Chapter 6

The Iron Hide pack house was much larger than the rustic pack house of Silver Moon pack. It was obvious from the size of the place that the pack was both extremely large and extremely wealthy. I felt ridiculously out of place as Tristan led me inside.

He led me by the hand to his office, not bothering to stop for introductions to any of the wolves we met as we passed by. Their stares made me more nervous than I had been since the night I met him in the woods. I didn’t know anything about pack life, but it seemed odd that an Alpha wouldn’t stop to introduce his mate to the pack.

Once inside his office, he gestured for me to sit before making his way to his own seat behind his oversized desk. I felt my face drop at the loss of physical contact. Simply holding his hand had me running on a high I had never experienced before. I was afraid that he was changing his mind about accepting me as his mate.

“When is your birthday?” he asked quietly.

“July second.” I responded quietly, looking at my hands as I clasped them in my lap.

“Hey, look at me.” He encouraged. “You’re underage until July second. Until then, I think it would be best if we took things slow. Get you settled in as part of the pack and get to know each other before we complete the mate bond. Do you understand?”

“I.. Well, I don’t really know what any of that means. I was studying the pack law information from Barb, but that’s all I know about packs.” I blurted out.

To my surprise, Tristan burst out laughing before coming around the desk and kneeling in front of me. I wasn’t sure what he had found so funny, my lack of knowledge about my own species was making me uncomfortable.

“I promise I will teach you everything you need to know.” He whispered, taking my face in his hands. “First, I think we make you part of the pack. You won’t scent like a rogue anymore and it will make it easier for me to keep you safe.”

The sincerity in his honey colored eyes was all it took for me to nod my head in agreement. He rose and grabbed a letter opener from his desk. I gasped as he drew it across his hand, slicing open his palm. Instinctively, I withdrew when he reached to do the same to mine.

“Hannah, I promise it’s ok. In order to make you a part of the pack, I have to mix my blood with yours, ok?”

I nodded and he quickly cut my hand with the letter opener.

“Ok, now repeat after me. I swear to protect the happiness and wellbeing of the pack and my alpha, to the best of my abilities, for the rest of my days.”

I repeated the words as Tristan pressed our bleeding palms together. As soon as the final word passed my lips, my mind was filled with voices of the pack, welcoming me. Sensing it was overwhelming me, I heard Tristan’s voice in my mind telling them to calm down. I looked at him in awe as the roar of voices subsided.

“What was that? I whispered.

“That was our pack welcoming their Luna through our mind link, though you won’t officially be made Luna until after your birthday.” He grinned at me, obviously pleased with the reaction from the pack.

I threw my arms around him and felt him stiffen causing me to pull back, my hurt evident on my face. He sighed and grabbed a cloth from his desk to clean the blood from our hands, the cuts having already healed. I sat silently, feeling rejected, and watched him return to his seat on the opposite side of the desk once he was done cleaning our palms.

“Hannah. I need you to understand. I’m almost twenty, you aren’t of age yet. As much as I want to feel you close to me, it makes it difficult not to give in and complete our mate bond. It wouldn’t be right for me to do that before you’re eighteen.” He pled.

I wanted to understand, but the age gap seemed trivial compared to the need to touch him that was currently raging in my body. Logically, I knew I was still a minor and a ward of the state at that. He couldn’t do anything that could risk the emancipation suit he had mentioned in Bruce’s office. Sexing me up, no matter how badly I wanted it, wouldn’t look that great in court. Being mates would have been much simpler if my parents were still alive.

I was still stuck in my mental tantrum when there was a knock on the office door. A plain looking girl entered and informed Tristan that my belongings had arrived. He took that as his cue to lead me to a room, where my things from the orphanage had been stashed.

“This is your room, until we complete our mate bond. You can decorate it however you want. My room is just next door.” He told me.

I looked around in awe. The room was at least twice the size of my room in the orphanage without the en suite bathroom. My few belongings looked out of place in the massive room. I squealed in delight at the thought of decorating the place, flinging myself onto the queen-sized bed as I did. Tristan plopped down beside me chuckling.

“If a bedroom gets you this excited, I am sorry that I have to miss your first run of pack lands.”

“You want me to run alone?” I gaped, his words replacing my excitement with fear.

“No. Jaxon, that’s my beta, and his mate are going to take you on a run around pack lands.” He replied, lowering his voice before continuing. “I can barely control myself around you as it is, I can’t risk letting my wolf take over with you around.”

My mouth formed a silent O as he laid down on the bed beside me. I found myself moving closer to him, his scent enticing me to get as close to him as I possibly could. He laid there for a moment, his body stiff, as I pressed my face into his side an inhaled his scent.

“Hannah.” He said, his voice as tense as his body. “I’m going to go now. Jaxon and his mate will be here shortly to take you on your run. If you need anything at all, let them know and we will get it taken care of for you.”

I couldn’t help but feel saddened as he left the room, the pain of his absence greatly outweighing my excitement at being a member of the pack and about to take my first run in pack lands. I sighed and forced myself to get up from the bed to find something appropriate to wear on a run. I didn’t have much, so I quickly unpacked as I looked for my oversized sweatshirt and basketball shorts.