Family

RORY

I tiptoe to the edge of the staircase. There are lights on in the meeting hall, and I hear voices talking, both Everett and the one I pray I don’t recognize.

A woman stands and comes into view, and I feel my blood turn to ice. It is her. Martha, Mama’s cousin, one of the people who’d worked hardest to make my life hell in the Red Moon Pack.

She hated me for being adopted, for being a human. If she’s here, does that mean the Red Moon members who refused to join Everett are too?

My head spins. They can’t be here for any good reason. These people are the most awful and unreasonable members of the Red Moon pack who refused to let go of their hatred.

Martha’s voice comes up to me, loud and clear, the exact tone she’d used to berate and belittle me. “Aurora is my kin. I come to claim her and her child…”

I can’t hear anything else through the sound of my heart pounding in my chest. No. She wants to take me away from Everett, to tear apart my family!

I can’t feel my legs. I feel myself wobbling dangerously, light-headed. I gasp involuntarily, trying to get a hold of myself.

It’s quiet, but Everett hears me. Of course he hears me. He turns immediately to look at me, the furious look on his face turning to worry as he sees me.

He jumps up from the table and takes the stairs three at a time, at my side in moments. I hear Martha shouting, “Alpha Everett! You may not leave this meeting without apology!”

Everett doesn’t even notice her, just gathers me up gently, carefully maneuvering us away from the staircase. “Little mate, are you alright? You’re pale as a ghost.”

“No, I’m not alright,” I hiss. “What are you doing meeting with that woman?”

“She came here under a flag of truce. I had to talk to her. Trust me, I had no idea who she was.” His jaw is set, grim and angry.

“Why didn’t you come get me?”

“I wanted to see what they wanted. Didn’t want to put any stress on you.” He gently touches my stomach.

“Too late.” The joke falls flat. “Look, let’s just get back down there and finish this.”

He frowns. “I’m not letting you come down there.”

I stiffen. “Let me?”

He squeezes my arm, frustrated. “You know what I mean, Aurora. You heard what she said. What if she tries to kidnap you? You need to go back to our room and stay safe.”

He whistles and makes a gesture, summoning warriors. I know he’s going to have them guard the door. “Everett, I did not agree to let you lock me up. Send them back!”

The warriors pause awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs, pretending they can’t hear us. “I’m not locking you up. You can’t seriously want to come down there; you nearly fainted!”

I love how Everett takes care of me, but when he treats me like I’m about to shatter at any moment, I can’t stand him. “I’m fine now. This is my old pack.”

“That’s exactly my point,” he mutters.

“Don’t interrupt me! This is my business. It affects me even more than you!” I lift my chin. “Am I your luna or not?”

“Of course you are.” He sighs. “Alright, little mate. If this is what you want, I’ll support you.”

Everett holds my elbow all the way down the stairs. I would’ve been annoyed, but he kept me from slipping at least three times. My legs are still shaking.

As we entered the hall, the Red Moon Pack members stand up. They should, as a sign of respect to me, but none of them dip their heads. They all meet my eyes challengingly, disgust clear on their faces.

Martha can’t quite keep her lip from curling. It’s an empty show. They still hate me and look down on me. They don’t want me in their pack.

But they do want the baby. My child will be part wolf, but I doubt that’s enough for Martha to care suddenly. They must have heard about the fight with Nemesis, about the powers my baby has.

Lucius and Ace come to stand on either side of me. Lucius has his hand resting casually on his sword while Ace stands in a battle-ready position. Everyone knows what will happen if anyone tries anything.

Martha approaches me, arms lifted as if to embrace me. My stomach clenches at the thought.

Everett growls, rumbling like a volcano, and Martha stops in her tracks.

She clears her throat. “In Red Moon law, council approval must be given to any looking to mate outside the pack. Since that was not done, Aurora and her child must be returned to us.”

My jaw drops. “Are you kidding me? The Red Moon never welcomed me. You abandoned me to die! I was never a real member of your pack.”

“Of course you were, child,” she says with a derisive sniff. “You’re a daughter of the Red Moon Pack, raised, fed, and clothed by us throughout your youth.”

I shake my head. “Mama’s the only one who cared about me. She took me in. She raised me. My loyalty is to her, not to your pack of bullies.”

Martha smiles thinly. “A human can’t be expected to understand. I forgive her rash words, but I will not be run off. My claim is clear.”

She carefully draws a scroll from a tube slung across her back. It looks ancient and weathered, two seconds from crumbling to dust.

Martha offers it to our side. Ace steps forward and takes it from her, passing it along to Everett. He opens it slowly and reads it. His face darkens as he does, a frown growing deeper and deeper.

My lungs won’t work. I can feel my head swimming again. What could it say? Surely she doesn’t have a real claim? I try desperately to breathe.

A warm, solid arm wraps around my shoulders, steadying me before I faint and embarrass myself. Everett rolls the scroll back up and returns it to Martha.

He meets her gaze. “I concede the fact of your laws. However, I do not concede that those laws have any bearing on this situation.”

Her mouth twitches as she holds back a snarl. “Why not?”

“The Shadow Blood Pack will not recognize your laws. You aren’t a real pack.” Everett crosses his arms and smirks. “You’re barely better than rogues.”

That makes the Red Moon Pack start shouting, denying his claim, challenging him to fight.

Martha holds up her hand. Her followers fall silent immediately. “I can see we won’t be solving this today.” She leads her group back to the car, watched by our warriors the whole way.

Before she gets in, she turns back to look at Everett and me standing in the doorway.

“The law is the law. I will not disregard it just because you refuse to respect it. You have three days to return our daughter to us. We will wait for you at the border. If you do not deliver her, it will be war.”