Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Torin and I descended the stairs toward the boardroom.
Glancing out the window, I watched the sun hide. The bright lights of golden ceiling fixtures illuminated the hallways.
Torin gave me a reassuring glance and paused in front of the closed doors. Smiling, he brushed his fingers over my cheek, leaving behind a comforting warmth. His fingers ventured lower on my chest to the spot where he’d marked me with ink moments ago.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Princess.”
I forced a smile. “I just want to make a good impression.”
It was my chance to start over and find a new home.
“They already like you, Anna.”
Inside, his men and Veronica were already sitting at the table. Alexander stood and brought an empty chair next to the one at the head of the table where Torin and I sat. Torin’s gaze fell on the deep imprints on the metal table, and his lips pressed together.
“Thank you,” I said to Torin’s Beta, and he gave me a small smile.
The men here each had his own unique style. I smiled when my gaze traveled to Robin Hood—one of Torin’s men who’d held me captive in London. I escaped him on an ebike. Robin Hood grinned as wide as that cat from Alice’s fairy tale.
“I’m Oliver. Head of the warriors,” he said.
“Nice to see you again, Oliver. Although I liked calling you Robin Hood better,” I said, and the man chuckled.
Torin’s gaze snapped to mine, and I said, “What?”
“You named my men?”
I shrugged. “I almost wished Little John was here because I owe him an apology.”
Oliver’s deep belly-shaking laughter filled the room while Torin shook his head, probably disapproving.
When he quieted down, Robin Hood said, “Your new friend was angry for knocking him unconscious.”
A guy in a Hawaiian short-sleeved shirt with beautiful patterns of flowers widened his eyes. He was one of the two men who’d helped Alexander hold Torin back when my shoulder bled in the training facility.
“You knocked out one of our warriors, Princess?” the guy asked.
Torin ran his hand over his face and muttered something that sounded like, “What am I going to do with you?”, but I ignored him and only shrugged.
“But why didn’t both of you chase me to bring me back?”
I remembered Robin Hood not following me once I left the small park in London on the ebike I politely stole from that girl.
“The Alpha called and ordered us to stop pursuing you and that soon you’d be at our territory.”
Torin only had his men hold me hostage, knowing I’d find my way out of that apartment and into his trap. He used my anger at being held in that townhome as motivation to free myself, and then he knew I’d come for my book.
I liked Robin Hood. I wouldn’t say the same for Little John, but Oliver had an aura of maturity, experience, and wisdom. I tried to guess his age, but with all the facial hair and long red beard, I couldn’t guess well.
“My turn,” Torin’s Beta said, grinning. “I’m Alexander. My job is to keep our Alpha out of trouble.”
I smiled at my new friend. The poor guy had to do all the dirty work of cleaning the scenes after his Alpha tore his victims to pieces.
And since I’d arrived on the territory, Alexander’s job also involved saving me when Torin vamped out on me.
I was glad he was always next to Torin to instill some peace and calm into Torin’s short temper.
The man with the Hawaiian shirt sat next to Alexander. I couldn’t see his lower body, but I’d guess he wore shorts and flip-flops. Although he was dressed as if on vacation, his face looked so tired, with dark circles and blotchy skin. I’d guess he was no older than thirty-five.
“Mason. I’m Alpha Torin’s former Beta,” he said, fighting a yawn that made me smile.
“I like your Hawaiian shirt. Have you been?” I asked, my body relaxing against the chair.
“Never been, but it’s on my bucket list. We're going as soon as my mate and I finish potty training our youngest.” His eyes brightened as he continued ranting about his family. “I gave this pup candy every time I put him on the potty, and he only ate the treat and did no business…”
I looked at Torin, who met my gaze and smiled. There was so much pride and gratitude in his eyes that he took my breath away.
“After our second pup, I decided to resign. We wanted a big family. The youngest one is our fifth one, and I don’t—”
“For the love of the Gods, Mason,” the man across from him said with a heavy sigh and made a zip-up motion over his mouth while narrowing his eyes at the former Beta.
But it wasn’t in a menacing way. He was more annoyed and probably wanted to get the meeting started.
“I’m Sebastian.” He looked at me but didn’t smile. “The most normal one in this group.”
The others scoffed and made tsk-ing sounds with their tongues, and Torin chuckled.
Sebastian fidgeted in his chair, clearly unable to stay still.
From out of a short-sleeved shirt, colorful tattoos peeked.
He didn’t have a whole sleeve of ink like Torin did.
His gaze darted around the room, and he seemed to have a hard time focusing on any one of us or any one thing.
But I had a feeling it was his personality, and no one said anything to him.
“Mason and I were outcasts,” Sebastian said and pulled on the small metal ring on his bottom lip with his tongue.
Jason, Sebastian, and Mason were outcasts or orphans that Torin had taken into his pack and given them a home. I didn’t know of another Alpha who showed such kindness. I wondered if it was a way for Torin to make his immortality worth it.
“We used to be rogues,” he said, pulling his chair closer to the table, “but thanks to our Alpha, we turned our lives around.” Sebastian looked at Torin and then me. “Mason and I even found chosen mates willing to put up with us.”
I filed the thought about chosen mates away for later when I had a chance to ask Torin more about it.
“Even though we chose our mates at the same time,” Torin’s former Beta said, “you still haven’t put a pup in her.”
“Geez, not everyone has your stamina, Mason—”
An annoyed sigh interrupted the conversation, and we all stared at Veronica’s pinched expression. Her fingers tapped on the tabletop, and she blew a strand of blonde hair off her face. Goldie Locks clearly didn’t want to be here, so why did Torin keep her around?
Her shoulder seemed fine. I was sure it had healed as soon as she removed the steel dagger out of her flesh.
When her gaze fell on Torin, her eyes brightened, and she arched her back, thrusting her boobs in front of her. If she wanted attention, none of the men in the room, including Torin, even remotely glanced at her low V-neck shirt.
Torin said he hadn’t slept with anyone for the last twenty-five years, so I decided to believe his words.
“How about we actually start the meeting?” she said in a sickly sweet voice. “Unless we’re missing someone?” Her lustful gaze turned into a glare aimed at me. “Is the second princess, Layla, coming? She was also here the last time Princess Breanna was here.”
This woman wasn’t going to give up easily. She enjoyed bullying me.
“How’s the shoulder, Veronica?” I asked. “We wouldn’t want you to suffer any more injuries, do we? Otherwise, how would you perform your desk duties?”
I’d become mean, but I didn’t care now. The chuckle of the men filled the room, and Torin’s assistant crossed her arms over her torso.
And with that, the Council meeting began.
The men asked me about the book and the vampires who attacked me in my office.
I wasn’t sure how much Torin had shared with them, but he didn’t seem to have mentioned that my birthmark and the symbol on the book matched.
His Council didn’t know it was my book and viewed the magic book as dangerous to open.
Veronica stayed quiet and only asked where the book was at the moment, which Torin chose not to answer. That put a broader smile on my face.
From the questions the Councilmen asked Torin, it became clear how much respect they held for him and that Torin had a multitude of businesses that brought money to the pack.
It wasn’t surprising that he’d accumulated wealth over the years, having lived the longest, but what warmed my insides was the knowledge that Torin fought big corporations that attempted to cut trees down in California.
He fought against deforestation to keep the natural habitat of werewolves.
So perhaps Torin had more enemies than I thought, including wealthy humans, the leaders of those corporations.
The smiles and warmth I felt from Torin’s Councilmen, minus Veronica, reassured me.
The last topic was the Luna ceremony. Alexander grinned as soon as the ritual was mentioned.
“Princess, I’ll have everything organized in two days.
The ceremony is very similar to a human wedding.
You’ll walk together with the Alpha and get to me.
Then, you’ll repeat after me a pack oath that you’ll be loyal and serve the pack, similar to wedding vows.
” Alexander chuckled. “It’s almost as if you’re marrying the entire pack. ”
I smiled while the men laughed. Torin leaned over and pecked my cheek, leaving my skin tingling under his touch.
“Is there anything else I need to know or to prepare for the ceremony?” I asked.
“No, just follow my lead. I’ll take care of you, Anna,” Torin said.
Alexander touched his chin with his index finger. “There is one thing. You can dress in whatever you choose, but make sure it has straps or is a strapless top.”
Torin’s body tensed beside me, and I zeroed in on his face. His eyes flashed crimson, and his hand gripped the edge of the table. I was sure he’d bend the metal.
I tilted my head to the side, and without disconnecting my gaze from Torin, I asked Alexander, “Why is the strapless top necessary?”
“For the marking part of the Luna ritual,” the Beta said, raising his eyebrows.
Torin let out a low growl in warning, and my stomach twisted.
The marking was an essential part of completing the mating.
The realization struck me hard then.
“We wouldn’t be completing the marking part of the ritual,” was all Torin said to change the air in the boardroom, now thick with tension.
No one dared to say a word or question him. He’d just announced to his Council that he wouldn’t be marking me. I’d guess it was because he thought he couldn’t trust himself with biting me since I was a human and tempted his vampire to the max, as evident by today’s events.
But I trusted that he would stop himself before he drained my blood. It was dangerous, but I was his mate and his Luna. Marking was the most important part of connecting two souls together.
If I were to be his true mate, he would have to mark me, strengthening our bond.
When a mate marked one, she forever belonged to him and him to her. It established a metaphysical connection like no other. It meant that Torin would accept me fully.
Blood rushed to my face, and I felt flushed and hot and sweaty.
The four Councilmen’s gazes aimed at the table in front of them while Veronica scrutinized me, and the smirk on her face spoke volumes.
How could I be his Luna without being marked by Torin?
Just as supernatural magic blessed a werewolf who was accepted in a pack with the pack marking tattooed on their body, the marking ritual was that same magic that linked two mates, showing the world they belonged together.
If Torin didn’t mark me, it would signal to his pack members that he didn’t fully recognize me as his mate, even if it wasn’t true.
This would set me up for more bullying, verbal abuse, and challenges like Veronica’s.
It was important to me to be marked. I’d lived my life not belonging anywhere or to anyone, and I had a chance to find my home for the first time.
“We’ll talk about it later, Alexander,” I said. “I’ll discuss it first with your Alpha.”
Torin flinched, and the deepening frown on his face told me he would be stubborn about the marking. If he could, Torin would gladly avoid this conversation, but I wouldn’t let him.
Not only did I not have the royal crescent tattoo on my skin, even though I was the King’s daughter, but now that I recognized Torin as my mate, I wouldn’t bear his mate mark on my neck.
Swallowing hard, I recognized the bitter taste on my tongue—a mixture of shame and longing and disappointment.