The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 6: Kinsley

Hunter

"Why hasn't Alpha Aiden returned my f**k**g call," I growl at Lucas.

"He's out hunting Alpha females like the rest of them," he says, gloomily.

Lucas found his mate a year ago. Once he claimed her, he realized just how right I was to hate this process. His mate, while a good Beta female and role model for the pack, still struggles with their mate bond. Every time he touches her in public, she flinches away from him.

I know he hates it, but she's actually more comfortable with me than she is with him. I asked her about it once and she told me that she saw me walk out of the room during the claiming process. She said that she trusts me because I did what I could to give her a bit of privacy. The same couldn't be said for the others at the party, and so, she still struggles with Lucas' touch.

I also know that it extends into their bedroom. I don't ask, and he hasn't said anything to me, but Kinsley hasn't gotten- pregnant yet, so I doubt they are having sex and I know it must be killing him to not be able to touch his mate.

"Anyone in their right mind who's paying attention realizes that all we're doing is causing more problems for our packs. They need to end this ridiculous process and stop having these public claimings," I growl, standing and pacing.

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Chapter 6: Kinsley

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"Yeah, I agree with you," Lucas says contritely.

There's a knock at the door and before I tell her to come in, I already know it's Kinsley. When she opens the door, she looks surprised to see Lucas in here. She collects herself quickly, then glances back at

me.

"Alpha I was wondering if you wanted lunch. I wasn't sure what your plans were for today." She glances at her mate. "I could bring you lunch as well, Lucas."

"I'd rather have lunch with you, Kins," he says.

really have time to stop for lunch

of it. This is their mate bond, and he has to figure it out. There was a time when Kinsley did lose too much weight and I had to step in. It was soon after they had been mated and she had stopped eating completely. As much as I don't want to interfere in a mate bond, she is a pack member, and I was worried about her. I brought her into my office, and I

believe me, but when I started insisting that she sit beside me at every meal and I watched everything that she ate, she finally took me

unable to make headway with his mate, I am able to as her

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something that we're overlooking that could help

looks at me a long moment, then looks at Lucas. "I'm not. sure what

these are ranked females on the run. They're in danger and we need to do something to help them. You have insights to that different than what

trays of

as my Alpha, as her Alpha, you seem to

instance where she was killing herself. Everything I do

claim of her, has caused all of these problems. That night, she had no choice. It didn't matter how kind he was during the process, it didn't matter what he had done to make it as private for her

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it, and they can't move past it

and her shame at what was happening. The strength of her emotions had flooded into him, and it

walk to the conference table thinking back to that birthday party two years ago. That party seems to have been the catalyst that started it all. Sophie Meyers, the younger sister of Amelia, ran the night of her sister's claiming. Calvin, like Lucas, had done everything that he could to make that evening better for his mate. Like Lucas and Kinsley, Calvin and Amelia had a rocky start. However, they seem to be finding

way they never have before, fighting against her father Alpha Carter, wanting him to go after his daughter. But he refused. He said if she was unwilling to participate in these events,

surprised when Alpha Ezra, my

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For al long time, the Alphas kept tabs on him, certain that he knew where his daughter was, ready to go find her and drag her back. However, from everything that

two

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sparked a revolution of sorts among the ranked females. Rather than waiting until their 18th birthday to tell them what was going to happen, mothers began telling their daughters at

refusing to allow any ranked females out alone. Rather than fixing the problem, this has actually made things much worse. In some instances, ranked she-wolves are choosing death rather than the public claiming. This has only made the Alphas become even more strict in keeping tabs on their ranked female members, and therefore causing those females to go to even more dire extremes

in agreement that the public claimings should end and the other is still fighting to continue with this antiquated process. In some packs, such as my own, there is disagreement within the pack itself. So far it has not become a problem for me. I don't have any young ranked she-wolves that will be coming of age in

Chapter 6 Kinsley