Chapter 24

CLEMENTINE

“What if they have her? What then?” Carl asks as we sit in a convertible car on our way to the Blue Moon Pack. We’re driving with the top down, and he’ll use his inhuman speed to return to the Black Pearl pack before we arrive.

“We will get her back, don’t worry,” I say, taking his hand in mine.

Ivan gives a low growl, and suddenly, my hand is in his. As he tightens his hold a bit, he sighs in relief, and I smile. He is such a baby, and I fucking love it.

As if he hears my thoughts, he sends me a glare. A soft one, though.

“Thank you for helping me, really,” Carl says, giving us one of his soft smiles.

“That’s what friends are for, right?” I reply, smiling back.

The next moment, the vampire is nowhere to be seen, having sped away. We enter the gates of the Blue Moon Pack and roll up to a huge, expensive-looking pack house. It looks so luxurious that I don’t want to go in, afraid I might ruin something.

~“Shut up!”~ Helia yells. ~“We deserve to be in a place like this—and richer!”~

~“You’re right. I’m sorry.”~

“No matter what, don’t leave my side,” Ivan says, making me grin.

“You know no one can kill me but I can kill anyone in my way, right?”

He groans. “Can you just listen to me for once?”

“Fine. Sorry, baby,” I say into his ear, and I hear his breath hitch.

Ivan looks dangerously at me, and for a moment, I think he’ll take me right here, right now. But then a knock on the window saves me.

Not that I don’t want him to take me, but we’ve got a job to do.

When we roll down the window a man bows. “Welcome Alpha, Luna. Alpha Jaxon is waiting for you.”

We exit the car and follow the man, hand in hand, into the pack house. There, many people are gathered to see us—some looking curious, others looking scared. Wanting to tease them a bit, I glow my eyes, earning a few gasps and a chuckle from my mate.

~Why is he so hot?~

~“I know baby,”~ he says in my head, and my eyes widen.

~Did he fucking invade my thoughts?~

“Don’t do that,” I mutter, narrowing my eyes.

He leans in and whispers, “I can’t help it. You have sexy thoughts.”

I’m about to give him a piece of my mind when the man ushers us inside an office. A very good-looking office.

“Alpha Ivan,” a man, presumably the alpha, greets, bowing his head. He turns my way, and I can see uneasiness in his eyes. “Luna.” He bows again. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

We sit on the couch in front of his desk, and the alpha sits as well.

“Jaxon”—Ivan nods in acknowledgment—”my queen and I are here because we would like to ask about a certain prisoner. We want to know if you have her.”

My heart beats at the mention of “my queen.” I’ve always heard that mates are equals, but here Ivan is, claiming me as his queen. That’s so sweet of him that it gives me great confidence.

“A prisoner? What’s her name?” Alpha Jaxon asks.

Before Ivan can answer, I catch a whiff of Barbara’s scent. Now, mind you, I can’t smell as well as a werewolf, but my senses have been heightened ever since I became a phoenix. Ivan shifts beside me, confirming my theory.

All of a sudden, the door opens, and there is Barbara. She walks in like she owns the place and stands beside Jaxon. Then she turns toward me, and her face goes from shock to happiness.

“Clementine?” she asks, smiling. She walks toward me, and I stand and hug her.

~Fuck. She’s Jaxon’s mate. How is that even possible? The Moon Goddess must hate Carl.~

“Barbara? You know Luna Clementine?” Jaxon asks, clearly shocked.

“Yes! She was the one who cured me,” she replies.

“Barbara”—I drop my voice to a whisper, but I know her mate will hear anyway—”we thought you were kidnapped.”

“Oh, is she the prisoner you were talking about?” Jaxon asks, confusion covering his face.

“Yes,” Ivan answers.

“I wasn’t kidnapped, Clem,” Barbara says. “As shocking as it might sound, Jaxon and I are mates.”

I nod. “Well, first, congratulations—I’m so happy for you. Second, your brother is worried about you.”

Jaxon growls.

~Fuck, he must know.~

“That bastard is lucky I didn’t kill him,” the alpha says, slamming his fist on his desk.

~Fuck, he’s really angry.~

Angry now too, I yell, “Well, that bastard was the one who rescued your mate by finding me and asking me to heal her, so be grateful!”

Jaxon cowers in fear.

“Is he not letting you see your brother?” I ask Barbara.

The girl looks uneasy, but the look quickly fades away. “No, I don’t want to see him.”

I narrow my eyes. “Don’t lie.”

“Yes, I told her not to see him!” Jaxon admits, clearly still furious. “He fucking killed my gamma!”

The next moment, Ivan is grabbing Jaxon by his neck and pushing him against a wall with too much force. “Do not speak to your queen in that tone, pup!” he yells.

Jaxon nods and apologizes quickly.

“Ivan, let him go. It’s okay,” I softly say, and he listens. I then turn to Barbara. “Is he keeping you here against your will?”

“What? No! Of course not. I love him,” she genuinely replies.

“Good,” I say, and turn to Jaxon. “As your luna, I order you to not get between Barbara and Carl.” I glow my eyes at him, and he nods in submission.

“Good. Then we will be on our way,” I say, grabbing Ivan’s hand. Before we leave, I turn around and add, “You can come with us now, Bar.”

She glances at Jaxon, and he nods, giving her a soft smile. He then apologizes to her and kisses her on her forehead.

With that, we walk out of the pack house.

***

As we drive back to the Black Pearl pack with Barbara, Carl uses his superspeed to join us.

“Fuck, I was so worried,” he says as he hugs his sister. “What the fuck happened?”

She hugs him back. “I missed you too, Carleton. And I found a mate.” She cringes, obviously afraid of his reaction.

Carl looks at her, dumbfounded, then blinks several times. Ivan and I both suppress laughs.

“Fuck…the Moon Goddess must hate me,” he says to himself, frowning.

“Hey, I thought the same thing!” I say, unable to keep my laughter in anymore. Ivan and Barbara join me.

Once we stop laughing, Barbara hesitantly asks, “Are you mad?”

Carl sighs, “Of course not… I’m just a little surprised and kinda upset. I won’t see you a lot, and I don’t even know what kind of a man your mate is. I mean, is he good? Does he treat you well? Is the—”

Barbara cuts him off. “He’s amazing. He loves me a lot, and he told me before I left that you are welcome to stay at the pack house.”

“I am happy to hear that.” He smiles and gives his sister another hug. “But me living with a bunch of wolves? Nah, I’ll pass.”

We all laugh, and then Carl adds, “But I’ll visit you.”

Barbara nods in relief.

Carl finds it hard to cope when we bring her back to her mate, but Ivan assures him that she is in good hands. And I assure him that Ivan wouldn’t lie about something like this. After all, he also has sisters that he feels overprotective toward.

With that, we head home.