Page 46 of Luna Rising

Ewan ground his hips against my ass, pushing his erection against one cheek and stoking the flames of my own arousal. “You are my mate and their lu-leader. You can do whatever you please as long as it pleases me, too. And this outfit,” he pulled the string of my thong and let it snap against my ass, “pleases me very much. Now, if they look, I’ll tear their eyeballs out.”

His tone was thick with lust, yet he meant his words, including the one he refused to say. Luna. Jessica, the sales girl who’d helped Birch select most of my wardrobe, had also called me that. I recognized the term as soon as I heard it yet couldn’t place the origin. I would have asked him, but it would’ve ruined the moment and we didn’t have time for both a quickie and a fight. Later, when we weren’t in a hurry, I would confront him. Maybe.

I laughed shakily. “Do you really think getting me all hot and bothered before I meet your pack is the best idea?”

He pulled my hips snug against his. “Our pack. And no. Only I see you all hot and bothered. You’ll meet our pack nice and relaxed.” In a lower, throatier voice, he added, “hold on to the bar.”

I heard the zipper on his jeans and hurried to slide the thong down my thighs, kicking the scrap of material across the closet and then shoving the clothes aside to wrap my fingers around the cool metal bar. Despite the time crunch, Ewan didn’t rush. Not that it took him long to make me see stars.

The sex was just as much to ease his nerves as mine. This meeting was important and could very well end in disaster. His worries were mine and vice versa thanks to the bond. My inability to pick an outfit seemed ridiculous given the announcement he was about to make could tear the Taurus wolves apart.

“You could wear a potato sack and they will still love you,” Ewan murmured, face buried in the crook of my neck as he enjoyed a few moments of post-coital bliss.

“Enough to fight for me—a woman they don’t know?” I asked.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I leaned back against his chest and released the clothes bar to cover his hands with mine. “Enough to die for you.”

“You can’t know that,” I whispered, panic creeping in again.

“I can.” He squeezed me so tightly that it was a good thing I didn’t need to breathe. “Trust me.”

With a resigned sigh, Ewan released me. I turned and watched him pull up his boxers and jeans. “You aren’t going to shower?” I asked.

He gave me a fang-filled grin. “Nope. I want everyone to smell you on me.”

A hot flush crept up neck and into my cheeks as I thought about all the female shifters inhaling my scent on their alpha and knowing he was entirely mine. I had staked my claim. Sure, I was his mate and that should have been enough. Maybe my insecurities were showing. Whatever. I wasn’t only a foreign wolf in a foreign land, I drank my meals and my presence put their pack in danger. So, yeah, I felt entitled to those insecurities.

“You don’t get to shower either.” Fully dressed, while I stood in a sheer bra and nothing else, Ewan pulled me close for a soft kiss.

“No, see, I get you’re the alpha and all, but your alphaness is on my thighs, and your mother is going to be there. She’ll think I’m, I don’t know, not fit to take her place in the pack.”

“Your Zaraness is all over my dick,” he reminded me, giving my hips a squeeze. “My mother likes you and knows we aren’t children. We’re newly bonded. She expects us to have sex. I’ll make you a deal. Don’t shower now, and I will wash every inch of you later.” His hands rounded my hips to grab handfuls of my ass. “Gaia, you are so tempting even when you don’t try.”

Palms on his chest, I rolled my eyes. “I’m basically naked. Of course I’m tempting, and I smell like you, which I’m pretty sure turns you on and is the real reason you don’t want me to shower.”

Ewan gave me another quick kiss, expression turning serious. “Maybe a little, or a lot. Either way, it will keep my temper in check, which I’m going to need to get through this.”

His worry came hard and fast through the bond, and I would have done anything he asked to help ease his mind.

“Deal.” I grabbed handfuls of his flannel shirt and kissed him properly, with tongue. When we broke apart, I pushed him away. “Shoo. Got sit on the bed or something. I need to get dressed, and you’re too distracting.”

Like an obedient alpha, he left me alone in the closet but didn’t go farther than our bedroom. “Wear the silk pants,” he called as I turned my attention back to my outfit choices. “With the pink sweater.”

Unable to make a decision to save my undead life, I located my panties and then pulled on Ewan’s suggested clothes as those insecurities returned with a vengeance. Would the Taurus wolves accept me? Would they hate me because I couldn’t give the pack an heir? Did they all wish I’d died, and Angelica had lived to be their alpha’s mate?

“Ready?” He stood as I exited the closet.

Was I ready? No. But I wasn’t sure I ever truly would be. Not wanting my anxiety bleeding in his, I steeled my nerves and put on a smile. I was the daughter of the Gemini alpha, the reincarnation of an original wolf, and Ewan’s true mate. Our bond gave the Taurus pack immense power even without accounting for the fangs, so they should be happy to have me. This was the attitude I needed to get through the meeting.

We had already made the decision to fight the council’s order. There wouldn’t be a vote or debate, but that didn’t mean everyone would agree with Ewan’s choice. Tensions would be high, and I needed to remain calm for everyone’s sake.

Ewan took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I will banish anyone who isn’t happy to have you.”

I frowned. “Invasion of privacy much? Stop reading my thoughts.”

“Start talking to me about your worries and I will.”

That was fair, I supposed. I didn’t want to bother him with such trivial concerns when we were on the brink of war. So what if the Taurus wolves hated me? It didn’t matter. I didn’t matter. Ewan was their alpha and they would choose allegiance or exile based on him, not me.

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