Her words make me go still. Something bad. I know where she got that idea in her head. I know that pack fucking put it there. Frostclaw. When I get my hands on their Alpha I’m going to rip his head off and shove it up his ass.
“That’s not going to happen here, do you hear me?”
She nods but doesn’t look up. I can still feel the Soul Tie thrumming, it’s like an alarm jangling in my chest but it is quieter. “I’ll sit with you,” I offer.
She looks up with a hopeful smile. “Really?” The pressure lessens and the harsh beat of the Soul Tie evens out.
“Of course, I will. Now, let’s get on back to Clover and Piper before they throw a fit at losing those seats.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
The crowd parts for us the second we start moving and I know why. Me. I don’t hold back giving a sharp look at everyone that lingers a little too long near Cordelia. Am I being over protective and territorial? Fuck yeah, I am and I don’t give a shit. I’m about to be out on patrol for four damn days. It’s good that I let the pack know Cordelia is…is…is fuck, what the hells am I thinking? If I could punch myself in the face, I fucking would. Carrying on like a lovesick teenager over Cordelia is irrational…that doesn’t mean that I stop doing it, though. By the time we arrive at Clover and Piper’s side I’ve effectively stared down every alpha within a fifteen foot radius.
Piper winks at me. “You gonna give me the stink-eye too?”
I roll my eyes at her. “You’re the only alpha that gets a pass but don’t let it go to your head.”
Piper cackles at that while Cordelia gives her a wide-eyed stare. “You’re an alpha?”
“I am and that makes me the coolest one you know.”
Cordelia nods immediately. “Oh, yeah, for sure.”
I sigh. “I’m standing right here.”
“Oops…” Cordelia gives me an apologetic smile and then pats the seat next to hers. “Sit next to me?” she asks, sitting down.
I relent at her offer. I’d sit bare-assed on a glacier to be next to her. “All right.”
Piper and Clover settle in on Cordelia’s other side with a knowing giggle and I lean forward to glare at my cousin. “What’s so funny?”
Clover’s eyes dance with merriment. She’s up to no good and from the way she’s looking at me and Cordelia, I know exactly what kind of trouble it is. “Shhh! Alpha is about to speak,” she says, pressing a finger to her lips.
“This isn’t over.” I narrow my eyes at her and promise to get her back before I leave on patrol but she’s right. Ronan is at the front of the room and the Elders all take their places behind him,ready to start the meeting. The room quiets down when they see Ronan. I’m acutely aware of the way Cordelia fidgets. She looks down at her hands and then away and out the window, anywhere but at Ronan. Like she’s scared that the second they lock eyes he’s going to single her out.
“Bloodstone Pack! It’s good to see you all!” Ronan greets the pack. The dais is enchanted to project the speaker’s voice through the room, something Clover worked on. Even I can admit it's a neat piece of magic.
“How is everyone today?” It’s his standard way of starting a pack meeting and the crowd responds back as it normally does with clapping and cheering. Cordelia looks around surprised at the response. She stops fidgeting then and dares to look up at Ronan. I can see from the way she’s tilting her head that she’s trying to work out how he sounds so clear with no microphone. Good. I’d rather she wonder about that than be nervous. She’ll see there’s nothing to fear from a Bloodstone pack meeting.
Ronan presses a hand to his chest. “It warms my heart to hear and see the joy in this room. Thank you for sharing it with me.” He gestures behind him at the Elders. “I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.” Ronan motions for them to come forward. “Elders, if you would.” At his invitation the Elders rise and approach the front of the dais. The first of them is Esme, she runs the bakery and helps organize town meals and the community foodstuffs.
“Oi! It’s good to see the beautiful bunch of you!” The crowd claps and cheers back in greeting. Esme’s a character. A beloved favorite and in no time the crowd is laughing and yelling out questions when prompted: “When is the next food drive?” “Who’s going to make a supply run?” “Can we have a moonlight picnic again?”
Each Elder takes their turn, and with each one Cordelia relaxes a little more until she’s giggling and calling out answerswith Clover and Piper. Her joy is bright. Like the sun in how strongly I feel it, like I made my bed of sweetgrass in the Meadows on a hot summer day. All of her smiles come to an end when the last Elder takes their seat and Ronan returns to the front of the dais.
“Most of you know that we have an honored pack member here with us today,” he says and immediately Cordelia freezes up. Her joy is still there but it’s contained. If it were a real object, she’d make a diamond out of it from how tightly she’s holding it. Around us, I hear shifting in the seats, pack members turning to look our way no doubt.
“Our history is long, as old as these mountains. We of the Bloodstone Pack have been here since time immemorial. Thorne’s Embrace marks the place from which we sprung, formed by the moon goddess herself. But like all things born of the old ways we have known our fair share of pain, of loss.”
I hear murmurs, a few soft sniffles. It happens every time the Blood Moon Days come up. We all remember it. We all bear the mark of it. My family knows it better than many. If my parents were here, my mother would cry openly. Her brother was lost to the war, and we nearly lost my father too. Not to mention me. It’s hard for her to remember those times, same as any of us. I’m glad she’s away with my father now. They’re visiting family down south.
“That night we lost so many of our young. The very best of us. But from that loss springs hope. We have emerged stronger, more capable and ready to enter the world as one. And our hope? Our hope was finally answered.”
Ronan looks Cordelia’s way and takes a step in our direction. He’s about to introduce her. Cordelia drops her gaze to her hands. I look at her hands and see she’s clutching her skirts tightly. It’s a pretty green skirt and it goes well with the cream tank top she’s wearing, no doubt conjurings from Clover’scabinet. The green of her skirt compliments her tan skin perfectly, the brown of it made more lush by the lush fabric. She has beautiful hands, but those hands, they’re shaking now. I don’t think when I put my hand on hers.
I don’t know what I expect her to do, probably because there isn’t a thought in my head that isn’t Cordelia, or how lovely her skin is, or how much I want her hands on me. It’s all Cordelia.
Maybe there’s no thoughts in her head either. Maybe that’s why she turns her hand and grabs onto mine tightly. Her hand trembles in mine and I press our hands down onto her thigh to steady her.
