Moon Bound

(52) Shame And Iron|Regan's POV|

Quiet in our embrace, we both laid on the bed. Spent. Sated. Peaceful.

I wanted to keep this moment forever. To keep loving her like I loved her now – quietly. I could love her so much more, be everything she wanted me as long as she allowed it.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," I breathed into her hair, kissed the skin below her ear, trailed down her neck until my lips settled on the mark she wore. My mark on her skin. She shivered against me.

"It's alright," she said softly. "I'm alright. Maybe a little sore but alright."

I wanted more of her. I wanted her now. I wanted her forever. "I want to wear your mark," I told her instead. "I want to wear you on my skin. I want to show it to others, show them your claim on me. "

She glanced at me, her cheeks flushed. "You know this is getting a bit awkward so I think I'll go take a shower," she said and slipped out of the bed. She was still naked – naked and eatable.

I rose to my elbow, enjoying the view until she closed the bathroom door behind her.

With both of us dressed and she no longer chaste, we trekked downstairs.

The place was unusually quiet after last night considering most of the residents were dead. The ones who were left probably sought shelter with their friends and relatives in town, except for the person who was trying to cook downstairs.

But not even the reek of burnt food that wafted to my nose could ruin my giddy mood.

Holding her hand in mine, I led her toward the packhouse dining room. Once there, I discovered the source of the smell sitting on the table in a plate full of odd looking, nearly black crisps of something that should have probably been bacon and scrambled eggs, though the only hint that it was indeed containing eggs were the pieces of eggshells complementing the brown concoction.

I glanced at Scarlet to see her face wearing a disgusted expression as she wrinkled her nose and stared at the table. I averted my eyes to search for the person responsible for the 'meal' and not a few seconds later, I saw Sasha making her way to the dining room from the kitchen adjacent to it and carrying a tray with steaming tea.

She placed the tray on the table and clasped her hands in front of her, her stare pointed downwards as her body trembled in anticipation as if she was actually expecting an evaluation to her skill.

"Why are you here?" I ventured carefully, my eyes skipping in Scarlet's direction to see her frozen in her spot next to me. Her own happiness seemed to evaporate the moment her eyes stopped on Sasha.

This wasn't a situation I liked in the least and she probably liked it even less than I did. I could see the dangerous gleam in her gray eyes, the tight line on her lips, furthermore, I could feel the tension of her body inches away from mine.

"They sent me," the female mumbled, not moving her gaze from the floor.

I made a step toward her. "What?"

"The females didn't want to come here as the males wouldn't let them," Sasha whispered her explanation.

I watched her nervously bite her lips, her face paler than ever, hands fumbling with the fabric of the lilac dress she was wearing. She seemed to be waiting for my reaction to the news that none of the pack females charged with house duty had bothered to come today.

I didn't know how to react. If only Scarlet had let me give them the punishment they deserved yesterday, this would have never happened, but now they thought I was weak. They thought they could get away with skipping their assigned duties. They thought I was a joke.