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Chapter 72: Ayla
I stopped the recording and saved the file with the date. I had just finished a three-hour
session with Álpha Torin and was pleased with the content. Today, he told me about the
talk his father had with him when he graduated high school. Torin said he had carried that
talk with him ever since, and it was one of his greatest moments when he shared it with
his son, Theo.
It was touching to hear the way he spoke about Theo. The speech was impressive,
discussing what being a pack leader meant. I understood why it made such an impact on
Torin. I wondered how Theo felt about the experience. It was on the list of items I would
need to interview him about.
I hadn’t seen him since the day I arrived, which I was grateful for. It helped me gain some
perspective on the situation. For the most part. It was overwhelming at first. I felt so guilty
for days after we kissed that night. My mind had drifted off several times, remembering
how good it felt. But I had done what I needed to do. I stayed true to Kingston, and that
brought me comfort.
I hoped Theo’s distance meant he was also finding closure and moving on. I didn’t want to
hurt him, especially after our conversation that night. We both wanted each other to be
happy. I prayed that he would find that someday.
I closed my laptop and stood from my chair on the porch. This had become our favorite
place to record each day. I found that our sessions lasted longer when we were outside,
close to the forest. Torin’s condition was becoming more obvious to me each day. It really
hit me when he told me about his first shift. The way he spoke the words, I could tell he
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmissed running through the trees, and it pained him to
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not have that freedom anymore. But sitting on the porch seemed to bring him some
comfort. At least he could still experience nature this way.
I headed back to the guest house to put my stuff away. Apparently, Theo comes up every
Friday to give his father a weekly update on the pack. I was going to hole up in the guest
house while he was here, but Mina messaged me and said she and Briggs would be
coming up too. Luna Grace wanted to make an evening of it. She said the guys would
probably be off by themselves most of the evening, so us women could have a girls’ night.
I was putting my laptop on the charger when I heard a car approaching. I smiled and
headed outside. I paused on the small porch. It wasn’t Mina and Briggs yet. Theo’s black
luxury sedan pulled into the empty space beside Alpha Torin’s truck. I wrapped my arms
around myself as he got out. He paused when he saw me. He seemed to want to come to
me but settled on a wave and gentle smile.
I returned the gesture and watched him head into the main house. I pushed down the
feelings that churned within me. I wasn’t about to analyze them. I knew they were caused
by the mate bond, which didn’t make me trust them or what it would do to me if I
acknowledged them.
I went back into the guest house to grab my phone to see how close Mina was. There was
a text from Emma asking how things were going and letting me know she missed me. I
messaged her back with a short update, letting her know I would call her tomorrow. Her
reply came as Mina and Briggs pulled up. I went to meet them so we could join the others
inside.
Briggs went to join Alpha and Theo in the home office while Mina and I found Luna Grace
in the kitchen. She was making some kind of fruity drink in the blender. She cut it off when
she saw us come in.
“Just in time,” she said with a bright smile. “I’ve got everything ready
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for the boys to get dinner ready. So us girls are going down to the lake.”
She poured the contents of the blender into a pitcher. I grabbed the glasses that were
sitting on the counter, and we followed her lead. A maintained path led down to a wide
dock on the water. There were lounge chairs set up for us to choose from. I set the glasses
on a built- in ledge so Luna Grace could fill them.
“So what is this concoction you’re treating us to, Luna?” I asked.
“For the last time, call me Grace. And it’s nothing too special,” she laughed. “Just some
daiquiris to go along with the girl talk. I’m excited to hear about Mina’s plans for her
mating ceremony.”
“Ha, what plans?” Mina said as she took her glass. “We haven’t even settled on a date.”
“Yeah, what’s going on with that?” I asked. “I thought you guys had narrowed that down.”
Mina sighed. “Briggs wants to do it before Theo’s Alpha ceremony. I’d rather wait until
after. Especially since Theo’s ceremony is only a few weeks away. It’s a lot to plan in that
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmshort a time.”
“Well, that’s what we’re here for,” Grace said. “Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at
making things happen in a short amount of time.”
Mina smiled at her. “I’m sure I’ll have to take you up on that, but it’s not just that. I want
our ceremony to be separate from Theo’s. I know that both are important to the pack, but
at the same time, they both deserve their own celebration. I don’t want either to take
away from the other or add to it.”
“That’s perfectly understandable, honey,” Grace said. “So, you tell Briggs it will be after
Theo officially takes the Alpha role.”
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“Yes,” I agreed. “All that matters is that he’s a part of it, and you two are marked in the
end.”
“I’ll tell him you both say so,” Mina giggled.
“Okay, so what ideas have you had? Have you found a venue? Any dresses strike your
fancy?” Luna Grace asked.
Mina and I laughed.
Over the next few hours, we made it about halfway through the pitcher of daiquiris. It had
been a while since I had laughed that much. We had been swapping stories about mating
ceremonies we had attended and were looking at pictures of terrible dresses when one of
the guys mind-linked Luna Grace.
“Well, it seems the menfolk caught on and managed to fix dinner without us,” she teased.
“Come on, ladies. It’s time to eat.”
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