Page 40 of Stormbinder King
Symeon was always so hateful.
What had I ever done to deserve this?
What had I done to make him hate me so?
13
That next day was the Midsummer Festival.
The Alphas cleared out another big open space on Stormbinder territory, but far enough from our settlement that there was no worry that any drunk shifters could shoot an arrow through village walls or into one of the treehouses.
Everyone allied with the Pack or under their protection who could walk or get transport came to compete for archery, hand-to-hand combat or stone-throwing prizes, and shop the market stalls filled with baked goods or garments.
I wished I wasn’t feeling so trapped and discouraged, or that I had a friend to share it with, because the Midsummer Festival was noisy and lively.
But Jack was helping with the archery competition and I had no friends in the Pack. I bought an enormous leg of unidentified meat and ate it, wandering around the stalls and buying cheap beads from peddlers.
It felt like everyone was looking at me, like everyone knew the embarrassing truth that my beloved mate wasn’t faithful to me.
I couldn’t believe I had pitied Aurelia. He had never rejected her.
The summer day was warm and sticky, and I couldn’t help looking at Jack, watching as he reached into one of the carts to take out an archery target, a big, heavy ungainly thing that he carried as easily as if it weighed nothing at all.
I felt the nauseatingly familiar sensation of my heart beating faster, the ungovernable captured place between my legs heating up with slick need. Jack’s light shirt was damp with sweat, and I could see the outline of his chest and the hard muscles underneath.
How could I escape Jack’s control?
I craved freedom from him, craved it so hard I tasted bitter blood in my mouth.
His love for me was a bitter, twisted thing, too.
Pack ways are different, I reminded myself.
But it didn’t help the sick feeling of betrayal.
Jack had betrayed me, had played on my love for him and bound us together as fated mates without ever intending to be faithful.
Aurelia was there too, checking the contestants’ bows and arrows in her cool, assured way.
How long had she been laughing at me behind my back as I defended what had never even been my territory?
I wished I could do anything useful, anything useful at all, but I was too small and weak. I didn’t know Pack ways. There was nothing I could contribute except the most basic herb gathering and chores. My eyes stung as my core heated so rapidly that my pussy swelled as Jack bent to place the target carefully in its proper location.
He would take care of my desperate desire for him. He always did. On his own time, of course.
I didn’t realize I was staring at my mate until Symeon crossed my field of vision, his face dark and cold as usual. Horrified and embarrassed at being caught looking at Jack, I turned away in confusion as my cheeks flamed in embarrassment.
I was a figure of shame to the whole Pack.
The afternoon got hotter as the long summer day wore on.
Eventually, as most of the shifters took a break for lunch, I got up from where I was sitting and headed for the cover of the forest trees.
I knew I wasn’t supposed to wander in the forest, but I just wanted to walk a few feet in to find some shade.
As I wiped my sticky forehead, I saw Jack moving through the leaves.
Aurelia was teasing him, challenging him to see whose shot was truer.
