Chapter 15 Pack Hierarchy
Jolie POV
"You need real clothes," Luna announces, appearing in my doorway with car keys dangling from her finger. "Not borrowed t-shirts and jeans that are three sizes too big."
I look down at my outfit Knox's old Iron Fangs shirt hanging off my small frame like a tent. "These are fine. I don't need"
"You need clothes that fit." She crosses her arms, giving me a look that says arguing is pointless. "And you need to get out of this compound before you start growing roots."
An hour later, I'm following her through a small mountain town, trying not to stare at everything like the sheltered runt I am. The Nightshade Pack controlled our territory so tightly that I rarely left the estate. This normal human world feels alien and overwhelming.
"Breathe," Luna says, steering me into a clothing store. "They're just people. They can't even smell that you're a wolf."
The next two hours are a blur of trying on clothes, Luna rejecting anything that makes me look smaller than I already am. She has opinions about everything—the cut of jeans, the color of shirts, whether something makes me look "like a victim or a survivor."
"This one," she says firmly, holding up a dark green sweater that somehow makes my eyes look less pale. "It's perfect."
"It's expensive." I check the price tag and wince. "I can't let Ryder pay for all this."
"Honey, Ryder makes more money in a month than most people see in a year." Luna rolls her eyes as she adds the sweater to our growing pile. "Trust me, he's not going to miss it."
We're standing in line at the checkout when she drops the bomb.
"Mara's not evil," she says carefully, like she's testing the words. "She's scared."
I glance around, making sure no one's listening. "Scared of what?"
"You." Luna meets my eyes in the mirror by the register. "She was Ryder's lover before you came. She thought she had a chance at being his chosen mate."
The revelation hits me like a blow. Of course. Of course someone like Mara would be better suited for an alpha. Strong, fierce, unbroken. Everything I'm not.
"I didn't know," I whisper, feeling sick. "I never meant to"
"Hey." Luna turns to face me fully, her voice gentle but firm. "You didn't steal anything. You can't steal what was never really there."
"But she's perfect for him. She's strong and fearless and" My voice cracks as the comparison cuts deeper.
"And not his true mate." Luna pays for our purchases while keeping her voice low. "Chosen mates aren't true mates, Jolie. There's a difference."
We carry the bags to her car in silence. I can't stop thinking about Mara, about how she must feel watching some weak outsider take what she thought was hers.
"Tell me about true mates," I say once we're driving back toward the compound.
Luna glances at me sideways. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. How it works, what it means, why it's different from choosing someone." I twist my hands in my lap, afraid of the answer. "How you know if it's real."
"True mates are rare," Luna says slowly, navigating the winding mountain roads. "Maybe one in a thousand wolves finds their true mate. It's a soul bond, deeper than choice or attraction. Your wolves recognize each other instantly."
"What if one of them doesn't want it?"
"Rejection is possible, but it hurts both wolves. Physical pain, emotional agony. Most wolves who try to reject a true mate bond end up accepting it eventually." She glances at me again. "Why? Are you having doubts?"
"I'm not having doubts. I'm having reality checks." I stare out at the pine trees rushing past. "Look at me, Luna. I'm a runt with a wolf that can barely shift. I can't fight, I can't lead, I can't even take care of myself. What kind of mate is that for an alpha?"
Luna pulls the car over suddenly, tires crunching on gravel. She turns to face me, her expression more serious than I've ever seen it.
"Can I tell you something about my mate bond?" she asks quietly.
I nod.
"I met my true mate when I was nineteen. A Beautiful alpha from a powerful pack, everything any female wolf could want." Her smile is sad and distant. "But he was also cruel. Possessive in all the wrong ways. He would have controlled every breath I took, every thought I had."
"What did you do?" I ask as my heart pounded in my chest.
"I rejected him." She stares out the windshield. "Took three months of agony before the bond finally broke. Nearly killed us both."
Wincing at the revelation."Do you regret it?"
"Never." She looks at me with fierce certainty. "Because true mates aren't always good mates, Jolie. The bond recognizes compatibility, not character. And honey, the way Ryder looks at you? That's not just recognition. That's reverence."
"But I'm still weak" I start to protest.
"You survived." Luna's voice cuts through my self-doubt. "You survived years of systematic abuse and still have enough humanity left to worry about other people's feelings. You escaped a pack that wanted to destroy you and landed on your feet in hostile territory. You've been here three weeks and you've already made yourself useful, made friends, earned respect." She reaches over and squeezes my hand. "That's not weakness. That's the strongest thing I've ever seen."
I want to believe her. God, I want to believe that I'm more than the broken thing my family made me into.
"What if I'm not enough for him?" I whisper.
"What if you're exactly what he needs?" Luna counters, starting the car again. "What if all that strength and power he carries gets balanced by your gentleness? What if your healing nature is exactly what his damaged soul requires?"
We drive the rest of the way in comfortable silence, but her words echo in my head. By the time we reach the compound, I'm almost ready to believe that maybe, just maybe, I deserve the way Ryder looks at me.
Almost. But as we pull up to the main building, I see Mara leaning against her bike, arms crossed, watching our car with eyes that promise trouble.