The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 28: Pack's Reaction Sophie

As I walk hand in hand with Hunter, I can't help but feel nervous. I trust him. Everything he has told me up until now, everything that has happened, has proven to me that he's the real deal. He cares about me, and he refuses to share me with anyone. But, I'm still walking into his pack on faith alone. Faith in him.

I notice that Kinsley doesn't take Lucas' hand as easily and readily as I take Hunter's and I think about what Hunter told me about their struggles. I feel the mate bond so strongly, the pull to Hunter is almost impossible to resist, I can't imagine how. frustrating or upsetting it would be to have your mate and not be able to trust them. Or, on Lucas' side, to have your mate but they distrust you so much that they don't even want you to touch them.

I'll admit, I tensed a moment when Hunter bent down to kiss me in front of the two of them, but that's all it was. A kiss. He was showing his love and adoration of me to his Betas. He has no problem expressing his love for me in front of others, and I know that it won't take long before I don't tense up and I just accept his public displays of affection, knowing that's as far as it will ever go. He told me so, that he has no problem letting others see our love, but he will never share me with anyone, never share our intimacy with anyone.

Kinsley's response, however, was telling. I heard her gasp, heard her heart rate increase as Hunter reached down to kiss me. She still struggles with what happened to her. I don't know if there is Chapter 28 Pack's Reaction

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anything that I can do to help her get past that, but I will try, not only as her Luna, but also, hopefully, as her friend.

The patrols hear us first, howling their hello for the return of their Alpha. Perhaps it's my scent that has the patrols continuing to head our way rather than continuing their patrol, but I can't be sure. When they arrive at the border, the leader shifts, but the others stay in wolf form.

The leader looks at me, quickly noticing that I'm wearing his Alpha's clothing.

"Alpha, welcome home. We smelled a new scent, and I just wanted to check to see who it was," he says, his eyes continuing to glance at me.

"Nathan, let me introduce you, all of you, to your new Luna. This is Luna Sophie," Hunter says to him and the other wolves. They shuffle around and just based on their body language, I feel pretty confident that I can tell which ones are for and which are against the public claimings. The ones who are acting excited think they're going to watch me get claimed tonight.

“Alpha Hunter will be making an announcement to the pack, isn't that right, Alpha?" Beta Lucas says, stepping up.

"That is correct, and we will be having our Luna ceremony tonight. I'm going to make an announcement in a few moments, make sure you hear it," he says, causing the patrols to howl their excitement. I'm pretty sure they think this means that the public -claim on me will occur tonight, but they couldn't be farther from

the truth.

However, their howls alert the pack and as Hunter leads me farther into the pack lands, the pack begins congregating our

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Chapter 28: Pack's Reaction

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way, surrounding us and murmuring about me.

down at me, smiling his encouragement. I smile back at him, pulling on all my strength

deceive me, or has our Alpha captured our Luna?" a man with dark hair says, sauntering out of the

although 'capture' may not be the correct word,"

hungrily. I'm thankful for the bagginess of Hunter's clothing which allows this

Ga**a. The man lifts his chin in submission, but it's almost a

our Luna?" he asks, his neck still raised. Hunter hasn't

Luna is

this so-called revolution to bed," Koden says. His neck is still bent in submission, and he doesn't seem

steps up to him, grabbing him by the

Chapter 28: Pack's Reaction

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why would you say

turning his attention away from

the pack, I'm sure. Once that's done, the ranked she-wolves on

8 дар до

pulls Koden's face close to his. "Do you really think that my stance on

claim her properly, we can't accept

us. I notice that Kinsley and Lucas move to stand on either side of me, ready to protect their Luna if a fight breaks out. They don't seem to understand that I'm the other Alpha wolf here. It's my

except my mate looks so

all know me. You know my stance on public claimings. I have forbidden them in this pack for over a year. My belief that the public claimings are wrong and should be outlawed hasn't changed because I found my mate. You're all werewolves. You can smell my scent on Sophie. She is already

he says, and I pull his shirt away from my neck, turning in a circle so everyone can see

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her Luna ceremony will occur. If you choose to stay, you will swear your allegiance to me and to Sophie and any disrespect to her after that will result in your death. I am giving you the choice, the choice that our ranked she-wolves do not have. If you decide to leave now, there will be no penalty, other than you will need to find another pack to live

Hunter's hand. Hunter acts as if he doesn't even feel it, as if holding

'Focus, Hedda.'

possibly find a

in my decisions? If you didn't agree with me before, you should

The other packs will shun us at best, declare

says, holding his arm out to me. I immediately walk into his embrace. He holds me tightly to one side, still holding a flailing Koden by the throat in his other hand away from his body.

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I believe that there are others who will stand beside us. Sophie and I know that we have a tough road ahead of us..." "Tough? Try impossible," someone

happens when people make a stand. Well, it's time to make a stand, past time really. Our she-wolves have been

my share of public claimings," an older woman says, stepping forward. "Most of us have, at one time or another." She turns and looks at me. "Tell me the last time you saw a new Luna walk into the arms of her mate so willingly? When's the last time you saw an Alpha or any ranked member's mate look at him with love in her eyes like our Luna's doing with our Alpha, no offense Betas," she says, glancing at them, then back at me. "I don't think we have to worry about our Luna jumpin' off a cliff any time soon, do we Luna?" she asks me. She has a slight accent, as if her family descended from a

no idea what was going on in the packs. But now that I do, now that I'm back, I intend to stand beside Alpha Hunter and fight this injustice, not just for me, but for all the

pause, looking at all of them. "I saw my sister's claiming.