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I stood still and began to breathe hard, doing my best to remain in place because if I moved, I would hurt Traci.
“Rosie, go get Cory,” I ordered, straining to keep Tozi from taking over, and because their necks were baring so hard, I was scared of hurting Rosie with it. The young girl quickly darted out of the room, and I was left with Traci while she was still holding a piping bag in her hand, the filling squeezing out as she fought my aura.
“You think you can have Cory? I would kill you first,” I growled. “I don’t care if you think I’m worthy of him or not. The Moon Goddess thought so, and that’s good enough for me. There was a day when I listened to your venom and let it keep me away from him for over a decade. Not anymore. I love Cory, and I know he loves me. You’re nothing but a snake. No wonder you haven’t found a mate. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t punish someone with the likes of you.”
“So, this is her?” Cory asked behind me. I turned around and found his hard face at the entrance of the kitchen doors. Jo, James, Dad and Markus right behind him. None of them looked happy, with a dark cloud hanging over each of them. Rosie stood behind them all, slightly terrified. “This is the woman that bullied you while we were in school? She’s the reason I was without my friend and mate for over a decade?”
“I...” I started but stopped. Traci whimpered behind me under the force of the angry power flooding the room at his question. My aura retracted, and Tozi receded to the back of my head, calmer now that she knew Cory had the facts.
Cory stalked forward until he was standing behind me.
“Were you or were you not the one who made my mate feel like my friends and I were only around her because her dad was my dad’s friend?” he growled out.
“Alp-” Traci started to speak.
“It’s a yes or no question!” Cory interrupted angrily. “Did you or did not say those things about my mate?”
Traci only whimpered at the power of his angry aura.
“Answer me. NOW,” Cory said more calmly, but with his alpha command behind it.
“Yes,” Traci said, falling to her knees under the auras of everyone now suffocating the room.
“Rosie!” Cory called, making the poor girl jump.
“Alpha,” she answered as quietly as possible while baring her neck.
“My mate is too nice to tell me what happened here, so I need you to explain.” I blushed at his words, but I knew he wasn’t angry at me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him, his thumb finding its way under the hem of my shirt and rubbing soothing little circles there, proving me correct. I could feel him calming slightly at the contact, too, but it was short-lived as Rosie took his request seriously and repeated almost word for word the conversation she had with Traci before I entered the kitchen. I started rubbing the hand that was holding me close to him when I saw the vein in his neck looking like it was going to burst open.
The room was quiet for a minute when Rosie finally finished her story.
“Jo!” Cory called out.
“Alpha,” Jo pushed forward to where we were standing.
“I’ll leave her punishment up to you because if it were up to James and me, we’d banish her from the pack altogether. If it were up to Tenoch, she wouldn’t breathe past today,” he seethed.
“And you think I wouldn’t banish her? Evie was and is my friend. She’s my luna now too. Zi is our gamma female and my friend. My punishment would involve lashes before banishment.” I didn’t think I’d ever heard Jo as mad as he was right now. Jo was usually the calm one of the group. Traci was shaking at his words, rightfully so.
“I’ll deal with her. I have an idea of what to do with her,” Celeste walked in through the doors in front of us. How she knew what we were talking about, I wasn’t sure, but she stopped in front of Traci with a look of distaste on her face.
“I don’t want her working in the pack house again, Mom,” Cory said. Celeste nodded in understanding.
“Come, Traci. Kara would like to speak with you about trying to get in the way of the Moon Goddess’ will,” Celeste said, pulling Traci up to her feet by one arm and walking away with her.
I thought Traci looked terrified when Cory was mad, but the threat of speaking to Kara had her practically fainting, though Celeste wouldn’t let her. Everyone in the pack knew of Kara’s protectiveness over her family and that she had some sort of connection to the Moon Goddess, even if they didn’t know the extent of it.
Everyone dispersed, and I stood there waiting for Cory to calm down. A few moments later, without saying a word, he led me to the elevator, and we went up to our room. He closed the door behind us and sat me on the bed before he stood and walked into the bathroom.
“Stay,” he said, his voice angry and his face hard. I nodded, unsure of what was going through his head. His end of the bond was closed, and while I could feel the ghost of his anger through it, I felt like something more was happening. The shower turned on, and I sat on the bed for a few minutes, warring with myself. Did I give him the space he seemed to need, or did I go force him to speak with me?
After a few more minutes, I walked into the bathroom. I found him under the shower spray, looking down and unmoving. I took my clothes off and opened the door, and he finally turned to look my way. His eyes were black, and his canines were out. Fur was exploding and retreating from different parts of his body. He and Tenoch were fighting for control, and it looked like he was in pain.
“Don’t, Evie. I can’t keep him at bay if you get closer,” Cory rasped out when I stepped toward him, a pained sound erupting from his chest, a mix between a growl and a whimper.
“Why would I want to be kept from you or Tenoch? You’re my mates, Cory,” I countered quietly, taking more steps until I was standing right in front of him. His body was tense and his hands were fisted, but he made no move to stop me when I put a hand on his chest. His heart was beating erratically as man and wolf fought for control.
“He’s angry. He wants to run back down, find that woman and kill her, and half of me wants to let him,” he said, and I could understand the moral struggle inside him more clearly.
