Their Mate And Luna

CHAPTER42

RIVALS AHOY!

“Stay away from her,” Vince growled at the twins, pushing himself between them and Nicole.

“Why? We were only talking,” Trey, the eldest of the twins, countered Vince, meeting his eyes with the same fierceness. His dark eyes raked quickly over the Stone’s, gauging their build and strength. Though, he and his twin were equally muscular and built like an alpha should be, but they were no match for Stone alphas.

“You’re done talking,” Vance answered him in as steely voice, snaking an arm around Nicole’s waist. Noting Trey’s eyes following his movement.

He smiled inside, his wolf purring, when he felt her shiver and heard her gasp lightly, when his arm touched her soft skin.

So, she can feel his presence. Interesting.

Unconsciously she leaned into him, her heartbeat spiking at the contact. Axel didn’t stop purring in his head, reaching forward to peer at Nicole. Vance relished the tingles and sparks of the mate bond, exploding over his arm and body.

“She doesn’t look taken,” Taylor, the other twin came forward. “She has no mark…”

“That’s none of your damn business! Now back off.” Vince warned.

“Or what?”

“Gentlemen is there a problem?” Drake interrupted them. He had seen the alphas talking with Nicole before his sons came out and knew there was going to be a problem.

“Maybe you should ask your sons, Alpha,” Trey sneered.

“And you will do well to remember that you’re on my turf, pup,” Drake growled at him. “You’re just mere representatives of your father here.” Pushing out his aura. Not only were they visiting, their father was also a member of the Council. And a greedy and cunny alpha.

Drake was stuck in between not causing problems with them in case the issue with his pack reaches the Council and dousing any form of disrespect from the twins.

“Apologies, Alpha Drake,” Trey said but clearly not showing he was. “Our wolves only found this beautiful she-wolf interesting.” His smile growing as he looked at Nicole.

Vince and Vance growled together with their wolves.

“Nothing bad in appreciating a gem in your pack,” Taylor added, his eyes also on Nicole.

“Let me scratch his eyes out!” Ares growled.

“And I will break his jaw,” Axel growled equally.

Drake smiled inside at the possessive display of his sons and their wolves over Nicole. “Thank you for the compliments. However, I believe there are better ways of doing things. We came here to discuss pertinent issues, not go gem-picking.” A low rumble of laughter filled the air.

Trey and Taylor Manning felt embarrassed but kept straight faces.

“No need to feel embarrassed, alphas. Nothing wrong in looking at gems, just that everything has a time and place.” All the while, he was trying to get Nicole through the mindlink but couldn’t. His brows furrowed. “Enjoy your break, gentlemen. We will reconvene in twenty minutes.”

Trey nodded. “And perhaps I may speak with her after the meeting.”

“No!” The Stone twins growled at him.

“She is off limits to you!” Vance added, tightening his arm round her waist. His fingers unconsciously digging into her skin.

Nicole flinched, biting back a groan at the pain. She was sure there was going to be marks.

“Is there a reason why, alphas?” Trey asked, not backing down.

“Because we said so. Go find another wolf to ogle or speak to.” Vince closed the distance between him and Trey, his eyes alternating between gold and black. “Do you understand me?”

All eyes were on them now and Nicole wished more than anything that the ground would just open up and swallow here deep. How did she become the center of all attraction right now?

Vance’s closeness to her was doing things to her body. Things she had never felt before. Making her insides squirm and her knees going slightly weak.

“Crystal,” Trey replied as his brother tapped his shoulder, pulling him away from Vince.

“Are we going to have a problem?” Drake asked.

“No, Alpha.” Trey replied, walking away and herding his brother into the crowd.

Their eyes trailed the departing alpha twins, calming themselves and their wolves.

Vance turned to look at his mate, who was all but squirming near his brother. Hating how she looked away from him.

“That’s settled.” Drake said before turning to Nicole with a smile. “Nicole, dear, may I have a word with you in my office?”

Nicole gave him a small nod, thankful to be saved from the embarrassment and that the hand around her waist would let her go.

“They will wait with you while I quickly see to somethings.” Drake added before leaving them.

“Come on, Brown eyes,” Vance whispered into Nicole’s ear, smiling when she shivered again and tightened his palm round her waist as he steered her away, not seeing her grit her teeth in pain.

The moment they entered the office, Nicole swung round, swatting Vance’s arm off her waist. “What is wrong with you?! Don’t you want to have pups? You were squeezing the life out of my reproductive system!” she exploded, her brown eyes flashing an angry deep gold, as she glared at Vance.

Then quickly widened in embarrassment at the implication of her words. The smirks on the faces of her mates adding to the blush on her face. Wishing more than ever for the ground to swallow her up.

“That was a slip of tongue,” she muttered, trying to correct herself, rubbing the side of her arm with her palm, her eyes plastered to the floor. And kept calling herself an i***t for spewing such nonsense.

“One that I am glad to hear,” Vance said, quickly getting images of her swollen and pregnant. Thanks to Axel, howling and trotting around in his head in joy.

She touched her waist, where Vance had touched and felt something wet and sticky. Behind her the brothers were sniffing the air just as she raised her fingers up to see blood.

Vance walked around to face her about to touch her but she pulled away. He looked at his hand, gave a light growl at the blood under his finger nails. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s nothing I am fine,” She pushed his hand away again when he moved closer. Yet, she was far from fine.

“Are you in pain?” Vance’s voice softened as he looked at the blood in her hand, his eyes full of remorse.

Vince growled at his brother. “Did you have to hold her that hard?”

“I didn’t know I was hurting her.”

Vince muttered something under his breath as he walked to their father’s table, snatching the first-aid kit from under the table. “Let me help….” She cut him off as he opened the kit.

“I don’t need your help….”

“I am not asking if you need it or not. You’re bleeding,” Ares was giving him a headache at seeing his mate bleeding.

“I…”

“Nicole.” Vance raises a brow at her. “Please, let us…”

“Just leave me alone…”

“You know that is never going to happen.” Vince deadpans at her. His grey eyes holding her brown ones, noticing the alarm and fear in them, yet a thought kept eating him up about her bleeding and not healing like she should. “So, please, let me clean your wound.”

Nicole shivered at his words, noting the seriousness in how he said them, the grey of his eyes hardening. She nodded and began to pull her shirt out of her skirt, stopping at the loud growls coming from them, confusion marking her eyes and face, wondering what she was doing wrong.

Didn’t they want to help clean her wounds? Why were they spotting the same hateful looks again?

Vance clenched his fists, looking like he needed to punch someone. Vince stomped towards her with a huge storm on his face, making her take steps away from them.

“I…I…”

“Stop walking away, Nicole,” Vince warned, reaching her and raising her shirt up. All the while her eyes followed his hands. He stopped, holding the material in his hand and growled at Vance. “Did you have to dig your claws into her skin?!”

“I didn’t know. I am sorry, brown eyes.”

“s**t!” Vince muttered as he saw the amount of blood on the white material. He knelt down in front of her to see well and noticed she wasn’t healing. “You’re not healing.” He said in confusion and concern, looking up at her flushed face.

“What? Why?” Vance asked behind him, hurrying closer to kneel near his brother, checking her wound also. “No. she’s not.” He whispered. “I am sorry, Nicole.”

“Have you always been like this?” Vince asked still spotting the huge storm on his face as he began to work on her with the help of his brother. “Nicole?” he stopped to look at her, noting she had covered her face with both her palms.