“Are you really not okay with Carmen being here?” There’s a serious glimpse of unease in his eye and I exhale breathily, making a show of sighing dramatically and shrug. An inner war cascading around and green-eyed jealousy showing face as I try to rationalize my feelings.
“I don’t know. I know she can’t come between us; I know you don’t have feelings for her…. It’s just …. It was a time that sucked, and she was a major part of it. Maybe I need to get used to her being here. I know I have nothing to worry about at all, that she can’t do anything to hurt us, to separate us. She won’t be half the bitch now that I’m Luna and she knows her place…. and the consequences for disrespecting me.” I growl lightly with the last six words, venom infused in the real threat I put out there and Colton chuckles at my show of fierce.
“Baby, that temper, ouch.” He touches me and makes a mock sizzle noise before blowing his fingers dramatically. It does nothing to damper my fury.
“Well, she better take note, because I will tear her a new one if she annoys me.” I smirk, simmering, and Colton holds up mock defensive palms. His eyes alight with sudden laughter, seeing as his everyday hobby is to tease and taunt me and it always brings back his sunnier side.
“Scary! You’re cute when you’re a little feral. Wanna make out?” Colton disarms me with his humor and playfulness, a wink, and aims a grab on me that bursts the mood completely and gets me giggling. He pins me down on the podium, flipping me onto my back so he can lay on top of me and starts nibbling on my neck and jawline, heading for my face as I squeal and fight him with futility. It’s hopeless as he’s stronger, faster, and completely relentless when he wants to be, plus he weighs twice what I do. I was never a match in human form for this heavy, solid, Latino lover.
“Do you ever manage just one hour without needing to molest me?” I bat his face away as he goes in for a kiss and then give up completely and kiss him instead with a chaste peck to cool his jets. Pressing face to face and smiling as our lips collide. He grins despite being joined at the mouth and chuckles.
“Hour? I can’t manage ten minutes, baby.”
Carmen
Colton is preoccupied most of the day with overseeing the new buildings, checking in with the sentinels on patrol and keeping himself busy. We have fallen into a routine of doing what we need to do separate first thing in the day and gravitating back together by lunch, or after, to do things together. Today was exceptionally busy I guess, as I had lunch with Sierra, like we always do, and then checked in on the school and some of the smaller workshops without laying eyes on him once.
The wolves have started getting life back on track again. With the kitchens being used as both a mess canteen and a bakery to provide for the village, we have started to bring in some animals to graze on the surrounding lands to fill our meat, egg, and dairy needs. Although occasionally vampires kill a few. We have managed to get them within the boundary for nightfall most of the time, but animals like to wander.
In the evening the school is used to run arts and crafts workshops, drama, and other small hobby interests to keep the people occupied. They know they can’t leave the boundaries if they want to stay safe and many have adapted to small town living smoothly. I would say that despite the constant threat from our fanged neighbors, we have somehow created an almost peaceful existence and the rune boundary enables us to sleep well without fear of invasion. We’re in a safety bubble where nothing can penetrate and we’re so much luckier than surrounding packs for it.
At the mountain we had free reign of not only the vast space, the valley, but also the surrounding human towns and all beyond. There was never need for this kind of prison like existence. So, it’s been an adjustment for many, especially those Santos who did have a life, work, and school, in the human world, and now are confined to our peaceful bubble. I have to say there hasn’t been many complaints and they all try to get on without fuss. Most are grateful to Colton for bringing them somewhere safe and happy to live out the days.
We try to keep this is as safe a place as we can and keep disruption to a minimal so the young ones and the elders can have a trauma free existence. In the fight at the mountain, we maybe gained several of the fiercest sub packs, but we also gained the land loving peaceful families, lots of femmes and children. So, the majority of our numbers are those who want to spend their days in quiet living and never face vampires. Those ones wouldn’t know how to fight unless their lives depended on it and even then, I don’t rate their odds highly. Much like my family, they are farmers, not warriors.
Our sentinels are all sub packs with battle experience and Juan lost some of his best who followed and respect Colton. He made a mistake dismissing Colton’s right as alpha that day, as those governed by our laws and pride in the pack, the strongest, were those who followed him. They provide our security and without them I don’t think we would be half as capable at dealing with our enemies swiftly.
I cross the open gravel drive towards the tree line when I come back from the village rounds to oversee the details. I do this sometimes to see if I can feel anything out there, sometimes to flex my gifts a little and blow off some steam from days of not using my abilities. I feel like since becoming Luna, I have better control of them, yet sometimes, less need of them. I’m so bubble wrapped by Colton that having gifts seems a waste as he’s Mr. Protective, and over pampering, and I get little chance to use them.
I’ve fought the vampires with Colton by my side multiple times in six months and I have to say that not using my gifts is also a little down to me. We’ve killed many of their kind and each time it felt awful. I can’t explain, like even though I know it was us or them, and they are the enemy, somehow it was wrong deep down inside of me. Maybe it’s that part of me is Vampire and I somehow connect with them on a weird psychic level, but every death has weighed on me heavily since we took them down and I can still recall the many faces and smells of these creatures that died by my hand.
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