88- The Bite of Pride
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I blinked and tilted my head to the side, confused.
“Copulated?”
Celindra huffed and rolled her eyes.
“Had sex, slept together, renewed your mating vows, fucked—”
“Heavens, I get it!” I snapped, straightening up. “My God...”
I gasped, glancing around, feeling like I could die any second from sheer embarrassment.
“It was kind of hard to make you understand, so I thought I’d list every synonym for the act,” she clicked her tongue.
“Thank you so much, Celindra, I’ve already understood,” I mocked, smiling awkwardly. “Edric and I, we didn’t... I mean... not like that...”
I had no idea how to explain to them that what had happened wasn’t supposed to mean anything—certainly not what they were thinking. It had happened in the heat of the moment, when adrenaline had taken over both of us.
“You don’t need to explain anything to me, I’m more than happy about it,” declared Lyris.
“Happy?” I arched an eyebrow. She nodded.
“I really hope you two work out. Edric deserves someone like you.”
“I agree with her,” said Celindra.
I sighed and looked down, glancing at my makeshift clothes for the festival. The simple brown dress reached my feet, covering the warm, soft boots I’d chosen to make the night more comfortable. The dress was lovely, but the fur coat hid most of it. I wasn’t well-dressed, but I was warm and cozy.
“What are you talking about?” asked Andrei, stopping on my right side, with Anton beside him.
“About how Lunara copu—” Celindra began to mutter.
“I’m loving the party,” I cut in quickly, lifting my head and looking around. “Everything is so beautiful and different.”
Andrei narrowed his eyes, suspicious.
“Hmm... are you sure that’s what you were talking about?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I hissed.
“Why are you so red?” Anton interjected.
I grabbed another shot of țuică and brought it to my lips, feeling the liquid melt down my throat. I coughed, grimacing.
“Because of the alcohol and the heat from the bonfire,” I lied, pointing at the nearest pyre, where the flames leapt high and crackled.
“Uh-huh,” Andrei muttered, unconvinced.
I picked up a mug of buttered beer and drank half of it, trying to drown my embarrassment with alcohol.
Normal couples were supposed to have sex all the time—that was a fact. But Edric and I weren’t a couple. And now the whole pack knew what had happened between us.
I swallowed, feeling warmer than I should in the cool night air.
I spotted Anca dancing with a dark-skinned male, a little older than her. When she saw me, she waved and smiled, blowing me a kiss before turning back to her dance.
“My mother’s your fan,” Lyris commented.
“She really is,” Andrei scoffed. “We spent an entire week at home listening to her talk about how beautiful, kind, and sweet you are.”
I smiled, pleased by the compliments.
“She’s the kind one.”
The music remained loud and joyful, and the wolves kept dancing around the pyres. The smell of burning eucalyptus smoke was strong, as was the scent of the meat roasting and soon to be served.
They all seemed so relaxed, as if there weren’t males patrolling every kilometer of the borders; as if there weren’t a greater threat lurking out there.
I exhaled deeply and shook my head, trying to push Alessio from my mind. He wouldn’t bother me—not tonight. I wouldn’t let him ruin my moment.
My chest softened. I lifted my head and scanned the crowd, searching for him.
Edric stood a few meters away, near one of the bonfires, talking with a group of males. He was smiling, his hands tucked into his pockets, looking completely at ease. His hair was tousled, a few rebellious curls falling across his forehead, and his eyes seemed to glow beneath the golden light of the flames.
I held my breath, ignoring my body’s erratic reaction to the sight. My heart raced, my breathing faltered, my throat tightened, and my stomach fluttered.
I’d been in love once—I knew exactly what all of that meant. And it terrified me in a way I couldn’t even describe.
I had learned too early that the heart was something precious, far too valuable to hand over to just anyone.
One of the males in the group said something that made him laugh. He looked so... young, unburdened—so different from the over-three-hundred-year-old alpha I knew.
He furrowed his dark brows, as if sensing something, and scanned the clearing with his blue eyes, searching. He found me, the silver in his gaze flickering like moonlight around his pupils.
I lost my breath, feeling completely struck by his stare, stepping back instinctively.
He lifted one corner of his lips in a half-smile, never breaking eye contact, watching me through his dark lashes with a focused look.
My body reacted uncontrollably.
And he sensed every fleeting reaction, judging by how his smile deepened.
It was as if one of the pyres surrounding us had ignited inside me, and the flames were consuming me whole.
So intensely that I could barely blink, barely breathe.
Thalira appeared in front of me, blocking my view of Edric. Behind her stood the two she-wolves who followed her everywhere, like shadows.
I blinked, dazed, snapping back to reality.
“Hello, Thalira,” I greeted, my throat dry.
My body tensed, the intensity of the alpha’s gaze fading. My wolf stirred inside me, making me part my lips in a low growl.
It was risky for her to stand so close when my wilder half wanted nothing more than to tear her head off. My self-control was pitiful against the deep, grotesque hatred I felt for the omega—a feeling born from the depths of my soul.
“How does it feel?” she asked, her brown eyes gleaming with genuine hatred.
I took a sip of my beer, wetting my throat before replying:
“I’m not sure I understand...”
“Turning into the alpha’s whore—used and soon to be discarded, like so many others before you.”
I felt Andrei take a step closer beside me. The air around us changed. Anton snorted, looking both bored and irritated by her.
I drank another sip of my beer calmly, keeping my wild instincts in check. That was what she wanted from me—a scene, something that would make the Eldoria wolves, who were finally starting to accept me, hate me all over again.
But she wouldn’t get it. Not this time.
“Like you?” I asked, blinking slowly.