Somehow, by the grace of the goddess, Ophelia had cried herself to sleep in the middle of their huge bed. With the departure of Crimson, her sobs had become so overwhelming and violent until she simply exhausted herself into sleep. The Alpha had sighed with relief. He knew that he could force the other she-wolf to remain throughout the duration of the labor, but what purpose would that serve? If she was bitter and resentful, she would be no help to his little mate and she was going to need a lot of reassurement if they were going to get through the remainder of their pup's delivery.
He groaned at the thought of what lay ahead, fearing how Ophelia was likely to react once her pain increased. To say that she was prepared would be lying to himself, but he knew that there was no going back now. So he prayed to the goddess for the first time in a very long while that Phee would wake up rested and with a renewed vigor.
Feeling that he had few other options, he tucked a blanket around his Luna, placed a delicate kiss to her forehead, and then quietly exited their bedroom. Knowing that his Beta would be stationed somewhere nearby inside the compound now that their Luna was in labor, he found his brother almost immediately standing in the kitchen and sipping a cup of coffee. Ryan smirked. "Running away already? Did she bite your dick off?"
The Alpha shook his head slowly, his mind fogged with concern for his mate and their pup. "What are the chances that you can convince Rain to come help me?"
His brother snorted. "You realize that she's ready to go at any time now, right?"
"Of course," the Alpha grimaced. He was well aware that his brother's mate had become pregnant the very same evening that he had impregnated the Luna.
"Clearly, you want her to support Ophelia through this labor," Ryan observed with a brutal frown. "And I'm just going to tell you no fucking way. My Rain has done enough for you. Leave her be for once."
Drawing in a long breath and weighing his options, Chris winced as he spoke his next words carefully. "I can demand that she attend her Luna."
Ryan actually looked stung at this. Slowly, the threat sunk in and his eyes darkened with rage. "I can demand that you fuck off and leave my mate alone."
Knowing that he should drop it and just find someone else, possibly Layla or Isolde would acquiesce, Chris knew that he should move on. But unable to back down from the confrontation and needing to put his younger brother into his place, he felt his hackles bristling at the Beta's words. "Where is she?" Then, leaning closer to his brother's face, he growled. "Where is Rain right now?"
"Leave my mate alone," the Beta demanded, his startlingly white teeth gritted in a growl.
His patience had been a short fuse that his brother had already ignited and now there was no going back. He growled right back into Ryan's face. "If you don't tell me where your mate is, I will find her on my own and you will suffer the appropriate punishment for defying me."
YOU ARE READING
White Lightning
Werewolf[Ongoing Serial Novel][Werewolf] [MIW] In our world, for every female pup born there were five very eager and wanton males waiting for her to turn of age. Some packs considered their females to be ripe at sixteen, but my great-grandfather had establ...
