Living In The Gates

Calm Down Love

"I've never had to deal with a pack member having a mate from a different pack. I want my daughter with her mate but I also want her safe from my brother. She'll be safer with someone who will protect her, her mate." Father leans back in his chair.

"WHAT?!!!! No way in hell!!" Saxon yells, standing up from his seat. "If he lays a hand on..."

Before he could finish, Jake cut him off. "Are you sure you want to challenge him? Anyways, Uncle is not going to stop hunting for Kat. I hate to say it but I agree with my father, she should go with Alpha Luca while we find out where he is hiding and what he's planning."

Chaos erupts as Jake and Saxon yell back and forth. "I'll go," I say meekly and walk out of the room. The feeling of heartbreak settles deep within me yet excitement sparks up as well. I'll be leaving MY pack but in return, I'll be with my mate. I'm not 100% sure how I should be feeling as today has been very long emotionally. 

"Kat!" A hand tightly grips my wrist and spins me around. Saxon's eyes turn from angry to the soft caring eyes I once knew. "I just got you back and I'm not going to let him take you away!"

"Fuck off, Saxon! This has nothing to do with you. Luca is my mate and this is something that has to happen whether you like it or not!" I yell right back at him as I yank my wrist from his grip. Never mind, anger is what I'm feeling. 

"If you so blindly trust him over me, then where was he when your Uncle took you and our Luna? Where was he when you were too scared to come out of your room after you crawled your way back home? Where was he when you would wake everyone in the house up from screaming in the middle of the night?" Something about his tone made everything come back to me. Within a split second, my hand made contact with his cheek leaving a red handprint.

I look down at my feet and let a tear roll down my cheek. "How... How dare you. That's no excuse for what you did even when I begged you not to." Before he could say anything, I turn around and walk out of the house. More anger and sadness wash over me. 

I stormed into my studio and slammed the door behind me as hard as I could but there was no bang. Luca stood in the doorway holding the door. "You didn't have to defend me to him."

"I know, but I couldn't let him talk about you like that. I don't think I could let anyone talk about you in that way." Luca came close and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I hugged back and I felt myself calming down instantly as I take in his scent. "Can you help me pack?"

"Of course, pack anything you want to take. Ridley and Kurt drove one of the trucks over." I grabbed a few of the folded boxes and went upstairs. I packed to carry-on full of clothes, my bedding, and a few boxes of my art supplies. I can always come back if I run out of something considering I'll be doing art most of the day that is if I don't have to go back to that horrible school. 

As we pack everything in the back of the truck I remember the painting that I did after Luca left the first time we meet. I'm not sure what made me complete them within the night but I'm glad they dried. I run back into my studio and pull out five large canvases and cover them with a thick moving blanket.

I say goodbye to my pack members beside Saxon. He was in the home gym and refused to see me off. Ali sobbed because we just got back together, but Father was ready to ball his eyes out. My brothers both wrap me in a big group hug and soon the rest of the pack joined in.

I rode with Luca in the truck for the longest forty-minute drive through the forest. We stayed silent, not really knowing what to say to each other. This ride seemed like the longest time we have spent together considering we just met not long ago. This entire situation is very abnormal, but then again we are not normal humans.

We pull up to a log cabin mansion and damn it was a sight to see. I didn't get a good look at it last time, more like I wasn't paying any attention to it. Lights shine through a few rooms. It looks to be three or four floors and the top floor had a very familiar-looking balcony.

"Come on, it's late." Luca opens my door and helps me out of the truck. I grab my canvases and a box of art supplies while Luca swings both my carry-on and box of bedding over his shoulder. I admire his back muscles under his tight t-shirt as he does so, damn. Anyone would be a fool to not see his strength and power. His physical being screamed Alpha and dominance. 

We walk up the stairs into a small hallway on the top floor. Only two doors lay opposite each other. The one on the left has a beautiful carving of a tree with a few names; Luca and Landon are the only two I can make out from this distance. The one on the right has a detailed carving of a full moon with a woman holding it up, the Moongoddess. The symbols Alpha and Luna are also etched on the frame.

Luca leads me in the door on the right. The room I woke up in only a few days ago felt more like ages. I remember waking up to a very shirtless Luca making me crapes.

For the next twenty minutes, Luca and I unpacked the bedding and made the bed. My down comforter brought a dash of green colour to his light grey room along with a few throw pillows for the couch. The room smelt less like him and more like the both of us now.

Since I shoved my clothes in my carry-on as fast as I could, I needed to organize. Luca showed me my side of his walk-in closet and then hopped into the shower. 

The bedroom door which is in the kitchen-net area swings open and in stalks a young boy. I say young but he looks like the same age as Colton. He looks at me with a glare.

"Luca's in the shower but he should be out soon," I state as I walk back into the closet to store more of my clothes. I feel the boy's eyes on me when I come back out. He dripped in the scent of rage with a little bit of fear. I finally had enough with his agitating stare. "Did anyone teach you that starting is rude or are you trying to challenge me, pup?" 

"This is my territory, she-wolf." He holds eye contact with me but did not move from his spot. 

"And I can kick your ass, pup." I snap back at him.

"You can't talk to me like that, dog." I hate that fucking word. My hand clench into fists as my claws dig deep into my palms.

"Landon! Back down NOW!" Luca's Alpha voice ripples from behind me as two arms wrap around my waist. The pup, Landon, backs down and I feel my body gaining some control. "Leave, I'll talk to you in the morning. Go to bed." With that Landon leaves the room with a slam of the door. 

Luca pulls me close to his bare wet chest and rests his chin on the nape of my neck. "Calm down, love. My brother is still too young to resist the moon's pull." His lips skimmed my ear with every word, sending chills down my back. 

I turn in his arms, our faces inches apart. "I'm okay now, I do have a lot of self-control." He gives me a questioning look. "Okay, so I don't have good self-control. But you Mr Alpha, don't even have the control to not bite your mate when she tries to run away." I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Who wouldn't want to bite your fine ass? If the guys in gym class weren't terrified of me they probably would let their dirty minds take over." He moves closer to my neck as he says this. I feel like I'm in a trance, unable to control my inappropriate mind.

His lips place smalls kisses but he stopped on my collarbone. I could tell he was fighting himself against marking me. I lift his chin up with my finger so he could meet my eyes. I give him a small smile and lean in closer until our lips met. I'm not sure what has taken over me to make such rash moves but it felt right and natural. And don't even get me started on how his lips send little lighting bolts through mine and into my chest, giving me butterflies.