Page 55 of Conner's Luna

Rique nods and says something quietly in passing to one of his wolves. They vanish, like the shadow wolves they're known for being. I know they're there, hidden in the house and woods, but the illusion of privacy makes my wolf and I settle a little.

"It's not pretty," I warn Uncle Mattie. Beads of sweat break out on my upper lip and trickle down my neck. I reek of anxiety. Uncle Mattie's eyes are already tearing up, but he squares his jaw and nods.

We walk outside to the fire pit Braxton and Sarj built one afternoon when they were bored. My hands are trembling as I clench and unclench my fists repeatedly to shake out the nerves.

"Alright," I suck in a breath and strip off the rest of my clothes and shudder. I'm still fast at being able to shift, thank the fucking goddess, but it hurts. The ache rolls over me normally until it reaches my abdomen. Then the agony is spiking. My wolf snarls and tosses himself into that black void between him and me. For the moment, suspended between feet and paws, we hurt to our soul.

Pain and I are becoming old friends, though, so what's some more? I'm more concerned about Uncle Mattie's reaction to my wolf's appearance. Only Sarj and Sean have seen my wolf lately. Not even Braxton has seen him. He's such a mama's pup, he'll tell Mom then Mom will spill to Dad and Papa and Uncle Alex.

I finish the shift. I'm stiff as I force my muscles to hold me up. My wolf wants to run, to escape from the pain of our twisted and bent bond. It hurts more to hold him back.

"Oh, Conner," Uncle Mattie chokes out.

My wolf levels his gaze at the sweet Omega male who scents of alpha. He sniffs, snorting with derision. The stench of another, stronger male all over the skin of his kin is offensive.

"Easy, Conner," Rique intones calmly.

My wolf slides his eyes toward the Beta. He is stronger than us. It is a truth that slides down our spine,sickeningly. We are alpha, but this wolf would win a fight. He stands to one side, pretending to be casual, but it is all anact. We are not trusted to be around our own kin.

Our lip curls at the Beta, but he doesn't react. We stand, straight and true, proud despite our weakness, as the Omega approaches with tears streaming down his cheeks.

His fingers, so gentle that we can barely feel them, touch the patches of raw skin, missing fur, our humiliation exposed for everyone to see. Our body shudders, embarrassed. We pull out our own fur. It hurts, but not as much asshehurts us.

The omega stands in front of us, on his tiptoes, reaching up to pull at our mouth, to examine our teeth. He sniffles, sad. We are sad. A pitiful, pathetic sight. The omega bends down and lifts one of our paws. We pull it away sharply. We don't like that. He persists, and we hold still, not wanting to upset our gentle omega kin. He sniffles again as he sees the bloody, broken skin on the pads of our paws. We chew on our nails. Our teeth are still sharp.

We feel a tug in our stomach. A warning. A growl rumbles, deep in our stomach.

I shift back quickly, falling to my knees with a gasp. Uncle Mattie has retreated, trying in vain to stop his tears. Rique has placed himself in between us, just in case. I make eye contact with the Beta, to show him I'm in control.

Rique nods and steps backward, respectfully. He is already on the phone explaining to Carmichael why his male is so upset in a low voice. I shudder, closing my eyes. Why does Uncle Mattie have to suffer this, too?

I stand on shaking legs as another sharp pain slices through me. I suck in a deep breath and feel Uncle Mattie slip his shoulder under my arm. "Conner? What do you need?"

"Inside," I grit out. We take just a few shaky steps when I hear the rumble of a truck down the street. "What time is it?" I ask Uncle Mattie frantically.

"About twelve-thirty," he responds.

"Pants. I need pants," I grunt out. My stomach is tightening already because I was just shifted. I've worked out a schedule over the last few months. I only shift on Tuesdays, because for some reason Lydia and Trey fuck less often on those days. Shifting on the weekends is out of the question.

We hobble inside quickly, where a pair of pants is miraculously shoved in my face. I ignore the increasing pain in my gut, pulling them on while still trying to walk, my wolf urging me to move faster before his control breaks.

I rush outside the front door to see Sean helping Bailey out of his truck.

"Conner?" she nervously pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose as she looks around at all the wolves standing around in various states of undress, staring at her like she's the last drop of water in the desert.

I scowl and snarl at them until they look away as I rush toward her. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a haphazard bun that is lopsided to the left. She's wearing a shapeless beige dress that I bet is meant to be her work clothes. She looks tired. Without thinking, I pull her into my arms and kiss the top of her head.

The pain recedes as Bailey cuddles closer, her sweet honeysuckle scent tickling my nose. "Uncle Mattie?" she says.

"Hi, Bailey. How's the shoulder?" Uncle Mattie jogs over with a big, friendly smile on his face.

I'm pulling Bailey away from him before I can even register it. I freeze when Bailey gives me an odd look. Hurriedly, I let her go, then change my mind and grab her right back into my arms.

My wolf circles, whines, and growls as he searches for Bailey's non-existent she-wolf to nudge and nuzzle. Finally realizing she's not around, he turns his attention to the approaching male, forgetting all about his mate's betrayal. I almost laugh, but I don't need a jealous wolf right now.

Uncle Mattie smells like the pack that surrounds us. It's not my wolf’s pack. Not his family. He wants his human all to himself.

I cough to cover up the growl, but it's far too late. Uncle Mattie's sharp eyes take in my behavior at a glance. He looks at Bailey and they have a quick discussion about her shoulder, but I see the knowing little grin on his face.

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