Kids from One Alpha

Chapter 19: Mates?

It had been a long day working on the reports from the attack. Logan stood from his desk, stretching and going to the nearest window. The full moon was rising, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. Logan looked back at his desk with the stack of reports he still hadn’t gone through. Sighing, he returned to his seat, but he remained standing. He lifted the cover of the top file on his desk, contemplating whether or not he wanted to sit and go through more reports. Deciding against it, Logan headed out of his office. He wanted to breathe the fresh air, run as a wolf under the full moon. It was too nice of a night to be cooped up inside. He pulled his shirt off, tossing it aside as he prepared himself for the change. Once on four legs, Logan trotted into the woods, ears turning back and forth as he listened for any sounds that could alert him to other nearby wolves. He knew he wasn‘t the only one out for a run tonight! The woods were quiet, which let his mind wander. The stack of reports on his desk still weighed on him heavily. If things had been different, his father might still be Alpha, but Logan had taken control of the pack at age 21. He was one of the youngest to ever become Alpha, and it had not been an easy transition. All his father had left behind was wealth from some good investments, and a vision to modernize the pack. He‘d picked up his father‘s vision where it was left off, renovating the medical facilities and the pack houses. Even now, after he had been Alpha for over five years, there were times when he still felt as though he would have preferred not having the weight of the whole pack on his shoulders. Logan sniffed the air, heading deeper into the woods and further from the pack town. Leaving his office, clothes, and skin behind, he could pretend for a while that he was free of his duties and responsibilities. Not that he didn‘t love being Alpha and appreciate all his father had done. He had a good plan and roadmap to follow. His father had been

very prepared and left detailed notes of what he had been planning for the pack. What worried Logan the most was when he got to the end of that list of notes. What would he do then when he no longer had a careful roadmap to follow?

The question became heavier and heavier in his mind. Finally, he snarled, growling into the darkness to break away from that thought. He missed his father, but he had plenty to do in honor of him: Moonshine‘s break from the Federation hadn‘t made his life any easier as a young Alpha. He‘d had to further assert his authority and strength to prove that he was strong enough to lead with the instability that Moonshine‘s void left in the Federation.

Serena‘s parents to help with that. They‘d

nose, the Alpha picked up his pace, trotting through the underbrush, picking his padded paws up high to keep himself from tripping over branches and sticks. He moved gracefully and fluidly through the trees, hardly needing to pay attention to where he was going. His wolf instincts kept him from running into trees or bushes. If Moonshine continued to press their borders and try to hurt their convoys, it could lead to all out war. The Federation had been created for a time of peace. Logan did not want to

Logan hadn‘t wanted that, neither had Alpha Thomas, so allowing them to leave the Federation was the easiest option. Of course, that only remained true if they weren‘t

Growling again, he headed in the direction of the stream. His mouth was drying out from all the growling he was doing at his own thoughts. He‘d adjusted well enough, and he‘d known that being Alpha would come with trials and conflicts. He was bred from a line of Alphas, and Logan knew that he could do what was required of him. It wasn‘t always easy, but it was

responsibility, to confide in, someone who would understand the pressure he was under. Logan looked up at

the idea. They‘d always had a good time, but she wasn‘t his Luna, and she didn‘t share the same responsibilities he did. There were things she couldn‘t understand about what he did and the pressure he was under.. Although, she helped immensely with the stress relief. Logan was fond of her. He was also happy that she had been able to find refuge with Night Sky. Left in the Moonshine pack, she probably would have been killed by the illegitimate Alpha. An attempt to remove all traces of the former Alpha‘s bloodline, Holly‘s father. She had adjusted well in the wake of her father‘s death. It was something they shared, and part of what had allowed them to bond. Her desire to become mated and the mild pressure she put on him to declare them mates had started to grate on his nerves. She was a lovely woman and from a good bloodline. She‘d make a good mate, a good Luna, and a good wolf to have pups with. It was the direction she was pushing him in. Logan feit like he couldn‘t be bothered by thàt with everything else that had been going on. He didn‘t know if that feeling came from thinking Holly wasn‘t his mate, or just not being ready to commit on that level. He knew he needed a Luna, but that didn‘t encourage