Luke and Parker

prologue

Luke felt like he had been wandering the park forever. He was supposed to be attending his cousin's birthday party, but the party was boring and his wolf had felt on edge. While the rest of the nine-year-olds got ready to play tag, Luke had slipped away.

All of a sudden, he smelled the most delicious scent of vanilla. He followed it to the playground where he saw a little girl crying on the swings. He felt a surge of protectiveness. The girl looked so small and sad. As he made his way over, he realized the vanilla smell was coming from her.

"Why are you crying?" Luke demanded, as he stood in front of the swing.

"I lost my mommy," the girl on the swing sniffled.

"I can help you find her," Luke offered, eager to stop the girl's tears.

"My mommy said I'm not supposed to move when I get lost," the girl replied hesitantly.

"Well... I'll wait with you then. My name is Luke, and I am 9."

"My name is Parker, and I'm 7. Do you think my mommy will come find me Luke? I want to go home," the girl replied, still sniffling.

Luke felt a stabbing pain in his heart at the thought of Parker going home. He kind of wished that her mom wouldn't show up. Maybe he could just bring Parker home with him, and she could live with him forever. His wolf agreed with him. He decided to bring Parker back to the party with him. They would have so much fun that Parker would forget about losing her mom, and then she could go home with Luke.

"Parker I know your mom said not to move, but I know somewhere we can get cupcakes. We can come right back afterward, but we need food if we're going to wait for a long time," Luke said, trying to convince Parker to follow him.

"Okay... I guess you're right." Luke was two years older than Parker, so she decided to listen to his plan.

As she hopped off the swing, Luke grabbed her hand. He felt sparks and grinned as he led her towards the direction of his cousin's party. He felt so lucky. Finders keepers. He had found her so obviously he would get to keep her. Parker followed Luke obediently until they made their way to the party.

As Connor saw Luke and Parker coming through the trees, he wondered who his cousin had brought to his birthday party. He quickly ran up to both of them.

"Luke where'd ya go? And who is this?" Connor asked curiously.

Parker, feeling shy, hid behind Luke as he growled. "None of your business. She's mine, so go away."

Luke grew angry at the thought of Parker and Connor playing together. Maybe he should have taken her straight home so that nobody else had a chance to see her. As Luke pondered his options, Connor ran straight to the adults and told them that Luke brought someone to his party and wouldn't let him play with them.

Luna Hailey made her way over to her son and the mystery guest. As she got closer, something smelled strange. She gasped. Her son had found a human. She quickly mindlinked her husband to come over quickly.

"Luke, who is this? Where did you find her?" she questioned. Alpha Ben joined the conversation just in time to hear Luke's excited response.

"Her name is Parker. I found her on the swings. She's lost, can I keep her."

"Luke, you can't keep people. Parker has her own family." Luna Hailey tried to explain.

Luke tightened his grip on Parker's hand. "But I want to keep her," he growled stubbornly.

"Luke, do not growl at your mother." Alpha Ben reprimanded his son.

Parker, confused, tugged on Luke's shirt and whispered, "I thought you said we were getting cupcakes."

"Here come with me sweetie! I'll take you to the cupcakes," Luna Hailey coaxed in an attempt to get the young girl to go with her so she could find out where she came from.

As Parker loosened her grip on Luke's hand, he panicked and pulled her back towards him.

"No!" Luke cried out. "Parker is mine."

Luna Hailey and Alpha Ben looked at one another in surprise and realization... their son had found his mate.