The Secrets of the Panther
Chapter 159

BLAKE

THREE WEEKS LATER

(Part one)

I stared out of the office window and watched as my pack members came together to finish the final decoration detail for Izzy and my Alpha and Luna ceremony tomorrow.

My mother and Kat have been working hard to get everything together for this big day. After the announcement, all pack members wanted to help and even went above and beyond to help with getting everything ready for tomorrow.

I watched as a she-wolf was having trouble placing some binding up onto a tree and nearly fell off the ladder. A vampire held the ladder in place as the she-wolf got her bearings. When she looked down, she smiled at the vampire. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight before me.

The vampires have been a significant asset since they moved in here. It took the pack members a few days to get used to having them around, but after introducing everyone together in the grand hall for everyone who had concerns to air them out to one another. A few people needed answers and even had the vampires swear they would never turn on us, and they were happy to take an oath from Elder Tilly. Everything fell into place after a week.

The children were alright with the few vampire children, and one has even taken a shine to Allie.

Allie and Archer are still inseparable, but now their duo has become three. Ashley is the lead vampire’s daughter, and she is very close to both children.

I glanced to the field where I could see Allie, Archer and Ashley running around, chasing one another. I looked around and noticed that they were with Kacey and Charley. I looked around, wondering where the hell Izzy was.

The thought of Izzy woke Axel up from his loud snoring nap, and he looked through my eyes.

“Mate, not there,” he says with a yawn.

“No,” I said to him and glanced back at him. “You know, you sound like a train in my head with your snoring.”

Axel glares at me. “I don’t snore human,” he says grumpily. He huffs out, but another yawn escapes him. I know how he feels; we both haven’t been sleeping well.

Izzy’s emotions are everywhere, and when I mean everywhere, I mean they are all over the place. They are causing motion sickness in my stomach and head, if possible. I can feel everything through the mate bond, making me nauseous just thinking about it. Izzy’s emotions are intense, her moods change rapidly, and not only that, I feel like I am on one hell of a rollercoaster.

“We need to replace mate,” says Axel, pulling me from my thoughts.

I looked around but glanced at Kacey. I opened a mind link to her. “Where’s Izzy?” I asked.

“No good morning,” she says in a sarcastic tone and sighs. I stared at her as a smirk formed on her face. I can’t help but grunt. “Kacey,” I said.

Kacey laughs in my head, “alright, alright,” she says and turns to look toward the office window. “Izzy needed a laydown; she was tired.”

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked. “I have to see her.”

“Blake,” Kacey says. “You both agreed to have this day to yourselves. You need to finish your meeting with Tilly and the Red Moon Pack while Izzy can relax. She also has a few things to sort out with Kat and Luna Lauren for tomorrow’s ceremony.”

I huffed.

Izzy and I agreed to have the day before the ceremony to finish anything that needed to be completed. We planned on having a few days after the ceremony at a cabin with Allie. We will leave straight after the ceremony.

Izzy was planning on finishing the last paperwork, which she did at five this morning. I only found that out when I came into the office this morning. Izzy had left a note telling me she needed to get started on other things. It was a weird feeling on her side of the bed, being cold.

Izzy’s sleep patterns are everywhere, or she wasn’t sleeping. I was getting concerned.

“Blake,” shouts Kacey through the mind link. “She’s ok; she needs some sleep.”

I sighed. “I know. She hasn’t been sleeping much lately, and I’m worried about her.”

Kacey stays quiet for a moment but sighs. “Blake, Izzy has been busy replaceing that bear shifter, and also others as well. Your dad told you what she has been doing for the mates who had to reject theirs when the Elder was here,” she says.

I couldn’t help but feel the anger in my body come to life, as everything that Izzy told me when we were in bed, how my father had to notify the Elder of anyone who had mates who weren’t werewolves. He would arrive, and they would make them reject their mates.

Some of the mates were found, but there were some tales even my father couldn’t stomach.

Izzy made it her life’s purpose to help those who were made to reject the ones they were fated to. I couldn’t help but feel proud and worried about my mate at the same time.

I have spoken to her about it, but she keeps brushing it off. All she had to say the last time we talked about it was that it could have been us. I know what she meant; in all fairness, it probably would have happened if she didn’t come into the office to face the Elder, who had taken over my father.

The office phone rang out, pulling me away from my thoughts. “I have to go,” I said to Kacey, closing down the mind link to her. I walked over to the desk and picked up the phone while taking my seat.

“Alpha Blake speaking,” I said as I placed the receiver to my ear. “Ah, Alpha Blake,” says Tilly.

I couldn’t help but smile. Tilly has been helping with both packs, getting us back on track, and has even made some headway on making sure no Elder will never interfere in our packs again.

“Elder Tilly,” I said. “I know we have a meeting scheduled today,” I said, but Tilly cut me off. “Nope, we haven’t got a meeting today. I wanted to speak to you as a friend and ask how you are doing?”

I stared ahead and smiled.

“I’m doing great,” I said. “Why do you ask?”

Tilly gives a slight laugh but sighs. “I’m just asking, as tomorrow is a big day for you and Izzy. I wanted to ensure my friends were ok and looking after themselves.”

“We’re doing ok; we have been doing the final details on the ceremony and making sure that there is no paperwork or any other business left before we go away for a few days with Allie,” I said as I glanced at a photo on my desk which makes me smile every time I look at it.

The photo is of Izzy and me with Allie. It was a photo that Kat took of us after the announcement. She snapped it on her phone. Allie was on the slide, and Izzy and I were on either side. Allie’s face in the photograph has her smiling with her eyes shut as she is halfway down the slide. But the look on Izzy’s face as she stares at me has my heart beating faster.

“Blake,” calls Tilly. “Are you still there?”

I shook my head, trying to get my head from my ass. “I’m still here; I went somewhere else then,” I said. I never lie to Tilly.

“What were you thinking about?” she asked.

I sighed. “My stomach is in knots, but it’s not for becoming alpha. I just… I don’t know,” I say to her. “I feel something, but I don’t know whether it’s my emotions I’m feeling or Izzy’s.”

Tilly stays quiet for a moment but sighs. “It might be a bit of both. You know you have made a name for yourself already,” she says. “Many elders here were amazed at what you are doing, taking in different shifters to be with their chosen mates. I had to get rid of two, as they believed in Elder Johnson’s belief in only mating with your own kind.” I couldn’t help but growl.

“What did you do with them?” I asked her.

“I sent them packing, and they were demoted to lower-ranking now as well.” I don’t know whether to agree with their punishment, but the Elders seem to think they can rule over their own kind.

“Blake, I got word from the Alpha school about sending Allie there when she’s sixteen,” she says. “The headmaster, Dean Boland, is an ass, but he is fair. He will happily accept Allie when she turns of age.” I couldn’t help but smile. I have been asking Tilly to prepare and place stuff in place for Allie when she is ready.

Axel was staring at me with a big, toothy grin plastered on his face. “Allie will make a powerful alpha,” he says quietly. I couldn’t help but agree with him. Whether she has her power back or not, Allie will train with the rest of the pack when she is older. I want her to know how to fight and also beware of people who are out to hurt her.

“Headmaster Dean is still there,” I asked. I remember having him when I was there. “When does he plan to retire?”

Tilly groans. “Well, we set a package for him when he is ready to retire. But he would like to train the new alpha himself,” she says. “But because of his old age, I have another person lined up in case he changes his mind.”

“Who is he?” I asked. “I will want him vetted.”

Tilly laughed. “I know, and we will come to that bridge when it comes to it.”

Tilly and I talked about a few other things with the pack. “Red Moon is thriving, and all members, including the rogues, have come a long way in three weeks. Drake is still working on helping the members more and even has set up an orphanage and school for the children too,” she says, sounding impressed.

Drake and Alpha Dawson have been making loads of headway with the Red Moon pack, and as Tilly mentioned, they are thriving well. Drake gives me weekly updates about the pack, and they have taken in a cat shifter and dragon too. They have their doors open for all, including vampires. The pack has come to terms with everything slowly, but they want to make the Red Moon a success.

“So, what are your plans now, Blake?” Tilly asks. I couldn’t help but sigh. “Well, Izzy and I are taking this whole Alpha and Luna ceremony like a wedding. We are sleeping in separate rooms, and we will see each other in the morning at the ceremony,” I said.

My heart tightens. I’m excited to have Izzy as my Luna and officially tomorrow, but this whole not having her with me will be hard. Axel and I need her scent to calm down.

“How do you feel about being away from Izzy?” asks Tilly.

“It is weird to think I wouldn’t be with her, but I know it’s only for one night,” I said.

Tilly laughs.

“Well, I will best let you go,” she says. “I will be there first thing in the morning.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Tilly was coming and also would bring a few people from her Elder pack to witness the whole thing.

Tilly and I said our goodbyes and I placed the phone down.

As the phone was out of my hand, the office door opened, and in walked Paul and Dale. “What’s going on?” I asked them. They both had big smirks on their faces. “Well, it is now officially time to have a few drinks,” says Dale. “We need to celebrate, and what better way than to have a few drinks with the soon-to-be alpha.”

I groaned.

All I wanted to do was see Izzy and Allie before I went into the bedroom.

“Do we…” I say, but the guys laugh. “You sound like an old man if you say you don’t want to go out. Look, Alice told me that Izzy would have a few drinks with the girls as well while we were out. We can have a few, and even if Dale and I have to stay in your room, we will make sure you’ll be alright,” says Paul with a grin on his face.

Axel laughs, “you need a babysitter,” he says, rolling around in my head.

“I agree to go out, but I will state that no one will put me to bed,” I said.

Dale and Paul smirked. I hate drinking; I either had little or drank a lot.

God help me, I thought. I nodded and switched everything off. I needed to lock the office up, and with the help of Paul and Dale, I got everything locked up.

We left the office and headed to the front door, where Kacey was waiting. “I thought you would be with Izzy,” I asked her. Dale and Paul were walking ahead of us, whispering, which wasn’t good.

“I was planning to, but I thought I spend some of my evening with my best friend first,” she said as she wrapped her arm around me.

I hug her, and we follow the two in front, who kept looking at me.

“Do you think they have something planned?” I asked, without looking at her.

“Oh, you know what they are like,” she says with a smirk.

I looked at her, but her eyes were glued to her brother and Paul.

That’s what I was afraid of. Paul and Dale always planned something outrageous, and it always ended with me being in the worst state.