Page 54 of Conner's Luna

I take it and walk into the kitchen, putting it on the counter. Turning, I watch Uncle Mattie set up on the table, muttering to himself as he unpacks his bag.

I don't answer his question, because what do I say? A tiny human girl makes my wolf feel better? I don't want more attention from my pack on Bailey. There's enough speculation about her, thanks to Braxton.

"Alright," Uncle Mattie pats the back of one of the kitchen chairs. I sit with a heavy thud as his caramel eyes shine with worry.

I resist the urge to groan. An alpha doesn't thump into a chair or slump at a table. We're graceful, powerful predators, damnit.

Uncle Mattie runs the thermometer over my head. He looks at and makes a notation. Next, come the poking and prodding. When he asks, I take off my shirt.

"Oh, Conner," Uncle Mattie's eyes fill with tears. It makes me feel about an inch high. I can't Claim my mate. She cheats on our bond and my wolf is destroying my health. It's not just me who is suffering. My entire pack is worried and my family is terrified that this will end up destroying me.

"You're healing a bit," Uncle Mattie's gentle fingers dance over my bruises, probing and poking at the green-tinged edges. The center of my stomach is still purple-black, though.

"Can you stand up, Conner?" Uncle Mattie asks me softly.

I stand, towering over him, and turn when he indicates I should. I feel his hands press firmly on my lower back.

"How does this feel?" he asks.

The last time he pressed there I bit my tongue clean through from the agony. "OK," I respond.

Uncle Mattie hesitates. "Rique?"

"Sí,Noño?" Rique appears in the doorway almost instantly.

"Can you press here?"

I brace myself for the pain. Hands, much larger than Uncle Mattie's, touch my skin. Calloused palms press,hard. A dull ache spreads through my gut and my stomach contents lurch, but I'm able to keep the moan of pain to myself.

"OK, that's enough. Thank you, Rique," Uncle Mattie says quietly.

The pressure eases and I concentrate on breathing in and out steadily through my nose until the pain goes away.

Uncle Mattie waits patiently. When I relax enough to look at him he gently asks, "scale of 1 to 10?"

"Five, six maybe," I say begrudgingly. It's fucking humiliating. I'm analpha.

"That's better than it was," Uncle Mattie says quietly.

It is better. It's... tolerable.

"Um... Conner?"

"Yeah, Uncle Mattie?"

"Do you think you can shift for me?"

Everything inside of me freezes. Even my wolf cringes away at the thought. I do not want to do this. "No," I say, abruptly, snarling. "No."

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15 - The Beautiful Game

Conner

Rique is in my face a heartbeat after I snarl my refusal to shift for Uncle Mattie. "Easy, güey," he says quietly. "Let's go outside."

I suck in a deep breath and nod. "Get those other fuckers out of here," I demand.

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