Ríonaí, or I Am Asexual But My Wolf Is Not

The Big Night

The day of the big party is full of activity. I spend all day cleaning, and helping the other single pack females get ready to go. They all seem to go for the same look -- spray tan, big hair, and in at least one case -- Leibid, the most popular girl in the pack -- implants. Leibid (or Lei) is pretty sure she is going to be Tor's mate -- she already demands that I address her as Luna, which I'm afraid to do since that is a crime in our pack. To punish me, she steps on my feet multiple time with her stilettos, which are pretty pointy.

I'm so happy I get to see the big event -- fortunately I'll be there to help the caterers, who aren't familiar with the kitchen or the house. I even get to wear one of their uniforms, since apparently my ragged clothes are unappealing. It's a simple black dress with a white apron and a white cap and I'm excited to wear it. I even get to borrow some shoes for the occasion. 

Unfortunately, when the caterers get here, there's a problem with my dress -- it's very short. Apparently it was designed for someone MUCH shorter than I am, because it barely covers my you-know-what. I look like I'm wearing a French maid costume! The head caterer says it looks fine and takes a lot of time asking me to climb up on things, and or to bend over to pick things up to make sure that I'm not flashing anyone. 

Soon enough, the party gets started and I'm busy circulating with a tray of shrimp. I end up near the pack Beta, who is talking to Alpha Tor.  Before I can get too near Alpha Tor, the tray is picked clean of shrimp -- wolves have huge appetites.  I am turning to go back to the kitchen when someone grabs my arm, and despite the pain of the vice-like grip, I feel an electric current run through me. At first I wonder if somehow I have been electrocuted again (don't ask -- my brother likes to prank me by dropping plugged-in appliances to my bath), but when I turn I see it's Alpha Tor. His eyes are fixed on mine, and even though I should be dropping my eyes, I can't. 

"Come with me." He pulls me from the room into one of the attached smaller chambers where leaders have private meetings. He shoves me into the furthest one from the main hall, then steps in, slamming and locking the door behind him.

What does he want? I don't think it's more shrimp. Oh well, I guess I'll find out.

He is staring at me his eyes raking up and down my body. He's breathing heavily. At one point he seems to focus on the uniform I am barely wearing, and I see his jaw clench. 

I take a moment to stare back. Good grief, he's handsome.  He's probably 6' 5",  and solid muscle. He has sparkling green eyes with yellow rings around the iris. His hair is light brown but with golden highlights throughout from the sun.  He's almost too perfect, or at least he would be if it weren't for a faint scar over his lip. It must have been a serious injury, though, because otherwise he would have healed completely. 

He grabs me by the shoulder and shoves me against the wall so hard that the shelf over my head collapses, covering me with small office supplies.  He ignores my gasp of surprise. 

Almost yelling, he says. "Who are you?"

I say, "I'm Ríonaí, one of the house drudges." (I really don't like that title, but don't really have a say in it, either.)

This seems to enrage him. "Well, Ríonaí, I'm the Alpha and I can't have a drudge for a Luna." He stares at me, looking for a reaction.

At this point, I've figured it out. He's an Alpha and I'm his mate, and that won't play well among the pack members.

I nod understandingly. "I completely get it, Alpha Tor. So are you going to reject me, or should I reject you first?"

He looks at me, stunned. "You don't care?" 

I smile and say, "WIth all due respect, Alpha Tor, I'm fine with it. I haven't shifted yet. I'll probably feel worse then. It's nothing personal."

His jaw drops. "Nothing personal? You're being rejected by your mate, the pack Alpha, because you're too lowly to deserve the position of Luna, and you have no response?"

I smile at him. What a sweet guy, so considerate of my feelings even though he's rejecting me. "No."

At this point he's shaking with anger and stares at me for a long time. "I, Alpha Tor, reject you, Ríonaí, as my mate and Luna."

I nod and ask, "Can I get back to my job, Alpha Tor?"

He stares at me again (this guy stares A LOT). "Yes. You'll wait on me and my family tonight, and only us."  He stalks off to the main hall again. I follow him, keeping a respectful difference. 

The rest of the evening  keeps me pretty busy. Alpha Tor is constantly having me bring him more food, or pick up more napkins, or wipe his mouth for him. I do my best to respond with a smile, and why shouldn't I? The rest of his family and council haven't touched me or yelled at me all night. I think they were going to, but when the beta calls me a useless little bitch, Alpha Tor shoves his face in the soup without comment. So I'm being treated better than I normally am.

I can feel Alpha Tor's eyes on me, searching my face, in particular my eyes, as if he's looking for something. Whatever it is, he doesn't see it, and it's like something snaps.

He beckons to a nearby table where Lei is sitting, alternately pouting sexily and pouting childishly. He calls her over and sits her on his lap, then says, loudly, "Lei, you are the perfect Luna for me -- you're sexy, high-ranked, and ..." he kind of falters there, probably because even he must know that Lei doesn't possess all the attributes one looks for in a Luna. "What about you, Ríonaí? Can you think of three reasons why Lei would make a good Luna?" He's smirking at this point, which I have to admit looks very good on him.

I am taken aback, because I am always honest and Lei doesn't have much going for her.  Finally, I stammer, "Um, she's very beautiful, and has great posture, and..." At this point, I'm grasping at straws. I look at her and notice that her neckline is very low and her extremely large breasts are practically popping out. Finally, I have it. "She can float really well, which is always helpful." I finish with a smile.

The glass of champagne Alpha Tor is holding snaps, and he stands up so quickly Lei almost falls to the ground. He drags her away, then turns to me: "You, come with us." 

I follow them to one of the small meeting rooms. He says, "Stand out here." He pulls Lei into the room and closes the door, but not all the way -- it's still ajar.

He probably doesn't realize that he's done this, but I won't say anything.  I hear the sounds of them kissing, and then her moaning. All of a sudden, I feel a pain so terrible I double over for a minute. Fortunately, it passes after another minute, and I find myself thinking about something happy -- my lint animals.

 A few minutes later, he stumbles out of the room, tucking his shirt back into his pants. Lei follows, looking equally disheveled. He stares at her coldly, then says, "Go clean yourself up. Be back in 5 minutes."

Once she is gone, he smiles at me. It's not the nicest smile in the world. "So, Ríonaí, how are you feeling?"

"Oh, fine, thanks, Alpha Tor."

His smirk grows bigger. "So you wouldn't say that you experienced any pain just now?"

"Pain?" I think back. "Oh, yes, I did. While you were in the office with Lei, I felt a really agonizing pain, like I couldn't breathe and I almost passed out."

He looks strangely satisfied about this. 

I continue, "Yes, it was awful, but it only took a minute. Seriously, like boom, boom, boom, done. It was just so quick, I almost felt...disappointed, like it should have taken much longer."

He stiffens, then actually growls at me.

I decide to cheer him up by talking about my pain, since that seemed to make him happy earlier. "Yeah," I muse, "it would have been very serious pain, like REALLY serious if it hadn't been so wham-bam. I really would have been suffering then. Instead, though, it was almost a let-down."

He pushes me against the wall again, and he makes a fist like he's going to punch me, hard, in the face. Instead he punches a huge hole in the wall next to me, which causes the painting that was hanging there to fall on my head. Fortunately, the canvas is what hits me rather than the frame.

He roars, "Get out of here! OUT! Go back to your home or hovel or whatever." 

I say, "Yes, Alpha Tor. Although, actually, it's not a hovel, it's a basement closet that I share with a radiator and some vaccuums. I dream of having a hovel of my own someday." I realize I'm daydreaming, bow slightly to him, and run out. 

He is just the nicest guy, letting me out early. What a good day!