Bonded ✔️

Chapter 6

The sound of a throat clearing caused me to snap out of my trance. I looked to the door and saw Jonathan observing the interaction between Lincoln and I. I straightened myself back from Lincoln's touch. My body already had a dull ache reverberating from its core at the contacts absence.

"You'd do yourself well to remember to knock before entering my office, Jonathan," I snapped at his smirking figure.

"Trust my Harley, from this point forward I will make sure I remember," he quipped in reply. "Who knows what I may walk in on?"

I heard Rowan chuckle from his position leaning on the wall, and a rumble of frustration left Lincoln's body at the remark. I shot a pointed look at Lincoln, I was not a girl in need of defending.

"Do not let our familiarity cause you to forget who I am, I will not tolerate being disrespected," I reminded the older man. He acknowledged my warning by bowing his head in respect.

"My apologies," he remarked as he closed my office door and walked into the room. "I just wanted to make you aware of the fact that the pack knows about our guest. They are asking questions."

Rowan pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards my desk. He sat on the edge of it, and looked at my with a contemplating glance, "I know we discussed keeping the results of the meetings to ourselves for the time being, but that may not be the best decision here Harley."

"I agree-," Lincoln sat up, beginning to add his input to the discussion. I cut him off with another hard stare.

"Let's get one thing clear. You are a guest here, an important one for more than the fact that you are my mate," I explained. "You may be observing the inner working of my pack to report to your father, but it is not your place to comment on pack decisions unless it is asked of you."

I needed to draw clear boundary lines if I had any hope of maintaining some semblance of self-control. Despite my strong desire for independence, I knew that the mate bond could easily influence me to include Lincoln in these types of discussions. Someday, I hoped that would be a possibility for us, but for now we did not have the luxury.

"Pack meeting now, everyone needs to be present in the meeting room within the next 10 minutes," I alerted my pack members via our mind link. Not caring that none of the three men in my office had uttered a word at my earlier statement, I stood from my place behind my desk.

"Lincoln, we are headed to a pack meeting. You are welcome to come and observe," I offered. He nodded in reply, standing as well. As I walked away from my desk and left my office, Rowan flanked me. I rubbed my hand roughly against my chest as the distance between Lincoln and I grew, a useless attempt to numb my discomfort.

This discussion with my pack would not be pleasant. I knew there were some older members, especially the males, the would find issue with my inability to solidify an ally in the region. I did not want to think about what these men would have to say about me finding my mate.

As I entered the my pack's meeting room, I looked around and saw most of the members were already seated. Rowan and I walked to the front of the room, and once we arrived I glanced out at the room again. The elders were seated in the front row, anxiously awaiting my announcement. Comparatively, Jonathan and my mate stood along the back wall, awaiting my explanation.

"Listen up," Rowan's deep voice erupted from behind me, and silence spread across the room.

"I understand that you all have some concerns, as well as questions about how my meetings with the other packs went," my voice, although not deep like Rowan's, caught the attention of every member of the pack. "I must be honest with you all, they did not go as I would have liked them to. The region's Alphas are unsure of the pack's ability to be a strong ally. Until we can prove them otherwise, we are on our own."

One of the pack members stood from his seat, his way of indicating that he had something he would like to say. I nodded towards him, giving him the floor.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can only assume this had more to do with you, and less to do with us," he stated, anger evident from his tone.

"You would be correct," I relented, deciding that it would be best to get this out of the way as quickly as possible.

"However, our visitor will be attempting to salvage a relationship with Alpha Taylor's pack during his stay," I pointed toward Lincoln, and the heads of my member's followed. Their eyes were trained on him as he offered a polite wave to the crowd. The man who had spoken cleared his throat, it was obvious he had more to say. I called for the attention of the crowd and allowed him to continue.

"This would have never been the outcome if we were under the lead of a male, we knew this would happen when you took the position. You are putting us all in danger by refusing to step down," he shouted, no longer trying to mask his malice.

"Now you correct me if I'm wrong," I walked forward from my place at the front of the room and headed towards his seat. As I got in his face, I whispered, "But I recall kicking your and anyone else's ass that challenged me the day I became Alpha." I knew that the pack could hear me despite my hushed tone, it was one of the advantages to our advanced hearing.

"Enough," one of the elders stood from his seat and turned to face me, "Why was the Alpha's son the person sent to observe us? A pack would never risk the heir leaving the territory if not for a good reason."

"He's my mate."

An excited hushed murmur encompassed the room. The man who had been challenging me since my opening remarks looked at me with relief covering his face, "Why didn't you start off with that? All you have to do is complete the mating bond and we will be safe!" 

Unable to control my anger at his blatant disrespect, my hand want to his throat. As he struggled to remove himself from my grasp, it tightened. The only saving grace for the man was Rowan. 

"The last thing we need right now is for you to kill a member of the pack, get yourself together and use your words," he warned me, but did not move from his spot at the head of the room.

I stormed back to the front of the room, and noticed that Jonathan and Lincoln looked on edge. I would not allow them to try to take control of this situation. This was not their responsibility. My people needed to understand that I wasn't going anywhere. I would not relent my power because of the opinions of a few men.

"Have I not pledged to serve and protect you until my dying breath?" My booming voice bounced off the wall of the room.

"I bear no mark, I am obligated to serve only my pack. We are not in need of salvation at the hands of any male. We are strong in our own right. It is possible for us to  gain the allegiance of another pack by our own merit, not by me selling myself off to an Alpha who is looking to abuse the bond between his son and I. If I leave, this pack and its members will be forced to join Alpha Taylor's pack. You will not have the option to appoint a new leader. My worth is not determined by who my mate is, it is determined by my actions," I peered around the room. Most of my members were nodding in agreement, they understood the gravity of the situation and respected my stance. 

At the conclusion of my speech, I looked back at where Jonathan and Lincoln had been standing. I saw Jonathan, but Lincoln was nowhere to be found.  

___

AHHH! You guys!! You met the vote and comment goal within 24 hours!?!

Here's my (extra-long) chapter gift to you! 

Where'd Lincoln go? Theories anyone?

10 votes +  6 comments = early update... Much Love <3