"You don’t have to co to this eting," Damian said for the third ti as they prepared to leave for the pack house. "It’s just routine pack business. Marcus can represent you as Luna."
"I want to co," Eve insisted, checking her appearance in the mirror one final ti. She wore a simple black dress....elegant but modest, covering the worst of her scars from Rex and Kane’s claiming. "I’m Luna. I should be present at pack etings, not hiding at the estate."
"It’s not hiding," Silas said carefully. "It’s acknowledging that your presence affects the pack males in ways that create...plications."
"You an they get aroused and you want to kill them," Eve said bluntly. "I know. But I can’t avoid the pack forever. And I’ve been practicing my pheromone control. I can keep them suppressed enough that it won’t be overwhelming."
"Can you?" Damon asked, his green eyes skeptical. "Because earlier today, you were glowing so bright you lit up three rooms. That kind of power doesn’t just disappear."
He had a point. The three-hour marathon feeding session this morning had left Eve more charged than ever before. Her bracelet still showed green...she wouldn’t need to feed again for several hours. But she could feel the power humming beneath her skin, ready to surge at any mont.
"I’ll be careful," Eve promised. "And you’ll all be there. If it becos too much, if the males react too strongly, we’ll leave imdiately."
The brothers exchanged glances but finally nodded.
"The mont I see a problem," Damian said firmly, "we’re leaving. No argunts."
"Agreed," Eve said.
The drive to the pack house took twenty minutes. Eve sat in the back between Silas and Damon, trying to calm her nerves. She’d been to one pack eting before....the disastrous introduction where Cassandra had called her a whore and multiple males had stared too long.
This ti would be different. This ti she was prepared.
Or so she thought.
*****
THE PACK HOUSE - 7:30 PM
The eting room was already filled when they arrived....at least sixty pack mbers gathered for the weekly assembly. Conversations stopped the mont Eve entered with her three mates.
Every eye turned to her. Every male nose lifted slightly, scenting the air. And despite her best efforts to suppress her pheromones, Eve felt the wave of desire that rippled through the room.
"Steady," Damian murmured in her ear, his hand firm on her lower back.
They made their way to the front where the alpha’s seats were positioned. Eve sat between Damian and Silas, with Damon on Damian’s other side...a wall of protective alpha dominance surrounding their mate.
"Let’s begin," Damian said, his voice carrying authority that made every wolf in the room sit up straighter. "First item....border patrols. Marcus, report."
Marcus stood, giving his weekly report on territory security. Eve tried to focus on his words, but she could feel the attention on her. Could sense the male wolves watching, their desire barely contained.
She glanced around the room and imdiately regretted it.
Ethan....the young wolf who’d approached her inappropriately at the last eting...was sitting three rows back. And he was staring. Not subtly. Not trying to hide it. Just openly staring at her with undisguised hunger in his eyes.
His arousal was obvious even from this distance. The scent of it thick in the air, unmistakable.
Eve quickly looked away, focusing on Marcus’s report. But she could still feel Ethan’s eyes on her. Could still sll his desire.
And she could feel Damon tensing beside Damian, clearly having noticed the sa thing.
"Second item," Damian continued, his voice slightly harder now. "Resource allocation for the northern territory. We need to discuss...."
A shuffle of movent. Eve glanced over and saw Ethan had shifted in his seat....adjusting himself obviously, his hand moving to his lap in a way that left no doubt what he was doing.
He was touching himself. Right there in the pack eting. While staring at her.
Damon’s hand slamd down on the armrest of his chair so hard the wood cracked.
"Ethan," Damon’s voice cut through the room like a whip. "Stand up."
The room went silent. Every conversation stopped. Every eye turned to the young wolf who’d just made a fatal mistake.
Ethan stood slowly, his face pale as he realized he’d been caught.
"Co here," Damon commanded.
Ethan walked to the front on shaking legs. When he was close enough, Damon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"You dare," Damon snarled, his eyes flashing gold. "You dare to touch yourself while staring at our mate? In a pack eting? In front of your alphas?"
"I’m sorry," Ethan choked out. "I couldn’t....she’s just so.....I couldn’t control...."
"CONTROL IS WHAT SEPARATES US FROM ANIMALS," Damon roared, slamming Ethan against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster. "You are a WOLF. You are part of this PACK. And you will show respect to your Luna or I will RIP YOUR THROAT OUT."
"Damon," Damian said quietly, though his own eyes were gold now too. "Put him down. You’ve made your point."
Damon dropped Ethan, who crumpled to the floor gasping.
"You’re banned from pack etings for the next month," Damian said coldly. "And you’ll spend that month on border patrol duty....night shift, alone. Maybe the solitude will teach you so fucking self-control. Get out. Now."
Ethan scrambled to his feet and fled, the door slamming behind him.
Damian turned to address the rest of the pack, his voice hard. "Let make this absolutely clear. Eve is our mate. Your Luna. She is OURS. Looking is one thing.....we understand her nature affects you involuntarily. But touching yourselves while staring at her? Inappropriate comnts? Any behavior that crosses the line from involuntary attraction to deliberate disrespect? That ends in blood. Am I understood?"
A chorus of "Yes, Alpha" filled the room.
But Eve could still feel it.....the desire, the attraction, the barely controlled arousal from multiple males in the room. Her presence was affecting them all, even with her pheromones suppressed. Her succubus nature was simply too strong, too compelling.
"This was a mistake," she whispered to Silas. "I shouldn’t have co."
"You have every right to be here," Silas said firmly. "They need to learn control. Need to learn to function with their Luna present even if she affects them."
"But at what cost?" Eve asked. "How many more wolves will Damon nearly kill before they learn?"
As if to prove her point, another male across the room was staring....trying to be subtle but failing. His arousal was obvious, his breathing heavy, his hands gripping his chair’s armrests so tight they were turning white.
Damon noticed. His eyes locked on the male...a warrior nad Jacob....and his expression promised violence.
"We’re leaving," Eve said suddenly, standing. "Right now. Before soone else dies because they can’t control themselves around ."
"Eve...." Damian started.
"Please," Eve interrupted. "I can’t be here. I can’t be the reason you kill your own pack mbers. I just....I need to leave."
The brothers looked at each other, then nodded.
"Marcus, you’re in charge," Damian said curtly. "Finish the eting without us."
User Comments
0 comments from readers