His Luna’s Already A Luna
Chapter 32

Lucinda

POV

Being alone was nice, she could unpack at her own pace. Lucinda took the opportunity to have a look around the entire suite. The master bedroom had already been cleaned. She could pick up the scent of another wolf in the room, a female. She noted the windows

were all open and the natural light was filling the room. There was a nice breeze blowing in through them.

There were two sets of french doors that were both open and she strolled out onto the balcony. It had a couple of hanging pod chairs. Why she didn't know? Couldn't see Nick using them to be honest. But she would. They looked very comfortable, and with her tiny stature, would easily fit.

She had a pretty good view of the pack from there, his room was on the front side of the pack-house. She could see all the way to the training grounds, down to the pack hospital even. Could just make out the packs creche and playground off in the distance too. They might wander down there later. They could use some cheering up.

She noted there were people on the training ground, smallish wolves, but looked like they were training pretty hard. Lucinda glanced further out, to the treeline, and didn't see any patrolling wolves there. But most pack-houses were in the middle of the pack, to give the women and children time to get here, if there was an attack that spilled past the borders.

The pack-house being the safest place for them. With a lock down mode to keep invading forces at bay. She sighed softly, that only helped sometimes. She and her people had learned that the hard way. Lucinda shook her head. Lets not go down memory lane today. There was a kitchen and dining room off to the left of the living area through a door. Though not much food was in there, he must not eat much in here. A few snack foods were all there was in the fridge, nothing at all in the large walk in pantry. She saw the coffee machine, turned it on and, to her surprise, it was full of beans and ready to go. Made herself a cup of coffee. A dark roast blend, strong but smooth, it was good. No milk up here though, Nick must drink his coffee black.

Across the other side of the living area there was a private office for him to use. He probably worked late hours sometimes. She didn't move past the doorway. If she wasn't welcome in his office down stairs, she certainly wouldn't be welcome in his private one in his suite. Closed the door and walked away.

There was another door on this side of the room, which led off to a hallway. There were four rooms down there, all empty. She could tell they were bedrooms, they all had en-suites and walk-in robes. It was probably where he and his siblings grew up. Each room was the same with dark hardwood floors and white walls. Blank canvases, she guessed.

It was like a whole house up here. Pretty much what she had expected. Alpha Corey and Luna Lindy had a suite similar though it was much more family-orientated. This was a place for a man, not one feminine thing up here. Everything was either black, red or blue with white accents. Even the kitchen had a black marble bench top and white marble back splash. The dining table was white with black, high-backed chairs. It seated 8 people.

Lucinda sipped her coffee and went back to the master-bedroom, looked at the walk-in robe, where he had told her she could unpack. He had no real system, it seemed. His clothes were all over the place, neatly so but everywhere. Where was her stuff supposed to go? Was she allowed to move his things? She doubted he'd like her touching his things. Perhaps she should have accepted his offer to have an omega help her. They would know him better than she did.

Well, tough, if she was going to be made to stay in this room, she would move what she pleased and he could just deal with it. If he didn't like it, she would offer to move to another room. Lucinda set about rearranging the walk-in, putting all of his belongings on the right-hand side. She would take the left.

His wardrobe consisted of Blacks, Greys, Reds, Blues and Whites. The man, it seemed, was a little obsessed with this colour pallet, his outfits matched his suite. She shook her head a little. She put all his suits to one area; they were all black or grey bar one that was dark navy blue. There was a tie rack with the same colour pallet, guess it made choosing an outfit easier. Lucinda opened everything and moved things from one drawer to another, filled up shelves and hung things where she thought they should go. Chuckled to herself, he was going to have trouble finding things. That was amusing to her.

Once her side of the walk-in was cleared out, she hung up the few dresses that she had and a few of her nicest clothes as well. Then put things in drawers or on the shelves. Lined up her shoes neatly on the shoe rack at the bottom and stood back to look at her things. Her taste was completely different to his, her side was filled with soft pastel-coloured clothing, a stark contrast to his. They had nothing in common, it seemed.

She put her empty suitcases in the back. She did note that he had two up on the top shelf, but there was no way she was getting hers up there, the walk-in had been designed around his height obviously. Guess he was expecting his mate to be tall. Lucinda drank the last of her coffee and headed with her bow out onto the balcony. Put it down and open it up. Got her bow out and checked it over, she hadn't been the one to put it in the car for transport, had no idea how it had been handle; with care or not. It didn't seem to have suffered any damage, she plucked an un-tipped arrow from one of the many slots and notched it.

She turned her head at a low whistle that came from her left. "Now that's a nice weapon." she was looking at Kevin, his Gamma.

"Custom made." she acknowledged his presence and turned her attention back to her bow. She pulled it all the way back and looked down the arrow, still sighted straight and true, so no apparent damage during transportation. "What can I do for you? Kevin, was it?" she asked.

"Well, right this minute, I want to try out that bow of yours." he walked over towards her and her case.

Lucinda put her foot on the case's lid and closed it. "No one touches my Bow...Ever, not even the case. It's my only rule," she told him in no uncertain terms.

"Fair enough," he seemed not to really care, "so that is the bow that nearly took Nicks' head off."

Lucinda couldn't help but smile at that memory. Re-leased the tension on the drawstring without letting the arrow fly. "It is, indeed."

"Lucky you didn't take his head off, huh? Being that he's your Mate and all."

"Realistically, I didn't know then. So even if I had," she shrugged, "I wouldn't have known it."

"But you'd be Mate-less right now."

Lucinda half laughed "I was already mate-less before. So...again" she shrugged, it wouldn't have affected her, just meant she wouldn't be here right now. "No difference."

"Ah, I did hear you had a mate previously," he smiled at her, "A good wolf, I hope?"

Lucinda turned her eyes on him. Was he here to pry information out of her? She was not so dumb as to fall for that. "So who tried to assassinate your Alpha?" she changed the subject.

"What, no-one?" He seemed confused by her question.

"I saw his chair in the Alpha Office. It was clear someone got close enough to try and kill him...do I need to be concerned?"

Lucinda was surprised when he suddenly started laughing "No, no, not at all. It's nothing like that. Actually it's a joke we like to play on him...about you actually"

She watched him go and sit in one of the pod chairs, still smiling to himself.

"About me? You didn't even know about me." she frowned at him, not really understanding his point.

"Oh it's about you...Jeremy is a bit of a prankster, and that day you nearly took Nick's head off, with that." he indicated her bow, that she was still holding "and the knife in his boot as well." he chuckled now "Well Jeremy, I and Braidy even" he shrugged "have never let him forget it."

"What?" she frowned at him, still not getting it.

"Oh, once we heard you were a girl...it was a great source of amusement for us. Not for Nick, irritated the hell out of him."

"Good." she smiled now "I was aiming to do just that." she liked knowing that she had actually irritated him with her skills.

"Oh you succeeded." he smiled right back at her.

"So the chair?" they seemed to have gotten off topic.

'Well..." his smile turned into an outright grin. He was handsome. His mate was a lucky she-wolf. "we had some black arrows made up and every so often, Jeremy, myself or Braidy would launch one into his chair, so the next time he went into his office..." he laughed and left it unsaid.

She knew what it meant, for him to see and be reminded of her arrow next to his face, loved it. These guys, it seemed, were a little like Alpha Corey. Lucinda smiled widely now. That was very funny to her. She flipped the arrow over in her hand. Just look at it. The silver tip was not screwed on it at this current time, she tapped the feathered end against her chin, screwed on the training tip and smirked to herself. A game she could help with playing.

Then she held it out to Kevin. "Take the real thing. It might just have a better effect."

Kevin's eyes practically lit up. He reached out and took it without hesitation." How many have you got?" he asked. Mischief was brewing. She could hear it in his voice. Lucinda laughed "Enough,"

"You should get more made. Nick tends to snap them in his anger over our little joke." he laughed "you might just loose a few."

Lucinda shrugged, "might be worth it... I could have Manny send out some more."

"Whose Manny?"

"Half Moon Packs, weapon specialist."

"Ah, that would be Beans job around here. I should introduce you two."

"I'd like that." she nodded and actually would. Perhaps he could make her arrows and she wouldn't have to wait for the delivery from Half Moon Pack. Which could take days.

"You wouldn't happen to have one of those blades you tapped Nick with, in your Alpha's office. Now would you?"

"Oh you are trouble aren't you!" she chuckled and wondered if Nick had relayed all that had happened. She didn't think any Alpha would open himself up to humiliation like that. No, not him, Jeremy, had to be his Beta, he was the only other person there to see it all go down. Cheeky and naughty, she imagined.

"no not me. But I don't mind helping Jeremy annoy Nick. Now Jeremy is the one you want to go to for practical jokes."

"Naturally mischievous?"

"Oh yes. His favourite target, Nick. It'll be the death of him one day."

"I'll have to have a word with him, I see." she smiled, "and not while I'm around, it won't be." she opened her bow case, got out a blade, flipped it over in her hand "Yes I would have one of my many blades." handed it to him handle first "Watch it, deadly sharp." "Even better... I can see you and Jeremy getting along just fine."

"Sounds to me like he's a little bit like Alpha Corey. Loves a good game to bet on." she nodded.

"Oh he does. We got in on Alpha Corey's pool about your mating with Nick." he teased her playfully.

Lucinda raised an eyebrow, but just shook her head. "What's the pot at?"

"1500 bucks and from what I saw there were almost a dozen in on it."

"Not surprising to me." she knew the entire Alpha Unit would be in on it. Lindy had brought it up to her so she and Gabby would definitely be in on it, and the others...probably her retrieval unit. They knew what she and Ky'ra were like. How stubborn." Who do you think is going to win it?" "I don't know, are you going to let him mark and mate you?"

Lucinda stood and leaned back on the concrete balcony railing, and just watched him for a minute, was he again fishing for information, or just trying to get a better place in the pool for her mating alliance with Nick.

"Who knows," she shrugged, "it's my choice, I do believe. Perhaps I should get in on the bet too."

"No, no. Now that would be cheating on your part." he shook his head.

"Tell Alpha Corey to throw in some Pink Gin to sweeten the deal." she chuckled to herself, she could make a secret alliance with him and split the pot. Hmm, a wicked thought indeed. "What?"

"He'll understand." Oh he would indeed. "and I want to see this pool for myself." she smirked, oh they were all going to loose. "That would also be cheating."

"Maybe...but perhaps I'm just curious, what's Nick betting on?" she was curious as to how much confidence he had in his ability to seduce her.

Kevin stood suddenly. "Oh he doesn't know. Outright forbid Jeremy from betting on him getting you marked and mated...so of course, Jeremy has too." "Oh, so a secret then?"

"Yes, and we'd like you to keep it that way. Punishment will be dished out if he gets wind of it." Kevin nodded thoughtfully.

Now that made her laugh softly, she turned her eyes right on him "so I have you all over a barrel then."

Lucinda watched as Kevin's eyes widened a little, at the realisation she had just trapped him and his unit, and so easily too, "you wouldn't!" he gasped.

"I might...if I need to save my own a's from your Alpha." she smiled a little menacingly at him, "but I am good at keeping secrets. Don't you worry...go play your game. I don't mind at all." and she didn't.

She was here, knowing what her place was. Every pack needed a Luna. She just didn't like it for now. Her mating alliance had forced her hand, but there was no way out of it. Nick had told her he wouldn't be accepting any rejection she voiced. Which meant they were both stuck for now. The only way out of it was if he voiced a rejection to her and, from the way he had been with her this morning, he had every intention of seducing her. It was probably just a matter of time.

The Mate Bond would draw her to him whether she liked it or not. But she didn't have to make it easy on him, and seeing as she barely knew the man, and hadn't started out on the best terms, she was more resistant to it currently.

Just had to deal with him and his ways for now.

She watched Kevin leave, taking the arrow and blade with him. Let Jeremy taunt his Alpha with them. It was always game on back at Half Moon Pack, so why not encourage a bit of fun here. Besides, she liked the idea of helping his Beta to annoy him, so why not? A little pay back for her sore wrist and being dragged about the pack today.

An hour later, she was bored, grabbed her swimmers and headed for the indoor pool. She could get some laps in and occupy herself. He hadn't told her she couldn't leave the Alpha Suite or wander about for that matter, so she would do as she pleased for the rest of the afternoon.

There were only a few in the pool, mothers and toddlers mostly. A life guard on duty, he was watching her, she wasn't a pack member and was betting he could tell even from over there. She nodded to him and he back to her.

She dived into the pool and struck out freestyle to do at least 50 laps in this Olympic-sized pool. Was delighted to find it was heated too. Not that a cold pool would have stopped her.

She found Nick sitting on a bench seat watching her when she got out, raised an eyebrow at him when he just continued to stare at her. She had noted his eyes move over her body, a good long look. She was only wearing a boy leg bikini, but the top covered her breasts completely. This wasn't her sunbaking swim suit. But her showing this much skin was new to him, she guessed.

"Do you know what time it is?" he asked without moving.

"Nope." and she didn't. Had just lapped and counted them out until she reached 50, her destined number for the day.

"late, its dinner time."

"So?"

He stood "You don't want dinner?"

"You didn't tell me I had to be anywhere at a particular time, and I'm used to making my own meals when I want to eat." she shrugged, and used the towel to dry her hair.

He was frowning at her now, why she didn't know she had explained herself clearly.

"Or do I need your permission to use the pool, the gym or anything around here?" she shot at him.

"No, of course not. But I didn't know where you were, no one did."

Lucinda nearly laughed at him, so he'd thought she'd run away. "Did you think I'd run off on you." "Perhaps...are you going to?" he asked her directly, and walked over to her.

She looked up at him. Freaking tall was an understatement. She felt very small next to him. Saw his eyes were on her wrist. The bruise was gone now. "I wouldn't even know where to go. Seeing as I am not allowed to know where the pack is situated," she shrugged, "so at this point, unlikely." she walked around him letting him make whatever he wanted of her statement.

It was just her and him in the room, she noted, wondering if he had cleared it to have a word with her in private. Brushed it off. He did say it was late, perhaps everyone was off to have dinner.

She could feel him following her, he was light-footed for such a tall and large fellow. He stopped her with a hand on her arm, noted how light and gentle his touch was, stopped her as she was about to push through the door into the pack-house. "I'd prefer you didn't walk around like that." she watched as his eyes moved over her bikini-clad body.

Stared right at him "You do realise most wolves see each other naked all the time, right? I'm actually well covered." and she was, as far as she was concerned, come on some wolves trained in what she was wearing. she had two almost like this. "Yes, I know that. I am well aware of that, Lucinda. But you are my Mate and, honestly...I don't want others seeing you naked or even," he indicated to her bikini, "even this close to being naked."

Lucinda thought he was nuts, nobody gave a damn about nakedness in wolfen packs, it was practically the norm. Pulled her towel around her. "Happy now," she shot at him. "You know you didn't," she pushed out into the pack-house "have any concerns letting Jeremy see me naked the other morning, when the two of you were blatantly staring at me. He got just as good an eyeful as you did that day."

"I didn't know you were my Mate then," he replied, as if that explained his actions.

"And what happens when we're attacked and I have to shift?"

"I'd prefer you were here...I and my unit can handle rogue attacks."

Lucinda stopped walking and turned to look right at him "that is not going to happen. Ky'ra is a fighter and she is very good at it. You deny her natural instincts, and you might find yourself getting bitten or worse for that matter."

He was frowning down at her now. "We'll discuss it later. Please go and get dressed and come down for dinner."

Lucinda turned and walked away. "I want you to stock the suite's kitchen" she told him as she walked away. "I like milk in my coffee."