Kids from One Alpha

Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Mates?

It had been a long day working on the reports from the attack. Logan stood from his desk, stretching and going to the nearest window. The full moon was rising, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. Logan looked back at his desk with the stack of reports he still hadn’t gone through. Sighing, he returned to his seat, but he remained standing. He lifted the cover of the top file on his desk, contemplating whether or not he wanted to sit and go through more reports. Deciding against it, Logan headed out of his office. He wanted to breathe the fresh air, run as a wolf under the full moon. It was too nice of a night to be cooped up inside. He pulled his shirt off, tossing it aside as he prepared himself for the change. Once on four legs, Logan trotted into the woods, ears turning back and forth as he listened for any sounds that could alert him to other nearby wolves. He knew he wasn‘t the only one out for a run tonight! The woods were quiet, which let his mind wander. The stack of reports on his desk still weighed on him heavily. If things had been different, his father might still be Alpha, but Logan had taken control of the pack at age 21. He was one of the youngest to ever become Alpha, and it had not been an easy transition. All his father had left behind was wealth from some good investments, and a vision to modernize the pack. He‘d picked up his father‘s vision where it was left off, renovating the medical facilities and the pack houses. Even now, after he had been Alpha for over five years, there were times when he still felt as though he would have preferred not having the weight of the whole pack on his shoulders. Logan sniffed the air, heading deeper into the woods and further from the pack town. Leaving his office, clothes, and skin behind, he could pretend for a while that he was free of his duties and responsibilities. Not that he didn‘t love being Alpha and appreciate all his father had done. He had a good plan and roadmap to follow. His father had been

very prepared and left detailed notes of what he had been planning for the pack. What worried Logan the most was when he got to the end of that list of notes. What would he do then when he no longer had a careful roadmap to follow?

The question became heavier and heavier in his mind. Finally, he snarled, growling into the darkness to break away from that thought. He missed his father, but he had plenty to do in honor of him: Moonshine‘s break from the Federation hadn‘t made his life any easier as a young Alpha. He‘d had to further assert his authority and strength to prove that he was strong enough to lead with the instability that Moonshine‘s void left in the Federation.

Starseeker had been supportive, for the most part. Logan had Serena‘s parents to help with that. They‘d known his father and trusted him to take up his father‘s call.

Still, the situation with Moonshine was getting more complicated, if the recent attack was any indication. Sighing out of his wet nose, the Alpha picked up his pace, trotting through the underbrush, picking his padded paws up high to keep himself from tripping over branches and sticks. He moved gracefully and fluidly through the trees, hardly needing to pay attention to where he was going. His wolf instincts kept him from running into trees or bushes. If Moonshine continued to press their borders and try to hurt their convoys, it could lead to all out war. The Federation had been created for a time of peace. Logan did not want to be the Alpha that saw that come to an end, that perpetuated it.

Moonshine‘s Alpha wasn‘t even a legitimate leader, but when a coup for power is staged, the only way to prevent it is to go to war. Logan hadn‘t wanted that, neither had Alpha Thomas, so allowing them to leave the Federation was the easiest option. Of course, that only remained true if they weren‘t attacking his pack! Night Sky‘s greatest export to the human world was fruit. It was income and trade relations that they needed. Moonshine‘s interference with their

trade convoys would only increase. They thought they could get away with it, and Logan had to consider the safety of the entire pack! Growling again, he headed in the direction of the stream. His mouth was drying out from all the growling he was doing at his own thoughts. He‘d adjusted well enough, and he‘d known that being Alpha would come with trials and conflicts. He was bred from a line of Alphas, and Logan knew that he could do what was required of him. It wasn‘t always easy, but it was his responsibility. He‘d been entrusted with it, and he wouldn‘t abandon that or take it for granted. The

pack relied on him, and he was their leader, their defense. Moonshine pack would be dealt with, and Logan knew that with Starseeker still as an alley, they could keep peace and would do anything to avoid an all–out war. He‘d like to think that if it came to war, Night Sky and Starseeker could take on Moonshine, but numbers didn‘t necessarily win battles.

He needed more support, personal support. Having a pack Luna would help take some of the burden off his shoulders. Someone to share the responsibility, to confide in, someone who would understand the pressure he was under. Logan looked up at the full moon again. It was so beautiful, the stars in the sky the forest laid out before him. There was a part of him that longed for someone to walk by his side through the woods under the moon.

Holly had joined him before. He cared about her. She was incredibly insistent that they were mates. Logan didn‘t doubt it, but he also wasn‘t fully committed to the idea. They‘d always had a good time, but she wasn‘t his Luna, and she didn‘t share the same responsibilities he did. There were things she couldn‘t understand about what he did and the pressure he was under.. Although, she helped immensely with the stress relief. Logan was fond of her. He was also happy that she had been able to find refuge with Night Sky. Left in the Moonshine pack, she probably would have been killed by the illegitimate Alpha. An attempt to remove all traces of the former Alpha‘s bloodline, Holly‘s father. She had adjusted well in the wake of her father‘s death. It was something they shared, and part of what had allowed them to bond. Her desire to become mated and the mild pressure she put on him to declare them mates had started to grate on his nerves. She was a lovely woman and from a good bloodline. She‘d make a good mate, a good Luna, and a good wolf to have pups with. It was the direction she was pushing him in. Logan feit like he couldn‘t be bothered by thàt with everything else that had been going on. He didn‘t know if that feeling came from thinking Holly wasn‘t his mate, or just not being ready to commit on that level. He knew he needed a Luna, but that didn‘t encourage him to take Holly as a mate with any more urgency. It was hard to say if that was because he was waiting for someone different or because he just had too much else going on. He didn‘t want to make anything official with Holly until he was sure she was his mate. Logan made it to the edge of the clearing with the stream

and he stopped walking. His front paw snapped a twig he was standing on. Downwind from the stream, he smelled something! He‘d never smelled it before, but he knew it was another werewolf!

Mouth opening, Logan‘s tongue slipped out the side and he began to pant. The scent was too delicious! Saliva built in the back of his throat, and he unconsciously let out a soft whine. Who was that!? He tried to get closer to the edge of the clearing to see if anyone was there that he could recognize. With the full moon, seeing wasn‘t complicated, but he didn‘t want to reveal himself and scare off the other wolf.

He couldn‘t see from his position. He was about to risk stepping closer, but the wind shifted direction, taking his scent right into the clearing. Logan remained still. The mouth–watering scent wasn‘t as strong anymore, but he still felt it straight into his bones. He had to know who it was!

He waited to see if they would reveal themselves. After several moments of silence, with the wind blowing against him, he wasn‘t sure if the wolf was even in the clearing anymore. Logan gave up and headed back out of the forest.