Chapter 1: It begins

-Celeste-

Lips traveled down my neck, exploring my skin as I slowly emerged from the dream world. I smiled, knowing exactly who was kissing me. It ignited a fire within me. Slowly, I opened my eyes to find my mate behind me, gazing down at me with so much love in his eyes.

I reached for him, pulling him closer and crashing our lips together. I moaned as he slipped his tongue into my mouth, and then his hand began to slide down my naked body. We had already mated last night, so I was completely exposed, but just before his hand reached the place where I wanted it, there was a knock on our bedroom door.

“Alpha, we have an important meeting to get to,” a voice came from the other side.

Zack tried to ignore his beta, kissing me again and sliding his hand lower, caressing my bare thigh and pushing my legs further apart.

“Alpha!” he called again, knocking harder.

Zack groaned, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“We are sleeping awfully late,” I reminded him.

“So? Can’t we take some time for ourselves?” he teased.

I wanted nothing more than to lie in bed with him, but I knew duty called.

“You know we can’t stay,” I told him.

“I’d rather dive beneath these covers and lick my luna until she’s screaming for me,” he growled deeply in my ear before playfully biting my neck, making me giggle.

“Alpha, either you’re coming outside or I’m coming in.”

Zack let out a powerful growl, warning Mike not to enter. I heard laughter on the other side, indicating that more than one was out there, waiting for their alpha.

“I need to go,” Zack sighed, getting out of bed to dress.

“What’s the meeting about?” I asked.

“I want to expand,” he said as he pulled a shirt over his head.

“Expand?”

“The territory, of course.”

“Isn’t what we have enough?”

My question was met with a frown. Zack looked at me as if I had said something foolish, and I tightened the sheets around me.

“I just think we have a great place. More territory means more work,” I reminded him.

“We can handle it,” he assured me.

“That’s not what I’m worried about. I just think we should be grateful for what we have.”

“Our pack is tiny, Celeste. The smallest there is. It hasn’t grown because none of my ancestors were ambitious enough or mated right,” he said, making me look away. It felt as if he were pointing out that I brought nothing with me as well.

Zack noticed and moved closer, grasping my chin to direct my gaze back to him. “I’m not talking about you,” he assured me.

“Are you sure? It’s my older brother who is inheriting, not me,” I replied.

“No, I know. But I wouldn’t change you for the world.”

His words made my heart race, and Zack leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. “I’ll see you later,” he said.

“See you later.”

He left the bedroom, and I heard him playfully scolding the others, prompting their laughter as they walked away. I felt a twinge of worry about this meeting. Zack had always been ambitious, but expanding territory was a complex matter, especially if it didn’t involve conquering or forming a union. It meant a lot of negotiation with other alphas in the area, and alphas were notoriously territorial. They didn’t give up land without a fight. Why was Zack so interested in this now?

I shook my head, pushing away the thought as I went to get ready in the bathroom. Once I was dressed and prepared, I walked outside to head downstairs for breakfast. Pack members greeted me along the way, smiling and bowing their heads, and I nodded back to them in respect. When I reached the dining room, my friends were already waiting for me.

“Luna!” they called, making me roll my eyes. They knew they could call me by my name, but they insisted on teasing me.

I went to find my seat as the others began chatting away.

“So, why are the alpha and the others acting so secretive lately?” Mara inquired.

“They’re having a meeting about expanding.”

“Expanding the territory?” Sara questioned.

“Yes, they seem to be working on a lot lately.”

“That’s wonderful!” Bea exclaimed.

“Wonderful?” I replied. “It’s so much work.”

“Yes, but how can we be intimidating with so few numbers?” she pointed out.

“I don’t think I want to be intimidating.”

“Of course we do. It’s for our protection—to keep the rogues out.”

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to engage in the debate about being intimidating. Luckily, my phone chimed with a notification, and I picked it up to see that my brother had texted me. He asked if I wanted to come by. I smiled and replied that I would be over. It had been a while since we last talked, and I wanted to see if he knew more about this expansion project.

After eating, I said goodbye to my friends and left to see my brother. The drive wasn’t far, and he was waiting for me in the doorway when I arrived. He wore no shirt, just running shorts, and as I got out of the car, he sprinted toward me, picking me up as if I were still the little sister he used to swing around.

“Okay, put me down!” I laughed.

He finally sat me down and led me inside. Unfortunately, we weren’t as alone as I had hoped. As we entered the living room, all of my brother’s friends were there—those he was closest to and those who would help him run the pack once our father stepped down. Most of them I got along with, except for one…

“So, what should we do today?” my brother inquired, the others looking expectantly at me as if I had promised to spend my day with all of them.

“I was hoping to talk to you,” I said.

“About what?” he asked, sitting down on one of the couches, the others leaning in with intrigue.

“I see it won’t just be you and me then,” I teased.

“What you need to tell me, you can tell all of them,” he said, gesturing to the rest.

I chuckled lightly, but it wasn’t a huge secret, so I took my place beside my brother. “Zack is trying to expand the territory.”

“What?” my brother asked, the rest leaning forward as well.

“Have you heard anything about it?”

I hope you will enjoy the story!