Chapter 16

Arya. The next morning, I awoke to hear that the men had gone hunting. After taking a shower and getting dressed, I went downstairs to the dining rrom to have breakfast and was surprised to find that the entire place was filled with women. The second I walked in, all eyes snapped to me. There had to be about a hundred women present. I swallowed nervously as it occurred to me that being Tyler’s mate meant I would be scrutinized for the rest of my life. From the color of my hair down to my shoes. And I’d never had much luck with women. It was either they didn’t think me important enough to talk to or they hated me. I thought about Jane and how I wished she’d come here with me. At least then I wouldn’t be lonely all the time. Placing one leg in front of the other, I walked to the side of the room where food was lined up to serve myself breakfast. Maybe if I ignored them, they would ignore me too. I didn’t want anyone to find out that I had no wolf or whatever evil they thought of me would triple and I would eventually have to leave. “Uh… you don’t have to do that. There are servants around for that. Besides, any one of us could have served you a plate.” Someone in the crowd said. I had not turned to see who it was when another voice spoke up, “Speak for yourself, Natalie.” “I wasn’t talking to you,” Natalie said sharply to whoever the woman was. “And you’d best stay out of my way.” I chose that moment to turn around, suddenly eager to see who this Natalie was and why she was standing up for me. I scanned the crowd uncertainly, waiting for her to speak again. Her voice was distinct, a raspy tone that was low enough to be called throaty but just audible enough that we could all hear. “Thank you, Natalie,” I said after a few beats, hoping she would say something. It worked. A strawberry blond got to her feet and approached me and she was the first woman since I got here who didn’t look at me with either uncertainly, dislike, or both. I immediately liked her. “You’re going to be our Luna, which means we’re all answerable to you, which also means there are certain things our Luna shouldn’t do by herself. Serving her own food is one of them.” Natalie’s thin lips were stretched in a small warm smile and I didn’t know when I started smiling too. “It’s no problem, really,” I said to her. “I can do it. Plus, I don’t want to be a bother.” Natalie waved a dismissive hand. “Please, it’s fine. Bother or not, you’re entitled to it.” “And who the hell are you to state out what she’s entitled to or not? Or are you just trying to kiss her ass like you’ve always done to Tyler?” Both Natalie’s and my head snapped around to see Lauren standing at the entrance to the dining. Natalie recovered first, rolling her eyes. “Pardon me, but you’ve obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a damn what you think.” Lauren narrowed her eyes to crinkled slits. “You’ve always been one step ahead of yourself, Natalie, and one of these days, it’s going to get you in trouble.” Natalie tensed. “Are you threatening me?” In my opinion, while Lauren emitted pride, Natalie emitted strength. In this situation, I didn’t know which would win but I wasn’t the only one wondering the same thing because every pair of eyes in the dining room was fixed on them. Even the servants. Where the hell was Tyler? I couldn’t come between these two women. I didn’t even have a freaking wolf. “Not so much of a threat than a warning,” Lauren took several steps forward. “You’ve been against me becoming Luna since the first day you set eyes on me. Naturally, I would be curious as to your reason given that your husband is Beta but I’ve decided I don’t care. If I have to fight you, I will.” Natalie’s husband was Beta of the Rogues? That was interesting. “You’re nothing but a daddy’s girl. Hiding behind her father’s flat backside to spew wickedness. I know girls like you, and I take pride in putting them in their place.” Lauren’s gaze darted between me and her. Inside me, I was giddy. Finally, there was someone who was strong enough to put Lauren in her place. She opened her mouth to respond but the doors opened at the moment and Tyler appeared, a horde of men following behind him. They were all shirtless and at the sight of Tyler’s naked torso, my body started to life. The men cheered, some covered in blood, others sweaty. I watched, transfixed, as each man walked to a woman and hugged her, some sharing intimate kisses while others offered a kiss on the forehead. I didn’t know when Tyler reached me and snaked a hand around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. “Hey, Little One,” he murmured, placing a kiss on my lips. “I missed you.” Smiling up at him, I tried to steady the fierce beating of my heart because the room had quieted and everyone was staring blatantly at us. “Everyone’s looking,” I whispered. Even Lauren couldn’t tear her gaze away from us. Her chest heaved and her eyes darkened with rage. I risked a glance at Natalie, seeing a wide smile stretch on her face as she took in Lauren’s expression. “Let them look.” Tyler kissed me again. “I want everyone to see how crazy I am for you.” Oh, crap. My cheeks were burning. I wasn’t used to public displays of affection and Tyler seemed to love it. He could barely keep his hands off me when we were in public. “There’s someone I want to introduce you to,” Tyler said, pulling away long enough to search the crowd, though his hand on my waist remained. “Nate?” A big man stepped forward, a piece of toast in his hand. He shoved the triangle in his mouth before he reached us. “Luna,” he said, stretching out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Then he moved towards Natalie and wrapped his hands around her from the back, practically melting into her. Oh, I could see the love. It was evident in his eyes. “Nathan is my Beta and this is his wife, Natalie.” Tyler introduced. The irony of their names did not escape me. “We’ve met,” Natalie said, smiling at me. “And I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends.” Weirdly, I had that same feeling too. I liked her. “Good,” Tyler nodded, pulling me closer again. “Natalie is the strongest female wolf in the pack. Being friends with her will be good.” He said the last line in my ears. Just out of curiosity, I asked. “Who’s the second strongest?” Natalie frowned. “Lauren.” Oh. I had nothing to say to that. All thoughts flew out the window when Tyler kissed me deeply. “Soon, Little One. Soon.” I knew what he meant by that and it caused a blush to spread through my body. I hoped no one else got his meaning but apparently, that was too much to ask because Nata let out a chortle. I didn’t miss it when Natalie looked at Lauren with a chuckle and mouthed, “Game over. You lose.”