** Donovan POV **
After they had arrived in the territory, Donovan did a quick patrol around the area before entering the main pack area through the back door. He knew Avalynn had closed everything down after showing the Captain to her room.
"Can you ask our Luna if Sabelina is alright?" Nolan asked as Donovan locked the back door.
"I haven't spoken to her since yesterday," Nolan added.
"I will ask her," Donovan promised.
Donovan knew if he didn't ask, Nolan wouldn't leave him alone. A small anticipation grew in his chest when he felt the Captain's presence grow as he walked toward his room. He should have known that Avalynn would put her in his room. The Captain's scent was all over the place and growing stronger. He was standing in front of his door when he heard a familiar voice.
"Donovan, do you have a minute?"
Donovan turned his head and saw Victoria at the end of the hallway, walking toward him.
"What are you doing here?" Donovan asked, looking behind her. "No one is supposed to be here after hours."
"I thought you'd make an exception for me," Victora replied. "I really need to speak to you."
"Tomorrow," Donovan said, dismissing her. "I want to rest. It was a long trip."
"Please," Victoria said, pouting. "It's important."
"Tomorrow," Donovan growled impatiently. "Get out."
Victoria flinched and hurried away. Donovan stared at her back until he could no longer sense her.
"I can't stand her," Nolan stated. "I had been tolerating her, but now I don't stand her being so close."
Donovan didn't comment; he, too, had felt some disgust when she approached. Donovan entered his bedroom and took off his shirt. He felt like Victoria's scent had clung to him. As Donovan's thoughts were occupied with taking a shower as soon as possible, he failed to notice the perfect body of his mate bumping into him.
Donovan let out a low, amused grunt. His eyes, dark and heavy-lidded, met hers.
"Enjoyed the shower?" he asked, fighting a blush.
"Yes," Keira admitted. "I'm sure there's hot water left if you want to shower."
Keira took a step back and rearranged her wet hair behind her shoulder.
Donovan shook his head. "I'll shower at the gym. I just came to grab a change of clothes."
'There is no way I can keep Keira from finding out that Victoria was just here,' Donovan thought, taking a step back. He wasn't in the mood to deal with a potential jealous mate.
'There's no need for our mate to feel jealous,' Nolan growled. 'We're not chasing after Victoria. We're not cheating, so we don't need to hide.'
After turning down her invitation to stay the night, Donovan grabbed a change of clothes and headed to his office. He had a cot there.
*
The next morning, Donovan woke, his back aching. The cot he had put together in his office was not comfortable, and it was too small for him to sleep comfortably.
"We should have lain with our mate," Nolan growled.
Donovan stood and stretched, his back popping. Nolan was right; he should have just taken her up on her offer.
"Tonight, we're sleeping together," Nolan stated, leaving no room for arguments. "I'm not suffering because of you. Might I remind you that you need to ask our mate how Sabelina is doing? I haven't spoken to her."
"Yes, I'll talk to her," Donovan said.
"Donovan," Marcus called out from the other side of the office door. "Are you up?"
"Yes," he muttered loud enough for Marcus to hear.
"How was your sleep?" Marcus greeted as he entered the office.
Donovan growled at him without any real menace.
"Patrick has requested a meeting," Marcus began, glancing behind him. "News of our Luna has reached everyone."
Donovan took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair.
'Of course they did,' he thought.
"Give me a few minutes," Donovan said. "Take him to the conference room."
Donovan used the bathroom located by his office to quickly change and get ready.
*
"Alpha," Patrick greeted as Donovan entered the conference room. "Thank you for seeing me so early."
Donovan took his seat.
"The pack is restless," Patrick continued, taking a seat as well. "Some of the pack are willing to stay a bit longer before splitting off since the Luna arrived, but that won't last long."
"That's what I heard as well," Marcus said, speaking up. "They're not looking for an immediate solution, but they are looking for improvements."
"Besides the housing issue, is there anything else?" Donovan asked, leaning back in his chair.
"No," Patrick replied. "The biggest challenge we are facing is the lack of housing for the pack members, which comes with the lack of finances."
"There's more going on with the finances than we first thought," Donovan commented.
"This afternoon, I want to meet with each department at the pack house," he continued. "I'm sure you've all heard that Captain Grace is the pack's Luna. She-"
"Will she be taking on more responsibility?" interjected Avalynn, walking into the conference room. "We need someone to help get this pack back on its feet."
Donovan pointed to an empty chair for the priestess to sit.
"We have several pack members who are ready to leave the pack due to the lack of housing," Avalynn reminded him. "The news of having a new Luna has spread, and the mood overall has been lifted. They need to see more of her around the compound. She needs to have more responsibility than the blondie."
Everyone in the room knew what Avalynn meant by 'the blondie'. Both Patrick and Marcus were nodding their heads in agreement. Donovan couldn't argue with what Avalynn was saying. He could feel everyone's mood lift as soon as they arrived with the Captain...er Keira. His plan of keeping her away was not going well. But he knew he needed the Captain around to help keep his pack from leaving.
"The Captain and I have several things we need to discuss before she takes on full responsibility," Donovan replied. "We didn't get a chance to discuss her role in the pack while we were at the castle."
Avalynn looked displeased with the news but otherwise didn't comment.
"Also," Donovan began, not knowing how to bring up the situation with Victoria. "Remind everyone that the packhouse is off limits after hours. There are only a few authorized wolves who are allowed."
"The blondie was hiding inside the building after I took the Luna to her room," Avalynn stated. "She's never listened to me. I figured you would send her on her way."
"I did," Donovan said.
"I had my mate help move Victoria to one of the hotel rooms," Patrick added nervously. "We don't have any housing available for a mateless wolf. We're prioritizing the families."
"We'll come up with a better plan this afternoon," Donovan sighed. "The Cap...Keira will be joining us as well."
"I'll let everyone know," Marcus said, standing.
Patrick and Marcus left. Avalynn waited behind.
"What is it?" Donovan asked, wondering why the priest had stayed behind.
"Is our Luna leaving the pack?" she asked.
Donovan hesitated, unsure how to answer. "She always planned on leaving. Her cousin was killed, and I'm sure she wants to find out who did it."
"If I help her find the person responsible, would she still leave?" Avalynn asked cryptically.
"If the murder gets solved, I think she might consider staying," Donovan admitted.
Avalynn nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Avalynn excused herself and left.
"If our mate gets pregnant with our pups, she will also stay," Nolan reminded him.
"You just want to have sex," Donovan muttered.
"I want her to stay with us," Nolan rebutted. "Having our pups is the contingency plan in case the first plan doesn't work."
Donovan didn't comment and headed to the bedroom. Even though he had a lot of things to do, he wanted to take a quick nap.