Mala woke in Astons bed, he was sleeping soundly next to her in the bed, had an arm around her waist and she was all curled into him. She just lay there and watched him sleep.
Wondered for the first time since coming here, how old he was, he didn’t look more than 35 she thought, but she knew he had to be older than that, had looked the same the day she came here. He had started this pack 10 years before she’d come here at 18. She knew he’d been with his pack till he’d found his goddess gifted mate and then one year later had gone rogue. But he’d never said how old he’d been when that had happened.
She herself was 32 going on 33 now, he had to be at least ten years older than she was, this pack had been up and running and had a Luna and they’d both been inside this pack for and together for 3 years before Roberta had become the Luna.
Felt Suki sit up and look at him as he slept, she knew they had knotted themselves to her last night as well. Pushed forward and really looked at him, Mala didn’t interfere, Suki reached out and touched his face, gently. Sliding her fingers along his short neatly trimmed beard, he had let it settle to a ten-day growth, looked good on him, suited him. Watched as Suki touched it a lot, seemed to like the feel of it under her fingers. Kept her touch lite, didn’t want to wake him.
‘Suki?’ Mala asked after about ten minutes.
‘We trust him.’
‘We do.’ Mala agreed with her, they did sleep soundly next to him ‘What do you think, Suki?’ Mala asked, she had been quiet on the subject for all this time, other than watching him, had kept her thoughts to herself. Mulling it over, Mala thought, had let her, it was not something she was going to ask her wolf to do, the decision was not her own to make. If Suki said no, it would be a no.
She herself liked Aston, was happy in his bed, but could be happy staying as his Elite Warrior, Suki already knew this.
‘I want you to ask him something.’
‘Anything you like Suki. I will not be doing anything, without your agreement.’
‘Can we Mate but not Mark. Would that stop the curse from affecting him?’
‘I don’t know Suki.’ It was a good question, not one she’d thought of herself ‘if you don’t Mark him. You’ll not have that Mate Bond connection with Titan, be able to talk to him.’
Heard Suki huff a little ‘I know that.’
‘Don’t you want that?’
‘Not our Goddess Gifted Mate anyway.’
‘No.’
‘Chosen, don’t know if it will be the same.’
‘Aston and Roberta. Titan and Rika, you saw them too. They were chosen Mates, so much love there, all the time. There are other chosen Mates here as well. They’re all happy and can’t keep their hands off each other, neither can their wolves always out mating. It looks much the same to me, I believe their wolves still get the same connection to each other. Only they got to choose who they love out of respect for each other.” Once again, her lack of schooling didn’t give her the knowledge to answer with all certainty.
Wolves Mating and Bonds were all course you only undertook once you got your wolf to prepare you for it, not something she’d gotten to do. Nearly sighed, that was not going to happen in this place, everyone would be allowed to attend the school here regardless of wolf or wolf-less.
‘Don’t want another goddess gifted even if he showed up.’
‘No, we don’t, not if we don’t know him.’ Mala agreed with her. Although she was of the opinion she wasn’t going to get another one, it had been a very long time, 14 years, and none had scented her out, it was likely there was no other out there for them. Or that’s what she chose to believe.
There was silence for a long time from Suki, they’d both been in agreement for a long time now that a chosen mate, one they knew and trusted would better suit them. The one they were both currently looking at, was sleeping next to them, they had known for years, half of their lifetime. He was good and kind to all here, respected his pack members and took them all into consideration.
Had told her he’d not let the council force her hand, that he would stand right next to her, by any rejection she gave. He understood them, where they came from, knew everything about her now. Had not only seen the footage of her at eighteen, had that letter from the council, a list of the crimes against her from her own Mate attached to it. She knew he had read it, knew everything. Still would stand by her. But she also knew that he would do that not just for her but for any of the pack members.
‘Titan, he pushed forward in human form and took part last night.’ Suki huffed.
‘I know,’ she’d heard him, growling and snarling ‘He wants us, is in agreement with Aston. They are on the same page.’
‘Wolves shouldn’t do that. Knotted us.’
‘Mm, I know. Maybe he was trying to show you Suki, he’s more than interested in us…Do you like him?’ Mala asked, she’d not posed the question before to her wolf, trying to let her make up her own mind.
‘He sat on me.’ She huffed annoyed.
Mala chuckled ‘He did, I think he was trying to play with you or…engage you in playing with him is all. You’re not a playful wolf Suki, never have been.’
‘No reason to be. no mate.’
‘Could be, if you want that.’
‘We chose him, there will be pain.’
‘Yes, once a year and he is willing to be chained with silver to try and stop that. It’s not him Suki, is cursed.’
Again there was a long silence from her wolf ‘No pups…ever.’
Mala sighed this time ‘Probably not, it’ll mean we’ll stay in charge for a very long time I guess.’
‘A Luna Wolf.’
‘Yes,’ Mala nodded ‘like you were created to be. Aston is right about somethings, you and I, we do have Luna tendencies, especially since Roberta passed. We are also the highest ranked female here, kind of in our own way, helped out where we could.’ Didn’t even get reprimanded for it, when she thought about it, Aston always kind of just let her do it.
‘An Alpha, Luna bond.’
‘yes.’
‘No more, old mate come for us, ever?’
‘That is correct, once we are Marked and Mated by another, Aston and Titan, if you choose him. Hudson will have no choice but to leave us alone and stay away. Let it go, we’d belong to another.’
‘Or he’d challenge our Alpha, attack him and try to claim us against our will.’
‘We’d kill him Suki, Aston will allow us to stand in as his proxy, I know this, he told me so. He’d never deny us the right to fight for ourselves, we can take Hudson no issue.’
There was quiet for a long time inside Mala’s mind, Suki was sitting looking at Aston as he slept in the bed next to him, really looking at him ‘We chose him.’ she finally said softly ‘Try and avoid the pain, find away to do so.’
‘Alright.’ Mala smiled ‘When you are ready to do so.’
‘When I’m ready.’ Suki agreed.
They both lay there and stare at him now, he was their future Mate, their Alpha, soon to become their chosen Mate, watched as he slept for almost another hour before those dark blue eyes opened and he smiled at her, even saw it reach his eyes “Morning Mala.”
“Morning Aston.” she smiled right back at him, slid her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him, long and slow, found herself pulled on top of him and sighed softly as his hands moved over her body slow and gentle.
Pulled away from him before it turned into something else “How old are you?” she asked.
“Not as old as Ben.” He chuckled and she poked him in the chest.
“Come on cough it up, I’m curious.”
“Will it effect your decision?”
“No.” she shook her head “The decision is already made, so spit it out.”
“Already made?”
“Mm, Suki and I talked all morning.” Sat up on him “So how old are you?”
Saw him look at her and knew he was trying to figure out what her decision was she’d not said, hadn’t on purpose.
“46.”
“Not to old then I see.”
“Would it matter?” He sat himself up, slid his arms around her and up her back.
“No, we wouldn’t care if you were a hundred or more.”
“Good to know.” Felt his hand slide down her neck and trail over her mark spot “It’s a yes, right?”
“Yes, but not yet. When Suki is ready to Mark she will.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded but smiled right at her “I’m happy to hear that.”
“Now about Titan?”
“Mm, he was naughty with you last night, Mala.”
“He was.” She chuckled, it didn’t actually bother her that his wolf had pushed forward in human form to have her, showed her he wanted her as well, and she’d enjoyed it. “Knotted me, was very naughty.”
“Hmm, well that wasn’t just him. I was wanting that myself. Kind of both of us in that decision.” He smirked a little.
Mala shook her head. “You’re not supposed to do that.”
“Only with our Mate, I know. But…” he shrugged “you know what I want. What Titan wants.”
She did, shook her head, “Suki, doesn’t like it when Titan sits on her.”
“Alright, I’ll let him know that.” He chuckled softly.
“Is he not awake?”
“No, sleeping still, exhausted himself it seems.”
“So it’s just you and me?” she smiled at him.
“Now, who’s being naughty? He’ll wake up the minute we start something.” He warned her playfully.
She chuckled now “Suki did have a question for you. Though irrelevant now she’s made her choice. But I think she’d still like to have it answered.”
“Ask?” he nodded.
“She is curious if they can Mate without Marking. Would that keep the curse away?”
Saw him raise an eyebrow “I don’t know to be honest. It is possible, I guess…but if our wolves are openly Mating in wolf form and human form. If they have chosen each other. I think it would still be considered as they are Mates. He won’t stray, won’t even look at another, hasn’t in a long time, so it might still be in effect. If that is the case…”
She sighed. “Then there’s no point in not Marking and Mating each other.” Mala finished for him.
“Yes. We could try it if you like.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly “Want to try it now?” felt him smile against her lips.
“What I want.” Mala smiled back at him now, was to have him. they were going to let him Mark and Mate them. Now she wanted him because he was going to be theirs. Took his hand and pushed it down between her legs, his mouth moved from hers to her mark spot as he touched her, moaned as he slid his fingers over her clit and though her folds, sighed as he pushed two fingers inside of her, it did feel so damn good when he touched her.
Started to move with his hand, already turned on, his mouth was kissing and nipping at her mark spot, increasing her arousal quickly, till she was really riding his hand gasping and moaning, shoved that hand right out of the way and pushed herself down on to him, rode him eagerly, crying out for him, could feel how hard his mouth was on her mark spot “Wait.” She gasped as she felt teeth graze her skin, knew he wanted to Mark her, shoved him down and held him down on the bed and rode the hell out of him, rocked and ground herself against him, cried out yes as she slammed herself down on him cumming easily, flopped down on him afterwards and sighed softly, he was right the sex was damned good.
“Tell me Mala.” She heard the amusement in his voice “Do you always like to be in control?”
“Yes.” She admitted, she did like being in control, felt safer in control of things she realised as she lay there, not that she thought she was unsafe at all, just needed to feel in control she supposed. Hadn’t had control of anything once before.
“You were going to Mark us.”
“No I wasn’t…I was just teasing you, I have good control, Mala. It's just a super sensitive spot that turns you on completely, use that to my advantage is all.” He chuckled softly “Make you all hot and needy.”
Mala chuckled to herself “Well, it works.”
“Titan is also awake now, knows what’s going on, is happy about your and Suki’s choice to choose us. He just wanted a little nip at your skin, likes to bite a little, it will never be painful to you. Just playful is all.”
“Alright, I just thought you were going to.”
“I’ll look into your question…” he was silent suddenly.
Mala lifted her head up from his chest and looked down at him, his eyes were glazed over, he was being Mind-linked by someone. Pushed herself up into a sitting position, felt his hands grab onto her, might be talking to someone else but knew she was moving, seemed he wasn’t ready to let her go yet.
Saw that he was frowning deeply and when he finally ended that conversation looked right at her, and then sighed heavily. She knew it meant something was wrong, had seen him do that before. “What is it?” she asked, her gut was telling her it wasn’t something good.
“It seems, Mala, that Alpha Hudson is back, down at the gate, and is requesting to speak with you.”