Chapter 7

Eclipse

The digital clock on the nightstand read 2:20am. I was all sweaty from the fear and adrenaline from earlier. I felt too conflicted; me and my wolf were too out of sink to stay in this bed, with this beast of a hulking man. He had to have been the tallest man I’d ever met. Being Alpha meant he was the tallest in the pack, along with being the strongest, largest wolf since those things correlated…. It made me wonder how Shimmer was so much more calm about it than me.

She already somewhat trusted him, but I wasn’t so sure…. He seemed like he was trying, but realistically he did mark me, take me home, and put me in his room without my say in any of it… it made it confusing. This was all going so fast for me…

And I was already his mate, I was already his possession. How long before he started treating me like one? I could smell his aggression… even in his sleep, the natural scent he carried was so smokey it was like he’d attended a bonfire, but I would leave this room. Maybe a little fresh air would help? I would be back before he wakes up, I thought, adjusting my body to look at his face proper.

His eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady… so far so good.

I poked him to test if he was really asleep. it’s hard to pretend to rest soundly when you’re hot from the warmth of another person. Just his breathing was intimidating. I slid from under his arm, and then I waited.

Nothing.

I slowly slid out of bed, found my slip-on sneakers and creeped quietly down the stairs. I know I can’t leave-leave, he will just find me again. And where would I even go? There were warriors up, they were the night crew, gigantic specimens of muscle and might that knew my scent belonged to Alpha, and here I was just a pup compared to even the shortest of them.

They looked at me with fearful eyes and bowed, whispering Luna while I walked by, but I didn’t understand. Would they do that if I were just me? Not the bowing part but the respect. Would they even acknowledge that I existed, or worse knew I did and forced me to repeatedly know my station? That’s what happened in other packs… I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened here too.

We stayed out their way, it wasn’t that we weren’t allowed, it’s just no one wanted to make a mistake around them. Each one of them was perfectly capable of just snapping the neck of a low ranked wolf, as I could sense it. One of the few things I wish I couldn’t do. However, all wolves were sensitive to how strong another wolf was, regardless of rank. And as it was, I felt like compared to Alpha, that I may as well could have still been technically an Omega.

“Good morning, I am Gamma Branson, did you wish to go for a walk my Luna? It’ll calm your nerves.” said a really tall, at least 6’5 woman.

I always thought Gamma was male, though before me stood an Amazon of dark brown, almost black curly hair, and nearly matching brown-amber eyes that held crimson flecks. She towered over me, almost as tall as Alpha.

She lowered her head, bowing like the others did, and stood back up, casting a shadow over me in the dimly lit living room. Why is she not his mate, why me goddess?! It isn’t that I didn’t want to be, but in the past 24 hours since I woke up, I’d been in waves of fear and terror.

She waited patiently for my response, as if my word was law. I just nodded, I probably didn’t really have a choice, I reeked of fear like a prey animal. Someone would probably attack me on instinct, realizing what they had done later if I wondered off on my own.

I nodded to go for a walk with this Warrior, because for some reason I felt like I could trust her. She may have been a little forceful about it, but she was respectful. She also didn’t glare at me like Alpha did… and that calmed my wolf. As it was, I could tell that I was the weakest she wolf in the packhouse, but if I could guess, she was the strongest. It was a bit cooler outside, but otherwise her silence was nice. We went no farther than the backyard, and there she stopped, and looked at the sky. I did with her.

The moon was a little past center, and waxed. “So, what do you think of Alpha Kaiden, Luna?” she asked bluntly, breaking the silence. What did I think of him? I can’t tell her I think he’s a sex crazed monster out to torment me. I can’t lie to her either, I’m a bad liar and I don’t want to come off as some kind of weasel.

I took a deep breath. “He’s really intimidating.” I said truthfully. “He’s always glaring at me like I’m his dinner, and honestly I don’t know other than that.” I said frankly as possible, kind of scared to tell someone I didn’t even know something so personal, but I’m sure she could tell that anyway…. I’m sure everyone could tell that Alpha’s Luna was terrified of him….

I looked up at her and she gave me a really big smile, holding a laugh. I was confused. “You know,” she said honestly, “My husband felt the same about me, it took him nearly 50 years to stop submitting to me.” she chuckled.

I was a little confused, but she waited for me to ask. “But why is that funny?” I questioned, and she grinned.

“It is because you remind me of him. Also, I know if I told this story with him here, he would complain that I should make him sound a bit more stoic, but you will hear the unaltered truth.” She said with a small smile. “I remember my husband was the same way when he came to the pack. He is just an Omega, and he thought I would reject him like his first mate did. She was betrothed to marry an Alpha, being the daughter of one herself. Her father kicked him out before he even got a chance to ask her, and he told me that she just stood there, sneering at him cursing the moon goddess for ever having done such a thing.”

We walked a little more toward the front door, and she continued. “When I met him, he was this scruffy, tattered Rogue who thankfully I found before my father did. I convinced him to let him join, and when he did, he was an asset to the pack, riding horseback into the human town that’s now named Bison to get supplies, as he looks and even smells completely human. Every day he would visit me while avoiding my father, delivering ‘special deliveries’ to my desk. I was Gamma then too.” She chuckled. “I still have all those love letters. He didn’t have to do that though… I felt a connection with him the day I met him, and I gave him a chance. I don’t regret it. Eric is the love of my life, and I could never hurt him. I will do anything for him within my power; he is my mate.” She paused as if she was going to say something else. “The same is true for Alpha. He already wants nothing more than to be with you, albeit he’s going about it the wrong way.” She grumbled.

“But if Eric is your mark mate… what happened to your true?” I asked and she frowned.

“I don’t rightly know, but I have a theory.” She said running her fingers through her hair. “Since technically he never got a chance to be rejected by his mate… technically it was his mate’s father that did it, she reset his bond to me. My mate died before I could meet him too. I felt it if that makes any sense, so we would have been mateless if not for the serendipity that we found each other. There’s also the possibility that when she moved around bonds for his exception… that she did with mine as well. At least that’s my guess, because to me he feels like my true mate.” She said in a matter-of-fact fashion.

I didn’t say anything, but I really wanted to know what more she had to say. She looked at the moon and then back to me, her eyes a little more amber than brown. “When my late father found out he’d marked me, he did not approve, but respected my wishes. ‘The goddess gives aggressive mates submissive ones.’ The goddess does this to protect the weak, and also to calm our inner fire. Before Eric I was Gamma. There was no compromise with me. I was a Warrior and strategic analyst first. None questioned me either before Alpha grew up…. If I had met a man like my younger brother instead, I would probably be a real bitch to be around.”

…. her brother? I thought to myself.

Alpha is her younger brother?

She smiled wide at my realization.

How Could I Not See That She Looks Exactly Like Him!