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ALLIE

After I agree to move into the pack house, things move quickly.

James comes with us to the house to pick up my stuff. I don’t have long to explain to my housemates that I’m moving out. Danielle knows why I need to leave, but the others are shocked.

“So, is he your mate?” Adam asks.

“I’m not sure.”

James growls.

I turn around to look at him. “Probably, yes, but I’m new to this whole ‘mates’ thing. I have feelings for him, feelings I’ve never felt for another wolf.

“We have agreed that there is no rush to announce that we are mates. If I move into the pack house, it will give us the opportunity to get to know each other better.”

Adam nods and lowers his head. There is no way he’s going to argue with an alpha.

“We will miss you,” Danielle tells me with tears in her eyes.

“You’ll still see me. In fact, I’ve made James promise that we can travel to classes together. I’m being assigned a bodyguard. Tomorrow morning we’ll come here and pick you up.”

“Of course, I won’t stop Allie from hanging out with all her friends. She can come and visit you, and you’re welcome at the pack house to visit her,” James promises.

I turn to look at him and give him a big smile. I’m surprised at how nice he’s being to my housemates, speaking to them politely and helping them pack my stuff. He hasn’t treated them like rogues once.

I had been worried about how he would behave. He had decided that I was his mate and not a threat, but I hadn’t expected his acceptance to stretch to other loners.

Yet again, I’m seeing a new side to him.

***

When we return to the pack house, James shows me to my new bedroom. It’s double the size of the room I had when living with Danielle and the guys.

It’s furnished with a light blue carpet and curtains. The king-sized bed and wardrobe are made of solid oak, and it’s much more luxurious than anywhere I’ve lived before.

“The ensuite bathroom is through here.” James opens a door that leads into a large bathroom with a separate bath and shower. “You’re just down the hall from me, so if you need anything I’m close by.”

“Thank you.” I’m at a loss as to what else to say.

“I’m going to look after you. Ryan will never get to you again,” he promises.

I give him a small smile. I know he cares, and I do feel reassured by his presence.

“Dinner is at six. I’ll come and collect you and take you to the pack dining room. Most of the pack will be there, but they won’t cause you any problems.”

He stops and smiles at me before he exits the room. “I’ll leave you to rest and settle in.”

***

A couple of hours later, I’ve unpacked my stuff. My clothes only fill a quarter of the large wardrobe. They’re mostly jeans and casual shirts, which have always suited me fine.

I’ve never been interested in fancy clothes—fortunate, as I’ve never had the money to buy them.

But now that I’m here in the packhouse, spending time with their alpha, I feel shabby in comparison to the smartly dressed pack wolves I’ve seen working in the building.

I do the best I can and pick out my newest pair of black jeans and a simple white shirt. I put on some lip gloss and eyeshadow and hope I look presentable.

I hear a quiet knock on the door and open it to find James standing outside in a pair of nice pants and a white shirt. For all their simplicity, his clothes are obviously expensive.

“You look beautiful,” he tells me. I can see sincerity shining in his eyes.

“I feel underdressed. I don’t have the fine clothes that the rest of you pack wolves wear,” I admit.

“That doesn’t matter; you look stunning in anything you wear. Tomorrow I’ll take you into town and buy you some more clothes.”

“I don’t want you to buy me clothes,” I protest. “I can buy my own stuff.”

“I’m your mate. I want to look after you, and one of the ways I’ll do that is by making sure you have everything you need, including new clothes.”

“It feels wrong.”

“It isn’t wrong. You need to get used to the fact that you’re no longer alone, and you no longer need to do everything by yourself.

“I’m here to care for you and protect you, and when you join my pack that will be even more true. We all look after each other. That’s what pack means.”

I nod, but I’m still unconvinced.

He seems to sense my concern. “I know none of this is easy for you. It will take time for you to adjust to our ways. No one is expecting you to turn into the pack luna overnight.”

“Luna? No one has mentioned me being a luna!” As I say this, I inwardly curse myself. How stupid of me. Even I know the alpha’s mate is the luna, with duties and responsibilities to help lead the pack.

He leans into me and strokes my cheek. “I know this is a lot for you to take in, but I have no doubt you can do it. With help and time, you’ll be an amazing luna for my pack.

“The moon goddess would never have chosen you as my mate if you were not capable of doing the job.”

I sigh, reassured by his touch. “I guess.”

“There is no one I could imagine being by my side apart from you. I’ll do everything I can to help you. We are in this together.

“The members of your pack could hate me. How many of them will see me as a rogue and want to force me out?”

He growls, “No one will say a word against my mate, not unless they want to deal with me.”

His words reassure me, for the moment at least.

“First, before we go down to dinner, I’ll introduce you to the warrior I would like to assign as your bodyguard.”

He takes me to his office, where a she-wolf is waiting for us.

I get why James thinks she would make a good bodyguard. She looks strong and capable—I wouldn’t want to mess with her.

At the same time, she looks like she could be a student. She’s about my age and dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt.

“This is Clara. My head warrior has recommended her as the best wolf to guard you while you’re at university. If you agree, she will accompany you to all your classes.

“The dean will be informed of who she really is, but all your lecturers will just be told she’s a new student.”

“Okay, nice to meet you, Clara.”

“I’ll give you some time alone to get to know each other before I come back and take you to dinner,” James offers.

Clara proves to be a really nice wolf, and I feel a lot more comfortable about having a bodyguard. She’s easy to talk to, and I’m slightly disappointed when James returns to take me to dinner.

When we walk into the pack dining room everyone stops what they’re doing and the whole room falls silent as they turn to look at us.

I’m not used to the attention of so many people, but at least they don’t all seem hostile toward me. The main emotion I read on people’s faces is curiosity.

The exception is a small group of wolves standing in the corner of the room glaring at me. I can sense their animosity toward me.

Karen is among them. It figures; she’s already tried to make me stay away from James.

She’s going to be even angrier when she finds out I’m his mate and will soon be the luna of her pack, a role she probably thought would be hers one day.

I resolve not to let her and her gang get to me.

With James by my side, and the rest of the pack being less hostile than I had expected, I decide to try to enjoy this dinner. It’s an opportunity to make new friends and get to know James’s pack.

James leads us to a long table at the front of the room set slightly apart from the other tables scattered around. I notice James’s brother David sitting there. He rises and pulls me into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re here at last Allie. I wasn’t sure my brother was going to be able to convince you to move in.”

“It was touch and go,” I confess. “But he eventually persuaded me to give him a chance.”

“A chance?” David asks quizzically.

“I haven’t managed to fully convince Allie yet that she’s my mate and that her place is here with me,” James explains.

“She’s moved here on a trial basis and is giving me the opportunity to prove to her that this is where she belongs, and that I can be the mate she deserves.”

“She’s making you work for it.” David’s grins. “This I cannot wait to see.

“She-wolves have been throwing themselves at you for years, determined to become the mate of the alpha, and now that you have finally found your mate, she isn’t sure if she wants you.”

David turns to me. “I’m going to move into the packhouse as well. I want a front-row seat for this one.”

“Really?” James looks incredulous. “You’re prepared to give up your partying, frat-boy lifestyle off campus to move into the pack house just to watch me woo my mate?”

“When you put it like that, hell yeah!” David shoots back.

“Anyway, it will give me the opportunity to get to know my new sister and luna better. We can travel to the university together! I can introduce you to the other wolves on campus.”

“No introducing her to your wild friends. She doesn’t need the trouble. I’ve assigned a bodyguard to stay with her while she’s in class. I don’t want Ryan trying to abduct her.”

“That sounds like a sensible precaution, I’ll help keep her safe too.”

“If there is room in the car,” I put in. “We’re going to pick Danielle up along the way.”

His smile slips slightly at the news, and he mutters, “Even better.”

“Well, shall we sit down and start the meal? Once we finish eating, I’ll introduce you to some of our pack members,” James suggests.

I nod, and David sits back down. James and I sit at the center of the table.

Once we are seated, the rest of the pack takes it as a signal to resume talking and finish their meal, and one of the pack omegas places a plate with steak in a creamy sauce in front of me.

“Thank you,” I tell him with a smile. “This looks delicious.”

“You’re welcome, Luna,” he replies before walking away.

I glare at James.

He smiles innocently back at me. “I didn’t tell them that you were my mate or their future luna. They just must have assumed that you are.”

“They’re all going to make that assumption,” David informs me. “James has never asked a she-wolf to sit with him at the top table, never mind invite them to share his quarters in the pack house.”

Great, so much for giving me time to work out if we really are mates. I’m becoming luna by default.

“I’ve made no announcements,” James promises. “I haven’t told anyone why you’re here. They may gossip about us, but ultimately, they don’t know what you are to me.

“If you want, I can make it clear that we fear Ryan will try to abduct you and that you’re here under my protection.”

“Because you’re so well known for protecting rogue wolves,” I say sarcastically.

He ignores my comment. “Let me introduce you to some of the pack. Once they get to know you, they will be less inclined to gossip about us.”

He takes my hand and pulls me gently to my feet to guide me to the end of the table where a female warrior is finishing her meal.

“Lucy, I would like you to meet Allie. She will be staying with us while we hunt down Ryan. After her fight with his wolves, I think this is the safest place for her.”

“Of course, pleased to meet you.” She smiles and shakes my hand. “I was very impressed with the way you dealt with those two rogues.

“You’ll need to tell me how you did it. I’m sure there are things our warriors can learn from you.”

“It was nothing special. I just did what I had to do to stay alive.”

“You’re too modest.”

“You should arrange a time to speak to Lucy,” James tells me. “But for now we will need to leave you. There are a few other people I need to introduce Allie to.”

“It was nice speaking to you,” I tell Lucy, and James maneuvers us toward another, older group of wolves.

One of the women steps toward us with a smile on her face. “Hello dear. I understand that you’re one of the lone wolves studying at our university. Welcome to the Red Moon Pack.”

James introduces her. “This is Charlotte. She was the beta of the Red Moon Pack under the previous alpha. Her companions were the previous alpha’s ranking wolves.”

I nod, curious to see how they treat James, the alpha who took over their pack and removed them from their senior roles. I can’t sense any resentment toward him.

“And now we are enjoying our retirement,” Charlotte says. “Personally, I’m taking great pleasure in tending to my garden. I was beta of this pack for almost forty years.

“It’s time to pass over the care to a younger generation who are better equipped to deal with the dangers we now face.”

“Like Ryan and his army of rogues,” I guess.

“Exactly. Our pack has never faced danger like this before.”

“Since they’ve joined with my pack, the Silver Fang Pack, we can provide the protection that the Red Moon Pack needs. Working together, we can prevent Ryan from taking over.”

The others nod in agreement. I’m beginning to see a better side to James. Being alpha is not just about power and aggression to him. It’s about protecting the whole pack from danger.

As we move away, I notice Karen nearby. She tries to catch James’s eye as we walk past, but he ignores her. I see a flash of annoyance pass over her face before she shouts, “Alpha! Alpha James!”

He stops and turns toward her, unable to refuse to speak to a pack member, but I can tell he’s annoyed. “Karen. How can I help you?”

“I just want to say hello to your…friend. I’ve seen her at the university and thought I could perhaps help her to…fit in.” A fake smile is plastered on her face.

“Thank you, but I don’t think that will be necessary,” he says before gently tugging me away.

Her face falls and morphs into a glare as we walk away from her.

I’m relieved by James’s response to her offer. She’s the last person I want to spend time with. I can’t imagine she has volunteered to help me out of the goodness of her heart.

Everyone else James introduces me to is friendly.

It has been a lovely dinner. Maybe being part of a pack will be better than I had thought.