Chapter 5

"Damn, that's something. I've never seen a pack gather like that," Reece commented, sipping his beer. Zack gave him a blank look and took a small sip of his own beer. Zack wasn't really in the mood to drink at the moment. His wolf was giving him another headache about his mate. He was tempted to turn it off, but that would probably make him even angrier. Chance nodded in agreement as he literally inhaled his bacon, "We need to have these parties in our pack too. That would be a lot of fun, especially since we've twice as many pack members." Zack's wolf rolled his eyes and continued to go up and down in his head. The only thing he was worried about was finding his mate in the mass of wolves, which was next to impossible. The Moonstone Pack had about two hundred and fifty wolves, and it seemed like every single one of them was there. The sun was slowly setting behind the hills as the wolves gathered around the campfire to warm themselves. There were several tables with all kinds of food and two large speakers on the side with a pop song blaring from them that had all the teenage wolves bobbing their heads. Zack thought: What garbage people listen to these days. The 90s and early 2000s had the best music in my opinion. "Where's your mate, Alpha?" Zack growled at Hunter, who immediately covered his mouth by biting into the noodles. Even after knowing that Freya was Zack's mate, Hunter continued to drool over her, constantly irritating his wolf. Hunter had no respect for relationships at all. If he liked a girl, he'd go after her until either someone taught him a lesson or the poor girl gave in. Hopefully Freya wouldn't fall for his stupid seduction tactics, or he'd've to have a serious talk with Zack's fist. "Alpha Zack." Zack turned to Alpha Nathan and nodded, "Alpha Nathan." He raised his eyebrows looking at the beer in his hand, "I hope you're enjoying the bonfire so far." "It's definitely interesting," Zack muttered, glancing at some of the teenage wolves who were dancing a little too inappropriately. It was a good thing that the 'don't get drunk' rule existed. Zack couldn't imagine what would happen if there were horny, drunk wolves running around everywhere. The whole campfire wouldn't be PG then. "Dad, please tell me Gabriella is still helping with dinner," Oliver called out as he left the pack house, trying to pull a white hoodie over his head. "She's, I asked her where she was a few minutes ago via mind transfer." Oliver sighed in relief, "Good, I think Tyrese is going to eat us alive if she finds out what we're doing here. We're a little behind schedule." "Oliver! Get your ass over here! I'm not done yet!" He groaned and rubbed his face in annoyance as Freya walked toward them. His wolf moved forward to excitedly examine his mate. 'Horny little rascal.' Zack sighed. She'd her hair up in a bun - Zack thought that was called a 'topknot' - and was wearing the same white hoodie as Oliver. Her long legs were covered by a pair of dark skinny jeans that he liked. I mean, his wolf liked them. Zack thought she looked good. She waved a roll of black tape at Oliver, "You're not doing this for you. You're doing it for your best friend. So grow some balls and stop whining." Zack rolled his eyes and turned his back on her so she could finish whatever she was doing. He watched as she bit off a piece of tape with her fangs and carefully stuck it on Oliver's hoodie, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration and her lower lip clamped between her teeth. His wolf purred at the sight. Zack could feel her wolf perk up as she caught the scent of them. She shuffled her feet uncomfortably, causing Zack's lips to press into a grin against his beer bottle. The mating bond was getting to her, too. "Okay, done. You get to go and be horny," Freya said, ruffling Oliver's hair. Oliver grumbled softly to himself and adjusted his cap as he walked toward a group of men dressed the same way. Zack thought: Were they part of a cult or something? What was it about the outfits? "Okay, I think that's all of them," Freya shouted happily, dropping the tape on one of the tables and rubbing her hands on her jeans. "How long do you guys have?" asked Alpha Nathan, looking at his watch. "Well, actually, we were supposed to start five minutes ago, so I'm not really sure. Evelyn said she'd pick me up when Tyrese is ready. He's obviously trying to keep his pants on right now." Just as the words left her mouth, a dark-skinned girl ran up to her, "Come on, girl. Tyrese has finally found his balls. We need to go, and we need to go now! Robert went to get Gabriella." "Shit!" Freya grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the group, which included Oliver. Zack's wolf sighed and rolled onto her back in a daze as her scent wafted toward them. Zack had to admit that she smelled fantastic. She must've showered or something, because she smelled like honey mud. He could bury his nose in her neck and would never get enough of her scent. Zack felt the blood rush to his abdomen at the sudden image that came to mind, and groaned softly. The last thing he needed was to get hard in front of all these people. Suddenly the music stopped and everyone turned to see what was going on. Another song started playing and the crowd began to disperse for some reason. Zack nodded to Chance and Reece, who followed him to the front of the line of wolves. There stood a group of wolves with their backs turned to them. They all wore white hoodies with letters on them. Zack raised an eyebrow at the back of Freya's head. If she was planning to do what he suspected, then she'd just decreased her chances of becoming his Luna. He couldn't have an immature Luna. She'd only embarrass him, and that was unacceptable. Zack crossed his arms and waited, his eyes staring into her back like daggers. She could clearly feel his gaze, because she stiffened slightly and clenched her fists. There were a few shouts and a few wolves stepped aside to let a blonde girl through. A pack warrior pushed her down on a chair as she stared at the group in shock. "Tyrese, what're you doing?" she breathed out. One of the wolves turned and waved at her before giving someone a thumbs up. A song began to play, and Bruno Mars' voice rang out from the speakers. Zack's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. The wolf was about to propose to the girl. The group began their little performance, which Zack couldn't really describe because he was too busy watching one particular person. Freya was really a good dancer, and his wolf puffed out his chest proudly. 'She'd certainly fit in at those alpha balls.' 'Shut up and watch the dance.' 'You're just jealous because she dances better than you.' 'Shut up. I don't care how she dances. I care that she doesn't make a fool of us.' His wolf growled and was about to retort something, but he quickly interrupted him as the group lined up. They turned in time to the music so they could see the letters on their backs again. There were several jolts and screams as everyone realized what was happening. The letters on the hoodies read: WILL U MARRY ME The wolf, who'd waved to the girl earlier, knelt down and, panting heavily, pulled out a small box. "Gabriella, the Moon Goddess couldn't have given me a better companion. I cannot put into words how much I love you and how blessed I feel to have you by my side. Will you make me the happiest wolf in the universe and marry me?" There were several sighs and "aha" cries from the females as the blonde burst into tears and nodded her head vigorously. The male stood up and pulled his mate into his arms to kiss her passionately, which sent the whole pack into an uproar. A small smile tugged involuntarily at Zack's lips as he watched the happy couple. 'That could be you and Freya one day,' Dickson said. 'Maybe.' Zack said no more than that. His wolf already knew he was thinking of her. Although he'd said several times that he didn't want a mate, it was rare moments like these when he sometimes longed for one. Of course, he didn't have a mate in the past, so the pain didn't last long and he was fine the next minute. But now that he'd found Freya, it felt like the pain in his heart was even stronger. It was filled with longing - the desire to have a deep relationship with his mate, like the happy couple standing before him. He closed his eyes for a few moments and took a deep breath. He'd to pull himself together. 'There's no way I'd accept Freya before this month is over and she proves she's worthy enough to be my mate. I just can't. It's about the pack. The pack that I've worked day and night to bring back to life. The pack that relied on me to make the right decisions. The pack that needed a proper Luna. And I'm going to make sure they get one, whether she's my true mate or not.' "Zack," Chance's voice interrupted his flow of thoughts. Zack's eyes snapped open to look into his worried face. "Are you okay?" he asked gently. Zack nodded and cleared his throat gruffly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Is there a problem?" Chance exchanged a glance with Reece, who just shrugged. Before he could say anything else, Alpha Nathan walked over and patted Zack on the shoulder. "Well, I hope you'll come with us to the pack run. It would be a shame if you didn't," he said, nodding toward the valley where the pack members were gathering after congratulating the pair. Zack nodded and followed him down the hill, taking off his jacket as he got ready to change. 'Please let me take control. I must meet my mate. Her she-wolf is calling for me,' Dickson pleaded. Zack sighed and reluctantly agreed. Maybe Dickson would keep quiet about their mate for a few hours if Zack allowed him some time with her. Zack quickly undressed, ignoring the looks he was earning from some of the unmated females, and slipped into his dark brown wolf. His wolf happily stretched his legs and plunged into the crowd to find Freya in the midst of all these wolves. The familiar scent of honeyed umbels clouded his senses as they came closer to the head of the line. She was standing there next to another wolf, yelping and wagging her tail. Their she- wolf was beautiful. Her fur was a hazel color that appeared bronze in the moonlight. She'd a strong build because she'd trained so much. The only strange thing was that her tail was blond. 'Let's pull her tail!' demanded Dickson. 'What the hell are you talking about?' His wolf ignored him and leapt toward them, wagging his tail excitedly. Dickson stood behind her, panting softly as he let his gaze rest on his mate's tail. 'Shit.' Zack sighed. Her tail touched his muzzle as it wagged back and forth. He was surprised she hadn't noticed their scent yet. 'Isn't she beautiful? Mate is cute,' Dickson said. His wolf was in heaven right now. He could do whatever he wanted now, and Zack just prayed he didn't do anything stupid. Of course, he never listened to Zack and did exactly what Zack told him not to do. He bent over, took her tail between his teeth and tugged gently. She froze and turned her head around to stare at his wolf with big brown eyes. 'Crap.' Zack sighed. She blinked and barked at his wolf as if asking him what he was doing. The idiot just gave her a wolfish grin and barked back. She growled lightly and kicked him with her hind leg before heading towards Alpha Nathan, her tail wagging behind her. He thought: My wolf has a fucking tail fetish. Great. Just great. 'Look at her ass,' Dickson said. 'Shut up.' 'You're just jealous because you couldn't touch her.' Zack inwardly screwed up his face. This was going to be a long run.