Chapter 79 - Rejecting My Contracted Luna

　　Ethan's POV

　　"I don't care if you have the rogue situation under control or not, you need to get your ass back here ASAP!" Alpha Duncan's voice screams through the phone so loudly that I have to hold it away from my ear.

　　"I can't just leave my pack when I know there will be more impending rogue attacks," I sigh into the phone.

　　It is the day after the full moon and I know why Alpha Duncan is calling. Emma must have found her mate.

　　"I will send you more warriors and come there and protect your pack in your stead," Alpha Duncan's voice sounds panicked.

　　Running my fingers over my face I try to remain calm. "What could be so important that you are willing to come fight rogues for me?" I ask even though I already know.

　　"Emma did not find her mate," Alpha Duncan growls in frustration.

　　Suddenly my heart feels lighter than it has in the days since I left the Paxton Pack. Emma didn't find her mate. She could still be mine.

　　"Then what is the hurry for me to return," I ask curiously.

　　Duncan lets out another sigh. "It would appear that you have competition now," he tells me carefully.

　　I let out a scoff. I know the way that Emma feels for me. There is no one that is competition for what we have together. "Who?" I still ask.

　　"Alpha Thomas," Duncan growls.

　　I cannot help but laugh. "Isn't he like forty years old?"

　　"Watch it," Duncan growls and I remember that he is quickly approaching forty himself.

　　"What would Emma want with a man almost twice her age?" I chuckle, still in disbelief.

　　 "Alpha Thomas can be very charming when he sets his sights on something that he wants," Duncan tells me. "He seems to have swept her off her feet last night."

　　"What do you mean?" I growl loudly at the thought of someone else with my Emma.

　　"I mean," Alpha Duncan says loudly into the phone. "She spent the whole night staring at the door, waiting for you to show up. Then Alpha Thomas swooped in and showed her a good time when you didn't show up. I caught them coming out of the forest together in the wee hours of the morning."

　　"You what?" I snarl.

　　"You heard me," Alpha Duncan replies. "They were alone together for hours."

　　"Did you ask her what happened?" I ask, trying to remain calm.

　　"They said they took their wolves for a run," Duncan tells me with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

　　"So he has seen her wolf?" I sigh.

　　"I am afraid so," Duncan says with a sigh. "He will have to know by now that she has special abilities."

　　"Fuck!" I scream as I slam my fist down on the table in front of me. "Send reinforcements and I will come as soon as they arrive."

　　"We are already on our way," Duncan says before hanging up the phone on his end.

　　I can feel my anger bubbling to the surface as I sit at my desk. If Alpha Thomas has figured out that Emma has special abilities it will be only a matter of time before he tries to seduce her. I have to get back to the Paxton Pack and immediately.

　　A soft knock on my door pulls me out of my rage filled thoughts. "What?" I say roughly.

　　Beta Douglas opens my office door and peeks his head inside. "Is this a bad time?" He asks with a concerned look on his face.

　　"It is always a bad time lately," I growl at him. "But come in anyway."

　　Douglas shuffles into my office before gently shutting the door behind him. He looks at the ground and refuses to meet my gaze.

　　"Well..." I huff impatiently.

　　"I wanted to speak to you about Emily," Douglas says as he stays close to the office door in case he needs to make a quick getaway.

　　"What about her?" I grumble.

　　"I was wondering if you could release her from the dungeons," Douglas stares at the ground and refuses to meet my gaze.

　　"And why would I do that?" I laugh in return. "She is a traitor to the pack and to the former Luna of this pack."

　　"She..." Douglas swallows roughly. "She is my mate."

　　For fucks sake," I yell out in frustration. "How long have you known?"

　　"A little over a year," Douglas says as he shifts his weight from one foot from another.

　　"And she was still willing to marry and mate me, knowing that her fated mate is right here within the pack," I say in disgust.

　　"It is what she wanted," Douglas says with his eyes glued to the ground.

　　"And how many nights did you spend in pain while she laid with me?" I ask.

　　"Too many," Douglas says and I can see the anger rising in his face.

　　"And you are still asking me to release her from the dungeons?" I look at Douglas in confusion.

　　"I am," Douglas says even though his face is beat red.

　　"No," I growl. "She stays where is. If anything she will be staying there longer than planned because you both lied and betrayed me."

　　"But..." Douglas says with a concerned look on his face.

　　"But nothing," I growl. "You know what. You can join her. I hereby strip you of your title and rank within this pack, on the grounds of lying and deceiving your Alpha."

　　Two warriors that I mind linked make their way into my office and haul Douglas away to the dungeons so he can be with his beloved mate.

　　Running my hands through my hair I think about what I am supposed to do next. I cannot leave my pack without a Beta in charge.

　　Picking up my phone I dial Alpha Duncan's number. He answers the phone gruffly. "What?"

　　"I just had to lock up my Beta in the dungeons," I tell him shortly. "I can't come to your pack."

　　"If you don't come now you will lose her forever," Alpha Duncan says with certainty and then hangs up his phone.

　　Staring at my phone I scroll through the numbers until I find Emma's. My finger hovers over her phone number and I chicken out. Who am I to stand between her and happiness?