The Alphas’ P**n Star Mate

Rodger POV

"Stubborn girl," I muttered to myself. "Headstrong, reckless, stubborn, stubborn girl."

Why would she refuse to be safe-guarded so adamantly? Why does she not treasure herself the way she should?

Her mother was so similar in so many ways. She had herself captured and killed by trying to handle things herself. If she had just woken me, I could have saved her. That horrible, haunting night, if she had just cried out once or told me she hadn't rejected her pack, I would have done whatever I could to save her. Our daughter is just as stubborn, unwilling to be selfish enough to cherish herself.

Her mates may be unable to change her mind, and I doubt I can either, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stand by and do nothing.

I marched back to my sister's cottage, fuming the entire walk, muttering to myself about all the things frustrating me, including myself. I couldn't do anything when that cursed wolf tried to take off with my daughter. My power didn't touch him. It was unlike anything I had felt before. My sisters knew it wasn't anything I could contend with, but I didn't listen. I couldn't listen. Not when it was trying to tear my daughter from me.

I failed her. I keep failing her. How can I ever hope for her forgiveness if I'm failing her so severely, just like I failed her mother?

"Leonard!" I called, bursting through the front door. I knew he would be there, and as luck would have it, the others were there too, along with the pack's Gamma. Lenny stood, ready for whatever. He could do what the others couldn't, and he could be discreet enough that she wouldn't even know she was being protected. He can stay in the shadows, and the others..... They can help to discreetly watch over her right under her stubborn little nose.

"Where's the fire?" Beau asked.

"Good. You're all here. I need a favor."

"We can go shopping for you?!" Winnie asked hopefully.

"Hush, child. It's obviously about Chloe," Cindy poked Winnie between his eyes.

Winnie looked a bit disgruntled, then muttered, "Of course it is."

They had a large sheet of butcher paper on the ground, and Kai was skillfully drawing a map. I looked at it with confusion, and that's when Alexi filled me in. "It's a map of where they are keeping Boyd. We were trying to figure out how to get him out."

Boyd. I am failing in more ways than just with Chloe. Boyd was my charge, and I wasn't even concerned when he was missing. Not like I should have been. I was worried in my thinking that he had run away out of anger at Chloe accepting her mates. I didn't even consider that he was in actual trouble. It's my responsibility more than anyone's to get him back.

I can get him back, and I also need to find the source of the dark magic that cursed that red Alpha wolf. I just need their help in the meantime, keeping my daughter safe too.

I heard footsteps from overhead, then a moment later, my sisters appeared at the top of the stairs. They stopped when they saw me, and whatever expression I had on my face, it seemed to register in them that something was wrong.

"She's awake? Is she okay?" Driana hurried from the stairs. She had that frantic look in her eyes.

"She is," I muttered. "And as stubborn as her mother." I turned to look pointedly at Lenny. "I'm going to get Boyd back, but I need your help with something else."

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Chloe POV

"These are the files for the staff working inside the pack house," Emily said, leaning over the back of my chair. We were sitting in the Luna's office. My office now. "Scroll through so you can get used to the formatting we use. The secretaries will be inputting everything, but it's good to be familiar with the settings. Makes looking things up easier."

I've spent more time in this office than any other room in the pack house for the past week. The guys insisted on it. I think it makes them feel more at ease having me so close to where they usually are. The offices are in the center of the pack house too, with a security system in place. Since I'm still adamantly refusing guards, I'm complying with this wish as much as I can.

Not everything is a compromise though. They have persistently insisted I never go off alone and to call for them if I need to leave. I still have to sneak off to pee by myself, but I always come out of the bathroom to one or both of them grumbling on the other side of the door. Today it was Emily helping me with the normal office duties, but Luna Gail had spent the last few days with me, giving me a run down of pack events throughout the year, information on the packs we were allied with, and gently explaining the expectations for a Luna to this pack. She and Nonna are still finding small amounts of time every day, throughout the day, to plan my future Luna ceremony too, but I'm not finding that so wary anymore.

Surprisingly, this is a lot more rewarding than I thought it would be. Unlike Cameron's mom, whose priorities involved vain attempts to boost the pack's image by being the best dressed, having the greatest show of wealth, and other nonsense, Luna Gail's priorities were the well- being of the pack members. She was always so proper and put together that I expected her training to revolve around image too, but she didn't discuss anything along those lines. Everything stemmed from taking care of our pack and supporting the Alphas.

I think that was why I didn't mind the Luna ceremony planning as much anymore. Seeing the bigger picture, how it's not for me, but for the pack and my Alphas has made me more open to giving my opinion on things. Having all the extra knowledge I've been entrusted with has boosted my desire to do it right. Knowing the Luna of Dusty Moon Pack is a human with a latex allergy, and that the Beta female from San Celeste Pack can't eat seafood changed my preferences on the decorations and the menu. Knowing that the Alpha of Desert Plains Pack is the ex-mate of an elite warrior to Baylor Wolf Pack had me limiting the number of attendees from each pack to prevent more people than just the ranked members from attending the ceremony. Those kinds of oversights could start a fight between allied packs and show great disrespect through small oversights.