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‘That was for yesterday,’I smirked and saw him laugh in response before he gave Maya a kiss on the forehead.
Who’s the man putty now?Atlas leered in my head.
“Ahem.” Clearing my throat to signal attention, I waited for the noise to die down. “Now, onto other good news. I would like to announce that I, too, have found my destined mate.” The whole pack clapped, though all of them knew this information already because, let’s face it, I wasn’t one to keep this to myself. Still, for anyone who didn’t frequent the pack house, this was the first time they would meet her, so I waited for it to settle down, before I continued. “I would like to introduce you to my mate and your future luna, Celeste!” I said, moving back to grab her hand and lead her toward the platform. The crowd erupted. She looked like she wanted to cry with joy.
“Thank you,” she said, using her luna voice, which surprised me. She shouldn’t be able to direct that kind of power until after the luna ceremony. The entire pack quieted down and bowed their heads, submitting to their luna. “I can’t promise you I will never make a mistake, but I can promise you I will always keep trying to make you proud,” she said, making the entire pack cheer.
“Let’s eat!” I roared, signaling the end of my speech, and the crowd began to shuffle toward the food tables.
‘Damn, that was some power rolling from your mate. You sure you haven’t marked her yet?’Gillian mind-linked me.
‘Must be the Alpha status and bloodline,’I said.
‘Her aura is as powerful as yours but gentler.’
‘Buddy, if I was a lesser wolf, I would have submitted too,’I admitted.
‘It’s okay. You have a lifetime to submit,’he teased as he watched us walking towards him, my arm around her waist. The whole pack bowed and greeted us as we passed through.
After dinner, we all gathered at the end of the dining area. We were all down to our undergarments, ready to shift. I growled at every male that looked Celeste’s way, and I could hear several other wolves do the same around their mates. New mates were always territorial of their significant other before they were marked. To my surprise, I heard Celeste growling beside me, so I turned and saw a couple of she-wolves turning away quickly. A shocked blush blossomed from her cheeks, and I laughed and kissed her, pleased beyond belief at her reaction.
“SHIFT,” I yelled with my alpha command. The sound of crackling bones filled the air as the pack shifted. I shifted myself, allowing Atlas to come forward and enjoying the contortion of my flesh and bones as he came forward, turning my body into Atlas’ powerful wolf form.
We towered above the rest. Alpha wolves were always almost all black, and we were no exception. Atlas was fully black but for one paw, which was red-tinted. Atlas shook his fur before looking to the side at Celeste’s wolf. This was the first time meeting Kara, as Dr. West preferred that they be in better health for her safety after what happened to Maya. If I had a mouth, it would have dropped open when I saw her through Atlas’ eyes. She was smaller than Atlas, that was for sure, but only just. Her body was almost all black. Her paws and ears were almost completely covered in red fur. Her tail started black and ended in red. It was as if she were on fire. Her fur was long and shone against the moonlight. If I looked closely enough, I could almost swear there were light patterns of red fur all over her body. They looked like runes, ancient and native in origin.
Our Aztec goddess,Atlas said, puffing his chest as he stared at his mate. Kara shook her fur out and turned our way.
‘Atlas is beautiful,’I heard Celeste in my mind.
‘So is Kara, love. You are both so exquisitely perfect.’
Kara trotted over to us and rubbed her body against Atlas. Loving the feel of her connection and looking forward to running with his mate, Atlas lifted his head, pointing to the moon and let out a powerful howl. The entire pack howled back in answer, and we began our run, Kara and Atlas at the front. To my right was Otto, Gillian’s silver wolf, and behind him Laney, Kelly’s tawny wolf. To my left was Dash, Danny’s dark brindle wolf, with Esmeralda, Maya’s fawn-colored wolf running beside him. My heart was full, and I only hoped Gillian found his mate soon. He deserved to feel the happiness we felt.
Chapter fifteen
Celeste
Atlaswassobeautifuland fast. He was the biggest wolf in the pack and he ran with so much grace. Kara was over the moon at finally being able to run with him. Even though they couldn’t communicate through mind-link she was gushing and purring the entire run, biting at his heel playfully from time to time. She was carefree and happy for the first time since she came to me all those months ago. We didn’t have to hide her anymore. She could run with her pack, her people.
I was so happy for Maya. Danny seemed fully devoted to her already. I watched as they headed up the stairs ahead of us after the run. Danny was leading her like she was a fragile flower. I let out a quiet sigh as I watched them going up the stairs when I felt and smelled Markus coming up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He noticed my attention was on the new couple as Danny and Maya disappeared from view.
“Hmm, how much do you want to bet they are marked by the morning?” he teased against my ear. I gave a small smile that I didn’t quite feel.
Mates tended to mark each other almost the same night they found one another. The mate bond was sacred and beautiful and hard to resist. I realized I never actually talked to Markus about waiting to mark me, yet he’d understood what I had gone through and knew how little I knew about the mate bond and how it worked. He never pushed. He never complained. He let me lead everything at my own pace.
“Tuli? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asked, always concerned.
“I’m fine. Just tired. Ready to head up?” I gave him a small smile.
“Of course. Come. Let’s get some rest,” he said, holding his hand out. I took it, and we walked to the elevator while I continued to get lost in my thoughts. When we exited on our floor, I made my decision.
Kara, I’m going to need your help tonight.
What did you have in mind?she asked with a yawn, stretching out languidly in my mind.
I want to complete the mate bond tonight, I said. That got her attention.
Seriously?
