All eyes turned to George when he gave the answer, “Alpha Lorn Sir”.
The color in Katia’s face drained, her wolf Aza was on alert, and Nathan immediately stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her.
Katia was furiously trying to figure out why he would be there. She and Aza were having an internal conversation while Nathan spoke with his men.
“Aza he cannot have found out I am alive and here, could he? Katia worried.
“Girly, he rejected us, and our dear sister says we are with the mate we were supposed to be with in the beginning. Before, everything was messed up by our grandfather,” Aza replied, trying to calm her human. “Besides, mate will not let anyone take us or harm us. My wolfie mate says they like watching us have fun and discover the world without fear.
A little calmer now but not letting go of Nathan’s arm, she replied to Aza, “I guess we will just have to wait and see why he is here.” Katia then turned her attention to the others and what they were saying.
Nathan had linked Commander Los to escort Alpha Lorn to the pack house. He gave orders for anyone else with Alpha Lorn to remain at the border. If the Alpha did not like the arrangement, then he could return to his pack lands. Nathan also told George to return to finish his patrol shift. He instructed everyone to get cleaned up and the rest of the ranking wolves to meet in his office once they were clean.
Maria closed the door to the dining room until it could be cleaned, which would be immediate if she had her way. Once in our room, Nathan started reassuring me and Aza that we were safe and that no one was going to hurt us in any way.
Katia thought about it and decided she was overreacting a bit. “I know. Hearing his name brought back all the feelings from his rejection. But I have you now, and I know you will not let anyone take me from you or harm me. I think Aza and I are finally feeling comfortable here. She pushes me to do the things we did not do as a child, and everyone here is so understanding about it. We get scared that, somehow, it will be taken from us, or it is all a dream.” Wrapping her arms around Nathan's waist and laying her head on his chest, Katia continues, “If you think about it, Alpha Lorn did not harm me physically with a beating or torture,, he rejected me causing me a different kind of pain that is unforgettable. He really does not deserve my unjust fear of him.”
Nathan hugged her close, proud of the growing she and her wolf were doing. They are doing it at their own pace, but it is happening. He would have done what was necessary to make her feel safe and secure, but her own realizations were helping her feel that way.
Nathan received a link from Chip, “Alpha, our guess has arrived.”
“Chip show Alpha Lorn to my office, please. Your Luna and I will be there in a moment.” Nathan informed him.
“Come on, my little mate. Our guest is here, and we have not cleaned up or changed.” He smacked her rear end to get her moving.
Once they were cleaned up, changed, and back downstairs, Katia decided to get refreshments and serve them to their guest herself. She did not want any interruptions if the Alpha was there on a sensitive matter. She shooed Nathan off to his office and hurried to get the refreshments.
Entering his office, the other Alpha stood holding out his hand in greeting. Nathan grasped it saying, “Excuse the wait, before your arrival my pack was having a food fight, and we all needed to change clothing and clean up.”
Alpha Lorn could not hide the surprise in his face hearing the other Alpha admitting to his pack playing games together. Did they not worry about rogue attacks? Did they not have enemies? Cully, Alpha Lorn’s wolf spoke up quickly, “Keep your questions and your thoughts to yourself. The two packs on these lands have special connections, as you are about to find out. You do not want to offend any of them.”
Lorn stiffened his spine a bit as he withdrew from the handshake. Alpha Nathan asked him to take a seat, and he decided to congratulate him on finding his mate and Luna. “Congratulations, Alpha Nathan. I heard you recently found your mate and Luna.”
Nathan smiled and thanked him. Without thinking about it, he stated, “Hopefully you will find yours soon, Alpha.”
Lorn grimaced and said, “Would that be true, but I fear I will not be given a second chance.”
“Second chance?” Nathan questioned.
“Atlas, I found my mate a few months ago after killing her Alpha. I was confused by the situation around me after killing the pack, Alpha. No one was acting like it was not a big deal. None of them were worried about giving their loyalty to the new Alpha. I found my mate among them looking like a little urchin. I thought she was a child. She was covered in the most hideous scars and did not speak. I have learned since then that she was a woman, grown that had been abused by the former Alpha who had bought her at the age of ten to be his chosen mate. When she would not heed him, he almost beat her to death and ripped her throat out, which from what I understand, she barely survived.” Alpha Lorn paused for a moment, taking a breath before continuing. “I have learned since then that once she survived that injury, he confined her to the dungeons until she and her friends convinced him that he had finally killed her with one of his beatings. Her friends then hid her away in a cabin near the pack’s eastern border and worked at healing her mind and body. I found her and, not understanding what was happening or listening to my wolf, I rejected her. I will never forget the devastation I saw in her eyes that night before she turned and ran. Almost the entire pack went after her and never returned.”
Nathan had gestured for the other Alpha to have a seat in the chair in front of his desk while he took his seat behind it, “What brings you here?”
Alpha Lorn frowned as he said, “Part of the old pack still refuses to pay loyalty to me. They wish to be with the Moon Touched pack, which is what those who went after my rejected mate called themselves. The weirdest part was they refer to her as the Alpha Luna. I don’t know what that is. Anyway, we had heard that you were helping a pack get their charter by the same name and the other wanted to come here to be with that pack.”
Nathan looked the other Alpha in the eye and said, “Alright, I understand they want to be with their pack, but why are you here?”
Staring back, Lorn answered, “After finding out what happened to her and that she was practically their luna, I felt I owed her to bring her people to where they wanted to be. I have never seen the love these people have for one little woman. My father and Beta remained behind to watch over the rest of my packs. I heard that she did not survive the rejection, that she took her own life. I wanted to apologize to those wolves who have lost so much and offer my help and allegiance. I can only hope that it will help in some ways relieve the guilt I feel for not being the mate she thought I would be.”
Nathan nodded, saying, “I do not see a problem with you bringing those who do not wish to stay with your pack to where they want to be. We are glad to accept them, and I am sure the Moon Touched Alpha will be ecstatic to see more of his pack together again. I think it is a good thing that you wish to express your regret and apology to them.”
Alpha Lorn smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time, “Great, when can we get this accomplished. I am sure they would like a good home-cooked meal after all the days of traveling and roasting what we caught on a fire.”
This time Nathan had a twinkle in his eye when he answered, “Oh, just as soon as my mate gives her approval.”
Confused Alpha, Lorn’s attention was caught by the door opening and a small figure coming through carrying a tray of drinks and food. As she turned to look at him, Nathan took the tray from her to sit on the table next to the other Alpha.
Alpha Lorn’s eyes dawned with recognition, and he exclaimed, “You!”