Page 30 of Their Marked Mate

Shannon moved closer to Luna and lowered her voice so the others couldn’t hear. “Are you okay? These wolves can be ruthless, and Alex seemed determined to make this happen.”

“I’m fine,” she assured, forcing herself to smile. “Alex and Nate are courting me.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Shannon shuddered. “Alex is better than Elias, but he’s still used to taking whatever he wants.”

Shannon’s concern was sweet and understandable. The wolves were the least civilized of the shifter hybrids. “They push boundaries, but they haven’t crossed the line. At least not with me.”

After accepting the statement with a nod, Shannon changed the subject.

They reached the lab a few minutes later and Luna collected blood samples from the volunteers. There was nothing more the volunteers could do until the injections were ready, so the three women returned to their cabins.

Luna rubbed the back of her neck and released an audible sigh. “We must cross every T and dot every I. I couldn’t live with myself if we lost even one of the volunteers.”

“We’ll do everything in our power to make this as safe as possible, but nothing like this has ever been attempted before.”

Luna understood what Evelyn meant, but the truth was more complicated. The basic formula was proven. They were following a well-established system with minor alterations. Babcock had been an amoral bastard, but he had also been the most brilliant scientist Luna had ever met. She resented him, disapproved of his ruthlessness, but she admired his ingenuity and the accuracy of his vision. It was her goal to build upon his foundation without succumbing to the moral decay that ultimately destroyed him.

CHAPTER 5

The next ten days fell into a predictable routine. Luna spent every day in the lab, so Nate seldom saw her until he returned to the cabin for their evening meal. Even so, her image never left his mind. Having her in his bed was wonderful. And it wasn’t just the pleasure they shared. His emotions needed the release even more than his body. There was so much conflict and uncertainty on this planet. Luna was like the eye of a hurricane. The storms raged around her, but she brought peacefulness and balance to his life.

His wolf, however, was still restless. His mate was within reach, and the wolf didn’t understand why Nate didn’t claim her. Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to Nate. Betas paired with alphas and only alphas were allowed to bond with females. The rule seemed unfair on the surface, but it kept the packs strong. Betas were thinkers, not fighters, and only the most powerful survived on Rydaria. By teaming up with an alpha, betas had a much better chance of succeeding in this harsh environment.

“Raiding the feline village is foolish,” Kai Walden was saying. The Timberline pack alpha was the self-appointed spokesperson for the other alphas. He loved to argue, and once in a while he even made a valid point. Most of the time, however, he just liked the sound of his own voice. It made him feel more important when everyone looked at him. “I can only think of one reason why you refuse to attack the birds. You’re a coward.”

Alex narrowed his eyes, but Nate saw the dangerous gleam of lupine energy. “I’m not going to war with the birds over a handful of hostile females,” Alex insisted. Planting his fist in Kai’s face would doubtlessly feel good, but ignoring the provocation was the wiser strategy. “The cost for each of our past attacks has far outweighed the reward.”

“Would you say that if you were still waiting for a female?” Titus’ question was less provoking than Kai’s, but apparently his humiliating challenge hadn’t been enough to teach him respect.

Nate looked around the oblong table. The meeting room occupied one corner of the clubhouse. Alex sat at the far end of the table, Drake at the other, and four pack alphas lined each side. Betas sat in chairs around the room’s perimeter. Each sat near the alpha they were there to support.

Alex had asked Nate to scan the pack alphas as they spoke, assessing their sincerity and the truthfulness of their claims. Alex was empathic also, but Nate’s receptors were a lot more sensitive.

“We need more females,” Alex agreed. “No one can deny that fact. Attacking the birds is simply not the way to get them.”

“Neither is sitting on our asses,” Kai argued.

“If we attack the birds, the cats will retaliate,” Alex told him. “It’s obvious that they are allied.”

“I’m not afraid of the cats,” Kai countered, his tone sharp yet childish.

“You should be,” Drake snapped out. His frustration was more transparent than Alex’s, yet his expression remained composed. “Any rational being would be. The cats outnumber us almost three to one and our wolves are no match for their lions.”

“Then what the fuck do you suggest!” Kai shouted, coming up out of his seat. “All I’ve heard is what we’re not going to do. How are we going to get more females?”

“We can round up every female on the planet, and it won’t do us any good.” Alex gritted out the reminder between clenched teeth. “I’m focused on the transformation program because we can’t claim our mates without it.”

“That’s not accurate,” Caden said after a tense pause. He waited until Alex looked at him to elaborate. “Since the women arrived, six have triggered bonding fever in our males. The other females have been kept apart from the males, so we don’t honestly know how many would find mates naturally.”

It was a possibility Alex had discussed at length with his cousins, so why was Caden bringing it up now? Nate looked at Hayes, Caden’s beta, questioningly and Hayes nodded toward the door.

Nate coughed several times as if something were irritating his throat and then got up and left the room. He went outside and waited for Hayes to join him.

Hayes emerged from the clubhouse a few minutes later and said, “Let’s walk.”

Twilight gave the village a purple glow and the air was cold enough to create visible condensation of their breath. “What was that about? Caden knows better than to challenge Alex in front of the other alphas. Alex frequently considers input, but there’s a time and place to offer it.”

“I don’t honestly know what the hell is wrong with him,” Hayes admitted, his anxiety obvious. “His end of our link has been shielded for weeks, and he won’t tell me where he goes. That’s his right. He’s an alpha, but it’s not like him. We’ve always operated as a team.”