33 Paperwork

Carrie

The moon hung high in the sky above us, lighting the area of forest where we were to hold the ceremony. Through the trees, the light caught my dress and made it appear to shine. The particular spot had been chosen because the forest was less dense, although it was not a true clearing like most packs used. That didn’t matter. It was wild and new, like our pack.

I stood at the edge, my heart pounding, looking around at the people who would trust me to help lead them in the future, including our new potential rogue recruits. They were not official yet, but they would still be trusted to participate in the run. Even our youngest member was there, asleep in her father Michael’s arms. Porter and Randy were standing still in their human forms beside my mate, who of course looked as handsome as ever.

Normally, the sight of his bare muscular torso would have driven me to distraction, but right now I had another focus. Although that was still an impressive sight, I was about to become a part of something bigger than myself. Something I was meant to be a part of.

It felt right. My heart still hammered, but it was with excitement more than nervousness.

I walked forward, and stood in front of my mate. How strange it was that only a month ago that I was filled with conflict when I met him, but now I felt certain in him, and certain in my future.

It wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t care about that. I wanted whatever would come, good or bad, and we would meet it all head on.

Jason’s voice was deep and steady through the darkness. His tone was low, but everyone was able to clearly hear him as he brought me into the pack.

He cut his hand with the knife, and he held his palm out to me. I did the same and took his hand. “I present to you, Carrie Thomas, the newest member of the pack, my mate, and your luna.”

Cheers and howls went up from my people, along with the cry of one indignant baby, startled from sleep by the noise. I smiled as the pain of the newly established link ran through my head, along with the voices of excited congratulations and welcome. Jason wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close for a kiss to a chorus of laughter and a couple of wolf whistles.

Everyone who was not already covered in fur began to transform, and Krystal carried the baby off towards their trailer. She too would transform, but she would stay by their child’s side until Michael returned to take a turn watching over the pup. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t convinced Kain into taking a turn as well. Other wolves would run by to help guard them as the night progressed. Our wolves were very protective of the pack’s young. If Jason and I had pups, it would be a similar situation until they were old enough to join the run.

During the moon, the pack was also very protective of our territory. Packs typically did not set patrols on the night of the full moon, because the wolves were out in full force. While they played, they also watched, and instinctively covered the territory. Our wolves led us this night, and were far more in tune with their instincts than their humans.

And my wolf instincts led me straight to Jason. We both stripped, his eyes bright on me in the moonlight, and then shifted. We ran with our pack through the greyscale darkness. Even our potential recruits joined in the bonding, and everyone felt freer and lighter by the time dawn broke.

I still missed my family and friends from Greenwoods, but for the first time since I had been banished, I did not even slightly miss my home, because I was home.

—————

The next few days, Porter was still moping around the territory, apparently not having had much luck with Amanda. He never spoke of the situation, although there was little sign of the lighthearted beta I had first met when I had arrived. Max left on a hunt for his mate, and he promised to send back any pack members of Glenhaven that he encountered if they wanted to become a part of us. Most he had found were understandably concerned about the idea of poking their heads out of where they were hiding, but if they weren’t too settled, I imagined they would be interested.

My mate might have worried about Porter and missed Max, but there was enough to keep us busy that he didn’t have time to fixate on it. We continued to take steps to ensure that the packs would officially recognize us. The application paperwork around being recognized as a new pack had been started before I had found Jason, but there was still heaps of it to do. When I wasn’t trying to find ways to efficiently cut costs for running the pack, I started helping him in his office.

I wasn’t sure how much help I actually was, since I also distracted him by being around, but between us and with help from the other pack members, we waded through the bureaucratic mess.

“No wonder there’s so few new packs, they make starting one a nightmare,” I commented.

Jason nodded. “My wolf just wants to shred all this and set the office on fire.”

“Your wolf wants to set the office on fire?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Arson wasn’t the most wolfish instinct.

“Well, that bit might be my human half contributing.”

He grinned, but he also seemed stressed, so I decided it was time for a break. I got out of my chair and walked over to him. I pushed back him away from the desk and straddled him, my face lined up with his. “We’ll get through it,” I said, moving against him.

He chuckled. “Not if we keep this up.”

“Are you complaining?” I asked, pulling back a bit as if I would leave, a totally false threat.

He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer. “No. No, definitely not complaining.”

“You need breaks, too, Alpha.”

Jason groaned encouragingly, and I kissed him. His hands began to wander down my back until they reached my ass, and he squeezed it. Heat hit my core and I kissed him harder. I wanted to absorb him, keep him with me always. He began to pull my shirt up over my head, but stopped when the sound of footsteps hit our ears.

Jason groaned again, this time in annoyance, when the door swung open. Porter walked in.

“Are you two at it again?” he asked. He sounded annoyed, rather than the playful grousing he used to do before his mate difficulties began.

“What do you need?” Jason asked as I got off his lap and stood beside him.

Porter slammed down a sheaf of papers on the desk. “Bluegorge is trying to block our pack applications.”

“What? What the hell is in it for them?” Jason growled, his wolf making his territorial possessiveness known.

“I don’t know, but it’s bullshit.” Porter’s expression was as angry as Jason’s. “They’re probably afraid of competition.”

The anger of the alpha and the beta fed through the pack connection, and my own joined theirs. This was none of Bluegorge’s business, and yet they were interfering. My wolf growled, and I grabbed the papers and began to flip through them. Each sheet only made me more angry. “All the excuses are ridiculous. We’re too dangerous? What, Bluegorge can’t protect itself from a measly pack of twenty-nine—maybe thirty-two? Our territory is too close to theirs? We’d have to run for more than a half hour to accidentally set foot on their land. We’re a front for rogue activity? Well, maybe there would be less rogues if packs like Bluegorge weren’t a bunch of exclusionary judgmental assholes!”

As the luna, I should probably have been trying to calm my mate down, but I was as angry as he was. How dare they try to stop us when we were doing nothing wrong? The obvious injustice of the situation made my fury only grow.

I got through Bluegorge’s ridiculous excuses. “So there’s to be a hearing in front of the Alpha Assembly about whether we have a legitimate claim to be a pack, in six week’s time, at the usual gathering.”

“Let me guess, more fucking paperwork?” Jason groaned.

“More fucking paperwork,” I agreed. “The more I think about it, the more I think all this application garbage is just to make it difficult for new packs to start. It’s like you said, Porter. The established packs are a cabal and they don’t want little startups as competition.”

Jason swore under his breath. “We’re going to beat this challenge, and any other that comes our way.”

I met his deep eyes and nodded. “We are, alpha.”

Porter nodded. “I’m going to try to see Amanda again, and then I’ll come back here and help. She’s been refusing to talk to me at all.”

“Don’t push her too hard,” I cautioned him.

“What choice do I have but to try? She’s never going to learn to care for me in return if she doesn’t see me, Carrie.”

I sighed. “Go and see her, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll try talking to her. Maybe I can help open up her mind.” Besides the fact that the pack needed its beta to be stable, I genuinely felt bad for Porter because being pushed away by one’s mate hurt, and for Amanda because as a human she wouldn’t understand exactly what she was refusing. At least all that mate difficulty between Jason and I was over quickly.

The door slammed shut behind Porter, and I kissed my mate again, my wolf needing the comfort of his touch.

Before I could slip back down onto his lap, he walked over to the door and locked it with a wicked smile.

“Weren’t you saying something about how your alpha needed a break?”