Her Forever
Chapter 44

Sadie

I awoke to a loud, growling noise that never wavered. I blinked my eyes once, twice, and then three times to then hear a deep chuckle.

“Afternoon, Love. It seems like someone is hungry.” Seth said with a smile in his voice. Immediately, I covered my mouth in embarrassment and looked up at him. I mouthed a quick sorry. “No need to be sorry. We just got carried away. We should probably head back to the pack house, don’t you think? Hmm?” I quickly nodded and got dressed.

Caspian and I ended up cuddling. He would continue to grumble at Seth being a douche, not letting him out more to spend time with me. I couldn’t help but love how they bashed each other like siblings.

The sun was high, and the dew was long gone from the grass. As I walked outside, Seth quickly took my hand, and I realized he still wasn’t dressed. I started blushing furiously. I will never get over the whole nakedness thing with these werewolves, no matter how many times I will see him in his god-like form. “Relax, it isn’t like you haven’t seen me before.” He winked.

“Stop!” I whined as I gently tapped his shoulder. Seth grabbed me by my waist and pulled me closer as he planted a quick peck to my lips and kissed down my neck where his new mark laid. I gave a shiver as he sucked at my neck, and the slight m**n I let out gave his friend some ideas.

“As much as I want to continue this,” Seth whispered in my ear. “We need to get back. Pack members are already sensing their new Luna.” I looked up at him questioningly. “With their connection with me and now you, they know you are mated now.”

I gasped, “They are going to know we did it now?” I squealed, embarrassed. Seth threw his head back to laugh and nodded his head. How embarrassing.

“It is completely normal, and they are excited and happy. The mating ceremony will now just be for show, and the party will now be even bigger. Hell, we might even get the King and Queen to come out. They like to congratulate Alphas with their new Luna. “

“I’m not one for big parties or all the attention on me. This only makes me nervous.” I squeezed him tightly around his waist.

“Just for one night, Love. Then you are mine over and over again.” He gave a wicked grin and started giggling. “I’m going to shift, and we will run back that way, alright? You are still going to be tired, and we need to have the pack doctor check you out. I’m still concerned about how you took the turning mark so well.” I nodded and jumped on his back after he shifted.

After 30 minutes of Seth running at full speed, we were back at the packhouse with a hoard of people to welcome us. There were cheers, howls, and screaming of little children as we entered the backyard. Honestly, not knowing what to think, I mean, we just did “it,” and people were congratulating us about it. Once Seth shifted and put on some shorts, I hid behind him as my life depended on it.

“Settle down, settle down,” Seth motioned everyone with his hands. “Thank you for the warm welcome back. As you all know by now,” Seth pulled me from behind him and looked down at me lovingly, “Sadie is your new Luna of the Warrior Pack in Bergarian. We will still hold the mating ceremony and double the size of the party. Once her wolf finally arrives, we will head back to Bergarian.” Seth pulled me closer and gave me a passionate k**s in front of everyone.

Cheers erupted, and smiles were all around while I tried to hide within his embrace. A small giggle left my lips as I felt someone pull at my dress. “Luna, Luna! I will grow up and protect you!” Max said. Kneeling down to look at him, he held out his hand and got on his knee. I gave him my hand, and he put his forehead to my hand and said, “From this day forward, I commit myself to my Luna. I will strive to become the strongest warrior to protect you and your family.”

Everyone gasped, and his parents had their mouths agape. I looked at Seth with a confused look on my face as he smiled and bent down next to me with Max. “Tell him you accept his proclamation.” Looking at Max and putting a hand on his cheek, I told him I accepted. Max beamed with pride and then ran to his parents.

“What just happened?” I leaned into Seth. “He has decided to protect you, and he will grow up and train to be one of the fiercest warriors and protect our family, our children, and only pledge himself to our family. An undoing oath. He will do everything in his power to uphold anything we ask him to do. Morally right or wrong.”

Who knew that the smallest and the most tender-hearted child of the pack wanted to stay with us once he was older? He really meant it when he said he wanted to be my warrior, a fierce one. He just needed the right motivation, and knowing that motivation was me made my heart swell. Max’s parents came up to us as the crowd dispersed. “Alpha, Luna,” they bowed. “Once Max is trained, and at of age, we will send him to Bergarian to stay in your pack. We couldn’t be more proud of our son.” They both looked at Max as they patted his head.

Seth led me upstairs when I caught sight of Lela. Her head was down, and not eating anything on her plate that the kitchen staff had served her. There were bags under her eyes, and her body looked pale. “Seth?” I stopped in my tracks to gain his attention. I gave him the biggest puppy eyes I could. How ironic.

“What is it, love? What’s wrong?” Seth looked me over to see if there was something physically wrong with me, but found nothing.

“The vampires, the ones in the basement that you captured that night. What is to become of them?” I asked. Seth sighed.

“I’m not sure. They renounced their king, and they had no b***d on their hands, so they didn’t commit a crime. Normally, I would dispose of them, but I wanted to talk to you first.” Feeling like I grew 10 feet tall, I gave him a peck on the lips. He wanted my opinion on the matter, and that made me feel important and a part of his pack.

“I think one vampire is Lela’s mate,” I whispered to him as I glanced at her in the kitchen. Seth’s eyes grew wide in astonishment.

“What? How do you know?”

“Lela says she could smell her mate when they were brought here. She just didn’t know which one. Do you think I could take her down there and find out for sure?” I begged.

Seth looked at me, the gears turning in his head. He paused for a few moments, shuffling his feet. “Please, Seth.” I grabbed his face and gave a big pout. If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will.

“Well, I can’t say no to that face.” I gave a Cheshire grin and pecked his lips. “I’m coming with you, though, just in case. We can have them stay at your cabin and have a few guards outside to monitor their activity for a few days.” I jumped up and down and ran to Lela.

Lela was staring at her hamburger that was untouched, a few stray tears leaving her cheeks. “Lela,” I whispered and grabbed her arm that was lying on the table. Her eyes connected with mine and a spark of hope ignited within her. “Let’s go find your mate!” Lela screamed in excitement as she grabbed my hand and ran towards the basement.

“Hold it!” Seth growled. Lela stopped immediately while I rolled my eyes and put my hand on my h*p. “I have a few rules here.” Lela’s face fell.

“Seth, don’t be a fuddy-duddy. She’s been waiting!” I fussed.

“I waited 125 years to find you, and she can wait 5 more minutes and hear what I have to say!” He said in a stern tone.

“Fine.” I crossed my arms.

Seth looked at Lela. “Now, they have committed a crime. However, they didn’t kill anyone, and they were just acting under their king, even though they didn’t want to. Just know that you, your mate, and his friends will be under surveillance, just like Diana is.” Lela nodded her head furiously. “Yes, Alpha!”

Seth stared her down as she kept her head lowered. I looked from Seth to Lela several times before I finally broke the silence. “OK! All done! Let’s go!” Grabbing Lela, we headed to the basement with Seth and Marco on our tail. I could hear Seth laughing behind me as we ran down the stairs. Wow, his laugh is amazing, so intoxicating.

Once we arrived at the basement, two guards guarded the hallways to the cells. I’ve never been down here before, and I’m hoping I would never have to come down here again. The smell was terrible; it was damp, wet, and it smelt of old b***d and rotting flesh. My nose scrunched up at the putrid stink. Seth came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “Come on.” He whispered, and Lela followed.

Lela stayed close behind, almost jumping for joy as we edged closer. There were three of them, and I was eager to see which one was hers. They were all tall, and the first one had dark shaggy hair that fell in front of his face. He was of medium build and was sitting on the bed next to another. He had short blond hair with a sharp parted cut. His hair was so dirty it could be excused for almost brown. The last was standing, and his hands were on the bars as if he was waiting for someone. My gut was telling me that this was her mate. He had shoulder-length brown hair slicked back from the dirtiness of it. His jaw was square-shaped, and his smile reached from ear to ear as Lela then ran up to the bars.

“Mate, mate, mate!” Lela screamed as she tried to hug him between the bars. His eyes never left hers, and he touched the side of her face with his palm. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. Being able to witness two mates together was something I wanted to watch often. Sensing my smile, Seth reached around my waist. “What are you thinking?” he whispered.

“How sweet and wonderful it is to have a mate. Never in my wildest dreams did I think any of this could ever be real.” Seth smiled.

“Alright, here is the deal.” The vampires looked up. “Since you have renounced your king and have pledged to be with us, to fight with us, we will let you out of the cells. You will spend time in my mates’ cabin and slowly be introduced to the pack until we figure out how to take care of your king. He’s broken too many laws to be ignored, and I’m sure a war will start between all the kingdoms.”

Everyone looked at Seth, and I had totally forgotten about King Drago and the way he has been treating his subjects. He lost Diana, though, so he won’t be as powerful. Part of my heartfelt bad. If I never came to this world, people wouldn’t have to go to war, but it was inevitable if he was punishing vampires. Someone would have found out, eventually.

“What’s your name?” Lela asked her mate.

“Andrew, what’s yours?” She smiled and said, “Lela.”

“Lela, I’ve waited so long.” Andrew kissed her forehead, and she laughed as her happiness flooded the room. The other vampires were clapping Andrew on the back, congratulating him giving celebratory hugs.

“Bastian,” Seth opened the cell doors and stuck out his hand at the vampire. “I hope we can put aside our differences.” Bastian looked at Seth and his hand. Slowly, he put his hand on Seth’s and shook it.

“I would have done the same for my own mate.” He spoke in a monotone voice. The vampires stood back from Seth, afraid. I understood Seth was an intimidating man, but something else was wrong. They were almost trembling.

“Seth, what is wrong?” Looking closer, I saw dried b***d on Bastian, Andrew, and the other vampire. “Did you torture them?” I glanced at him in disbelief.

“Sadie, I had to… I had to find you. They wouldn’t tell me.” The thought of Seth hurting someone just to get to me was disturbing. I didn’t know the acts of war or torture, but someone being hurt because of me upset me.

“Luna, if I may,” Bastian spoke. “What we did was wrong. We deserved every bit. We were following a king that had been blinded by jealousy and greed, and we should have stood up to him. We took the cowardly way out. I would have done the same for my mate, who would have been captured.” The other vampires nodded.

“You forgive Seth? Just like that?” I questioned.

“It’s a guy thing,” the dirty blonde vampire said. He stuck out his hand to shake mine. “I’m Dover.” Before I could shake his hand, Seth grabbed me and snarled at Dover. Dover quickly backed up and put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry there, just trying to be friendly.” I sighed out of frustration.

“Let’s get them all out of here,” I said. Turning to the guard, I asked, “Gather the SUV and have clothes sent over to my old cabin so they can stay.”

“Yes, Luna.”

Walking up the stairs, Lela was hand in hand with Andrew, and we all trailed behind. Hearing the door open, I could hear Rebecca talking on her phone. “I have been at the diner all day, and I’m not coming back in. Figure out the steak shortage on your own! I have a party to plan in a few days if you haven’t forgotten! Bye!” She shoved her phone back into her purse.

Closing the basement door behind us, I heard her b***d-curdling scream of “Mate” ring across the pack house.