Chapter 49 Preparing for the Shift pt 3
Seren
I came to a stop and looked up at the woman. She was tall, at least eight inches taller than I am. She had long, wavy blond hair and green eyes, and her makeup looked like a professional had done it; every shade perfectly applied. “What are you doing? Can I help you?” I asked. Years of being bullied had alarms blaring in my head, my stomach beginning to knot. The unease crawling up my spine was a familiar feeling. I haven’t even been awake and moving around in this pack for eighteen hours yet, and it seemed I was already being pushed back into the same role I’ve always had.
She sneered, flicking her eyes up and down me dismissively. “So you’re the little tart Duncan brought back from Blood Moon. Rumor has it that you’re looking to be the Luna of this pack. I’m telling you now, you’d better give up on that and run along. Duncan is mine, and I am the only one who will be the Luna here.” Her grip tightened as she pulled me to her. “Even if you’ve got his attention right now, it’s out of pity. Everyone here knows that he’s only ever truly loved me.” She released my arm, shoving me away as she did so. I ended up catching myself against the wall. By this time, Kara was snarling in my head. ‘Mate is ours. Let me at her. I want to rip her throat out!’
‘Kara, we can’t. We don’t even know who this person is, much less whether she had something going on with Duncan before we got here. She must mean something to him for her to be this bold.’
She just continued growling, pacing in my mind. In the meantime, the woman was still standing there, glaring at me. “Are you mute, too? Don’t you have anything to say?”
“That’s enough, Lenore. If you continue to behave this way towards the future Luna, you will be punished appropriately.” I heard the voice behind me, steel in the tone. I started to feel calmer, and Kara settled down inside me. Lucian stepped up beside me, reaching a hand out to me. “Are you okay?” he asked me. I nodded, and though he looked at my arm, he didn’t say anything about it. I had no idea how much he had seen or heard before he intervened.
He looked back at Lenore, his eyes like ice. “Alpha Duncan will hear about this. I suggest you get your apology ready. Now leave.” She glared at me one last time, then skirted around Lucian and hastily walked away. Turning back to me, Lucian gently held out my arm and pushed up the sleeve of my sweater so that he could look at my bicep. The squishy, oversized knit moved easily for him, and he cursed under his breath when he saw the bruises she had left. “Seren, you’re the future Luna here, and abuse of any kind is not tolerated in this pack. You don’t have to take that kind of behavior, not from anyone. Do you understand?”
I ignored his question and asked him one of my own. “How did you know?”
“I’m your Gamma. I felt the Luna-Gamma bond start to form the minute we entered Blood Moon pack, though I didn’t realize what it was until we found you in the dungeon and Duncan claimed you as his mate. It’s unusual for it to form prior to the Luna Ceremony, but nothing about you is usual.” He grinned at me. “I felt your emotions when you got uneasy, and I felt the pain in your arm where she grabbed you. Our bond allows me to know when you’re in distress, pain, fear, or otherwise need something, and it helps lead me to you. I’ll be here to calm you when you need me, to find you when you’re hurt, and to aid you. My loyalty to you will be above that of my loyalty to the Alpha. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.”