The Tribes Luna

CHAPTER 5

ERIK'S POINT OF VIEW

Mathias was really asking for a punch in the face. He had just grabbed her arm and yanked her down into her seat and now he was whispering furiously at her, but because of the level of noise, I couldn't hear what he was saying. But I could see her face and she didn't look too happy either. Her raven was still on her right shoulder.

She had pulled her arm out of his grasp and I saw that it was slightly red where he had been holding it. I could feel Fenrir start to growl and claw, but I bit my lip and swallowed it.

With a tremendous effort I looked away, reminding myself that this isn't my pack, I wasn't the one in charge here. Maybe they were mates, I can't get in the middle of that.

I sighed and went back to my plate of roasted ham and potatoes. When our plates were all empty, apart from mine and Astrids, we were both now just playing aimlessly with our potatoes.

Chieftain Bard stood up and a woman came along and refilled all of our tankards. Everyone in the longhouse went quiet and was now looking at their Chieftain.

"I hope you are all enjoying the food and drink. As you may have noticed we have a visiting Alpha and his brothers. Today we have renewed our alliance with them."

He gestured for me to stand, so I did and they all cheered and banged their tankards on the wooden tables.

"It's good to be here. As you all know the Ashwood pack shares the river broader and as your Chieftain has just said we have renewed our alliance with each other. I hope that we can carry on living like allies and friends, and if it is ever needed you all have a place in my pack." I say and another choir of cheers ring out, and I can feel Astrid is staring at me, but I try my best not to look at her as I sit down.

"I hope so Alpha Erik." Chieftain Bard says as the noise begins to die down again. "Now, in other news, it is with great joy that I announce that your future Cheifainess, my daughter Astrid, has been betrothed to our one and only Mathias, command of our warriors!" He announces with a very strained voice and forced smile.

I look over and see Mathias looks as smug as can be, while Astrid is clutching her knife so tightly her knuckles are white, as though she longs to drive it into someone's chest. Her face shows nothing but rage and her eyes are watering.

While Bard is clapping, there are a few looks of concern, confusion and a couple look sad some people are even muttering to their neighbours. Soon though everyone begins to clap tentatively first though, I can tell that they were not expecting Astrid and Mathias to be mated to each other.

Fenrir is trying to make his way out again and I force him to calm down, as Bard holds his hand up for silence.

"Now, I understand that as my daughter doesn't have her spirit animal, there are many theories as to how she can get it and find her true mate. But Mathias here assures me that his spirit animal has told him that Astrid is his mate, otherwise, I would not have agreed to this union. Their wedding is in four days. Now, please let us all enjoy this night of celebration." He sits back down and music starts up.

It's like I can physically feel my heartbreak and everything goes into slow motion, as I watch Mathias quite literally drag Astrid to the empty space of the floor and they start to dance. The raven has taken to fly about in the rafters.

I'm jogged out of my thoughts by Camron shaking my shoulder. I turn to him and see all three of my brothers worried faces looking at me.

"You okay?" He asks concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine don't worry about me," I say, picking up my tankard and draining it in one.

"She's our mate!"

"Now, you decide to talk to me. What do you mean?"

"I mean, Astrid is our mate. She is our's."

"How do you know?"

"I'm a wolf, I'm born with these instincts and as you say they have never been wrong."

"But what are we going to do? She's meant to marry that asswipe on Saturday."

Fenrir growls loudly in my head. "She isn't his! She is ours."

"Okay. But she won't know that till she's 18 or has her Lycan."

"She's a hybrid, so she might have a wolf."

"That does not solve our current problem."

"Just go claim her!"

"We're in a crowded place, we can not just go up and claim people, especially if them people are engaged!"

"Them people are our mate!"

"I know that! How about we have a dance with her? See if we can feel the tingles."

Fenrir didn't really say anything but huffed in agreement. I put my tankard down and wiped my mouth with my hand. My brothers looked at me quizzically as I stood up.

"I'm going to go dance." I tell them.

I look out over the crowd of dancing people and I spot her orange hair almost at once, she's still being dragged about by Mathias, he clearly doesn't want her to be away from him. Bard looks sad and angry as he watches his daughter dance.

I make my way towards her, politely turning down other women who ask me to dance, my eyes never everting from the back of her head. She must have felt me staring at her because she tears herself away from Mathias to turn in my direction. Mathias's face contorts with rage when he sees me approaching.

"May I have a dance?" I ask offering my hand.

"No. She is my betrothed." Mathias says pushing in front of her.

"I wasn't asking her as your betrothed, I was asking her as the future Chieftainess, to dance with an Alpha of a neighbouring and allied pack." I say.

"And as the future Chieftainess, I accept your offer to dance Alpha Erik." Astrid says side-stepping Mathias and taking my hand and dragging us away.

I couldn't help looking back and seeing Mathias looking livid at us. I've suddenly spun around and now I'm facing those endless blue eyes. I take her hand in my right one and place my left hand on her waist, pulling her close to me. The top of her head comes up to the middle of my chest.

Soon enough everyone else just fades into the background as we start to dance with each other, never once missing a beat or step, we were so in sync, it felt like something from a dream.

The tingles were there for me at least, but they were very faint. I knew she felt something to me, but maybe she doesn't feel the full effects of the mate bond as she doesn't have her spirit animal.

As the song comes to an end, I notice everyone else here has stopped dancing and is now just watching us, her father is smiling joyfully at us.

I notice that Mathias has stalked off towards Bard. I dip her down low and I have to fight everything in me to not kiss her neck which is beautifully exposed to me right now. I pull her up to me, her face is flushed and she's panting making her chest rise and fall.

I pull my gaze away from her, otherwise, I'm afraid I will do something I can't take back. I see that everyone is still staring at us and my brothers look overly joyed, while Mathias is whispering in Bards' ear, I notice Bards gaze has become vacant.

I gaze back down at Astrid as another song starts up, and other people move back to dancing with one another. Gazing into her blue eyes I get this urge to grab her hand and run away with her, but before I could even attempt that schoolboyish plan, someone taps me on the shoulder.

I turn around and see it's Chieftain Bard, with Mathias and my brothers.

"Alpha Erik, it may be your packs customs to dance with others betrothed without their mates' permission, but it is not ours. I ask that you unhand my daughter and return her to Mathias." Chieftain Bard says, rather reluctantly.

"Forgive my intrusion, but should it not be up to the future Chieftainess to decide who she dances with. She is not his property to always do as he says, she is her own person, she should get to choose what she does and who she is with." I state firmly, my brothers move to either side of me while Astrid stays behind me.

"Alpha Erik, I ask that you respect our customs and do as I say. Astrid, come here now." He says.

I didn't want to come off rude, so I turned back to Astrid and decided to let her choose what to do, right now.

She looks up into my eyes, I see her eyes are watering again, but not with anger this time, just with pure heartache. She looks over at her father and Mathias and sighs as though she has no choice.

She reaches up and kisses my cheek. "I'm sorry." She whispers and with that, she's pulled away from me by Mathias, who looks more than angry and livid.

But she's being dragged away again, I reach out my hand to grab ahold of hers, I really didn't want her to go, my fingertips brush against hers just as once again shes swallowed up by the crowd of people, from my sight, and I just stand there, with my arm slightly outstretched reaching for nothing, doing nothing, feeling nothing but the shattering of my own heart.