a rogue attack on my territory, but that’s not the reason for my call.” I took a deep breath, then continued. “Michael is my mate. I need to know more about him before I decide to reject or accept him. I figured who better to ask than you.”She looked at me like I was crazy. “Me? You are aware of our history, right?”“Of course. You’ve seen him at his worst and you gave him a second chance. There has to be a reason
With a plan in mind, I picked up my phone and set things in motion. When I finished, I called Mario. “Ready the car. I want to return to the detention center.”“Yes, Luna,” he replied, and I end the call.This was the right decision, I told myself as I left the office and the pack house. Mario just pulled out of the garage. He got out to open the back passenger door for me. “So you’ve made your decision?”“I have,” I replied, getting in. As we drove, I explained, “The pack needs stability and I think we all agree that having my mate by my side will give us that stability.” Through the mirror, I could read Mario’s thoughts about Michael. “I won’t deny he has his issues, but many people, many alphas, are afraid of him. We could use tha
I looked over my shoulder and beamed a bright smile at Michael before I walked into the house. Despite that, it was late Monday morning there were still several people in and about the house. I waved and smiled at those who crossed our path. Those who dared look at Michael longer than a few seconds got a growl from him. Some of the bolder wolves even got a few colorful insults. “That’s not doing you any favors, you know,” I told him in a sweet tone.“I don’t want any favors! I want the hell out of here!”Ignoring him, I stopped before the door of his new room. I turned the knob and opened it, revealing the small but tasteful room. Decorated minimally in whites and soft grays, so a man or a woman would find the room comfortable to be in. “This will be your room for now,” I told him and walked inside.
I sighed as I watched him leave. That didn’t go how I wanted it at all. While Flinn was wrong, I wouldn’t let Michael break me. I didn’t want us to end like this. I would have to talk to him later when everything calmed down. For now, I had work to do.I got everything done, taking a working lunch, to be free in time for dinner. At seven, I knocked on Michael’s door. He opened it and by the scowl on his face; it seemed his mood hadn’t improved. “Time for dinner. I would like it if you joined me.”“Is this a request or an order?”“I would rather it be a request, but it will be an order if it has to be,” I replied.“Uh-huh, I thought so,” Michael said, leaving the room and closing the door behind
I frowned, not liking the sudden change in the elder. He seemed enthralled with Michael. It wasn’t fair, but all I could do was watch as Michael achieved what I had worked so hard to do just by showing up.“My father or his pack were hardly models to follow, elder,” Michael replied, sounding as if he was half bored.“Well, that is true,” the elder said, rubbing his bare chin. “Perhaps… perhaps with you here, she won’t ruin the pack after all. It was a pleasure to meet with you Alpha Michael,” the elder said and turned to scurry down the hall. No doubt to tell everyone the news.When he turn his back to me I flipped him off and muttered a few colorful insults earning a laugh from Michael. “That doesn’t seem very proper luna behavior,” he replied
I practically skipped through the pack house to Doctor’s Evan’s office. With a knock on the door, I walked in. “Hey Doc, can you set up another appointment for Michael?”He sighed, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. “Alice, this won’t work if he won’t agree.”“We talked, and he agreed to come to talk to you. I swear it. I’ve learned my lesson. No more ambushing.”“That must have been some talk,” Doctor Evan said, looking at me curiously. “Alright, if he can confirm I can see him tomorrow evening.”Irritation and worry twisted my stomach. Was it going to be like this now? Anything I do would have to go through Michael? I was so not going to let that fly! “Why does he nee
Mike~~~I watched as a couple of people put the security guy on a stretcher, then carry him out of the room. Guilt sent bitter bile up my throat and put a sour taste in my mouth. I scowled at the useless emotion. I had nothing to be guilty about. It’s his damn problem. He can’t put his money where his mouth is. Yeah, I thought. My scowl changed to a smirk. It’s not my fault I kicked his ass as if he was a newborn pup.I would’ve laughed if it wasn’t for Alice glaring at me. What the hell did she want from me? She knew who I was, who my father was. What the hell did she expect? “Well, this is just great,” she said, crossing her arms. It reminded me of how my sister used to get when Dad wouldn’t buy her something stupid that she claimed she needed.