Thorn Ch. 37-42

"Maybe less about Damon and Luna, and more about wanting to be a better alpha than Thorn."

Gemma laughed out loud, "Yeah good luck with that. Our alpha is the best."

"Even when I'm being an idiot?" Thorn grinned at Gem.

"Well you earn bonus points for not killing us when we tell you you're being an idiot. Then there is the brownie points you earn for admitting you were an idiot, even though sometimes it takes you a long time."

"You sure are a different pack." John let his eyes travel around the room. "I think I may learn some tips to help me become a better alpha while I'm here. Though I will pass on letting my pack call me an idiot, and I sure as hell won't be confessing to them when I think I may have been."

"Already failing the challenge eh? Dad it is the relationship Thorn has with his core that keeps this whole pack stable and happy. His ability to discuss and delegate ensures the pack are well protected and provided for."

"Well what's your role, Media and Marketing?"

"Could be, I don't know yet. I joined the pack and the core today. I found my mate. Met my sister, very briefly. Reunited with a father I think had been told I was dead. I may leave looking for a job till tomorrow. I think I've had a big enough day."

"You only joined the pack today?"

"It is a long story. One I'm not going to go into. I have been with the pack, on I guess you could say a probationary period. Today I was officially invited to become part of the pack. I believe Luna being alpha played a part, I'm no fool, but I'm hoping I can prove myself worthy here."

"Luna made you family. Who you are made you pack. We all know you are worthy." Thorn stated and the others quickly made noises of agreement.

"Thanks for that."

"Most of the core are changing at the moment due to Luna and I mating and some of the core also mating. We will all find our fit. Damon I would however like you to go with the group leaving with your father."

"You want me to leave?"

"Hell no. I want you to assist him with the pack. You and the group I am sending can only take a month away, and of course need to attend the wedding."

"Alpha I..."

"She's out of surgery and it won't be long till she will be waking up. Thorn I assume you'll want to be there when she comes around." Rose called out as she walked through the door.

Before she made it far into the room she came to a complete stop. Stared at the stranger in the room then turned to leave. Before she could take the evasive action a load growl vibrated in the room and a wolf charged her. Rose was knocked down and her wolf came forward whimpering. She sent to her pack "NO, No please no."

"MINE."

"Oh Fuck this is so not good." Thorn stood still and ordered his pack to stay back even though Lucas had already changed at the first sign of attack. "John, please change back. You are scaring my twin sister. If you change back I will make sure she doesn't leave."

"You would force me to mate when I still love my mate?"

"Rose. Of course not. I will however make you listen. To not let this escalate to a full on war with my future father-in-law."

"Fine if you can get this slobbering mutt off me I'll change back. Wait did you say father-in-law?"

"Yes I did. Meet Luna's long lost dad."

"Fuck Thorn this is not a joke, get him off me."

"Well I'll just ignore that although you are denying it, your wolf is almost begging him to mate you. I can smell your excitement, everyone here can."

"Shut up Thorn. I am not interested in a mate."

"Dad, fuck have you got any control at all?" Damon groaned as his father continued to growl at them all.

"John change back now please. Rose has agreed to talk with you."

John slowly changed back but stayed very close to Rose. "Sorry. I was caught by surprise. I never meant to frighten you."

"I'm not scared of you." Rose said as soon as she changed back. "I'm just not interested in a mate. Nothing personal."

"Look Lucas can you deal with this? I'm sorry. I promised him Rose wouldn't run, but I need to be with Luna."

"Yeah I can mediate this one. Rose can explain why she feels the way she does, then we can take a break so John and Damon can come and see Luna too."

"Yeah well he needs more bloody clothes, so I'll go grab him some. Maybe we should put the collar on him so he can stay dressed for a few hours." Damon rolled his eyes.

"You use those collars here?" John glared at Thorn, "And I thought you were better."

"Damon arrived in a collar. It is the only collar we have here and will never be on a member of my pack or my family. At the moment you are neither, but I would still rather not have to collar you."

"Alright. I'll put on some clothes. Listen to Rose. Then meet my daughter."

"Great. I'm going to go see my mate. You all play nice. If I have to put my alpha hat on and miss my mate waking up, heads will roll."

"Based on what I've seen I doubt any of your pack believe that threat."

"My pack respect me enough that they know exactly when to believe me." Thorn said calmly as he left the room.

"You really are clueless. You are going to need help for much longer than a month. You may have to mate him Rose just so his poor pack don't suffer forever." Gem looked at Rose who scowled, "Guess that isn't on the cards John, so you better sort your shit out fast." John decided not to even respond this time.

"I'll get the clothes. Dad go sit down so poor Rose doesn't have to keep avoiding your junk."

***

Thorn sat beside Luna waiting for her eyes to open. She had moved a little and he had heard a small moan from her lips but she was yet to wake.

"I'm here baby."

Her eyes were flickering but hadn't even opened when she huskily asked "Thorn?" She licked her dry mouth, "Did he change me?"

"No baby. He didn't."

"I need you to do it Thorn. I need you to do it tonight."

"There is no way Luna..."

"Thorn I am telling you we are making Shannon and you are turning me tonight. I am not discussing it. We are not delaying it. Tonight is the night Thorn."

"Gem predicted this. I told her she was crazy. I'm telling you the same thing. You just had surgery."

"Surgery? Why?"

"You had a ruptured spleen."

"So I'm now spleen-less?" Luna smiled gently. "I hope that weighed 5 kilos. I've been trying to lose 5kgs all year."

"This isn't funny."

"Nothing about any of this is funny Thorn. I want to be with you in every way. I want to be carrying our son or daughter by morning. I never want to have a moment like today again."

"Even as a wolf we can still misunderstand each other."

"Yeah but the whole pack would have known I was upset. The whole pack would have known I was in trouble before I even knew I was in trouble, well you know what I mean. If I had been a wolf I could have fought harder and may not have been hurt so badly in the first place, and even if I had been hurt I would have healed by now."

"Okay baby. How about we just see how things are going a bit later."

"Unless I die in the next couple of hours there will be no changing my mind."

"Luna, you will not be getting your own way all the time."

"But I will be tonight and I'll worry about the rest of the time after that." Luna grinned.

"Your father and brother are down the hall. They want to spend a bit of time with you before you change, but also before they leave. Your dad is now the alpha of the other pack. I am going to send a group to help him fix the problems there."

"Can't I have a few days with them Thorn?"

"Firstly, the pack is in a lot of trouble Luna. They need help fast. The longer it is left the weaker members of the pack are more likely to suffer. So that has to be a priority. Secondly if you get your way, which it appears you will be, after I change you, it is common to sleep for around two days."

"Oh. Okay. So what is he like?"

"Damon? He's exactly as Gem, the aunts and you said. Only more. He just doesn't realise it yet. He is going to be a real asset to the pack."

"Not Damon, my father."

"I think he will struggle a bit but he is determined to be a great alpha. He's been getting tips from Gem already." Thorn paused, "There was a bit of a surprise though. Rose came down the hall to tell us you were out of surgery and he turned wolf and attacked so fast even Lucas couldn't stop him."

"He attacked Rose? Ask him to leave immediately. I have no desire to meet him."

"Good to know where your loyalties are baby, but there's no need to have security throw him out, he found his mate baby. I think both of them were in shock. Rose however is adamant she will not be mating him."

"Yes. I had a gut feeling she would have a mate soon. I'm sure it will be okay Thorn."

"Okay, I'm not even going to ask about the gut feeling thing. I'm hoping we can hold off on a huge fight over the situation for now. Luna, should I let them know to come through?"

"I guess putting it off isn't helping anyone."

"Well I think I can delay it long enough to give you a kiss and tell you again how sorry I am ..."

"You only get the kiss if you never apologise about today again. I could apologise till I turn blue but the truth is we need to move on. I fucked up. You were a little preoccupied and didn't realise how upset I was. Gem is right couples, human or wolf will have those moments. If we aren't honest with each other everything will go to shit really fast. Today was the lesson we will never forget. It could have been so much worse baby so we should be thankful."

"I am so thankful." Thorn leaned in and kissed his mate deeply. "I can't fight you Luna. Between how much I want you, you smell so amazing, and I don't want to give you even another night to possibly change your mind."

"Sounds perfect to me. But before we get carried away I guess you better summon in the in-laws."

"Already did while we were tongue wrestling. Apparently, us multitasking alpha men, can manage even better than I thought."

"I hope they don't arrive too quickly. You should adjust Mr Happy before they arrive."

"Mr Happy? Are you kidding me? Never refer to my cock as Mr Happy again."

"I do not want to see 'Mr Happy', hear about 'Mr Happy' or even think about what was going on in here right before I opened this door." Damon grinned at Luna and Thorn, "Hey Sis."

"Hi. Come give me a hug."

"I don't want to hurt you." Damon walked closer to the bed and leaned down kissing her on the forehead. Before he could step back her arms were around him and he was aware she was trembling. "It's okay Sis. It's okay."

"Yeah I know." She let him go and she quickly blinked away the tears as he stepped back.

"Then no crying. Thorn will throw me out."

"Happy tears I promise. Thorn can you contact Mel and Harmony please. I know they can't come out tonight but I need to know how to create the bond Damon needs with his family."

"Your letter mentioned that, but first I'd like to introduce you to our father. Luna this is John."

"I've missed you Dad. Come and say hello." Luna reached out her arms.

"I've missed you too baby girl. I am so sorry you have suffered so much. Both of you have suffered so much." John gave her a quick hug then left one hand in hers as he put a hand on Damon's shoulder. "I know you don't know me but I want a chance to make it up to you both."

"You don't need to make up anything. You didn't run out on me. You were taken from me. I do need you to provide a little blood for Damon though. He has been cursed and the only way to break it is our blood."

"I have no problem bleeding for either of you. But I disagree Luna. From what Thorn has said your life has been hard. Fuck Jolene has suffered too."

"You remember my mother?"

"Of course I remember her. She was a nice girl Luna. I really cared about her. I don't think it was love, but we were happy. Most of the time we got along fine. We were building a life together. Our wedding wasn't long before you were born. I was going to do right by both of you."

"Wow. I didn't expect that. I grew up thinking she hated you. She is not the woman you remember I'm sorry."

"Thorn filled me in. I will go see her when the pack is sorted."

"Yeah I don't think that would be a good idea. She is dying Dad and she doesn't know about wolves. She won't forgive either of us. She hates me even more than she hates you."

"She must have been poisoned Luna. She loved you from conception till the day I was taken."

"Thorn. Have you heard from Kate and Aaron?"

"Not for a while. Things are heating up down there tonight so the team are pretty focused."

"Who are Kate and Aaron, and what's going down tonight?"

"Jolene is in the centre of a shit-storm. We believe your deceased alphas were key figures in a human trafficking ring. Jolene appears to have been less involved than others but due to her excessive drug use has been linked to the ring."

"Fuck." John shook slightly as he fought the wolf that was trying to take control.

"Dad. Kate and Aaron are with a team there busting the whole operation. They will do what they can for Jolene and the others there." Luna paused. "But I've been told to prepare myself that Jolene may not have long left."

"What should I do then? Just forget her? Not even try and help her? What if we change her, she could have another chance?"

"I'm sorry John. You need to let that idea go. She isn't physically or mentally stable enough."

"I'm sorry Dad but I think Thorn would intervene if he thought it possible."

Damon asked, "Can we get word to Kate and Aaron that we will cover any rehab or facility they recommend for her? At the least make her comfortable if she cannot be saved?"

"Damon, they already know money is no object. Not just for Jolene, but for any human there."

"Okay I can live with that if you both can keep me updated." John's shoulders dropped slightly as he saw the truth in their words. "What about this curse?"

"You probably don't feel the bond with Damon you would expect with your son. You said yourself you had thought he was dead. The collar would have been a factor in that but it goes further. He has been bonded to the evil, not to his family. A dark witch has made sure he would never stand against those that used him, hurt him and made him hurt others. I've been told we can break the curse only by a blood bond. If there was another way..."

"You don't want to bond with me?" Damon questioned quietly.

"What? No that isn't it. I don't want you to feel anyone else has that over you again. You should be free to be your own man, wolf, whatever."

"I would love to be bonded to you Luna. I can't wait to be bonded to my big sister."

"Would that give us a family bond too?" John asked Luna.

"I don't know. I only know he needs both of our blood. I would assume I could only have a blood bond with you if we shared blood. Thorn?"

"You don't need a blood bond to form a family bond. When you change it should be there if your heart recognises the bond. Damon needs more than a standard family bond. Mel and Harmony have let me know what you need is in the back of the book Luna. Green page tucked in the back."

"Shit. I lost the book."

"When?"

"It was in my backpack. It could be with the police. That will blow some human minds."

"Lex has it. I'll get her to bring it."

"She has my bag? Does she have my jacket too?"

"Yes baby she has your jacket." Thorn paused before continuing, "Your bike is safe in the garage where it will remain for at least a couple of months."

"Mmm... we will talk about that later."

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to see it. I sure as fuck don't want to think about how you left me on the fucking thing."

"Okay two months. See you do win sometimes."

CHAPTER FOURTY-ONE

Luna couldn't believe she was lying in a hospital bed surrounded by men that she felt a connection to. She looked from Thorn to her brother, who she already thought of as family, and lastly to her father. She didn't blame him for what had happened but she didn't feel the same bond to him as she did Damon. He gave off a weird vibe and she just wasn't sure if he was entirely... good. It wasn't that he was evil. He didn't scare her or give her the heebee-jeebees, he just seemed a little... off. "Thorn do you think he's okay, John, I just don't get a clear read on him?"

"Baby, I think you should relax and get to know him a little. After all I will be keeping a close eye on him. Even more so now he wants to mate with my sister."

"So you're not sure either. I don't know if that makes me more or less worried."

"He's different than us Luna. Partly by what he has been through and probably how he was before he was turned. Different isn't bad. I think he will be okay. Give it time."

"The aunties said our relationship would never be easy. Maybe that is playing on my mind and I'm looking for problems."

"Yeah, although there are enough drugs in your system right now, your instincts are probably a bit fucked up."

"Okay you two enough of the private chat and keep us in the loop."

"I was just trying to convince Luna she should be resting. She on the other hand has decided she wants to go ahead with our original plans. As you will have noticed Luna is ovulating. It is her wish that we time her ovulation with her turning to give her the best chance of..."

"No fucking way. I refuse to consent." John roared. "You are no better than the rapists breeding in my pack."

"Shit Dad. Listen. Thorn wants to wait till after the wedding. When Luna is healed. When things have calmed down. It is Luna that is insisting. Her best friend Gem said she would feel this way. Gemma and Thorn argued about it earlier."

"You know the risks of being turned?"

"Thorn and I have been together a while now John. I am well educated on the risks and the benefits. I am also privileged enough to have some information which would indicate my odds of a successful change are 100%. My odds of conceiving are best tonight. I do not need your consent, or your approval."

"You're my daughter."

"We are practically strangers."

"Luna, calm down baby. John I am sure she isn't trying to hurt your feelings..."

"Feelings? She doesn't give a shit about my feelings. You cannot do this. It isn't right."

"You asked what I needed from you. You asked me to give you a chance. You're not even hearing me. I love Thorn more than I have ever loved anyone in my lifetime. He has loved me and protected me when nobody else ever has. He has given me the first family I have ever known. Yet you stand there asking me to give that up? You who know nothing about the darkness I have lived in. You are wolf. My brother is wolf. The man I love and his family, my family, are wolf and I don't deserve to be wolf?"

"My sweet little girl, you are better than us. You should not come into this world. You should find a path away from all this."

"I am not your sweet little girl. I haven't been a sweet little girl for more years than you can imagine. I have found where I belong. You accept it and who I am. Or you leave and remember the sweet little girl you held in your arms briefly, but forfeit any chance to know who I've become. To hold your grandsons and granddaughters."

"I can see your fear Dad. Luna and Thorn don't have that life here. Our old pack will no longer live like that either. Those monsters will be gone before the week is over. I will help you. Thorn and his pack will help you. Please don't make me choose between them and you. I want to know you. I want to help you. But I can't, I won't lose my sister again. I won't betray my pack and my family again."

"Then you have already chosen." John turned and walked out the door.

Luna slumped back on the bed. "Guess at least I know what he looks like now."