The Mating Rules

The warrior chuckled at me, dropping his arms to his sides as he nods, ‘OK Luna, I will go and get an hour in my bunk but if you need me, please link me immediately and I will come running.’

The warrior chuckled at me, dropping his arms to his sides as he nods, ‘OK Luna, I will go and get an hour in my bunk but if you need me, please link me immediately and I will come running.’

I grin victoriously, ‘I promise that if anyone tries to attack me and the Alpha doesn’t save me that I will be straight into your mind asking for assistance’ I say as Caden growls behind me.

As Mark walks away, my mate pulls me against his chest, his mouth on my neck as his breath teases my skin. ‘You think I can’t protect you Luna?’ he mumbles, pressing k****s to my flesh as I sink into his embrace.

‘No, I just wanted Mark to go and get some sleep’ I m**n back, my eyes fluttering shut as sparks wash over me. ‘I knew goading him that he didn’t think I’d be safe with you would have him backpedalling as fast as possible.’

The Alpha chuckles into my neck, sucking gently, ‘you are trouble Leeway, do you know that?’

I nod, ‘and you love it’ I reply breathlessly, trying to keep my knees locked so I don’t melt into a puddle at the man’s feet.

‘Want to go back to bed?’ he growls lustfully, and Goddess I want to say yes so badly! Reluctantly, I pull myself away from him, turning around to face him as he smirks at me, a*****e.

‘We are going to see the Motel owner’ I huff, taking a step around him and heading toward the small office at the far end of the parking lot.

Falling into step beside me, Caden laces his fingers with mine, giving them a squeeze as I give him a small smile in return. He’s an a*****e but he’s my a*****e and damn do I love the guy.

Moving across the carpark, my mind is solely focused on the office ahead of us, I’m moving swiftly across the tarmac toward the dirty glass door when Caden suddenly stops, pulling me to a halt.

‘What?’ I ask, turning to him, worry creasing my brow as I see him staring off into the foliage to our right.

His eyes cloud over and I know he’s mind linking someone so I wait until they clear again before speaking. ‘Caden?’ I ask nervously, my head starting to move toward where he was staring but the Alpha grabs my arm and drags me toward the office, almost shoving me inside in his haste.

‘What is it? What?’ I ask, turning to him as he shuts the door behind us and moves to the window, peeking through the blinds at the shrubs.

‘I thought I saw something’ he replied uncertainly, ‘not sure what it was but I’ve got two of our guys going over there to check it out. Could just have been a reflection off of some glass or something but I’m not taking any chances.’

We wait in agitation for what feels like hours, Caden keeping himself between me and the door, an arm out protectively to stop me getting past him.

His eyes cloud and I see his shoulders relax as he blinks and turns to me, wrapping me up in his arms. ‘False alarm’ he murmurs into my hair, ‘the guys checked all the foliage over there, no sign of anyone and no footprints to be seen. They did find a wrapper from a chocolate bar and think it probably caught the light as we walked past, drawing my attention.’

I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding in and nod, ‘that’s good’ I reply, ‘though how would anyone know we are here anyway, not even your dad knows our exact location.’

It’s true, after moving, we didn’t tell anyone our new motel name or location. Caden went so far to get a throwaway phone to use to ring his dad, paranoid that someone could hack his messages or phone calls. He powers the phone down after every use and has a strict time he contacts the pack each day so they know if a phone call comes in at any other time on the new phone number, it means we’re in trouble.

Releasing the man, I turn toward the peeling wooden reception desk that cuts across the room, separating the office area from us. Walking up, I tap the bell lightly, sending a high pitched ding out through the room and step back, waiting until the large owner shuffles out of the office and glares down at me.

‘What?’ he growls, ‘towel change is tomorrow, rooms don’t get cleaned until Thursday.’

I nod, stepping forward so I can lean on the structure between us, ‘oh yes, I know, that isn’t why we came here’ I reply, giving him my sweetest smile, hoping I can get the man in front of me to mellow slightly.

The owner scowls at me, ‘we don’t have brochures or sh*t like that for tours, this ain’t a damn holiday resort.’

I feel Caden move behind me, and can feel his annoyance through our bond so I reach blindly behind me, keeping my eyes on the owner, and grab the Alpha’s hand in mine, calming him silently.

‘I was wondering if I could ask you a question’ I push on doggedly, ‘I’m hoping you might know about them or maybe know where I could go to ask?’

The old man snarls in annoyance but slumps down into the rickety desk chair and gives me his attention.

Beaming widely, I hurry into my questions, ‘do you happen to know anything about Spirit Wolves?’ I ask.

The owner blinks in surprise, it seems whatever he was thinking I wanted to ask, it wasn’t that. ‘You want to know about wolf spirits?’ he grumbles warily, ‘that is why you are here?’

I nod, ‘yes, I know that they are classed as leaders and courageous but they are also described as greedy and dishonest.’ I taper off in confusion, watching the man as he studies me.

Slowly, he leans back in his chair, entwining his fingers behind his head, ‘my grandfather used to speak of the spirit animals’ he mumbles, ‘they were supposedly sent to help guide or protect us. He believed that when a particular animal crosses your path, it was a sign from the universe. They are meant to teach us, and communicate with us if we are open enough to listen.

Each spirit animal has it’s own qualities and depending on what you need will dictate which animal will come to you.’

I nod, listening avidly, ‘so can you tell me about the wolf spirit in particular, d you know why they are described as both good and bad?’

The old man’s eyes narrow as he takes me in and I try not to flinch under his gaze, leaving my face open to his scrutiny.

‘It is true, the wolf is a being of great loyalty and courage’ he agrees, his voice gravelly as he speaks. ‘He is a leader and guides those who need him on the right path, teaching them his ways so that they too can guide others. But, if someone tries to force the wolf to do his bidding, take his powers when the wolf is not there for him, they will suffer the curse of the wolf spirit. Instead of the good aspects, they inherit the bad, greed, dishonesty, distrust, these all forge a deep emptiness that the thief will need to fill. He will crave power, a desperation to rule others, but he will also yearn for isolation as he can no longer trust anyone around him. He is forever trapped in a half life, two halves warring within him making him dangerous to all.’