The Claiming by Cooper

And if the Elder Carson tries to stop us, we’ll have to challenge the Ilders.

The Council Chapter 20 Jara

Jara

For the next couple of days, I try to spend time with Brynn and Melinda, walking around the pack and

getting her acquainted with the pack members.

I had asked her if she wanted to spar, and I could tell she was interested. “I don’t have anyone to watch

Melinda while I spar.” She says.

“Hey Lewis.” I call.

“Yes, Luna.” He says, jogging over. I put my hand on his back, noting that the darkness is almost gone

again.

“Could you do me a favor and watch Melinda while Brynn and I join the sparring for a few rounds.”

“I’d be happy to, Luna.” He says smiling and turning to Melinda, who seems perfectly happy to be left

with Lewis.

“Thank you.” I turn and see that Brynn looks terrified.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll be right here.”

As we start to spar, I see several other males from our pack going over to Melinda, talking to her and

interacting with her.

“Luna…” I turn, seeing Brynn watching, getting more and more anxious. I know she doesn’t understand,

but maybe I can help with

that.

“Warriors!” I call out. Everyone stops and looks at me.

“Who is your priority to protect in this pack?”

“You, Luna.”

“And who is second?”

They all look at each other. “Well, it’s supposed to be Gamma Stella, and her son, Luna.”

“But…”

They turn and look at Melinda. “The young she-wolf should be our priority. She needs more protection

than Gamma Stella or at least as much protection as our Gamma and her young pup.”

I turn and look at Brynn. She’s watching the men.

“You’re prioritizing my daughter’s safety over your Gamma’s?”

“Well, not exactly prioritizing. Gamma Stella and Jace, her son, are important as well, but we’re a large

pack. We can protect all four of you at once, and still protect our Luna if needed.”

“And we would.”

“We’d give our lives for you and your daughter.”

“But you barely know us.” Brynn says softly.

Lewis looks at Melinda. “But she is our future. We all must protect our future. All of you are our future.

Luna Jara keeps the feral- fever away, but we also hope that we’ll have more pups in our pack soon and

more female pups means more opportunity for our werewolf population to continue.”

I watch as Brynn looks at them. “All of you feel this way?”

She gets a large chorus of “Absolutely”, “Yes”, and “Definitely” from the group of warriors.

Brynn finally begins to smile. She turns to me. “Would you tell Alpha Mason that I’m ready to join the

pack?” She says and the warriors all cheer.

That night, we finally make Luke and Brynn official pack members. I hold Melinda while they swear their

allegiance to Mason, me and the pack. When they are done, the pack members hoot and howl and we

have a celebration feast.

I leave the party early, needing to pack to head to Alpha Davis’s. I hate leaving Mason, even for a few

days, but it’s necessary. I finish packing and Mason spends a few hours letting me know how much he’s

going to miss me before we curl up and go to sleep.

The next morning, Luke, Lewis and I pack up and head to Alpha Davis’s pack. It takes us a couple of

hours and during the drive, Luke and Lewis discuss their plan for watching over me.

When we arrive at Alpha Davis’s borders, I see another car in front of us. I lean forward from the

backseat and see Hana turn from the car in front of us, waving at me. We’ve arrived at the same time. I

wave back, happy to see my sister-in-law again.

When we pull up to the guard gate, the guards look in at me. “Welcome Luna, we’re happy to have

you’re here. You can follow Luna Hana’s car in front of you. They are headed to the packhouse where

you all will be staying.”

After thanking them, we follow Hana’s car to the packhouse. While it is large, larger than Seth’s, it is

smaller than mine and Mason’s. I haven’t seen any housing around, so I’m guessing all the pack

members live together in this packhouse. That would make it difficult for Layan.

When I step out of the car, I breathe in the fresh air. I can hear the sounds of the forest and under that,

the sounds of paws running

in distance which I assume are Alpha Davis’s patrols monitoring their borders. I walk to Hana, giving her

a big hug before turning to the front of the packhouse.

Alpha Davis is there, waiting for us. “Good afternoon, Lunas. I have lunch prepared for you.” He says,

greeting us.

“Thank you, Alpha, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to see Layan first thing.”

“Of course.” He says and gestures for us to go inside. Out of instinct, I reach out and touch him. I

instantly feel the darkness rippling across his body.

I jerk, turning to look at him. His eyes have gone wide. He felt the push of his darkness, the impact that

my touch had on him.

“How old are you, Alpha Davis?” I ask quietly, not taking my hand off of him.

Hana turns, and seeing that I am touching Alpha Davis, she moves to his other side, touching his arm.

We watch as his eyes close and relief floods his facial features.

When he opens his eyes, he focuses on me. “I’m old enough that if I don’t catch a mate at next year’s

claiming, I won’t get another chance.”

I nod at him. I can tell by the darkness in him that he’s right. “I’ll do what I can while I’m here and when I

visit.”

“I will as well.” Hana says.

“Thank you both. I know that’s not why you’re here…”

“We’re here to make sure that our she-wolves have a safe and happy environment to live in. Part of that

is making sure that the

pack is happy and safe as well.” Hana says.

“If you’d like, we can assess your other pack members while we’re here. If there are some that seem

close, we can spend as much time with them as possible, but Layan is our priority. I do want to make that

clear.”

“I would appreciate any time you can give to my pack, Lunas.” We walk inside the packhouse. It’s

relatively small, but so is this pack. There’s not the bustle that there is in my pack. It almost feels like a

death has occurred and everyone is trying to be respectfully quiet. I wonder if this is what Mason’s pack

was like before I arrived.

“I’ve called for Layan. She should be here in a moment.”

Just as he says it, I can hear a shuffling behind me. I turn and see Layan walking slowly toward us with

her mother. The difference in Layan is astonishing. She looks as if she hasn’t bathed in days, maybe

longer. Her hair is oily and unkempt. The circles under her eyes are so dark that they look like black

smudges, indicating that she hasn’t been sleeping. But what’s most dramatic for me is her size. She was

tiny before, but now, she’s practically emaciated. Our sweet Layan isn’t, eating, sleeping or bathing.

“Layan.” I say quietly, noticing as Alpha Davis steps back to give us some space.

She looks up and it takes a moment for her realize who I am. “Alpha Jara?” She says frowning before

she turns and sees Hana.

“Beta Hana?” Her voice, once so gentle and soft is raspy and raw sounding, as if she hasn’t spoken in a

very long time.

open my arms to her, and it only takes a minute. She rushes to me, grasping my waist like it’s her lifeline.

I wrap my arms around her, and she begins to sob. Hana turns, wrapping her arms around

us both, helping me to hold Layan up as her pent-up emotions come pouring out of her.

A moment later, I feel another set of arms come around us and I smell Annabel an instant before I feel

the final set of arms,

Mignon.

“We’re all here, Layan.” I say. We hold her as she sobs, wrapping her in our love.