26. ASANI

26

ASANI

Nepheline is adorably fierce when she's angry. Granted the scratches down Mateo and River's arms are remnants of just how fierce she can be and the bruised lips tell me exactly where River put his mark. Both him and Remi are menaces in that regard. My gaze darts back to Remi, remembering words he shared with me earlier. I'm fairly certain Maverick might have picked up on it but it isn't my secret to share. It's something I've assumed for a while just based on the way he finds comfort with us.

I think I love him a little bit more, knowing that he feels safe enough with us to open up. I can't wait for the moments when he shares those same words with the entire pack so that he flourishes with the attention he so justly deserves.

Our Omega stomps into the living room, waiting for us to join her. River and Remi don't wait for an invitation as they slip her out of Maverick's shirt and begin tending to her newest bonds. She tries not to succumb to the pleasure but I can see the way her body trembles between the two of them.

I sit beside Mateo, Maverick suspiciously in the armchair across the room. He's another one of the mates that I find adorable. Different than Remi and Nepheline but no less interesting. He wants to lean and to open up but I think the ride into the woods may have been a little too far. Even so, every time our eyes meet, his cheeks pink a little, and then his gaze darts away.

Soon, he'll be mine.

Nepheline finally relaxes when Darius comes behind her and pulls her into his lap in the middle of the nest. Mateo finds a spot directly in front of her, taking her hands in his. "Go ahead, princess. I can feel your need to ask questions."

"Several, actually. I don't understand how they got through the veil. River said that they couldn't-" She smacks Remi away when the Alpha bites down on her breast, her body responding to the Alpha's touch. "We can fuck later but both you and River are in the doghouse."

Maverick speaks up. "That veil is to protect us from outside forces but I have a suspicion that some of those might have been pack members at some point and then switched to working with Kylan and Calista."

Nepheline frowns. "They were Nightshade wolves?"

Mateo squeezes her hands and shakes his head. "Not that I'm aware of. I don't recognize them, which means that Calista has been planning this for far longer than we probably realized."

"Okay, now for my wolf. Why all the colors? My crest shows that."

"Because you're not just an Omega, Nepheline," Darius muses as he sets his chin on her shoulder. His arms wrap tightly around her waist as she leans back into the embrace. "You're also not just a Luna. You're mated to several powerful men, from four different packs, and starting a new pack where magic is abundant."

I was surprised when I saw the red and silvery blue through her coat but it was the one stripe of black that caught me off guard. Those darker colors are usually reserved for Alpha wolves, which means that Nepheline has a stroke of power that remains untapped. I wonder if there is a name for what she is or if she'll be the strongest Luna in recent centuries. Or both.

"One last question. It has to do with the wolf that's buried here. The one you thought was me. Who was it? Who was killed?"

Silence meets her question because not one of us has thought about that. I swallow and lean forward, ready to placate our Omega with a half-truth when Darius' shoulders fall in defeat. "Silas wanted to break you, Mateo, said that he needed a white wolf to do that. I didn't understand then that he was trying to replicate Bambi. He didn't say anything about an Omega at that point."

"But where did the white wolf come from?"

The Beta sighs, obviously not wanting to bring back memories from that pack. "Not all our wolves are black and gray, Bambi. Some of the Betas are white. Very few. I suspect he sacrificed one of the pack members."

A somber aura falls over us as Nepheline drinks in that information. I must be a selfish person, relieved that no one from our pack lost their lives and yet I feel for the innocent wolf who was killed to hurt Mateo. "One last thing," Nepheline murmurs as she pulls out of Darius' grasp. She stands up and looks around at each of us, frowning when I interject.

"I thought you said that was the last question."

Her brows furrow but the flush that covers her entire body tells me she isn't mad. "This isn't a question. Everyone needs a shower because you all smell like Kylan and it's making me sick."

We all scramble for a bathroom, not one of us wanting that man's scent on us any longer than we have to. Unsurprisingly, Darius pulls Nepheline into a bathroom of their own, the door shutting behind them.

Remi comes up behind me and lets out a pitiful groan. "I've never wanted to be a Beta so bad in my entire life."