Destiny of His Pack, Book 2
Chapter 2

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I leaned forward, placing my elbow on the table. Then, with my chin in my hand, I said, “I have worked in the café since I was sixteen. I was not too fond of it there, but La Puckett is a small town, so there aren’t many jobs to choose from. So, I was saving to leave town, and I figured by the time I was twenty, I should have enough.” I shrugged. “Maybe it is the feline in me, or maybe it’s because of Rafferty’s search for me, I don’t know, but I had become restless. I felt something was missing in my life and thought that if I could get out of La Puckett, maybe I would find it.”

“Instead, ‘it’ found you, didn’t he?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess he did. So there I was pouring ol’ man Bulger’s coffee when I heard a low growl in the distance. It grew louder and louder until a red Harley pulled up and stopped in front of the café. The man who got off it was gorgeous. Tall and well built, wearing a leather jacket and holey jeans. When he pulled off his helmet, his black curls begged for a woman’s hand to comb through them.”

Then I sighed at the memory of doing just that. My hands now itched to do it again, and I wished Rafferty were here for me to touch, to kiss, to... My thoughts trailed off as I heard the clearing of a throat.

“Earth to Marissa, are you still with me?”

I felt myself blush at where my thoughts had been leading me, and I heard Gina giggle as I looked at her.

“Trust me, I know all about the curls, my mate has them too, and there is no shame in wanting your mate. It’s a good thing. The bond between you and Rafe is strong, maybe because you are a part shifter. I think it won’t be long now, and Rafe will be back,” Gina said with a smirk.

I frowned, puzzled. “Why do you say that?”

“Because of your train of thought, of course. It was heading toward naughty, wasn’t it?”

I nodded, blushing again.

“Well, if your bond is strong enough, Rafe will have felt it. So to him, it will feel like, how do I explain this?” Gina paused, chewing a thumbnail in thought. “It might be the feeling of phantom hands touching him, or if the bond is solid, it will cause his wolf to stir and call for his mate.”

“Oh, wow. Well, that might explain how he always seems to know what I’m feeling,” I whispered.

Gina smiled. “It will only grow stronger with time, especially when you’re carrying his pups. Now, may I see your mark before he gets here?”

“Sure,” I said as I stood up. First, I pulled my shirt over my head, holding it to my chest with one hand. Then I swept my hair out of the way with the other. Next, I turned my back so that she could see the mark on my left shoulder blade.

Gina walked closer. Then she began to trace the wolf print before moving onto the cat print that overlapped it by one toe. Next, Gina softly read the words written. “Love will overcome.” She stepped back. “It’s lovely, Marissa.”

“Thank you, you should see Rafferty’s mark—” I stopped, glancing over my shoulder as I heard the front door slam.

“Well, I believe that will be your mate, Marissa.”

I quickly pulled my shirt back on as Rafferty, and another man walked in. The man was almost as tall as Rafferty but slimmer built and brown-haired.

Rafferty walked over to me and grabbed me. He pulled me tight against him and buried his nose in the crook of my neck.

“Um... Rafe? Buddy, are you going to introduce us?” The man asked.

Rafferty growled, and Gina laughed.

“Rafferty,” I gently said. “Introduce me to your friend, please. Then you can go all caveman wolf on me.”

Rafferty raised his head, and I saw his eyes were the gold of his wolf. I tilted my head, questioning him without words.

Gina answered my unspoken question, saying, “You remember what we spoke about, Marissa? Your bond is strong, and his wolf is stirring. So, introductions will have to come later. But, Jeremy, you and I need to leave them alone for now.”

With that, she and Jeremy left.

I looked up at Rafferty. Locking my gaze with his, I moved my hand up to run my fingers through his curls. “I haven’t had that shower yet. How about we conserve water and shower together?”

Rafferty grinned and picked me up. Then, throwing me over his shoulder, he sprinted for his room.

Me? I just laughed at him and his silliness all the way there.

Rafferty

“Rafe, you’re almost late,” Pop said as Marissa and I walked onto the field where they were making the announcement.

“Sorry, Pop, I didn’t mean to be. I went to visit Jeremy then had a shower when I got back to the house. I didn’t want to smell bad on my first day back,” I said with a grin.

Pop snickered. “I’m not sure being clean was all you were thinking about.”

I felt my face heat

Pop laughed louder, saying, “Yes, Rafe, your ma told me how you came back to the house.”

“Ah, Pop, I couldn’t help it. My wolf was...”

“Yes, Rafe, I know,” Pop said, waving his hand dismissively. “Your ma stirs my wolf up purposely sometimes to get my attention.”

“Get your attention about what, Jeff?” Ma asked as she walked up.

Pop wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. “Nothing that can’t wait until later, sweets. Let’s get this meeting started.”

Then, with a wink my way, Pop walked off.

The Wildee Pack was significant, too large for everyone to be in one building. So, we had cleared a field for pack meetings. I looked around and nodded to those I made eye contact with as I lead Marissa to the platform.

“Wow, Rafferty. When you said it was a large pack, you weren’t kidding,” Marissa commented.

“At last count, I believe there were almost five hundred members,” I told her, glancing her way as we reached the platform.

My father began to speak, his voice booming as he said, “Greetings Wildee Pack!”

“Greetings, Alpha and Luna!” The Pack shouted back.

“As you all probably know by now, my pup, Rafferty, has returned to us,” the Alpha continued.

There were shouts, whistles, and cheers before the Alpha raised his hand for silence. “He didn’t return alone, however. Rafferty returned with his mate and your future Luna!”

There was more cheering as the Alpha waved for Marissa and me to join him. As we walked onto the platform, I saw noses lift to take in the new scent of my mate and had to chuckle as I heard my mate huff in annoyance.

“Greetings, Wildee Pack!” I shouted.

“Greetings, Mr. Rafferty and mate!” They shouted back.

“I would like to introduce my mate to you, Marissa. I found her in a little town in Nevada called La Puckett.”

I heard some of the older ones began to murmur about Nevada being a feline state. So, I turned to Marissa and asked quietly, “Do you wish to tell them, or do you want me to?”

Marissa looked at the crowd then back at me as she straightened her spine. “I will.”

I nodded. Turning back to the crowd, I said, “My mate wishes to speak.”

The crowd grew silent.

“As Rafferty has said, I am from Nevada. My father, William Mason, was born and raised in Ireland, where he was once the leader of a mighty Pride of lion shifters. Not long after my twin brothers, James, and Paul, were born, there was an attack on the Pride by hunters. The hunters almost killed my father and did kill most of the Pride. My father’s lion went dormant in his grief, so he and my mother decided to leave Ireland. I grew up never knowing what my father and brothers were, and so I know truly little about the shifter world.” Marissa paused and looked at me.

Squeezing her hand, I nodded, encouraging her to continue.

Marissa took a deep breath and focused back on the Pack. “When Rafferty rode into La Puckett, my father’s lion began to stir because no wolf had crossed into Nevada for a long time. So when I met Rafferty, he explained what he was and that I was his mate. Then my father told us a story.”

I picked up where Marissa stopped.

“Her father told us how his great-great-great-grandmother was a feline shifter who fell in love with a wolf shifter. This caused a huge split in the family. However, it also caused fate to decree that in every other generation, a female would be born, marked as the mate of a shifter.”

At my words, Marissa turned and bared her shoulder. “I was born with a wolf print on my shoulder. When Rafferty marked me, it changed to what you see now.”

One of the elders in the front raised his hand. I nodded my okay for him to speak.

Stepping forward slightly, he said, “Even if she is a feline, her mark at birth proves fate made her for our alpha-to-be, I approve.”

My father’s beta, who is another elder, stepped forward. “Being born with the mark of wolf proves she was his destiny. I also approve.”

Next to step forward was my grandmother, who was our only female elder.

“I also approve and wish to see the mark up close.” Grandmother stepped forward to stand behind Marissa and asked, “Why is your mark on your shoulder, child?”

Marissa turned her head and looked over her shoulder. “We aren’t sure, but we think that is where feline female shifters carry their mark, just as a female wolf bares hers on the chest.”

Grandmother nodded. “Where does our father bare his mark? That of the male wolf is on the inner arm.”

“My grandfather’s mark, my father’s mark, and my brother’s mark are all located on the left arm almost to the shoulder. Dad's is a large lion paw print with Ma’s name written across it.”

My grandmother seemed satisfied, and her gaze moved to me. “What of your mark, young Rafferty, in what way did it change?”

At that question, I heard my mate’s sharp intake of air. I knew she was worried about how the Pack would react to the news of our twins, one pup and one cub.

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