Second Chance Luna (Phoebe and Jason) novel Chapter 5

Phoebe. Her name is Phoebe.

‘Yes! Phoebe!’ Lobo happily whined, eager to learn the name of her wolf.

“I thought I told you I didn’t want to see these heathens while we had guests,” Luna Kristie snapped as she neared Phoebe surrounded by pups.

Phoebe bowed her head, “Sorry Luna. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not. I won’t have our guests’ night ruined by these spawn.”

“Of course, Luna. Come along pups,” Phoebe herded the little ones inside the packhouse and out of view.

“Jace? You okay?”

Jason’s hair bristled as he tried to calm his wolf, ‘Easy.’

‘How dare she talk to Mate like that! I’ll rip her throat out!’ Lobo growled.

‘Easy, let’s be smart about this.’

Jason frowned. It wasn’t right for his mate to bow to any wolf, Luna or no. If you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com know that it’s some paragraphs are not complete. Visit Jobnib.com to read it for free. Kristie’s attitude had been rubbing him the wrong way since his arrival and now he had a hard time controlling his disgust. Jason never heard of a Luna who hated pups or treated them with such contempt, chosen or not.

As his mate disappeared inside, Jason struggled to suppress his urge to follow. He searched for her for so long he wanted to keep her within his sight at all times. But he was the guest of honor and could hardly leave without drawing notice. He had to handle this situation carefully. Alphas were very protective of their territory and there was protocol to follow for a wolf to transfer packs though no one would prevent an alpha from claiming his rightful mate.

‘Mate come home with us!’ Lobo growled.

“Jace! What’s wrong?” Luke’s voice finally cut in.

“My mate. That was her.”

“You mean the one who took the pups inside?”

“Phoebe. Her name is Phoebe.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Go inside and watch her for me, please.”

“Sure. Don’t worry. She’ll be safe.”

“Keep me updated. I want to know everything.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’ll be like you were there yourself.”

Jason suppressed a growl. He wanted nothing more than to be at her side but something told him not to reveal his hand too soon to his hosts. There was something off about them that went beyond simple, chosen mates.

“What was that about?” Jason casually asked as Kristie returned.

“Oh nothing. Just a little trouble with the staff,” she smiled.

“Staff?”

“Yeah, poor wolfless Phoebe. Minding those little heathens is all she is good for.”

Jason raised an eyebrow looking at Graham for insight as the latter downed the rest of his beer. With a belch Graham set down the now empty bottle with the others before demanding another from the nearest pack member. A new bottle soon replaced the last and he didn’t hesitate to drink deeply from it despite the fact his wolf had to be suffering. Jason warily eyed his hosts. Something was very, very wrong with these two.

* * *

While Jason was too prominent a figure to slip away Luke had no such issue quietly returning to the packhouse. Entering the dining hall the echoes of laughter directed him to a small room off from the kitchen.

This room, unlike the dining hall, was plastered with the children’s artwork and educational posters from their lessons. It made the room cozy unlike the sterile atmosphere of the larger room. The same sense of unease that made Jason wary of their hosts also piqued Luke’s mind. Packs thrived on their pups which were literally their future. It was unnatural to hide them away like some dirty secret. Not wanting to disturb the little group Luke stood near the door out of sight peeking around the corner to keep an eye on his pack’s Luna.

She was average height standing only a little over five feet but more concerning was the fact she seemed thin. Luke didn’t recall seeing her at lunch and now he wondered if she was getting proper meals. Wolves tended to have a higher metabolism than humans so it was important they consumed enough calories or else they would rapidly lose condition especially if they shifted often.

She also seemed paler than normal though she could also have a naturally lighter complexion. Luke knew wolves from certain parts of Europe and the east coast tended to be paler than those on the west. Her hair was a mane of rich chestnut with a healthy sheen and her smile was warm causing her eyes to shimmer from gray to silver. It could also be her wolf hovering close to the surface though he never heard of a wolf with silver eyes, most had brown or amber.

The pups quickly took their seats at a long table laden with colorful paper, glitter glue, markers, sequins, buttons and string. In front of the younger pups the paper had been cut into star shapes with rows of plastic bins full of different craft supplies so they could color and decorate their stars as they wished. The older pups were given plain, paper squares. Once they were seated Phoebe demonstrated how to fold the paper square into an origami star once they finished decorating it. The older pups colored their paper, folded it and, if they chose, Phoebe would spray the finished project with adhesive and they could sprinkle glitter over it for the final touch.

Attaching strings to the finished projects Phoebe climbed up on a step stool to hang the stars from the ceiling much to the pups’ delight. When they were done they cleaned up their project table before pushing it to the wall. Once it was out of the way Phoebe brought out her final surprise, a bucket. She placed a light in the bottom before setting it on the ground. Over the bucket she added a paper fire effectively making a faux campfire. The pups giggled gathering around it as if it was real holding branches with paper marshmallows and hotdogs on the end.

“Excuse us.”

Luke jerked back allowing the kitchen omegas to enter bearing plates laden with real hotdogs, salads, coleslaw and other goodies from dinner. The pups squealed delight using the ketchup, mustard, relish and other condiments on their hotdogs. Each was given a soda and they happily ate their dinner around the pretend campfire.

Luke’s stomach complained about its own empty state. He stepped into the kitchen and helped himself to the sides lining the center counter. Outside he knew there were barbeque ribs and steak along with burgers and hotdogs but he didn’t mind missing out as he watched over his future Luna keeping Jason informed about her activities.

Slowly he became aware he had an audience. Luke turned to see one of the cooks watching him closely. The she-wolf studying him was an omega but well within her prime giving her an aura of experience and elevating her status somewhat even toward a beta like him. Luke gave her a respectful nod.

She pressed her lips together before asking, “Just what do you want with her? She doesn’t like playing games especially the ones you want to play.”

Luke grimaced at her candor before turning his head to show his mark. He thought the gesture would be enough but she continued to study him unimpressed.

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