Rising Moon: The Dark Wolf Chronicles, page 11
“Buongiorno,” he said in a low voice.
I refused to look away from him until he looked away from me.
“What's with the stare off?” Luca asked, stepping in between us with a massive grin on his face.
Only when Luca was blocking the view between us did I realise how tightly Leonidas was gripping my arm.
Max forced his lips into a mechanical smile and he held out his hand.
“Let's start again. Maximus Megestanis.”
I looked down at his hand and gingerly took it.
“Nelda Rivers,” I said.
His grip was incredibly tight and when I looked back at his face it had returned to the same stone-cold glare.
“A pleasure to meet you, Nelda Rivers,” he said through gritted teeth as his grip on my hand got tighter.
When he finally let go, I pulled my hand into my chest.
“Is this just a flying visit, Alpha?” Luca asked. “Or would you like to come inside? Max and I were just about to set up for a party tomorrow.”
Leonidas frowned, “Since when were you two friends?”
I had to admit, Luca and Max didn’t exactly seem compatible.
“Since Max caught an eye for my sister,” Luca said, “I can’t get rid of him.”
Leonidas grinned and slapped Max’s chest as he headed into the house, “Attaboy.”
He looked around the hall and nodded, “We’ve got a minute to help.”
“Good because I'm going to Mexico tonight and I’m crushed for time,” Luca chirped before Max let go of my hand. I immediately pulled it into my chest in a nursing manner.
“Why are you going to Mexico?” I asked.
He exchanged looks with Leonidas for a short second but then he just shrugged.
“I want an enchilada.”
Strange man.
I was about to followed Luca and Leonidas through the door when Max stepped in front of me. Leonidas was already distracted by instructing Luca on what to do with a string of fairy lights leaving me alone with Max.
“I am warning you now Luna,” He whispered in my ear. “Watch where you tread. You're family and mine don’t have a pleasant history of getting along.”
My family?
He stepped out the way of the door and as I passed him I dared to look him in the eye.
“Don't fucking threaten me,” I hissed, “I have no idea who you are or what you're talking about so you better leave me the hell alone.”
He only glared harder but I wasn't going to entertain him any longer so I went into the house after Leonidas.
“Give them to me,” Leonidas snapped at Luca as he fumbled to untangle a mass of fairy lights, “I’m losing my patience.”
I sighed.
“When are you not losing your patience?” I asked.
Leonidas glared at me before clicking his fingers at Luca.
“Take Nelda to fix the playlist. I’m sure it’s shit right now.”
Luca and I crowded around his laptop on his bed. He’d made a start but apart from one Shakira song, all twenty songs were by Britney Spears. I couldn’t hide my smile as I took his laptop from him and diluted the Britney with Black eyed peas, Queen, The Killers and some Miley.
“Hey, do you want a popsicle?” he asked, “My freezer is over filling with them.’
I grinned, “I love popsicles.”
Luca went downstairs and brought back two strawberry popsicles. We then sat on his floor opposite each other and devoured them.
“Tell me a fact about yourself Luca,” I said as I licked my popsicle.
“I don't trust people with names beginning with C,” he replied. “Except for Kim Kardashian.”
I frowned.
“But Kim Kardashian is spelt with two Ks.”
He cocked his head to the side.
“Really?” he asked.
I nodded and he shrugged.
“Huh. Guess there are no exceptions then.”
“What about Colin Firth?” I asked, catching a drop of melted ice with my tongue. “Who doesn't love Colin Firth?”
“I can love him without trusting him,” Luca replied, taking another bite of his popsicle.
I shrugged, “Fair enough.”
“Tell me something about you, Nellie,” he said, “Can I call you Nellie?”
I nodded.
“I don't trust people that bite their popsicles.”
He looked down at his cherry flavoured popsicle, which was covered in bite marks where he had savagely chowed down with no consideration for gum sensitivity.
After a short pause, he threw the popsicle behind him, “What monster would bite a popsicle!?”
After that, he showed me his rubber duck collection in the bathroom where we had an impromptu secret dance party. When watching Luca twerk to Fergalicious, it's impossible to be in a bad mood and I couldn’t help cackle with laughter.
But of course. As always, Leonidas was there to ruin in.
“You’re in a good mood,” he said as he came into the bathroom, “Thank you, Luca. You have redeemed yourself.”
My face fell as I turned the music off.
“We’re going,” he said, “I want to take you to the pack base, the last stop on the tour.”
“What about the Southern section of the pack?” I asked as I followed him down the hall.
He paused, “There's a few training areas for my soldiers but the remnants of old packs mainly.”
“You mean the packs you have destroyed?”.
He glanced at me before putting his jacket on, “Yes.”
“And are they the training areas where you train the kids you stole from those packs?”
“No. That is at the base in the centre. Where they can train under close supervision until they are old enough to become warriors.”
“Is it easily accessible?”
He looked over to me, “What so you can break into the junior training centre?”.
I smiled innocently, “Why would I do that, huh Leonidas? Is there a reason?”
He glared at me with sly narrows eyes.
“It’s a maximum-security building with 24-hour surveillance. You will never get in there.”
I narrowed my eyes. We’ll see about that…
“Max is coming with us,” Leonidas added halfway down the stairs.
I froze.
“He wants to help show his Luna around.”
“Leonidas... I-”
Leonidas turned and looked at me blankly, “What’s wrong?”
I put my hands together and bit my lip, “It’s just-”
Max appeared at the bottom of the stairs, his face still cold but that plastic smile plastered to his lips.
“Nelda?” Leonidas probed.
Max’s eyes bored into me.
“Nothing,” I said, “It’s nothing.”
We drove to the base in Leonidas’s car with Max in the back. It was as thriving and busy as any human town yet every single person was a wolf. Shops lined the streets and people darted in and out of buildings carrying supplies and papers.
“This is the high street of the base,” Max said as we walked along the main street.
I glanced around again. With Leonidas and Max on either side of me, we'd already attracted a lot of attention.
“Here we have the meeting house, the courts, the hospital, the prison, cafes, shops, restaurants,” Max continued pointing to various buildings, “And down that road is the army centre where a lot of the training happens, supplies are handled and weapons are stored.”
“Some of my brothers should be there training right now.”
When we arrived, Milo and Carlo were wresting on a padded mat underneath a canvas shelter strapped between two trees. Around us, there were boxing bags, archery boards, weights and knife throwing all distributed through the trees.
“We are going to have to call it quits boys. It’s been almost twenty minutes and neither of you are getting anywhere,” Mateo said with a stopwatch in his hand.
“So neither twin has got stronger yet I see,” Leonidas said as we approached them.
“One day...” Carlo muttered under his breath.
“You wish,” Milo replied, punching his brother playfully on the shoulder to which he responded by hurling into him in a messy pile of long limbs and grunts.
Mateo rolled his eyes before blowing his whistle.
“I want 100 press-ups and 100 sit-ups! Last to finish does three laps of the base instead of two,” he barked and they both scrambled off the floor.
“Where are all the women?” I asked, glancing around at all the men and boys training.
“The girls are trained separately over there out of the way of the army. They learn self-defence, first aid and survival techniques.”
I snapped my gaze to him, “You don't teach them to fight?”
“There's no need.”
I cocked my head and raised an eyebrow.
“How so, Leonidas?” I asked.
“Because females wolves are weak so I focus our resources on the men.”
Mateo cleared his throat, “No that we’re short of resources, Leonidas…”
“And have you considered that the women are only weak because you are keeping them weak?” I asked.
“It's biology,” Max said.
I snapped my eyes to him.
“And it's better for the pack and keeps everybody safer. My main objective is to protect the pack, not equality and all that,” Leonidas said.
“Surely the more wolves that can fight you have the better?” I asked, “You could double the size of your army.”
“I have absolutely no interest in having women in my army. No man in his right mind would send women out to fight.”
I glanced at Mateo. He ran his tongue along his lips, his eyes flickering between me and Leonidas.
“Femininity and protecting the pack don't come together,” Max added, “You just need to focus on keeping our houses tidy and our children fed, okay?”
With that, Mateo turned on his heel and marched away, his neck strained as he clenched his jaw hard.
My face scrunched in anger.
“Why do you think that lowly of women?”
“Nelda,” Leonidas warned.
“Who fucking raised you?” I questioned.
“Nelda, that is enough,” Leonidas said.
“There is a good reason that there are not more women in charge,” Max said.
“Only because men are given opportunities to lead and women are not.”
Max shrugged, “Because it would be like giving a penguin the opportunity to fly and not the eagle.”
I took a deep angry breath and opened my mouth to speak.
“Nelda,” Leonidas growled, grabbing my arm. “Stop arguing.”
He glared at me with angry black eyes and I shut my mouth.
“Walk,” He demanded, turning around to look straight ahead.
“I miss being a rogue,” I said as we walked, “I miss being free and not treated like a second-class citizen. Even humans understand equality better than Stella men.”
“Humans are stupid and don't understand naturally hierarchy. If you, or any she-wolf here, can beat me in a fight then sure, you can be in charge,” Leonidas answered swiftly.
I stopped and turned to face him.
“Fight me then.”
His face turned cold and his eyes flushed with anger.
“Don't test me.”
“Refusal to accept a challenge gives your opponent an automatic win,” I said with a shrug, “Guess I'm the new Alpha of this-”
Before I could finish, he lurched forward and grabbed me, pushing me up against a tree. With one hand pinning my head to the bark and the other holding my hands behind my back, I couldn’t move. He was too strong.
“Don't pick fights you know you can't win,” he growled in my ear.
He then released me and left me to straighten my shirt as he strode on ahead.
Max looked down at me with a scathing smile, “That was even more pathetic than I was expecting. You didn't even try to fight back.”
I gave him a lasting glare before folding my arms and following Leonidas.
“Alpha Thorn,” A middle-aged man called as we got back to the car.
“Max stay with her. There’s something I need to attend to,” Leonidas demanded before following the man.
Max and I waited by the car. When Leonidas was out of earshot, Max broke the silence.
“If you were my mate you would never be seeing the light of day again after that little stunt,” he said. “The Alpha is far too easy on you.”
I sighed.
“Piss off Max. Our relationship is none of your business.”
He paused for a second before folding his arms and leaning on the car.
“You are just like your Father.”
I frowned.
“You knew my dad?”
“It takes a lot of courage to question the Alpha Like you did. And a lot of stupidity. And that is where your father went wrong.”
“My Dad is dead,” I said.
Max nodded.
“But years ago he was a Stella.”
“What...?”
Before I could question more, Leonidas returned. His face was still stony and he didn't even look at me for a second.
“Do you need a ride, Max?” he asked.
“No thanks, Alpha. I'll find my own way back,” Max said, flashing his pearly teeth, “It was nice meeting you Luna.”
As he left, I caught his cold eye and resisted the urge to shuffle on my feet. Instead I stepped away from the car and turned to Leonidas.
“Do I get a choice too?”
He opened the door for me and shot me a glare.
“Shut up and get in the car.”
I walked through the front door of the house, Leonidas hot on my trail. The ten-minute car journey had been silent except for the occasional grunt on Leonidas's part.
“That disrespect you showed me earlier and the humiliation in front of Max and Mateo will never happen again. I will not be shown up by my mate. Do you understand me?”
“Sure,” I grumbled, kicking my shoes off by the door.
“For Goddess’s sake,” he growled clenching his fist.
“Do I frustrate you, Leonidas?” I asked, taking off my jacket.
He sat down on the steps of the stairs and ran his hand through his hair.
“Today you have convinced one of my most important men that I can't control you. Who next?” he asked, “My Beta?”
I shrugged.
“Your reputation is not my problem.”
“Isn't it?” he asked. “Because if people start thinking I've been weakened, they will start challenging everything that keeps this pack running. And my enemies, people that would happily have you dead, will take advantage of that. Do you want to live through a war, Nelda? Do you want to be killed by rogues?”
I swallowed.
“No. Of course I don't.”
“Then you better sit down.”
I scowled at him, “Or you could step up. I'll respect you when you deserve respect. Protect your own fucking reputation.”
He looked at me in disbelief before slowly approaching me and putting his hands on my shoulders. He examined my face closely for a few seconds.
“Why don't you fear me anymore? You disrespect me and your heart rate doesn't change. You don't shuffle or stutter or sweat. You have no fear.”
I shrugged, “Because you won't hurt me.”
“You don't know that. You don't know me,” he replied, raising an eyebrow, “We've been together three days.”
He had a point.
“But in those three days, I bet I've pissed you off more than anyone ever has and yet do you see any bruises?”
He stayed motionless in thought for a few more moments.
“Hmm,” he said before turning away from me.
“So essentially what you're saying is, if I want you to submit to me, I need to beat you?” he asked, a dark smile on his lips, “As easy as that?”
I paused.
“But you wouldn't,” I said.
“Wouldn't I?”
I opened my mouth to speak but closed it again when no words flowed out.
He smiled, “There it is... the fear.”
His eyes glinted as I struggled to find my words. He placed a finger on my chin and kissed my forehead.
“Tread carefully, Nelda Rivers.”
Chapter 18
October 13th
When we arrived at the mall, Leonidas grasped my hand. I yanked my hand out of his and scowled.
He looked down at me and grabbed my wrist tighter, “Don't fight me.”
“Why do you have to be rough? We are in the human world.”
“Exactly,” he mumbled, “I don't trust them.”
“You don't trust anyone,” I said, “And humans are the least of your threats. Because they have the police and the law, they don't tend to do whatever the hell they. They also have equal rights for women, but let's not get into that...”
“I understand the human world, even if I do think it's stupid,” He retorted. “And maybe I want to hold you.”
“Wow that was almost sweet,” I remarked, looking down at the way he still held my wrist. “You really are quite the romantic.”
He rolled his eyes and grinned as he slipped his hold to my hand, “I can be romantic. You just haven't given me the chance yet.”
I snorted.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Maybe if you stopped trying to push me away, you will. Try it maybe?”
“Maybe you should try not being a dick and I won’t push you away?”
His hand slipped back to my wrist and his face straightened.
“We nearly went thirty seconds without you pissing me off. Keep your mouth shut and maybe we’ll go forty.”
I rolled my eyes, “Such a dick…”
The next hour was exhausting. Everything was too short, too low, too tight and too cropped.
I took a skirt off the rack and he snatched it out of my hand and put it straight back on the rack.
“You’re not a hooker,” he grumbled.
I rolled my eyes and picked up a shirt.
“And stop looking at the price tags,” he said, turning over the label, “You don't need to worry about that anymore, okay? I'll look after you,” he said, kissing the top of my head.
