60 | UNEXPECTED REQUEST

Blue doesn’t come back after an hour. Or three. Or five. In fact, he’s gone so long that the afternoon light that had been filtering from the solitary window in the corner of the room fades. I can feel Blue through the bond, his presence close enough that I’m not too worried about him, despite me knowing nothing aside from the name of the trouble makers. But maybe that’s also because Blue’s scent it literally all around me. I’m oddly comforted by it as I wait for him, the emotional drain of the day finally washing over me and making it close to impossible to keep my too-heavy eyelids open…and I sleep.

Not the usual nightmare-sleep either, but *real* sleep for the first time in weeks. I’m not sure if it’s being surrounded by my mate’s scent or just me being so drained that I have no room for anything else to haunt me, but I take it.

Blue’s not there when my eyes open next…*Someone* is there, however, when I wake up. But it’s not Blue who's leaning against the adjacent wall. The girl’s inky black hair is done in a pixie-cut that makes her elvish features stand out harshly and almost prettily - even as she glares down at me. Her eyes are a pale grey, the slight silver in them almost make them too pale against the whites of her eyes. It makes her look much older than I know her to be - fifteen when I know she’s probably closer to thirteen.

“Valeria,” I greet her, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice as I address Blue and Caly’s younger sister. The girl’s never liked me, unlike her older sister - Calypso - who had immediately taken a liking to me last year when we’d met, Valeria…not so much. Though the Wolven hasn’t tried to ever physically cause me any harm, I wouldn’t put it past her to spit in my food or call me very unpleasant things in her mind.

“Scarlett,” She surprises me with the stiff reply and polite smile. But I’m still floored by the fact she bothered to greet me without the frown I’ve grown accustomed to seeing on her face. “What?” She growls in annoyance when I just gape openly at her. Her lip curls slightly as I mentally shake myself and pull myself from the tangled sheets around me. *When did I burrow myself under them? And where the hell are my shoes?*

“I just…” I gesture at her, then between us. “I’m surprised you’re being so civil.” I shrug. “I thought you hated me.”

“Yeah, well,” She grumbles, rolling her eyes and working her jaw. I can practically hear her teeth grinding. “Considering your position and your importance to Zane, I can at least be *civil*.”

“Right, *that*.” I mutter, dragging both my hands over my face and scrubbing at my face as the conversation I’d had with my mate comes back to me. It’s only then I realize I can hear the Pack in the back of my head. It’s been so long since I’ve heard so many voices in my mind at once I’d almost forgotten what it was like. I groan and attempt to ignore the bond’s now audible humming. I try not to cringe away from the voices of the Azure Pack from Blue’s side, so much louder than it had been last year the few times I did actually hear it coming through his side. I find it insane to think that I hadn’t noticed it sooner…but I did have shit I was dealing with…am dealing with. But a good night’s rest seems to have not only restored my inner-peace, but re-awakened my awareness.

“We need our Luna,” Valeria’s stiff voice has me dropping my hands and staring at her once again. “I may not like you, but I know what the Pack needs and know my brother won’t ask you outright, so…” Something in her face stills and the mask Blue often uses flutters over her fine features. “Please consider joining the Azure Pack.”

My head swims as her head bows so low her forehead practically touches the surface of the bed. I feel the shudder of her words ripple through the bond Blue and I share, the phrasing coming through as this girl means it. A formal request to an Alpha. I can feel her subservience and the vehemence of her begging. And it was a *begging* request by the weight of it. I suck in a breath as I try to figure out how to reply, my tongue feeling suddenly heavy- but I’m saved as the door to the room bursts open.

“Val, get out.” Blue is standing in the doorway, his eyes burning a raging silver, his form stuttering and stretching as his anger threatens to break his control over his form.

Before I can blink, Valeria is up and out of the chair, glaring at her older brother and all but snarling at him as she stalks out. Blue slams the door behind her, the walls quivering slightly with the force.

“Give them an inch and they fucking take a mile,” Blue hisses on a sigh, scrubbing a hand over his face in aggravation as his form begins to solidify. “I’m sorry. She should have known better than to come in here for that.” He avoids looking me in the eye as he lowers his head and looks around the room. I frown at him, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for him to finally look at me.

The weight of Valeria’s words wash over me on repeat. She went around her brother’s back - her Alpha’s back - to request that I - a person she doesn’t even like - join the Pack. Sure, Blue and I didn’t get to finish hashing things out yesterday and there’s plenty for me to feel guilty about in avoiding the topic of our bond, but if it’s bad enough that Valeria risked getting into trouble with her Alpha - brother or not - things have to be worse than Blue’s let on. It’s enough to make anger start building in my gut.

“I can feel it, you know.” I tell him icily. “The imbalance.” And I can. I have felt that things were off before I even knew Blue was Alpha. But now…it feels like an itch in the back of my head. When Blue’s eyes flick away from mine my anger spills over and I find myself right in front of him. “If you’re going to claim to be the Alpha, Blue, you need to fucking act like it!” I grab his chin and force him to look down at me. “You have to put them first!” There’s a flicker of surprise in his eyes before annoyance takes its place.

“But it’s not just about them, is it?” Blue growls back at me, using the same exasperated tone I did. “*You*’re the one who said we barely know each other, Red!” His voice raises slightly and I feel the roaring of his own anger rising to meet mine. “And we may be *mates* but we’re not *mated*. There’s a difference.” He reminds me, his eyes dropping from my eyes to my mouth as some of the anger in his eyes becomes hunger. The tension created by our words takes a sudden shift as the bond sings at our closeness. I shiver as the heat from my own anger changes to echo his desire. I release his face, forcing myself to take a step back as the air around us begins to pulse with heat. “I have no right to ask you to join the Pack until you’re ready.” He adds more softly, leaning back against the closed door, his head thudding softly as it hits the wood.

“You’re right.” I huff out on a laugh, shaking my head.

I have been repeating that we barely know each other for more than a year now. And to this day we’ve yet to have our first date. I close my eyes and drag in another breath as I think over everything. My face goes hot, despite my best efforts, as I consider my options - our options - moving forward. The Pack is unstable because Blue’s unfocused - more than that - he’s got a mate - me - but I’m not part of the Pack. It’s what’s left a void in the power structure. If Blue and I weren’t bonded like we are, if he hadn’t claimed me last year, then there wouldn’t be such a destabilizing hole in the hierarchy and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“As I see it,” I finally say aloud, not letting my swirling thoughts give away what I need to say. “There are three options. One: you could *un*-mark me-” Before I can finish the sentence Blue’s closed the distance between us, shoulders hunched and eyes bright.

“Not going to happen.” He growls, his whole body quivering. I roll my eyes and press my palm to his chest, keeping a little distance between us while also calming him with my physical touch.

“Two:” I continue over him in a slightly firmer voice, meeting and holding his gaze until his eyes have dimmed before continuing. “We can try to work this out the old fashioned way,” The way *I’d* prefer. “And hopefully the Pack won’t deteriorate before the Apocalypse,” *A sentence I thought I’d never say aloud*. I clear my throat, dropping my eyes as the last option floods my body with unwanted heat. “Or,” I mutter, staring at my hand pressed to his chest and trying to get the words out before I keel over from embarrassment. “We can, um, *complete* the process.” I can feel Blue’s heart racing under my hand, his pulse pounding against the bones and muscles between us, but echoing my own thundering heart. There’s this horrible beat of silence, both internally and externally as I wait for him to weigh in on the options I’ve laid out. I’m just about to bolt from the room when he surprises me. I feel his cool palm press against my cheek, gently raising my face to look at him. And see him barely containing a laugh.

“Don’t be so serious, Red,” Blue chuckles, raising his other hand to cup my other cheek and effectively hold my face still in his hands. His silvery-grey eyes are doing that dancing thing that I love about them. “I’m not going to force myself on you.” He presses a light kiss to my forehead and pulls me into a light yet firm embrace. “I know what you want,” He reminds me, one of his hands stroking up and down my back, the other running through my loose curls. “Just having you this close is almost as good as having you in the Pack, anyway.” He adds softly.

I don’t say anything, feeling most of the tension draining out of me now that he’s made his decision. He has a point. Things were okay during the last eight months, a little messy, sure, but the Pack’s been functioning. Blue and I were near each other just about every weekday - except for the summer months - and things in the Azure Pack had been tense for a while there - but not in shambles. Not yet.

“To be honest, I like having you at the Coven instead of that house,” Blue surprises me by adding and I pull back to stare at him openly. “It makes it easier for me to get to you - faster too. And the Coven’s better protected than that house was.” He adds, chuckling. “You’re closer.” He shrugs.

“I’ve been camped out there because of the Events,” I remind him wryly. “The house is still mine,” I continue, smirking at him when his easy expression clouds over a bit. “But I’ll probably be there until this mess is sorted. For whatever that’s worth.” I add under my breath. “So,” I hum after a beat, fighting the urge to pace around or jus move to get rid of the slowly mounting tension between us. The warmth of him has now soaked through my skin and adding to the heat still coiled deep inside of me.

“So.” Blue echoes softly, a little smirk on his lips as he looks down at me - easily seeing how awkward I’m feeling and the direction of my thoughts through the bond. I clear my throat, giving my brain a mental shake to finish what I was going to say.

“I think it’s about time we had that date.”