Chapter Twenty-Eight

Henry and Hayden sat in his office, analysing the werewolf clan’s expenditure and safety protocols in the past month.

“Alpha Ryan August of the Red Moon Pack and Alpha Jon Jackson of the Dark Crescent pack have not submitted their book of finances for the past month. What are we going to do about that?” Henry asked Hayden.

Hayden groaned and ran a hand through his already messy hair. He realized that he needed a haircut but that was not foremost on his mind.

“I have no idea, Dad. I have sent countless correspondence and Ace has gone down there a bazillion times in the past week. All they know how to do is gossip and fornicate, ugh!” he complained bitterly.

His father chuckled. “Alphas under you, fornicating?”

“Yes Dad, fornicating. I keep wondering how they became Alphas. I find them quite irresponsible,” Hayden commented.

“They’re not irresponsible, it just seems like that. They’re doing well. They govern their constituencies well,” his father said.

“Well, they should learn to give reports to the higher authorities. How am I supposed to draft a budget and set a financial target for this month when I don’t know how much the Werewolf clan is spending? Being an Alpha just keeps getting harder,” he moaned in despair.

His father kicked back on the chair, smiling wryly, “You gotta do it, my boy.”

Hayden shook his head, resigned, “Sadly. I’ll send Ace over there with an ultimatum. I want to close this spreadsheet tomorrow, latest by noon.”

“That is a good idea. Mindlink Ace and let him go now,” he instructed.

“No, not now. He’s inspecting border security. Speaking of which, Dad, do you think we should involve the warlocks in our security detail? I’m thinking that their magic will add a nice fortification to our clan’s borders and y’know…” he shrugged.

“Hmmm. That is a good idea. Run it by Romulus and Athena, and see what they will say,” Henry offered.

“What was the rogue count for the month?” he asked.

Hayden pulled up a file from the mountain of files flung haphazardly all over his desk. He flipped through it rapidly, and then did a double-take, “This is very strange. I have to make a mindlink for Ace. Did he make a mistake, or were the prison guards slacking off?”

Hayden leaned forward urgently, “What is it, son?”

“Hold on a minute, Dad,” he said, and then his eyes unfocused.

“Ace. Hey, Ace.”

“Bro, I’m still quite busy now, can this wait?”

“No, it can’t wait. How come the rogue count for last month is just one? Isn’t that unusual?”

“I meant to tell you that earlier, but it slipped my mind. Yes, it is a little unusual, but it’s not strange. I verified it myself cos I was also surprised when I saw the report from the prison guards. I tried interrogating the rogue, but he said nothing.”

“Hmmm. I might have to do the interrogation myself. Thanks Ace.”

“No problem, bro. Later.” Ace finished and cut off the mindlink.

Hayden’s eyes refocused, and he looked at his dad, “We…caught only one rogue in the past month,” he answered his father.

“Just one? That’s a little unusual, but okay,” his father said, shrugging.

“It still seems a little suspicious. I’ll go and check it out later,” Hayden decided.

“It appears that we are done for the day, then,” said Henry.

“Looks like we are. Thank goodness!” exclaimed Hayden. He groaned and leaned back on his chair with his eyes closed.

“Hayden? There’s something I have to tell you,” his father said after a while.

Hayden sat up at the grave manner in which he said it, “Is anything the matter?”

“Yes. The Council of Wolves has been asking me about when you’re going to mark Alexia as your mate.”

Dark clouds settled on Hayden’s face and he frowned, “With all due respect, that is really none of their business. I will mark her when I am ready, and most importantly, when she is ready,” he replied.

“They think that you should mark her soon, in time for the next Half-Moon attack so that whatever power between you two that is supposed to save us will be activated,” his father continued.

“That is very unreasonable and unfair, Dad. Tell them I said that. Our relationship is in a good place right now, and I am not ready to speed it up or fuck it up to satisfy a bunch of old geezers!” he snapped.

“Hayden! Show some respect,” commanded Henry.

His eyes flashed gold, as an Alpha himself. Hayden clenched his jaw and bowed his head. His father exuded more power and authority.

“Sorry, Dad. But I will not do their bidding. I will not mark my mate until we are ready,” he said.

“They want to give you an ultimatum,” his father maintained.

“I will not heed their ultimatum. It doesn’t bother me. For fuck’s sake it has barely been 2 months since she got here!”

“And the next Half-Moon is next month,” argued Henry.

“Dad, you can’t change my mind on this, I’m sorry,” he said and walked out of the office.


***

Hayden rushed down the stairs to the gym where Alexia was having her workout.

Alexia knew as soon as he entered the gym. She smiled and paused the treadmill, then turned around to face him.
“Hey babe,” she greeted.

She stepped down from the treadmill and pecked him on the cheek. He grabbed her arm and smiled down at her, “You know I don’t like that. Give me a proper kiss.”

She smiled even wider. “Okay, Alpha,” she said, rolling her eyes. She kissed him properly on the mouth for a few seconds. Then she broke the kiss and went to sit down on the bench. He came to sit down beside her.

She had a few sips of water, then he collected the bottle and took a few gulps himself. She turned to gaze at his face, “There’s something bothering you. Spill it,” she said brusquely.

Hayden almost choked on his water, and he quickly swallowed it. He was shocked.

“How did you know there’s something bothering me? What sorcery is that? Or are you secretly a warlock?”

Alexia laughed a little. “It’s not sorcery and I am not a warlock. I’m a Huntress,” she shrugged, “It’s just basic psychology, I learnt to read your microexpressions.”

“Microexpressions? Basic psychology? You studied Psychology in college?” he asked.

“Yes. I did. I graduated summa cum laude from Lancaster University,” she said casually.

“She got brains, y’all!” Hayden whooped. Alexia burst into laughter.

“Back to the main question though. How did you know that there was something bothering me?”

“Like I said, I learnt to read your microexpressions. They are these tiny details and movements of your facial muscles that overall contribute to your facial expressions, even when you try very hard to ‘mask how you feel’.”

“So…what’s my microexpression when something is bothering me?” he enquired.

“You have this little wrinkle between your eyebrows, and there’s a muscle in your jaw that jumps. You could smile and laugh all you want, but when I see that wrinkle and that hopping little muscle, I know something is bothering you. So, tell me, what is bothering you?”

Hayden sighed as a weight settled again in his chest. He gestured wildly with his hands as he spoke, “My dad told me that…the council of Wolves want me to mark you and make you my Luna. Apparently, it could activate whatever power in us that is supposed to save us, in time for the coming Half-Moon.”

Alexia’s eyes widened, “Say what now?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said, they said. And I said no; that I wasn’t going to do it. I am not going to mark my mate until we are both ready to. We have something good going on, and I don’t want to ruin it.”

Alexia sighed, “If…that’s what they want, and it is in the interest of the pack, then,” she grabbed his hands, “then maybe we should do it.”

“Alexia, no. Me marking you and making you Luna is a very big thing. It involves a great deal of pressure, responsibility and emotional stress. Most importantly, it requires us to have a super strong relationship that won’t cave under the pressure of the pack and its needs,” he countered.

“I can handle it,” she argued.

“Yes, you will handle it, but you’re not ready to handle it. To become Luna, I’d also have to mate you,” he pointed out.

Alexia went blank, “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. And we are not ready for that. Moreso, it’s not just a pack, it’s the whole of the Werewolf Clan. Imagine White Flame pack in about 3 places.”

“Oh.”

“So, you see, we’re not ready for that kind of strain on our relationship yet. Let’s just leave that alone for now, okay?” he said and drew nearer to kiss her forehead.

“But what about the Half-Moon attack?”

“We survived before I met you, we’ll survive. Moreover, we now have Hunters and Vampires and Warlocks. We’ll do better, don’t worry,” he said.

“Okay. That would be for the best, I guess,” Alexia said and sighed deeply.