The Tides Are Changing

The Tides Are Changing
Gissette

I walked out of Rasiah’s room, stopping just outside of Damian’s room. I anxiously ran my hands down my pants as I thought about the last two hours. I had personally spoken to each of the other council members about what Osprey and Arianna had said. I knew I was the newest member besides Osprey, but I was just as determined as he was to change things for the better, and that meant standing up for our females, myself included. So far, all of the council members had expressed interest in voting with Osprey, which was more than I could ever hoped for. And now, I only hoped that Damian would also see that this was right.

I swallowed hard. The only problem was that this was going to be the first time I was alone with him since I realized he was my mate. He hadn’t shown any inclination that he knew I was his mate, and that was the biggest part of why I was so anxious. How was I supposed to convince him to side with the rest of us when he didn’t even respect me as his mate? I wasn’t sure if he would agree with the council member’s need to protect mates. I raised my hand to knock on the door, but I froze before my knuckles could rap across the wood. I shouldn’t be so scared. He was just another member of the council, and I wasn’t a coward.

“SONIA! STOP IT! YOU’RE MINE NOW! YOU HAVE TO OBEY ME! YOU ARE A HUMAN! I AM AN ALPHA! I OWN YOU!” Orion yelled from down the hall.

“I SAID NO!” A woman screamed, her voice wavering with fear. “I DON’T WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU!”

What the fuck?! Was Orion trying to rape that woman? Not on my watch! I spun around without hesitation to rush down the hall and throw open the door.

“ORION, STOP!” I yelled.

He froze immediately as his head whipped around to glare at me. “THIS DOESN’T CONCERN YOU, GISETTE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!”

“NO! THIS IS EXACTLY THE REASON WHY FEMALES NEED TO HAVE PROTECTION! YOU CAN’T JUST FORCE WOMEN TO SLEEP WITH YOU! IT’S NOT RIGHT!” I screamed. “DO YOU EVEN CARE THAT WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO DO TO HER IS GOING TO TRAUMATIZE HER? DOES IT EVEN MATTER TO YOU THAT WHEN A WOMAN IS RAPED, THAT IT AFFECTS HER FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE?!”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “That is not my problem! If she had obeyed my orders, we wouldn’t be having this problem! I bought her before she was 18! She is my property, and I’m allowed to do whatever I want to her! And there’s not a fucking thing you can do to stop me!”

I stepped further into the room calmly, my heart pounding furiously as I held his gaze. “Try me.”

He let out a furious growl as he leaped toward me, and I braced myself for his attack. I knew I deserved it for getting involved in something that I didn’t need to, but I couldn’t help it. A millisecond before his blow landed on me, someone leaped in front of me and punched Orion straight in the face.
“You will not touch her! I don’t give a fuck who you are!” Damian hissed.

“WHO IN THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, DAMIAN?! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EITHER OF YOU!” Orion yelled angrily. “SONIA IS MINE!”

“YOU MADE IT MY BUSINESS WHEN YOU TRIED TO ATTACK MY MATE!” Damian growled loudly, his words echoing around the room, drowning out my surprised gasp.

“Mate?” Orion asked, shocked. “She’s your mate?”

Damian rolled his shoulders back as he straightened up. “That’s what I said. I don’t see the need to repeat myself. As Sonia isn’t your mate, you have no right to attack mine over her!” He took a step closer to Orion. “But as Gisette is my mate, I have every right to challenge you and seek out punishment for your attack on her.”

Orion narrowed his eyes at Damian as he tried to think of a way out of the mess he had created for himself. “Are you going to challenge me?”

Damian crossed his arms over his chest. “Should I? Osprey already seems eager to do so. And to be honest with you,” he continued, his eyes moving over Orion’s body, “he can take you easily. I think the best thing for everyone involved is to report this to the council and let them decide how best to punish you.” He paused as his eyes flickered over his shoulder to me. “Or you can relinquish the girl to me for the night until we can rule on what you can and can’t do to her in the morning.”

“She’s mine! You can’t have her,” Orion hissed.

“So be it. I’ll call a council meeting tonight and inform them that you tried to attack Gisette. Either way, you don’t get to stay here with her. If I bring a vote to the council to punish you for attacking Gisette, the penalties are a lot higher than those for what you have done to this girl. Make up your mind about which way we go,” Damian told him firmly.

I watched as Orion’s eyes flickered, telling me that his bear was just below the surface and was eager to come out. Finally, he threw his hands up in the air.

“Fine! You can have Sonia for tonight,” Orion spat, making me fight to keep the smile off my face. When Damian held out his hand to the girl, Orion grabbed his wrist hard enough to break it in two. “But be warned, I will have her back tomorrow.”

Damian smirked at him as he chuckled darkly. “We’ll see about that, Orion.” He yanked his wrist away from Orion. “Just like you’ll see what will happen if you ever even think about putting your hands on Gisette again. Now, come here, Sonia.”

Sonia flew across the room to hide behind Damian. I draped my arm over her shoulders as Orion and Damian continued their faceoff for a moment before my mate turned around, grabbed my wrist, and dragged both Sonia and me out of the room. As soon as I turned, I swallowed hard when I found the rest of the council members standing in the hallway, watching what was going on. Right before Damian dragged me into his room, Osprey nodded at me, mouthing, ‘Thank you.’ The moment the door was slammed shut, Damian pointed to the couch.

“That’s your place for the night. While I might be nicer than Orion, I would suggest you not try my patience more than it has already been tried tonight.”

The girl sprinted across the room and sat on the couch, her body trembling with fear, while I warily eyed Damian. I wanted to shift nervously, but I was too afraid to do anything. I swallowed hard before opening my mouth to speak, only to shut it again when his brown eyes flickered to black. He tilted his head as he studied my face before stepping toward me, crowding me until I couldn’t think.

“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble tonight, Gisette. You stood outside my door without knocking, while I waited for you. Do you have any idea how hard it was to hear you speaking to everyone else? Making up every excuse in the book to not talk to me? You’ve been avoiding me for months, Gisette, and the first time I have a chance to be alone with you, I have to fight to protect you! What were you thinking? Does this girl mean that much to you that you would risk your life to protect her?” he inquired softly as he cupped my face.

“I…I wasn’t thinking. I was coming to talk to you about how you felt about what Osprey said, and it just happened. She needed help, and I was capable of helping her,” I responded.

“But why? Do you know what could have happened to you had I not gotten involved? He could have seriously hurt you!” Damian growled, his voice wavering with fear and anger.

I was quiet for a moment before lowering my eyes from his and saying, “Before I became alpha of Silver Birch, my brother was the alpha. I had been demoted to an omega. I was just the alpha’s little sister. Only when he was killed in battle, and my father named me as the new alpha, did I matter. When I was living as an omega, I was abused. My life didn’t matter. The punishment for hurting me was next to nothing, and for years, I suffered at the hands of mainly the men in my sleuth. That’s why I couldn’t just stand by.”

He studied my face for a long moment before he sighed as he pulled me into his arms. “No one will ever hurt you again, Gisette. I will vote with you. It’s time the laws change.” He turned his head to look at the girl, trembling on the couch behind him. “Not just for our sows, but for every woman that suffers at the hands of our boars.” He kissed my forehead. “But I will only vote with you on one condition.”

I tilted my head back to look into his eyes. “What do you want?”

“Well, it’s two parts actually. One, I want you to agree to be my mate. In every way.”

I swallowed hard again as I nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Good. The second, when Osprey challenges Orion for leadership, I want you to back him. Orion has been in control for far too long, and it has gone to his head.”

I smiled softly at him as I nodded. “You don’t even have to ask. That’s what I want too.”

“Good. Now, on to more important things. It’s been 6 months, Gisette, and I have yet to claim you.” He pulled me flush against his body. “When we vote tomorrow, I want you to bear my mark…among other things.”

I gulped nervously. “O-okay.”

He picked me up and carried me into the bathroom. “It’ll make this war we’re waging easier to fight if I’m not also fighting my feelings for you…”