The Pack's Luna: The Pack Series Book 4 novel Chapter 14

Piper

“Earth to Piper.

“What?” I ask, tearing my eyes away from Henry.

“I asked if you were going to stare at Alpha Henry for the entirety of our lunch,” Vivienne says slowly, giving me a i look.

“Do you see him interacting with Alpha Quirin’s pups?” | ask, my eyes drawn back to the man who is holding a newborn in the crook of his arm like he’s been doing it for years. Maybe he has. And somehow, he’s also managing to help feed one of the other pups while maintaining a conversation with the adults around him.

“Yeah. Not all Alphas are like your father, Piper. Of course, until Alpha Quirin, I thought they were all alike,” Viv says.

“Yorick’s not like my father, neither is Zach,” I say distractedly, still staring at Henry.

Quirin’s pups seem to adore Henry. I watched him fall into an easy rhythm with the large group of pups at their table as if he belonged there.

I guess he does. He’s their uncle after all.

I shake my head and force myself to focus on the others at the table.”I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but Alpha Henry is always Like that with Alpha Quirin’s pups. And it’s not just Alpha Quirin’s pups. We’ve watched Alpha Henry with Alpha Warren’s pups too. Several of them are adults now, but he’s still very close to them. He saved Alpha Wendy’s life a couple of years ago. She would have died if he hadn’t intervened,” Jade says. She’s one of the friends that Vivienne introduced me to.

“Yeah, he’s technically not related to the Hills, but they’ve always acted like family from what we’ve seen,” another friend, Kaitlin, says.

“We thought he might be mated to Alpha Wendy. But hear she’s been spending a lot of time at the Academy,” Jade says, looking at me for confirmation.

“Actually, I think one of the guys from the Academy is spending time with her at Yorick and Cyra’s pack,” I say.” But she was approved for early admission, so I know she’s planning to attend the Academy next year.”

“Too bad. Alpha Henry is a good Alpha. He deserves to find his mate,” Kaitlin says.

I glance at Vivienne, thankful when she doesn’t say anything.

“Hey, do you want to help me get ready for tonight?” Vivienne asks.

“Absolutely! I’m here for you, my friend,” I say. “How may people are you expecting to be there?””Not many,” she says and both Jade and Kaitlin snort.

“Vivienne hasn’t realized that a big deal for one of us is a big deal for all of us,” Jade says, smiling at Viv.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Viv says, looking down at her empty plate.

“It’s a HUGE deal, Viv,” I say, reaching over to take her hand. “This is the start of a new life for you, one where you’re safe and cared for. This is so important. I’m glad to hear that your friends understand that,” I say.

“Oh, it’s not just us. The entire pack is planning to attend,” Kaitlin says.

“WHAT?” Vivienne says, loud enough to attract the attention of others around us. “What do you mean?” she whisper yells at her friends.

“Vivienne, it’s like Alpha Piper said. This is a big deal! It’s what we do here in this pack. We support each other because we all know what it’s like to have lived without anyone, or very few people, supporting us,” Jade says, nodding at me as she says the last part.

“I don’t want to be a burden,” she says, her voice quiet.

“Watching you accept our Alpha as your Alpha isn’t a burden, Vivienne. It’s a party!” Kaitlin says.

I grin at my friend.

“Hey, Luna!” Kailin yells.Instinctively, I turn to look at where Luna Kennedy is sitting. Once again, my eyes connect with Henry’s sage green ones

“Are we having a party to celebrate Vivienne tonight?”

Kaitlin asks.

“This pack celebrates ALL important events. Having a new pack member accept me and my mate as their Atpha and Luna constitutes an important event,” Alpha Quirin says.

There’s something in his tone that draws my gaze to him, and I watch him gently stroke his fingers over Luna Kennedy’s cheek.

“The bet just went up to one hundred dollars,” Jade whispers.

“What bet?” I ask, refusing to allow my gaze to find Henry’s again as I turn back to my table.

“How long before our Alpha gets our Luna pregnant again,” Kaitlin chuckles.

“What’s.the expectation for how long it will be?” | ask, looking back to see Alpha Quirin kissing his mate with a passion I’m not used to seeing in public. He obviously doesn’t care who sees how much he loves his mate.

“Less than six months,” Jade says, grinning.

I frown, my head spinning back to them. “Don’t they already have, like, a dozen pups already?””Not yet,” Jade and Kaitlin say, both laughing.

Wow!’I mouth to Vivienne. She’s smiling, but she’s looking a little green at the idea of the entire pack showing up to cetebrate her tonight.

“Come on. Why don’t you show me what you were planning to wear tonight,” I say, ready to escape the heat from Henry’s gaze that I’ve been feeling ever since he sat down for lunch.

We stand and begin to make our way from the dining hall when I hear my favorite hellions call my name.

“PIPER!”

Vivienne laughs as she opens the door to her room. It’s tidy and has more than I was expecting when it comes to furniture and clothing.

“Luna Kennedy insisted on ordering me some clothes, although I’m filling out already and some of the clothes I wore a week ago no longer fit,” she says.

“That’s a good thing, Viv. You needed to put on some weight.”

I spend the next few hours helping my friend get ready and just talking to her to help calm her nerves. I didn’t bother to mention that my father called about her. I didn’t want to ruin her mood like he ruined mine. This is her day, and no one is going to ruin it for her.

When it’s nearly time, I can tell that she’s getting anxious.

“Are you nervous about accepting Alpha Quirin and Luna Kennedy as your Alpha and Luna or are you nervous about doing it in front of the entire pack?” I ask, taking her hands in mine.

“Both?” she says.”Well, I’ll be there if you need an anchor. But from everything I’ve seen, this pack is excited to have you join.

And I haven’t seen you this happy in … well, I’ve never seen you this happy, Viv. You deserve this. You deserve to be in a pack that cares about you and wants you. I’m glad they’re all going to be there to witness this. It’s important to you and because it is, it’s important to them. That tells me everything I need to know about the bonds within this pack,” I say to her.

“Yeah. It really is different, Piper. It’s so much better than … before.”

“I know. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

We walk outside together, but I break away as she makes her way to the stage, staying in the back of the group of people who have congregated to watch Vivenne. It really does look like the entire pack is here.

I watch her take a deep breath. She looks over and finds me in the crowd. I smile at her and she nods, pulls her shoulders back, then walks up the steps to stand beside Alpha Quirin.

He has just started the ceremony when I smell his scent. A moment later, I feel the heat of his body at my back.

He leans in, and I can feel his warm breath against my ear.

“Hello Piper.”

“I swear to all that is good and holy, if you try to kiss me,Henry, I will punch you in that pretty face of yours,” I growl softly.

I feel him chuckling behind me. “You know Alphas love a challenge, right?”

I snap my head around, ready to say something snippy, but he beats me to it, grinning like I didn’t just threaten to break his nose or bust his teeth.

“And I’m glad you find me attractive.”