Dylan
Lucy’s olive complexion paled, but she swiftly hid away her shock as she got off the bed and glared at me. “You Starsmoon are all the same. I can’t believe I was willing to bind myself to you for the sake of our packs. I hate you.” Putting her hands on her hips, she vowed. “Mark my words, Dylan, you’ll pay the price for rejecting me.” And in a flurry of lace and bare olive skin, she sashayed to the door, slamming it behind her.
I was barely given ten minutes’ reprieve before my phone rang. For a moment, I just lay in bed, not caring to pick it up as I dwelled again on the fact that Cherry was gone. Then, the thought that it could be her calling had me launching myself out of bed and tearing my phone from my discarded trousers on the floor. The hope beating through my chest was all- consuming, and I didn’t check the caller ID.
“We need to talk,” my dad said from the earpiece.
My stomach tightened at his weary tone, and I felt guilty at the scene I’d caused yesterday, but only momentarily. I’d had to speak to my mate. And I’d never regret that.
“I’ll see you in the office in fifteen,” I told him before ending the call.
When I arrived, my dad looked as tired as he’d sounded. The dark bags under his eyes declared he’d gotten little sleep, if any, last night. As I took a seat opposite him, I noticed the stubble on his chin, and I realized he definitely hadn’t slept. My father was one of those men who prided himself on his neat and tidy appearance. My mom liked to joke he was a pampered pooch. His unkempt appearance had me waiting for him to share whatever was troubling him because I knew only the greatest of worries would have had him straying from his regular grooming habits.
“Please, Dylan, tell me you’re going to make things right with Lucy?”
Carefully, I kept any anger out of my face, feeling more contained than I had yesterday. After all, when my dad had pushed me about Lucy then, it had felt as if he were an obstacle between my true mate and me. I’d been incited to my most assertive because I felt as if he’d been threatening Cherry and me.
“I’m not, Dad. I can’t–”
“If you reject her,” my dad interrupted, there’ll be war between the two packs.” The tremor of panic in his voice was unmistakable.
I felt strangely calm, despite my dad’s calamitous exclamation. “It’s too late. I’ve already sent Lucy packing.”
I watched my dad’s expression fall. “Then you’ve damned us all with your impulsive actions, son.” He slumped in his chair, staring into the distance as if watching the rapidly approaching doom he spoke of.
But Nuu-Chah’s presence spoke otherwise. I sensed again that deep upwelling of certainty that I was doing the right thing. I couldn’t damn my pack by claiming my mate because she was their Luna too. We all needed Cherry. And one day, my dad would see that too. I mused that he’d once been so sure of Cherry’s importance to our pack while I’d been foolishly blind to it. Now, our roles were reversed. I mused that perhaps as the time had brought my dad closer to acting as Alpha whether his insight into Nuu- Chah’s will hadn’t dimmed while my insight had increased.
Just then, my phone vibrated. I fished out my phone, clicking open a text from Bert:
Please don’t hate me for this, Dylan. I’ve been obsessing over whether to tell you something for the last few days.
I saw the … on my phone screen as he continued to type. I frowned, wondering what on earth my Beta was talking about. How could I ever hate the guy? He’d been the one who talked to me last night and got me safely home yesterday. He’d also been the one to follow my order to invite Cherry back from Berlin to attend my Alpha ceremony.
At the thought, I gripped my phone harder. Did this have something to do with Cherry? I watched the three blinking dots for a few more seconds with strained anticipation.
I promised Cherry, as her old friend, that I wouldn’t tell you this. But after yesterday and with Cherry gone again, I know I must tell you now. Cherry has a six-year-old daughter, Fern. I met her while I was in Berlin. I think Cherry conceived her while she was still in the pack.
Warmth spread through my chest as I read Bert’s message. It might be an absurd idea, but I swore the flash of the future I saw happily playing through my mind was a flicker of the future from Nuu-Chah himself. I saw Cherry and me holding hands as a little girl skipped ahead of us, smiling and laughing as she looked back at us.
Quickly, I texted Bert back:
I don’t hate you, mate. In fact, I would fucking give you a promotion if there was one. Also, get me on the next flight to Berlin.
As I exited Berlin Airport, the first thing to catch my eye was a tall, dark- haired man holding a huge bouquet of roses. When he found me in the crowd, a million-dollar smile lit up his face. Carl. I blinked, taking in how his mussed hair countered his expensive suit perfectly, giving him a roguish quality. He had texted me to ask when I got back but hadn’t mentioned coming to meet me.
As I met his emerald eyes, I couldn’t help but be dazzled by the desire in them. His lips dipped down, and he planted a lingering kiss on mine. “God, I missed you,” he whispered, eliciting a smile from me.
“I was only gone a week,” I said, taking in the massive bunch of flowers in his arms. “These must have cost a fortune. You shouldn’t have,” I told him, even as I enjoyed the heady perfume that wafted around me as he gifted them to me.
“I told you, I missed you,” he said, stealing another kiss from me before taking my trolley bag and packing it into the boot.