The She-Wolf’s Mate (Book 2 She-Wolf Series)

Ivar

Cassandra Stevens’s bullshit list kept Sam and I in different orbits throughout the day. The men and I were busy setting up seating, moving furniture, and hanging lights at the pack house. I looked for my little mate whenever I had the chance, but never even caught a glimpse.

The Mating Ceremony was to be held near the pond where Sam’s Alpha Ceremony had been the year prior. I found the location fitting as it was the first time I had seen her. Even then, before we realized our connection, I had found myself captivated by the mere sight of her.

By the afternoon I was frustrated and the pulsing of my headache had me ready to tear down the pack house brick by brick to find her. Instead, I opened my senses and followed my nose. I tracked her to a hallway filled with large oak doors.

A young woman sat at a desk in front of where I knew my mate was. She met my eyes and looked like there might be something she wanted to say, but I set my jaw and narrowed my eyes at her. She lowered her head in submission, but reached for the phone in front of her.

I ignored her and continued on my way to large double doors at the end of the hall. When I pushed in, Sam smiled warmly while she spoke on the phone.

“It’s okay, Jessica. Thanks,” she hung up and gave me an amused look. “Why are you intimidating my receptionist, Mr. Wolf?”

“She looked like she might want to protest,” I admitted, lifting a shoulder in a shrug. “What are you doing?”

“Working,” she said, gesturing to the pile of paperwork on her desk.

I frowned. “What about your to-do list?”

“Well, my list said ‘pick a dress’ which I did this morning,” she explained. “Then just had ‘enjoy your day’ marked for the rest of it. Cassie said I shouldn’t wear myself out before my big day.”

“It’s my Mating Ceremony too,” I said, pulling my packed schedule from my pocket. “She has me trimming hedges for the next two hours.”

Sam laughed, her eyes dancing with mirth.

“She didn’t want to leave you any time to argue with all she has planned,” she said, coming to stand before me. “Besides, you’re so big and strong.”

She ran her hands up my arms gently squeezing my biceps. I dropped my head to kiss her before I had a thought.

“Wait,” I shook my head. “Cassie told you to enjoy your day, and you came to your office?”

Her smile faltered slightly.

“I’ve been otherwise engaged the last couple days,” she pointed out. “And I wasn’t sure how quickly Luke would be taking over. I don’t want to start him out behind.”

I heard the sadness and anxiety in her tone. Just because she had agreed to be my mate didn’t mean she had stopped worrying about her son.

“Sam, he’s going to have plenty of support,” I told her. “You’re not abandoning him.”

“I know,” she said, quietly, running her hands absently over my chest. “It just makes me feel better to get through some of this.”

I nodded.

“Okay,” I looked at her desk. “Anything I can help with?”

She gave me a genuine smile, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” I asked, confused. “We haven’t done anything yet.”

“For… changing your tone?” She said, hesitantly. “Before, it felt like you didn’t care. I appreciate you understanding how difficult this is for me.”

I shook my head, disgusted with myself.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” I told her. “I shouldn’t have made you feel that way. I was being selfish.”

“Hey,” she said, cupping my cheek so that I met her gaze. “It’s okay. We were in a difficult place.”

I wanted to argue, to tell her she didn’t deserve what I put her through. Instead I dropped my head to catch her lips in a kiss, wrapping my arms around her. She met me, parting her lips willingly as my tongue reached for hers. I slid my hand along her hip under her shirt just as the intercom sounded.

“Alpha Paulson?”

“Yes, Jess?” Sam answered, slightly breathless.

“There’s a couple - uh - large men looking for the king. Is he with you?” her receptionist inquired.

“You can send them back. Thank you,” Sam said, pulling away and straightening her top.

I frowned, annoyed at once again being interrupted. Liam and Duncan walked through the door a moment later.

“King, Nelson just called, we have information back on the Moon Valley incident,” Duncan explained, glancing at Sam.

“What about it?” Sam asked, tilting her head. “I thought everyone involved was taken care of.”

“We’ve been investigating,” Duncan said, hesitantly, looking at me. I gave him a slight nod and he continued, “It was unclear why Nathaniel had taken the role as Alpha so suddenly. His father was in good health, so it didn’t seem the call had passed to him organically yet.

“When we questioned the remaining pack members and advisors, none of them would really say what led to it. We thought they were withholding information. Turns out they couldn’t say. They don’t know.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.

“King,” he said, his tone serious. “They were all bewitched.”

I recoiled slightly.

“Who’s that powerful?” I asked, wracking my brain. “A rogue group of witches? We would have heard something.”

Liam shook his head.

“It wasn’t the light witches, Ivar,” he explained, clearly ill at ease. “It was dark magic.”

“That’s impossible,” I said, flatly.

“What does that mean?” Sam asked next to me. Her voice betrayed her fear.

“Someone used dark magic to bewitch all of the ranking pack members,” Duncan said.

The room froze and I felt myself tense up. Rankor growled in my mind. Sam put a comforting hand on my arm, sensing my fury.

“This wasn’t Trinity,” I ground out.

“No one said it is,” Liam argued. “Not one of us believes she would be capable.”

“She's not,” Sam said, firmly.

Both Duncan and Liam nodded in agreement. My heart warmed slightly at Sam’s defense of my sister.

“All of the other dark witches are gone,” I told them. “There’s no one capable of casting that. Especially not something so powerful.”

“Someone had to have slipped through,” Liam explained.

I shook my head. “It’s not possible. Trinity would sense it.”

“King,” Duncan said, staring at me hard. “Possible or not, it happened.”

My mind began to race. I couldn’t say any of what I needed to with Sam present. The treaty prevented it. I ground my teeth together in frustration before turning to my mate.

“Sam,” I told her, placing my hands on her arms and looking into her deep, green eyes. She stared up at me, searching for an answer. I could see her fear staring back at me. “I need you to give us the room.”

“What?” She asked, recoiling slightly.

“I’m sorry,” I said and tried to convey my sincerity. “There are things I need to discuss and I can’t do it with you present.”

Hurt flashed over her features.

“I promise you I will tell you,” I told her. “Tomorrow.”

After our mating ceremony, I would tell her all of it. Until then, I wasn’t capable. She stared at me waiting for an explanation. When I didn’t give her one, she sighed and nodded.

“Okay,” she relented. “I’ll go.”

“I am sorry,” I said when she tried to turn away.

“I know, Ivar.”

She reached up and kissed my lips before turning on her heel and stiffly exiting her office. I knew she was upset, but I needed to come up with a plan.

The safety of the world depended on it.