THE THREE MOONS PACK

15. 1 + 1 = 4

I was hot. Very hot.

When I opened my eyes, I easily understood the reason.

Human sandwich.

Oh, Lord!

Erwan sticking as much as possible to my back, while I had my nose in the neck of… Koran.

He had one of his large hands on my cheek and chin above my skull.

I lifted my face gently to his and his jaw darkened by a budding beard.

The three of us were on the makeshift bed on the floor.

I gasped indignantly when Koran, growling, pressed so close against me that no detail of his anatomy escaped me. Especially the one that meant that part of him was indeed awake.

The future Brunan of the Bhrean pack was the first to wake up.

His eyes clung to mine, and I waited, not without some sadistic pleasure, for him to realize exactly where he was.

His eyes widened, and I was going to let out a sigh of relief, naively believing that he would wisely remove his royal tool.

Well no.

Koran tilted his head to lay a kiss as light as the caress of a butterfly on my lips.

I shivered and straightened up in a sudden movement, my heart beating, my breath short. Each pulse became almost painful.

My fingers gripped my T-shirt at my chest.

Take a calm breath.

Or take a cold shower.

There was such silence in the room!

Slowly, as if an abrupt gesture could start a war, I turned.

Koran was staring at Erwan.

Erwan was staring at Koran.

And this, in perfect stillness.

Then, pretending to be indifferent, the blond giant climbed up smoothly on the bed.

Trembling from this new experience for me, I lay down, my breathing still erratic.

I looked at the whitish ceiling without really seeing it, letting myself be lulled by Erwan’s regular breathing.

“Oh, but how sweet, brother and sister,” whispered Gina.

I stiffen instantly.

Erwan replied with an aggressive growl. Without bothering to check, I could say he had shown his teeth.

How could this b***h have been aware of this information?

Koran, of course! Who else?

“f**k you, Gina!” growled Erwan.

“Oh, darling, it’s already done. All night long...”

Miss Barbie’s honeyed voice made me want to murder.

A dismal little silence greeted her announcement.

My eyes instinctively went to my left.

Gina, dressed simply in her bright red tank top and shorts, was sprawled on her stomach. She alternately swung her mannequin legs over her buttocks, a shark smile on her lips.

Then I looked down at her neck. With a gesture, she threw her hair back so that I had a breathtaking view of Koran’s bite.

Her azure eyes were burning with evil joy.

I rolled my eyes like My God, how childish you are! But deep down it hurt me.

I didn’t want to be heartbroken by this brutish lout who would just jump me at the slightest opportunity. On the contrary, I had to thank all the local deities that he marked his official fiancée!

I purposely ignored Koran, whose eyes I felt.

“We’re going to have a bite to eat with my father,” he said, staring at me. “The puppy will meet our Etmac officially afterwards. And we'll go to class today. The moon will have very little effect on all of us, it’ll be manageable.”

This was the invisible signal, we all got up at the same time.

The Alpha looked at each of us as we entered his house.

When he passed to me, I saw him squint slightly, then give a half-smile, half amused, half satisfied. Which became a downright frank expression of joy when noticing Gina sporting her mark like others would wave an engagement ring.

It didn’t help my mood.

I threw Erwan a sideways glance.

He smiled with the look of a rascal on his face. I couldn’t help but answer it.

“Sit down!” sang a cheerful, feminine voice.

A pretty woman with a peachy complexion and long ebony hair walked into the huge dining room, carrying a well-filled tray.

Orange juice, croissants, and other pastries.

She gave me a wonderful friendly smile before inviting me with a glance to sit on one of the chairs.

So I took the first one in front of me, which left a place on my right and one on my left.

I hadn’t yet set my posterior down when Koran and Erwan settled by my side. Finding myself in between them again accentuated my discomfort. It reminded me too much of the morning episode.

I stared at the green tablecloth with particular attention.

“So, it’s you, little Beth,” said the young woman, placing a cup of coffee under my nose.

Raising my head, I saw her warm look again.

I nodded, then held out my hand to her.

“Elizabeth Barrem,” I introduced myself.

She ignored my hand and came and kissed me on the cheek.

“I'm Koran's mother and the Etmac of the first branch of the Bhrean pack.”

She laughed at my stunned face.

“I see... Did you expect a decrepit old woman brewing potions or chanting incantations?”

“Uh... yes, sorry,” I said, embarrassed.

“Koran and Aldwin, my husband, like to make this joke to conjure suspense. You’re not the first to be a victim. Here, take a croissant, Beth. My name is Ula. My knowledge was passed on to me by my mother, who herself got it from hers.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, taking the pastry.

The Alpha’s wife nodded as if accepting this croissant was the right choice.

She had the same chocolate eyes as her son. This detail troubled me.

Her eyes settled on him. Was she reading my mind? This idea panicked me. Even more so when they made the round trip several times in a row between Koran and me.

Might as well focus on something else, like my cup of coffee.

Damn! It’s not sweet! I thought, seeing no spoon.

Blond giant junior pushed the sugar bowl near me, a quarter of a second after this thought, without looking at me.

It irritated me.

While you’re at it, don’t you have a little spoon, too? I said mentally, in a biting tone.

Koran sighed, then lent me the one in his cup.

As I was taking it, I realized the huge blunder he and I had just made in the presence of his parents. My blood froze. Koran also appeared to be sitting still.

We weren’t supposed to communicate by thought. We shouldn’t have been able to do that!

Horror!

I dared to meet the eyes of Ula’s son, they seemed to tell me to act normally. I nodded imperceptibly.

When I took a peek at Aldwin, I almost let out an exclamation of relief: The Alpha was completely absorbed by his newspaper, as for Gina and Erwan, they were focused on their breakfasts.

On the other hand, our little merry-go-round had not escaped the Etmac.

My heart started to beat faster.

Ula still had a soft smile on her lips but her expression seemed more worried than serene.

I swallowed with difficulty.

Koran didn’t make things better. His body leaned toward mine as if, unconsciously, he was trying to protect me. I wasn’t even sure he realized it.

His mother didn’t miss a thing, carefully watching her son.

I hastened to help myself generously to sugar.

Only my hand was trembling so much from an irrepressible fear of being discovered by the Alpha that I spilt it on the table, swearing in a low voice.

A certain brutish lout chooses the wrong time to show his qualities as a gentleman. He took the sugar bowl from me and dosed my coffee just right.

I suddenly realized that Koran was anxious. His concern was reflected in an overprotective attitude.

And his mother continued to analyse his actions, like a scientist trying to determine if what she had just witnessed was correct.

Aldwin folded his newspaper too brutally, the noise stretched Koran like a bow ready to shoot its arrow.

His father finally noticed the strange behaviour.

“Why are you so nervous, son?” asked the Alpha in an almost playful tone. “Are you so afraid that I’ll send the puppy to the slaughterhouse?”

His son was trembling.

Gina turned a lost look on him, and I saw Erwan fix his eyes on his friend.

“I was just wondering when,” Koran said, much to my surprise. “I feel like you’re just trying to get rid of her. Only a valid reason holds you back.”

Aldwin laughed. I’m in shock.

“Should I conclude that you don’t like the idea?” he asked, still amused.

The fake teenager to my left pushed away his empty cup.

“She’s half one of us. So yes, I don’t wish her untimely death. She’s only eighteen!”

His jaw contracted so much that I thought he would grind his teeth under the pressure.

“Don’t worry, Brunan,” said Gina confidently. “Koran marked me last night!”

The Alpha murdered her with a look. In response, Miss Barbie huddled into her chair.

“Stupid girl! Didn’t it occur to you that he only did it to protect this puppy?!”

“My name is Beth! Not puppy!” I replied, more aggressively than I would have liked.

Oh, my God, and damn it! I was fed up with this ridiculous nickname!

Aldwin’s murderous expression immediately washed over me. His mouth twisted in a resolutely canine grin. When he uttered a growl on a humanly impossible frequency, like Gina, I shrivelled up on the spot.

Absolutely unintentionally, it was just the other entity in my body that reacted in line with the power of this sound.

Koran jumped up from his chair to step in, also making an identical growl. The surprise was instantly painted on the Alpha's features.

“Nesh’ mic safalt... mea banish. Mea banish!” said his son in an animal voice.

Aldwin frowned. Just as violently as Koran, he rose from his chair.

The two males silently challenged each other for several seconds, and then Aldwin left the room, slamming the door.

Once his father left, the blond giant sat down almost collapsing, his head in his hands.

He suddenly seemed exhausted by this duel.

“What was that?!” cried Gina, hysterical, straightening herself.

She burned her fiancé with her bluish pupils.

“Since when do you speak the sacred language? Why did you hide it from me?!”

“Erwan, be a love, my boy, take Gina to stretch her legs outside,” asked Ula softly. “I have to talk to Beth and my son, alone.”

My new half-brother did so and dragged a furious Gina outside.

The Etmac took her time before interrupting the ambient calm.

“How many days have you been speaking the sacred language, Koran?” asked his mother kindly.

He took a long breath while throwing his head back, eyes closed.

“It’s the first time, mom.”

Ula didn’t seem surprised.

“I see,” she said simply.

I followed the exchange without understanding half of it. Apparently, he had just done something quite extraordinary. Enough to shock everyone.

“And you have been communicating with your mind since when?” continued his mother, in the same tone.

Here, Koran frankly confronted Ula, then, he burst out with a weary laugh.

“We weren’t very discreet, huh...” he quipped, swinging in his chair.

“Not really,” grinned the Etmac. “It comes mainly from the fact that you both felt nervous. Danger has the same effect: putting the wolf couple on the same wavelength, if I may say so.”

Her son stopped swinging in his chair.

“No! We’re not...”

Ula interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

“You’re speaking with me and not with your obstinate father. You acted like a male protecting his female as soon as you entered here. Gina could have choked on her croissant, you wouldn’t even have noticed. On the other hand, your... she-wolf needs sugar for her coffee, you serve her before she even expresses it out loud. Don’t be as stubborn as your Brunan, darling.”

I sighed lightly.

Which caught their attention.

Ula smiled broadly.

“My son, in his confrontation with his father, uttered a phrase in the sacred language. Nesh ‘mic safalt mea banish. Which means, “Don’t submit my wolf.” Simply put, Koran used the language of the Alpha, which is innate and specific to those capable of taking on this role in the pack. However, even if it's innate, only one event can trigger his knowledge, Beth.”

The blond giant tried, with a look, to dissuade his mother from going further in the explanation.

The Etmac ignored him.

“What... what kind of event?” I asked in a very small voice.

“The encounter with what we call the Banish arksam. Or the soul mate wolf, if you prefer.”

My saliva immediately deserted my mouth.

Ula crossed her thin hands on the table while leaning her chest slightly forward.

Her cream-coloured dress with a crew neck flattered her natural beauty.

“Your wolves have found each other. It will be very hard for you both to fight against your mutual attraction... they have already almost merged.”

Koran stiffened in his chair.

I didn’t like the turn of the conversation, either.

“Because we have to fight, right?” I said, bitter.

The Etmac seemed sincerely sad.

“Yes, my darling. You aren't a full wolf, barely half. No member of the pack, Aldwin first, Angus the next, will accept that the future dominant couple isn't completely one of us. I’m so sorry. That’s the way it is. As Etmac, my role is to teach our history, this day for you hasn't yet arrived. I take care of the small wounds of meta-wolves. A fully human doctor wouldn’t understand our metabolism. However, we do have a secret hospital for serious injuries. I’m also here to settle conflicts, not to resolve them. Don’t hold it against me, Beth. I don’t have the influence to change our laws...”

“Lies!” growled Koran. “You can convince papa and uncle Angus!”

What?!

Erwan and Koran were cousins?

It meant that Koran and I...

“No, stupid puppy! You’re linked to Erwan by your mother, I am linked by his father! We don’t share the same blood!” he shouted. "Angus and Aldwin are brothers."

I’m blushing. I’m fed up that he can sometimes read my mind so easily!

“Good... We’ll resume this discussion later. If you want to go to school, it’s now or never,” announced Ula, putting an end to this conversation.