The Pack's Luna: The Pack Series Book 4 novel Chapter 17

Henry

The look on Piper’s face when she asked if I was changing a diaper stuck with me the rest of the evening. Why would she look so surprised, as if she was expecting me to hand Quaide off for someone else to change? No one in my family or circle of friends, except for Q before he was mated to Kennedy, ever did that. Even Wade and Yvonne, the youngest of the Hill children change diapers.

It makes me wonder about her family.

“Do you know anything about Piper’s family?” I ask Q as l help him carry their brood of pups to their rooms.

“No. It’s never come up. But from the few interactions I’ve had with her here and there, I get the impression that women aren’t necessarily thought of as equals in her family or possible her pack.”

“What gave you that impression?”

He looks thoughtful as he puts one of the twins in a crib. ” The first time i sparred with her, it was in Yorick’s pack.

Their entire friend group was there, and I chose to fight her first. Her response was very defensive, asking me if I chose her first because I thought she was the easiest target. She was a bit taken back when I told her that I chose her because I thought she would be the strongest competitor in the group. And for the record, I was right.

She’s strong, fast, and she has a fighting style that is an incredible mix of someone trained in the packs and my rogues. That was the first time I heard about Vivenne.”

He looks thoughtful for a moment. “I’m really glad that worked out. She needed to get off the streets.”

I don’t have to ask to know that if Quirin thinks she needed to get off the streets, then whatever situation Vivienne was living in was bad. Rogues aren’t known for having the healthiest lifestyles and some that I’ve heard of our downright dangerous.

“Anyway, if you want to know about Piper, you should ask her,” he says.

“I doubt she’ll tell me anything,” I say, pulling the blanket over the twin I’m putting to bed.

When I look, Quirin is staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“You are sparring with her tomorrow, right?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

He gives me a look and when it finally clicks, I grin. When we were growing up, I convinced Q to tell me something about himself, something personal, every time | pinned him in sparring. It was good incentive for me to take more hits from him than I normally would, and it was one of the ways that he and I became close.

“Do you think it will work?” I ask.

He shrugs. “It worked for me. I told you more about myself in a month than I’d told anyone else in my entire life.”

“Well, I don’t have a month, but I’ll get what I can from her and maybe, if I can defeat her, I can convince her to come visit my pack.”

“You won’t defeat her,” he says as we walk out.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” 1 growl.

“Henry, I’ve always been a stronger fighter than you. You know that. She was getting close to my level when I sparred with her a couple of months ago. Since then, l’ve sparred with her on a couple of other occasions, and I’m here to tell you she’s only getting stronger and faster each time I spar with her. I doubt I’ll be able to take her by the time she graduates. She’s that good. She wants a position on the Alpha Squad of elite warriors and from what I’ve heard from Yorick, she’s on the very short list of this year’s students in the running to make it.”

I think about her, think about her with her friend and with Quirin’s pups earlier today. “She’s more than a fighter,” | say softly.

“She has the potential to be more than a fighter. Right now, she’s building a life to become a fighter.”

I thought about what Quirin said long after I went to bed, tossing and turning and unable to sleep.

She should be by our side, Tyrus growls.I’m working on it,’ I tell my irritable wolf.

Work harder and spend more time with Quirin’s pups. She seems to like that, he says, purring and finally falling asleep.

I’m not sure if it’s my dreams that are about Piper and her wolf, or Tyrus’, probably both since / was running with Fallon in the woods, then laying by a lake with Piper, a bunch of pups lying between us. These were OUR pups though, not Quirin’s and Kennedy’s.

When I woke, it was with an even greater desire to have my own pups. And only want them with Piper. I want HER stomach growing with our pups. I want HER scent on my pups after they’ve been nursing. I want her face to have that look of pure happiness when she’s hugging OUR pups.

I need to figure things out with Piper, and I need to talk to her about what she wants. If being on the Alpha Squad is her dream, maybe we can talk about a length of time for her to do that before we have pups. I don’t want her to give upher dreams, but I want her in my pack, at my side, and in my bed. Permanently.

I head downstairs, ready to spar with my mate. I’m intrigued. Quirin isn’t easily impressed, and it’s not his style to exaggerate someone’s skill set.

When she comes outside, looking every bit the fighter, I smile and gesture for her to come to me.She narrows her eyes and walks determinedly toward me.

“Ready to get your ass handed to you, Alpha?”

I grin. “Ti ready to see what you’ve got, yes. But,” I say, holding up a finger. “I thought we’d make it interesting.”

“What do you mean, interesting?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

“How about, every time I pin you, you tell me something about yourself, something that isn’t known by most people.”

“No,” I say, sucking in much needed air and getting back to my feet.

Look over and see Quirin grinning like a fucking fool. 1 warned you, he mouths.

I turn to face my mate again, focusing on fighting rather than teasing and kissing.

“Again,” I say. She goes for the same move, spinning low to swipe my feet out from under me. I leap over her feet and while she’s spinning, obviously surprised that she didn’t connect with me this time, I grab her from behind, rolling onto my back and wrapping my legs around hers, while pinning her arms to her body.

“Kiss or tell,” I whisper in her ear. When she begins to fight against me, I bite down on her ear in a gentle show of dominance. She relaxes against me and I get distracted at the feel of her in my arms.

“I’m one of four children, the only girl,” she huffs out.

“Thank you,” I say, kissing her ear and releasing her.She’s on her feet in an instant. “It was only supposed to be one or the other,” she growls at me.

“I don’t consider that a kiss, Piper. A kiss is what we shared yesterday when the twins ensured that we made up. THAT’S the kind of kiss you’ll be giving me if you don’t want to talk about yourself.”

She growls and takes an offensive position again. Once I’m ready, I gesture for her to come at me.

Her approach is very different this time and I can see what Quirin meant about her using both the structured, pack-style and the chaotic, rogue-style fighting techniques effectively. Thankfully, I’ve been sparring with Quirin and his rogues for years. She still comes at me harder than anyone I’ve ever faced with the exception of Quirin. I’m able to hold her off, but just barely.

When I get an opening, I leap at her. I tackle her to the ground, thinking I’ve got her. But before I can request my kiss or tell, she flips me over her head and off her in a move that is nothing short of spectacular in its strength, speed, and ingenuity.

However, I’m not new at sparring and Ive taken on my share of young fighters. Maybe they haven’t all been as strong as my mate, but I’ve had to learn to adapt my fighting style to keep up with the younger Hills, especially Connor and Yorick who are both incredible fighters.

I ignore the pain that shoots up my back when I land hard, and rather than flipping over, I use my core strength to lift my legs oer my head. I roll myself up into a handstand, before letting my body fall back over Pipers, pinning her arms over her head and her body with mine. I’m rewarded with her stunned expression.

“How the fuck did you do that?”

“Maturity and experience,” I say.

I feel her body tense and the look in her eyes changes from challenge to vulnerability.

“I think I’ll take a kiss this time,” I murmur, leaning in to press my lips to hers.

She doesn’t fight me and after a moment, she gives in, I returning the kiss with a passion I never knew I wanted or needed in my life.