The Claiming by Cooper Book 6 (Ezekiel & Gianna) Chapter 381

The Claiming by Cooper Book 6

The Gamma Tournament by Cooper (Ezekiel & Gianna)

Chapter 16 Gianna

The morning after the vote, Ezekiel and I head outside for training after dropping Zeke off with Grandma Nina.

I know Ezekiel’s not going to work me h*ard. He’s worried about my pregnancy. But honestly, my first pregnancy was easy and so far, this one is too.

Desmond comes walking out as does Bailey. Levi and Emily, however, are nowhere to be found.

Join Our Telegram Group for Update Notification and Novel Query

“Do we wait for them?” I ask Ezekiel.

He tugs me closer to him. “It hasn’t been that long since I marked you, love. Do you remember wanting to get out of bed the morning after I marked you?” he asks, growling softly.

“I never wanted to get out of bed again,” I say, wrapping my arms around him.

He presses his forehead to mine, closing his eyes for a moment.

“Okay, let’s get started,” he says, k*issing me quickly.

He puts me and Bailey together as expected. He shows us what he wants us to practice, making sure that we are set to practice properly, and that Bailey isn’t going to hurt our daughter, then he turns to train Desmond.

I’m watching them out of the corner of my eye and not paying attention to my own sparring match.

“Gianna?” Bailey asks.

“Sorry, I wanted to see how Desmond did,” I say, knowing that Bailey really wants to learn to spar.

“Oh good, I wanted to see too,” she says, and we both stop to watch Desmond and Ezekiel.

I smile, watching my mate. His b*ody is poetry in motion, his muscles bunching and contracting with his movements. Because I know my mate, I know that he’s holding back.

He holds his h*and up to Desmond and turns to us, raising an eyebrow.

“Gianna?”

I bite my lower l*ip, feeling the need to claim my mate right now in front of everyone.

My mate shakes his head, then comes over to me, taking my head in his h*and and k*issing me deeply, his t*ongue dominating my m*outh until I feel weak.

When he pulls away, he looks at me, his eyes dark.

“Stop distracting me,” he says, smacking my a*ss h*ard and stepping back.

He turns to walk away, but damn, even that a*ss smack has me wanting him.

He turns back and looks at me, growling again.

“Gianna, you wanted to learn to spar,” he says.

I shake the wayward thoughts out of my head, mostly.

“Yes,” I say, turning back to Bailey.

I can see that our intimacy makes her uncomfortable.

“Sorry,” I say.

“Don’t ever be sorry for making a man k*iss you like that. I hope someday that I’ll have one that k*isses me like that, or at last looks at me the way he looks at you. At the risk of sounding whiney, I’ve become the fifth wheel,” she says.

“Au contraire,” Desmond says, as he takes his stand against Ezekiel again. “You can’t be the fifth wheel when I’m here too. You and I…”

He ducks Ezekiel’s punch, “…are the unlucky ones, who don’t have a mate,” he says before he focuses solely on my mate’s attack.

“You haven’t been here long enough to have found a mate,” Ezekiel says to him. “And your wolf isn’t strong enough yet to know if you’ve found her.”

We watch them a bit longer, before we begin to spar each other. When we’re nearly done, Levi and Emily come strolling out, h*and in h*and.

“We weren’t expecting you,” Ezekiel says, smiling at his friend.

Emily is blushing, but I look at her expectantly. She pulls the collar of her shirt aside and I can see Levi’s mark on her n*eck.

Ezekiel throws his head back and howls, the pack answering him, and even I throw my head back and howl, feeling happy for my friend. Then I pull her into a hug before releasing her to Bailey.

“So, how’d you do?” Levi asks Desmond.

“I had my a*ss handed to me,” he says, and Levi looks at Ezekiel.

“Half strength,” he says and Levi nods.

“Half? You mean you didn’t come at me full strength?” Desmond asks, shocked.

“You couldn’t have handled it,” Ezekiel says.

Levi k*isses Emily then turns to Desmond. “Come on, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Ezekiel turns to me. “Teach Emily what you learned today,” he says before following Levi and Desmond.

It’s easier for me to help her with her form than to really show her as I’m limited in my twisting movements. Bailey, however, helps Emily and she catches on quickly, the two of them able to spar each other more strongly than I was able to.

While we’re practicing, our new Beta,

Gabriella, comes out and walks over to say hi and check on us. Ezekiel and I have already met her, but she introduces herself to Bailey and Emily, and turns to watch Levi and Desmond spar.

“How are you adjusting to your new pack, Beta?” I ask her.

“I love it here. It’s awesome, and of course, Victor is here, so that makes it perfect,” she says looking at Emily.

“Emily, show Beta Gabriella your mate mark,” I say.

Emily turns, smiling her huge smile and shows Gabriella her mate mark.

“Congratulations! Have you given any thought to where you and Levi will live now?

I mean, we have an incredible pack here and I’m sure Alphas Jordan and Jace would be happy to have you stay here, but perhaps you and Levi would like an adventure?” she asks.

“Honestly, I’ve had enough of an adventure to last me a lifetime,” Emily says.

“That was a nightmare, not an adventure,” Bailey says.

“True, but Levi is here. Nothing has ever felt so much like home before and I know it’s all because of him,” she says.

Levi, whether he heard her, or felt her emotions, stops and turns to look at her. Desmond, who didn’t realize they were stopping, continues with his punch, unable to pull it. Levi, however, blocks it, his eyes never leaving Emily’s.

“Damn,” Bailey says.

“Yeah, our mates are incredible,” I say, looking at Ezekiel, who is focused on me.

“Mmm, mates are incredible,” Gabriella says. “What about you, Bailey? Have you given any thought to your future plans?”

“I don’t know. I know I don’t want to go home. Everyone will want to talk to me about what happened, and I don’t want to talk about it. There are so many things about what happened that were awful. For now, if it’s okay, I’d just like to stay here. And then when Gianna leaves for the other pack, I’d like to go with her,” she says.

“We’re happy to have you as long as you’d like to stay. I understand wanting to be with someone that you feel close to and trust. If there is anything that I can do for any of you while you’re here, please don’t hesitate to let me know,” she says, before saying goodbye and moving on.

“Alpha Jordan did a great job in choosing her,” Bailey says as she walks away.

“You know she can hear you, right,” I ask her.

“Good. She deserves to know that she’s doing a good job,” Bailey says, and Gabriella turns and smiles, waving before she walks back into the packhouse.

“Oh, you weren’t kidding,” Bailey says.

“Nope.”

For the next couple of weeks, Ezekiel and Levi continue to train Desmond. Even I can see that he gets stronger every day. Because I can’t do much other than walk, Desmond and I go on long walks every day as part of our strengthening activities. Bailey joins us, hoping to also get stronger.

Most days, Ezekiel shifts and runs nearby before coming to walk with us. I absolutely love stroking his fur and feeling him purr as we walk.

Levi usually shifts and takes Emily for a run on his back before meeting up with us and then walking along side us. Over the two weeks before we leave, we all begin to bond and grow closer.

“I’m excited that we’re all going to go to Alpha Jaxon’s pack together,” Desmond says. “Maybe something rustic and new is exactly what I need.”

“How long do you have before you have to resign or return to the city?” Levi asks him. “Two more weeks, but I’m already pretty sure I’m going to resign. I feel stronger every day. I feel happy out here, unlike how I feel in the city. I’ll probably put my aunt’s house up for sale or maybe rent it out, but I’ II need to clean it out first. I have time, I don’ t need to figure that part out right away,” Desmond says.

“Well, you’ll have two weeks in the wilderness to decide if the rustic life is meant for you,” I say to him. “I know, for me, I’m excited to hopefully learn more about my mother, or at least see where she spent her last couple of years,” I say.

Ezekiel wraps her arms around me from behind. “I hope you find your answers, my love.”

I shrug, leaning into him. “Even if I don’t, I’ve gained so much just by being here. I can only imagine how much I will gain by being in the pack that my mother lived in when she had me.”

Desmond rubs his hands together. “Tomorrow’s the big day. Is everyone ready to start our new adventure?”

“Yeah, let’s let the rest of our lives begin!” Emily says, looking up at her mate.

The look on her face is similar to the one on mine as I look up at my mate, thinking about our incredible future together.