#53

Evander
“Knock off the ego act with me brother, you have some explaining to do!” He chuckled bitterly. “What? I'm just looking out for you, brother,” he feigned innocence. “She’s quite the peculiar little thing. Perfect grades, an orphan, a witch. No college application with ivy league grades? Come on Evander you don't even know her. Even with the wealth of their bank accounts and property, split with her brother, they are richer than us together with our company. Why, pray tell, do they end up there in your territory, off the grid of the werewolf and witches councils?” He asked in an accusing way.

“Ask the moon goddess or The Mother, for that matter.” I hissed. “Oh, wait, you don’t listen to your goddess anyway, do you, Dom.” A growl filtered through the phone. I was shut in the truck, my phone on speaker. “How about you tell me why you are inviting yourself to my mate's Luna ceremony? Or better yet, why in the hell are you blackmailing your future Luna? Do you forget Dominic, who is really in charge here?” I spat out the menace rising in my tone. Sinister laugh filtered through my ears. “Do you even know who you're about to entangle yourself with?” Dom asked. “I know what matters, Dom. Do you know who you are truly messing with? Because if I were you, I would hand over her inheritance before you lose everything, because if you screw this up, you are going to be on the shit end of everyone’s stick. Mainly hers and mine, but there are others you can't afford to cross anymore than you already have. If you can’t take me, you're not going to last 5 mins with her wrath. Especially with how you’ve been handling yourself and you know exactly what I mean by that. Sooner or later, you are going to have to come to terms with your actions or I will cut the tie for you.” Another growl reverberated through the earbuds. “Heh,” he growled. “You’ll scare her off the first time you get your dick wet. All the suppression you do trying to be the nice guy, the good guy, this Alpha of Alphas mojo you carry around, but you never put it to use like you're so high above your so-called calling,” he sneered.

“At least I see the gifts right in front of my fucking face. She's not going anywhere without me, brother.” I claimed confidently. “So she measures up? Lucky bastard. Must be that high end witch's blood,” he mumbled. “Just because I don’t abuse my position doesn’t mean I don’t use it as intended to protect others. I never asked for it, but I will respect it and not force others to bend to me unless necessary. But things have changed now, Dom,” the threat clear in the menace of my voice. “Push me and your little venture as Alpha is over. Push your idiocy much longer and I will not give you a chance to fix your wrongs.” I paused calming the menace in my voice. “Am I clearly understood?” I asked emphasizing clearly. “Yes,” He said perturbed. “Yes, what?” I demanded, my tone leaving no room for his disobedience. “Yes Alpha,” he complied yielding but his annoyance at having to submit was evident.

As Aurora slipped into the truck, she chucked her bags into the backseat. “So Dominic, I have a peace offering to you.” she called knowing he heard her clearly. With her better hearing, I bet she heard everything. “I’m listening," Dom gruffed out. His agitation was clearly prevalent. “I’m inviting you to my ceremony out of the sweetness of my little heart. Drop the egotistical charade and come enjoy the country for a few days. Under the condition, you fully behave. You fuck up, you deal with the demon side of me, understood?” she said, surveying her fingernails. “How sweet at least someone wants to see me,” Dom mock purred through the phone. I was scared for Dom. “Also, regardless of anything else, Evander and I have already mated. I will be a wolf, as you stipulated on the full moon. So I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain and have everything requested.” She said it like he was a lackey ignoring his comment. “Yes Luna,” he grumbled his reply. Good, he was taking this more seriously and showing her proper respect. “Otherwise you can meet my goddesses' darker side.” she said simply. “

“So there’s something special about original bloodline witches?” he asked searching for a bone. “Not quite Dominic, but I suggest you tread carefully on what information you assume you have found. Things aren’t always as they seem.” She said meeting my gaze and squeezing my hand that was white knuckling the wheel as we sat parked there. I took in a breath and shuddered out one, releasing some of my tension. Her jaw was tight knowing someone was that close to the truth must be unnerving.

“Come at your own risk. The mating is over. The announcement celebration is Friday. Be here by 2 days before the full moon for the feast. We are doing things differently. I still have to work out your housing. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” I informed him wanting to wrap it up before he ticked her off.

This reminded me we would need to expand soon and a million other to-dos popped up in my head. “Dom?” I said “What?” he said more somberly. “Don’t fuck things up this time. Get some control of yourself. Show some restraint.” I pleaded, hoping he would finally see some sense. “You act like I'm trying to win a prize, bro,” he sighed. “The problem is that's not how you see it, brother. Within two weeks, I will see you. I'll leave a mount at the barn that knows the way.” I clicked the phone off without a goodbye. Dom and I didn't do those. I truly loved my brother, but some choices he and I had made put a wedge between us. There was no telling when Dom would show up; he had a lot on the line. Just maybe he would get his head out of his ass.

I looked over at my mate. “Did you find what you needed?” She nodded. “Dominic troubling you?” She questioned. The bond left no room for hiding worries or feelings, let alone urges. “No, I just reminded myself we have a lot of work to do before Spring.” I sighed. “One problem at a time, my love. Now let’s go home. Leaving Millie and Whinnie to plan. I don’t know if that was the best idea. I’m going to be unplanning the next 2 days,” she chuckled. “What did you find?” I asked straining my eyes to see the few bags she brought back. She pulled out a beautiful shawl that suited her well and some chunky old pioneer looking boots. The eclectic style I was picturing in my mind as I saw the pieces coming together suited her. “Their perfect love,” I said. My eyes knew there was more in the bag by the look of it, and I guess maybe my mate only liked a certain type of shopping. She hunted for hidden treasures.

We pulled out heading for the farm. “About all the planning for later, don’t worry so much,” she said. She was worrying her pendant. “Why not? It’s a requirement of being Alpha,” I said. I could feel her basking in the bond at the moment, or was I basking? It felt like summer sunshine in the meadow after the rain. Nearly overpowering. It hugged me like a soft blanket as I struggled to focus on the road. I felt her knowing eyes on me as the feeling pulled back so it didn’t overwhelm my senses. I glanced at her, sunglasses pushed up on her head. Her eyes held a faint glow. I loved that, at least with me she was totally herself. “What was that?” I asked to regain my focus as I wound around a tight bend.

She sighed, “There are things I can’t share with you yet, but I just want you to know I’m thinking of those things, too. We will have some easier solutions than you think. So worry a little less? Maybe let’s get through this announcement and this ceremony before we start worrying about solutions we won’t need if the pack chooses to not accept me.” I glanced over at her. Her look was stern. “Evander, they deserve to know who they are welcoming to the pack. I will leave our mating announcement to get to know everyone and I swear I will attempt to do my best to win them over. However, during the Luna ceremony, I’m going to let them know exactly whom they are welcoming into their pack.” I went to open my mouth. “No, you don't get a say in how I do it and I don’t think you’ll be a fan but, it's the only way. And that means your brother is going to know.” She said firmly. “I already don’t like this,” I said sighing.

“Listen to logic, Evander. We need Dominic to keep this place under the radar. We need to rethink going to town for random things. Its to obvious when we are constantly buying food for 50 when there should only be a few of us on the ‘homestead’ I don’t know all of our resources but my mother was an agricultural genius and we have the funds we need. We just have to be smart about things considering our numbers could be tripling” she said matter-of-factly. My heart warmed. “We shoulder the burden of our people together.” She added as we came up to the farm.

As we headed back on horseback, my love would ask me random questions. I would feel her intellect through the bond as she calculated ideas in her brilliant mind for our salvation. The idea that I would have helped in shouldering the responsibilities of the pack that would soon become larger. The unknown began to compound the stress in my mind. Then I heard her start one of those eerie vocals. It snapped me out of my thoughts and I just followed her, offering an unsolicited baritone as something within me couldn't help but respond and join her. No words, just souls transcribing their melody for our untamed world to hear. Instincts felt sharp but serene. My heart was peaceful and yearning. The soul of my being felt free as it's tendrils wrapped securely around its mate's. The wolf in me rejoiced. Life with our mate would be a wondrous journey.