Page 8 of Oracle
I couldn't imagine how much that was to absorb and process in the middle of the prophecy weighing down on her, though. We only had her to focus our attention on, yet she had to find a way to juggle seven mate bonds. It wasn't going to be an easy feat. Especially with multiple alphas within our new pack.
She handled it like a damn queen.
“Mine,”my wolf growled, his carnal desires almost bringing me to my knees in front of her. I’d lift one leg over my shoulder and taste her…
Fuck. Focus, Wes.I scolded myself while shaking my head to clear the caveman urges rolling through me, attempting to focus back on the conversation at hand.
Soon. We will have her soon.
My wolf was restless as hell to take our mate to the ground and solidify our bond. It had been maddening to see her wrapped up in a cocoon of tree limbs for a week, unsure if she was going to live or die. Now that I knew she was alive, that primal side of me needed to ensure the bond was fully intact.
She'd never get rid of me. Not even in death.
Tian cut through the tension building in the room, his soothing voice always seeming to have the ability to let your worries melt from your body, "There's one more vital piece of information that you need to know, Angel."
No amount of calmness in his tone could prevent the tick of her jaw as she tensed.
Kira focused her attention on Tian as she waited for him to expand. Her jaw was so tight I feared she might crack a tooth if she clenched it any further. I wanted to run my hand along her cheek until she relaxed and understood we’d done this so she didn't have to make these tough decisions. We’d known it would weigh heavily on her soul and that she wouldn't have been able to bring herself to exile Christofer from these lands.
"You are the leader of the council now," he stated, turning Kira's body to a rigid stone in the blink of an eye. I swear she didn't move an inch or breathe one molecule of air.
Not quite the reaction I had been expecting. This was…unlike her.
"Beauty?" Caleb inquired, a hint of concern in his tone, as if he feared we’d broken her with that revelation.
It was possible we had. Shehadjust woken up from a week-long coma after being stabbed with a dagger imbued with dark energy, and we were now telling her that she was essentially the leader of the wolves throughout the world. The guiding light to bring us peace and prosperity and through this war with a victory.
Now that I thought about it like that…maybe we should have waited a bit to tell her. But it was out there now, so we just needed to find a way to ensure she felt supported moving forward with this new role. At least, that’s what I thought was all we could do. I was still trying to figure out how to be a good mate to her.
I wanted to be supportive without being overbearing, but it was proving to be a tough feat. I didn’t want her to feel boxed in by me, but I also didn’t want her to think I didn’t give a shit.
What a fucking conundrum. We’d definitely go through some growing pains as we learned one another’s personalities and needs. She’d likely yell at me a few times, but eventually we’d find our rhythm.
“That won’t work,” she murmured as her eyes dropped to the ground. She chewed her bottom lip, lost deep in thought.
In just the few minutes she’d been back with us, I’d felt a distance between her and the rest of us that hadn’t been there before. Her eyes seemed guarded, like she was barring us from seeing the depths of her thoughts and emotions. I didn’t like it one bit.
I wanted to kiss every inch of her body and whisper sweet nothings until all she was left with was joy and contentment. I wanted her to feel so loved and safe in our arms that she never felt the need to have a guard up with any of us. I needed her to know we were a team in anything and everything without second-guessing it.
Her face typically told us what she was thinking, even if her mouth didn’t, so the mask she seemed to wear now was throwing me off-kilter.
“Why, Kitten?” Seth asked, voicing what probably all of us were thinking as his hand moved up to run through his black hair. He ended the gesture by pulling on his roots, as if he was frustrated but trying to hide it.
We had all felt the mounting pressure of trying to fill the role of the new council, and it was glaringly obvious that we were a clusterfuck without Kira here to band us together. Tensions had flared, and countless arguments had occurred.
She was the perfect fit for the job of council leader, and it wasn’t just her mates who thought so. The decision had been made by the Alpha of Alphas from every continent. They saw the same shining light within her that we did, and there was no one else who had even been introduced in the conversation to oppose her for the position.
It truly had been unanimous.
So, why did she feel like this wouldn’t work? She was quite possibly the only person who thought that.
Her eyes darted around uneasily, like she was a cornered animal all of a sudden. Why was she feeling that way around us? We should make her the most at ease. Well, maybe not Jameson, but I was more than willing to rip his throat out in front of her if he was the issue. Yet, I didn’t think he was. But if not Jameson, then what was it? It was just one simple question from Seth.
My eyes narrowed on her, reading her body language from head to toe. Her slender arms were pressed to her sides, her fingers curled into fists as her blue eyes scanned the room, refusing to look at any of us, as if she feared she’d break like shattered glass the second she did.
I was trying to give her space because it was clear she was working through something mentally, but fuck if I didn’t want to tuck her hair behind her ear, kiss her forehead, and assure her that, whatever it was, we could help her. I wanted her warmth to melt into me as we relieved whatever this burden was that she was carrying.
Mate.
