^ Alpha Thomas, Luna Charlotte, and Evelyn

[A/N - my lovely patrons voted that Landon and Ryland's ship name should be Lyland 🖤]

"Well, you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself. It's time that you won."
~Chester See & Savannah Outen, 'Falling Slowly'

~~~

*Landon's POV*

"Are you guys sure you'll be okay?" I ask Chris, one of the managers I hired for the cafe.

She rolls her eyes. "I told you, we'll be fine. You're only taking off one week. Josh and I are perfectly capable of keeping things running while you frolic away with your boyfriend."

I scrunch my nose at the purple-haired human. "I'm gonna have to ask you to never use the word frolic when referring to me. Thanks."

"Or what?" Chris snorts. "You'll fire me?"

"Maybe," I huff, knowing that's not true. Even though she's a pain in the ass, I still consider Chris a friend... sort of. Plus, she's actually pretty damn good at her job.

"Okay, Mr. Boss Man," Chris cackles sarcastically.

"Keep it up and I'll change your name tag back to Christine."

Her mouth snaps shut, and she gives me an innocent smile. Chuckling, I shake my head before heading to my office in the back and finalizing my employees' schedules for while I'm gone. I'm usually pretty good at working around whatever my employees have going on in their everyday lives, but if they do have a problem with the schedule, they can take it up with Chris and Josh.

Once I've double-checked that everything is in order, I leave the cafe and start driving in the direction of the Crescent Sun Pack. Per usual, I wave to the guards at the entrance, and they smile as they let me go through. Not per usual, I don't take the road to Ryland's house. I turn down the opposite street, heading for the pack house.

The Crescent Sun pack house is a lot more modest than the Silver Woods pack house. While the one at the Silver Woods Pack more resembles a mansion, this one actually just looks like... well, a house. A few stories tall, albeit; but even from the outside, it looks cozy.

The wolf that answers the door is one I've never met before. I almost want to call her a pup, but judging by the glare she's giving me when I haven't even said a word yet, I feel like she would beat me down for it.

"Who are you?" She demands, and my lips quirk up in a grin. She's a pretty adorable little wolf. Dark, curly hair pulled into a tight ponytail; nearly black eyes that continue to glare at me. Her nose wrinkles as she sniffs the air. "You're not a member of this pack."

"I'm Landon," I answer, trying to peer around past her. "Is Alpha Thomas available? I don't have an appointment or anything, but I was hoping I would catch him when he's free."

The little wolf rakes her narrowed eyes from my head to my feet, sizing me up. After a full minute of uncomfortable silence, she finally sighs.

"Dad!" She shouts into the house. "Someone wants to talk to you!"

Dad? Does that mean she's—

"Landon," Thomas appears at the door, smiling warmly. "It's good to see you. Evie, don't you have homework to catch up on?"

She huffs in annoyance, her face turning pink. "Dad, I told you not to call me that in public."

Thomas's grin widens into one that only a teasing dad could give. "Sorry, Miss Evelyn. Now, go upstairs and finish your reading. Your teacher told me you've fallen behind on your assignments."

Evelyn's panicked eyes shift to me. "Dad!" She squeaks, embarrassed about being called out in front of a total stranger. She runs back up the stairs and Thomas chuckles affectionately.

"Sorry about that. She's only 13-years-old and already feels the protectiveness that comes with being the Alpha."

"She's going to be the next Alpha?" I ask, very impressed by how progressive their pack is.

Thomas nods his head. "She's our only child. Besides, Evelyn's been a fighter ever since she was a pup. A natural Alpha. But I'm assuming you didn't come here to discuss that."

"Not exactly," I chuckle, scratching the back of my neck nervously. The Alpha steps aside, welcoming me into the pack house. I follow behind him, gazing around in awe at how homey it feels.

Easton would have loved this.

"What can I do for you?" Thomas asks once we're situated in his office.

I swallow thickly. "We need to discuss Ryland's situation."

The relaxed expression on his face hardens briefly before his eyes glaze over; a clear sign that he's using their mind link. Within seconds, the office door opens and Luna Charlotte walks in.

"Landon," Charlotte smiles brightly. "To what do we owe this honor?"

My cheeks heat up over a high ranking wolf claiming that it's an honor to have me visit. "I want to talk to you guys about Ryland. We need to take his collar off."

They both freeze, faces paling.

"What?" Thomas nearly hisses, and Charlotte squeezes his arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... Okay. Why don't you explain first?"

"Ryland and I plan on mating," I inform them matter-of-factly. "Elder Joan said that once we complete the mating process, Ryland's wolf won't be feral anymore. He's suffered enough, and I love him too much to let it continue. So, we're going to take a trip for about a week, and I need to know how to take the collar off."

The two exchange unsure glances before Charlotte speaks up.

"We can try to contact the witch who did the spell," she offers. "She might be willing to reverse it."

I nod my head. "Could I wait here for her to arrive? I want to speak with her."

"Of course," Thomas responds, looking a lot more relaxed than he did a minute ago. That's when I notice Charlotte rubbing his back slowly, soothing her mate. "Feel free to wait in the den. We'll let you know when we get ahold of her."

I quickly thank them before scurrying off to find the den. Again, I'm surprised by how much it seems like a real home. There are three microfiber couches that remind me of the one Lucca and I have, only theirs are deep red. A large flat-screen TV is mounted proudly on the wall, and I snatch the remote off the coffee table to turn it on.

After nearly an hour of watching whatever random reality show was on, Charlotte comes into the den.

"She's here," the Luna tells me. "Be prepared, though. She's kind of... different."

"Different?" A nasally voice snorts. A woman with long dark curls appears next to Charlotte, adorned in a black dress that flows loosely to her feet. She rolls her eyes at Charlotte before focusing on me. "That's her way of saying I'm a bitch."

Charlotte turns pink. "That's not what—"

"It's okay, sis. I know you love me anyway."

"Sis?" I repeat, looking between the two women who look nothing alike. "You're sisters?"

"Sisters-in-law," the witch corrects. "I'm her brother's mate, which means they always call me whenever they need a favor of the witchy variety. Speaking of, my name's Calliope. You must be Ryland's mate."

"I am," I nod my head.

"And you want me to remove his little magic collar."

"That's the plan."

"See, the thing is," Calliope sighs, "that particular reversal spell would take a lot of magic. I would need to siphon magic from something else, and even then it would drain me for a few days. I'm not going to do the spell unless I know for certain that his wolf isn't going to hurt anyone."

"He won't," I insist, making Calliope raise an eyebrow at me. "We're going to mate and his wolf will be healed. River won't hurt anyone."

"If that's the case, then why don't we just wait until you complete the mating process? After that time, I'll be certain that his wolf has returned to normal and I can remove the collar."

"You don't understand," I squirm, cheeks heating up. "The collar prevents Ryland from getting... worked up."

"Yeah, that's kind of the point."

I sigh, rubbing my reddened face. "We can't exactly have satisfying sex if Ryland is going to get shocked every time he comes close to... finishing."

"Oh dear," Charlotte squeaks, turning her face away in embarrassment. The witch laughs loudly, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she doubles over.

"It's not funny," I seethe, the embarrassment making my blush spread down my neck.

"Sorry, sorry," Calliope apologizes between gasped breathes as she tries to stop laughing. "God, I don't know why I didn't think of that. Sorry, again. I didn't realize the collar would be a cock-block."

"Can you do it or not?" I snap, not really wanting to keep talking about my sex life... or rather, lack thereof.

"Yes, I can," she finally agrees, and I feel the tension in my muscles slip away. "I still need a source of power to siphon magic from."

"Use me," Charlotte proposes, and I blink at her in surprise.

"No, Luna Charlotte, it should be me," I protest. "Ryland's my mate—"

"Ryland is also a member of my pack," Charlotte cuts me off with the reminder. "Plus, you're going to need your full energy for the next few days." She throws me a wink that makes me want to run away from the pack house and never look back.

"Then it's settled!" Calliope claps in delight. "I can start the spell now, but it won't go into affect until the next full moon. At that time, the magic in the collar will be neutralized and you can safely remove it. But you mustn't wait too long after removing the collar to mate. The sooner he regains control of his wolf, the better."

"Of course," I promise, and she smiles at me.

"Now, then. Shall we begin?"

~~~

I was going to write about Calliope performing the spell, but I'm not sure if it's all that essential to the plot. Maybe I'll make it an extra for Patreon. What do you guys think?

Collar is coming off soon! Are you guys excited to meet River?? And for SMEX?? Jk I know you guys are always ready for smut

Thoughts??

Q: What's your spirit animal?
[I'm 100% a papa bear. I've always been the parent of my friend groups, even since middle school lmao]

See you next time!
-Gumbie