Luna

Chapter 12

Mate

In a matter of seconds, I went from not wanting a mate, to being overly concerned about this female. She was incredibly beautiful, and the marks on her face angered me tremendously. I hadn't seen her neck from the door, but as I knelt beside her, I saw red marks around her delicate skin. My fingers involuntarily moved along the marks, as I observed the tracings of fingers among them. She'd been strangled, and from the looks of it, someone was trying to kill her.

Small whimpers from the booth beside her caught my attention, and as I raised my head, there sat a little girl with tears running down her cheeks. She couldn't have been older than five, and looked awfully like the younger version of the female on the ground. Her child maybe? She looked terrified as her gaze shifted between the female and myself. My wolf was in shock for a second, then concerned about the safety of the child. He cared, and accepted her as his the moment he set his eyes on her. He was going to raise her as his own pup, and if anyone came to contest this, he would kill them.

"Lucia!" I called a little too aggressively. I was struggling to keep a leash on my wolf. He wanted out. He wanted to nurse his mate; to examine her, and make sure she was still alive.

The little girl jumped at the harshness of my voice. I had obviously scared her, and my wolf growled in agitation.

'Careful,' he warned.

'You need to calm the fuck down!' I snapped at him.

"Lucia, take care of the child."

"Humph. Because that's all I'm good for, right?"

"Lucia –"

"Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I automatically go into caretaker role the moment I see a crying kid you know. I may be a female and have two pups of my own, but that doesn't mean –"

"Lucia, jus–"

"That, doesn't mean my heart pours out to every child. Especially one I do not know. I know –"

"Could you jus –"

"I know you're view on my sex is, and has been impaired partly by the countless one-night stands and power-hungry females, and most importantly the lack of the one thing you crave the most –"

"Lucia..."

"The one thing you've been brooding for, for the last few years. And yes! I know you may deny it, but you want a MATE!" I said, making sure to enunciate the last word.  "But that doesn't excuse your prejudice behaviour towards women! You cannot and SHOULD NOT hold all females accountable for your streak of bad luck."

Mate? Me? Does she even know how much I resent that word? "You have NO idea what you're talking about!"

"I know exactly what I'm talking about! I have known you all my life, and know you more than you think. So, i–"

"I AM YOUR ALPHA!" I roared; my dominance seeping radiating through me and thickening the environment around us.

"AND I HAVE BEEN YOUR SISTER LONG BEFORE THAT!"

"LUCIA!"

"Don't you EVER throw your alpha status in my face again! I know exactly who and what you are! Your inability to acquire a mate does NOT give you the right to be a class 'A' asshole – to me, or anyone else in the pack. I have been patient with you long enough brother, bu–"

"Could you just SHUT THE FUCK UP! This is neither THE TIME OR PLACE for this conversation." I snapped.

She looked at me completely bewildered. I watched as her eyes narrowed, and her mouth twitched in anger, but I didn't have time to consider her feelings at that moment. I just needed help with the child so I could attend to the female before me.