Page 159 of Unforgivable

"Bought time you got here, pup," Luna Gloria marches up to the giant male and smacks him right across his stomach. I gasp, moving towards her, grabbing her frail hand and tugging her behind me. She just cackles that awful laugh that will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. It never means good news.

"Great-Aunt Gloria," the male intones in a bored tone.

Great-Aunt, oh, Gloria... I sigh internally. Of course, she's related to this behemoth. Why not? His chest is in front of my face. I inhale, ready to dig deep to find some excuse for the crazy old witch. I smell... baby powder. Lots of baby powder.

"You have a pup?" I blurt out. I want to smack myself. Great introduction, Lyri.

I look up into light green eyes that dance with pleasure. "I have three pups, two males and a female," he brags, "and two more on the way. My Mina wasn't expecting my Blu to knock her up with twins," he roars with laughter, the happiness shining.

I have to puzzle through it. Two mates. One is a male. And they have five children between them all. Wow. That poor female...

"Now, you are Lyri, the Moon-Made that my brother and this dumb fuck told me about," he points at a scowling Carm.

"Pleased to meet you?" I say in an admittedly weak voice. I want to add, 'please don't eat me,' but that would be impolite, and Mom raised me with manners.

"And you," he says politely. Oh, that's nice. The monster was raised with manners, too.

"How do you know Carmichael, brother?" Devel says quietly.

All the joy leeches out of the giant alpha-male. That’s a scary sight, let me tell you. "He thinks he's going to mate to my Cassie."

At first, I think this is some sort of bizarre love-triangle, love quadrangle? But then Carmichael and Teague start to argue.

"She is not your sister," Carmichael growls.

"She is my pup, mutt," Teague emphasizes. "And you are a dumb fuck if you think-"

"She is my mate!" Carmichael roars.

Both big males crash into each other. I watch closely, but when no fangs or claws are flashed, I just let them beat on each other. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Try to break up five hundred pounds of pissy alpha-male?

My males, Franco, Inuit, and Luna Gloria, form a circle around them, just to watch. It's like we have live entertainment. I hope they don't damage the floors. I go and sit next to Devel.

"They will be great friends one day," Devel says quietly. His green eyes are scanning the room.

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

"I have lost my truemate, and I... I have always wondered..." he says quietly. "My wolf feels something for another... I ignored it before."

"Another female?" I squeal like a little female with her first crush.

Devel gives me his half-smile.

"What other female, brother?" the two alpha-males have stopped fighting. Teague is eyeing his brother in suspicion.

I hope for Devel's sake he's not in love with Cassie, whoever she is. It will not end well for Devel if that's the case.

"Devel has been rejected by the female who is my fated mate's Choice," I tell Teague calmly. It doesn't sting as much as it did before. My she-wolf is already planning her future with our males, and Daan doesn't have a place there. She knows he has to die. It's crippling in some small way, but ignorable. He killed us, effectively. We just have to return the favor.

"You have been what?" Teague says in a dangerous tone of voice. Again, wow. Uneasy, my she-wolf shifts away from him. All of the wolves move, even Carmichael.

Maybe I should mention Cassie again, see if I can get Carmichael to distract Teague from Devel's pain.

"I have performed the rite, brother," Devel says in a voice husky with tears.

Teague's face is ashen. "This is not right," he rasps. "Mates shouldn't reject each other. The rite hasn't been performed in how long?" His eyes travel over his brother, reading the wounds, the scars, and angry red lines that criss-cross Devel's skin.

"Fuck her," Teague says quietly, seethingly. "How, how close did you come to- I will rip her apart, myself. You didn't need a fucking rite."

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