Chapter7

---Lie and a Hero But my fantasy of finding a wolf of worth my time came crashing down and I wasted my drool for nothing. Ugh. Of all the rotten luck. Alera was laughing her head off inside my head. Oh, what a shame, she kept repeating, but I was trying very hard to ignore her. Because the moon goddess hated me enough to assign me a shitty mate like Matteo, why shouldn’t she dangle the two finest Alphas in our world in front of thirsty, desperate me? Too bad one of them is already mated and the other one… well, was currently looking at me like he’d love to throw me out of a window. He was pissed at me because I left his sister Cora alone at home unprotected when we had killer rogues roaming the territory. How was I supposed to know that shit was happening? If I knew they were out and about, you better bet your ass I’d have been hiding under my bed with Cora. But noooo, I had to go chasing my asshole mate. “Adassah darling, this is Luna Shina.” To my utter horror, my mother was in the middle of introducing me to our Pack’s Luna, who just happened to be Matteo’s mother. While I was busy daydreaming over two Alphas who were not my mate, one of whom was already mated and the other glaring daggers at me. My mother moved on to a younger, but nevertheless just as striking female who must have walked in while I was too busy drooling over the males. She gave me a knowing smile and sidled up to one of the Alphas. “Alpha Gibson and his Luna Elle,” my mother announced. My mom is all about Pack code of behavior, so she used last names instead of first names when referring to Alphas out of respect. Out of shame and shyness, I just bowed my head and hid behind her because all I was wearing was Matteo’s t-shirt and not a strip of underwear. “You already know Alpha Hernandez,” my mother said with a smile in her voice. I chanced a peek at Cora’s dark-haired, dark-eyed, very intense-looking, hulking brother who was still glaring at me. To my relief, Cora popped out from behind him, healthy and alive. My friend looked like she wanted to say something but was forbidden by her brother as I was on his shit-list right now. I lifted my brows at her and opened my hands in a “what?” gesture, but she just raised her shoulders and arms in an exaggerated shrug and gave her brother a side-eye. “Oh, and there is Beta Lucian,” my mother concluded, putting a hand on my back so I would pay attention and not inadvertently disrespect someone. I smiled at the guy that Thunder almost attacked on my behalf. I looked around for him but didn’t see him. I put out a mind-link and Thunder answered. They were on their way to see their father, the Alpha. He was severely injured by the rogues and was very close to death, which was why we all felt the pain. According to my mother, they were ambushed on their way home by rogues after a Council meeting in neutral territory. Luckily, Alphas Hernandez and Gibson were with him to lend a hand. As for my father, I was assured he was okay and currently helping fortify our borders in preparation for a future attack. Using the mind-link, my mother asked, “You were out and about, weren’t you? Is that why you weren’t with Cora at home?” Alera whistled in my head, sensing trouble. Uh-oh. Duck and cover, ho. “I went for a run,” I answered out loud for the benefit of others who were looking curiously at me and my mother. “And Matteo?” she prodded, eyeing Matteo who’d just come back in through another entrance, looking dejected. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. I knew he wasn’t going to jump in to save me. He didn’t want anyone to know we were mates, after all. I gritted my teeth. “During my run, I came across him as he was being attacked by rogues. I helped chase them away, more like saving him” He was walking toward his mother, but he suddenly stopped and gave me a what-the-fuck-look, followed by a stony stare. Luna Shina rushed over to her baby boy to inspect him for injuries. “Oh, my poor lad. Are you okay? What happened to your face?” She turned toward me. “Thank you, Adassah. I don’t know what I would have done if he’d been badly injured like his father… or worse. You saved his life.” She turned back toward Matteo and hugged him tightly. All wolfen eyes zoomed in on me. I wasn’t seeking attention. I just blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. I didn’t want anyone to believe I was canoodling in the woods with Matteo, which I wasn’t. Luckily, I think everyone else bought it, even if my mother didn’t. “What a horrible day for us all.” Luna Shina heavily sighed, her lower lip shaking as if she were trying to stop her tears from falling in front of her guests. Matteo kept darting glances my way while rubbing his mother’s back, while I attempted to retain an appropriately sympathetic look on my face. “It really was a blessing that you were there, Adassah,” Luna Shina sobbed. “Thank you for saving my boy. We owe you a debt of gratitude.” I bowed somberly. “Please, Luna Shina, it was my honor. It was a miracle that I happened upon Matteo when I did. I shudder to think what would have happened to him if I had been a few minutes late.” I’m going to kill you, Matteo threatened through our mind-link. I blocked him out and kept my humble stance before our Luna. My mother’s brows furrowed as she stared at me in confusion, but I was dedicated to the part I was playing. Even Alera couldn’t get through my shield. “Eric.” We turned to Luna Elle, who was holding on to her mate’s waist. She stood on the tips of her toes and whispered something in his ear. He kissed her forehead as his hand rested on her stomach. “Luna Shina, you must forgive us. We would love to stay, but we have pack responsibilities we must take care of ourselves,” Alpha Gibson announced regretfully. Luna Shina insisted on providing them with everything they needed for their journey home, saying she owed it to them, but Alpha Gibson disagreed. Beta Lucian said his goodbye and went outside to prepare their vehicles. My mother put her arm around my shoulders and hugged me to her side. While Alpha Gibson and Luna Shina talked, Luna Elle approached us with a smile. “Your mom told me you’re applying to one of our colleges.” I glowed with excitement. I couldn’t wait to go away for college. “Yes, Luna.” “Oh, please.” She pulled me forward and whispered in my ear. “You can call me Elle.” She gave me a hug, then said out loud, “I’m really looking forward to seeing you again.” She winked, then craned her neck to look for her husband. She was rubbing her stomach. “Eric darling,” she called to Alpha Gibson, who was in conference with Alpha Hernandez. As soon as he heard her voice, the Alpha lifted his head, finished his conversation, and returned to his mate’s side. Now that is an Alpha who is whipped, Alera cooed in our links. That’s the proper way to be in love. Too bad we got Matteo. Everyone went outside to see them off. Cora pointed to her eyes with two fingers in a V, then at me, before following behind her brother. I was left behind with Matteo who had a fake smile on his face. As soon as we were all alone, he turned to face me, his eyes dark with fury. He grabbed my arm and yanked me into a secluded room, closing the door behind him. “What the fuck was that?” he shouted near my ear. He shoved me against the wall and got in my face. “It should have been me saving you. Do you get off making me look like a fool in front of my mother and the other Alphas?” He punched the area next to my head, taking out drywall. “You’re very violent, you know that?” I didn’t flinch at all with his little theatrical punching even though I could feel my heart in my throat. Instead, I folded my arms over my chest and laughed at him. “Oh, Matty-poo, you can play the hero for Quinn all you want, but not for me. I make my own destiny. I’m my own hero. You can go to hell.” I thought for sure he was going to hit me this time, but he did something completely unexpected. He grabbed my face and sealed his mouth over mine. I didn’t know what he thought would happen, but the moment his lips touched mine, an inferno blazed between us. He stabbed his tongue into my mouth and plunged his fingers into my hair as he nearly lifted me by my head so I could be in a better angle for his sensual assault. He was bit taller than me, so he had to bend to kiss me. Our wolves celebrated. Thunder and Alera glided into each other, kissing and sniffing each other, loving one another. Matteo picked me up and braced me against the wall and I was forced to wrap my legs around his waist to keep us from falling over. He broke our kiss, so he could bury his face in my neck. “Goddess, I can smell you. You’re ready for me.” His hand reached down and stroked my inner thigh, heading toward the aching spot between my legs. I yelped, remembering I wasn’t wearing any underwear. Oh my Goddess, what am I doing? This guy hates me and I hate him. Why would I be doing this with him? I pushed him off and started hitting him so he’d put me down. “Let me go, you pervert. How dare you? You don’t get to touch me like that.” When he tried to go for me again, I punched him in the balls, then shoved him aside. Without looking back to check to see if he was all right, I ran to the door, opened it, and casually strolled back to the living room. Behind me, I heard something shatter, then a loud bang. “Adassah!” His low, gravelly tone threatened retribution, so I walked faster. His strides were longer, so he could reach me fast. “Adassah, come here,” he whisper-yelled. Just as I whirled around to shout back at him to leave me the fuck alone, a high-pitched, syrupy voice interrupted us, stopping him dead in his tracks two meters away. I smelled the bitch’s cheap perfume first before I saw her. “Oh, Matteo!” A crying Quinn ran into his arms. I stood there like an idiot, staring at them. The pain of seeing my mate embrace someone else was a jagged piece of glass in my heart. Then fury came over me like a blanket of ants swarming over my skin. Alera wanted me to rip her off our mate, yank her arms off, and beat her to death with them. I thought of the Arctic Circle and wished for a moment that I could open a portal, so I could go there for a few minutes and freeze to death. At least it would prevent me from committing wholescale murder and get rid of this battalion of red ants crawling all over me. For a moment, Matteo looked like he was going to push her away, but once he saw me staring at them, he embraced her tightly before pulling her back and her full on the lips like he did to me just moments ago. Note to self: Kisses don’t mean shit to him. Alera kept clawing at her metaphysical jail, desperate to get at Quinn to kill her, but she wasn’t angry at our asshole mate. As I watched them sucking face, I felt something strange building up within me that didn’t come from Alera, but me alone. You’re jealous, Alera snickered. No, I almost shouted out loud, but I turned away and went looking for the others because I could no longer stand there and not kill anyone.