Mated, Engaged, and In Love With Three Different Wolves

16: The Long Car Ride

Chapter Sixteen: The Long Car Ride

"How far is your territory?" I ask after half an hour of quiet driving.

"Don't start the 'Are we there yet?' questions so soon, please," Levi fake-begs.

"I'm just asking," I reply innocently.

"Roughly four hours; it's about sixty miles north of the Virginia border," he thankfully answers seriously.

"How big is your land?" I wonder aloud.

"You can call it 'our land', you know," he comments.

"It isn't my land," I remind him carefully.

After a moment of tense silence he says, "The territory is approximately 34 square miles, give or take."

I hold back a gasp. "That's larger than my territory," I note, trying not to sound impressed. Mine is about 22 square miles.

He clenches his teeth. "Yes, I know," he replies curtly. "And we are hoping to expand soon," he adds.

"Really?" I ask.

He looks over at me. "Yeah. Once you are the Luna, we will need space for the pack to grow."

I nod, silently hoping he doesn't expect me to provide him enough children to fill this future expanded territory.

•••••

An hour passes. He doesn't turn on the radio or offer any more conversation. I wonder: is the whole trip going to be like this? Or worse, is my whole marriage going to be like this?

"Tell me about your family," I finally request.

He gives me a sideways look, maybe to check if I'm serious, then shrugs. "Well, there isn't much to tell. My father was the pack's Alpha before I became of age and took over. He and my mother still live there, of course. They're good people. My sister, Maria, married her mate two years ago. That was really nice." He smiles at the memory. "They are now both members of the pack, and she is currently wanting to become one of my Betas."

"Why doesn't she?"

"I'm not sure she has what it takes," he replies bluntly.

I scoff. "Because she's a woman or because she's your sister?"

"Both," he answers honestly. He takes his eyes off the road to look me in the eye, showing me he's serious.

"That's sexist," I argue.

"Say whatever you want. I have to be able to trust my betas with the lives of my pack members, my family, and my future Luna. That isn't something I take lightly. Besides, Maria doesn't exactly play well with others."

"What do you mean?"

He shakes his head like this is common knowledge. "She isn't very... personable. She's never been good at making friends, I guess."

"Oh." She must not have had a great childhood then. That's pretty sad.

Before I can get too sympathetic though, Levi is quick to push his opinions further. "It's her own fault though. She's never made the effort. She just doesn't give a shit."