The Defiant Luna
Chapter 54

Nathan POV

He watched as she leaned into her father’s embrace, watched as Bradley hugged the two of them. He could see the relief on their faces to have her safe and with them once more. It was late in the afternoon when they got back to where Jay-la and Stephen had been held

Knew that they’d left yesterday evening, all of them, to go back and rest, to have Jodi call Vera and Alpha Austin to sort out Sophia’s containment or punishment. He didn’t yet know which it would be, though he would be pushing for punishment.

He had seen Sophia get put in a car, carrying her child. She looked much older than her years, was only 2 years younger than him, but had looked much older, she had not aged well. He had seen her stagger and nearly drop the baby she was carrying at the sight of her dead Mate.

Stephen had actually caught her and the baby, and escorted her to the car. She’d been sobbing the whole time, it had not drawn any sympathy from him or Havoc. But Stephen obviously felt her pain and that Gamma part of him had risen up to try and either aid her or comfort her in some way.

Nathan nor Havoc had liked seeing it, but it was what it was, that man could very well understand more about the situation at hand. Sophia’s particular circumstances. Her Mate had said that his Alpha and his unit had taken her for themselves and more than once. He would certainly know, and feel all of it himself. That could well be why he was so thin and scrawny looking himself. Why Stephen helped her, after what she had done to him and his Luna.

He nor Havoc wanted to know at all. Were going to let the council deal with her, he would put in his report that he knew he was going to have to make, ask for punishment, severe at that. Would allow Jay-la to state what she thought was a good punishment as well. But if that she wolf ever showed up again, he was likely to kill her, or Havoc was, regardless of being a mother. Had made sure that Jodi informed her of this before he’d taken her away.

Watched on as Jay-la stared up at Bradley as he teased her about lo-jacking her, it wasn’t a bad idea, if she would agree to it, until her affliction was resolved. That could mean he could track her where abouts. Though he would need, or want, as he thought about it, a real-time tracking device.

Thankfully, that was actually his thing. He was good with computer programming, already owned the patent to half a dozen well-used apps out there in the human world Mind-linked to his whole unit about a real time tracking app for her, if she would agree to wear it, when they figured out the logistics of it.

Knew without a doubt there would be a use for it in the wolfen world, likely to tailor it just to wolves, not for the human world, something specific for his own kind. Knew that Alpha’s in particular would like it, use it to keep track of not only their Mate’s but their children as well. Likely, most ranked members would want it as well.

He finally slept on the trip back to L.A., he was tired. His entire unit was. Havoc was open to Kora and they were communicating freely with each other, had been right from the moment Jay-la had climbed onto his back for the ride back through the mountains, she weighed nothing to his beast. He actually liked having her on his back, her legs wrapped around him and her hands in the fur at the base of his neck.

He woke up at the hotel and sighed heavily to himself, it was her birthday and nothing had gone as planned. Their dinner was out the window, as was the dancing and his gift to give to her. He’d had her change in the back of the car into some clean clothes. Her clothes were still ripped and torn in places and b***d stained as well, he couldn’t walk her through the hotel like that.

It gave him a few moments to check her over for any wounds that were not healed properly. She’d said she was all healed up, but seeing that she was for himself, was good. She had a few fine but still reddish marks across her back, likely only another day and they would be gone. She was however, going to have a couple of scars on her right upper arm. The skin was risen and red still, he touched it and sighed as he saw it.

“It doesn’t hurt.” She reassured him.

“Going to scar though.” He murmured.

“It’s just a scar, don’t worry about it.”

“A permanent reminder, for you.” he sighed again. He didn’t want her to have to recall this every time she saw that scar on her arm.

“It’s fine.” She assured him “I would like to have a hot shower and get some food in me. I’m starving, we didn’t get fed.”

He nodded “I’ll order room service for us.’

Nathan ran a bath for her. When they stepped into their suite, he had been handed a key card and told a suite had been arranged for them. He’d thanked Rolland, one of his elite warriors, for thinking ahead and organising it.

Ordered that room service and sank down on the lounge and pulled Jay-la into his lap and just held her close to him. Both his arms were around her, she leaned right into him, was already eating a giant cookie from the minibar while the bath filled and they waited on proper food to arrive.

He slid his hand through her hair much the same way

Havoc always did, smiled at himself, it was still messy, felt Havoc purr softly, his beast liked the feel of her hair, he realised. Saw those green eyes of her look up at him. “l love you Jay-la.” He said softly, cupping her face with his hand, ” will always come for you.”

Saw her smiled back at him “I love you too, Nathan.” She said softly and was nearly deafened by his beast’s sudden purring, so bloody loud for her. They both chuckled at him and he, for once didn’t try to quieten Havoc, let him purr for her. He could hear Kora purring right back as well. “We knew you would come, even lost out there, disconnected from you. We knew you would find us.”

“TIl always find you,” he told her and leaned down to k**s her softly, lingeringly, then he leaned back away from her and just looked at her, sighed a little “Happy birthday sweetheart.”

“What?”

“Today is your birthday.” He told her.

“Oh, I’d not realised.”

Nathan nodded at her, he wasn’t really surprised that it had escaped her attention, with all that was going on. “I had all these plans, very romantic plans. A nice dinner in a quiet restaurant, candlelit dinner and a violinist, flowers. Then some dancing at a nice Jazz club, black forest cake waiting for you when we got home, a nice gift even.”

“Sorry it got ruined. It sounds perfect.”

“Not your fault, don’t you apologise.” He told her.

He got up when the doorbell to the hotel suite rang, room service was here. He saw Jackson standing right there with room service. To see his Beta standing there? That was a little odd, Nathan thought he would have crashed out already, thought all of his unit would have to be honest, they’d been up all night, out searching for her and then it had taken most of the day to get back to the area where they were to be picked up. They should all want to sleep.

He was standing with the two warriors that were posted to the outside of their suite. Nathan knew that the guards would be there, had sorted that out himself, there would be no chance of anyone getting to Jay-la now, not ever again.

She was going to have warriors around the clock if she was off pack territory.

He would not risk Jay-la’s safety ever again, though he didn’t think she was going to particularly like this, having guards all the time. His need to protect her was now stronger than ever. This situation had shown him just how quickly someone could take her from him, from their children, from the pack, heightened all his needs to keep her safe from harm.

Nathan didn’t think that he was going to be able to contain her in the pack for the rest of her life. She was too bloody headstrong for that, and it wasn’t exactly fair to do so, she had to be able to live a normal life as well. If he did try to contain her, he just knew she would be sneaking out to get away from him and his controlling ways. She was bloody likely to have one of his own unit, help her do it as well.

He had felt both her and Kora’s relief come down through the mind-link when Kora had responded to Havoc’s howling for his Mate. She’d not heard the first few, it had taken four howls for her to finally hear him and return the call, to let him know where she was, that they were out there and could hear him. He and Havoc had been just as relieved to hear her, He didn’t know one could be flooded with such relief but his and his entire wolf’s body had damn near sagged with it.

Nathan waved the room service guy in and asked him to just leave it by the table. The man nodded, he turned to his Beta. “What’s up Jackson?” he asked.

“Nothing.” Jackson shook his head slightly, but then he stepped right up to him and mind-linked to him 1 thought you might like this.’ he stated as he put that black velvet box in Nathan’s hand, he knew it contained Jay-la’s present.

He’d left it in her apartment, had been going to take her back there after their night out, surprise her with it after their romantic evening, saw Jackson looking at his watch ‘ You still have time.’ He continued with the mind-link ‘Her birth time is 2251 I believe.’

Nathan smiled at him ‘Thank you.’ trust his Beta to go off and sort things out to still make her birthday have a nice ending. “How’s Margaret?”

“Good, she is glad everyone is okay, everyone is more relaxed inside the pack knowing this. I’ll leave you to it, hey.

” Smiled right at him.

Nathan nodded, stepped aside for the room service man to leave and closed the door, turned to find Jay-la already standing by the cart with a fork in her hand. He smiled right at her, already had a mouthful of food as well. Was starving hungry shed told him.

Didn’t even wait for him to join her, slipped that box into the pocket of the bathrobe he was wearing, she wasn’t looking at him, paid him no attention, was taking the covers off all of the food, it was getting close to the time of her actual birth, which was the intended time he’d planned on giving her that ring.

Walked over with a slight chuckle, steered her to a seat and laid the food out on the table in front of her, then sat down next to her. She looked up at him and he nearly burst out laughing. Wondered if she could fit anymore food in her mouth, her cheeks were all puffed out and he just knew there was no room for anything. She was so cute sometimes.

Had just gone ahead and shoved a whole mouthful of food in there, trying to sate her hunger needs, he thought.

Leaned over and kissed her temple before picking up his fork. “Your adorable you know.”

• Got a raised eyebrow from her and then she just shrugged and continued to eat. He’d not eaten for as long as she hadn’t, sat and watched her eat, laughed a few times when she couldn’t get anymore food in there and seemed annoyed about it. It likely wasn’t just her she was trying to feed, Kora was probably ravenous as well, and they were also eating for two now.

Or at least he thought so. Look at her, shed had triplets the last time she was pregnant, could well have another multiple birth. Though his father had said he’d seen her son playing with his. So possibly just one in there.

Something hed always seen, even before she left. While she was gone too, his father had always known she was going to come back to the pack. Likely why he never cut her pack card off or kept real track of her, she was a pack member and, as far as he’d been concerned, was coming home at some point.

That and hed always liked Jay-la. Now wondered if he had seen her as the Luna to the pack in that vision of his, her son had been playing with his, could only presume she’d been in that vision. Had he known what she was? The future Luna?

He knew that his father kept many secrets where his foresight was concerned, stated as did his mother, it could be obscure at times, or clear as crystal at other times. Also, he knew that trying to make something happen ahead of the natural timeline, could ruin what the man saw, change it.

His father had once told him, that hed learned that seeing something, didn’t mean you had to do something to achieve it. Most of the time it was best not to do anything at all, to just let it play out as it should or one risked changing it altogether.

Nathan got up and checked the bath that was running. It was a deep two-person jetted spa bath. They were both going to get into it tonight, relax in there together, they’d already showered and cleaned up but shed looked at that bath and sighed “Goddess I could use a soak.” He’d just smiled at her and turned it on, stated “after we eat then.” Gotten a smile from her on that.

Stopped it from filling up. It was good and ready for the two of them to get into, and strolled back out to her, watched her giggle and cover her mouth as she burped quite loudly. “Sorry.”

He smiled at her; “Good and full, I see.”

He watched Jay-la nod her head up at him, “It was so good.

” Saw her eyes turn to the cake still untouched on the table, it was her favorite, black forest cake. “I don’t know if I can fit that in.” she sighed as she eyed it off, sounded a little remorseful.

“Perhaps, a little later.” Nathan smiled down at her. “Come on, the bath is ready.” He held out his hand to her “Lets go and relax for an hour or so.”

They did just that. He stepped into the bath first so she could relax back against him, smiled as she sighed softly in the hot water with him, her head was leaned back on”updated by jobnib.com” his shoulder, he slipped his arms around her and relaxed himself, it was good to just be here with her like this.

“I got you a gift.” He murmured softly a little while later, he had placed that ring on the surround of the bath behind a decorative bar of soap when he’d turned it off.

“Mm, you didn’t have to. I only asked for cake.” She replied, but he heard the smile in her voice.

“Which you couldn’t fit in your belly.” He chuckled softly “

Ate to much dinner.”

Heard her chuckle herself, “I had to feed Kora too, you know. She eats way more than I do.”

“I know, that’s why I order so much food.” He smiled down at her as she looked up at him.

He reached out and picked up the ring with his right hand, from where he had hidden it, as he kissed her softly. His left hand slid down her arm and took hold of her left hand, lifted it from the water and he slipped the ring onto her finger.

His mouth left hers and he said words he thought, as a wolf, he would never say “Marry me?”

Saw her blink up at him, a little surprised by his words herself, they were already Marked and Mated, there was no need for a wedding, in their world they were already bound to each other for all eternity. Hadn’t been expecting it herself, those words.

He watched her turn and look at her left hand, held out her own hand, stretched all her fingers out and look at it, touch it with her right hand “It’s a rare green diamond. Beautiful and unique just like you are. Green like your eyes. I hope all our children get your eyes, Jay-la.”

He saw her turn those green eyes that he loved so much, right to him, they were so beautiful, he knew he was never going to tire of seeing them turn to him just like they were now. “Will you Jay-la, marry me Nathan?”

Watched her smile right up at him “Yes, I will.” She stated softly, then turned all the way around in the bath to slide her arms around his neck and k**s him long and deep.