Chapter 5

HUDSON

"Damn, this is something. I've never seen a pack gather like this," Matthew commented, sipping his beer. I gave him a blank look and took a small sip from my own beer.

I wasn't really in the mood to drink right now. My wolf was giving me another headache about our mate. I was tempted to shut him off, but that would probably make him angrier.

Boston nodded in agreement as he pretty much inhaled his bacon, "We need to have these parties at our pack too. It would be one hell of a time, especially since we have twice as many pack members."

My wolf rolled his eyes and continued pacing in my head. All he cared about was finding our mate in the mass of wolves, which was pretty much impossible. The Burlington Pack had about two hundred and fifty wolves, and it seemed like every single one was there.

The sun was slowly setting behind the hills as the wolves gathered around the bonfire to keep warm. There were several tables filled with all sorts of food and two large speakers to the side, blasting some pop song that had all the teen wolves bobbing their heads.

The trash people listen to these days. The 90's and the early 2000's had the best music in my opinion.

"Where's your mate, Alpha?"

I growled at Devin, and he immediately shut his mouth with a bite of pasta.

Even after knowing Alexis was my mate, he kept drooling around her, which constantly irritated my wolf. Devin had no respect for relationships whatsoever. If he liked a girl, he would go after her until either someone taught him a lesson or the poor girl would give in.

Hopefully, Alexis wouldn't succumb to his stupid seduction tactics or else he was going to have a serious conversation with my fist.

"Alpha Hudson."

I turned to Alpha Horris and nodded, "Alpha Horris."

He raised his eyebrows at the beer in my hand, "I hope you're enjoying the bonfire so far."

"It's definitely interesting," I muttered, eyeing some of the teen wolves that were dancing a little too inappropriately.

It was a good thing the 'no getting drunk' rule existed. I couldn't imagine what would happen if there were horny, drunk wolves everywhere. The whole bonfire would be R-rated.

"Dad, please tell me Marla is still helping with the food," Neville rushed out as he left the pack house, trying to yank a white hoodie over his head.

"She is, I mind-linked her just a few minutes ago to ask her where she was."

Neville sighed in relief, "Good. I think Jacques is going to eat us alive if she finds out what we're doing. We're a little behind schedule."

"Neville! Get your ass over here! I didn't finish!"

He groaned and rubbed his face in exasperation as Alexis ran towards us. My wolf moved forward to check his mate out excitedly.

Horny little rascal.

She had her hair up in a bun–that I believed was called a 'top-knot'– and was wearing the same white hoodie as Neville. Her long legs were covered by a pair of dark skinny jeans that I approved of.

I mean, my wolf approved of. I thought she looked okay.

She waved a roll of black duct-tape at Neville, "You're not doing this for yourself. You're doing this for your best friend. So grow a pair and stop whining."

He rolled his eyes and turned his back towards her so she could finish whatever she was doing. I watched her bite a piece of tape off with her fangs and stick it to his hoodie carefully, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and her bottom lip stuck between her teeth.

My wolf purred at the sight.

I could sense her wolf perking up as she got a whiff of our scent. She shuffled her feet uncomfortably, causing my lips to twitch into a smirk against my beer bottle.

The mate bond was getting to her as well.

"Okay, done. You're free to go and be horny," Alexis said, ruffling Neville's hair.

Neville grumbled under his breath and straightened his beanie as he ran towards a group of males, who were dressed in the same fashion.

Were they part of some cult or something? What was with the outfits?

"Okay, I think that's everyone," Alexis chimed happily, dropping the duct-tape on one of the tables and rubbing her hands against her jeans.

"How long do you have?" Alpha Horris questioned, looking at his watch.

"Well, technically we were supposed to start five minutes ago, so I'm not quite sure. Sasha said she would grab me when Jacques was ready. He is apparently trying not to piss his pants right now."

Just as the words left her mouth, a dark-skinned girl ran up to her, "Come on, girl. Jacques finally found his balls. We have to go, like now! Greg went to go grab Marla."

"Shit!" Alexis grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the group that Neville was in.

My wolf sighed and rolled onto his back in a daze as her scent wafted towards us. I had to admit, she smelled amazing. She must have taken a shower or something because she smelled like honey-suckles. I could bury my nose in her neck and never get tired of her scent.

I felt blood rush towards my nether regions at the sudden image that popped in my head and groaned quietly.

The last thing I needed was a boner in front of all these people.

Suddenly, the music was cut off and everyone turned their heads to see what was happening. Another track started playing, and the crowd started to disperse for some reason. I nodded at Boston and Matthew, who followed me to the front of the line of wolves.

There were a group of wolves standing there with their backs facing us. All of them were wearing white hoodies with letters on them. I raised an eyebrow at the back of Alexis's head.

If she was about to do what I thought she would do, then she just lowered her chances of being my Luna. I couldn't have an immature Luna. She would just embarrass me and that was unacceptable.

I crossed my arms and waited, my eyes glaring daggers into her back. She could definitely feel my gaze because she stiffened slightly and clenched her fists.

There were a few yells and a couple of wolves moved aside to let a blonde-haired girl through. A pack warrior pushed her into a chair as she stared at the group in shock.

"Jacques, what is this?" She breathed out.

One of the wolves turned around and waved at her, before giving a thumbs up to someone. A track started playing, and Bruno Mars' voice blared from the speaker.

My eyes widened as I realized what was happening.

The wolf was about to propose to the girl.

The group started their little performance that I couldn't really describe because I was too busy watching a certain someone.

Alexis was actually a really good dancer, and my wolf puffed his chest out proudly.

She would fit in for sure at those Alpha balls.

Be quiet and watch the dance.

You're just jealous that she's a better dancer than you.

I said be quiet. I don't care about her dancing. I care that she doesn't make a fool out of us.

My wolf snarled and was about to reply, but I quickly cut him off as the group started to move into a line. They flipped around to the beat of the music so we could see the letters on their backs once again. There were several gasps and screams as everyone realized what was happening.

The letters on the hoodies spelled out: WILL U MARRY ME

The wolf who had waved at the girl before got on one knee and pulled out a little box, panting heavily.

"Marla, the Moon Goddess couldn't have given me a better mate. I can't put into words how much I love you and how blessed I feel to have you by my side. So will you make me the happiest wolf in the universe and marry me?"

There were several sighs and 'aw's from the females as the blonde broke down into tears and nodded her head furiously. The male stood up and pulled his mate into his arms for a passionate kiss, causing the pack to go wild.

A small smile tugged at my lips involuntarily as I watched the happy couple.

That could be you and Alexis one day.

Maybe.

I didn't say more than that. My wolf already knew I was thinking about her.

Even though I had said that I didn't want a mate several times, it was rare moments like these that made me ache for one sometimes. Of course, in the past, I didn't have a mate so the ache didn't last long so I was fine the next minute. But now that I had found Alexis, it felt like the ache in my heart was stronger.

It was filled with longing– a wish to have a deep relationship with my mate like the happy couple standing before me.

I closed my eyes for a few moments and took a deep breath.

I needed to get a grip. There was no way I would accept Alexis before this month was over and she had proven that she was worthy enough to be my mate.

There was just no way.

This was for the pack.

The pack I had worked on, day and night, to bring back to life. The pack that depended on me to make the right decisions. The pack that needed a proper Luna.

And I was going to make sure they got one, whether she was my true mate or not.

"Hudson," Boston's voice interrupted my flow of thought.

My eyes snapped open to meet his worried face.

"You okay?" he asked cautiously.

I nodded and cleared my throat gruffly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Is there a problem?"

He exchanged a look with Matthew, who just shrugged. Before he could say something else, Alpha Horris walked over and clapped me on the back.

"Well, I hope you're joining us for the pack run. It would be a shame if you didn't," he said, nodding at the valley where the pack members gathered after congratulating the couple.

I nodded and followed him down the hill, shrugging my jacket off as I got ready to shift.

Please let me take control. I have to meet mate. Her wolf is calling for me.

I sighed and agreed reluctantly. Perhaps he would be quiet about our mate for a few hours if I let him have some time with her.

I quickly undressed, ignoring the looks I was getting from some of the unmated females, and shifted into my dark brown wolf.

My wolf stretched his legs happily and darted into the crowd, trying to find Alexis in the midst of all these wolves. The familiar scent of honey-suckles clouded my senses as we got closer to the front of the line.

She was standing there besides another wolf, yipping and wagging her tail.

Her wolf was beautiful.

Her fur was a hazelnut brown color that appeared bronze under the moonlight. She had a strong build from all the training she had. The only funny thing was that her tail was blonde.

Let's go pull her tail!

What the fuck are you talking about?

My wolf ignored me and bounded towards her, wagging his tail excitedly. He went to stand behind her and panted quietly, letting his eyes rest on my mate's tail.

Fuck.

Her tail brushed against his snout as it wagged back and forth.

I was surprised that she hadn't noticed our scent yet.

Isn't she beautiful? Mate is cute.

My wolf was in heaven right now. He could do whatever he wanted right now, and I just prayed that he didn't do anything stupid.

Of course, he never listened to me and did exactly what I told him not to do.

He leaned forward and grabbed her tail between his teeth gently, tugging at it. She froze and whipped her head around to stare at my wolf with wide brown eyes.

Crap.

She blinked and barked at my wolf as if asking what he was doing. The idiot just gave her a wolfish grin and barked back. She growled slightly and kicked him with her hind leg before walking off towards Alpha Horris, her tail wagging behind her.

My wolf has a fucking tail fetish. Great. Just great.

Look at her behind.

Shut up.

You're just jealous because you couldn't touch her.

I mentally face-palmed.

This was going to be a long run.