The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 26: Being the Legend

Sophie

"You're thinking very hard," I say, chewing the bread that Hunter fed me.

I've thought more than once in the last 24 hours that I must be the luckiest woman in the world to have Hunter as a mate. He's given me the fairy tale. Everything I ever dreamed that finding my mate would be when I was a young girl. And he's perfect. He doesn't make me feel foolish for not knowing things. He doesn't make fun of me, but he gives me the choice, let's me decide how I want to proceed. I'm pretty sure that even without the mate bond, I would have fallen completely in love with this man.

And let's not ignore the fact that he's the s**t man I've ever seen. It's been a while, but I grew up in a pack. Nudity was common, so I've seen naked men and women. But this man...I'm getting warm in tender places just thinking about it. I touched quite a bit of his body while he was sleeping, and even after he woke. His strength, his muscles, only add to the heat that has begun to pool yet again in my core. Since I'm sitting on his lap, I'm not surprised when I see his lips twitch and he looks at me. out of the corner of his eye.

"Something on your mind?" he asks, holding another piece of bread up to my mouth. I don't think either one of us loves this breakfast, but we're both hungry after exerting so much energy last night and as Alphas, our bodies burn a lot of calories in general.

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The Legend

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"Just thinking about how s**y you are," I say honestly.

That makes him smile. "Mmmm, I'd love to explore that further, but for now, we should talk. We need to get back to the pack. I want to officially instate you as my Luna tonight." "Already?" I ask, surprised.

"Yes. You know there will be push back from many packs. We've been working to create a council, a group who can preside over these types of issues, but we're so divided that we haven't even been able to come to an agreement about who should sit on the council. So, without that, and knowing that I've technically

broken a law by claiming you like this, I want to take away any possibility of them stripping you of your title."

"We've broken," I say, and he frowns at me.

"We've broken the law. It wasn't just you. If we're going to face off against the ones who refuse to make change, then we will do it as a unified front," I say, determined that I will stand beside him. I won't let him take the brunt of whatever is to come because he wants to protect me. He's already given me more than I ever dreamed to hope for in the last two years. For that alone, I'll fight beside him. Add to that, I'm completely and totally in love with this man already, and I would die for him, just as I know in my heart, that he would die for me.

He takes my face in his hand, leaning into kiss me in a much deeper kiss than I was expecting. "How did I get so f**g lucky?" he asks, chewing the bread that was in my mouth a moment ago. "Are you talking about me now, or the food?" I tease.

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what I'm talking about," he says, holding out another piece of bread for me. I use my tongue to pull his fingers into my mouth, then

I can feel the heat pooling in my core and Hunter's nostrils flare before he shakes

that thought for tonight. We do

I realize, I'm perfectly happy being

deep breath and sighs,

Penny said is true. I'm not sure why or how, but something about you leaving that night, changed everything. The news of your leaving spread like wildfire through the packs. The Alphas are probably partially responsible for

unfocused as he remembers. "The Alphas were angry. They threatened to wage war against your father and your pack. Several of us stood with him, your sister's mate being one of them, agreeing to fight at his side if there was to be a war. There were enough of us, enough strong packs, that stood beside your father, that the other packs backed

either for or against the law?" I

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any, ranked she-wolves in their pack. But for the most part, the packs are divided one way or the other." "So, what

night? It was the same with your sister, I'm sure," he says, and I nod. I remember my mother giving Amelia 'the talk' that morning. Why wait until just before the event to

ranked she-wolves. There are almost never any ranked she- wolves at a coming-of-age party for another ranked she-wolf, for that reason. However, once you left, everything changed. Mothers who hated the future for their daughters began telling them of what was to come. They began hiding money, setting up secret bank accounts, apartments in big cities, anything they could do to get their

for a while, especially for Alpha females, I'm told. Having more money, they were able to hide and put away money more easily. But then, she-wolves started disappearing, not just from a pack here or a pack there, but from all of them. The Alphas and other ranked wolves figured out what was happening and some of them started locking their ranked she-wolves in the pack, not letting them leave, even if they are years away from turning 18. Others went on the

Penny had basically told me

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me, and I'm not sure what I see in his eyes, but it feels almost like pity. It makes my stomach clench and I know I'm not going

if the Alpha was her fated mate or not, and honestly,

he realizes that his arm has tightened around me, almost as if he's instinctively

"Start what?" I whisper.

there, but the rumors flew afterward. She apparently turned to look at the pack and before she jumped," he sighs, taking. another

hand flying to my

but it started a whole other ripple effect. Every time a she-wolf intentionally took her life after that, she'd either scream the words, or write them

26: Being

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call you the legend. You started this ball rolling, and they've turned you into a martyr, a beacon for the