Every three months for the next two years, Alpha’s and their unmated units were sent to The Hollowed Moon Pack to see if one of the now 700 strong, still at 70 percent unmated female warriors were their mates.
The pack also had to attend mating balls at other packs, got to see Ben Mated off to a gamma blooded she-wolf. That woman stood right before him, stared up at him, a smile on her pretty face, knew she was not going to reject him.
Watched on as Ben smiled down at her, then touched her face gently and growled “Mine.” Softly down at her. Saw his Mate jump right up into his arms and kiss him right there in front of everyone in her pack, her parents and older brother included. Then sighed “Mine.” Right into his neck. She was happy and so was Ben, she was not even concerned about coming back to their pack.
She got in the pack car the next day. Marked and Mated, it was very cute. She was a tiny little red-haired girl, her name was Bella, she was very sweet-natured and was already a good fighter. Looked to be only eighteen but was in fact nearly 30, just had some really good genes. Was half Ben's age but didn’t care at all about that. Loved him right away.
Mala could already tell that everyone was going to like her, so upbeat and bubbly, a chatty little thing, really happy to finally find her mate, it seemed. She saw plenty of she-wolves in the pack when they returned to it, sighing at the loss of him, he had many lovers here.
Mala didn’t mind, none of them really did, he was not their Mate, they would all be looking for a new lover now, including herself. Though there was no rush on that for her, she could sort out her own needs if need be. She’d still not been with anyone but Ben in the entire time she had been here. Was comfortable with him, or had been.
Mala was sunning herself on her favourite rock near the orchard, enjoying the summer afternoon, when Suki picked up someone coming this way and smelled the scent of a rogue, in the breeze that was blowing passed her.
Sat up and looked around, she was quite close to the border here, slipped off the rock and headed for the border. She was not alone. Two of their border patrollers had also scented the rogue smell and were there waiting.
She was more than surprised to see a young she-wolf coming this way. Looked right at them and then just burst into tears reached out her arms like she just needed someone to hold her.
Mala sighed, the poor girl didn’t even look eighteen, stepped over and hugged the girl who was wracked with sobs as tears poured out of her. Stood there with her and just held her until she calmed down. “You’re welcome here. Do you have a name?”
“Idaleen, Ida for short.” She sniffed.
“Well Ida, let’s get you up to see Alpha Aston.”
Saw the girl nod, and as they walked, she clutched at Mala’s hand the whole way. Had a very tight grip on Mala when she came face to face with Aston, who was looking her over, and noted there was a slight frown on his face.
“How old are you, Ida?” he asked her.
“Seventeen.” She half whispered and then inched a bit closer to Mala.
“I’m not going to hurt you, young lady.” He said softly “Mala, she needs food.”
“Don’t leave.” Ida whispered now, and she could hear the fear in the girl’s voice, as she clutched at Mala’s hand.
“Ida, I won’t hurt you or your baby.” Aston told her gently.
That snapped Mala’s head round, looked right down at the girl, she was not even old enough to have a Mate, hugged the girl to her and heard her sob again, felt very sad for the poor girl.
“Ida, you are safe here. Come let’s initiate you, then you can tell me what happened to you.”
Ida held onto Mala’s hand the whole time she was initiated into the pack, then sat down and told them her tale. That her boyfriend had betrayed her a week ago, with her older sister. She’d seen them together, talking just the two of them all cozy like, then her sister had jumped on him and hugged him all smiles, and she’d heard her boyfriend tell her, ‘remember it’s a secret, don’t tell your sister.’
She’d been raised by her older sister after they lost their mother in a rogue attack a year ago, she’d not been up to fighting because their dad had left her for his goddess gifted mate after nearly 20 years of being together, when he’d scented her out, her mum and dad had been chosen mates, she’d gone off to fight in the attack and died out there.
She and her sister had not wanted to go and live with their dad and seeing as her sister was 19, nearly 20 she could look after and raise Ida, they’d opted to stay together.
That she had been so upset that her sister had done that to her, after what their mother went through. Couldn’t really believe her sister would do that to her, had been completely heart broken by both her boyfriend’s cheating and her sister’s betrayal. She’d never thought her sister, who was so very protective of her, would do that to her. Had run away, she’d supposed to be going to school, and just left, on the way to school, kept on walking, no longer wanted to be there, went rogue a few days after running away.
When asked why a few days. Ida’s eyes had fallen to the floor and her hand had moved to her stomach. “He knew I was pregnant. I…I didn’t think…he would let me go. Would hunt me down.” More tears rolled out of the girl.
“The father?” Alpha Aston asked her.
“I don’t want to say.” She whispered.
“I need to know sweetheart.” He sighed, sounded a little on the heavy side.
Mala already knew why she didn’t want to say the father of her pup was going to be the Alpha to her pack or his heir to the pack and she was right. They would never let her leave with the future to their pack growing inside of her. Something Mala had thankfully escaped herself. Alphas, could be such selfish assholes sometimes.
“When will you be eighteen?” Aston asked her gently.
“What day is it?” she asked right back.
It’s the twelfth now.”
“In like a week.” There was pure sadness in that statement, almost like she didn’t want it to happen.
“How far along?”
“7 weeks give or take a day.”
“Ida, Alpha pups, come early and can be painful to deliver as well. You’ll be due in three to four months.”
“I know, Preston told me already.” More tears spilled out of her “told me…he’d be right there.” She sobbed sadly.
“That’s enough.” Aston sighed “Mala, take young Ida to the pack doctor and have her checked out, and then get some food for her.”
“Yes Aston.” She nodded “Come on Ida, I’ll go with you.”
“Mala, you’re good at this.” He smiled at her “Born Luna material.”
“Not anymore.” She stated softly “Please just forget about that Aston.”
She saw Ida to the pack doctor, had been a doctor over in Netty’s pack, they’d had two and one in training, Netty had kindly offered them one till they found one themselves. She was an older wolf with years of experience and training. Was currently only on loan, but she did seem to like it here. Her son was the pack doctor back in The Candescent Moon Pack.
Ida and her pup were fine, it had a good strong heartbeat, though Ida herself was a little on the dehydrated side, the pack doctor Nadine, stated she would be just fine. Ida held Mala’s hand everywhere they walked.
Mala introduced her to the pack members as they walked and came across them, sat her down in the dining hall and got her food, stayed with her while she ate. “The Alpha’s not going to contact my old pack is he?”
“It’s unlikely Ida, we were once The Rejected Pack, we still accept all that come here in their time of need.”
“You were rejected?”
“Yes at 18.” Mala nodded “Most here were, not all though.”
“Why are there so many women?”
“She-wolves get rejected more than he-wolves I guess.” She had never really thought about it “We never hold mating balls, are made to attend three a year by the council, and unfortunately being a warrior pack, which is now what the council tells us we are, we must host unmated Alpha’s and their units to see if any of us belong to them, we don’t much like it though.”
“You’re not Mated.”
“No, and don’t want to be either. My mate was an asshole Ida, I’m happy single and free.”
“Do you have to see him?”
“No, thought I would for a while, but I guess I’ve escaped that so far.”
“How old are you?”
“30 now.”
“Does it get easier?”
“That, Ida, depends on you. I made myself into someone new. Used my past to become stronger. I like my life here, and I intend to keep it as well.”
“Don’t you get lonely.”
Mala laughed softly now. “Our pack is large Ida, and I am busy most days, not much time for being lonely around here.”
“What do you do?” the girl was full of questions, it seemed.
“Elite Warrior and head trainer.”
“Wow, I could never be that.”
“You could, if you train hard Ida, after your baby is born, of course.”
“Baby?” Ben asked as he dropped into the chair next to Mala. “Who’s having a baby?”
“Ida is. Ben, this is Ida, she just arrived a little while ago.”
“Hi.” Ben smiled at her “my mate is itching to have a baby, I should introduce you.”
“I’d like that.” Ida smiled shyly at him.
“Where is Bella, Ben?”
“Online shopping, I believe. She never stops browsing, wants little Benny junior to have everything.” Shook his head “Hang on sec.”
Watched his eyes glaze over and smiled, they weren’t even pregnant yet, barely Marked and Mated and all his Mate Bella could talk about was giving him a pup. Itching to have a family, it seemed. Ben seemed okay with this, but then he was nearly 60 himself, still didn’t look a day older than 35, he was likely more than ready to have a family.
“Bella is on her way, super excited, loves babies, worked in the pack creche at her last pack.”
“Can’t she do that here?” Ida asked.
“No pack creche here, only have like a dozen children inside the pack. It’s not needed at this point.” Mala told her.
Heard Ben laugh “One day there will be like some mass explosion of pups, and we’ll be over run.”
Mala hit him. “Stop that, and it’s unlikely. The she-wolves will go to other packs that’s unavoidable with the councils rules. So, there will be no baby influx.”
“Oh, come on Mala, the council is going to impose mating balls on us at some point, and likely only send unmated males out, or here and some will stay to be with their mates here, some won’t, we’re a good strong pack.”
“Yes, we are stronger than most.” She agreed.
“And you never know when the council might request and all male mating ball and only send she-wolves our way.”
Mala shook her head, “Never seen that happen.”
“It’s in the mating ball rule book, all different types of balls can be held. Ask Aston to let you see it.”
“Why on earth would I want to see that thing?”
“I don’t know Mala, it might interest you, is all.”
“Mating balls do not interest me Ben, you know this.” She stated flatly “I’d rather, if required, choose a Mate, one I know and trust. One I can beat in a fight and put right in his place.”
“That’s everyone, Mala.”
She smiled at Ben. “I know.”
“You’ll get all mushy when mated off, I bet. If you’re willing to accept him.”
“He’ll wanna be something special, I tell you. Or I’ll kick him to the curb, I will.”
“That’s terrible Mala.” It was Bella, she had finally arrived to join them, sat herself right in Ben’s lap and then reached out a hand to Ida. “Hi, I’m Bella.”