Page 43 of Fat Forced Mate

Thomas nods, accepting my deflection. "I'll double the patrol rotations."

As he outlines his security plans, I catch myself drifting again, loosed in thoughts of her like a man adrift upon the ocean. It's maddening, like a word on the tip of my tongue that refuses to materialize.

"Nic?" Thomas is staring at me expectantly.

"Fine," I say, hoping it's an appropriate response to whatever he just suggested. "Make it happen."

He gives me a strange look but doesn't press. As he leaves, I drag a hand down my face, cursing under my breath. I need to get it together. The pack deserves better than a distracted Alpha.

Especially now, with shadows gathering at our borders, stronger each day.

Hours later, the dining hall thrums with conversation during the community dinner, pack members gathered around long wooden tables laden with food. From my position at the head table, I have a clear view of Luna, sitting beside Ruby near the middle of the room.

She's smiling at something Ruby said, her red hair falling in waves around her shoulders. The sight knocks something loose in my chest, a memory of her laughing in sunlight at Shadow Creek, before everything went to hell. Before I chose the pack over her.

"...don't you think, Alpha?" Elder Roberts' voice cuts through my distraction.

"Sorry," I mutter, dragging my attention back to the conversation. "Could you repeat that?"

Roberts frowns, clearly annoyed at having to restate his opinion on increasing the trainee patrol rotations. I force myself to focus, to respond with the authority expected of my position, but my awareness of Luna's presence never fully fades.

Across the room, Theo Blackwood, a distant cousin, approaches Luna's table. My muscles tense as he sits across from her, saying something that makes her smile. My wolf growls, a low rumble of possessiveness I barely manage to suppress.

"Dominic," Victoria's sharp tone pulls me back. "Your attention, please."

I tear my gaze away, shame and frustration burning in equal measure. My behavior is unworthy of an Alpha, especially with threats mounting on all sides.

I make it through dinner somehow, responding to questions about border security and pack defenses on autopilot while my instincts track Luna's movements throughout the room. When she finally leaves, slipping out a side door with Ruby, I exhale deeply, not realizing I'd been holding my breath.

"You're not fooling anyone," James murmurs beside me, low enough that only I can hear.

I glare at him. "Mind your own business."

***

"The Riverpaw Alpha agrees to a mutual defense pact, though we have to figure out the specifics of an agreement that benefits us all," I tell Thomas the next morning, hanging up the satellite phone. "That makes three packs now."

"Good," he nods, making a note. "We'll need all the allies we can get if—"

He stops mid-sentence, his gaze shifting to something over my shoulder. I turn to see what caught his attention, and my body goes still.

Luna walks by the window, deep in conversation with Elder Victoria. The morning light catches in her hair, turning the edges to fire. My wolf surges forward with such force that I have to grip the edge of my desk.

"Nic?" Thomas's voice seems to come from a great distance.

"What?" I snap, tearing my eyes away from the window.

His expression is carefully neutral. "I asked when you want to meet with the patrol leaders."

"After lunch," I manage, struggling to remember what we were discussing. "Two o'clock."

When Thomas leaves, I press the heels of my hands against my eyes until I see stars. This cannot continue. I am the Alpha of Silvercreek. My focus must be on protection, on leadership, not on the curve of Luna Morgan's lips or the mystery of her changing scent.

Later, I encounter her in the hallway outside the library, her arms full of old texts. We both freeze, caught in an unexpected moment of privacy.

"Alpha," she acknowledges, her voice carefully neutral.

"Luna." Her name feels like forbidden fruit on my tongue. "Research for the final trial?"

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