Mates of the Luna Queen

CHAPTER 7 Aunt Ashley

　　Leo's POV

　　I watch Raven storm from the dining room with her father following close behind her. The Omegas snuck out during the commotion, leaving just Brent and me behind.

　　Brent has a horrified look on his face, but that does not stop him from shoving a piece of cake down his gullet. I take a moment to glare at him while he stuffs his face. Does the i***t know what he has just done?

　　Finally, I break the stifling silence that has taken over the room. "What in the f**k were you thinking?" I growl at him.

　　Brent pauses with the fork halfway toward his mouth and looks at me with a confused look on his face. He drops his fork and points to his chest. "Me?" He gasps like he is surprised. "What about you? I was just trying to smooth things over after your terrible actions when she arrived."

　　"You tried to smooth things over by throwing her a party that I told you she didn't want," I say as I rub my eyes in frustration.

　　"How was I supposed to know that she was serious about not wanting a party?" Brent says stupidly. "You know how women are. They say they want one thing but they want another."

　　"It is no wonder you are single," I groan. "Your mate probably won't even want you."

　　"Hey," Brent says with a mouth full of cake. "A party was a nicer idea than laughing at her when she tripped up the stairs earlier this morning. She was pretty cute when she fell though."

　　"Oh my Goddess," I laugh. "You have a thing for the Queen."

　　"I don't have a thing for the Queen," Brent tries to hide the smile on his face behind another bite of cake. "But you would have to be blind to not notice her beauty."

　　As much as I hate to admit it, Brent is right. The Luna Queen is definitely a rare beauty. Her jet-black hair shimmers like fine silk as it hangs neatly down her back and her blue eyes are captivating. Her petite frame matches her shy personality. She looks like the kind of she-wolf that needs protecting and that is exactly the kind of woman I am into. If she weren't the Queen I would have tried to get into her pants by now. But all that being said, I can't let Brent know that I think she is beautiful. He will never let me live it down.

　　"I prefer blondes," I say shortly and suddenly a curly-haired blonde comes bursting into the dining room.

　　"Sorry I am late," she says as she sits down at the table. "Traffic was terrible on the way in."

　　I c**k my head to the side and study the cute older blonde. I have no idea who she is and it appears that Brent doesn't either. The look on his face is just as confused.

　　"Um," Brent clears his throat awkwardly. "Who are you?"

　　The blonde raises her head and finally takes a look around the table. "f**k," she mumbles under her breath. "This is the Blue Moon Pack, right?"

　　"Yes?" Brent raises an eyebrow.

　　"Oh good," she says as she begins to pile food on her plate. "I thought I had shown up to the wrong pack again. When will my cousin and the Queen be down for dinner."

　　Brent and I look at each other, too dumbfounded to even mind-link. "Excuse me," I say as politely as I can. "But who are you?"

　　"Oh," the blonde draws her mouth in a perfect 'O.' "I am the Queen's aunt Ashley. Well, technically I am the triplets' cousin, which I guess makes me Raven's first cousin once removed, or maybe that makes me her second cousin. I am not really sure so we just tell everyone that I am her aunt because Erica and I are super close. Just like sisters. I am sure that you two know how that feels. You know, to be so close to someone that they feel like they are family even when they aren't. Just look at the two of you. You could be brothers..."

　　My eyes widen as Ashley continues to talk. I didn't realize that so many words could come out of a person's mouth all at once. I don't even think she has taken a breath since she began talking. Once she finally stopped talking I realized that she is waiting on a response from me and I didn't hear a word she said there toward the end.

　　"What was that?" I ask.

　　"I asked when Ace and Raven would be down for dinner," Ashley says with a smirk on her face.

　　"They were already down here," Brent says as he piles a second piece of cake on his plate.

　　"There was a bit of an argument," I begin to try to explain delicately but Ashley holds up her hand and silences me.

　　"Which room is Raven's?" Ashley demands to know and I immediately get up from my seat to show her the way to the Queen's guest room.

　　Ashley pushes her way away from the table and follows me out of the dining room. I don't have to show Ashley to the Queen's room because her father, Alpha Ace is banging on her door demanding that she come out and apologize.

　　"Oh, hell no," Ashley says as she marches her way up the stairs.

　　Standing in the center of the hallway outside of the Luna Queen's door Ashley taps Alpha Ace on the shoulder. When he spins around to see who tapped him, she smacks him across the face.

　　"What the f**k, Ashley," Alpha Ace growls as he holds the side of his face.

　　"What did we talk about before we left the North Pack," Ashley says quietly through gritted teeth.

　　Alpha Ace looks around sheepishly. He clearly doesn't seem standing at the bottom of the stairs. But I am not leaving. I wouldn't miss this family drama for anything.

　　"We agreed that we would stop treating Raven like a child and lead the other packs by example; by treating her like the Queen she is," Alpha Ace says quietly.

　　"Then what the f**k is all this," Ashley gestures to the Queen's door.

　　"You weren't here," Alpha Ace hisses back at Ashley. "She was rude a disrespectful over a cake."

　　"If I had to guess," Ashley says with her hands on her hip. "She got emotional over the cake and you blew it out of proportion."

　　"She isn't acting like a Queen," Alpha Ace grunts.

　　"You aren't giving her a chance to act like a Queen," Ashley says and Alpha Ace falls quiet.

　　Without another word, Alpha Ace begins to storm back down the stairs and I slink back into the dining room before he can see me. The last thing I want is for him to know that I was eavesdropping on their argument. But a sense of guilt washes over me as well. Perhaps I haven't given Raven the chance to act like a Queen either.