Marc, the previous Head Warrior above

Hank POV

Kathy jumps like crazy and screams loud as she runs around Greyson. As he keeps tugging her legs or trots around her or pulls her down on the ground and licks her. She smiles loudly as we both get dirty since we play in the mud at the back of the training grounds. It rains a lot, and it's cold; after all, it's the middle of autumn, but Kathy is quite immune to the cold. She seems totally not bothered by the weather's conditions if I must tell the truth, she seems extremely happy with it.

My thoughts run back to Celia as I relish my control totally and let Greyson be in charge of taking care of our pup.

I apologized for touching her without consent a couple of days ago, but she didn't seem convinced about my sincerity. She started to keep a bigger physical distance between us every time we are in the same room. Not that we are in the same room so often.

Hannah ensured that Celia started to work in the packhouse every day, so every day till the afternoon, she is busy with her work spending time with Rose, who is in charge of her, or she helps Hannah to take care of Carson. Kathy does as she pleases; if she wants to sit with me in my office, she does. If she wants to stay with her mother, she does. Danny is where Kathy is, period.

Afternoon we also spend separately, I usually train at that time, and Kathy and Danny play with James and Jason after they are back from school. And Celia spends time watching them or talking with Hannah if Luna feels good enough to talk.

At least I know now why my Alpha is so tense all the time. His firstborn is coming, so his wolf is on high alert all the time. As the Beta, I should take more things under my surveillance since Alpha is busy with Luna, which I do. The only problem is that I'm also under surveillance.

My surveillance's name is Marc, previous Head Warrior and father of the late Beta Tony. I know he keeps watching me when I train warriors, and when I do inspections, he is always close to me, and it irritates me. Just like now, I spot him standing under the roof near Danny, who is busy reading. That's what the boy is doing all the time recently.

I sigh and go in his direction; I shift and wrap a towel around myself.

"Kathy, do you want to play some more?" I ask my daughter.

"Yes, please, please," she squills and keeps jumping in the rain. I get myself dry and put my clothes on.

I'm patiently waiting for him to start a conversation; I can't shake off the feeling that I'm going to be interrogated.

"The next group from Full Moon has just come; the previous will be going back soon. For three months, you managed to exchange lots of warriors, good job" he says

"The plan was to make the steady circulation of warriors. One Blackwood group goes to my pack and vice versa. They train together with warriors present on sight and get themselves familiar with the territory and new drills. Then the next group exchanges, with the exception of those who would be placed permanently in patrol units as the leaders of the patrols. After everybody will have a turn, Mikkeli, Hannah, I, and Patrick decide how we relocate all Black Moon members. We will also have to decide to appoint new Head Warriors."

"It felt strange for me to come back here after Tony's death," he says. "This place changed so much."

I wonder if he is happy or sad about it, I'm getting a little curious. Marc is a very experienced warrior; my grandfather priced him very much.

"Why did you come back?" I ask.

"Because there is nothing here for me. My mate is dead; my only son is dead; his mate and pups transferred pack, so nothing keeps me here?"

"I didn't mean that like that..." I say, but he interrupts me:

"But that's what you thought. Don't worry; I understand. I came back for Mikkeli. When he and my boy took over many years ago, I left because they didn't need me, but now he does need me. I've always seen Mikkeli as my other son, and I care for him deeply. I know all the shit he had to go through to get where he is now. But I also know what happened to your parents, Hank," he says, and I tense.

"That's actually the main problem you and Mikkeli have. You both don't trust easily; you prefer to carry all the reasonability alone. You two have more in common than you think, Hank."

"That's what you want to talk about with me?" I ask, trying to change the topic, but Marc shakes his head.

"Danny, may you leave us for the moment," he says, looking at the boy, who stands up and goes away.

"Kathy is too busy. She won't hear us," Marc says" I spoke with Hannah about you and Celia, specifically about your mating bond, and I agree with her. I think there is a big chance that you two are still bonded; that bond wasn't shattered, only got weaker."

I tense immediately, Hannah mentioned that possibility, but I disposed of it instantly as something just impossible.

"I rejected her," I say slowly.

"But she didn't accept, and you didn't know her name," he responds, and I shift uncomfortably.

"Humans don't have to accept," I say.

"We don't know that for sure. Human mates are a rare occurrence for wolves. It's a custom that if we want to reject our mate, the higher ranking wolf does it because if, the lower rank tries, it may kill his wolf and him. We accept rejection because "not accepting" is so painful it's better to get over it, so as werewolves, we don't know how it works if one of the sides doesn't accept. But humans don't feel the bond so strongly. Maybe they also don't feel the pain of rejection so strongly."

"But still, for humans, it should be impossible," I say, but Marc continues:

"It should also be impossible for a human to mark a werewolf, and Hannah managed to do that with Mikkeli. Maybe that's why Celia decided to have Kathy against all odds because still active bond subconsciously pushed her to keep the one thing you managed to give her."

"And what about me? I stopped feeling her after some time?"

"And yet you instantly recognized her, and your wolf pushed like crazy to be close to her."

I stay quiet for a while. I may not be happy with that, but I must at least consider that possibility.

"You know what that means," I say in a dead tone, and he nods.

"Sooner or later, I will lose control and may try to mark her by force."

Celia POV

I've finished vacuuming the Alpha office and slowly prepare myself to leave. Some may think that being a maid isn't any good reason to feel better, but Hannah was right; chores take your thoughts away and keep you busy with the here and now. So I'm happy that I have things to do, especially since I don't have to spend a day with Hank anymore.

Other omegas don't look at me too friendly, the same as other members of the pack. Most show nothing but indifference, but some, and it's not a small number, hate me. I'm an enemy, and the fact I have a child with their Beta is like a personal slap to their faces. At least that's how my clan felt, so why should people here be any different, and I'm their prisoner even if I'm not kept in a dungeon? Yet somehow, I'm sure Hannah won't let anybody hurt me, even Hank.

Hank is another problem. The moment he pressed me into the door a couple of days ago, I froze; I wasn't able to move any of my muscles. He was so close to me, and I was frightened of what he could do, even though I felt not only him. This second presence should have been his wolf because I have no other explanation for what I felt at that moment. Just like during our first encounter, I felt two persons once again.

The doors to the study get open, and Alpha enters, which makes me wary immediately.

"I've almost finished," I say and make a move as if I wanted to leave.

"Celia, please sit down. I wish to speak with you," he says and points toward his desk and chairs.

I follow his request and sit. I feel intimidated being alone with him. I know how strong Alphas are, and he led the attack that destroyed my grandparent's clan and many others. It's not that I cared about them, but I understand how dangerous the man is sitting in front of me now.

"First, I want to thank you for the herbs, Hannah really sleeps better now, and she feels better. She likes you very much, you know," he says.

"I like her too," I respond without thinking and see his eyes soften.

"I actually have a request regarding Hannah. As you know, she's pregnant, and that pregnancy doesn't go too well. I know you refused the check-up our pack doctor had suggested, but maybe you can reconsider? Humans rarely carry werewolves' children, so Gideon doesn't know how to help Hannah. Your experience and some tests could give him more knowledge."

I bit my lips; I don't want to be touched. Still, it's not like anything can change the past. Plus, Hannah was nothing but kind to me, and it will be a sign of goodwill for them.

"I can do it," I say slowly, and he smiles again.

"The second case I want to speak about is your future here."

I tense and start fidgeting with my fingers; I'm getting nervous instantly.

"I know you want to leave, but that won't happen; I can't let you all go, but I can promise you normal life here. You will have every right any pack member has. And your life won't ever be threatened as long as you won't do anything to harm the pack."

"Hannah has already told me that, but what if I don't want to stay, it's not my place."

"But it's the place for your daughter. When Kathy comes to age, she'll be in constant danger without the pack. There are some lone wolves living alone, but they are mostly experienced fighters. Here she can have safe and steady life; all of you can."

I avoid looking at him; I know he is right; I know that here is the chance for my daughter to have a good life.

"You or Hank won't try to take her away from me or kill me eventually?" I ask, finally raising my eyes.

"No, never. I can't force you to forgive Hank considering the circumstances of Kathy's birth, but he cares about you and Kathy and won't hurt you," he takes a big breath "Celia, do you know what mates are?"

I nod, feeling confused about the sudden change in his behavior.

"Seven years ago, when we attacked your clan's settlement..." he starts.

"Why were you even there? It was quite deep in our territory; there were no weapons and not many hunters staying there permanently," I interrupt.

That was actually what bothered me; my grandfather was obsessed with security; that place had no strategic value at the time unless you wanted to kill every single one of those who lived there. But that is not what happened; guards were killed naturally, but the loss of people was minimal, no women or children were killed, and most weren't even found out in their hiding spots. My rape was the only rape that happened that day.

"But there was something more valuable; we got the snitch that that's where Nightingales kept all their stashed cash; we found all valutas and burned it to the ground. It forced your clan to cease the open war they had with werewolf packs that time and gave us an unsteady peace."

"What do mates have to do with it?"

"That day Hank was 18, and his wolf recognized you, Celia as his mate. That's why he forced himself on you; his wolf was in control because of the fighting, and the moment he smelt you, he submitted to the desire he felt. Hank wasn't able to stop him. That's not an excuse for what was done, but when he hurt you, he wasn't perfectly conscious; he is not a bad man."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask; I start trembling; I don't want to be here any longer.

"Your mating bond may be gone since Hank rejected you on the spot, but he can't ever kill you because it will kill him, too, so you are safe. But if your bond isn't gone, what we suspect, he still may feel a strong push to protect you and be close to you. We've already taken some precautions to stop him from doing anything stupid."

"Does it have something to do with what Hannah makes me drink recently?"

"Yes, drinking wolfsbane will prevent Hank from marking you. Since today Marc will be sleeping in your quarters as your personal guard for time being, but after some time, you will be able to have a place of your own. What I try to say is that I offer you and Danny a place to live, you will be safe, and Danny can go to school. When he will be an adult, he will decide if he wants to stay or live; when Kathy will be eighteen, if both of you decide, you also can leave, and nobody will stop you."

"What about telling my daughter the truth?" I ask; I'm aware my voice trembles.

"That's is also something no one will force you to do. But I went through this with my nephews, so I really suggest telling her the truth as soon as you feel ready. And that's my second request to you. I have no right to ask you to forgive Hank, but please don't deny him his own child. Let him raise her, care for her, and be close to you both. I don't ask you to forget what he had done, but at least try to make some peace with each other so you can raise your daughter together."

"And what about my uncle?" I ask, and Mikkeli's eyes go dark for a moment.

"I can't make any promises yet, but I assure you I won't execute him in cold blood".

I did it; another chapter is up.

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