Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 73

**Blake POV

The room was silent as I lay still, keeping my eyes closed and feigning sleep. Nora was warm beside me and I had my arm around her. I didn’t want to move. I was so tired, but I’d struggled to stay asleep through the night.

The Lanecreek delegation would be arriving for the festival at the castle today. My concerns about their visit made it impossible for me to relax. Every small sound in the night woke me. If it weren’t for the fact that Nora was with me, I wouldn’t have stayed in bed.

I opened my eyes and looked at her peaceful face. Even now, she felt so far away from me. I couldn’t get over the feeling that she was sl*pping away from me. If I lost her again, it would be for good. I wouldn’t chase her down a fourth time. She was free to leave me if that was what she wanted to do. I wouldn’t force her to stay.

The thought to re at my heart.

I sighed and leaned forward, k*ssing her forehead.

I got out of bed as quietly as I could and got dressed. There were preparations that I had to finalize before the festivities started tonight.

A lot of the set up was done last night, but an event this big took hours to prepare for. I passed through the kitchen where the staff was already hard at work assisting local chefs in preparing the food for the day. The scent of roasted meat made my stomach growl, but I didn’t have time to stop for breakfast.Every priestess in the pack was in the garden, adorning our statue of the Moon Goddess with vines and setting up small altars across the grounds. I paused and looked around at the beautifully decorated garden and the busy staff as they worked to bring Nora’s vision to life.

I smiled as I looked at the scene. Everyone was so focused and happy as they worked. I could see people smiling with excitement and hear laughter from some of the groups as they worked. The fact that Nora has made all of this possible filled me with pride.

“Sir,”a familiar voice called out.

I turned to see our oldest priestess approaching me. She was a stern faced woman with snow white hair. I bowed to her in greeting as she reached me. A rare smile graced her l*ps as she looked around us.

“Good morning,”I greeted.

“It is a great morning,”she agreed.“Thanks to yourLuna. I want you to know how much I appreciate her dedication to tradition. It can be so easy for the younger generations to forget what this festival is all about, but she has been so careful to make sure the god dess remains the focus of the evening.”She looked back at the statue.“I am proud to have such a Luna,”she noted.

I could feel myself grinning, but I didn’t try to hide it.“She insisted on handling the festival plans herself,”I added.“She’s surpassed my expectations as well.”

“She’s young,”the priestess began.“But clearly verywise.”

I thanked her and she went back to work on thepreparations. I made my way to ward the front gates where supplies were being unloaded. Several people stopped me to express their excitement for the festival and how impressed they were with Nora’s creativity.

I had truly chosen a worthy queen and I was reminded of it at every turn. I just had to make sure that I didn’t screw everything up. I tried to push the thought aside as I finally reached the gate where Dave was unloading a truckful of supplies.

He smiled brightly when he saw me.“Good morning,”he said breathlessly.

“You aren’t working yourself too hard are you?”Iasked.

He laughed heartily and shook his head.“No, not at all. I’m excited that we’re able to help with the festival this year. It looks like it’s shaping up to be a truly memorable evening.”

I nodded in agreement.“It’s the first festival since my return,”I stated.“I want to celebrate all of our growth. The pack has been through so much, everyone deserves a chance to cut loose and enjoy themselves.”

“It has been a difficult stretch,”he agreed.“But wehave you back and you’ve brought us a Luna that is committed to the pack.”

“How has she been doing at the store?”I asked.

Nora had expressed that she liked the work and was happy to be out in the community, but she hadn’t told me much more than that. I worried that she was trying to give me an overly positive report of how it was going.“She’s so helpful,” he said emphatically.“I wasreaching the end of my rope trying to figure out how I was going to keep the store afloat with Christian’s new responsibilities. She’s truly a gift.”

“She seems to really enjoy it,”I pointed out.

He nodded.“She’s good with the customers. It seems like she really enjoys getting to know everyone. I hope it’s not too out of line for me to say, but I get the feeling it’s been hard for her to be in the castle among the royals. I think she feels at home in the city.”

My eyes widened slightly. I hadn’t even considered that Nora might feel isolated in the castle, but it made perfect sense.

“And Christian just adores her,”he added.“He goeson and on about how kind she is and how hard she works.”

Jealously shot through me before I could tamp it down. Christian was a good kid and I knew that I didn’t need to worry about him and Nora.“I appreciate the praise of my queen,”I said.“Let me know if you need more help with the trucks.”

He nodded and turned back to his work.

I turned back to ward the garden and was met with the sight of Nora approaching me. She looked so beautiful in the morning light, and with the flowers surrounding her that I had to take a moment just to observe her.

When she reached me, I k*ssed her lightly, making her blush prettily.“You’ve done an incredible job planning all of this,”I complimented.

She shook her head a little and laughed nervously.“No, not really. It’s nothing special.”

“I mean it,”I emphasized.“You should be proud ofyourself. You’ve worked hard and the entire pack is going to benefit from your work.”

She smiled shyly and looked around at the festival grounds.“It does look good,”she stated softly.“I just hope it goes smoothly.”

I took her hand and we walked toward the far end of the garden where the bars were being assembled. Nora had worked with the local pubs to put together a menu of wine, beers, and cocktail s that would suit the palate of anyone in the pack. She had really thought of every detail.

We spent a few minutes checking on the bar staff and making sure they had everything they needed. It seemed that everyone working on set up had all of the tools they needed and knew exactly what they had to accomplish. It spoke volumes of Nora’s planning that no one needed additional instructions or materials.

I couldn’t help but look at her in awe. If she hadn’t asked to take this on, I don’t think I would have involved her in the planning process. What a mistake that would have been.

We were making our way back toward the castle when a smooth, masculine voice called out from behind us.

“Are we early?”I bristled as I turned to see Grahamand a small group of people walking through the gates.“We must be early,” he repeated.“Why else would we reach the end of such a long journey to find that there was no one waiting at the gates to greet us?”I growled lowly at the arrogance of his words. All of my previous reticence about the festival came roaring back to the surface.

Inviting Lanescreek to participate was a mistake. I could tell by the gleam in Graham’s eyes as he gazed at Nora that he had something on his mind besides paying ho mage to the Moon Goddess.