Chapter 18

**Ashton**

The moment things had started getting heated within the room of the ball, the only thing I could think of at that moment was my mate. To get her as far away as possible and to safety fast, the Beta in me needing to protect my Alpha.

*‘Hurry back to mate’* growls Xavier, my wolf now in protection mode.

*‘I’m hurrying’* I move to growl back. Having gone to investigate the cause of the fight only to run into Isaac in the process.

“Isaac?” I say, pausing.

“Ashton? Thank the Goddess. Grab your mate and meet me in the garden. Tonight we break your pack bond. I want all of us gone from this pack and fast. This pack is horrible and everyone wants to leave” whispers Isaac, not wanting the Moon Walker Pack to hear them.

“But-” I try. A bit confused by my Alpha but not one to complain as I simply nod my head. Knowing better than to argue with him as I move to find my mate like asked.

Following the scent of her body, it takes me exactly 2 minutes to find her. Elise now looking angry as her eyes continue to watch the scene before her, my gaze moving to follow hers only to see her attempting not to lash out at the Delta of the Pack. Shane. For he was currently manhandling another wolf who looked like she currently didn’t want his help either.

*‘Better stop her before she causes more trouble’* warns Xavier, a feeling that our mate would have jumped in if we didn’t try and stop her first.

Sighing, not wanting to add to the trouble that was already going on around us, I moved to approach her only to hear Alpha Ares roar in rage, having snatched his mate back from the Delta, his eyes angry by the notion of another touching what was his.

*Yep, time to go,* was all I thought once I carefully approached my mate. My arms now coming to wrap themselves around her as I move to lead her from the room.

“Come we should go” I whisper, knowing Isaac would be waiting for us outside like he had said just minutes beforehand.

Watching her nod, do I move to lead her from the room Xavier on high alert until we eventually make it outside the Packhouse. My eyes now taking in their lack of garden as I move to take Elise to where Isaac sat waiting for us.

“Ashton? Where are we going?” asks Elise, now curious about my motive.

“You’ll see, just trust me” I say, my eyes eventually catching Isaac along with Damian the others not present which meant they were either sleeping or packing up for the road trip back to the Midnight Pack.

“About time” grunts Damian playfully.

“Shut it. I had to get my mate” I growl back playfully gesturing to Elise who now stood next to me as we now stood face to face with Isaac.

“Alpha Hayes, Nice to see you again” smiles Isaac.

“Alpha Grant” replies Elise with a smile of her own.

“Sorry to bring you here on such short notice but I thought with us both being here together, that we could use this time to break Ashton’s bond with the Midnight Pack and then he would be free to join yours” offers Isaac.

Shocked, it slowly takes her a minute to register his words before nodding her head, deciding to ask questions later. “Sure that’ll work.”

Smiling, Isaac moves to look at me. “You ready? This shit’s going to hurt.”

Chuckling, I simply nod. “Of course I am”

Nodding, Isaac and I move to stand within position along with Elise. Knowing that once my bond with Isaac had been broken I would be able to quickly join hers before we each returned to our packs.

“Repeat after me, I, Ashton Wolf, hereby renounce my allegiance to the Midnight Pack and release all ties as its current Beta” replies Isaac, his voice stern as he moves to look at me.

Gulping slowly do I move to repeat those exact same words, “I, Ashton Wolf, hereby renounce my allegiance to the Midnight Pack and it’s Alpha as well as all ties and its claim as the current Beta too” I say, biting back a moan of pain as both Isaac and I stumble from the bond breaking.

A bond that I once had with Isaac, now gone, as I try not to show just how much the bond breaking had affected me. *FUCK, that hurt,* I curse to myself, attempting to shake off the effects of the broken bond.

“Ashton?” comes the worried voice of my mate, Elise watching me closely as she did.

“I-I’m fine” I grunt, not wanting to scare her with my pain now knowing why Isaac was so animate about me waiting to claim my mate because had we marked each other that night then she would also be feeling all of this too.

“No you're not.. Don’t lie” growls Damian, sensing my discomfort from the broken bond.

“I’m not lying” I growl back, my eyes now glaring over towards him. The need to smack that smirk right off his face growing.

“ENOUGH! Stop it, both of you. We aren’t two anymore. Ashton your bond to me is fully broken which means you're free to join that of your mates pack” replies Isaac as he carefully watches his ExBeta.

Grunting in acknowledgement, do I move to look over to my mate. Elise still worried as she moves to face me and I, her.

“Ready when you are love” I whisper, my eyes telling her that I was ready to move forward with her as my mate, my Alpha and her Luna.

Luna? A word that should feel foreign to me yet doesn’t for while I’m not a 100 percent sure as to why the Moon Goddess has made me Luna of a pack, I was not going to shoot myself in the foot by denying my mate. Because at the end of day a title was just a title and at the end of everything else I knew I wanted Elise as did Xavier and we would both be damned if we turned a blind eye to her any longer.

*‘Mate is ours’* growls Xavier.

*‘I know pal, I know’* I reply back softly.

Taking a quick breath to help ease her racing heart does Elise move to shove her own fears aside before moving to grab my hand with her. Her eyes telling me everything that it was that I needed to know before taking the plunge.

*Well, no going back now,* and with that in thought we move onto the next step of tonight's agenda. Me officially joining her pack to keep from going Rogue.

“Ready Ashton?”

“Ready my Alpha”

Then as if my words were the final push does Elise move to proceed, “Then repeat after me.”

Chuckling, I move to do as told.