The Claiming by Cooper Book 6
The Gamma Tournament by Cooper (Ezekiel & Gianna)
Chapter 10 Ezekiel
We pull into the pack lands, having given Alpha Jordan the head’s up that Desmond was coming with us. I had watched the patrols subtly surround his car and sniff, getting a good idea of his scent in case he does something wrong and needs to be hunted down.
Then, as we began driving through the pack lands, which sit nestled up against a mountain range, I watched in my rearview mirror as Desmond rolled his window down and began sniffing the air. Even from here, I can tell that he’s enjoying the smell. The forest is a much better place for wolves than the city.
When we pull up to the packhouse, I race around the truck to help Gianna out. I know she can do it herself, but these are small ways that I can show her how important she is to me, and I enjoy doing it.
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I take her by the waist, making sure to rub my thumbs over her belly to say hello to my daughter and then I lift her out of the truck. I set her on her feet and turn to get Zeke while she stretches. While I do, I look over to see Desmond getting out of the car, turning in a circle to see all around him and then leaning his head back and taking a deep breath of fresh air.
Several warriors come out, not actively surrounding him, but making sure they are close, just in case. We have a lot of pups here, and specifically, our future Alpha. They aren’t taking any chances with a stranger on their lands.
“Jordan!” Gianna squeals behind me and I hear her running to see her cousin. When I step down out of the truck with Zeke in h*and, I see the two of them hugging on the packhouse stairs.
I take Zeke and walk over to Desmond.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you.” I say, just as I hear Gianna tell Jordan to come meet Desmond.
Jordan puts her arm through Gianna’s and the two of them begin making their way to us, Alpha Jace jogging up as well. Jace’s eyes are focused on Desmond beside me, also assessing his threat level.
“Alpha Jordan, Alpha Jace, this is Desmond, the Detective that Gianna told you about,11 I say.
“Detective Desmond, you are welcome here as long you abide by the rules of our pack,” Jace says, sounding protective.
“I understand. As long as I know the rules, I’ II be happy to comply. This is my first time in a pack, and I have to say, it already feels more comfortable than the city ever did, even with your pack members surrounding me to assess my threat level.”
Jace smiles at him. “We have a lot of pups in this pack and our pack is like a family.
Why don’t you come inside and tell us a little bit about yourself, and we can give you the rules, a tour and find you a place to stay for the night, or as long as you’d like.”
“That would be great,” Desmond says.
Jace looks at me and Gianna. “Is this all of your things?”
“Yes,” Gianna says, looking at the truck. “My entire life is in that truck, or was while we were driving here,” she says, smiling at me.
Because I need to t*ouch her and because I can, I step up to her and k*iss her, for her sweetness and for making me constantly feel like the luckiest man alive.
When I pull back, Jordan is smiling at us. “Where do you want us to put it? We have storage and I know you’re still deciding where you want to live. Depending on how much you have, we can move it to your bedroom if you’d prefer.”
Gianna looks at me. “Ezekiel has some things that we need to bring here as well, at least for now. So, let’s put it into storage for the time being. I plan to talk to Alpha Jaxon while we’re here and see when he and Evangeline are planning to leave.”
“It will be soon, they had their twins over the weekend,” Jordan tells her.
“What? Is everyone okay?” she asks.
“Mom and babies are great. Jaxon is the proud poppa of another little boy and now a little girl.”
“Ohh, I’m so excited forthem. Is she still in the pack hospital?” Gianna asks.
“Yes, and I was just about to go see her. Want to join me?” Jordan asks.
“Absolutely,” Gianna says, turning to me.
“I’ll take Zeke. He’ll need to nurse again soon.”
“I’ll go with Alpha Jace and Desmond. I’ll see you later,” I say, leaning in to k*iss her again.
Jace and I watch for a moment as our mates walk away, arm in arm as they chat about everything that happened over the weekend.
Jace smiles at me before turning to Desmond. “Follow me,” he says.
I notice that some of the warriors casually follow behind us while others disperse.
Jace leads us to his office and gestures for us to sit in the seating area. “Can I get you anything? Have you had lunch?”
“No, I haven’t, and I need to send some food over to the pack hospital for Gianna,” I tell him.
“I’ll do it, Jordan hasn’t eaten either,” Jace says, and his eyes go unfocused as he orders food for everyone.
“I’m just going to be upfront and say that when we spoke about a pack, the thought of a mansion as a packhouse and offices like this never came to mind. This is way nicer than anything they had at the police station,” Desmond says.
“We’re still humans, we just have a shifter spirit. We don’t live like animals, but we very much prefer the forest to the city,” Jace tells him. “I’ve invited my in-laws to join us. Alpha Mason is the previous Alpha of this pack and his mate, Luna Jara is also an Alpha female. I understand from speaking with Gianna that your mother fled the packs?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I really don’t know much,” he says just as there is a knock on the door.
I stand as Alpha Mason and Luna Jara come in.
“Hello everyone. You must be Desmond. I’m Luna Jara,” she says after hugging Jace.
It’s strange, not a typical relationship for wolves to have. But Jace doesn’t seem surprised by the physical contact and Alpha Mason doesn’t either. I know some of Jace’ s story, and I know he was Mason’s Gamma for years, but I didn’t know that he was so close to the previous Alpha family. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised though. The family has taken Gianna in as if she’s been with them her whole life.
“I’ve ordered food, so maybe we should move to the table where we can spread out,” Jace says.
We just gotten settled when the food arrives. Once we’re all eating, Luna Jara begins.
“I’m the previous Luna of this pack and a council member, at least until tomorrow. Elections are being held tonight. The council is made up of representatives from several packs. We oversee the packs, providing guidance and if needed, sanctions for misbehavior. We make decisions about things that impact all the packs, but we don’
t get involved in individual pack dynamics unless there is reason to believe that the pack members are being mistreated,” Jara tells him.
“So, you act like the police but also the judge and jury for the packs,” Desmond says.
“That sounds about right,” Jara says.
“We understand that your mother came from the packs and then was murdered. We’d like to hear your story, or what you know of it. You’re our children’s age, so it’s likely that we either knew, or knew of, your mother,” Alpha Mason says.
Desmond tells him the same story that he told to me and Gianna.
“Your aunt isn’t a wolf?” Jara asks.
“She passed away, but no, she never said anything to me about being a wolf. She knew what I am and told me about being descended from werewolves. She never tried to keep me from being what I was, but living in the city isn’t exactly conducive to having a wolf. She gave me some supplements to keep me from shifting, so I’ ve never actually shifted into my wolf form. Since my aunt passed away and I no longer have those supplements, I’ve been feeling the pull to leave the city. Everything had become very uncomfortable until I arrived here and suddenly, everything inside me feels calm again.”
Luna Jara looks up at me then at Mason as Desmond talks.
“What kind of supplements did she use to keep you from shifting?” Mason asks him.
“Uh, I’m not sure. Blue rocket, I think it was called.”
The other four of us at the table all s*uck in air.
Desmond startles and looks at all of us. “What?”
“No wonder you never shifted. Blue rocket is another name for wolfsbane. I’m surprised that you even have heightened senses,” Jara tells him.
“How long did you take that?” Mason asks him.
“She started me on it when I was a kid. I think I started hearing things that others couldn’t and that’s when she started giving it to me, telling me, accurately I will add, that if I shifted in front of humans that they would have locked me up.”
Jara looks at Jace and he nods. “We’ll get Dr. Braxton here to do a full work up on you,” Jace says. “I don’t know if you’re wolf will recover after so long of being repressed, but we’ll see what he says.”