“We should’ve stuck with the original plans.”
“What would that help us, David?”
“We rushed things. We planned on telling them after her birthday. Hell Devon, we weren’t suppose to have sex before her eighteenth birthday.” There were a few minutes of silence. “What are we going to do about the mating ceremony?”
“It continues according to plan,” Devon muttered.
“That is if she still wants to be our mate. You should’ve seen the way she looked at me.” He paused and then continued. “The pack isn’t going to be happy about it. They won’t want to celebrate after what happened.”
“What did you find out from the man?” Devon changed the subject.
I stepped away from the door and slowly made my way down the hall. I wasn’t sure what to make of what I saw earlier and what I just heard. So things were moving too fast for them? Guilt filled me. I shouldn’t have pushed to take things further. But I really wanted to. This was partly my fault as well, not just theirs.
My eyes darted over to the window. There was about an hour of daylight left before darkness would fall. I bit my lips as I debated my options. I needed to think and the cool fresh air would help clear my head. I wouldn’t go far, just a little walk in the back garden.
The cold hit me the moment I opened the back door. Temperatures were starting to drop. I never thought I’d be one to say that I actually missed the stifling heat back home.
“You’re not suppose to be walking around without an escort, Luna.”
I jerked in fright. Spinning around, my eyes quickly located the man who spoke. Wrin lazily straightened and stepped towards me. I swallowed. It actually looked like he was stalking me with the way he moved closer towards me. He stopped a few feet away and watched me. My lips parted but he held up a clawed hand, instantly silencing me.
“Don’t pull rank on me like you did in the clinic.”
I frowned at him as more guilt flooded me. I was abusing my statues.
“Some women like to gossip. When someone calls themselves the Alpha Female of a pack without them being aware that it’s true, it gets them talking. Now what are you doing outside without an escort?”
“They made an official announcement.” I pursed my lips. “You don’t need to know my business.”
“I’m just doing my Beta-ly job.”
Curiosity got the best of me. “Beta-ly? That’s not even a word. And what the heck does Beta mean?”
He gave that strange smile. “Second in command. It’s a rank. If Devon had to leave suddenly on urgent business or something happens to him, I’m in charge until he returns or another Alpha is announced.”
“There are two Alphas in this pack,” I softly pointed out.
“So it seems. It’s still the same. I don’t know if David took a Beta yet.” He seemed to pick up on my confusion because he continued before I could ask him anything. “I’ve been away for a while. Apparently a lot of things change when you’re gone for a long period of time.”
My eyes darted around us before moving back to his. I had a few questions I wanted to ask regarding his relationship with Devon. Wrin turned and made his way towards a bench that stood under a tree. I instinctively followed him. He leaned down to shove the snow off before gesturing for me to sit. Only when I was seated did he take a seat next to me.
He watched me as I watched him. It was strange seeing someone like him—stuck between his two forms. My eyes dropped to his hands on his lap. The back of them were covered with fur and his nails were long and shaped like claws. The silence between us was comfortable. He suddenly shifted to face me fully.
“How are you and Devon stepbrothers?” The question slipped out before I could phrase it differently. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”
He shrugged. “You’re part of the family now so you might as well know our history.” He gave me a small smile. “Devon’s father lost his mate shortly after Devon turned ten. My mother mated to him. Short enough for you?”
“So his father is your stepfather and you mother is his stepmother?”
“Yes, see I was banished from the pack when they realized that I couldn’t shift normally like all the others could. Mother packed us up and moved us around but no pack was willing to take us in. They were afraid that I would expose them all or get them killed. We moved here after the third rejection. Back then his dad was ruling the pack. He was having trouble and the elders told him that it would be better if he took another mate again. He needed an Alpha Female and my mother was a great option since she was not attached to any of the males in the pack.”
“You said that you’ve been away?” I asked softly after a few minutes of silence.
He turned away from me after I asked that. His unwillingness to answer my question fuelled my curiosity, but I stayed silent. I turned away from him to look around the garden. It was spacious and I was sure it would look amazing in the summer when all the flowers were blooming. Would I still be here by then? Would the pack have accepted me as their Alpha Female? What would our relationship be like then?
“We do what we have to survive,” Wrin suddenly said. “They have it worse because they have to think about all of us. An Alpha’s job is to put his pack above all else, and that includes his mate and family. They do what they have to in order to keep the pack from destruction.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked softly.
“You saw David doing something he hates doing, but they need answers.” He paused. “We all grew up together. David hates violence. Devon on the other hand. . .”
He sighed and glanced around. I repeated his words in my mind. I remembered the first time I met them. Devon’s gaze was intense and David, I couldn’t explain what he made me feel. They had changed a lot since I met them. They were more open and friendly, but only towards me, I noticed.
“What can you tell me about the Mating Ceremony?”
Wrin shifted in his seat. “They should’ve told you about it already.”
“Well they haven’t. I’ve read about it a little, but I haven’t gotten so far where they explain the actual ceremony.”
He muttered something under his breath. “Either you go to your mates and have them explain it to you, or go to one of the elder woman and ask them.” He stood. “Come on. You’re cold. You need to get inside before you freeze to death or get sick.”
I wanted to argue, but he was right. We walked in silence back to the house. He opened the door and stood aside for me to enter. When he didn’t enter the house behind me, I gave him a questioning look. Wrin shrugged again and gave me a half smile.
“I have things to do. We’ll talk again, Luna.”
“Why do you call me that?”
“Luna?” I nodded. “It’s your title. Tell Devon to teach you more about your pack.”
The door closed softly. I stared at it for a while before allowing the smile to slip onto my face. I liked him even though our conversation was brief and we barely talked about personal things. He was different—a lot less scary than he looked.
I sighed and slowly made my way back upstairs. Entering the living room I, stared at the mats for a few seconds. My hand pressed against my stomach. It was still a little tender and bruised. If one hit from Devon could cause such a bruise, what would a hit be like from one of the others who really meant it?
“Val.”
My eyes snapped up. David hesitated a few feet away. I took in his clothes before glancing up at him again. He had showered. He looked pale and he a little scared. David took a step towards me and then paused. Running a hand through his hair, he turned slightly as if to walk away, but he paused again. I swallowed and closed the distance between us. I needed to think of why he was torturing that man. That man was responsible for half of the deaths and injuries the pack had suffered.
“You didn’t tell me about Abby,” I whispered.
Pain flashed through his eyes. “I know. I was delaying. I’m sorry, doll.”
“You should’ve told me. When you did not say anything I went to find out on my own.” Tears burned my eyes. “David—”
“I’m so sorry, doll.” He wrapped his arms around me and tugged me against his body. “I wanted to spare you the pain.”
“I would’ve found out eventually.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
I pulled away and reached down to grab his hand. He had a few scratches here and there on his knuckles. I reached for his other hand and he willingly placed it in mine. My eyes darted up to his face as I stroked his skin. His eyes were focused on our hands. They suddenly darkened. He swallowed loudly before glancing up at me.
“Did you get any answers?”
“What?”
“From the man. Did you get any answers?” He shook his head. “I understand why you did what you did. I might not like it, but I know that it’s necessary to get answers so we could protect our pack.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“It was my own fault,” I muttered. “I was warned not to go there but I wanted to. I understand that you and Devon will have to do things sometimes which I might not like. As long as I’m not aware of it then it’s fine.”
He smiled. I returned it and reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. David hesitated before he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. His hands gripped my hips to lift me. A second later my back hit the wall. He growled, reaching between us to locate the zipper of my jacket. I helped him pull it off and reached for his shirt. Before I could pull it over his head, he stopped me.
David pressed his forehead against mine. “We need to discuss things.”
“The Mating Ceremony?” I asked.
“Amongst other things.”
I turned my head toward the sound of his voice. Devon entered the room with a frown gracing his face. His eyes darted from David to me. David slid an arm under my ass and one behind my back before stepping away from the wall. He turned and made his way into the kitchen where he placed me down on the countertop. David then stepped away and walked over to the sink.
My eyes snapped over to Devon when he moved closer to me. I tilted my head back eagerly for his kiss. He tasted like coffee. Delicious. He pulled away and leaned back against the counter.
“What do you want for dinner?”
“I thought of cooking some pasta or something,” I muttered.
Devon scoffed. “I don’t think we have pasta.”
“Then I’ll make something else.”
Both men focused on me. I smiled as I slid down from the counter. Like Devon had said, there was no pasta or anything else I could use to make a hearty meal for the three of us, so I had no choice but the begrudgingly agree to have them order something from the kitchen downstairs.
The food arrived within twenty minutes.
We settled at the island with our food and soda’s. They made turns in feeding me some of their food and in return I did the same. We talked around random things as we ate, and avoided the actual things we needed to talk about. I got to know that they both liked the same colour and their other interests were almost exactly alike. It was easy to tell why they became such close friends.
When the plates were empty, we moved into the living room.
Devon pulled me onto his lap before I could take a seat next to him on the couch. My heartbeat increased as the tension between us started to rise. We were about to have a serious discussion. Devon wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me back so I leaned against his chest. I glanced up at his face over my shoulder to find his eyes focused on David.
He waited until David had taken a seat across from us before he spoke. What he said made David freeze. Anger instantly darkened his eyes.
“I received an email from your father. He’ll be here next week Friday.”
“I don’t want him here,” David growled, “especially not around Val.”
“I know.” Devon slipped his hand underneath my shirt and stroked the skin of my lower stomach. “I told him the he wasn’t welcome here after last time. We will have to see if he listens or not. I’ll have everyone keep an eye out for him.”
“Why don’t you want your father to visit you?” I asked softly.
David looked at me then. The look in his eyes made shivers race down my spine. They were cold and completely emotionless.
“He’s a bastard.” Devon muttered softly. “We’re not here to talk about him, little dove. We need to talk about the ceremony.”
“Amongst other things,” David repeated his earlier words.