Talons

Chapter 10: The Beta

Colton’s POV

What started off as a perfectly fine party has now become a learning session on the ‘dangers’ of being promiscuous and mistreating a mate.

Apparently, Luna Mavis had to play mediator for Lark, because after scolding us, she pretty much dragged the girl who was all over her son back to the pack house, no doubt to help explain.

It was rare to see Luna Mavis angry, but she did not take sh*t from anyone. She isn’t the kind of Luna my mother is, the one who sits back and allows her mate to do whatever he pleases, while only looking after flower arrangements. No, Luna Mavis is hands on in her pack, and while she is no fighter, she doesn’t need to be, her alpha is her enforcer.

I look at Raven and Robin and find that none of them have any of their mother’s features. Luna Mavis is in her forties, and she is still beautiful to look at, but I don’t see the twins aging as graceful, nor do I find them beautiful. I don’t even consider Brain because she is beyond hope where looks are concerned.

When I realize that I am one of the last people lingering around the campfire, I bid goodnight to the twins, who were excitedly discussing their brother's mate. I now see how serious girls take things I would never think of, and I wonder if I have ever rubbed the twins the wrong way by approaching them with the scent of someone else on me.

I have been with many girls in school, and when I say in school, I mean it literally. My favorite place is anywhere with a door. I knew I would smell, but truthfully, during those times, my mind is only on one thing.

I leave the Claw pack grounds and hop into my car with my beta and gamma Trey. We cannot shift yet, so we have to drive the thirty-minute distance between our packs, and neither of us can wait until we can travel by wolf through the woods.

“So, you gonna tell me what happened with Britt?” My head snaps toward my beta, who has a raised eyebrow.

“How did you know?”

“Bro, she reeked of you. That is why I use condoms, the less seed the less stress.” I roll my eyes. s*x is not the same with protection, and its well known that she-wolves cannot get pregnant until after their first heat and even then, it is near impossible for them to conceive without being mated.

Were-science says that it is the she-wolf body’s way of preserving its eggs for when they are ready for pups, but spiritualists believe it is the goddess’s way of keeping our species from over-populating.

“I released on her back, not inside of her, she should have rinsed off in the lake.” Trey chuckled and I shot him a dirty look. He just laughed louder and I fought back the urge to laugh with him because I didn’t want to be accidentally laughing at myself.

“You really don’t know a thing about girls, do you?” I screwed up my face in mock offense, but he was right. My father’s lesson about romance, and I kid you not, was ‘f*ck ‘em, chuck ‘em, and duck ‘em.’ He says that the only woman I should entertain a relationship with is my mate, and truly I don’t entirely disagree.

“You know that I am fated. There is no need to know anything about any girl unless it is one of the twins.” I am proud of myself for my answer, but both people in the car start laughing at me. Orlin hates being laughed at, but my human mind knows they aren’t mocking me like my father does. “What is so funny?”

“What is Raven’s favorite color? Better yet, what is Robin’s favorite thing to do?” I wince because I haven't a clue. “Come on bro, you can’t expect any of those girls to take you seriously, especially when you don’t take them seriously.”

“I’m just not into either of them,” I add, my pride feeling a little wounded.

“It is obvious to anyone with eyes. I don’t understand why though. The girls are great people.” I shrug and we all stay silent for a long time.

“How do I fix things?” I suddenly ask, and both boys start patting my back as if I said something significant.

“You can start by using condoms. It also wouldn’t hurt if you kept it in your pants for a while.”

Robin’s POV

Our sendoff party has ended, and Raven has snatched Brain to help her pick out an outfit for the first day of classes. I would do anything to avoid that task, so I made up an excuse about getting a workout in before bed and headed to the pack gym.

I see my brother’s beta doing curls, and I do the thing I usually do whenever I want to mess with him.

Stepping in Luke’s field of view. I roll out a yoga mat and get into the cow pose before sultrily moving into the puppy pose. I know Luke has a thing for me, and I enjoy watching him squirm.

It's a power play on my end, and the only way I can express my sexuality.

My mom has been pleading for my sister and I to keep our chastity because she does not want an uncomfortable situation between our fated mate and the man or men we have slept with.

We understand this completely, and truthfully, because of Brainy’s scent blocker, it has become so much easier for Raven and me to control our urges. With only four months left though, I decide I should push it a little and enjoy the feeling of a strong man touching me while I will still enjoy it.

The very thought of Colt being my mate disgusts me, especially because I know that he has been spreading himself around like a wildfire. I don’t even want to think about how many pack helpers I will have the pleasure of knowing he has been with, and truly, I’m thinking about seeking permission from the werewolf council to reject him on those grounds in advance.

“Luke, do you think you can help me stretch my hamstrings?” I ask innocently. He doesn’t even respond with words. He just nods as if he doesn’t trust his mouth to speak and it makes me wet to know I can do that to him without even trying. Luke kneels in front of me and lifts my leg up. “Harder,” I say with a slight moan in my tone.

Luke's erection is obvious, but I pretend not to notice. I know the blocker is working, and he cannot smell my arousal, because if he did there is no doubt I would have already been bent over and ravaged. A chill travels down my spine as I think about it, and Luke releases me as if I’m too hot to touch.

“Did I hurt you?” he asks. His voice is laced with lust and I can tell his wolf is at the surface, likely trying to take control.

“You can never hurt me,” I say teasingly. I see his breath catch, and when he leans in to close the distance between us, I pull back and stand up, pretending not to notice what he was about to do. I do a few more stretches, then head straight toward the machinery.

I can see Luke’s eyes flashing between their normal brown color to almost black. He must have gotten a whiff of my arousal, and I wonder for a second if I have taken my game a little too far.

After a minute of staring, Luke goes back to his workout. I smirk, feeling victorious. This is how it always is anytime he and I are alone. A part of me wishes he would do something about it, but he has too much self-control for that.

Luke’s position as beta did not come easy for him. His father was also a beta, albeit of a much smaller pack. When Luke was a child, his pack was attacked, and he was sent to hide with the alpha’s children.

Unfortunately, the pack they were up against had also hired rogue mercenaries, and they were badly outnumbered. Seeing no hope in the fight, Luke’s father fled with his son in tow, but he left the alpha’s children behind.

The alpha of that pack survived, but Luke’s father was executed, and his mother, being fated to him, killed herself from grief.

Luke became mistreated at his home pack, and during a recovery and welfare visit, my mother’s heart went out to him. She did what no other luna would do, what no other pack would do; she took Luke in, and he was raised by the pack nannies.

I know that sounds just as cruel, but our pack helpers, especially the nannies, are well known for their kindness. They treated Luke well, even though our ranked pack members behaved poorly toward him.

I don’t really know how or why Lark decided to make Luke his beta, but I am almost positive it had something to do with Brainy. I think Lark just saw that Luke needed a chance to prove himself, and he has been proving himself since.

Luke has taken management classes in university, he is an active member of the patrols, and he spends most of his extra time in the gym, which I really, really appreciate.