Chapter 13

Before I could process what I was doing I had pushed him away so hard that my chair toppled over spilling me out onto the floor. The crash immediately brought all attention onto us and I could feel my face heating with embarrassment. I looked up at the offending wolf and saw blood trickling down his shoulders. My hands must have taken the form of razor sharp claws as I pushed him away in anger, easily tearing through his skin. I didn't know what to do but I couldn't stay here on the floor with everyone's eyes on me. A waitress held out her hand to me and I took it, rising to my feet. 

"Quick thinking, ma'am," she said looking at me with clever grey eyes, "He almost bit you."

"Yes. Thank you," I said breathlessly. I think my heart might beat straight out of my chest. 

"She attacked me!" Boison exclaimed noticing the blood dripping down his arm and putting his hand over it to staunch the bleeding. 

"Relax," said another commanding voice. All heads swiveled over to the Vampire King, "It's just a little blood. She only acted in self defense. You shouldn't have gotten so close." He spoke to the complaining bleeding wolf, but his eyes once again became locked on mine. Victor's eyes were dark pits that seemed to swallow all the light and I was afraid that if I looked into them for too long they would swallow me as well. They had the deep coldness of a killers eyes and yet it took some effort on my part to tear myself away from them and face the problem at hand.

"My sincerest apologies, Boison. You startled me is all and I simply can't let other males touch me when my loyalty belongs to the Alpha."

The Alpha nodded in agreement as if no crime was so awful that it could not be excused if it was done in the name of loyalty. 

"Go get bandaged up, cousin. And next time...watch yourself." the Alpha said sending Boison away with a wave of his hand. Some of the females were starting to look at me jealously for all the attention I was receiving for my outburst. I had a feeling that I would see several more such incidents in the coming weeks. If I wasn't removed tonight, of course. I retook my seat and tried to continue my meal but my appetite was spoiled. Every bite of steak brought me the memory of Boison's torn flesh. What had I become? 

Despite my constant avoidance, Victor was able to pull me aside near the conclusion of the evening. His posture was stiff and straight and his manners exuded an impersonal politeness and distance. You would struggle to imagine him embracing anyone, even his own mother. I wonder if vampires had mother's.

"That was a bold move back there," he remarked. 

"It was more of an accident than anything else." I said not understanding what he could possibly want from me. And yet his eyes were definitely searching mine for... something.

"An instinct? Something violent took over you in a moment."

"It won't happen again," I said. Maybe he was frustrated that I had spilled blood at the table. Surely the sight of blood was tempting for him.

"I never meant to offend," I said. A Luna wasn't supposed to be violent or erratic or some kind of loose cannon. A good Luna should have control.

"If you insist," he replied turning away and allowing me to rejoin the party. Dani was waiting for me at the exit.

"C'mon let's get out of here," she said and I nodded in agreement. We walked half of the way back to our cabin before she broke the silence again.

"The other females are saying they haven't heard anything from the other wolves who were sent home."

I looked at her curiously. This isn't what I thought she'd want to talk about. I let her continue, I wasn't sure where this was going.

"Not even a letter," Dani said. 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean how do we know they're letting them go home at all. What if-what if something else is happening to them." Dani sounded serious.

"Like what?" I asked again.

"I don't know. I don't know. Let's make a promise. When one of us gets sent home she will make sure to immediately send a letter home to prove she is safe, ok? And if you don't get a letter from me within a couple days of me being sent home then you'll know that something is wrong."

"Ok I will," her request was simple enough, " And what do I do if something is wrong?"

"Fix it." she said. Her confidence in my abilities may be a little misplaced, but I was her only friend here and I would do my very best not to let her down.