Page 18 of Dark Auctioned Mate

His wolf insisted. “She needs us. Can’t you smell it? She’s in pain.”

“I know,” he groaned quietly. “I know.”

But he stepped back. He couldn’t do it. Rael returned to his room and closed the door. Then he took off his clothes and fisted his cock with his hands.

Her scent invaded his lungs, while he thought about what he would give to bury himself in her again. What he would give to feel her come around him again.

It was not enough. Not even close. But it had eased the edge enough that he was able to focus.

Standing now, in the training yard, at noon, and seeing the pack members put through drills, Rael clenched his jaw, a wave of frustration falling over him. He hadn’t seen Alanis all morning. She was in her room when he left the house, and although he had a desire to knock on her door, he did not give in.

“You look like you want to kill someone.”

Rael glanced sideways at Javi, who was standing beside him with his arms crossed.

“I am fine,” Rael gritted.

“Sure you are. How’s Alanis?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Fine.”

“Uh-huh. Could have fooled me.”

Rael did not take the bait. He could not, because the reality was too pathetic: he was losing his head over a woman who was still looking at him as if she couldn’t decide whether to leave or stay, and the bond constantly drew him to her, making it difficult to stay away.

Javi sighed loudly. “Look, I don’t know the woman, and it has been creepy to see you with a permanent scowl on your face the past couple of days. So, just speak to her or something. Whatever is going on between you two,” he gestured to Rael’s face, “isn’t doing that any good.”

Before Rael could respond, a commotion in the equipment shed drew his attention. He turned around, eyes narrowed.

Three female members of the pack were standing in a loose circle, and among them all was Alanis.

His wolf raised its hackles, wanting to protect. But Rael compelled himself to remain still, to watch, to see how this would work out.

Alanis crossed her arms and raised her chin. One of the women—Kira, if he recalled correctly—was talking, and her voice was loud enough to carry through the yard.

“I’m just saying, it seems convenient. You appear out of the blue. You cannot shift and you’re Alpha Rael’s mate?” Kira’s voice dripped with venom. “Some of us have been here all our lives, and we do not get that sort of special treatment.”

“Special treatment?” Alanis scoffed. “Is that what it means when I’m being looked at like an intruder? When I hear whispers about me that quiet down each time I enter a room?”

Kira’s smile faltered. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Yes, you do.” Alanis stepped forward, and pride surged through Rael as he watched her stand her ground. “If you have something to say, you say it to me, to my face and not to your little friends.”

The other two ladies were now glancing at each other uncomfortably, while Kira turned red.

“Okay. You want me to be straight? You do not belong here, you cannot shift, and therefore you cannot help the pack, you cannot hunt, you cannot defend territory, you cannot do all the things that count. You are dead weight, and everybody knows it.”

Alanis’s jaw tightened, but her voice remained steady. “This conversation isn’t over.”

She started to walk away when Rael saw Kira grabbing her by the arm and pulling her.

That was enough. Rael was across the yard in seconds, pulling Alanis behind him. “Do not touch her,” he said in a low and dangerous voice.

The training yard fell quiet.

Kira’s eyes widened. “Alpha Rael, I had no intention to hurt her.”

“I don’t care what your intentions were!” He stepped forward and put himself between her and Alanis. “She is my mate. That means she is under my protection, and that means she is your Luna! Anybody who insults her offends me. Is that clear?”