Harlan
As soon as the party ended, the alphas requested a meeting with Damien to talk about the current rebel situation. It was a sad thing, because at least ten of the twenty people present had parents who had joined the rebellion, and that was without counting Everest, Coraline, and Elowen's parents.
"Their forces are rallying," Coraline said, sitting next to her mate in the dining room.
"Weird things have been happening in our neighboring towns," Kyle, one of the American alphas, said. "Josh and I have been doing our best to keep track of them, but they always move between Canada and America." Selene, who usually liked to remind people from the US that America was a continent, not a country, seemed to be so focused and worried that she kept her mouth shut.
"What weird things?" Maya asked, and Harlan could burst with pride seeing her take charge like that.
"Sudden disappearances of young adults," Josh, Kyle's mate, said. "We have no idea why they take them, but they do."
Josh and Kyle were one of those couples that looked weirdly similar. They had the same dark brown eyes and black hair.
"That's weird. They should know how to keep their tracks covered," Blaze mused, blowing his hair out of his face.
"Unless they are growing more desperate," Ambrose said, and Violette nodded at that.
"But why would they mess with the humans?" Anna, the only other female alpha, said as she scratched the back of her exposed neck. She had a similar short haircut to the one Arden was currently sporting, but her hair was originally blonde.
"They are obviously planning something. They know something we don't," Elowen said. "And we better find out soon, or all of our lives will be at risk."
"We all have one thing in common. We want to protect the people that we love," Damien started. "So any news we get, we will tell all of you. We expect the same."
"Yes, alpha," everyone in the room said at the same time.
The reunion lasted a bit longer as they discussed tactics and other important business before they all returned to the rooms Selene had assigned them.
As soon as he and Maya arrived at their room, she spoke.
"Did you have fun?"
He smiled. "At the reunion?" She rolled her eyes, and he spoke again. "Yes, it was great."
She nodded. "I'm glad." Maya walked toward her jewelry box and took off all of her accessories without saying another word.
"Are you okay?" Harlan sensed there was something wrong with her, something that bothered her.
Maya sighed, weighing whether she should tell him or not as she sat on the bed.
He walked over and crouched between her legs, placing his hands on her knees. "Hey," he said softly. "What happened?"
She didn't really seem upset, just troubled.
"It's just.." She looked him in the eye. "Do wolves usually get married?"
Harlan stayed silent for a moment, processing what she meant. He eventually gave up and said, "Not usually." He paused. "Why?"
"But Selene and Damien did, right?" She was still not answering his question.
"Yes?" he said, confused.
She stayed silent for a moment and then said, "Could we?"
Harlan lowered his gaze. He never thought marrying someone was important, so he never considered it. But for her? He would die and fight the devil himself just to come back and see her smile.
"If it's important to you, of course," he said with a small smile.
She beamed, kissing him so hard he almost lost his balance. He guessed he should have thought about it sooner. She was human, after all. Those things meant as much to them as the mating ceremonies did to him.
He got up and spotted a slightly familiar box on the bed.
"Did you open it?"
Maya looked at him, not knowing exactly what he meant. He jerked his chin at the box and she turned around.
"Is that Violette's gift?"
"It certainly still smells like her," he said as Maya grabbed it and placed it on her lap.
"What do you think it is?" Maya said, undoing the black lace bow that held it together.
"Knowing her, something fun," he said with a smirk.
Maya rolled her eyes and opened the box, revealing black leather handcuffs.
"Yikes," she said, examining them closely.
Harlan smiled even brighter. He would have so much fun with those.
"Have you ever used toys before?" he asked, hoping the answer would be no. The mere thought of her with someone else got him so riled up he needed to take a breath.
She blushed. "I did date a pink vibrator for quite some time," she admitted with a laugh.
Fuck. Seeing her pleasuring herself with a vibrator would be a sight to remember.
"What are you thinking about, you perv?" she giggled.
She was so cute and hot at the same time.. It was annoying because he didn't know whether to fuck her until her legs went numb or kiss her and cuddle.