Debatable

RORY

The week flies by, and before I know it, it’s Friday night.

The night before my mating ceremony…

And the final debate tournament.

I sit at the vanity in my bedroom, brushing out my hair.

Mama always told me that a princess brushes her hair one hundred times before bed.

~But what does a luna do?~

I guess I’ll have to find out. There’s so much I still don’t know about being a luna, and a part of me can’t believe that the role will officially be mine.

The reality of it just hasn’t sunk in yet.

But I can’t worry about all of that now.

The only thing that matters is getting from the debate tournament to the mating ceremony tomorrow without any issues.

I hear a knock at the bedroom door and place the brush down on the vanity.

“Come in,” I say.

The door opens and my mate walks into our room.

“Just coming to say goodnight,” he says.

Everett told me that it’s tradition for the alpha and luna to sleep in separate rooms on the night before the mating ceremony.

But to be honest, if there’s one thing that would release some of my nervous energy, it would be a little intimate attention from my mate.

I walk over to where he’s standing next to the blazing fireplace and wrap my arms around his neck. I kiss him passionately. Deeply.

The kind of kiss that leads to something more…

“What are you doing, little one?” Everett asks me when we come up for air.

“What do you think?” I say, with a sly expression.

I kiss him again and my feet fly off of the floor as he lifts me into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist and can instantly feel the hardness growing under his pants.

He carries me over to the bed and lays me down on top of the duvet. I’m more than ready to see what he has in store for me.

But to my surprise, Everett doesn’t join me on the bed.

Instead, he just kisses me on the forehead and walks back over to the other side of the room.

“What’s the matter?” I ask him.

“We can’t do that, little one,” he says. “Not tonight. It would defeat the whole purpose of sleeping in separate beds.”

“Screw that tradition,” I say. And then, with a cheeky smile, “Screw me, too.”

He laughs. But instead of giving in, he opens the door. “See you tomorrow,” he says. “I’ll make it worth the wait. I promise.”

And with that, he disappears, the door closing behind him.

***

With Everett gone from our bed, I wake up with an unceremonious ~crash~ on the floor.

~Ugh.~

I pick myself up, inspect the fresh bruises on my knees, and look over at the clock.

It’s 8:25 a.m., which means I have just enough time to get ready for the debate tournament and make it to the next bus that will take me into the city center.

I’ll be able to walk the rest of the way to school from there.

I decided to not tell Everett about the debate tournament, though it killed me to hide it from him all week.

I just know that it would make him stressed and angry. He has more than enough on his plate today, and the last thing I want is to cause any unnecessary conflict before we say our vows.

Besides, if everything goes to plan, I will be back here with plenty of time to spare.

I slip into a black pencil skirt that cuts off just above my knees, and pair it with a black tank top and black silk scarf to cover my mating mark. I finish off the look with my custom-made debate jacket.

And then I open the door to my bedroom, look both ways to make sure no one is coming, and sneak down the hallway and out of the packhouse.

Within minutes, I’ve made it off of pack grounds and onto the bus without a hitch or ounce of suspicion.

When I arrive at school, it’s 10 a.m. on the dot. Freya is waiting for me in front of the auditorium along with the rest of the team.

I see a look of relief break over Mr. Malone’s face when he spots me walking toward them. He must have been worried that I was going to bail, as I’ve been known to do in the past.

Freya rushes toward me and pulls me in for a big hug. “Thank God you’re here,” she says.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” I say to her. “Is the Chatsworth team already inside?”

“Malone just got word from the Chatsworth coach that they are running a bit late,” Freya says. “Flat tire on their bus or something.”

~Oh Goddess…~

~That’s not good.~

I turn to Mr. Malone, my blood pressure already starting to rise. “How much longer until they get here?” I ask him.

“I’m not sure,” Mr. Malone says. “But this is the best-case scenario. They will be totally frazzled when they get here and we have a little extra time to get our heads in the game and prepare.”

~Actually, he’s wrong.~

~This is the worst-case scenario.~

“Why are you so jittery?” Freya asks me. “Did you not get a good night’s sleep again?”

“No—it’s just—Everett’s waiting for me at home,” I say. “We have a—a date later.”

~Probably the most important date of our lives…~

“Well,” Freya says, rolling her eyes. “He gets to have you to himself all the time. He can wait a little while longer while his girlfriend becomes a national debate champion.”

“I guess so,” I mutter, lying to Freya yet again, because I know that being late to my own mating ceremony is ~not~ an option.

The Chatsworth team needs to hurry up and get here.

~Now!~

EVERETT

I look up at the ceiling of the guest bedroom, running through my vows in my head.

My least favorite part of being an alpha has always been public speaking. But today it is important that I present my feelings for Aurora in the most strong, confident way that I possibly can.

I need to make sure everyone knows that I will not tolerate any doubts about her ability to serve as luna of this pack.

She is everything a luna should be…

~Kind.~

~Honest.~

~Reliable.~

And it doesn’t hurt that she’s fucking hot, too.

But still, as much as I want to, I can’t get Nickolas’s threat out of my head.

~“When the time is right, they are going to come after your little luna.”~

~“I’d like to see anyone try,”~ Chaos growls. ~“We’ll show them why we are the alpha.”~

Chaos is right. I ~am~ the alpha.

And I only deserve my position because the strongest, most fearsome wolf in the pack lives inside of me.

If I can’t keep my luna safe, then the title might as well be given to someone else.

Everyone will need to get used to the scent of human blood on pack grounds. But still, I must prepare myself for any conflict that might arise in the wake of the ceremony.

~“Rory is safe with us,”~ Chaos says. ~“As long as we do not let her out of our sight, everything will be alright.”~

I take a deep breath and get out of the bed. It’s time to start getting ready for the ceremony.

I walk over to the wardrobe, where my suit is hanging in a garment bag.

I’m about to undress and slip it on when I hear a knock at the door.

Chaos perks up, hoping it’s my mate. But we’re not supposed to see each other until the ceremony begins.

“Come in,” I say.

The door opens slowly and Aurora’s Mama is standing on the other side.

“Sorry, Alpha, I didn’t mean to intrude,” she says, her eyes scanning the guest room.

“What’s going on?” I ask her.

“I was hoping that Aurora might be in here with you,” she says.

“Why?” I ask, placing the garment bag down on the bed and walking toward her.

“I knocked on your bedroom door, but she wasn’t there,” Mama says. “I asked around to a few pack members and nobody has seen her this morning. I thought the two of you lovebirds might have broken the tradition.”

“No,” I say. “No, we didn’t. She’s not here.”

“Hm,” Mama says with a sigh. “Well don’t you worry about it, Alpha. I’m sure I’ll find that girl somewhere.”

With that, she turns and disappears down the hall.

~“Aurora is missing?”~ Chaos growls inside my head.

I take a deep breath, trying to get Chaos to calm the fuck down so I can think.

Again, Nickolas’s words ring through my head, over and over again.

~“When the time is right, they are going to come after your little luna.”~

Is it possible that someone has targeted her today, knowing that we would be separated for the night by werewolf tradition?

My heart drops into my stomach at the thought.

I need to find my Aurora before anything happens to her.