Esme (11)

I stared at the door where Roe had just left and expected McCoy to go after her. he was frozen. I thought about walking up and yelling at him, but Baxter grabbed me from behind and pulled me further away, inching us toward the door to leave. McCoy started hyperventilating, and I thought he might pass out. Even if I wanted to strangle him, leaving him alone in this condition couldn't be the right thing to do. Once we were out the door, Baxter closed it quietly and turned to me with his head still angled at the door to listen to what was happening on the other side.

"I need you to go to my room and stay in there with the door locked," Baxter whispered.

"You don't really think he will hurt anyone, right?" I whispered to match him, but I wasn't sure why we were there; the door was closed.

"In there, McCoy is fighting his hardest to keep his wolf in check because his wolf thinks Roe just rejected the bond. He is fragile now, and if we don't play this right, his wolf could lash out violently." He was leaning into the door, still listening to McCoy. "If that happens, I might not even be enough to stop him by myself, so I want you safe so that I can help him."

"I could help," I said. "Maybe we could salvage that relationship if we talked it out."

"Please, Esme," Baxter begged. I need to know you are safe so I can focus. I love that you want to help him, and maybe you can after he calms down and is more reasonable about making plans."

"Okay," I nodded and started to walk away. "Be safe," I said over my shoulder as I continued to search for Baxter's room. It wasn't a long search before another person bumped into me—two people, probably a husband and wife. He was heading out of the room, and she was standing in the doorway.

"Be safe. I don't want a repeat of the last time you fought McCoy," she said, then kissed him on the cheek.

"I won't be alone this time, and the alpha says he has him contained in his office," the man said. Then they noticed me and nodded their heads in greeting.

"I am sorry to interrupt. I just stumbled here. Baxter told me he wanted me safe and further away from McCoy." I explained, noting their shocked faces as I spoke. "I was looking for somewhere safe to be."

"You must be Esme," the man said, whipped the shocked look off his face, and held a hand out for me to shake. "I am Anthony, the master of arms. I must help Alpha Baxter, but you can stay in this community room with my wife. There is a lock on the door, but it is doubtful that McCoy will come this way."

"Yes, Luna, come in." They both stepped aside and ushered me into the room. Anthony quickly closed the door and left me and his wife alone. The room was a small study room, if I had to guess. There were tables and desks. The walls had lots of plugs at the desks, and there were a few reading chairs. "I am Mia, Anthony's mate."

"I am Esme Baxter's mate," she smiled and nodded. Then I remembered that they already seemed to know my name, and I felt stupid. She sat in the nearest reading chair and gestured for me to sit beside her.

"Luna, are you planning on becoming a shifter," Mia asked once I was seated.

"Well, I have been thinking about it but haven't decided anything, although Baxter may want me to do that soon. I have been really talking it over with Roe; she has been helping me figure this out, although now she might not want to be here much." shame about those two being matched up," Mia muttered

"Can you tell me why it is so bad"

"Well, people from this pack don't have a problem with witches, but the new pack members we got hate witches, and that is the pack that Beta McCoy is from. Plus, it is just bad to match a witch with a wolf because our bit kills witches. I have never heard of more than one or two witches living after a wolf bite, and they needed immediate magical attention from a coven to save their lives."

"so all McCoy has to do is never bite her. That doesn't sound too hard," I responded.

"Well, until you take marking into account, where a wolf bits another wolf, normally on the neck, to claim them, it starts the mating process and starts the mixture of their scents, so all other wolves will know that the other is claimed and off the market."

"so to be with her, he is supposed to bite her, and if he bit her, she will die. And they both know that and are still caught in this mating bond," I asked, and Mia nodded. "So is that where rejection comes in because Roe said she was waiting for him to reject her."

"Oh, goddess, she said that," Mia gasped. "That must be what got his wolf so strung up; he must think she is rejecting him."

"But what is rejection."

"Well, usually, it is only used in extreme circumstances, like when you discover your mate is in a vegetative state. But a wolf can reject and break the bond made by the goddess and choose an alternative mate, generally from the widowed members of a pack.

"so they could walk away from this without anyone dying."

"Yes, but it is a terrible cost. You are rejecting a goddess-made bond. She hand-picked that person for you, so you will never feel that connection and intimacy again."

"but isn't her living more important"

"yes, of course, but we believe that the goddess has a plan for us all, and if she picked Monroe to be our beta female, it must be for a reason." There was a loud crashing sound followed by running and another crashing noise. We stood by the door debating on whether to open the door to investigate. Luckily, the door swung open, and Anthony was there panting.

"He got out. You must text Roe and warn her that he is now free and feral." Then he ran off. I followed with my phone, calling her number, but there was no answer. The door to Baxter's office was smashed open, and the door out of the pack house was hanging open as people rushed out to check on the commotion.

"where is he going," I asked no one in particular, but Mia answered me

"If I had to guess, I would say his wolf is going after his mate."