Blackshadow (Kingdom of Wolves #2)

Walking over to her, I remain calm as she looks like she wants to run. Standing in front of her, my eyes roam her face and the gentlest of smiles I can give crosses my face, “Mate,” I murmur as my hands cup her face.

“Mate,” she whispers back to me and I can see she’s calming with my touch.

“I’ve been waiting for you all my life, my mate, my luna.” I lean down and place my lips over hers, giving her a gentle but thorough kiss. I would dearly love to ravish her, but I don’t want to frighten her with my desire. I can feel her nerves and worry, but I’ll make sure she knows she can trust and love me in return. “What is your name, mate?”

“Hope.”

“Hope, what a beautiful name. My name is Connell, Alpha Connell, but you never call me Alpha.” I kiss her once more and place my arm around her, holding her against my side before looking around at everyone standing in shock watching us.

“Caleb, announce to everyone that my Luna has arrived at last. Their Luna Hope will be brought forward to them in the morning. I’ll meet everyone in the morning, also, make sure they are fed, and given rooms next to each other. They can share rooms if they would rather, but for tonight, I’m taking my Luna to our suite of rooms, where she can rest and we can get to know each other.”

I hear another ‘MATE!’ shout, but I don’t stop to see who it is. I’ll find out tomorrow, when I’m more settled with my mate and she is calmer with me. The Goddess has blessed me, and I never thought I’d be so lucky, but my mate is beautiful. She is the sun that shines in my sky, and the moon that glows in the dark.

“Get your hands off me, mutt, or I’ll take them off for you.” Hope stops walking and spins around to look at where the commotion is happening behind us.

A feisty she-wolf is nose-to-nose with Noah, and I can’t help but throw my head back, laughing. Oh, this is going to be interesting. Noah has gotten himself a warrior-mate by the look of it. Now his wolf Moses had better step up or he’ll be in big trouble.

Hope giggles, looks up at me and quietly says, “That’s Swift. She’s like my sister. She’s a hunter and a warrior. If that’s her mate he better be strong or she’ll run rings around him.”

“I’m going to enjoy watching what happens, but let’s go get you settled.” I lead Hope away from the drama and into the packhouse, where I stop anyone speaking to us, as I take her to our suite of rooms on the top floor.

Chapter 16

CONNELL

Sitting with Hope in the living area of the alpha floor, I can see she’s nervous, and although she has shown no sign of rejecting me, I can feel her worry. I need to settle her feelings and not cause her to run.

“Hope, you are my mate, my most important being in this world. I would never hurt you. I am alright to wait to claim you if you are not ready yet.” I can see Hope’s eyes show surprise at my statement, but also, they soften with the understanding I’m not a beast, nor am I going to attack her, or force her to mate at this moment.

“I have never wanted a mate. My experience with mates has been a bad one. In fact, I’ve only known my mother’s, and that was not a good thing,” Hope states gently.

“Tell me what happened.”

“My mother met her fated mate, and they had one night together. Then he rejected her because his father, who was the Alpha at the time, had arranged a chosen mate for him. It was a political match, of course.”

I nod my head slightly because I’ve heard of this. “I have never agreed that you throw out the mate the Goddess made for each other. How could you be happy with another when your mate is still out in the world somewhere?”

“The result of that one night was me.”

“Did he know about you?”

“No. My mother kept the fact she was having me to herself. She left the pack and settled in the Northern Parklands. She brought me up by herself and struggled to feed and clothe me, but she loved me unconditionally. Sadly, she died in a rogue attack, along with others who were fighting to protect the few of us who lived near each other.”

“Do you think he would want to know you?” I ask.

“Well, since his chosen mate didn’t tell him she’d had an accident when young and was barren, then yes, he’d more than likely want to know he had a daughter, one he could use as a broodmare to get a male for his bloodline. But it’s never going to happen. I’ll never tell him or go to his pack.”

Throughout this, Hope has kept her calm, speaking with the tone of a statement, and with no attachment to her words. I can tell she feels nothing for her sire, and rightly so. Her father sounds as terrible as mine was.

“I would never reject you, or any pup that we produced. I would die protecting you and never think for a moment that your mother’s fate would be yours. If your father finds out about you and comes for you, I’ll fight to the death to stop him from taking you. Once you are marked as mine and are the Luna of the pack, every pack member will fight to the death to protect you, their Luna.”

Hope is looking at me with surprise, then speaks to me in an accepting tone. “Thank you, Connell. I would like us to be mates, but would you give me a little time to get to know you before we complete the bond?”

“Yes, I would do anything for you. But please don’t take too long because Knight, my wolf, is screaming for his mate.” I give her what I hope is a cheeky grin, and she smiles in return before a sweet giggle leaves her pink bow lips.

“My wolf is Briar, and she’d like to meet her mate soon, too. She’s going to enjoy having him chase her, I’m sure.” Hope’s eyes are sparkling now with amusement, and her body language has changed to relaxed which pleases me greatly.

We spend two hours talking, getting to know each other, and the bond is warming and growing as the time passes. Nessie has brought us food and we’ve eaten while we’ve been relaxing, but I can see the tiredness in Hope’s eyes.