Chapter 40

"Wow, this place is fancy." Lucian drops his bags inside the door of the alpha's mansion, built smack in the middle of the pack territory, into which, apparently, nobody else is allowed.

On the way here, we passed small, quaint homes and some large, industrial looking buildings that Blake informed us are used for meals and housing the single pack members.

"It wasn't like this when I was here," Mandy mumbles, looking around at the opulent decor with a stunned, slightly horrified expression on her face. "Everything is so… uneven." When she looks up at me, I know she's talking about the distribution of resources and not the decorating style.

"Go pick rooms and get unpacked," Tyson orders the boys. "We've got a lot of work to do."

The stairs shake as the three man-sized teenagers thunder upstairs, tripping each other up and shoving each other into walls to get the first pick of the bedrooms.

"This is Carrie. She's been managing the house for Wilson and will help you with all the logistics." Blake introduces a small, older woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun and an uncomfortable looking uniform, like she's some kind of maid.

Carrie glances quickly in my direction, her face paling when she sees the rim of red circling my eyes. Yes, the rumours are true, I think to myself with a chuckle. I bet I'm going to get a lot of that reaction over the coming week.

"It's a pleasure Carrie," Mandy extends her hand and waves away Carrie's attempts to bow to her. "None of that, please. Now come on, I need to have a chat with you about how we can open this place up for use by all the pack. I can only watch tv in one room at a time and sleep in one bed. We don't need all this space."

Ignoring the shocked expression on Carrie's face, Mandy drifts away, poking her head in and out of all of the rooms, asking Carrie questions about what facilities the house has and which spaces we could make communal.

"I've had Max working on the finances, his report is in Mandy's email. There's enough money left to do most of the work I imagine you'll want. Any questions, give him a call, and he'll walk you through it." Blake stands shoulder-to-shoulder with me at the front door as we gaze out over the vast expanse of lawn surrounding the house and to the trees beyond. "It's not the pack you wanted, but you'll be able to do lots with it. And these are good people by and large, who were too afraid to challenge the status quo."

Listening to the bangs upstairs that suggest the boys are having a deathmatch over the best bedroom, I smile. "It's not my pack. It's Mandy's, and Noah's, but I'm happy to support them. Everything I want now, everything that matters, is within these four walls." Blake nods, a smirk tugging at the side of his mouth. "Go on. Spit it out."

His smirk turns into a wide grin as he continues to stare forward, giving me a one-shouldered shrug. "Just funny, that's all. Seems like you spent the last twenty years bitching and moaning about not getting my pack for no reason."

He laughs at my unimpressed expression, and I'm just about to tell him where to go when from above us, something smashes. Both Blake and I wince, turning to a frowning Carrie as a chorus of "sorry" rings out from upstairs.

"Better add boxing away anything nice or valuable to the to-do list," Mandy suggests with a wry smile. Carrie smiles tightly, and I can picture her rushing around immediately to do just that.

Our attention turns to six men, striding with purpose toward the house. Although Blake has told us the pack are relieved to have a change in leadership, it will be a long time before I'm relaxed enough to let anyone near my mate without being on edge.

The six men dip their heads in respect to Blake first and then to me, waiting at the foot of the stairs. Mandy appears at my side, sliding her arm around my waist to ease my tension, and waves at the six men like they're old friends. "Come on in and make yourselves at home."

Looking at each other first like this is potentially a trap, they follow Mandy inside when Blake gives them a small nod and some encouragement. "You better do as your luna asks."

Mandy's in her element as she welcomes the men inside and personally thanks each, by name, which I can't figure out how she knows, for their part in helping her take Wilson down. More shocked faces greet her as she asks them to be her personal guards while she gets to know the pack and find her way around. When she invites them to join us for dinner, the silence is deafening.

"You don't have to of course, but we have a luna ceremony to arrange, and we're going to need your help making sure it all goes smoothly."

I feel her nerves as the silence stretches on, and she takes in their glazed expressions, some kind of private discussion going on between the men. I'm tempted to intervene, but I bite my tongue. I will, however, beat every single one of them into the ground if they dare refuse her offer. Blake smirks beside me as he senses my building rage.

"We'd be honoured." The tallest man, dark haired and muscular, steps forward and dips his head in thanks. That's more fucking like it.

"Bring your mates. I'm cooking, and I always put on too much food."

Behind us, Carrie freezes, halting her progress removing various trinkets from tables and shelves around the impressive lobby. "You're what?"

Mandy smiles patiently at Carrie, who can't seem to comprehend the words her new luna has just spoken.

"I'm cooking. I can't promise it'll be any amazing, but it'll be edible." Mandy turns back to the men and gives them a nod, dismissing them. They all file out, giving me and my warning looks a wide berth as they head outside. Their confused whispers reach us as they try to work out what kind of luna has taken over.

Blake watches Mandy with pride as she resumes her inspection of the house with Carrie, who takes copious notes as Mandy makes suggestions of what they could do to make better use of all the rooms, and they discuss both the good and bad of the other facilities within the pack.

"Did you know? When you invited her to join the pack?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at Blake. Between his uncanny ability to read people and Raiden's visions, maybe they knew more about Mandy's past and future than they let on.

"I knew immediately she wasn't a normal rogue. And as soon as I scented Noah, I knew he was of alpha bloodline. It wasn't until after they moved in that I realised just how strong he is. And when Max was afraid to annoy her, it became clear she was probably meant to be a luna."

Nodding, I can picture that. The boys are more scared of her than they are of me.

"Will you make it back for the ceremony?" I ask, as it becomes obvious Blake is anxious to leave. He's been away from his mate on-and-off since Weston and Wilson were taken into custody. I don't blame him for wanting to get home. Even though I can still hear Mandy's voice, I'm not happy even being this far away from her.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Waving over his shoulder, he hurries away, and I smile, now knowing all about that eagerness to get back to your mate. Carrie steps past me on the porch, giving me plenty of space, as she sets off to find the pack members she'll need to help her tackle the list.

Seeking out my mate, I find her upstairs, as I knew I would, checking on the boys and making sure they're all okay with their new accommodations. When she steps back into the hallway and spots me waiting for her, she smiles, sashaying closer with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"So, have you found a room yet?" she purrs, sliding her hands up my chest and over my shoulders. "Preferably one with sound proofing so we can christen it loudly."

Ha. Tossing her over my shoulder and ignoring her half-hearted screams of protest, I march to the furthest door from the boys. "We're going to christen every room in this house." Slapping her ass hard, she shrieks when I throw her down onto the soft mattress, laughing breathlessly as she stops bouncing and smiles up at me. "This is just the start."