Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 48 The Elders
“To start with I’m wondering why my council of Elders has time to sit around listening to idle gossip and the bullsh*t that the tabloids spew.” He sneered as a look of uncertainty crossed Tomas’s face.
“Secondly, I’m wondering who the f*uc*k has the audacity to question my mate bond with the woman that they bound to me and bound to the pack as their Luna. Just who the f*uc*k do you think you are Tomas?” Adam growled menacingly as he advanced toward him.
Adam allowed his wolf to surge forwards and sit side by side in his vision and the color drained from Tomas’s face as the rest of the Elders backed away hurriedly.
Without wasting a second Adam snarled furiously and his arm snapped out in front of him, his fingers taking hold of Tomas’s neck and propelling him backward until his back connected with the wall.
“Have I not always done things by the book, Tomas?” “Yes, Alpha!” He squeaked.
“Did I not wait for the appearance of my Luna before I took a woman to bed?” Adam snarled furiously. “Yes, Alpha!”
“Then why the f*uc*k would I lie about this?” He questioned dangerously as Tomas struggled against his vicelike grip.
With a snarl of rage, he picked Tomas up and threw him back towards the group of Elders huddled together in fear.
“If you ever har@ssmy Luna again, I’ll do more than threaten you, do you understand?”
The majority of the Elders nodded furiously and apologized profusely whilst throwing furious glares toward Tomas who was struggling to get up from the position that he had landed in.
With a final furious glare, Adam turned to make his way to his room, where Ann waited for him, but a trembling voice from behind him stopped him in his tracks.
“You can threaten as much as you like Alpha, but if Princess Ann is not your mate, then I will not recognize her as our Luna, and nor will the pack!” Tomas threatened weakly.
Adam turned and sneered down at him.
“Do you understand how offensive it is to have to bare your mark for all to see, just to prove something to a withered old man?” Adam spat.
“If she cannot show the mark in the next few days then I will pet*ition the king for a removal of an impostor!” He shouted imperiously.
Adam chuckled darkly as the elders surrounding him distanced themselves in horror at Tomas’s arrogance. “And when she consents to this… degrading treatment Elder Tomas, I will have your head for the insolence of questioning your Alpha. Do you understand me?”
What little color remained in Tomas’s face drained instantly as Adam turned on his heel and stormed away. His anger roiled unchecked inside of him and he realized that he was left with two choices.
Be exposed in a lie and lose the pack he had worked so hard to build or accept the help of a Daemon and a hybrid to continue this charade.
Neither was an appealing option but he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Sometimes, sacrifices had to be made for the benefit of the pack.
Adam stormed into the room, the door banging furiously against the wall as he muttered angrily under his breath. Allen moved instinctively in front of Ann to protect her if needed. He had only seen Adam in this state once before and it had resulted in a very messy cleanup. This time, he would prefer to avoid casualties where possible. Ann tried to push past Allen but he remained in place. “Trust me, Luna. It’s better that he’s alone when he’s like this. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Ann watched as Adam’s fury rolled off him in waves and listened as Maeve snorted inside of her.
‘As angry as he is, I don’t think he would hurt us.’ Maeve commented thoughtfully.
‘Can you be sure though?’?Ann replied hesitantly.
Maeve snorted again.
‘What are you afraid of? That I’ll be able to get out a little and flex my fighting muscles? Believe me, if the alpha wants to throw a temper tantrum with me, I’ll soon put him in his place.’?
Swallowing her trepidation she stood and pushed past Allen f0rcefully.
“Luna…” He protested as Adam whirled around and glared at them both with his golden eyes.
“Leave, Allen. Now.”
“Are you sure she’s going to be safe with you, Adam?” He asked warily.
Adam snarled at him angrily but Allen didn’t move.
“I’m not going anywhere until you give me your word, Alpha.” He answered confidently.
Ann placed a hand on Allen’s arm and smiled rea*s*suringly at him.
“I’ll be fine. Have you not met Maeve?” She said with a wry smile.
After a moment’s hesitation, Allen snorted and returned her smile.
“Fine. It’s your funeral, Luna. Just shout if you need me, I’ll be down the corridor in my own room.”
She grinned at him as he left and shut the door behind him securely.
As she turned back to face Adam she could feel the wolf in him desperate to leave and run. Maeve whined in commiseration with him. She felt it too.
“Adam. What was that about?”
“I handled it, don’t worry.” he snapped.
Ann folded her arms in front of her and snorted.
“I didn’t ask if you handled it, Adam, I asked what it was about.” She answered confidently.
Adam growled in reply and Ann narrowed her eyes at him dangerously.
“Look, you can be as pissed as you like, Adam, I don’t give a f*uc*k, to be honest, but I need to know what it was about so I can figure out what, if anything, I need to be doing to not exacerbate the matter. Do you understand?” She snapped.
Adam whirled towards her furiously.
“I said… I handled it.” He f0rced out through gritted teeth as he advanced towards her.
Ann held her ground and met his gaze head-on, tilting her chin arrogantly toward him as he approached.
“Good for you. It might have escaped your notice but that still doesn’t answer my f*uc*king question. What did the Elders want and why were they so insistent on speaking with me?”