The Strength of a Luna

Permission

Chapter 9

Arden POV*

It’s been a week since Andrea and I had snuck off to have that talk. Around the pack house, she has acted as if it never happened. Her bubbly voice has kept me from thinking about it all too much, and sometimes I feel like I could’ve made the whole thing up. But every once in a while, I will catch her looking at me with the same fear that her eyes held when we were in the clearing.

Any time that Robbie came into the room to hold me and take in my scent, Andrea always went quiet and bowed her head. Before the clearing, I assumed it was her way of letting us have a moment together, but it now seems so different.

He always ignored her presence, but he also ignored any questions that I asked him. I had tried multiple times to get him to talk to me, and even went to his office, but he had locked the door. There was less than a week left before the Luna Ceremony, and I felt like I was no closer to knowing him than the day I arrived at Dark Wood Pack.

I decided it was time to ask him about my wolf. If Fae was just ignoring me, then I would be able to go through with everything, but if he is suppressing her, then there is no way that I could feel comfortable with him.

That’s how I found myself standing outside of his office once again, trying to find the courage to confront my mate. Suddenly the door flew open, and there he was. Before I could react, he pulled me into his arms and into his office.

Robbie POV*

I had been truly avoiding my mate. I desperately wanted to take her and hold her. I wanted to share everything about myself with her, and I craved her touch so deeply. Every time I was able to gather her in my arms, it broke me even more to let her go, but I had to keep her safe. I shouldn’t have been risking seeing her daily at all, but the bond had been making me sick from being away from her.

Max had been getting out of control.  I haven’t been able to shut him out at all, and his anger of my control over him seems to be giving him more strength. I wish I could trust him around my mate, but he is out of his mind with rage. Rage towards me, the pack, Arden… everyone. He isn’t able to see reason, and every hour he gets worse.

Alphas are meant to be strong and capable and able to handle everything that is thrown at them. They are meant to work with their wolf and pack to overcome any threat. As of right now, my wolf can’t be trusted around anyone. I spend all day in my office, and have been sleeping there since my mate got here. The only time I leave is to grab some food from the kitchen, and to get a daily dose of Arden’s scent. Other than that, I stay in my office trying to focus on business and ignore Max’s cruel statements in the back of my head.

I may be the cruel Alpha, but Max is 10x worse than I could ever be.

A few times over the last week, my mate has tried to talk to me or seek me out. I’ve ignored her for her protection, but each time seems to make Max even angrier. He thinks I’m weak for respecting her wishes, and he never misses a moment to let me know.  I’ve been craving her touch and presence, and I worry that Max will overpower me before we reach her Luna Ceremony.

I had promised to share our ways and try to convince her to accept it, but with my wolf constantly trying to take over, I haven’t been able to trust myself around her long enough to even speak. He has yet to give me an opportunity to explain things to her, but his anger has been rising anyway.

I’m sitting at my desk in my office, trying to ignore the constant barrage of hatred that he has been spewing at me when I smell her standing outside the door. My intention is to ignore her, but the slight distraction of noticing her presence is all it takes to allow Max to take over and move my body to the door, yanking it open and pulling her inside.

“I knew I smelled you, mate.” Max tells her before I can finally regain control of myself.

Arden POV*

“I knew I smelled you, mate.” He growled into my ear, and I nearly melted at the sound. They were the first words he has spoken to me since the night I got here, and the mate bond had me wanting to submit to him. But I resisted it, knowing that I came here for a reason. He pulled back before I could, and I saw him tense up as if he were fighting with himself.

“I’ve told you before, I don’t like to be called ‘mate’. It makes feel like you think I’m your property.” I tried to put a little distance between us. I needed a clear head and having him close wasn’t doing me any favors.

“Ok, Arden.” Robbie said while visibly trying to make himself relax.

“I’d like to ask some questions about life here at Dark Woods.” He waved his hand to get me to continue. “First thing, I haven’t been able to talk to my wolf since I got here. Do you know anything about that?”

I honestly expected him to deny it, or at least apologize. Something. But my jaw dropped when he looked at me proudly.

“Of course I know about that, she is sleeping. She-wolves in my pack aren’t allowed to communicate with their wolves unless their mate permits it. They get too out of control if they are allowed to be awake the whole time.” Robbie stood there with his chest puffed out and pride in his voice. “You could always ask me to wake her up for a few hours, Mate.”

“Ask you… are you serious?” I ignored the fact that he called me mate again and just stood there with an incredulous look on my face. “You’re saying that I have to have your permission to be one with my own wolf!”

As soon as my tone registered with him, he was in front of me. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me flush to his chest. I noticed that even the whites of his eyes had turned black, letting me know that I was speaking to his wolf and not him.

“Yes, Mate, that is exactly what I’m saying.” His face was inches from mine. The sparks where our skin met was in stark difference to the dark look on his face. “You are mine, and that means your wolf is mine. If you want her to come out, then you have to ask. I have done more than enough for you, and my human is going against everything in me to grant your request of waiting for the ceremony. But it doesn’t change that you are mine, and that means that you and your wolf will follow my orders.” His Alpha tone started slipping into his voice.

I wanted to yell at him and tell him just what I thought about his views, but the look in his eye scared me. If I argued at all, he would force himself and his mark on me. There was no doubt in my mind that going against him right now would make everything worse. Instead, I bowed my head in submission and quietly made the request.

“Please, may I have a few hours with my wolf?”

“See, it’s easy, Mate. As I told you before, you can have what you want, all you have to do is ask.” He said in approval of my submission with a big smile on his face. I could feel Fae stirring in the back of my head and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding, and moved away from him towards the door.

“Thank you, Alpha. I will let you get back to your work.” I kept my head bowed, refusing to meet his eyes as I ducked out of his office, my stomach curling in disgust over what just happened.

Since I wasn’t officially a member of the pack yet, I wasn’t able to link anyone yet. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Andrea before making my way outside and towards the clearing.