Page 67 of Silent Noise

CHAPTER 44

LILY

By the time we finally arrived in the large dining hall, most of the pack members were already done with breakfast. I felt utterly exposed and unmasked as Raiden held my hand and led me to a centre table where Gunnar, his mate and a few others were sitting. Eyes bore into me like they knew exactly what we’d done before coming down.

I smiled shyly and shook their hands as Raiden introduced me to each of them. One young man, in particular, I recognized immediately. It was the same fellow who had burst into Raiden’s room the day before. The one who’d seen my bare chest and got scolded by Ray after. As our eyes met and our palms touched, he turned a deep shade of red and I was sure I did too.

Apparently, he was Carter’s younger brother, Thomas, whom everyone just called Tom. Judging by his appearance, I guessed him around the age of seventeen or eighteen. After I’d shook Thomas’s hand, the whole table had gone quiet, and Ray stood there, comically staring at our reddened faces with half a smile. Gunnar took the liberty to clear his throat loudly, and snickers erupted all around the table.

It dawned on me that everybody already knew about our little incident and that they delighted in our discomfort very much. Were they teasing him? Me?I had no idea how I felt about either of those options.

Raiden quickly pulled out a chair for me and headed to fill our plates from the buffet table since the servers were already packing up. We’d run a bit late after getting so thoroughly distracted earlier.

I sat quietly, folding my hands in my lap. I didn’t know what to say or who to engage with. Did they know Raiden had marked me? Could they smell him on me?It was slightly chilly, so I wore a hoodie, which covered the fresh wound on my neck. The new mark would remain red and swollen for a few days. Although it didn’t hurt anymore, it wasn’t exactly pretty to look at.

“So, Lily? We heard you were the one who put that nasty scar on Gunnar’s face?” The Delta, Carter—whom I already knew from our youthful meetings in the forest—asked with an amused tone.

Gunnar proudly puffed his chest out, earning some chuckles around the table and a slap to the shoulder from his mate, Mia.

“Calm down,” she scoffed, rolling her russet eyes. She wore two heavy lines of black liner above each eyelid, accentuating the warm brown of her eyes. She was pretty, I realised when she wasn’t trying to claw my eyes out. Tattoos, many of them, peeked out of her collar, some of them running up the side of her neck under ruffled auburn hair.

“I-uh?” Shit, what was I supposed to say to that? I guess they told me it had been me, but I had no recollection of the incident whatsoever. My gaze drifted to the red, slightly upheaved skin, now fully healed, running down Gunnar’s face. Crap, this conversation surely escalated quickly.

“You should come around the training grounds some time and show the boys your moves,” Carter continued. “They can’t even seem to land the big guy a single punch, yet you almost took him out in one blow.”

Mia snorted, shoving her empty plate aside, “not in my books.” She crossed her arms over her chest, more tattoos stretching over her knuckles, “the only woman allowed to put a blow on The Tank here, is me,” she said sternly, pressing an index finger into her own chest.

Gunnar’s eyes lit up in wicked delight, “ah, promise Babe?” he asked, openly winking at her. “You all heard that, right?” he carried on, flashing Mia a suggestive brow-wiggle. She instantly turned a light shade of pink..

“No, that’s not what I meant,” she exclaimed, trying to fix what Gunnar had broken. She sounded so flustered and innocent, that, for a second, I truly felt sorry for her.

Rowdy laughter erupted all around the table as Mia tried again, “I meant no one else, except for me, is allowed to leave any marks on my man.”

Gunnar’s brows shot up as he burst into another uncontrolled fit of laughter. “Leaving marks? You all heard that, right?” Oh, Mia had only dug herself in deeper, and Gunnar was loving every second of it. “Man, I can’t wait for tonight,” he exclaimed, clutching his stomach, his deep voice mixing in with everyone else’s laughter. “Leaving marks happens to be just my thing. So very kinky.” He practically growled that last part, his voice dipping a few octaves lower than usual.

Mia went from pink to the brightest shade of red I’d ever seen on a woman, and Gunnar, the bastard, leaned in, scraping one of his claws suggestively along her arm.

“Stop it, Gunnar,” she yelled, swatting him away.

Everyone laughed so hard, it echoed throughout the entire hall. I was at a loss for words. I’d never seen Gunnar so carefree before. Boisterous, sure, but this was different. Relaxed. Mia truly brought out a different side to him.

Stunned, I watched the interaction before me. A family. All of them. They were teasing, but not to inflict pain. They were teasing because they knew they could. Each wolf at this table had been welcomed into Shadow Creek's family and knew they were accepted and loved just the way they were.

Gunnar was making a scene of studying his wristwatch and then shot up, pushing his chair back with a loud scrape. “Alright guys, that’s me. Time for bed,” he exclaimed, grabbing his empty plate in one hand and Mia's in the other.

When she yanked her hand out of his and shook her head, I didn't miss the shy smile she couldn't hide anymore and Gunnar sat back down, pulling her in for a loving hug. Mia wiggled in his huge arms, barely trying to escape.

“I leave you for one second, and chaos erupts,” Raiden joked, suddenly standing beside me with two plates of food in his hands.

I glanced at everyone laughing around the table and had no idea how to answer. Ray gave me a warm, accepting smile before placing our plates on the table and taking a seat next to me.

“Thank you, it looks delicious.”

Raiden kept smiling, looking around at the wolves as he poured water from the jug on the table. The look on his face made me feel fuzzy and loved.

"You're very welcome," he replied, practically glowing.

“You’ve never been late for breakfast before, Raiden?” Gunnar threw a cheeky brow at him. Numerous snickers and whispers flared up around the table.

“Mind your own business, Beta,” Raiden teased.

Gunnar and Raiden were basically brothers, always pestering each other, but ready to take a bullet for one another if the situation called for it.

I smiled at their interaction, taking the first bite of my food and Raiden quickly followed, digging into his. Gunnar's gaze then moved to me, and he gave me a knowing wink, dipping his chin in a slight nod. It then occurred to me that they all knew Raiden had claimed me. We’d planned on hiding the mark until he'd formally spoken to Tanya, but I guess the smell of him on me was too strong.

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