The One He Claimed by cooper (Sophie and Hunter) novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182

“I’ll be back in a moment,” she says to Beta Kinsley and Luna Sophie, breezing past me.

I watch both women’s lips twitch before I turn and follow my mate out into the hallway.

When she’s found the spot where she wants to talk, she spins around, her chin high and her hands clasped in front of her.

“What can I do for you, Alpha Ezra?” She continually uses my title to keep distance between us, even though I’ve asked her to call me Ezra.

Rather than answer, I take a moment to assess her. Sparring with her has given me time to see how her body moves, when it’s sore and when it’s not. Right now, she’s standing just off center, meaning either her leg or her hip is bothering her. She also rolled one shoulder when she clasped

cession her hands, so I’d guess the shoulder that she fell on during our today is still sore as well.

The longer I look her over, the tighter her lips press together and the brighter the pink stain in her cheeks becomes.

“Did you just want to ogle me, Alpha Ezra? You could do that from afar, she snaps at me.

“Where’s the fun in that?” I ask, responding to her snark before I could catch myself. Her eyes flash to mine and she takes a step to leave.

“Wait. That was uncalled for. Your constant challenges of me have me on edge, Luna.”

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“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not a Luna.

“You’re my mate, that makes you a Luna.”

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to know if you want to go with me to Alpha Owen’s old pack. My Gamma is there, and I’d like to check on things since I’m staying here longer than I anticipated.”

“You could leave,” she says, once again challenging me. This time, I have doesn’t mean that I won’t challenge me and Thorin under control. But they her as much as she’s challenging me.

“You could come with me.”

“No.”

“Then I’m staying. As I was saying, I’m going to Owen’s old pack to check on things and see if there is anything I need to address. There are a lot of women and children there who lost their mates and I want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to help them. I also want to make sure that the remaining warriors who challenged Hunter aren’t considering an insurrection against my Gamma.”

As I’ve spoken, her posture has relaxed, and now that it is, I can see her subtly shifting her weight to relieve some of the strain on her sore muscles.

“Why do you want me to go?” she asks.

“A couple of reasons. First, I hate the idea of leaving you, even for a few hours. Thorin won’t give me a moment’s peace while we’re gone which will make the trip that much harder for me. Second, it will give you a chance to let Reyna run. We can go at her pace and let you stretch out

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Chapter 182

those sore muscles. Third, I could use a Luna’s eye and assistance. Those women will probably respond better to you than to me. I want them to know that they are safe and they’re more likely to talk to you about their concerns than they are talk to me.”

I can see her struggle to answer. I know she wants to say no, but the running part of the deal has her hesitating as I knew it would. I also think the thought of helping other women is intriguing to her.

“I will say, I can’t guarantee your safety. I will protect you with my life f someone attacks us, but if Joshua comes while we’re out in no man’s land, it will be a risk for you. Hunter mentioned a place in the mountain…”

“I know where it is,” she says, looking down. “But I don’t want you dying for me, Ezra. My life will be too short to waste yours on,” she says quietly, making me growl angrily.

Before I can stop myself, I have her against the wall, my body pressed against hers. “You are NOT going to die.”

She looks up at me, resignation on her face. “I am. I’ve come to terms with that, Ezra. You need to as well. You need to let me reject you. You won’t carry my mark, but my death will still impact you and on the battlefield, that could mean the difference between life and death. You have a pack that relies on you. I have no one.”

from I wrap my arms around her, holding her against me but pulling away the wall. “Now you listen to me. I told you once, but I will tell you as many times as it takes, Margot. I lost one mate in this lifetime; I refuse to lose another.”

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