Chapter 6

Six

This time, when I wake, I am in a tangle of limbs, and a soft knocking at the door makes Chase growl.

“Alpha Chase, it’s nearly 1 p.m. We need Luna to approve quite a few things, and there are a few matters that need the Alphas’ immediate consideration!” Beta announces through the door.

“Little wolf, are you decent?” Max asks, then finds my bare breast and grins over at me.

“We will be out in a moment. Send up breakfast and a maid for the Luna,” Garret barks, leaning over and placing a searing kiss on my parched lips.

“Morning, mate. Tomorrow, you’re ours,” he greets, then gets out of bed, his naked Adonis self unabashedly strutting across the room.

“If you can’t walk today, we’ll carry you wherever you need to go,” Max adds before kissing me and then rolling out of bed, following after Garret.

“You are perfection, little wolf. Never has a she-wolf ever made me howl like you. I cannot wait till tomorrow to claim you in front of everyone,” Chase says, nuzzling my neck before licking up to my lips and dragging his lips across mine.

I pull a pillow over, propping myself up to watch as these sexy Alphas prepare for the day, moving around in various forms of undress, looking from one to the other without a word. Chase looks over and freezes. The other two turn toward me, and they smile.

“You look fucking amazing, completely naked in our bed, splayed out with our scents,” Chase announces, his nostrils flaring.

A knock at the door causes the three of them to growl. I grab a blanket and tug it over my naked body as Chase opens the door for the maid from yesterday.

He looks back and winks at me before exiting the room. Max smiles and follows him. But Garret grins, “In my head, I’m already back over there, deep inside you. Rest up, Luna.”

I laugh at this, and he passes the maid, who stares down at the ground.

“Would you like a shower, Luna?” she asks when the door closes.

“Will that help with the soreness?” I ask, wiggling in the dull ache.

She looks up curiously, then shrugs slightly. “It’s worth a try.”

“Do you know any Omegas?” I ask, curiously shifting to the edge of the bed, my legs feeling weak, a slight pain pinching in my back.

“Yes, Luna. Why?” she asks, watching me move with concern on her face.

“Do they usually feel so worn down after a big night?” I ask, testing my legs by pushing my feet to the ground.

“Omegas are like rubber bands—they bounce back super fast, at least all the ones I’ve known that have been through here.”

“Been through here?” I ask, pushing off the bed. Then, with a gasp and a sharp pain in my back, I fall to the floor.

“Luna!” she cries, running toward my naked form. “I’ll summon the Alphas!”

“No!” I demand, Sola filling my brain for a moment, claws extending from my fingertips before my back snaps, and the pain and weakness flee.

The woman stands frozen, staring at me, unspeaking.I get to my feet, my claws retracting. “Did you tell them?”

“No.” Her small frame quakes as she speaks, and I let out a sigh.

“You see, I am fine, just slept wrong,” I lie as Sola shifts in my mind, telling me I am wrong.

“But Alpha?—”

“Does not need to know. Please start the shower so I can talk to them without them panicking,” I soothe, gesturing for the woman to go to the bathroom. She walks quickly to ready the shower, and I glance at the mirror, not wanting them to think I am weak.

“A broken bone isn’t weak; you healed,” Sola argues, her presence growing stronger.

“We will talk to them together about it once you’re here, if it’s necessary,” I promise her.

“I’ll make you strong; they will never worry about us.”

I walk to the bathroom and glance at the maid, who lowers her gaze, and I frown. I hadn’t wanted her to be upset about not telling the Alphas.

“I am sorry you are in the middle. I will tell them you have nothing to worry about.”

She nods and leaves the bathroom. I step in, wondering if my lack of clothes was another deterrent to her eye contact.

I shower quickly, eager to talk to the maid about what is wrong. When I exit the shower, fresh clothes wait for me with toiletries on the counter. I dress quickly, then make my way out to my room, not seeing any sign of her.

I make my way out of my room and to the stairs, where people are moving from floor to floor in a rush. Some are decorating, while others are moving supplies. People dart out of my way but smile at me or nod respectfully. I don’t spot my maid, but my search is short, as soon as my foot hits the main floor, people swarm around me, asking for approval for flowers, food, dresses, and music.

It’s a whirlwind of excitement and questions, only halted when I am rescued for dinner with the Alphas. I know as soon as I see them that they have no idea about this morning. They halt their conversation when I walk in, all three smiling brightly at me, and Chase rises to his feet, pulling out a chair for me.

“How was your day, little wolf?” he greets, inhaling deeply as I pass.

“Pleasantly chaotic,” I reply, taking my seat and considering if my smell was turning more Omega-like as we get closer to midnight.

Garret chuckles, rubbing his knuckles over mine.

“And how are you feeling from last night?” Max asks, watching me intently.

“Sore at first, but great since I’ve been up and moving. It was a rough start.”

My partial honesty isn’t met with too much concern, which I find refreshing, and I accept my plate of food, thanking the Moon Goddess for the nourishment before digging in.

“Did you miss all your meals again today?” Chase asks, watching me with adoration.

“Yeah, I was busy answering so many questions. Mind you, we did wake up pretty late,” I say around bites.

“It was an amazing start to the day. If you didn’t know, you were perfection last night, little wolf,” Chase compliments with a wink.

“Had to be the most intense thing I have ever experienced.”

“How much experience have you had, little wolf?” Garret asks, curiosity lighting his eyes.

“Experience?” I ask after swallowing a piece of fish.

“We won’t be jealous, just curious,” Garret adds, looking at the others.

“You mean with sex?” I ask, frowning.

“Yes,” Garret chuckles with a sexy smile.

“Just with you guys, of course. You see, my family makes sex sound like a chore or a means to an end.”

The silence that encompasses me makes me look up from my nearly empty plate. Three pairs of eyes stare at me with an intensity that makes Sola as nervous as me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, looking to each of them.

“You didn’t smell like a virgin when we met,” Chase admits, his brow creased.

“I thought you said I don’t have a scent?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s true… I just feel like an asshole for your first time being in a park.”

“It was amazing and memorable. Also, I captured three knots—I don’t know any other she-wolf who can brag about that,” I reply cheekily, earning grins from my Alphas.

After a second helping of food, we retire to the sitting room.

We lounge in a large, darkly decorated room, the guys taking turns sitting with me on the couch. Sola purrs like a damn cat in my head as the clock ticks closer to midnight. The light tingle of electricity under Max’s fingers is strange but soothing as the very long day kindly begins to wind down. After selecting from all the various options brought to me throughout the day, the quiet and calm of the room was a goddess’s blessing.

“The Beta needs us for the last-minute adjustments to the guest lists, and then we can get our Luna in bed. Goddess, it feels like forever since she’s screamed for us,” Chase announces, rising from an armchair and reaching for my hand. His strong hand sends that trickle of electricity into me, and I giggle, following him out of the sitting room and down the hall to the dining room.

“Alphas, Luna,” Beta greets respectfully. I glance at the doc, who sits in a chair watching Max closely.

“Hey, Doc. Good as new, thanks to our Luna,” Max beams, caressing my shoulder. The doc smiles but doesn’t look my way; instead, he begins to write on a paper, nodding happily.

“So we just have to make sure the guest list got sent out, and if we missed a pack, we can send out a runner tomorrow.”

“We should, of course, have Crescent and Gibson,” Chase lists, ticking the names off on his fingers.

“And, of course, Scarborough, Darkmoon, and Sentinel,” Max adds, looking thoughtful.

“Aren’t we inviting everyone?” Garret asks, shaking his head and lifting his hands up.

“Well, it is officially on Halloween, so many packs have their own things going on, and since we don’t celebrate, it’s gonna be interesting,” Beta explains, writing on his list.

“Why don’t you all celebrate Halloween?” I ask, watching as the doctor rolls his eyes.

“Old premonition about our pack, but maybe we can revisit it for next year?” Beta requests, looking at the Alphas.

“You think the threat will go away because they claim a Luna?” the doctor interjects, looking at Beta in shock.

“We will table that till another time. Did we invite Nightshade and Coldhide?” Chase asks, drawing the attention of Doc and Beta to him.

“Why not invite everyone except the whores from Valentina pack,” Doc interjects, rubbing his face tiredly.

My chair flies backward, smashing into the wall. “How dare you call a pack that!” I yell, rage engulfing me, my claws emerging from my fingertips.

“Whoa! Luna, he would never talk like that about any other pack. The Valentina wolves are different, they are…” Beta begins, looking at the Alphas.

“Desperate?”

“Whorish?”

“Dirty?” the Alphas supply, drawing my clear intent to take out the doctor from my mind and turning the room into horror.

“They are cursed!” I argue, Sola feeding my anger as I look at my mates with disbelief.

“Yeah, like Doc was saying, the Valentinas will be the downfall of our pack because of their inability to keep their legs closed,” Chase explains with a shrug. “We aren’t trying to be sexist, little wolf.”

“Name is Luna. Luna Valentina, and I am guessing plans are canceled for tomorrow because no one needs a whore as their Luna.”

“Shit,” Doc gasps, backing away from me.

“Little wolf…” Chase begins as Garret moves toward me.

“NO!” I yell, the clock striking midnight and power filling me. Sola howls in my mind, and my skin tingles, calling me to my Alphas, but they are frozen as they stare. “Can’t have a Valentina whore ruining your perfect little pack.”

I barely make it out of the door to the dining room before shifting into my huge wolf body, busting a hole in the door frame as I take off into the darkness, their rejection and insinuations clawing within me.

I run, trying to catch the full moon, ignoring wolves everywhere worshiping the Moon Goddess. The absence of my Alphas grows more painful the farther I go. There was no way I would go back to my pack, but I wasn’t wanted for anything but my whorish body back with the Alphas, and now it was considered dirty.

My muscles flex, and I bear down, running faster, uncaring who sees me, wishing only to be free of this pain.