Her Pack by Tamara White

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mitchand I are holding hands when we meet up with Jake and Rick where we promised. Both of my enforcers are wearing massive grins, and Jake opens his mouth the moment we're a few feet away but I beat him to it. "Don't Jake. Whatever you have to say right now, just for once, keep it to yourself."

He pouts, but closes his mouth with a dejected sigh. "Fine." He turns to Mitch and holds up a fist. I just shake my head and pull Mitch past him, leaving him hanging.

"What? I didn't say anything. It was just after a friendly fist bump. You know, as a congratulations for getting laid."

"I swear," Rick grumbles under his breath. "I wonder how on earth she hasn't murdered you yet."

"It's because I'm loveable," Jake retorts from behind us.

"A loveable ass," I call over my shoulder.

"Why thank you, my ass is loveable."

I just shake my head. No matter what I say, he's not going to keep quiet on what happened between Mitch and I. Not that I need his big mouth to do the announcing. Mitch's mark from me is clear as day. No one will miss it. Unless he starts wearing turtle necks, which is just stupid in this heat.

"I don't get it, why aren't you more excited? You should be cheering with me," Jake says running to catch up with me and takes the bag of picnic stuff.

"I am happy, Jake. I'm ecstatically thrilled. But I want to marvel in the new development with my mate, only I have an annoyingly loveable ass of an enforcer intent on making this moment about him too."

Jake's mouth forms a little 'O' of realization. 'Sorry' he mouths, stepping back to hang with Rick, leaving Mitch and I to enjoy this moment before we get back to the house and are bombarded with questions

I have no clue what it will mean for everyone else. But regardless, I'm happy. Even if I didn't know it was possible to mate with any of them without the ceremony, but it's definitely what happened. Already my wolf can feel a connection to Mitch's. She can tell his wolf is practically preening with the solidification of our bond.

'It's not just my wolf, you know? I'm definitely excited by what this means. You are mine, Dani. No more doubt. No more worry that I won't be enough for you. I can feel the love you have for me in your heart. The want, the desire, and the excitement just when I'm around you. All of that just makes me even more secure of my place in your life. Thank you for sharing such a precious gift with me.'

I blink slowly, pausing only a moment to realize that his words were said in my head, not aloud. He grins over at me, sensing my confusion. 'It's one of the many perks of being mates. We can hear each other a lot easier than before. Even with your special abilities.'

"I thought that didn't happen until after a mating ceremony though. We just had sex, that's it. Well, and that bite," I gesture, my preening when he bares his neck when we get a full sight of his grizzly wound. Damn, I need to disinfect that.

"Like hell you will!" Mitch grumbles, cupping a hand over his mark protectively. "This is nothing to be cleaned. Your saliva will help the mark seal, and show others that I am well and truly claimed as yours."

"But what if it gets infected?"

He smiles at me, and let's go of his neck to hug me. "Sometimes I forget you have no clue what you're dealing with most days." I shove him playfully but he's not wrong. He pulls away and takes my hand as we keep walking back to the path and towards Eli's home. "Our marks rarely get infected, Dani. From what we know, there's some kind of protein in our bite when we mark another which helps fight off infection, while making the mark bind you to your mate."

"A protein does that?"

He shrugs, throwing a smirk my way. "Personally I think that's bullshit and it's actually some kind of magic, but there are scientists that we have among the pack who say that it's actually some kind of protein or something. But what would I know? I'm just an Alpha, someone who uses their brute strength rather than their brain."

"That’s not true."

"You know that, and I know that, but not everyone else does. People see an Alpha these days and just assume that. I'm hopeful that with you as queen, it will help to change that mindset."

I sure hope so. There are so many things that Luke has messed up by being King. Who knew that a man leading a species after it has been female run for generations could cause so much havoc? I wonder what would have happened if Tim had taken over instead of Luke? I mean why didn't the council turn to Tim since he was also in the running? Or the other guy? Why was Luke the automatic choice?

Mitch and I reach Eli's house and I can't help but feel nervous. What if they are already back and pounce on us the moment they see Mitch's mark? What will I do if they question why I chose him over them? It's not like it's that simple but who's to say they believe that.

"Hey, I can feel your turmoil through our bond. Just relax. If anyone has a big deal with what happened, I'll deal with it. Not that I think they will," he winks over at me and starts to drag me up the stairs.

We get inside and I take in a breath to try and find the scent of my mates, only to slump in relief when I don't find any scent. Only lingering from when they were here earlier in the morning. "Well, looks like they are still out looking after the members of Jason's pack. So why don't you go sit down, I'll go make us some popcorn and we can just relax until they get back."

I nod, and move away from him, only to have him pull me back at the last second and press a quick kiss on my lips. He steps back just as quick as the kiss began and turns me towards the living room, giving my ass a slap.

I let out a short yelp, glaring back at him as he practically struts down the other end of the house. I thought Pete was going to be the death of me but if Mitch is this confident after sealing the mate bond, then what are the others going to be like?

I sink into the love seat in the living room and flick on the TV and try to relax until I have to deal with my mates and their reactions later.

"Dani,wake up babe, it's time for dinner."

I jolt up, almost head butting Mitch in the process. He is just quick enough to jump out of the way. "Holy shit, did you say dinner? Shit, you should have woken me sooner. I need to get cooking." I rush to get to my feet, and get started before my mates all starve.

Mitch grabs me by the shoulders when I stand and go to move past him. "Hey, slow down. Dinner is taken care of. Eli and Jason saw you were asleep when they came back and were going to cook for you but Eli's cupboard and fridge were a little lacking so they went shopping and brought home Vietnamese for dinner."

"Wait, what, everyone is already back? Why didn't you wake me sooner?"

He grins and lets me go to take my hand and guide me back to the kitchen. "I didn't wake you because you were exhausted and you needed the rest. That’s why everyone didn't want you to cook either. We wanted you to recuperate after everything else that has been going on. Now, stop over thinking the need to feed us and just come and eat. Alright?"

"But…." He presses a finger to my lips.

"No buts. It's not your job to feed us all the time. We're going to be a family when this is all over. A family takes care of each other. Equal parts give and take, not just take. You need to let us look after you too, okay?"

"Alright," I grumble, not liking it one bit. I mean I should be allowed to look after them, to show them I am not just some Queen who needs to be waited on. They already do so much for me, especially by remaining at my side with all of this shit storm happening.

I make my way into the dining room, my eyes widening at the varied dishes spread out on the table. All of my mates are already sitting down to eat, but Jake and Rick are nowhere to be seen. Maybe they took some time off finally.

"We figured we'd wait for you. We didn't know what you'd like more so best for you to choose what you want first then we'll have what you don't want."

I frown at Eli. "But what about what you guys want?"

"Oh, we'll all eat what's here. We talked about dishes before we ordered and made sure we got stuff at least one of us would eat if the others didn't like it. We just had to improvise for your food. We tried to get as much as we could that would appeal to your tastes. But if you don't like anything, then there is now a fully stocked fridge and pantry for you to have whatever you'd like." Eli moves to the kitchen and shows me just how full both the pantry and fridge now are. They're almost overflowing with all the food he's bought.

"You didn't have to do that. I could have bought groceries."

Jason clears his throat a little nervously. "Well, actually, we agreed that for your safety, it's best you not leave pack lands. Even if you have an escort, it's too risky. And after what Aiden told you earlier, we decided we couldn't possibly be sure there wasn't a spy watching your every move, so until we know who that is, or until Luke and his followers no longer exist, it's best that you stay out of sight as much as possible."

I sink into a chair, annoyed that they made that decision without me, yet understanding it all the same. Aiden and Anthony found us when we left last time, which probably has more to do with Aiden's skills but like Aiden said, Luke was too good at hiding his tracks. Which means we most likely do have a spy. The best thing I can do for me and my mates is listen when they point out their concerns.

"Alright, I won't leave the pack then," I concede, pulling a carton of food my way and serving some up on my plate. I add a few different dishes to my plate before I notice the silence.

I look up to find everyone watching with worried expressions.

"What? Did you guys want some of this?" I gesture to my plate, worried I took too much.

"Who are you and what have you done with our mate?" Pete asks, his eyes furrowed in confusion. "The Dani we know would have kicked a stink about us making such a decision without her approval." He glances around at everyone before landing back on me. "She's an imposter, she has to be," he says with mock horror.

"Hardy, har! I'm still me, I've just grown as a person," I point out. "Yes, I would have argued before but now I know that you guys only mean to do what's best for me, for us. If that means me following the rules and staying here where I'm safe and protected, then I will." I shrug, and start to eat.

A few of them throw glances to Mitch and it clicks. Ah, they think that me mating with him and marking him has somehow changed me. I guess I would too, but it's not that. It's simply that I can't afford to be stupid. I need to trust them. We will never progress as a unit if I don't trust them and the decisions they make.

I ignore their glances and simply eat. After a few moments, they start serving themselves up and soon we fall into a comfortable silence.

I finish eating in no time and set my cutlery down on my plate feeling fuller than ever. "So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" I ask when everyone else has finished eating.

I lean back in my chair, waiting for someone to say something about me and Mitch. I know they're all thinking about it, I can sense it a mile away.

"There's nothing to talk about Dani. What happens between you and another of your mates is your business. If you want to talk about it, we can, but I don't see why. We're all happy for you, and Mitch." Cam smiles at me, and I feel genuine happiness from him.

"Really? That's it? You don't want answers? Or want to know why it happened? How it happened?" I thought for sure they would be asking all those questions and more.

Nate chuckles. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but as Cam said, it's between you and your mate. We all agreed after you decided to have more than one of us in your life that there had to be boundaries. If you need to talk about what happens between you and another mate, then we will listen, but otherwise we trust you and our friends to know the limitations on you. So just take it one day at a time. While this is progress none of us were expecting, especially when the mating ritual is still to be performed, it doesn't mean any of us are expecting the same. We trust you to know when the time is right and we won't push it. If any of us does," he shoots a waring glare at Pete, "then you tell us and we'll gently remind that mate not to be an ass."

"Hey! I know what boundaries are!" Pete grumbles when his words are met with chuckles all around the table.

As I look around at them all laughing at Pete while he just slumps in defeat, I feel a weight lift off my shoulders. To see them all so accepting of what happened between Mitch and I, and for them to not hound me with the many different questions I expected, well it just makes me feel more at ease. Like this dynamic can work in the long run. As long as we have open communication and those boundaries between each individual relationship, then it will definitely work for us.