Chapter 20 Lucien

I tore myself out of bed, shortly after dawn, leaving Vanessa sound asleep. The lawyers gave us a short reprieve instead of our original month long tour the continent post bonding.

That got blown to hell. My wolf, Auron, spat at me.

We still weren’t on speaking terms. He remained thoroughly pissed off I severed our original bond with the waif and created one with Vanessa.

He refused to openly participate in creating a deeper bond. It was only when we lit the nightly herbs that he complied.

But the bond was there, that’s all that mattered.

Auron would come around over time. How could he not see how perfect she was for us and the Pack?

It’s fine. I countered. You’d see that if you weren’t being such a stubborn ass about it.

Who’s being the ass? He quipped and threw up the wall, silencing the conversation.

I turned the shower faucet off with more force than I should have and nearly turned it a complete circle. Breaking the shower before Vanessa got her morning shower wouldn’t end well for me.

I smiled at my reflection. Learning her nuances was a game I liked to play. It let me push her buttons, and well, if she didn’t reign it in, she learned her lesson at the end of the day.

She didn’t mind the power play dynamic. If anything, I think she taunted me on purpose, just so she could experience the repercussions.

I had to tuck myself in as I pulled up my trousers. No walking out of the bedroom with a hard on.  Wouldn’t look good.

Who am I kidding? I’m the Alpha. If I want to walk around with a boner for my mate, who the fuck is going to say anything.

They’d all behave like Kane. Keep their eyes focused on mine, not my dick.

I heard Vanessa rustle the sheets and pad across the room.

“Mmm,” she mumbled and kissed my chest, right over my heart. “Today’s the first official meetings. Right?”

“Uh-huh,” I replied, taking a handful of boob toward my mouth.

She pulled back. “Gimme a few. I’ll shower quick and head down with you.”

“Nah,” I replied nonchalantly, still focused on her bare chest. “Pack-business.”

The temperature in the steamy bathroom chilled by at least ten degrees.

“Well, aren’t I Pack?” She asked, hands on hips, eyebrow arched.

I realized my fuck-up and tried to backpedal. “Of course, you’re Pack. This is Alpha business though, not Luna business.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me. Luna business? What does that entail? Knitting Circle, quilting, baking bread?”

Pffft. Auron sneered. Orielle wouldn’t be like this.

Who is Orielle? I asked without thinking, then remembered. Never mind.

This time I threw up the wall.

Shifting back to my mate, I grabbed her upper arms and rubbed them. “Is there a problem with Alpha and Luna here?”

Her eyes searched mine before she answered with a quiet ‘no’.

“Good,” I said leaning down to give her a quick kiss. “I’d hate to have to punish you later.”

“Oh, you’re so bad,” she said with a smile that never quite reached her eyes. “But I love it. You might just have to do it anyway.”

“My pleasure,” I said as I gave her bottom a squeeze. My focus completely gone.

“Go away now. I need to take my shower.” She quipped, shooing me away. Then over her shoulder she added, “And think of ways to earn a punishment.”

I audibly groaned and readjusted myself. “You’re gonna be the death of me woman.”

“Yeah, but won’t it be fun during the process,” her laughter died out when she turned on the water.

Time to meet that Pack vultures. I mean lawyers.

It was quiet as I went down the grand staircase that ended at the Pack House entryway. I had my shirt all buttoned and tucked in, looking very Alpha-like in my opinion.

Kane appeared at my side with a cup of coffee for me. I sipped while he briefed me on pack activities while we walked toward my Father’s office, now my office.

There were a few things that would need my immediate focus today.

The primary school teacher found his mate on bonding ceremony night, he was now on an extended leave, visiting his new mate’s pack and her family.

There were some signs of human hunters on the upper range.

The security team needed to brief me on new protocol now that I was Alpha. I can’t imagine that it changed much from being the heir. Kane suggested we do that first.

The training barracks needed upgrading.

Communications needed upgrading.

Some of the elderly pack members’ homes needed upgrading.

The shit goes on and on. It was all I could do not to shift and run and not stop. Apparently, Dad didn’t spend a lot of money modernizing things.

We paused outside the closed door of Dad’s office. When I opened this door, it all became real. No turning back, no pretending it was up to somebody else.

I twisted the knob and shoved the door wide. Taking the room in as a whole, single entity.

The room that seemed so daunting as a child was now mine. The responsibilities rested on my shoulders.

Even though it had been over a week since he’d last graced this doorway, the room still smelled and felt like him. I missed him all over again.

Would it be like this every time I came in here?

I glanced around the room. Decades of Alpha covered the walls. From old photos with younger Alphas from other packs, to various Great Council awards for his outstanding leadership, to family photos. It was all here. Dad’s life summed up in one room.

Dad’s greatness right before my eyes.

Would I live up?

Could I live up?

Did I want to live up?

As much as I bitched and moaned about taking over too soon.  I loved this land, these wolves, and the life we led.

It was time to start a new chapter in the Silverpine legacy.

My chapter.