by Eva Harper
“You’ve still been avoiding the pack?” he asked sadly. I avoided his gaze. His lips pursed, and he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing at the gesture. “Sloane, you can’t just starve yourself because you don’t want to see the pack.”
“Well, then you should get a mini fridge to put in here,” I teased.
He didn’t laugh.
I set the slice of pizza back into position in the box. Rush slipped off the brown dress shirt he had on, leaving him in a tight, white tee shirt. I smiled as the bottom of his shirt rose when he lifted his hands.
I hadn’t stopped looking at the strip of skin on his stomach hungrily before Rush had grabbed me around the waist, picked me up off the floor, and threw me on the bed. I laughed loudly as he kicked off his shoes and jumped on the bed.
He dipped down, nose skimming my cheek. His nose had a soft crookedness to it, probably from being broken, but I thought it made him look rugged.
“Someone missed me.” I lifted my leg to his waist and pulled him down to me. His lips gently curved, and he stared at me, faces close.
“I did,” he told me sweetly. I lifted my head and kissed him, never getting enough of the warmth that flooded my body when he touched me. He groaned softly against my skin and pressed his lips more aggressively to mine.
After a few minutes, we shook each other off and grabbed the box of pizza. Rush laid on his back, pants undone, hands grabbing a new slice of pizza each time his hand was empty. I laid next to him, curled into his side, stomach content, and full of pizza.
“Tomorrow is the ceremony,” he said conversationally.
I nodded against his chest. “Will it hurt?’
“It shouldn’t.” His eyes shifted down to me. “Are you nervous?”
I didn’t want to tell him, yes, but I also didn’t want to lie to him. I mulled over my options, and he took that as my answer.
“You have nothing to be worried about.” His arm reached over, and his hand touched the side of my face. He kissed my forehead as he pulled me closer. “One of our pack officials will say a few words, we’ll make a small cut on our palms, and then a ribbon will be tied around our hands to symbolize our union. It’s more for the elders than anything. They really like the tradition, and it lets everyone know that I’ve accepted you as my Luna.”
“I don’t want to be worried,” I told him. “I just don’t want to let you down.”
He scoffed and settled down further into the bed. We settled into a comfortable silence and fell asleep soon after. The pizza box was in the same place when we woke in the morning. Rush closed the lid and threw it in a loud clunk on the floor next to the garbage.
I wandered over to the closet and began shuffling through my everyday clothes. I didn’t own anything flashy or spectacular, those clothes were reserved for Isla.
“What are you doing?” Rush asked as his arms wrapped around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder. I reached up and touched his cheek affectionately.
“Trying to decide what to wear,” I hummed, pulling on the sleeve of a plain black shirt.
“I could help you decide what not to wear,” he murmured, sliding my tee-shirt collar down my shoulder and kissing the skin there. Little sparks floated down my body and settled in my feet.
“No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” I said, laughing. He let go of me, harrumphed, and began undressing behind me. I turned at the noise his clothes made as they hit the ground. My cheeks flared, and my eyes went wide.
“Want to skip the ceremony?” His eyebrow hitched. I shook my head and sucked my lips into my mouth. He chuckled and grabbed another pair of boxers from the drawer.
I decided on a long blue cotton dress. The fabric was covered with white embroidery and small woven strands of cotton over the bodice. I began tying the halter around my neck when Rush grabbed the strings from my hands and tied it delicately behind me.
I turned and ran a smooth hand over the white shirt he had put on. He smiled, kissed me, and shuffled me out of our room.
The ceremony was being held behind the packhouse, on a makeshift stage that looked like it had been constructed only days before.
I eyed it wearily, but Rush pulled me behind him, up the steps, and on display for his entire pack.
“Valkyrie Pack,” he called loudly. The sweet demeanor that he displayed in the bedroom was gone, a strong stone exterior replaced the softness. “Today, we welcome a new member to our pack, and we welcome a new Luna into our hearts. Sloane Calder will become the next Luna of this pack. I expect nothing but respect and kindness.” He pointedly looked at Beckett and his own mother in front of him.
An older man climbed on stage with the help of a younger woman. He smiled kindly at me as he approached, a ribbon and knife in his hands.
“Luna.” He bowed his head. It was strange to see such a show of respect, and I struggled with what to do in return. “Alpha.”
Rush nodded back to the man and held his hand out. The man placed the knife in his open palm. I leaned back as Rush held the knife firmly in his hand, staring at me expectantly.
“What?” I blurted out.
“Take the knife, Sloane,” he said, tense through clenched teeth. I frowned at his anger and grabbed the knife. Rush turned to his pack and began speaking loudly to them. My mind wandered off somewhere in the middle of his speech, and I stared blankly into the crowd of people. Rush cleared his throat and brought me out of my daze. My eyes snapped to him and his frustrated face.
“Sloane, are you paying attention?” he whispered. I fought the growl that wanted to come out. “Make the incision on your palm.”
I glanced at the pack, and they stared back at me, waiting. I was frozen in a strange bout of stage-fright and anxiety. Rush took the knife out of my hand, grabbed my hand, and brought the knife smoothly across my palm.
I sucked in my breath at the feeling of the blade. He made the same cut across his palm and then joined our hands, muttering some phrases. As we released our hands, the cut was already healed, a thin pink line in its place.
He gave the man the knife back and was handed the black ribbon.
“Now, we accept Luna Sloane into our lives with open hearts and respect. She has shown nothing but kindness and love towards your Alpha, and I expect that you show her the same.” He turned to me and tied the ribbon tightly around my palm, where the cut was made.
The old man walked closer to us, placed took each of our hands, and bowed. No one had told me what I was supposed to do, I didn’t know, and I blankly looked around me.
The old man was looking at me, smiling softly, and I snapped out of my daze.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered quickly.
“It’s alright, my dear, you may now remove the ribbon and address your pack.” He nodded encouragingly. I sent a glare over the Rush who was waiting silently. Could he not have told me I needed to give a speech?
I cleared my throat, stuttering. “I am honored to be your Luna. I hope someday I can prove to you my loyalty, but until then I will just ask that you give me a chance and I will do the same for you. I look forward to meeting all of you soon.”
Disenchanted
The pack didn’t erupt into cheers like I had hoped. They stared at me with aggressive eyes and reserved expressions. Rush nodded to his pack, grabbed my hand, and pulled me off the stage.
The pack dispersed behind us as he led me back into the packhouse.
“What the hell was that? Why didn’t you tell me I needed to speak?” I hissed in his ear.
“I thought you knew. I wasn’t trying to throw it at you, I just forget that you’ve never seen a Luna ceremony.”
“You forgot?” I asked incredulously. “And now your pack probably thinks I’m incompetent.”
He groaned and tugged me harder behind him. We climbed the stairs and walked back into our bedroom. He pulled his dress shirt out of his pants and visibly relaxed.
“No, they don’t,” he sighed, looking down. “They just don’t know you.”
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“Exactly,” I insisted. He slipped his shoes off on the floor, and he left a trail of clothes from the door to the closet. I didn’t follow him. “It would just be helpful if you could tell me what to do to make them like me.”
“What do you want me to say? Do you want me to script all your conversations and tell you how to make friends?” he called.
I didn’t want to fight with him. Actually, I did, but I didn’t want to exert the energy. I left our room and walked down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, hoping that a few moments alone would settle my ravenous anger.
The house was filled with pack members I didn’t know. Frustrated with my mate and all of the people in the house, I brushed past everyone in search of the kitchen.
A middle-aged woman grabbed my elbow and pulled me to a stop. My wavy hair flew across my face as the sudden change in direction.
“Luna,” she said happily, slowly. I paused and waited for her to speak. She didn’t.
“Yes?” I drawled out. She nearly laughed at something I was unaware of. “What?” I said harshly.
She stopped smiling. “Sorry. I just wanted to have the chance to meet you.”
“I’m sorry,” I began. The pack’s hostility had put me on edge.
Cordelia, Rush’s mother, moved through the crowd over to me. I braced myself for her arrival. “Don’t worry about Sloane, Veronica. She doesn’t know how to be a Luna yet.”
Veronica leaned on Cordelia’s shoulder, reveling in the familiarity of her old Luna.
“I may not know what to do yet, but I’ll learn.”
Cordelia scoffed at me, her blond hair falling gently over her shoulder, and put her hand on Veronica’s bicep. “Dear, being a Luna is something you are born with, you don’t just pick it up after a while.” Her voice was degrading, and if I were a bug, I would have been squashed on the floor after her words. Veronica didn’t interject into our conversation any further.
“What do you suggest I do then?” I asked loudly. People around the room turned their heads slightly at the intrusion.
“I suggest you lower your voice,” she growled, gripping my wrist in her manicured hand.
“Take your hands off of me,” I warned, staring at her pale, skinny arm attached to me. She tightened her grip and pushed me back slightly. I ripped my right hand from her grip and pushed her firmly away from me. Her eyes widened, and she stumbled back into a few of the other pack members.
“Don’t you ever put your hands on me like that,” I whispered, bending my head towards her face. “You will respect me even if you don’t like me or think I can be a Luna.”
The room behind me fell silent, the only sound was a pair of men’s shoes walking across the foyer.
“Sloane,” Rush’s voice entered my ears, but it didn’t stop me. “Was it really necessary to push my mother?”
“I could’ve done a lot worse.” I smiled sarcastically and turned to walk away.
“What the hell is your issue, Sloane?” he spat, bending down to check on his mother.
“My issue?” I smiled. “I don’t have an issue. At least, I thought I didn’t have an issue, but then you keep springing things on me, and your mom seems to think that I’m not fit to be your mate.”
He rolled his eyes and rose to his feet once again. “Did you think everyone was just going to accept you right away? We know nothing about you yet. Respect is earned, Sloane.”
“Then let me earn it. Stop trying to undermine my relationship with you in front of your pack. You are supposed to help me. You’ve been training for this role since you were born, this is the first time I even thought I would run a pack one day.”
The foyer dispersed at the growl of their Alpha. Feet were frantically running out of the room, leaving me, Cordelia, Rush, and Beckett behind.
“You don’t run a pack,” Rush explained rudely. “I run a pack. You look after the women and children. You make sure that everyone is happy. I make the decisions. You report to me, Sloane, not the other way around.”
“That’s all I am to you?” I wondered, smiling, although nothing about the situation was funny. Cordelia remained on the ground, staring at me with an insatiable need to tear me down.
“You are my mate, Sloane,” he reminded me, walking towards me. “I will care for you, but make no mistake, I am the Alpha.”
“Duly noted, Alpha,” I said flatly, stepping back further and further.
“Where are you going?” he asked, trailing behind me. I didn’t turn to him until I reached the door at the back of the house.
“Anywhere but here,” I told him. His eyes held hurt, although he didn’t show it on any other part of his body. I waited for him to stop me. I wanted the relaxed, loving, funny, Rush that I had spent my first two days with to run after me.
He didn’t run after me.
I watched the door slam in front of me, his body didn’t move behind the shadowy door. I kept walking, even though I wanted to stop and run back inside. There was nothing I could do if he viewed me as a silly girl.
I was reliving every conversation I had with my father, every time he told me he wished he had sons instead of daughters, every time he told me I was responsible for his embarrassment, every time he told me I wasn’t smart enough to become a Beta.
I kept walking, not knowing where I would end up, but realizing I was going anyway. I couldn’t stay there, after all, every man lets you down eventually.
Tequila Sunrise
I ended up in the human town two miles over. The streets all looked the same, and with the number of faces passing by me, I couldn’t even tell which direction I was heading.
The people looked at me strangely, as if they could tell I wasn’t human. There was an old myth that werewolves were born with incredible beauty, blessed by the moon. Isla was the beautiful one in our family with long dark hair, doe eyes, and full rose lips. I was cast in her shadow.
Somewhere close to me smelled like alcohol, and I yearned for the sweet ache of tequila down my throat. The bar was dark with wood walls and old red stools, but it was comfortable and smelled like sweet cigars.
There were a few tables with men, one with a female couple, and a bartender who was leaning over the bar watching his patrons. I walked up to the counter and set my wallet on it, showing the man I could pay. He hauled himself up and strolled over to me, his beer belly brushing the edge of the counter as he walked.
“What can I get you,” he drawled, a meaningless smile coating his scruffy face.
“Tequila,” I said plainly, slumping down onto a warn leather stool. “And keep ‘em coming.”
“Rough day there, lass?” a lowly voice asked from my right. A tawny-haired man looked at me sideways, his hazel eyes gripping me.
“Yeah,” I murmured, smiling politely. He was a nice-looking man, a few years my senior, but he wasn’t Rush. “I guess.”
“Ron,” he called to the bartender, his thick European accent pouring out. “Put her drinks on my tab.” I opened my mouth, wanting to tell him no, but he moved over two seats and sat closer to me. “Don’t worry about it, lass. Pretty thing like you shouldn’t drink alone.”
The tequila was smooth down my throat, its familiar sting comforting me in the strangest way. Alcohol didn’t affect us in the same way as humans. The bartender would call us alcoholics with the amount of liquor it would take to get shifters intoxicated the same as a human. Luckily, I didn’t partake in drinking much, and it wouldn’t take me nearly as much as other shifters.
Oliver, my bar mate, was friendly and easy to talk to. He had plenty of jokes, and although it took my mind off Rush for a few minutes, there was nothing I wanted more than to go back in time before I met Oliver or Rush or anyone from that town.
Soon, my body began to slouch, finally feeling the weight of the tequila in my veins.
“Finally drunk, are ya?” Oliver chortled.
I lifted my face and tried to appear sober. “No, I am not,” I slurred, smiling flirtatiously. “I’m p
erfectly fine.”
“I’m not so sure.” He smirked.
I sat up straighter. “Well, if I was drunk, could I do this?” I asked as I touched the top of my finger to my nose.
“Probably,” Oliver said flatly, daring me to do something more dangerous.
“Well, what about this?” I stood up from my seat and sat on the edge of a tall, sturdy, wooden table. My legs flew into the air as I tried to kick them up high enough to touch the tops of my outstretched fingers.
“You probably could do that, as well.” He laughed and stood, reaching his hand out for me. Oliver’s hand reached out and grabbed my calf in some attempt to help steady me as I teetered close to the edge of the table. “But why don’t you come down from there, ya?”
“I quite like it up here,” I noted, looking out on everyone around me. The door to the bar opened and let in a stream of light. Kenna’s face appeared in the creak. “Kenna!”
“Sloane,” she half shouted, half cursed. “What are you doing? Rush is outside tearing into every store and restaurant in town looking for you. Get over here!”
She was overshadowed by Oliver’s tall, skinny frame. He reached his hand out more directly, urging me to listen to my only friend.
“You both are boring,” I teased, snorting at my own words. I placed my tequila glass on the table. Oliver relaxed his hand, thinking I was coming down, but I only relaxed back against the table, laying over it like a swimsuit model. My head tilted back, creating a streamline from my extended legs to my neck.
“Sloane,” Kenna called, looking anxiously at the door.
“What?” I asked innocently. The door opened again, and the light only entered for a moment, someone’s large body blocking the sun. “Uh oh.”
“Uh oh?” My mate’s voice became very close to my ear, and I turned my head quickly, nearly colliding with him in the process. He looked into my red eyes, flushed face, red cheeks, and narrowed his eyes. “Are you drunk?”