Turning The Page

Forty One

It's a little scary standing up in front of everyone, even if I'm partially shielded where I stand wrapped up in Silas's protective hold while Alic takes his time lining up the tape measure, every single little centimeter apparently important for the sake of keeping an accurate record of how well the treaty is still doing even after all this time... I know it's important but I can't help but wish that he would hurry up so we can slip out while he works his way through the rest of the Alpha's... 

It feels like its literally taking an entire eternity but eventually, Alic opens his mouth and out falls a number that my sweet strong Daddy should be more than proud of, especially given that he isn't the most hands-on leader, "Eighty-six point forty centimeters! Also known as just over thirty-four inches! Very nice, Ashwood. Can we get your Luna's measurement as well? " Alic has the decency to make the second part a whisper to only us a polite round of clapping comes from scattered places all over the room while the other's feign paying attention, "It's what's happening in the other conference room, and this way you won't have to check in to do it later."

It's courteous of him to offer, but I still don't relish the thought of anyone else touching me... I don't want anyone else even near me right now... But if it saves us from having to interact with even more strangers than we're having to already I'm all for it... Daddy on the other hand though lets loose a growl that nearly shakes the very floorboards at the mere mention of Alic attempting to touch me, and at first, I don't quite understand why until I'm able to pull myself away from his chest long enough to spot the look on Alic's face... Something that makes me nearly swallow my tongue as Silas turns us on the spot to promptly return us to our seat with my face on fire, today's meeting leader looking far too crestfallen at our hasty retreat, the way he had been licking his lips while staring at me feeling completely inappropriate even if it is just his wolf reacting to my raging hormones... A reminder of that to Silas through our mental connection doing very little to convince him that he should not react as aggressively as he wants to... That he can't lash out at Alic or anyone else in the room without facing consequences and a fallout that I am sure neither of us wants. 

...

Silas

...

"Daddy... Breathe! You have to breathe!" When he realizes that I'm not able to focus on his request when he says it to me silently my beautiful Mama takes the time to say the words I need to hear out loud in order to pull in a steadying breath that is so very badly needed in order to keep me from marching back up to Alic and starting a fight I absolutely know I'll win, his obvious attention to Adrian something that had already been making me uncomfortable when he noticed from up front the pheromones currently responsible for the extra bout of protectiveness flooding my system. He may have had a valid reason for asking, but I'll be damned if anyone touches my mate period, much less when he's at the start of such an intense heat. 

Keeping Adrian safe and happy has been my main focus our entire relationship, and I would rather crash my bike and be cursed with a life-long case of road rash than let him down just because our mandatory attendance here is rubbing me the wrong kind of raw... Just because my own head is clouded by how provocatively spicy his scent has become does not mean I can let my guard down around so many other wolves, not all of them contently mated like us... I should hope none of them would ever make a move like that on a mated Luna... That they wouldn't even entertain the idea of preying on anyone in heat in general... But I know that being an Alpha doesn't automatically make you a good man, a fact my own Father had proven time and time again with how he treated not only me but everyone else around him including my mother... He was never outright violent, but when the man had an outburst even I made myself scarce. That being said I don't trust a single person in this room other than Adrian as far as I can throw them... 

Lukas and Haper only to be slightly more trusted than the rest of them only because they have their own Lunas and for the most part seem content and caring in their relationships... Anything less from the two of them and I would have already dragged our chair all the way to the back wall of the room to sit completely alone next to the door after giving the pair of them matching black eyes for not only disrespecting my mate but their own Lunas by acting on impulse... Not that I think they will... They didn't yesterday, and it seems like they're trying to handle the two of us with kid gloves at the moment, something my frazzled nerves appreciate. 

I know that eventually, we'll need to measure my sweet Mama's hair, but it damn sure won't be Alic holding the measuring tape... In fact, if I have my way it won't be anyone other than me or one of the other Luna's, the second option a trepidacious one at best... Possibly Cricket or Aurie, but even then, I'm not sure if I can handle the stress of anyone else being close to him at the moment... 

There shouldn't be any problem with me being the one to measure his hair as long as it's done in front of witnesses and jotted down for the records, though up until this point I hadn't actually been aware that the length of our Luna's hair had any bearing on any official documents, my Mother always having worn her hair rather short... But now that I think about it, her haircuts did tend to line up with whenever Dad would have to give up a few inches...