The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 100: Convincing Margot Ezra

"Margot, may | have a word with you?" | ask, walking up to her, Beta Kinsley, and Luna Sophie.

I've never considered myself easily in midated, but Robin and Kayce are on to something. Intelligent, empowered

women emit. a strength I'm not used to seeing or feeling. Put them together in a group, like now, and it's

intimidating, even for an Alpha like

me.

Three pairs of eyes turn to look at me, one assessing, one questioning, one defiant. Guess which one is defiant.

"Go ahead," she says, and | look at the other two.

"| thought perhaps we could speak privately. But if you would prefer to have this conversation in front of your

friends..."

She stands. I've obviously called her bluff. Oh, this woman is challenging. She's getting her wings back and

rather than just trying to fly, she's continually flapping them in my face..

But I'm an Alpha and | love a good challenge. Whether she means to or not, she's only making my desire for her

stronger.

"I'll be back in a moment,” she says to Beta Kinsley and Luna Sophie, breezing past me.

| watch both women's lips twitch before | turn and follow my mate out into the hallway.

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When she's found the spot where she wants to talk, she spins. around, her chin high and her hands clasped in

front of her.

"What can | do for you, Alpha Ezra?" She continually uses my title to keep distance between us, even though I've

asked her to callEzra.

Rather than answer, | take a moment to assess her. Sparring with her has giventto see how her body

moves, when it's sore and when it's not. Right now, she's standing just off center, meaning either

her leg or her hip is bothering her. She also rolled one shoulder when she clasped her hands, so I'd guess the

shoulder that she fell on during our session today is still sore as well.

The longer | look her over, the tighter her lips press together and the brighter the pink stain in her cheeks

becomes.

"Did you just want to ogle me, Alpha Ezra? You could do that from afar," she snaps at me.

"Where's the fun in that?" | ask, responding to her snark before | could catch myself. Her eyes flash to mine and

she takes a step to leave.

"Wait. That was uncalled for. Your constant challenges ofhaveon edge, Luna."

"How many times do | have to tell you that I'm not a Luna."

"You're my mate, that makes you a Luna."

"What do you want?"

"lI wanted to know if you want to go withto Alpha Owen's old

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pack. My G***a is there, and I'd like to check on things since I'm staying here longer than | anticipated."

"You could leave," she says, once again challenging me. This time, | haveand Thorin under control. But that

doesn't mean that | won't challenge her as much as she's challenging me. "You could cwith me."

"No."

"Then I'm staying. As | was saying, I'm going to Owen's old pack to check on things and see if there is anything |

need to address. There are a lot of women and children there who lost their mates and | want to make sure we're

doing everything we can to help them. | also want to make sure that the remaining warriors who challenged

Hunter aren't considering an insurrection against my G**a."

As I've spoken, her posture has relaxed, and now that it is, | can see her subtly shifting her weight to relieve

sof the strain on her sore muscles. "Why do you wantto go?" she asks.

"A couple of reasons. First, | hate the idea of leaving you, event for a few hours. Thorin won't givea

moment's peace while we're gone which will make the trip that much harder for me, Second, it will give you a

chance to let Reyna run. We can go at her pace and let you stretch out those sore muscles. Third, | could use a

Luna's eye and assistance. Those women will probably respond better to you than to me. | want them to know

that they are safe and they're more likely to talk to you about their concerns than they are talk to me."

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| can see her struggle to answer. | know she wants to say no, but the running part of the deal has her hesitating

as | knew it would. I also think the thought of helping other women is intriguing to her. "I will say, | can't

guarantee your safety. | will protect you with my life if someone attacks us, but if Joshua comes while we're out

in no man's land, it will be a risk for you. Hunter mentioned a place in the mountain..."

"But | don't want

"I know where it is," she says, looking dow you dying for me, Ezra. My life will be too short to waste yours on,"

she says quietly, makinggrowl! angrily.

Before | can stop myself, | have her against the wall, my body pressed against hers. "You are NOT going to die."

She looks up at me, resignation on her face. "I am. I've cto terms with that, Ezra. You need to as well. You

need to letreject you. You won't carry my mark, but my death will still impact you and on the battlefield, that

could mean the

difference between life and death. You have a pack that relies on you. | have no one.

| wrap my arms around her, holding her againstbut pulling away from the wall. "Now you listen to me. | told

you once, but I will tell you as many times as it takes, Margot. | lost one mate in this lifetime; | refuse to lose

another."

She opens her mouth to speak, but | shut her up, covering her mouth with mine. | feel her body go rigid, and as |

angry as | am, | force myself to remain gentle, urging her to give in to the kiss. Her wolf is awake enough that |

know she feels the bond. I'm nearly ready to pull away, thinking that I've made a huge mistake, when | feel her

relax, her body leaning into mine, her

Chapter 100. Convincing Marget

lips beginning to move with mine. Her hands slide up my arms, linking behind my neck.

| tilt my head to the side, sliding my tongue into her mouth. Her sweet, floral taste is as delicate as her scent and

| moan softly, pulling her more tightly against me. | let one hand slide into her hair, gently holding her as we kiss.

| don't push for more, just ‘happy that she's lettingkiss her, happy that she's responding to the kiss.

| hear her soft whimper, smell her jasmine scent increasing in the air around us as she presses her body against

mine. When | smell the salt of tears, | pull away, leaning my head against her forehead, letting both of us collect

ourselves.

"| talked to Carter today. | told him | want to bring you over to see your mom."

"You did?" she asks, pulling back to look at me.

I lift my hands to her face, gently wiping the tears from eyes. | don't ask about them. I'm sure she's struggling

with this mate. bond and her response to me.

I nod. "I don't want you going alone, it's not safe. But | know you. want to see her. That makes two people that

you have to live. for, not including the friends that you've already made in this. pack. Don't underestimate how

important you are to people, Margot. You're very, very important to me, but I'm not the only one. Please, just

don't give up yet."

She nods, but she looks away, meaning that she hasn't changed her mind yet. Well, until Joshua attacks, | have

tto try and get through her tough exterior.

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alajiny 150 Counting Wander

"What tto you want to leave?" she asks, makingsmile.

"I need to shower first..."

"I noticed," she says, smirking at me.

"Luna Margot, are you teasing me?" | growl softly.

"What if | am?" she asks, her eyebrow raising in challenge as her lips twitch.

I lean in, running my nose over her jaw t her ear. "I like it. | hope you keep doing it," | whisper, satisfied when |

feel her body shiver.

When | pull back, she's blushing again, and | smile, pleased with our interactions. It's a good step in the right

direction.

"I'll have Hunter contact Carter to make sure tomorrow works for him while we're gone, but | want to leave soon.

| don't want the two of us out alone at night with the possibility of war hanging over us." "I'll be ready," she says,

and | walk her back to the room where. Beta Kinsley and Luna Sophie are.

When we get to the door, | lean in to kiss her again, but she places her fingers on my lips, narrowing her eyes at

me. Instead of her lips, | smile, kissing her fingers. "See you in a few," | say.

As | walk away, | hear her walk into the room.

"That must have been s'talk’," | hear Beta Kinsley say.

"Yeah, how much 'talking' did you do?" Luna Sophie teases her.

Comparing Margi

"Oh, shut it," Margot says. | smile, feeling lighter than | have in years.

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