The Tribes Luna

CHAPTER 7

ERIK'S POINT OF VIEW

I did nothing.

I stood and watched as my mate was dragged away from me and I did nothing.

I watched as she was dragged away from me by a man who does not love her as she truly deserves to be loved.

I stood and watched and I am furious with myself.

Fenrir is growling loudly in my mind, he is desperate to shift and run after her, to save her and tear Mathai's limb from limb. Before I know it I let this thought carry me forward, I'm running in the direction I saw her go in, weaving in between the dancing people. I get outside and look around but I don't see her anywhere, my brothers are behind me, talking and saying something to me but all I hear is the blood pumping in my ears.

But then I hear something else, a man, groaning. I run around the side of the longhouse. I see him crouching on the ground. He looks up at me, the vermin by my feet. I don't even bother asking what happened or where Astrid is. I don't hesitate I raise my foot and swing as hard as I can into the side of his head. It connects with a satisfying crack. He rolls over a few feet away onto his back. Danny and Logan are holding my arms back and Camron is in front of me. I sense a few people have come out of the longhouse and are currently watching the scene unfold.

"Erik! What the hell has gotten into you?" Camron demands of me.

"He hurts her. He does not deserve her. He is not her true mate!" I shout, trying to get to him, but not wanting to harm my brothers.

"Pray tell, how are you so sure of this?" I hear Chieftain Bard say.

I take a deep breath and force myself to calm down. I relax my body and stop struggling, Danny and Logan let go of my arms, but they don't leave my side. I turn away from Mathias who is now clambering to his feet and face Chieftain Bard.

"My wolf, Fenrir, tells me that your daughter, Astrid, is my mate," I say with confidence, although some of the people that had come out to watch, their faces turn to shock and horror.

"Chieftain Bard, do not listen to this boy. He lies." Mathias says, I growl at him.

Chieftain Bard didn't say anything, although he did look like he was having an inner argument with himself. Mathias walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. I saw Chieftain Bard start to shake slightly, he stopped shaking, although there was a thin layer of sweat on his face.

"Astrid is already betrothed to Mathias. Nothing can be changed."

People mumbled and frowned confused at what their Chieftain had just said. Fenrir came forward before I could anything.

"You do not listen to our Moon Goddess. You do not respect the mate bond!" Camron places his hand on my arm.

"Geir!" Bard calls, his fists balled at his sides, and again slightly shaking. Geir emerged from the crowd. "Escort our guests back to their cottage. Alpha Erik, I shall see you tomorrow for Astrid's birthday feast."

Chieftain Bard stalks away, followed by Mathias. Me and my brothers stand there confused, I should have been thrown out of the territory for that. But I'm still here and still allowed to come to her birthday party. We follow Geir through the dark woods in silence. We've just come to the clearing of where our cottage is when Geir spoke.

"It's a challenging situation," Geir said.

"Sorry?"

"The situation is a challenging one." He says again.

"Yeah, it is," I say.

"I am confident you can come up with an answer to the challenging situation." He says.

"Yeah. Anyway, thank you for guiding us back, we'll probably see you in the morning?"

"Yes, I'll be here, to see how you have resolved this challenging situation."

With that, he turns away and walks back into the woods. I stood in the doorway of the cottage, feeling very confused and I don't like it.

"Dude, close the door and get in here," Logan calls.

I close it and walk to the seating area and sit on a chair. My brothers were all sitting there and waiting for me.

"Well?" I say after a few minutes of no one talking. "You wanted me in here."

"What are we going to do?" Camron asks.

"About what?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"About our to-be sister. About your mate." Logan says.

"I don't know. It's a challenging situation." I say to them, using Geir's analogy.

"A challenging situation?" Danny repeats, I nod my head. "Challenging situation."

"Yes, I know that Danny!" I snap at him.

"Challenging." He says again, raising his eyebrows at me, as though he's trying to tell me something.

"What?" I ask getting frustrated.

"Oh!" Logan exclaims excitedly, Danny and Logan share a knowing look and grin.

I looked at Camron who had a frown on of confusion and concentration, which suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a look of glee, Danny sat back with a look of smugness on his face.

"What is wrong with you three?" I demand.

"A Challenging situation," Logan says. I widen my eyes and leaned forward a bit waiting for more of an explanation.

"CHALLENGING!" Camron shouts at me.

"What are you- Oh. OH! OH!" Realisation dawning on me.

My brothers mocked my slowness, with sarcastic clapping and cheers.

"Got there in the end," Danny says and the other two sniggered.

"Shut up. It's been a very tiring evening." I say.

"Yeah, and if you're going to challenge him, you need your rest," Camron says.

"How am I going to win against a Lycan? Their naturally bigger, stronger and faster than wolves, let alone one who's the commander of warriors?" I say, feeling slightly concerned.

"He is too egotistical for his own good, use that against him," Danny says.

"Plus your fighting for your mate, let that be your strength," Logan adds.

"Now, go sleep and dream of Astrid," Camron says in a mock order voice.

"Thank you brothers, I don't know what I would do without you," I say as I stand up.

"You'd probably be dead by now." Camron jokes, but he's not wrong.

I go to my room and take my clothes off, leaving only my boxers on, I climb into bed. I wondered how Astrid is, where she is and whether she is okay. I tossed and turned for the best part of the night, but when sleep did finally claim me, I did indeed dream of Astrid.

Of how beautiful her eyes are sparkling at me from over her shoulder, her orange hair reaching just above her perfectly round ass, as she stood in front of me with nothing on, her skin almost shining in the moonlight. I desperately wanted to feel her skin under my fingertips, I wanted to know how my name sounded coming from her. I reach her and she leans her head back on my chest, exposing her neck to me. Just as my hands brushed her arms, I woke with a jolt.

I was panting, I looked around my room and then I collapsed back onto my pillow. I groaned, reminding myself it was just a dream. But the more I tried to think of that, the harder I became. I looked at the clock and saw it was 8:40, I sighed and resigned myself to my second plan. I got out of bed and removed my boxers, making my way to the onsite.

I turn the shower on, not bothering with the temperature. I leaned my head on the tile wall and let the cold water run over me. Closing my eyes all I saw was Astrid from my dream, I grabbed my hard member and began to pull and tug on it. Rubbing myself harder and faster, picturing my dream, of how we danced together and of how she smelled of freshly baked cookies. I groaned my realise, panting slightly. Not feeling that satisfied, I desperately needed her with me.

Determined, I wash myself and my hair, brush my teeth, and get ready for the day. By the time I got to the seating area, it was ten o'clock and my brothers were there waiting for me with an extra cup of coffee. I sat down, took the cup and drank it. My brothers seemed a little tense, I could guess why, I feel tense as well, but I was determined more than anything. Soon Geir came to guide us through the woods, even though I thought we didn't need a guide now, but I still appreciated it. I went back to my room and grabbed the gift bag that had Astrids presents, then went back out to walk with my brothers and Geir.

"So, Alpha Erik, did you figure out how to fix this challenging situation?" Geir asked as we walked.

"Yes, I did thank you," I tell him.

"Very good, it'll probably be the end of the night entertainment," Geir says with a grin. "We are setting up the bonfire for tonight, and getting all the food prepared."