14.3: Stupid Cupid

Levi’s POV

I hate negotiating treaties!

It’s not like the Black Lunar Pack needed them. My pack was strong in itself and I really didn’t get the point of “exchanging training techniques”. My Deltas had that down to the tooth and our Fighters and Elites were the best in the land, even beating the Royal Pack at the last "friendly" competition. I didn’t need their stupid fighters to teach my pack anything!

The Black Lunar Pack didn’t need anyone else!

But I wasn’t stupid.

I knew that alliance meant no fighting and no fighting meant no wars or hostile takeovers. Most of the time anyway! So, I played my part in the stupid meeting with the Council nagging and bickering me to accept deal after deal.

As if I was born yesterday…

I knew Black Lunar was growing more powerful than anyone liked - especially the Royal Pack. I’d already expanded the territory twice and taken over another pack without much effort. So, their goal now was to contain me. Make sure, so to speak, that it didn’t go to my head and shit like that.

Like that actually would become a problem…

I expanded the territory because my pack needed the space to shift, since a part of my land was a human settlement. And it wasn't like I just invaded their territory like some kind of tyrant. I attacked that pack because they attacked us first. I’d just been anointed alpha and, apparently, someone thought that that was the perfect opportunity to take over Black Luar.

They were wrong…

The second time I extended the land was because the alpha asked me to take over his pack. He was old and didn't have an heir, so in order to stop all the fighting between the higher-ups in his own pack, he asked me to challenge him. He'd just lost his mate and - like most werewolves who'd lost their mates - he didn't want to live anymore. His wolf was going feral and soon, he wouldn't even be human anymore.

It was a mercy kill...

I left the packhouse and went to the car. It was Sunday so I knew I was supposed to go to Aunt Sally’s. But in reality, all I really wanted to do, was to go home and have Dina cook me something. Or rather, watch her panic when she saw me and then jump at the take-out menus as if her life depended on it. She would order me some overcooked steak and that disgusting excuse of a pizza for herself.

My wolf grinned and imagined the bickering we would have. He really wanted to go home now and, for once, I agreed with him. But a mental discussion later and I knew I at least owed Aunt Sally a quick drive by - just to excuse myself and then go home to Dina. Hell, if I told her I had a date, I bet she'd let me off the hook - just this once...

Yeah, that’s a plan!

“Levi,” Aunt Sally exclaimed when I entered the kitchen and I was instantly pulled into a warm embrace. The amazing scent of home-cooked lamb, gravy, and all the trimmings instantly hit my nose. But strangely, they didn’t manage to convince me to stay. The thought of Dina’s surprised face put a grin on my face and I was already now placing bets against my wolf, on what she would knock over this time in her rush to serve us.

“Hi, Aunt Sally,” I greeted my Aunt and kissed her cheek. She was the sweetest and most caring woman I knew. She was also the most conservative and opinionated woman I knew. As in, go back to the 50s, pick ANY woman from the bible-belt and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them. She'd been a great Luna and although my mate would take that position, I’d persuaded her to continue her work after I became alpha. She’d raised the rest of her children - my foster brothers and sisters - basically single-handedly. And no matter how badly I and Mick fucked things up, she never gave up on us.

Especially me...

I knew that having me around hadn’t been easy for any of them, because of my wolf and our violent temper. But not once did she complain about a trashed room or a hole in the wall. She never lost her patience with me and always encouraged me to have faith in myself and my wolf.

She was amazing!

It was thanks to her and her upbringing that I was the man I was today. And although I wasn’t perfect, I knew she was proud of me.

I took a quick sniff to locate the rest of my family. My younger foster siblings were out in the back yard and Mick was in the living room. There was another unfamiliar scent that I could have sworn I'd---

Suddenly I felt like I'd been slapped with a ton of bricks and an unfamiliar sting pierced my heart.

Dina!

“Who is here?” I asked, although I already knew. Her scent was faint, but I’d recognize it anywhere.

“Would you believe it? Michael brought a girl,” Aunt Sally giggled happily, still unaware of my darkening mood. “I think he’s serious with this one too. They're talking about claiming each other and---”

I spun around and left. My wolf howled in rage and despair, fighting to take over. He wanted to rip Mick apart and I was dangerously tempted to let him. I'd never felt like this before. I'd never felt as if my heart was about to be split open just because---

I started running, heading to the forest. My chest tightened and my eyes stung as the air whipped around my face. My whole body ached in a way that felt numbing, yet I kept on moving. I couldn't breathe, yet I kept on drawing in more air with each critical beat of my heat. I didn’t know what was happening to me...

Or---

Perhaps I did.

But I refused to acknowledge it!

Rage coursed through my blood. My body was hot and cramped. I tried to push my wolf down, but he wanted out. He was in a frenzy! Rage and anger were all he knew.

I couldn’t do it!

I couldn’t contain him!

I screamed as my wolf forced the shift. My back paws dug into the ground as we darted through the woods. He ran and pushed faster than I’d ever felt him go before. For a second, I was scared that he’d turn back and kill our family.

But he didn’t.

He pushed harder to go faster, almost desperate to put as much distance between us and Dina as possible. That was when it finally hit me: he was running in fear!

My wolf was scared of rejection…