1 - Drama Queen

~Gemma~

I doodled on the mostly blank sheet of paper.

A sunflower here, a brilliant sun there. Oh! I needed more milk. M-I-L-K. I jotted the word down. Cripes! How long was this meeting going to drag on anyway? I had things to do, important things. My stomach rumbled, accusing me of neglect. Yup. I forgot to feed myself before the never ending meeting. The horrible rumors were true. Coffee alone couldn’t sustain life. I took a deep breath. Surely, it wasn’t normal for a nearly nineteen year old girl to feel more like forty.

“Gemma, are you taking notes?” Alpha Devlin’s voice rudely cut through my musings. When I ignored his question, he growled for my benefit. As Alpha of the Midnight Sky Pack, he did his best to act menacing. He suffered from the misconception that the little human, me, trembled at the sound of growling. And tremble I did, just not with fear. Girls, don’t kid yourself. A growling werewolf was freaking hot in the right situation.

Not that I would confess such a thing to my blockhead of a boss. The position I held within my pack came with little perks and zero glory. I was their whack-job of a human witch. Lucky them. When Alpha Devlin growled a second time, I straightened my slumped form. Clearly, this was not one of those sexy times.

“Of course I’m taking notes, Alpha Devlin.”

“I see. Do you care to share?”

Perfect. He did not believe me and the mistrust grated. I glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention to our mini melodrama. Nine werewolves crammed into the small conference room. They were all in their human form. Otherwise, it would have been plain ridiculous. I sat in the chair nearest the door. I would need a quick escape on the off chance anyone turned furry. And thanks to a specific jerk, I just became the center of attention.

“Gemma?” My gorgeous but troubled alpha continued to poke at me.

Fuck it. I smiled and held up the notepad for everyone. “I drew a lovely flower, with meticulous attention to detail I might add. And note the sun in the upper-right hand corner. Sunshine makes me happy. Down here,” I tapped the paper, “this is very important. I must remember to pick up milk on my way home.”

The pencil between Alpha Devlin’s fingers snapped. “Are you not lactose intolerant?”

I rolled my eyes. Of all the things to remember about me, my dairy issues stuck with him. Not my birthday or favorite band. “The milk is for Fat Kitty. He handles lactose like a pro.” Beta Lenny from the visiting pack winked at me. I winked back in hopes of further irritating Alpha Devlin. What could I say? I enjoyed cheap thrills.

“Any specific comments regarding this meeting?” Devlin remained unperturbed.

Would he get off my case? “The meeting is going very well if not a tad long.” I inclined my head in the direction of the visiting alpha not responsible for turning my personal life into a sort of hell.

Alpha Devlin let out a long-suffering sigh. “Should we align our pack with theirs as they request?”

My fingers drummed an intricate rhythm on the table as I concentrated on the subject at hand. Hmm. Alpha Camden stared at me with obvious disdain. What an ass. Screw shapeshifters and their superiority complexes. Speaking of ass, time to knock him on his.

“They are giving you half-truths. Honestly, I don’t see the benefit of an alliance. They fear their enemy. Aligning with them will bring their war to our doorstep.” I focused on the brick wall behind the alpha couple.

“Okay. Now here is an interesting tidbit. They wish you to choose a luna from their ranks to bind our packs.” I turned to look at Alpha Devlin. “Not a bad idea. You seek a luna.” At almost twenty-two, he was turning into an old maid. No joke. The entire pack placed bets on him ever finding his mate.

Having a luna should redirect his unwanted attention away from me. Let him rule her life with an iron fist. Then maybe he would leave me the hell alone. A girl could hope.

Ugh. Alpha Camden’s luna had a colorful imagination. Her name was Bitch, a real nasty piece of work. She mentally projected her hate for me in a vulgar and unprofessional manner.

“Girlfriend, turn the volume down a notch. I hear you loud and clear. Are you a Taylor Swift fan? We both agree you need to calm down.” I spoke with a lot of hand movement so the luna would get the picture.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” She shrugged, smiling at me. 

At least, I thought it was meant to be a smile. The luna was in her late twenties and already frown lines tugged at her face. Gravity was a cruel friend. Nope. I would not feel sorry for her. I tapped my head. “I think you do, Luna. And I assure you. I do not care to hear or see more about the unspeakable things you and that omega wolf did with a certain tub of margarine last night.” I shuddered. “I struggle with sleep issues. I don’t need those scenes on replay when I’m in bed waiting for sweet oblivion to strike.”

“Sadie, what the fuck is she talking about?” Alpha Camden whispered too loudly to hide. Everyone in the room heard. No radar hearing required.

“Bitch!” She stood so fast her chair clattered to the ground. Sharp claws sprang from her fingertips. Great. We had a drama queen in the group.

“Funny. Isn’t that your name?” I pointed at her. Nobody liked to be pointed at. Judging from her snarl, I guessed my polite tone and friendly demeanor went unappreciated as well. I leaned forward, staring her down. Shapeshifters hated staring contests. It riled them up for some reason.

“Gemma.” Alpha Devlin warned.

“She walked into this room with plans to harm me.” I shot Devlin a ‘shut up and listen’ glare. “They think my death will bring the Midnight Sky Pack to its knees. Listen, sweetie. Even without me, my pack will claw yours to shreds.”

The meeting quickly turned into a pissing match. I had that effect on all things furry. Lucky me. My pack bristled in response to my rising anger. Their eyes turned amber, a prelude to transformation. Camden’s pack rose to their feet. I could feel their waves of agitation prickling me like stinging wasps.

Alpha Devlin climbed to his feet with a calculated casualness. His muscles rippled deliciously underneath the black t-shirt clinging to him like a second skin. I forgot to breathe as he stood behind my chair. He pulled my hair with gentle tugs until I stared up at him.

He made a production of leaning down to kiss me. I swallowed my protest over his offense, even when he deepened the kiss. My lips parted under his demand, his tongue forcing entrance to possess my mouth.

Oh, right. His actions had everything to do with ownership and nothing to do with affection. He reminded the other pack I was his property. I belonged to him and him alone. That’s all folks. Try convincing my foolish heart of those cold, hard facts. Just when I would have done something idiotic like respond to the kiss, he pulled away. Nope. Kissing was not a perk of the job. I considered it a workplace hazard or tragedy, if you will.

“Threatening to harm any member of my pack is a death sentence. To be clear, I have no tolerance or sense of humor when it comes to Gemma’s safety.” Alpha Devlin spoke in a calm tone. He might have been commenting on the weather.

Alpha Camden’s illusion of cool shattered when his body trembled. “She lies! The human filth is trying to stir up trouble between our packs. Humans cannot be trusted!”

“My human is to be trusted.” Alpha Devlin wrapped my long hair around his fist a little too tight for my taste. He kissed my exposed neck, the warmth of his tongue licking my skin. “Mine.” He looked at Camden, inviting him to make a move.

It was getting kinkier by the minute. Yet, I felt the venue was all wrong for the cutesy foreplay. I squeezed my legs together, hoping nobody smelled my arousal with their freaky snouts.

Luna Sadie sneered at us as she watched our exchange. Excuse me. As she watched Alpha Devlin’s display. Her intentions were vivid in her mind. She longed to peel the flesh from my body. She wanted to bathe in my blood. Unstable much? I blew her a kiss.

“Human trash! I’ll kill you!” She dove at me.