The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 158: Zahn’s Request

Hunter

“Whoa! **n Sophie. Could you set the bar a little lower? | have to up my gback home,” Allison teases.

“I doubt that, my love. I'm quite sure the entire pack would rally behind you if someone threatened you,” Kayce

assures her.

“I don’t know...” she says, but Kayce pulls her to him, kissing the top of her head.

“I do.”

Nikki turns to Robin.

“Absolutely,” he says, answering her unasked question. “The pack would support and protect you in an instant.

It's the only thing that helpsto sleep at night with Camden still out there.”

“He'll never takefrom you,” she purrs at him.

“I'll kill him if he tries,” he growls.

“So, Jocelyn is settled for the night?” | ask Sophie.

“She is. | think she'll enjoy the peacefulness here and Allison is going to help us get the garden started before

they head back home,” she says.

“I guess | know what we're doing tomorrow,” Kayce says drolly.

Allison smacks his arm good-naturedly. “We can do it, Kayce.”

“You're pregnant, Allison. You're not going to be shoveling dirt and moving heavy plots of grass. We can help,” he

says, grabbing her hand and kissing it.

| look at Sophie, raising an eyebrow. | don’t want her digging holes in her condition either.

“I know. I'm not sure | could dig up anything anyway with little Hunt in the way,” she says.

“That's my boy, keeping his momma safe,” | say, putting my hand against her stomach and feeling my son

respond immediately.

The rest of the evening was much more relaxed. Zahn stayed in his room, and | had dinner sent up to him. I'm

not sure if he ate or not and I don’t care.

The next morning, however, he surprisedby being up early. He's still a mess, his wolf not being able to heal

all of the bruises on his face or the cuts on his lips. I'm sure his wolf is focusing is on his ribcage which he’s still

holding as if he’s in pain.

“I want to see Jocelyn. | know she’s going in for surgery today.” He looks down, his lips pressing together. “I want

to ask her if | can stay in the hospital in case something happens.”

Well, maybepummeling him into the ground yesterday finally made something connect in his brain.

“Sophie has already gone to get her. We can meet them outside the hospital, if you'd like.”

“Yes, thank you,” he says, and | know this must be very hard for him. He's an arrogant Alpha and deferring to his

mate’s choices and thankingfor allowing him to speak to her is a lot for him.

| lead him to the pack hospital and it’s only a few moments before | hear Sophie and Jocelyn talking as they head

this way.

“It was the best night's sleep | can remember having in a long time, Luna Sophie. | think your pack is right. There

is something special about this pack.”

“The pack members make it special,” Sophie says, once again not taking credit for her role in our pack.

“That's true, but it’s the leaders who set that expectation, wouldn't you agree?” Jocelyn asks.

“Yes, Hunter is a great Alpha. The pack adores him,” she says, makingsmile.

“Sophie, do you not know how to take a compliment? I'm talking about you,” Jocelyn says, sounding a bit

aggravated that Sophie isn’t getting her point. “The pack adores you, Sophie. They may adore your mate as well,

I'm not sure. But | know they adore you. It didn’t takeany tto realize that.”

Their conversation cuts off quickly when they emerge from the trees and seeand Zahn standing there. |

nearly didn’t see the softness on Jocelyn’s face before she shut it down, her face going hard when she sees

Zahn. She looks surprised at the state her mate is in.

Sophie looks at Zahn and then atwith a question on her face. However, she doesn’t stop, trustingto

keep things civil.

“Jocelyn, I've cto ask your permission to be here during your surgery. I'm your mate, and | want to be here

for you, in case something happens, but also just so you aren't alone when you wake up.”

“I won't be alone. Lunas Sophie, Nikki, and Allison have all agreed to take turns sitting in my room during my

recovery.”

Zahn'’s eyes flash to Sophie, and he nods but for once, he doesn’ t say anything snarky. I'm not sure if he’s finally

figuring things out, or if he sees what I'm seeing. The pack is starting to congregate around Sophie. They're

protecting their Luna from what they perceive as a threat.

“While | appreciate their attention and concern, | am your mate, Jocelyn. | would like to be there,” he says.

She looks thoughtful for a moment then turns to Sophie. “What happens if he tries to interfere?”

“He’ll be removed from the hospital.”

Jocelyn looks thoughtful for a moment. “I’m not su. | want you in my room, but | can’t keep you out of the

hospital,” she says.

“Actually, you can,” Zahn grits out, and | watch his hands clench before he forces himself to relax again. “It's

apparently up to you if I can be here at all.”

Jocelyn looks at me, her face showing her surprise. | nod, letting her know that the decision is hers.

“If you want to be in the hospital, that’s fine. But | don’t trust you alone in my room with me.”

“Can | be in the room if someone else is with me?” he asks.

Jocelyn looks up at Sophie. “That's up to you,” Sophie tells her.

“If the Lunas are willing to have you in the room with them, that’ s fine,” Jocelyn says.

“A Luna and two warriors or a Luna and one of the Alphas,” | say, not willing to allow this man to be close to my

mate alone again after the way he treated her. | know Robin and Kayce won’ t want that for their mates either.

“We volunteer to take turns,” Brutus says.

Sophie and Jocelyn turn, seeing the large number of warriors who have congregated behind them, spreading out

in a protective arc. Sophie turns and looks atin surprise, but I just wink at her. She really has no idea how

much this pack adores her.

“I intend to take the first shift once Jocelyn is out of surgery, Alpha Zahn. If you agree to Jocelyn and Hunter's

terms, you may sit in the room with me. But | will warn you, if you do anything to impede her healing or try in

any way to change the course of her treatment, you will be removed.”

Almost as one, the warriors step forward. It's a simple, yet powerful show of support for their Luna and it doesn’t

go unnoticed by Zahn.

“Agreed. | just want to be there, to make sure that nothing goes wrong.”

“Very well. We need to get going. Today's surgery is going to be a long one and Dr. Caspian wanted to get

started early,” Sophie tells him.

“I'll be here all day, Jocelyn. | won't leave the hospital or your side,” he tells her.

She nods as Sophie begins wheeling her inside the pack hospital. Then, Jocelyn turns, looking at the warriors who

are still taking a protective stance around Sophie and by association, Jocelyn.

“Do you still think it’s Alpha Hunter that the pack adores?” she asks Sophie.

Sophie turns and looks at our warriors. “I think they adore both of us, as much as we adore them.”

| feel the instant wave of pride and love from the pack at Sophie's words.

| smile as Zahn and | follow Sophie and Jocelyn inside. My mate truly has no idea what a remarkable woman she

is.