Moonchild

Thirty Eight

Lukas pulls me to the side and into his arms as the angels pile out of the van while we wait for the others that had been cut off in traffic. We had made decent enough time with Lukas's local knowledge of the area coming in handy, but the other two vans hadn't been so lucky.

My mate works for his hands up and down my spine a few times to soothe me a little bit before one of them disappears into his pocket. The arm still wrapped around me grips my hip to rotate me to leave just the slightest gap of space so he could show me the treasures he had brought with us, his hand reappearing and opening to reveal a chunky silver rod I recognize as a vape battery and an unmarked cartridge that had yet to be screwed in, it's viscus yellow liquid glinting in glowing overhead lights of the parking garage.

"I thought maybe this would help? For when we go places like this since you can't exactly light up in public."

I can't help but cock an eyebrow at him in my confusion, "How is nicotine going to help anything?"

...
Lukas
....

"It's cannabis distillate and extra-" Aurie's eyebrows borrowing stop me in my tracks at the technical terms, "It's basically discrete dabs. It's processed to focus on the effect minus the smell. I thought maybe it could help.." Ease the pain I caused by losing control this morning.

I don't say it out loud but I know he hears me with the way he tucks his chin against his shoulder, his pale complexion seeming even more extreme standing out against his black shirt as he gently shies away from me.

An uneasy thank you floats back to me as he timidly reaches up to tug the battery and cartridge out of my hand before shyly tucking it into his own pocket. I can feel the ache in his hips and the sharp tugging pain in his lower belly but before I can question as to why he isn't going to use it now he glances past the parking garage's railing. Following his eyes my jaw drops, people, mostly young women, and more than a few young men peering over the edge at us, only being held back by the Pike Place Market's own security guards that had come down to greet us as we wait for the rest of our party to arrive.

The two of them along with the angel that isn't Ben form a loose human chain and block access to the garage itself, people pressing against them to try and get Aurie's attention over the sounds of traffic roaring around us.

"I'll have to use it in the bathroom whenever we have a minute, but I can't smoke in front of fans," Aurie mumbles as he stretches his lips into a smile that is almost genuine, waving at the people screaming for him, the small crowd only screaming louder with a little attention, "I do appreciate it though, Daddy."

My heart does a flip as he redirects his attention to me, leaning onto his tiptoes and stretching himself up to kiss my cheek.

The screaming gets impossibly louder at the soft affection, and for a moment I worry about two scrawny human rent-a-cops and an angel won't be enough to hold them back as they try and surge forward, but two impatiently honking security vans roll into view and force them to move much to my relief.

As soon as they're parked and Aurie's team is unloaded we get herded towards the elevator to avoid walking through the cluster fuck of fans waiting for us at the street side entrance. The angels seem wary as they pile in around us after we get in first, and they seem to give my Love as much space as they possibly can, but sadly it isn't much.

It's still a tight squeeze in the small space and the lack of personal space sets Aurie off immediately. His whole demeanor shifts to one more manic as his eyes dart around the crowded elevator, his body trembling as he bites his bottom lip in an effort to behave himself and not lash out. I can feel his wolf throwing itself around in his mind, thrashing at the absurd closeness of the bodyguard situated nearest us and feeling too cornered for its wild nature.

...
Aurie
...

Lukas presses me deeper into the corner as the elevator slowly creeps up floor by floor. Curse Ben for parking at the basement level. It hadn't seemed that bad still being able to see the street with how it sloped down as a gentle hill into the inner belly of the parking garage, but it seemed to take forever to make the climb to the second floor of the market.

My mate's large body encompasses mine and blocks everyone else from view, his hands finding my hips gently massaging some of my achiness away. All I can smell is his calm scent surrounding me and suddenly I can breathe again... My wolf calms down and settles into the feel of his patient fingers.

Before I know it the doors are sliding open and Lukas is staring down at me with a sweet smile on his handsome face, a silent I've got you, Babe resonating from his head to mine.

Wrapping his warm hand around my own he pulls me away from the corner he had so carefully tucked me in to and leads me out of the small metal death box into bright natural lighting and camera flashes.

The press here is so rude compared to back home. Instead of waiting for a polite photo-op they just dive right in, not caring if one of us goes blind from their megawatt flashbulbs.

Lukas's grip turns almost painful in response to the onslaught and I can practically feel him vibrating with the force of the unreleased growl he has to swallow.

Ben and the others make quick work of dispersing the paparazzi before clearing a path in the midday crowd, shuffling us in the right direction towards the boutique.

I chuckle as Lukas goes over the mental checklist he had formed in his head, reminding himself what exactly a mini meet and greet entails, and for once I'm glad that this isn't one of the more elaborate appearances for me. I'm supposed to show up, get some pictures taken with the manager for the shoe company to put up on their website, and then treat the first 50 fans to show up to a signed pair of sneakers. The company covered the cost of the shoes knowing that they'd sell out the rest of their inventory of similarly styled unsigned sneakers before the end of business hours and it would more than make up for the cost.

It isn't hard to spot the shift in the crowd around us as it turns from normal everyday shoppers and tourists to fans as they start to recognize me through the cluster of angel bodies that encompass Lukas and I as we walk.

He and I would be able to wander around later if we wanted, but at the moment arriving on time and intact is all that matters, even if we are being surrounded and followed.