The Pack's Luna: The Pack Series Book 4 novel Chapter 6

Henry

I wanted to reach out, to keep her from walking away from me, but that punch, holy fucking hell, that punch has Quirin level strength.

From my bent over position, I watched her watk away, heard her call to her fucking lover, and then watched him follow her. Away. From me.

“Henry! Oh my goddess, are you alright?” Justine asks, as I’m finally able to suck in a much-needed breath of air.

I stand, looking around, only to see a very unfamiliar look on Yorick’s face. I’ve seen it before, just never aimed at me like it is now. It’s frustration and determination, the kind that I’ve only ever seen on the Hills’ faces when they’re ready to fight to protect someone their care about.

“Let her go, Henry.”

“She’s my mate,” I snarl.

He raises and eyebrow and not-so-subtly looks at Justine.

I huff out a breath and scrub my hands over my face. What the hell kind of mess have I made for myself?

“Maybe we should go, Henry,” Justine says, her hand sliding through my arm again in a way that now feels possessive and suffocating. It takes everything in me to keep Tyrus’s snarl from leaving my mouth. ‘Get her off our arm, he growis at me.

I try to subtly remove my arm from her grasp, but I see her frown as i step away.

“I think Justine is right, Alpha Henry. Perhaps you should go. We’ll make arrangements to sign the alliance agreement some other time,” Cyra says.

“I am NOT leaving her,” I growl.

“Believe me when I tell you that the punch you just received was only the tip of Piper’s power, Henry. She’s training to become part of the Alpha Squad of elite fighters. She’s one of the strongest fighters in our class and she will not hesitate to level you with that power if you don’t give her the space she’s demanding. You need to leave,” he says, standing his ground.

“NO!” I roar.

“Henry, please …” Justine begins.

“Is there a problem here?” a vaguely familiar voice says from behind me. I spin around, recognizing one of the elite fighters who joined us at Alpha Christer’s pack when Quirin killed him. He had some sort of dinosaur name.

Raptor, I think.

“I was wondering the same thing,” another voice says.

I spin around again, seeing an older man coming out of the cafeteria behind Yorick and Cyra.”No problem, Alpha Michael. Alpha Henry was just leaving,” Yorick says, holding my gaze and effectively dismissing me. It’s so out of the ordinary for any of the Hills to treat me like an outsider, that I feel a sharp pain in my heart. They’ve always been family to me. But right now, I’m on the outside of Yorick’s inner circle.

“ll walk you out,” Raptor says.

“Henry, let’s go,” Justine says, tugging on my arm.

“Tell her l’ll be back,” I say, holding Yorick’s gaze until he nods.

“This way, Alpha. Is your car in the general parking lot?”

Raptor asks.

“I know where I’m going,” I growl, turning and stomping out to my car. It’s rude to make Justine jog to keep up with me, but right now, I’m too furious to care.

When we get to the car, I open the door for her. I force myself not to slam the door shut and when I look across the parking lot, to the forest area behind the cafeteria, I see her, in the arms of her lover. Even from here she stands out.

I’m ready to let Tyrus out to go claim her as ours, when I see her step away from the man and wipe her eyes. Tyrus howls in pain, knowing that the fierce woman, the woman who left a nasty bruise on my stomach and an ache in my heart, is crying because of me. It’s that knowledge that finally makes me get in the car and pull away.I’ll give her the space she needs, for now. But I will be back.

My mind is so full of swirling emotions, that I’m startled when Justine speaks.

“A chance for what, Justine? To be second-best now that I’ve found my mate? Is that really what you want?”

“I want the chance to show you that we could be good together, Henry. What do you even know about that girl?”

“She’s a grown woman,” I growl.

“Barely! And don’t tell me that Alpha she was holding hands with, Zach, isn’t her lover. Do you think she’s just going to cut ties with him because she found you? I doubt it. I’m here! I’m willing! I’m old enough to know what it means to be a Luna, and to care for a pack. She wants to be some elite fighter. Do you think she’d really settle for life in a pack, for being a Luna? I know this is all unexpected, Henry, but you need to think about this.

Before you throw things away with me, you need to think about this.”

I pull off on the side of the road and scrub my hands over my face again.

“I don’t know what to think, Justine. I need time. I need time to figure things out.”

“Then at least give me the chance, the respect, to allow me to meet your pack, Henry. If you need time to figure things out, fine. I’ll accept that. But give me the chance to show you that I can be a good Luna to you and your pack.

If you’re going to decide which way to go, Henry, at least let me show you that l am everything you want and need in a mate,” she says.

I close my eyes, remembering the fire flashing in Piper’s eyes. Justine isn’t everything I need in a mate. I felt more alive in that one, short interaction with Piper than I have ever felt in my life. But Justine is right about one thing. If Piper wants to be an elite fighter, and according to Yorick, she has the potential to become one, then she may not want the calm, placid life of being a Luna.

As much as I want my mate, she may not want me. And right now, she definitely doesn’t want me. I’ll have to work on that. But for now, Justine is right. If she doesn’t care about being second best, then why give up my back-up plan in case Piper refuses to accept me.

“Alright, Justine. Let’s go to my pack. We’ll see how this week goes,” I say, starting the car and turning around, heading home.”Thank you, Henry. You won’t regret it.”

I already do.