The Mating Rules

Hadley’s arm is tight around my shoulders, holding me to his side as we walk slowly across the grass toward the pack house.

‘You are coming in right?’ I whisper, my hand gripping tightly to the warrior’s shirt.

‘Of course I am Lee’ Hadley replies firmly, ‘where you go, I go no matter what.’

I nod, my eyes trained on the huge building ahead of us. I have lived in this place my entire life and for the first time ever, it doesn’t give me comfort like it used to. Those two people have stripped away the security of my home just by being here and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe again.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

My feet stumble to a stop as Hadley suddenly stills on the grass, his eyes glazed, obviously being linked by someone. His eyes clearing, he presses his lips to my cheek, circling his arms around my waist as though he’s being loving. As I’m cocooned in his arms, he hides his face with my hair so he can whisper to me without anyone realizing.

‘Jamie-Lee’ he mutters urgently, ‘when we get up there I need you to act weak. I don’t have time to explain but Caden just linked me, you need to do this.’

I stammer slightly, ‘what? Why?’ I instinctively ask.

‘Please sweetheart, Caden will explain afterward when these people have gone, but we need you to not show your strong nature, please?’

I nod imperceptibly as Hadley’s shoulders fall slightly and he lets me go, entwining his fingers with my own and starting toward the pack house again.

We reach the front door and Hadley pushes it open to reveal the foyer empty. I glance up at the warrior who is also frowning, this place is never empty, there is always someone hurrying through the downstairs with somewhere to be.

We move toward the stairs, walking up them to the Alpha floor where we stop for a second as I gulp down the feeling of panic that crashes over me.

‘I’m right here sweetheart’ the warrior murmurs beside me and I nod, straightening my shoulders and walking toward the Alpha’s office.

Once outside, I extend my fist and knock loudly, stepping back as the door opens to reveal my father who gives me a supportive smile.

Returning it, I move past him into the room, getting my first up close look at the two visitors, one of whom is glaring at me, the other seems more curious than mad.

Caden stands from his seat and walks over to me, putting his arm around me as Hadley lets me go, taking a step back. At this moment, I need to be a Luna not a warrior’s mate and he knows it so is removing himself from the situation.

‘Council woman Allegra, Council man Isaiah’ Caden says loudly, ‘I’d like to introduce you to my mate and Luna, Jamie-Lee Carrington Star.’

I blink in shock at the name he introduced me by before quickly regaining my composure, holding out my hand to first the woman who shakes it with a look of unbridled animosity, and then the man who grips my hand firmly, smiling warmly at me.

‘I’m surprised you came’ the woman huffs sarkily, ‘you certainly took your time getting here.’

I go to open my mouth but the slight squeeze of Caden’s fingers on my waist has me snapping my lips shut again.

‘Apologies Council woman, our mate was a little nervous about meeting you both, we stopped halfway so I could support her and let her know that you are not here to hurt her.’ I flick my gaze to find Hadley speaking directly to the older woman who is eyeing him suspiciously.

‘Well she has reason to be worried young man’ the woman snaps back, ‘you did all completely disregard the laws that govern us all. I assume, by your choice of words, that you are the other member of this party?’

Hadley nods, staying silent, ‘and you didn’t think that maybe you should have stepped aside for your future Alpha?’ the woman continued bluntly.

I can feel Skarla’s temper rising inside of me as my hands clench into fists at my sides.

‘As we said earlier Council woman Allegra, it was not a conscious decision by any of us, our wolves took over before we could stop them’ Caden interjects.

I keep my face stoic as though this isn’t the first I’ve heard of this version of our mating. I can feel the old woman’s stare on me, and I refuse to give her any leverage by showing surprise.

‘Now, now Allegra, stop with the onslaught of allegations toward these kids’ the man beside her says, smiling widely at me. ‘It happened, we can’t take it back, all we can do is move forward and find a plan that works for all of us.’

The old woman purses her lips but doesn’t argue with him instead turning her gaze on Caden who is holding on to me tightly. ‘You will present yourselves to the council’ she orders, leaving no room for question. ‘The three of you will be questioned and then a decision will be made and handed down to you.’

The Alpha beside me nods silently, his gaze never wavering from the woman’s as she stands up and rummages in the bag that was by the side of her chair. Pulling out a small cuff, she moves toward me, grabbing my arm quickly and dragging it toward her, clipping the jewelry piece around my wrist.

‘What the hell is that?’ Caden growls, snatching my arm away and trying to prise it from my skin.

‘Just a precaution’ the council woman replies airily, ‘we wouldn’t want Miss . . . Star was it?’

‘Carrington Star’ Caden growls back through gritted teeth.

‘Yes, of course, Miss Carrington Star, to decide to go on an impromptu holiday between now and when your hearing will be.’

The young Alpha’s jaw clenches as he glares at the older woman, ‘why didn’t you just put it on me or Hadley?’ he demands.

Allegra smiles victoriously, ‘well it’s quite obvious that both you boys are dedicated to this young woman, wherever she goes, you will follow so I feel confident that none of you will feel flighty over the next two weeks with that bracelet around her wrist.’

Alpha Scott stands up, walking around as he holds his hand out the the old woman. ‘So you wish to see Jamie-Lee, Caden and Hadley in two weeks?’ he asks as Allegra takes his hand in hers and shakes it.

The Council woman nods, ‘yes I think that will give us ample time to prepare’ she agrees. Turning her gaze to us, she adds, ‘be at the Council building at nine am sharp, do not be late. You have fourteen days to try and concoct some bull story to feed the other Council members but be advised, I already know what my vote will be.’

With that the woman drops Alpha Scott’s hand and sweeps toward the door, Isaiah scrambling to his feet and gripping the Alpha’s hand firmly as he claps his shoulder with the other.

‘I’ll try my best for your son Scott’ he mutters in a low voice, his eyes on the door that his companion has already walked out of, not even waiting for the man to follow her.

Alpha Scott nods, shaking the man’s hand, ‘I appreciate it Isaiah’ he replies tersely, ‘do what you can.’

With a nod toward his friend, Council man Isaiah walks out of the room, my father on his heels, ready to return the pair to the border where I assume they left their car.

As the door shuts behind his Beta, Alpha Scott lets out a harsh breath, moving back around the desk and slumping down into his seat.

‘Well we have two weeks’ he sighs, ‘we’d better come up with some sort of story that you can spin to the Council and hope there are some romantics on the board that will feel wrong punishing you all.’

Beside me, Caden is still fiddling with the bracelet, trying to snap the metal and remove it from my arm.

‘What does this do?’ I ask, freeing myself from my mate and inspecting my new trinket closely, running a finger over the engravings stamped into the metal.

The Alpha shakes his head, ‘I’m not sure, I’ve never seen it before but I assume it acts like a tracking device. If we try to hide you or you all make a run for it, the council will know and be able to track you down again.’

Hadley steps up beside me, taking my free hand an clasping it in his own, ‘well we shall be proving to the Council that we have nothing to hide’ he says firmly. ‘We will act exactly how we normally would, I don’t want to give these people any ammunition to try and split us apart.’

‘They wouldn’t stand a chance anyway’ Caden huffs beside me, his arm snaking back around my waist and anchoring me to his side. ‘I’ll rip the Council apart before I let them take my mate from me.’

I turn my head, giving the young Alpha a small smile, I should be warning him about his hot headedness but how can I when what he is saying makes my knees want to give way beneath me.

‘We’ll do everything we can to protect Jamie-Lee, son’ Caden’s father rumbles sternly, ‘but you need to wind your wolf in. We can’t deal with the Council if Cobalt is going to start a sh*t storm before we even get you all to the capitol.’

I can feel Caden’s animosity toward his father through our bond, but the young Alpha merely nods, bowing his head slightly in respect before turning me around and guiding me out of the office.

‘Let’s go home’ Caden growls angrily, storming toward the stairs, leading me down to the front door and out into the grounds, his feet heading firmly toward Hadley’s house, the Warrior walking on my other side in silence.