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Our Long Way Home

Summary:

Ben Solo is a talented businessman, running companies on all the continents of the world. But he still hasn't found his promised one true mate. His busy body mother is harping constantly about grandchildren and his uncle has decided to drop out of society, leaving the future leadership of the Skywalker Pack squarely on Ben's broad shoulders. His wolf, Kylo is certain his mate is at tonight's celebration but Ben doesn't know if he can handle one more heartache.

Rey Niima didn't even know she was a wolf until the age of twenty-one. Prior to that she'd lived among the humans as a normal teenage girl. Now she has a chatty she wolf in her head constantly reminding her that their mate was near, and a sudden aversion to the smell of most people, both wolf and human. But when she meets Ben at a pack function, both know something memorable is happening.

Chapter 1: Look Up at the Blazing Sun

Chapter Text

He sat in his desk chair staring at the swirling snowstorm covering the entire courtyard and the woods behind his penthouse in a thick blanket of silent white. Later this evening was the Solstice Party at the pack’s newest business venture, and with the Moon Goddess’ blessing, the night he would finally meet his mate. At thirty and after taking his security company to the top of their field, Benjamin Skywalker Solo was ready to settle down and begin his life as Alpha of the Skywalker Pack. The combination restaurant/bar in Skywalker Towers was exclusive most of the time; food for the lunch and dinner rush before turning into a high-end bar for shifters only, but tonight was a special occasion and wolves from more than ten neighboring packs would be arriving all day as they prepared for the night’s celebration and investiture of Ben’s cousin, Poe Dameron as his Beta or second in command.

Poe’s regular job in the human world was manager to the restaurant/bar that just opened in Skywalker Towers, a mixed-use high-rise complex in downtown Chandrila. He also kept up with the inner-pack issues over minor squabbles. Three years older than Ben, Poe had just found his mate six months ago, highlighting to the lonely Alpha that business success was meaningless without someone to share that with. But Kylo, his wolf, was adamant on only taking their destined mate, the one the Moon Goddess selected just for them and both man and wolf were beginning to despair.

With his sensitive ears he heard Poe’s footsteps as the shorter man came ambling down the hall from the kitchen to Ben’s private office and rolled his eyes. He was certain his second was coming with a folder filled with pictures of all the unmated wolves who would be at the party. His mother’s hints were becoming more obnoxious by the day; he needed to nip her ambitions now. Ben decided from the beginning he would only mate with the one meant to be his. His parents might have bucked tradition but an Alpha needed his Luna and Ben was willing to wait for the right one.

“Ben, Leia gave me this folder,” Poe began.

“Stop there,” Ben held up his hand. “Put it on the desk. I’ll go thru them if I have the time.”

Poe frowned. “You know what this is?” He held the folder out in his hand.

“My mother’s choices for my mate?”

“Uh, no. It’s the details of the proposed memorial to your grandparents at the Government complex. You’re speaking at the dedication next week?”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks. Just put it on the table.”

After laying the item on Ben’s antique cherry wood desk, the Beta hesitated for a moment before adding, “She did ask me if you were going to show up tonight. I assume your answer is the same as before?”

The tall, silent, sable-haired Alpha continued his musings out the window. From the first mention of this year’s celebration, he’d again made it clear he wasn’t in the market for a chosen mate. If Kylo scented his mate in attendance then he’d make his way from Poe’s office on the third floor down to the massive ballroom on the lower level. Otherwise, he had pack business to attend to which meant he’d not be joining the party, only leading the run and attending the investiture. His mother, Leia Skywalker Solo had not been amused. Ben just celebrated his thirtieth birthday, and his continued state of bachelorhood aggravated her which he found highly amusing.

“Ben, we’ve been friends since forever, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but did you ever think that maybe she didn’t make it to adulthood? That perhaps she was killed during the Pack Wars, and this continued celibacy on your part will be the end of the Skywalker Pack?”

“No, Dameron. I’ve never thought about why I haven’t found my soulmate since gaining my wolf at the age of eighteen. Of course, I’ve thought about that you idiot! But what are the odds? The only two packs that were eliminated were Palpatine and Tarkin. And no females of an appropriate age were ever found in the registries. She’s out there, but for years it’s been dim, like she’s unaware of what she is and where she belongs. Over the pasts year it’s been growing stronger though and that gives Kylo and I both hope. I can’t ignore the Goddess’ blessing, especially without Kylo in agreement. Would you accept someone that BB didn’t approve as your mate?”

“No, of course not. What time do you want to start your vigil tonight?”

Ben smiled, finally turning his deep amber eyes from the window to his Beta’s face. “As soon as Kylo says to.”

Poe grinned and nodded his head. For some reason both he and his wolf felt tonight would be a magical solstice for everyone in attendance.

~|~

“Rey that dress looks amazing on you, do you have the shoes to go along with it?”

Rey Niima glanced over her shoulder toward her best friend and roommate, Rose Tico and blushed, unaccustomed to the attention. The off-shoulder creamy white sweater dress was paired with a thick gold chain belt and gold stilettos. Considering her normal work day wardrobe consisted of jeans and work shirts with steel toed boots, Rey felt highly self-conscious and awkward as she tugged at the dress’ hemline.

“Thanks Rose. You don’t think it’s a little ‘much’ for a first pack function? I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.”

The shorter woman snorted in laughter. “Girl, you look modest compared to some of those sluts competing for the available Alphas. Don’t worry. Most people know who you are, if not what you are, and they’ll help you out. Just don’t get carried away by some drunken Alpha or into a bitch fight with one of the desperate females and everything will be great. We’ll help Poe celebrate his new post, dance our asses off and then go to Waffle House for breakfast, okay?”

“All right, then I guess I’m as ready as a new wolf can be,” Rey straightened her shoulders and flipped her chestnut brown waves over her shoulder, exposing her bare neck and collar bone. At twenty-two, she was older than most to just now have gained her wolf, but her path hadn’t been the traditional one of being raised in a pack filled with love and family. At the age of ten, Rey was left among humans as a foundling, memories of her previous life gone into shadows and pieces. Shuffled into the human’s foster program, she’d been placed in some extremely sketchy homes, and malnutrition had kept her from gaining her other side until she’d been out of the system for three years. She still laughed when she remembered the first night her wolf, Kira, spoke to her. Rey thought she’d lost whatever remained of her mind and ran to the hospital to have herself committed. Blood tests showed the new truth of Rey’s past – she was a shifter, wolf and human.

Luckily, Rose’s older sister, Paige, was Rey’s case worker from the hospital, and she’d sponsored Rey to join the town’s wolf pack, Skywalker and the petite brunette had been with the Tico family ever since. Though Rey had lived with them for more than a year, the solstice party was Rey’s formal introduction to the pack and her first full pack event. She wasn’t certain about getting naked in front of everyone, but she couldn’t wait to change into the saucy, white-coated wolf with electric green eyes she saw every time she shifted. Rey loved Kira, and spent more time running as a wolf than working at her daily job at the local garage, a trade she learned during the difficult times in the human world. Where she’d always felt out of step with the world around her, alone and unloved.

‘Stop it!’ Kira scolded gently in the back of her head. ‘Those days are gone, and I’m here now. You aren’t alone anymore. So, dry those tears, lovely girl, and let’s go meet some hunky Alphas! I have a good feeling about tonight.’

That was one of the greatest things about having a wolf, the pep talks Kira constantly provided to remind her the black days were gone. She had friends for the first time, and tonight she’d run with the pack that provided her those friends, along with a sense of safety for the first time that she could remember. Rose’s family, the Ticos, had taken her in as another daughter helping her learn the pack’s rules and customs, and she was taking classes at the community college before applying to the university for her degree. Rey wanted to study mechanical engineering but worked at the local garage repair cars to pay her bills. It wasn’t perfect but it provided the opportunity to say she was making it on her own.

Hopping into Rose’s Jeep, Rey couldn’t help but feel tonight would be special.

~|~

The bar was filling quickly as the girls arrived at Skywalker Towers. Once inside, Kira pushed closer to Rey’s conscious quivering with an excitement she’d never exhibited.

“He’s here!”

“Who’s here?”

“Our Mate! Can’t you smell that? Sandalwood, citrus, with an undertone of bay and the sea on a stormy day? Follow that and we will find our Mate.”

“Kira, I can’t just run off after a smell. I don’t know anyone here other than Rose, Poe, and Finn. We can’t barge into the house and wander around hoping to find someone.”

“But it’s our Mate?”

“How about we follow Rose and keep our nose open for the source, okay?”

'Promise?' Rey could hear echos of the small, frightened child she’d been in her wolf’s tone.

“You know I promise. Mate means family, and we deserve family.”

“That’s right, Rey. We deserve family.”

Kira was appeased, and Rey continued following Rose, searching for Poe to let him know they were here to support him. Crossing the massive room, she noticed the smell weaving in and out of the crowd, but it was faint, as though he’d crossed this space more than once but not recently. Rey met the gaze of a few pack members she’d been introduced to over the past year, nodding her head in acknowledgement and making mental notes on who she needed to find and speak with. Suddenly Rose veered to the right, and Rey followed along, wondering who Rose needed to speak with at this exact moment.

The answer to that question was solved when the found Poe and his mate, their other friend, Finn Storm, standing by the VIP entrance, checking wrists bands staring at the crowd. Neither one looked particularly happy. Both girls held out their arms for inspection as a passing waitress handed them each a flute of champagne.

“Why so glum?” Rose questioned them both. “There must be two hundred she wolves on the prowl down here. Surely you haven’t given up flirting just because you’re mated?”

Poe acted horrified. “I would never flirt in front of Finn! That’s cruel.”

“Wouldn’t it be worse to flirt behind his back?”

All four snickered at that, as mate or not, Poe Dameron was well known as the worst flirt in the pack. Finn was still growing used to his partner’s exuberant need to be the center of the room’s attention.

“So really Poe, what’s wrong?” Rose pressed.

“Ben is still being a shit and won’t be joining us unless Kylo scents their mate,” Poe mumbled, already several shots toward an epic drunk. “I’m beginning to think he’s doing this on purpose, just to piss off Leia. Doesn’t he understand if he doesn’t get out there and search, he’ll never find her?”

“I think it’s great he’s waiting for his Goddess-given mate. Other than Han and Leia, I’ve never seen a chosen mate pair that lasted. Besides, I can’t understand why Leia would even care. Padme still handles all the Luna duties since Leia was dropped from the line of succession when she married Han.”

“She wants grand-pups.” Finn chirped in helpfully. He was Leia’s personal secretary and always had some juicy gossip about the chosen pair. “Han left again this afternoon after Ben informed them of his decision to not join the party unless Kylo scented their mate. He’s tired of Leia pushing Ben on the whole chosen mate issue. Ben probably won’t speak to Leia for a long time. He was so angry this time, he put his fist through the office wall without even shifting. I’m surprised he didn’t break his hand.”

The other three all gaped at their friend at the end of his word vomit. He smiled weakly. “It was a wild afternoon on the top floor. Sorry.”

A gentle cool breeze moved through the room as someone came into the ballroom from the outside patio. The hair on Rey’s neck stood on end. Kira jumped up and down in excitement.

'He’s here. Mate is here.'

Poe, Rose, and Finn moved off toward the buffet tables while Rey searched the edges of the room for the owner of the elusive scent. Her search led her toward an open door, leading to a darkened alcove on the patio. Her head swiveled in all directions searching for someone, something.

The deep baritone voice seemed to sound from the depths of the shadows.

“Mate!”

~|~

When the alarm on his phone chirped to let him know it was time to go downstairs, Ben groaned and stood up, rolling his neck to release the tension. It was just before ten pm, there should be an adequate choice of she-wolves for Kylo to scent. He decided he would stay an hour then head to his penthouse suite to change before the run. The elevator arrived quickly, he assumed because there was no one else in the 90-story high-rise still at work. The doors opened on the VIP level of the club; sound muffled by state-of-the-art noise canceling insulation. Instantly every hair on Ben’s arms and the back of his neck stood up and he shivered up and down his spine.

'She’s here!' Kylo roared in his head. 'Our mate in here, I can scent her and I sense her, stronger than ever.'

Ben moved quickly from inside the elevator to standing beside Poe in the span of a heartbeat. He threw open his senses and took a deep breath. Jasmine, Lavender, lily of the valley, roses with a hint of the air after a summer storm. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his blood began to pump stronger. At last, his mate was here, and the long days of loneliness in a crowd were gone. With a wild sense of urgency, he searched the nearby women for his mate.

He soon narrowed the scent to one of the three she wolves talking to his Beta. Two he knew quite well. Rose Tico was several years’ younger than himself, but her older sister Paige had been in his graduating class at the pack high school. He knew her scent mirrored her name while Paige smelled of burning sugar, at least to Ben. The other girl however, was not familiar. He knew her name and a little of her background, but they’d never been formally introduced.

Their eyes met across the room, and Recognition flashed between the two wolves, identifying them to each other. But then they’d been separated by the crowd, and Ben stepped outside to calm down before claiming his new mate. Apparently, she’d been right behind him.

Kylo growled in his throat, announcing his presence to the girl. 'Mate!'

Her voice, accented British, purred in response. “Alpha.”

They stood close, allowing the scent of each other to wrap around them like a blanket of protection. The girl was tall for a female wolf, yet still fit snugly underneath his chin. His arms pulled her close, and his nose buried itself in her mating gland. With his remaining one functioning brain cell, he managed to push them out of the entrance and into a private VIP area before surrendering completely to their wolfish natures.

“What’s your name,” he breathed out between licks of her gland.

“Rey Niima.”

With a great effort he pulled away to look her in the eyes.

“I, Benjamin Skywalker-Solo, Alpha of the Skywalker Pack, accept you, Rey Niima, as my mate and future Luna.” A deep red thread started winding around their connected hands.

“I, Rey Niima, warrior for the Skywalker Pack, foundling, accept you, Benjamin Skywalker-Solo as my mate and Alpha.” A royal blue thread erupted from Rey’s skin and matched itself to Ben’s red line. Once completed, the two lines turned golden and settled into their skin. Ben looked into his new mate’s eyes and noticed the deep brown ring already complete around her hazel orbs and knew his would reflect that green as well.

He bent his head to taste her lips, Kylo leaping in his head like a young pup.

'We must claim her now. Mate her tonight while the moon is full to guarantee strong pups.'

“It's too soon for pups you weirdo. Can you hear her wolf,” Ben replied.

'Not until you claim her. I can see her though, she’s beautiful. A true daughter of the Moon Goddess, with silver white fur and luminous green eyes.'

Rey stared into his eyes, and any fears he might have had that she didn’t feel as strongly as he disappeared in an instant. “Bite me,” she whispered. “Make me truly yours.”

Ben needed no additional encouragement. His jaw shifted, allowing for his wolf’s canines to descend and his eyes to meld into the brilliant amber orbs of Kylo. Opening his mouth, his tongue first laved the gland, causing Rey’s eyes to roll back in her head. Once he was certain she was prepared, he opened his jaw and bit down hard on the precious spot. A loud moan erupted from Rey’s lips, and her own teeth extended in answer to the pheromones in Ben’s blood and saliva. From her scent, he could tell she’d orgasmed when he bit her mating gland. Once she replied in kind, he felt his own cock pumping cum into his underwear. A lazy lick from her tongue to seal the wound and it was completed.

Ben had found his promised mate at last.

“Rey, come upstairs with me,” he urged into her ear. “We can talk, away from all the noise and commotion. Also, I'd like to change my pants before someone realizes I've spilled in them like a teenage pup.”

Her smile was radiant and warmed his soul. “I’d like that very much. I just need to tell my friends where I’m going.”

“No problem,” he grinned. “I’ll tell Poe through our pack connection. Do you need to grab anything?”

“My bag, over there where Rose and Finn are sitting.”

He refused to let go of her hand, so the two of them moved over to the table where her friends were gathered. Walking up he noticed Finn’s eyebrows shoot skyward as he saw their joined hands.

“Rey?” he queried, and Ben frowned at the angry tone in the wolf’s tone. He searched his memory trying to figure out what he’d done to Poe’s mate.

Returning his attention to the table, he noticed Rey had just informed everyone they were mates. Rose was currently hugging Rey while Paige punched Ben in the shoulder, offering her congratulations.

“Paige, a word please,” Ben muttered to the older she wolf.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“Please don’t say anything to my family about this yet. I want to tell Grandma and Grandpa first, then have them with us when we tell Han and Leia.”

Paige paled, “Oh shit. Leia’s been bragging about some Alpha’s daughter she wants you to mate. When she finds out you mated with Rey, she’s going to freak.”

“Luckily the opinions of my mother haven’t mattered to me in quite a while. I know that Han and my grandparents are all behind me mating with my destined mate, and I will inform them later tonight.”

“Ben, I won’t say a word. Congratulations, you and Rey deserve this.”

“Apparently, not everyone thinks so.” He motioned toward Finn with his chin.

Paige chuckled. “Don’t worry about Finn. Before he matched with Poe, he fancied himself as Rey’s protector, even though we all know that is one girl that can take care of herself. But Finn took it upon himself to make sure she knew the basics of our laws and the correct manners to exhibit toward elders. Then he matched with Poe and I think he’s still adjusting to the fact Rey isn’t his to worry over anymore.”

Kylo growled at the mention of Rey with any male other than himself. Rey must have sensed the change in his scent as she immediately grabbed her things and pulled herself into his side.

“I’m ready to go, Alpha,” she chirped brightly.

As they headed toward the elevator which would take them up, Ben glanced back and made note of the anger and resentment showing in Finn’s eyes, and made a mental note to talk to Poe about his mate’s apparent fascination with Rey Niima.