Page 40 of Unbreakable Bond
“I don’t know.” He answered her unasked question, “I don’t know. It… I…” He growled and tugged at his hair, “I mean, it explains why you couldn’t sense it was him at the door. If he was your Alpha then your wolf should have sensed him. I…” He swung a panicked gaze to his brother, “Are yousure?”
Michael glanced at her warily, “Yeah. I’msure.”
The two men stared at one another for a long time and Zoey felt her breathing speed. She could feel Rafe’s unease. His panic. Something was wrong and they weren’t telling her what it was. She wasn’t pack. Somehow, she was a wolf and she still didn’tbelong.
“One of you tell me what that means. Now!” Her voice rose with her ownpanic.
“Hey. It’s okay. Shh. It’s okay.” Rafe pulled her into his arms and she only realized when she was enfolded in his safe embrace that she was trembling, “You’re mine. It just means that you’remine.”
“I don’t understand.” She bit her lip and nervously glanced at Michael forreassurance.
Her friend was standing up again, hands on his hips, “It means what he said. You’re his. So is your wolf. He’s not just your mate. He’s your PackAlpha.”
“What?” She tore her gaze back to Rafe and saw the answer in his eyes. “You’re my Alpha? We’re not… Moirae pack? How is that evenpossible?”
Rafe was Moirae pack. He was a born Alpha of the Moirae pack. She’d been adopted into the Moirae pack. How could the two of them together created a wolf thatwasn’t?
Michael finally spoke up with a sad expression, “He broke ties with the pack and he stayed gone too long. His wolf doesn’t recognize the pack as home anymore. He’s feral. Wild. Unbound to any land or anything, until you.” Michael scrubbed his face again, “Your bond anchored him and since he’s an Alpha, it means you two started your own pack lastnight.”
“Michael.” Rafe’s voice was rough with emotion, “You have to know I didn’t intend for this tohappen.”
“I know.” Michael snorted, “You didn’t intend for any of this to happen but fate has her own ideas about where we should be and who we should bewith.”
“Michael…” Rafe tried again but his brother cut him off with a cruellaugh.
“I guess it means you were telling the truth at least. You didn’t come home to take the pack from me. You really don’t want to be part of the Moirae pack atall.”
Zoey could sense the hurt in Michael’s words and from the way Rafe tensed she knew he could too. Rafe had come home. Michael had gotten his brother back. But Rafe had lost his link to the pack and now he’d taken Zoey from themtoo.
“Michael…” She reached out for him but he stepped back and she winced at the slice of pain his avoidance caused. “Don’t. Don’t be upset. It just… happened. He didn’t plan it. We didn’t evenknow!”
“I know.” Michael nodded again but he wouldn’t look at them, “It explains a lot though. Explains why our wolves are so at odds. Two Pack Alphas on the same land. Two Pack Alphas fighting over a member of their pack. Mine wanted to keep Zoey human so she was Moirae. Yours had to make her a wolf to create yours. Two Alphas this close to one another, with a claim on one person, of course it caused trouble. Alphas of separate packs aren’t meant to coexistpeacefully.”
Zoey frowned at that. What did that mean? The pack dealt with plenty of other Alphas. Michael met with all the local packs once a month to keep the peace. How was thisdifferent?
“This doesn’t have to mean what you think it means.” Rafe frowned. “We’re not leaving, Michael. We’re not starting our own pack. I may be a born Alpha but I’m not Pack Alpha material. Not anymore. I claimed Zoey. She’s mine. Fine. But as far as I’m concerned, our pack is big enough with just the two of us. We’re not goinganywhere.”
Zoey could hear the truth in everything that Rafe said. She could feel the worry that he was losing his brother again, right in front of his eyes. They hadn’t known. How could they have known? But Moirae pack or not, she knew Michael well enough to know that he was upset and that he didn’t quite believe hisbrother.
He didn’t trust him. Not yet. Not after he’d left. Not after he’d stayed gone for years. Not when he didn’t trust Rafe withher.
She bit her lip, “Babe, why don’t you give me and Michael a minute totalk?”
Rafe growled low in histhroat.
“Stop it.” She turned to face him and forced him to look at her, “You’re asking him to trust you, right? Trust that you’re not taking me away from my home and my family? Trust that you didn’t come here to break up the pack?” Rafe gave a slight nod. “Then I’m asking you to trust me. Let me talk to him. Alone.Please?”
“Zo…”
“I know.” She reached up and cupped his face, “I know you’re worried about me but you don’t have to protect me from Michael. He’s your brother and he’s my best friend. He won’t hurtme.”
“Never.” Michael confirmed from behindher.
Rafe growled again but he gave another nod, “Fine. I don’t like it, butfine.”
“Thankyou.”
“The Enforcer stays with me though.” Rafe snapped over her head. “He stays here where I can keep an eye on him and you stay on the property, where I can sense you and get to you fast if I need to. That’s the only way thishappens.”
