The Reluctant Luna

Chapter 22

Louise tossed on a T-shirt and jeans, then reached out to Luca. How bad is it down there?

::The good news is, I'd already explained to them about you, so the alphas were only a little shocked. The bad news is, the lunas and beta pairs weren't given the head's up. That doesn't mean everyone's cool with you, but you're not in danger when you come back down.::

Louise looked at her outfit. I'm in danger of being a fashion fail.

She heard his chuckle in her skull, then headed back down the stairs. As she became visible once again, she declared, "Being a fashion-forward werewolf can be unnecessarily expensive." She got a few polite chuckles before she made her, now far more comfortable, way over to the tables of snacks and loaded up on some of the meats.

She mingled a bit before Alpha Julio Martinez and his mate, Miranda, approached her. "You seem to have a powerful enemy," he observed.

"My existence annoys a variety of people."

"Thank you for being kind to Carla. Why didn't you use your alpha voice on her?"

Louise smiled slightly, assuming he meant the assassin. "I believe Luca explained the basics of my existence to you."

"It must make keeping your pack in line more challenging," Miranda observed.

She shrugged. "I'm not the alpha. I find negotiation to be a more effective approach, anyway."

"Like how you 'negotiated' with Dean?" Julio asked pointedly.

"Tonight he was on a mission to embarrass me. I believe you're already aware of how I negotiate, Alpha," she replied formally.

There was a moment of tension in which she held his gaze, an aggressive move, but important, before he laughed. "I like you, Luna. Don't get yourself killed too soon."

She smiled warmly. "I have no intention of dying any time soon. Thank you for your concern."

With that, the two left to socialize with others. ::You've started a lot of conversations and rumors with that exchange,:: Luca informed her.

I have no doubt. Then again, seeing me both vamp and wolf out is sure to fuel them, too.

He chuckled in agreement over the link while she popped slices of pepperoni in her mouth and wandered towards him. "Hello, dear. Did you have a good conversation upstairs before the party crashers arrived?"

He smiled at her. "Reasonably well. I think you made more of an impression on them than I did, though."

"Being the only naked person at a party will do that," she replied with a smirk. "Perhaps the next party should be extra casual, instead of formal."

He leaned down and exhaled through his nose on her mark. "Tuxedos are expensive. They're an extra incentive for everyone to behave," he breathed in her ear.

As if on cue, she heard growling from halfway across the room and saw a circular area forming as two alphas circled each other. Okay, how do these things normally get broken up?

He glanced at her before returning his eyes to the two tuxedo-clad men circling each other with balled fists. ::Normally, we let them wear themselves out or pull them apart if one's in danger of serious injury. The winner pays the host for any damages.::

Wouldn't it be better to just separate them and call it good?

::Last time that was tried, there was a brawl that involved about twenty alphas. Damages were a few hundred thousand.::