Chapter 2

AUSTIN I watch as the pack members leave the training grounds. I train twice a week. Mostly the warriors, but I have taught all the pack over the last few months. It is one of many ways my father wants me to prepare me for being the next Alpha. I looked over to see my best friends, Jayden and Shaun, and put all the equipment back in the shed. I was about to speak to them when a mind link opened up. "Austin," my father said, "Where are you?" "Hey, Dad," I said. "Just finished training. I'm just putting all the equipment away." "Okay," he said, "Could you come to the office? I need to talk to you." Before I could even answer him, my father closed the mind link. I looked back at my friends, who were eyeing me. "What's up?" asked Jayden. I sighed. "My father wants me to go to the office," I said. Jayden frowned. "He does know that he is the Alpha, right," he said, making me arch my eyebrows up at him. Jayden shook his head. "Dude, I don't mean anything by it," he said, walking over to me and placing his hand on my shoulder. "He has had you working like a dog for weeks. We haven't had a guy's night in so long." I could feel Lou move in my head at the mere mention of going out with the boys. I shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "All I know is the talk we had last night with Susan that her daughter is coming later today to visit and that I needed to be around." Jayden stared at me. "She's twenty-one, right?" he asked. I nodded. "I wonder if she has a mate," he said. I frowned. "Why the hell would I want to know that?" I asked. Jayden chuckled. "Not you," he said, "Me." I didn't say anything. Last night, my father and his second chance mate, Susan, announced to me and my younger brother, Thomas, that her daughter, Sage, would visit for a month. I was stunned. Susan never mentioned anything about having a daughter when she met my family. My father was besotted with her and was happy to have a second chance mate. My mother passed away not long after giving birth to Thomas. After that, my father was the only adult that we had to look after us. He had to juggle fatherhood and being an Alpha. One night, my father was invited to a gala in a local pack. He was reluctant to go until his Beta mentioned him watching his children while he went. While he was there, that was where he met Susan. My father rang me the next day and told me, which didn't sit well with me. I didn't want a new mother; I was fifteen years old. I was surprised to find her with him when he came home. I didn't know what to make of her, and she was quiet, not Luna material. She took the role of what was once my mother's. Over the last seven years, my father and Susan have been Alpha and Luna of our pack, The Crescent Warriors. We are known in most parts of the world as the brutal warriors of war, but most of the stories you hear are untrue. We train every day without fail and make sure we do intense training sessions. My father was happy with his new mate, and Susan became a mother to my younger brother. Thomas loves her as Susan treats him like he is her own. I don't mind her, but something about how she acts makes it hard to make an effort with her. While we had food with them, Susan told Thomas and me last night that her daughter lived with her brother in another pack. They didn't have a good relationship, and her brother took her in as she was hard work. I didn't know whether to believe her as she had never mentioned her daughter to us until last night. My father never discussed the situation with me when we had many conversations about Susan. His face was hard to read last night. I hear someone clearing their throat, pulling me back from my thoughts. I looked up and was met with Shaun and Jayden staring. "You okay, dude?" asked Shaun. "Where did you go?" I stared at them for a few moments but shrugged. "Regarding the conversation last night," I said, "How the hell did my father never mention Susan having a daughter? Surely, she must have had contact with her beforehand." I looked at my best friends, who didn't say anything. "We both know how you feel about Luna Susan," said Shaun, "Maybe her daughter can share some light on the situation when she gets here." That's a thought. Lou was quiet, but I knew he was close by. I looked at him, but I could sense he was elsewhere. Wonder what made him all quiet? I looked back at my friends and let out a sigh. "I had best get to the office," I said. "I need to find out what he wants. I know he won't keep me too long as I have another training session later today." Jayden frowned. "I thought you were meant to be having a family meal with all of them," he said. I shook my head. "I don't have to be there," I said. "They know I am busy. Besides, who is going to take over training?" Jayden stared at me for a moment but sighed. "Good point," he said. He looked toward Shaun, then at me. "How about we put everything away?" he said, "You can go to the office and find out what your father wants. You only have a few hours before training, so it will be easy for you to rest, and then we can go back at it later, but you will have to introduce yourself to the Luna's daughter first." That seemed fair. I can introduce myself to her and then head out. I don't need to be there with them. Susan likes to make it all awkward, and a big family get-together is not on my cards. Not yet, anyway. I thanked the guys, turned around, and jogged to the pack house. I didn't take long to get there and walked toward my father's office. I could feel eyes on me and knew a few she-wolves were looking at me. I ignored them. I wasn't interested in anyone. I knocked on the door to the office and waited to hear my father call out. "Come in," shouted my father. I walked in and closed the door behind me while I looked around, and there in front of me were my father and Susan. Susan looked at me and smiled. "Austin," she said, "Are you coming tonight for the meal?" I shook my head as I walked in. "I can't, sorry," I said, trying to sound genuine. Susan looked at me and frowned, but I carried on. It was too short notice for me to find someone to take over the training. Susan looked at me, but her eyes went to my father. "So it will be the four of us then," she said. My father nodded. Susan looked at him and sighed. "I will ensure we have everything ready for the meal," she said. "My brother rang me and mentioned she left the pack three hours ago, so she should be here within the hour." I stared at her. You would think she was excited, but she wasn't giving that impression. Susan walked over to my father and kissed his cheek. She moved away and looked toward me. "I will leave you both to it," she said. Susan walked away and headed out the door. I watched as she left, and once the door was closed. I turned to look at my father. "Shouldn't she be excited that her daughter is coming?" I asked. My father looked at me and frowned. "You don't know the extent of the situation," he said, motioning toward the chair in front of his desk. I walked over and took the chair. "Susan and Sage have issues," he said, "I mean, worse than you can imagine. When Susan's mate passed away, everything turned sour between them after that." I frowned. "How?" I asked. "I thought love for a child would help, even with a mate's death. It helped you. You were strong enough to look after us and even the pack. Why couldn't Susan look after her daughter?" My father looked at me for a long moment. "I know most of the situation," he said. "Susan told me what she wanted me to know, but her Alpha mentioned the whole story. I believe once they air everything out, it could be a hit or miss when it comes to them. As for me, I was dying inside due to the loss of your mother, but I had to step up and be your father and Alpha. Susan had her brother and no one else to help her. While I had pack members to help me." I remember a few pack members helping out with Thomas and me while my father was in meetings or on the phone, but he always made time for us and even managed to put Thomas to bed every night and even made sure I wasn't failing school. "So, you think bringing her daughter here to see her mother would do what exactly? To hash out their differences while being here in our pack," I said and frowned. "That could be a mistake. What if it gets ugly?" My father shrugged. "I don't know what will happen," he said. "I wanted to help. I met with her brother and Sage; she is twenty-one, but as far as I know, she hasn't found her mate." I nodded. I looked at him. I knew this wasn't why he wanted me here, but I had a link as to what. "So, why did you want to see me?" I asked. My father stared at me and sighed. "Well, I was wondering," he said, c*****g his head to the side, "when are you going to go and look for your mate?" I stared at him. I knew he would bring this up. He always does. "I don't know," I said. "I haven't had much time to go anywhere, not with paperwork and training the warriors and pack members daily." My father's face hardened. "Well, start delegating work to your soon-to-be Beta and Gamma," he said, "I want you to visit some packs to find your Luna." My father wouldn't hand me the pack till I found my Luna. Don't get me wrong, I want to find her, but I have other responsibilities, and finding her is at the bottom of the list. "I don't want to hand over the training to Shaun and Jayden," I said. "I worked my ass off to get our warriors to fight better. Our last attacks have been without any deaths." I want our pack to fulfill the role of the stories. My father nodded. "I know," he said, "But having your Luna here would make you stronger." I stared at him. My father believes that a Luna makes the Alpha stronger. My father looks at me and stares. "Actually," he said, "I was given a proposition by an alpha friend, Alpha Bryce." I don't particularly appreciate where this is going. Lou had been listening in on the conversation, but as soon as the last sentence came out of my father's mouth, he stood to attention. "He suggests making an alliance and marriage of chosen mates," he said. He can't be serious. Lou growled. "Not going to happen," he growled. I shook my head. "You know full well where my answer is going to be on this," I said. "Lou won't have it. He wants his mate." "Well, you better go search for her," he said, "I told Alpha Bryce that I would give him an answer in a few weeks. I am giving you till then to look; if you don't, I will set up the arrangement." I growled and shot out of the chair. "That's not going to work," I said. "I have Alpha duties. When am I going to…" I don't even finish my sentence when my father cuts me off. "You will start delegating work to Shaun and Jayden," he said. "You will start taking trips to neighboring packs to look for your mate." I didn't say anything. I knew there was no point in arguing with him, and he had clearly made his mind up. "Austin," he said, "Alpha Bryce has a daughter of Alpha blood, a strong alpha female to help run the pack alongside you. You will be unstoppable." "What if my mate is an omega?" I blurt out, "Will you make me choose between the alpha female or her?" I stared at him, but he didn't answer. I knew I had him on that. I would love my mate, whatever she was, but there was always a political strategy regarding ranks, and I was not too fond of it. My father looked at me, his face defeated. "I know what you are asking," he said, "I want you to have your mate, but the possibility of having an alpha female next to you does sound better than anything. We would be the strongest pack, with the two of you being head of the pack." I stared at him. "I will let you find your mate first," he continued, "I want you to know I will stand by whatever you want and as long as it is right for the pack." I nodded. I couldn't speak. I didn't know what to think. "We will find our mate," Lou murmured. I didn't say anything. "I need to go," I said numbly. I turned around and headed to the door. I could feel my father's eyes on me. I opened the door and walked out. I headed to my room, which was up on the third floor. I needed to change my clothes into some new training gear. I entered my room and placed a fresh pair of shorts and a t-shirt on as a knock on the door came. "Come in," I called out. My door opened, and in walked Jayden with a smile. "How did it go?" he asked. I stared at him and sighed. "I will tell you when we get to the training grounds," I said. "I can't say much here, ears around." I knew many pack members liked to gossip, and if any she-wolves found out what my father and I talked about, there would be a few issues with them claiming that they were my mate or something, which is not what I want. I usually stay away from she-wolves. I have seen first at hand what some can do; many times, some guy has come to my father asking for help due to one or more. I didn't want the hassle. Jayden nodded. I heard a car pull up and walked to the window to see what was happening. There was a cab. That must be my stepsister turning up. I sighed. Well, let's go and get this over with and meet her. I needed to talk to Jayden about the situation with my father. I knew he wouldn't be thrilled by the whole situation, as Jayden is all for mates, not chosen ones. "Come on," I said, walking toward him. "It seems like my stepsister has arrived." Jayden smiled. "I can't wait to meet her," he said, following behind me. I walked out and headed down the stairs, but as I got closer, I could feel Lou get restless suddenly. I was about to ask him what was happening, but as I stepped onto the staircase closer to the ground floor, a scent came flooding toward me, which knocked me off my feet. The scent was intoxicating, making my mouth water as it was my favorite scent: strawberries and cream. Who brought dessert? I stepped around the corner of the stairs and halted as Lou pranced around in my head. "Mate," he said, taking me completely off guard. What? Mate? I looked toward where Susan, Thomas, and my father were gathered around the most stunning creature I had ever seen. She had bright red hair and wore an outfit that made my c**k harden. Her eyes moved to mine, pure blue. Fuck. My father turned around and smiled. "Ah, there you are," he said, looking at me. "I want you to meet Sage," he said, glancing back at the beauty. "Sage, this Austin, your step-brother." I froze. What? No, no, no, this can't be happening. My head was in a tailspin as Sage looked at me and smiled; she held her hand to me. "Nice to meet you," she said, her voice taking a whole different meaning for my c**k to harden again. I looked at her. I thought she was twenty-one; she should know I'm her mate. Fuck, I'm mated to my stepsister. This is beyond weird. Right?