by J C Gordon
“You’re not mated yet, and she’s still human, so why is she here?” Loretta persisted, glaring hard at Millie. “Surely, you didn’t call a meeting just to tell us you had found a mate? I know it’s been a long time coming, Jared, but it hardly warrants a full bloody pack meeting to announce it.”
Millie stared back at the woman running her mouth off and felt irritation rise at her derogatory tone. “If Jared chooses to call a pack meeting to announce our joining, what is it to you? Are you jealous, Loretta?” She kept her tone saccharine sweet and was rewarded by a flare of anger in the other woman’s eyes.
“Why would I be jealous? I’ve already had Jared, and I dare say once he tires of you, I’ll have him again.”
Millie laughed. She laughed so hard she started to cry and had to wipe at her cheeks to get rid of the wetness there. “I’m sorry I took so long to accept you, honey.” She turned to Jared, when she stopped laughing. “If I’d known you’d had to resort to that, I would have come to you much sooner.”
Jared’s eyes widened slightly, and then a big grin crossed his face. He had been concerned about how Millie would cope with the more aggressive females in the pack, and she was handling Loretta perfectly by not letting the stupid bitch get under her skin. He reached to pull her up against him and gave her a very lusty kiss.
“Play nice with the females, baby,” he laughed huskily, letting the whole room hear his words. “It’s been a long time since they’ve had a proper Alpha female, so they’re a bit out of practice when it comes to showing the due respect necessary.” His blue eyes drilled into Loretta, as he spoke, and she held her peace and lowered her eyes, clearly still unhappy.
“I’ve called this meeting for three reasons,” he addressed the room, keeping Millie clutched tightly at his side. “The first to introduce Millie as my mate, which I believe has now been done. The second is to welcome Rafe back home to us.” He turned to smile at his beta, and there were loud shouts to Rafe, welcoming him home.
“As everyone can see, Rafe is much healed and ready to be one with us again,” Jared continued. “He has asked to take the pack name, and I have agreed, so he is now to be known as Rafe Hanlon. We owe a debt of gratitude to his sister Annie and her partner Caleb Ryder for helping to bring him back to us. I owe a debt of gratitude to you all for voting to allow Annie to help heal our brother.”
He paused and let the pack absorb his words and feel his deep pride in all of them. They were basically a good bunch of people, if a little volatile at times. He was proud to lead them, and he hoped fervently they were proud to have him as their Alpha.
“You said three reasons, Jared,” Bill Shepherd called out loudly from the back of the room. “What’s the third one?”
Jared stiffened at the question. Bill was one of the ‘No’ voters regarding Annie, and he knew without a doubt he would be one of the loudest No votes to the coming proposal. Millie squeezed his waist soothingly, and he gave her a quick smile before he turned back to the pack.
“When explaining to Millie about pack life, she asked me certain questions,” he said, loudly. “Questions I found difficult to answer. One of her first questions was why didn’t I trust the pack.” There was an outraged roar around the room, and he held his hand up for silence, though it took a minute for the noise to subside.
“She meant no disrespect,” he continued when they settled. “She merely wanted to know why I trusted an outsider to keep our secret, when I didn’t appear to trust the pack to do so. My immediate reaction was anger. I trust each and every one of you with my life and the lives of all our brothers and sisters. But, the more questions Millie asked, the more I came to realise how much I had failed you as an Alpha.”
He held up his hand again, when there was another roar of anger throughout the room. “I have failed you,” he said to the suddenly hushed room. “Three generations ago our pack stood at three hundred strong, now we stand at only two hundred strong. The reason for this is the sheer number of unmated among us. Too many of the pack are not having children, and we are slowly starting to decline because of it.”
“There’s nothing can be done about that, Jared,” Bill called loudly. “I fail to see how you can view your leadership as being a failure because of it.”
Jared’s gaze locked on his. “It is my failure, because I allow it to continue,” he said simply. “We all know Rafe’s almost pathological need to return to his human life. My Millie also balks at the idea of leaving her human life behind to become my mate. She asked me why it was necessary, and the only answer I could give her was because that was the way it has always been done.”
“It’s what protects the pack,” Bill shouted loudly. He was slowly starting to see where this meeting was heading, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“The pack protects itself,” Jared argued, talking over him when he went to talk on. “Who says the pack has to protect itself here in this compound? Think of it everyone, the chance to find a mate of your own instead of hoping that one is eventually born into the pack.”
The room erupted loudly, people jumping up and shouting angrily at their Alpha, others sitting shell-shocked, as just what he was proposing sank into their stunned brains. Jared let them shout, as he slowly surveyed the room. There were more seated than standing. He didn’t know if that was a good sign or not. He hoped it was. Millie was trembling slightly at his side, and Rafe had taken a step closer to her, his big body coiled and ready for his Alpha’s command.
“This is outrageous!” Bill screamed over the others, his lined face red with fury. “You only suggest this because of your mate’s unwillingness to become one of us!”
His accusation startled Millie out of her fear and she looked at the man for a long moment as the rest of the room suddenly fell silent again. Everyone was still looking at her, most probably waiting for her to run screaming from the room. If Jared didn’t have such a tight grip on her, she would most likely fall to the floor. She drew herself up straighter, knowing instinctively that she couldn’t be seen to crumble. If the pack thought her weak for one moment, then Jared’s leadership would be in jeopardy, and she couldn’t let that happen.
“Yes, I don’t want to give up my human life,” she said truthfully, swallowing down her fear and surveying the room slowly. “I like it, and I don’t see why I should be confined here in this compound with the only explanation for it being that’s the way it’s done. If the pack chooses to remain as they are, then I will make the change, and I will come to live here. I will do so, because that’s the only way Jared can have the heirs he so desperately wants. I will do it for him, because I love him.”
There was a murmur of approval and she held up her hand to halt it. “But, I will weep, when I do so. I will not weep, because I no longer have my human life. I will weep, because I will be mated to this wonderful Alpha and bearing his children, while three quarters of my new family are doomed to never know the joy I know. There is a finite time for some traditions. It is not wrong to examine those traditions and amend them, if necessary.”
The room remained silent when she stopped talking, and she felt Jared’s gaze on her, but she was too scared to look away from the faces in the room. She wanted to meet every eye to try to gauge what they were thinking.
“I still say this is outrageous,” Bill yelled loudly, when the silence wore on.
“Oh, put a sock in it, Bill,” Loretta complained from the front row, causing Millie to start in surprise. “It’s all right for you. You’re already mated and have had your children. What about the rest of us, the ones who aren’t betas and will never get the chance to mate? Our Alpha talks sense.”
“She’s not Alpha, until she mates properly,” Bill shot back, furiously. “She has no right to even be speaking here on this subject!”
“She’s Alpha Bitch, if I bloody well say she is,” Loretta snapped back, standing up and glaring at him. “I’ve been leading the females for over three centuries, and if I submit to her, then she is the Alpha and y
ou can just keep your big nose out of female affairs!”
Loretta’s unexpected championship stunned Millie. She stared at her, until she turned around and sat down again. The wiry woman nodded in her direction and folded her arms.
“Thank you, Loretta,” Millie said quietly, knowing that something momentous had just happened. “All we ask is the pack consider the possibility of leaving the compound to search for their mates or live among humans, if that’s what you really want to do. No one will be forced to do so. The option will just be there, if you do want to. New mates will not have to give up their human lives, if they don’t want to. It’s time to bring the pack into the twenty first century.” She tacked her brightest smile onto the end of her words. “And, can we lay off with the Bitch stuff, too?” she asked with a little laugh.
Jared’s heart swelled with pride when his woman literally charmed the pack with her keen intelligence and quick wit. Ripples of laughter were going around the room at her last comment, and she was quite literally glowing, as she turned to look up at him to see if she had done okay. She had seen a side to them he hadn’t been prepared to show her yet and she had stood strong by his side.
“You are amazing, my Millie,” he said softly, cupping her cheek and stroking it lightly. “You would really join with me, if the pack votes no?”
“My life is with you now, Jared. How could I ever deny you the chance to have a complete family? If the pack vote no, I will mate with you properly and give you the children you so dearly want. I will do the same if they vote yes, too,” she laughed, softly.
“I love you so much,” he whispered, his handsome face full of joy, as he bent his head and caught her lips in a tender kiss.
“I love you too, Jared,” she whispered against his mouth, as Rafe coughed discreetly at their side.
“I think the pack is ready to vote, boss,” he said, with a little laugh.
Jared and Millie turned to face the pack again and were startled to see so many smiling faces looking at them. Millie blushed scarlet, and Jared chuckled loudly. “So embarrassed over a little kiss, Millie? Just wait until you find out what’s involved in an Alpha mating.” Her eyes widened slowly, and she opened her mouth to ask, but decided maybe she didn’t want to know right now.
“I call the vote,” Jared called. “Please stand if you agree with the change in pack law with regards to its segregation from human life.” There was a shuffle of feet as people stood.
“Please stand if you are opposed,” Jared called and there was another shuffle of feet.
“I declare the vote is in favour of amending pack law,” Jared smiled broadly. “There will be a lot of work involved, as we work out the logistics of how we are going to fit in with the humans around us. If anyone has what they feel would be helpful skills to work towards that end then please see the betas. I declare this meeting over.”
Rafe smiled, as Jared and Millie mingled with the pack for a little while, and then disappeared back to the Alpha’s house. Bill and some of the older ones were still grumbling about the meeting, but the pack had voted, and they would eventually calm down and accept the changes. If they were that set against the idea then they would leave and join another pack.
His brown eyes surveyed the room slowly, and he finally found Loretta staring at him with a speculative look on her face. He cocked an eyebrow at her, and she wandered over, as he perused her with open appreciation. She looked like she might be fun to tussle with.
“So, you’re a Hanlon now,” she said with a smirk on her face. “Guess that makes you Jared’s adopted brother.”
Rafe frowned. “How do you work that out, Loretta?”
She gave him a disbelieving look. “You think the Alpha lets just anyone take the pack name?” she asked, incredulously. “He’s never allowed anyone to do so before, Rafe. Jared Hanlon was letting the pack know tonight, in no uncertain terms, that you are now officially his brother.”
He stared at her in stunned surprised, and then he started to laugh. “I need to learn a hell of a lot more about pack life.” He had the distinct feeling he had just let himself in for more than he’d bargained for by becoming Jared’s adopted brother.
“I could help you out with that,” she said slightly huskily, threading her arm through his.
Rafe looked down at her and smiled. What the hell, she was a good-looking woman, and he was still available for now. He leaned down and fisted his hand in her short, dark hair, bringing his mouth down hard on hers and growling when she met his aggressive kiss with an equal ardour.
“Why don’t you teach me, then?” he breathed against her lips, and laughed when she growled her pleasure and pulled him from the room.
~~~~~
“Jared, what did you mean about the mating with an Alpha comment?” Millie asked, unable to keep her concern from her voice, as they slipped into his house. Her blue eyes sought out his and saw the laughter in them, which made her frown.
“Well…” he sighed softly. “It’s more of a group activity, than a private one. Involves the whole pack and takes place outside. We get naked, and I take you in both my human and my wolf form, before I bite you to mark you as mine. When I bite you, I will pass the wolf gene into your blood stream, and then, you will bite me and mark me as yours.”
Millie’s heart thumped wildly in her chest, as her eyes grew larger and larger the more he talked. Group sex? People watching? Her face paled at just the thought, and she had to swallow hard to try to control her breathing. She could do it, for Jared she could do it. She hoped.
His loud laughter filled the hallway, as he scooped her up into his arms and took the stairs two at a time up to his bedroom, his blue eyes twinkling merrily. “Or, that’s how it used to be done, until Ma told Da in not uncertain terms that there was no way in hell she was having sex in front of the pack, and he amended pack law to claim her. I’m not the only Hanlon Alpha to amend pack laws, when necessary.”
“You bastard!” Millie shrieked, slapping him hard on his chest even as a wave of heartfelt relief ran through her. “You did that deliberately, didn’t you?”
Jared kicked his bedroom door shut and slid her legs to the floor, but kept his arms firmly around her so her hands were jammed against his chest, and she couldn’t hit him again. “You were going to agree to it, too,” he chuckled lightly. “I could see it in your eyes, baby, and it makes me so proud that you would be willing to do that for me, but it’s not required. We can do it right here, right now, in this room if it’s truly want you want.” He held his breath, as he waited for her answer.
Millie stared into Jared’s eyes and felt a second’s hesitancy about taking such a huge step. His expression was patient and understanding, but she could read the deep longing in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she nodded slowly.
“Are you sure, Millie?” he whispered. “You need to be completely sure you really want this. If you’re uncertain we can wait a bit longer.”
Any lingering doubts melted away and she smiled, “I’m sure, Jared,” she said huskily. “But, can I see your wolf again first? I’d like a moment to be with him without screaming the place down and running away.”
Jared smiled and moved away from her, quickly stripping off his clothes and shifting the moment he had. He sat down on the floor and regarded her attentively.
Millie stared at the large, black wolf before her and walked forward until she was beside him. She tentatively reached out and touched him on his large head and the wolf rumbled in his chest and butted against her hand making her laugh with delight. “Your fur feels so soft, Jared,” she laughed, running her hands over the wolf’s head and neck, letting the silky black fur tickle her hands. “You’re beautiful.
The wolf rumbled again and was suddenly Jared once more. He rose swiftly from the floor and caught Millie in his arms, his mouth descending to hers to give her a quick, lusty kiss. “Not as beautiful as you, my Millie,” he smiled against her lips, as he started to strip her clothes from her body.
; “When will I be able to change into a wolf?” Millie was breathless as she tried to stop giggling at his haste to get her naked.
He trailed his lips along the side of her neck, drawing a small moan from her. “It depends on the person. Usually it’s straight away, but some people it takes a few days.” He picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying down beside her and pulling her naked body flush against his, so he could slant his lips over hers and slide his tongue deep into her mouth and lick greedily at her wonderful sweetness.
God, he could never get enough of her sweet taste. He wanted her so badly, wanted to fully mate with her so badly. He reluctantly dragged his mouth from hers and brushed her errant curls back from her face. “Millie, when we join this time, in the mating ritual, my knot is going to form. It will mean we won’t be able to disengage for a little while after we make love. I just thought it best to let you know that ahead of time.”
She blinked at him in confusion. “Knot? What’s that?”
He smiled slowly at her and leaned down for a gentle kiss. “It’s a part of my body that grows to keep me joined with my mate, to help aid conception. I have a certain amount of control over it when my human side is in control, but with the wolf, it’s another matter. He will most definitely want to pin you, baby.”
Millie sat up and looked back at him. Knot? Pin? Conception? Her heart thudded in her chest, as she felt another moment of panic.
Jared sat up too and kissed her shoulder, running a hand down her back slowly, gentling the rising panic within her.
“Conception, Jared? So soon? I mean…it’s not that I don’t want to have your children, but we’re still getting to know each other. Changing into a wolf is going to be a huge leap for me to begin with, but getting pregnant straight away….” She trailed off trying to work out how to put into words what she was feeling.
“Ah Millie, you worry too much.” He couldn’t help smiling at her confused expression. “I didn’t mean you would get pregnant straight away. I was just explaining the physical side of my anatomy and my wolf. Millie, your body won’t be ready for a while. Your whole physiology will be changing. It will take time before it settles down enough for us to be able to produce young. I promise you, baby, I’m not going to turn you into a wolf and knock you up on the same night.”
