The One He Claimed by Cooper

The One 120

Tonight has been a somber event, more heartbreaking than I had expected. Maybe it’s because I’m not sure that my pack would grieve this much for me if I were to pass, or maybe it’s because my mate is lying unconscious in Hunter’s pack hospital that I’m feeling so wrung out emotionally.

After the pyres are lit, everyone stands quietly for a long time, lost in their own thoughts, possibly their own prayers to thè Moon Goddess to watch over their Alpha and Luna who they adored.

When I see Luna June turn to go inside, I follow her. Now may not be the best time to speak to my mate’s mother, but I need to talk to her before I leave.

“Luna June,” I call out softly to her.

She turns and I can see that she, too, has tears running down her face.

“Hello, Alpha Ezra. I was hoping I could speak to you. I wanted to find out how my daughter is doing, and I didn’t want to bother Luna Sophie.”

“Margot is what I wanted to speak with you about,” I tell her. “Is there someplace we can speak privately?”

“Yes,” she says and leads me to what I would call a tearoom. I‘ ve never seen one before, but this space was definitely created

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11 208 Mowhers

by Luna Amy and most likely a place where the she–wolves could congregate to talk and be together.

“Luna Amy and I would sit in here every day. She was so kind to me,” she says, grabbing some tissues and taking a seat. “I know it’s not the same for her as it was for me, but I had hoped that she would survive the loss of her mate. I think I feel lonelier now that I did with Elias died.”

I give her a few moments to collect herself. When she looks at me, her gaze is direct and full of intelligence. I’m guessing she has an idea of why I wanted to speak to her.

“Luna, I’m assuming you’ve heard what happened to Alpha Joshua?” Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Yes. Luna Amy told me that Margot killed her mate.”

“Ex–mate,” I say instinctively and her eyes narrow on me.

“Well, yes, he’s dead now, so I guess he is her ex–mate.”

“She rejected him and even though he didn’t accept the rejection…”

“My daughter told me about you, Alpha. I am aware that the two of you recognized each other as mates. I have to say, I’m surprised, for several reasons. First, she’d barely rejected her mate a week before she found you. But also, to have been mated to another Alpha. I wouldn’t have thought that would be possible, especially if she was weakened by her rejection.”

I huff a laugh. “Your daughter is anything but weak, Luna. She’s probably the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”

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The Une He Betrayed Chapter 2 Luna June

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“You don’t say that as if it bothers you.”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t aggravate the crap out of me sometimes, but for the most part, I like her tenacity, her perseverance, and her focus. I just wish those things aligned with the things I want for her as well.”

“And what do you want for my daughter, Alpha Ezra?”

“I want her to give me a chance, Luna. I want her to see that we can have something better than either of us had before. I just want the opportunity to prove to her that I can be the mate she deserves, and she can have the life she dreamed of when she was younger.”

“And what do you know of her dreams, Alpha?”

“Not enough, I’ll give you that. But I can’t help her achieve those dreams if she won’t give me a chance.”

“And you want me to convince her to give you that chance?” she asks.

“Yes and no. As her only surviving parent, I feel the need to tell you something, something that I did and that your daughter will not like. But I also want to ask you to come see her. She’s still unconscious and I think that having you there would help her.”

“What did you do?” she asks, her tears have dried up and rather than a woman grieving for her friend sitting in front of me, I now have a mother ready to defend her pup.

“I wasn’t willing to lose another mate in this lifetime, Luna. I told her that, but she didn’t listen. She was so insistent that she was going to die, but I couldn’t allow it. I was going to maim Joshua,

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make it so that he could spend the rest of his miserable life in my cells but keep her alive. But as I said your daughter is stuftiom, and she had set her mind to killing him I was there! saw her heard her say goodbye to me, and I couldn’t allow it

I look down, remembering the moment, my hands moving as if t mholding her again. Theld her in my arms, and I watched the light in her eyes start to dim and I knew I couldn’t let her go. So… I marked her without her consent and most likely against her will I’m willing to work through that, but I couldn’t let her die I couldn’t I say looking back up and pleading with Luna June to understand that I did what I had to do to save her c.ughter’s life

It would seem that my daughter isn’t the only stubbom one, Abha” she says, sighing. She tucks her hair behind her ear in a way I’ve seen Margot do hundreds of times. When she looks back at me she looks resigned.

“You’ve made a mess of things, Alona, I’m not going to lie. But you did save my daughter’s life and in this one thing, I agree with you. She shouldn’t die because that acchole of a mate died. He never treated her well, not that I expected him to. What do you plan to do when Margot wakes up?”

“I want to bring her to my pack, let her see what her life could be like, give her time to get to know me, and learm to trust me and hopefully, one day, mark me too.”

“And what if that day never comes, Alpha?”

I shrug. Then I’m no worse off than I am now. But I’ll know that this time, I did everything I could to protect and love my mate. If she doesn’t want me after seeing what our life could be like, then I have to accept that. Somehow.”

Luna June reaches out and touches my arm. “You still struggle with losing Diana, don’t you?” she asks me gently.

It’s so unexpected and I’m so raw already from everything going on, that my throat closes, and unshed tears burn my eyes. “I regret not being a better mate to her every day. Every. Single. Day. The Moon Goddess has seen fit to give me a second chance to prove that I can be a good mate, better than I was before, and I intend to take that opportunity. But only if your daughter will let me.”

She gives me a soft smile and sits back. “I won’t try to sway my daughter one way or the other, Alpha Ezra. That is for the two of you to decide together. But I will return with you and if Margot agrees to go to your pack, I will join you, if I’m invited as well.”

“I would love that, and it would give Margot someone that she trusts and knows in the pack. I think that might help her.”

Now, Luna June does smile. “You’re right about one thing, Alpha. My daughter is stubborn. You have your work cut out for you.”

“I’m an Alpha, Luna June, and I love nothing more than a challenge. But this isn’t a game to me. I’m here to win, to win my mate, win my life back, and win the future that I also used to dream about. I hope that one day, your daughter will give herself to me and I will be able to revel in the sweet taste of her willing submission.”

“We shall see, Alpha. We shall see.”

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