I hurried back down the stairs to where I had left him, but he wasn’t there. A rush of panic hit me as I couldn’t see him. Fearful, I looked around. Then it hit me. I couldn't see him, but I could smell him, and his intoxicating scent led me to my father's office.
As I passed pack members, people I have known my whole life, I was aware of stares and whispering, mumbling and looks of shock. This didn't feel nice like I had been left out of a secret that everyone else knew. Even though there were only a handful of pack mates in the house, it felt like I had a full audience as I made my way to the office. Nodding and murmuring towards my fellow wolves, I wondered if I had put on a dirty top or had a stain on it. The way they looked at me was puzzling.
I tapped lightly on the door of the office when I arrived and heard my father call me in. When I opened the door, my eyes went straight to Jonas. He stood up and came forward so he could pull me into his arms. I felt him nestle his nose against my neck, and breathe in my scent. It was such an intimate thing to do. I almost forgot where we were as I let my body press into his. He lifted his head and smiled at me, letting me know he knew exactly where my mind had wandered to, and this made me blush. Kissing me quickly on the lips, he led me to the chair and sat, pulling me onto his lap. My father gave a slightly awkward cough, and we both turned our eyes off each other and looked at my father.
"Genni, can I start by saying that you are magnificent, truly? I never doubted. Not for a minute. I always knew you would get your wolf. You still gave me a scare though". He was looking at me with so much love, but there was something else. It was respected. I was shocked, but thankful again that I got to call this man my father. "I have never seen a wolf like you. It is said a pure white wolf signifies great change. It is a deeply spiritual omen, among our kind. I admit I had never seen a white wolf before, and now I find my own daughter is one. I cannot tell you how humbled this makes me. I doubt the goddess herself is more beautiful".
My mother gasped at this and sent a look of anger toward my father. "Don't say that Daniel", she said harshly. ''You should not disrespect the moon goddess by comparing a common wolf to her. No matter her colour''. At this proclamation, we all just stared at my Mom like she had lost her mind. My father glared at her, "how dare you to call our daughter a common wolf? Apologize to Genevieve this minute".
Before my mom could say anything else, Jonas started speaking.
"Alpha Daniel, of the Blue Diamond Pack, I claim this pack member, your daughter, as my mate and my Luna. I will take her back to my pack lands where she will live out her life with me. As my partner. Do you agree?"
My father stood up, as did Jonas, who gently placed me on my feet next to him. He didn’t let me go, and I snuggled into his tight black shirt.
My father smiled at us and extended his hand,
"I don’t think I have any right to disagree. You can see the goddess made this match, and as you know, that is our most sacred law. Genni, I have never seen you shine like this before. You're almost sparkling". he said with a soft chuckle.
I frowned at this, obviously, Jonas was a god-like human and beautiful with it. But I had known for a while now that I was a frumpy chubby plain Jane.
My brother laughed out loud and said
"She hasn’t seen herself, didn’t you look in the mirror when you went for a shower just now?"
Laughing harder than he needed to, in my opinion, I frowned at him.
"What do you mean"? I said, a little too forceful, but he was starting to piss me off and embarrass me in front of my mate.
"You know I don’t look in mirrors, why would I want to remind myself daily of what I look like?"
Jonas growled slightly, he was standing hard up against my back with one muscled arm around my waist. It felt so amazing to be held in his arms. But why had he growled? I could feel the vibration of it through my whole body. It was doing things to my insides, and I had to clench my thighs to stop the ache that had started there. I was never one of these she-wolves who liked the thought of her mate being all overprotective but hearing the warning in the growl coming from somewhere deep inside Jonas's chest made me feel so safe, and dare I say it, loved.
Jonas was staring daggers at my parents when he dipped his head and said in a low velvet voice
"Little wolf, you do not need to feel that way, you are stunningly beautiful", I smiled up to his face and whispered
"You have to say that, you're my mate", I smiled up at him and was rewarded with a gentle but sensual look. It made me feel sexy.
"Can one of you please tell me why my beautiful mate needs to shy away from her own reflection?" Jonas said in a very soft but authoritative tone.
My Mom glanced quickly at my father and said quietly
"We have always told her she is beautiful, but sometimes I find it difficult to sound as convincing as I should...",
My mother's words stumbled to a stop, and she looked mortified at what had just come out of her mouth. My father was standing there looking at her with nothing but shock on his face. And Lucas had stood up from the sofa and glared at my mom and said
"MOM, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? I can’t believe that just came out of your mouth, I mean", he carried on. ''I knew your relationship with Gen wasn't an easy one. I know you didn’t get on that well, but I thought that was cos she can sometimes be a pain in the ass"!
He said this angrily at my Mom but made sure he sent a wink in my direction. Even though I knew he meant no harm in what he said, I still had to smooth Jonas, stroking his arm lightly as he had been growling at what my mother and brother had just said.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean it, Alpha Jonas, it's just a sibling thing", he bowed his head and showed his neck as a mark of submission and respect to the powerful Alpha whose arms I was standing in.
My father, who was still staring at my mother in shock, started to speak.
"Why have you done this? Why would you allow your daughter to feel this way? You’re her mother, her Luna. What happened to protecting, loving, cherishing"?
My father was getting angry as my Mom stood there with her chin in the air defiantly.
"You know why Daniel, you know", and with that she stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.
Once again, my father spoke, barely holding on to his temper. He gestured to the sofas that faced each other and said
"Please, sit, we will talk now. Alpha to Alpha if that is okay with you Jonas"?
As my father was also an Alpha, he didn’t need to address Jonas as Alpha Jonas, but I could see my father swallow hard while looking at Jonas to see his reaction.
Jonas gave a small nod and walked the small distance to the sofas with his arm firmly around me. And when he sat, I was again pulled onto his lap. I snuggled into his chest and breathed in his scent. I actually think I could stay like this forever. I have never felt this safe, this pulls to another person. I was still incredulous about it. After all, it had only been 7 hours since I shifted for the first time. And so much had happened in those 7 hours, it was a little overwhelming.
My father frowned at Jonas slightly and said,
"With much respect, I thought we could talk alone, there is much to discuss". There was a low rumble coming from Jonas’s chest, and my father looked down and apologized quickly. He sat down opposite us, and Lucas sat next to my father.
"Genevieve will stay where she belongs, she will stay by me. I have nothing to hide from her, and I’m sure she will be interested in what happens next. I assume you will be speaking about her, yes"?
My father gave a slight nod, my brother looked at me with a soft encouraging smile.
Wtf!!!!
What the hell was I about to hear????
I didn't understand why my father looked so stressed out. I understand that all this is a big change, and I am still his little girl, but whatever my father was about to talk about had the power to change my whole life.
Unfortunately, it did have the power. The only thought in my head now was that my whole life had been a lie. I wasn't who I thought I was. I was someone completely different to the girl he had raised as his own. Looking up into Jonas's eyes, I searched for comfort and received it. It was coming off him in waves, it was calming me down and allowing me to focus. He lowered his face so it was only an inch above mine, and whispered softly, 'I am here for you little wolf, whatever we hear now, I will always be here for you. Do not fear the unknown, embrace it, challenge it. It will make you a stronger, more confident leader''.
I smiled up at him and then kissed him gently. Was it possible to love someone you had only just met? Cos I think I got it bad for this big bad Alpha. Goddess helps me.