The One 71
Chapter 71: Ezra
Hunter
I don’t like my mate being away from me, especially when she’s in a room with an agitated wolf who
just found his mates….two, two mates. I know how strong my pull was to Sophie. I can’t imagine
what the pull would feel like if Soph was a twin and there were two of them. His wolf must be nearly
out of his mind.
After checking on Nikki, I see Penny, standing in the doorway with bags on her shoulders and in her
hands, looking around wide-eyed.
“Penny. Oh my goddess, did Dutton just leave you?” I ask, rushing up and grabbing her bags.
“Yeah, sounded like he found his mate,” she says, looking around the room.
“He did. Mates, actually, they’re twins.”
“Oh, well, um…where are they?” she asks. I watch as her eyes focus on Nikki and Robin who are
dancing in the room, but the music hasn’t started back up yet. I’m just about to reach out to Kinsley
when the music begins again. I look across the room and see that she is taking control of
everything.
‘Thank you. Penny is here. I’ll take her to her room,’ I say to Kinsley.
‘Is our Luna okay?” she asks.
Chapter 71; Ezra
288 Vouche
‘Not sure. I’ll check on her when I get back.”
She begins walking toward me. “Why don’t I take Penny to her room. I was watching over the twins,
but I don’t have to do that now. You cane with me Penny, and when we get back you can help
me keep this party going,” she says, smiling at Penny.
For whatever reason, it seems to put Penny at ease, so I thank Kinsley and turn.
“What else needs to happen?” I ask.
“Just keep the party going until I get back.” She looks over her shoulder at Nikki and Robin, deep in
conversation. “I think that mate bond will be a good one.”
“I agree,” I say, watching the imperturbable Nikki blushing in Robin’s arms.
When I see an omega putting arge amount of food together, I walk up, asking who it’s for.
“Luna asked me to bring food for three,” he says.
“Make it four, your Luna forgets that she needs to eat, and I’ll take it to them.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
I help them put the food on a cart and then I follow my mate’s scent to an office space where I hear
the m**d sounds of crying. I knock softly on the door before opening it, my mate walking over to me.
“How is it going?” I ask.
She opens the door a bit wider so I can see Dutton on the floor, a twin in each arm as they cry
against his shoulder. He’s cooing at them, trying to soothe them.
“What happened?” I ask.
“He asked how they got here. They’ve already told him more than they told us,” she says. I nod.
The mate bond is a very powerful thing.
“You let me down, Sophie Reynolds,” I say.
Her head whips around to me and her eyes looking horrified. “What? How?”
“You ordered food for three, when you should have ordered food for four, or better yet, food for five.
Lucky for you, your mate adores you beyond anything else in this world and rectified that,” I say,
smiling at her and stroking her cheek so she knows I was joking.
“I was hoping toe eat with my mate, but I think I should stay a hit longer. They’re doing pretty
well on their own, but the twins are skittish.”
“Dutton and Orion and under control?” I ask.
“Yes. They’re his mates, Hunter. He loves them and wants them to be happy. I think now that you
gave him a moment to think, he’ll be fine. How are Nikki and Robin?”
I smile. “Exactly as we expected.”
She leans in and kisses me. “I love you, my mate.”
“Not nearly as much as I love you” I say, giving her a soft, but
deep kiss.
“Is this anotherpetition, Alpha?” she asks, smiling.
1288 Vouchers
“Nope, I already won,” I say, making herugh. Dutton’s head snaps up, looking over at us. I nod at
him, pushing the cart into the room and peck my mate on the lips again before leaving. Sophie’s
right, Dutton seems to have this under control. If he didn’t, he would have growled at having another
male that close to his mates, even a mated one.
I head back into the party, searching for anyone who looks out of ce. My eyesnd on Ezra who
is standing off to the side, alone, watching everything. As I watch, he follows Penny, who is no
longer with Kinsley, to the bar. I follow behind, wanting to make sure that Penny is okay.
“I’m underage!” I hear Penny say, her eyes wide and the scent of her fear permeating the area
around her.
“That’s an interesting name, I’munderage. Where does a name like that generate from?” I hear Ezra
ask casually.
“Penny, this is Alpha Ezra. He’s a friend of mine. Ezra, this is Penny. She was on the run with
Sophie just before I found her,” I say, walking up.
“Penny, that’s a much more normal name. It’s nice to meet you,” Ezra says.
Her eyes track from him to me and back again.
“Uh, hi. Uhhh, hi, Alpha, it’s nice to meet you,” she says, getting a hold of her fear.
Chapter 71: Ezra
288 Vouchers
Ezra sniffs the air. “G**a?”
“Yes,” she says, nodding.
“Do you mind if I ask where you’re from?” he asks her as the omega bartenderes to take their
drink order. Ezra orders a bourbon, which I knew he would, so I made sure to have his favorite on
hand. I order one as well and Penny orders a ss of wine.
“I’m from out west. Sophie and I took a train to get back here,” she says, rxing a bit in my
presence.
Ezra tilts his head. “You were on the run, and you took a train? How did you have the money for
that?”
“Well…” she begins, looking around as if she’s afraid to give away the secrets of the she-wolves on
the run.
“Ezra isn’t an Alpha who hunts she-wolves,” I say.
“No. I found my mate a long time ago,” he says sadly.
“Oh, is she here?” Penny asks.
“No. She was one of those who took her life,” he says, shooting his entire drink. “Excuse me,” he
says, walking away.
“I didn’t know,” she says, watching him.
“I know. She was my sister,” I say watching Ezra. He looks lost, sad, miserable.
“I’m sorry,” she says
“It’s okay. He’s never gotten over losing her and his daughter,” I
Chapter 71-Ezra
288 Vouchersi
say, shooting my own drink and heading toward Ezra.
‘Lucas, can you and Kinsley keep an eye on things here?’
‘Of course. What’s up?’
‘Ezra needs a break. I’ll be in my office. Sophie is still with Dutton and the twins, but things seem to
be moving okay there and-Nikki and Robin seem fine. If that changes, let me know.’
‘Yes, Alpha.’
“Why don’t youe with me?” I say, putting a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. I can see the grief in his
eyes as the memories return.
He nods and I lead him away from the party, to the quieter part of the packhouse. On the way, I grab
a bottle of the bourbon that I bought for him, and we go to my office. When we get there, I pour both
of us a drink and gesture for him to sit.
“I can’t sit. I can’t…. It’s so different tonight. What you’ve done here, is so different than how it was
when Diana turned 18.”
His eyes ze over with the memory of my sister. “She was so beautiful that night. Well, she was
beautiful every night, but that night, the first night I recognized her as my mate, she was utterlyThis content is ? N?velDrama.Org.
gorgeous. I had to hold Thorin back from marking her right there. He wanted every f**g male in that
room to know she was ours.”
He shakes his head and clenches his teeth as his eyes fill with tears. “I tried. I tried to make it as
easy for her as I could. But… when you’re in the middle all the chanting, all the feverish energy, you
just want to get her away from it all, and you rush it. A woman should never be rushed her first time,
or anytime, but
Chapter 71 Ezra
288 Vouchers
definitely not the first time. We never had a chance after that. She gave herself to me, eventually,
but it was never like what you have with your mate, not like what I’m seeing between Robin and
Nikki. If I could go back in time…”
He shakes his head again, putting his drink down and scrubbing his face in his hands. “We should
have all fought sooner. We should have all stood up for our mates. You were right, in themittee
meeting. You were absolutely right that we should all be acting like the f**g Alphas that we are, not
blindly following aw that’s been outdated for much too long.”
“I’m petitioning to have thew changed. Kayce looked it over when he was here and I was hoping
to get you, Robin, and
utton to look it over too.”
He nods. “I’d be happy to.”
He stares at the floor a moment and I wait.
“You did what we all should have done. You had the courage to stand up for what we all should
have stood for. If I had done that….” his voice c**ks. I want to offer sce, but I know there isn’t
any.
He looks up at me. “I’ll definitely stand beside you. It’s toote for me. But I’ll stand for the others
who deserve better. I’ll do it for them, and I’ll do it for Diana.”