Challenges
Beta Eric’s POV
These last few days have been the happiest of my life.
Here I am sitting with Alexis at a spectacular lake, we moved here to enjoy the peace. Here we can be free with each other without having to answer all sorts of questions. Not that we want to keep our relationship a secret, but we have agreed to wait until she is eighteen when I can officially claim her as my mate. I am so looking forward to that day.
I look down at her face, her head in my lap as she stretches out on the blanket we have spread out on the grass. The picnic basket is beside her, I have made sure it has everything she likes. I can’t believe she’ll be mine in a week, my heart pounding as I think of the moment she’ll shift for the first time and identify me as her mate.
Our biggest hurdle will be Zane.
But now that Xanna has lifted the spell, he will no longer mistake Alexis for Ariel. The two women have much in common, but they are very different. Smiling, I think back to the moment when she proposed to me that she was my mate. This woman is determined, I couldn’t help but surrender to her. And I haven’t regretted it for a moment.
My finger traced the contours of her face.
She is so pretty, I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t in my life. I am such a lucky man. When Zane left a few days ago, I quickly finished my work with the pack and informed Kensley that I was taking leave to spend some time outside our territory.
He had accepted my explanation reluctantly, of course, he could not go against me. He would be Zane’s observer in the pack, but I promised him I would be back as soon as I could. And I keep in touch with him every day. And here I am in Blue Blood, the Alpha King’s pack, courting his daughter. I rented a house not far from the packhouse, much to the annoyance of Alexis, who wanted me to be closer to her.
But I refused, wanting to make a good first impression on my in-laws.
If the Alpha King, Petric, found out about me near his underage daughter in the den, I would have a lot to explain. Indicating that we were mates would be met with disbelief, and that would be a false start in our relationship.
“What are you thinking about, mate? You’ve been staring at me for a while now”. Alexis pulls me out of my thoughts.
“I realize once again how lucky I am to be with you. The Moon Goddess has blessed me with a great mate like you. I hate that Zane had to suffer through all of this, but if you hadn’t come to Midnight Moon, what would have happened to us?” I catch my breath thinking of my Alpha and best friend. I have come out of this as the biggest gainer.
But the silver lining is that he has found a woman he clearly loves.
Zane pointed out that it was love, she was not his second chance. But he sounded so happy with her, and that’s all I want for him. Luna Ariel rejects him, she chooses her first mate, Alpha Gorgio. And now everything is fine. Zane has his new girlfriend, the Luna is with the man of her heart and I have Alexis.
Perfect.
Zane has suffered the most to achieve this, and we will have to make up for it later.
‘Beta, you need to get back to Midnight Moon immediately. Code Red is in effect.’ Kensley in the mind link.
With a jerk, I sit up straight. ‘Code Red? Kensley, why am I only hearing about this now? And I’m the one who decides what code the pack is on,’ I admonish him.
‘I haven’t notified the pack yet. I only told you and Zane and he is already on his way. Beta, get here before the Alpha arrives.’
‘But what triggered the Code Red? What is going on?’
‘My investigation has revealed that Luna Ariel misled us. It was her sister who was actually here. The witch in her company used a spell’.
My eyes drop to Alexis, who is now aware that something serious is going on.
‘I’ll be there in an hour,’ I tell Kensley.
I close the link and turn to Alexis.
“Alexis, the Head Warrior has found out about your plan. He knows it was you, not Ariel, who was in Midnight Moon. Zane is on his way back. This won’t end well. I’m leaving right now.’
As we both stand up, she takes my hand.
“Eric, you won’t forget my anniversary, will you? I’ll be waiting for you here in Blue Blood, don’t let me down.”
I caress her face and kiss her quickly.
“I will do everything in my power to be with you. But you know the pack has precedence over everything. And I don’t know how this will all end,” I reply quietly, holding her close.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Whatever happens, wait for me. I will definitely come for you. You are my mate and my wolf has already accepted you. I can’t live without you, my love”.
She hugs me tighter and lifts her lips to mine, begging for the hundredth kiss of the day. And who am I to refuse her one more?
“I’m coming to get you. I leave right away. The Jet lands in neutral territory and I’ll be with my pack in an hour. I’ll call you as soon as I get a chance”.
We drive back to the residential area and I drop her off at the packhouse.
She is unwilling to let me go. “Eric, come back. Otherwise, I will have to come searching for you. You have one month after my shift to show up here. If not, I will start looking for you”.
“I will be here. Within the month, I will pick you up, my love”.
One last kiss and I head for my rented house to pack my things. Using the mind link, I inform the pilot of my arrival. And then I drive out of the pack, on my way to the runway on neutral ground.
To Midnight Moon, where new challenges await me…