Chapter 67

**Rowan**

Yesterday's conversation about bonding Luna seemed to have eased us all a little and I felt less tense about the whole idea. We wanted to protect her by making sure there was clear proof she was claimed but I realized too that even a temporary bite is better than nothing. The mark Declan left would fade in a few days, but it would serve its purpose for now. So we could make the trip to the Omega store and there would be some indication that she was a claimed Omega.

As much as I find that reassuring I also feel jealous. Not of Declan per say but him being the first to mark her. I am the unofficial head Alpha of the pack but Declan is like our security. He takes it upon himself to watch out for us no matter where we go, so I understood that Luna might gravitate to the security he offered.

Kai joined us downstairs and I noticed even though he had been with Luna this morning that he wasn't wearing her scent.

"How is she?" I asked him.

He had a look about him and I wondered if he too had left his mark on Luna last night.

"She's cuddled up with Milo now," he said grabbing a plate and piling it high with eggs and bacon.

He sat down on one of the bar stools and started shoveling food into his mouth. It was a habit he hadn't broken even though we had lived together for many years now. We stumbled upon him when he was just presenting and struggling to care for himself. He was living on the streets for who knows how long and nearly feral. When we brought him home he ate like he had been starving for a long time. Over time and getting used to being in a caring environment that volatile side of him settled and he turned into the happy-go-lucky guy sitting here now.

He was different from the rest of us who still struggled with our darker sides, but he brought some balance to the pack. Luna being here has also brought peace between us that we had been clearly needing. We have been together so long but it was becoming obvious that there was a tense feeling in all of us. Us all being more aggressive than most Alphas raised properly meant we were prime candidates for becoming completely feral in a few short years. Without a bond locking all of us together we would have eventually been too dangerous to remain together.

We even had talks about what we would do when that time came. Other all Alpha packs would settle on satisfying the bond by taking in a beta, male or female. None of us felt that draw to each other and Bennett definitely wouldn't feel right being claimed by us. We are close like brothers and nothing more, so our only option would be to separate. That would mean ending our careers in the band and settling far from busy areas like most feral alphas.

"I have never seen Milo so comfortable with someone like he is with Luna. it's strange." Bennett says chuckling and taking a seat next to Kai with his own plate.

I grabbed some food and my half-finished coffee and took the free seat next to him.

"If anyone was going to melt that cold dead heart of his it would be Luna. She's like pure sunshine." Kai says wistfully.

"Ever the poet." Bennett teased earning a smack in the back of the head from Kai.

We fall silent, each of us in our thoughts when Declan walks in.

"Morning sunshine!" kai quips earning the usual scowl and grumble from our moody packmate.


'There's coffee in the pot." I let him know and get a grunt in response making me crack a smile.

Declan isn't a morning person and it wasn't uncommon to only get a few grunts from him until late in the afternoon. He fills up a giant mug and leans his back against the counter taking a long sip of the black coffee.

"So today we are taking Luna to the Omega store, but I had an idea for a song that I want to record in the studio later today," Kai says and I nod.

"That's a good idea. We won't have many chances to record demos during the tour and it would be helpful to have a few songs ready before we leave." I say.

"I need to speak to one of the designers about an idea I had. There was something I was thinking of adding on stage. Luna can't hear the music but she can feel the vibrations. I was thinking we could add some light pannels that synchronized with the beats and would add another element that she could focus on to feel the music while you guys perform." He explains and I take the idea in.

Luna would be with us for weeks on tour and I wanted her to be able to see us play and this would add another way for her to experience it with us. I liked the idea.

"That's genius!" kai says excitedly.

"I like that idea," I add and Declan nodded along.

"Great! I'll call them right now. I will want to go in and see everything is set up correctly, but we should be able to see it in action when you guys rehearse." He grabs his phone and leaves the rest of us to finish breakfast.

When I was finished eating I grab Kai's empty plate and take them to the sink to rinse off. I hear the sound of footsteps and I turn to see Milo leading Luna into the kitchen. She looks adorably ruffled from sleep and looks sheepishly around the room.

Declan moves before the rest of us and walks right up to her nearly pushing Milo out of the way. She looks up at him with a slight flush to her cheeks and he buries his face into her neck. He must be touching his bite because Luna visibly shutters and her eyes fall shut. The sight of her reaction to him sends a shot of arousal through me and I shift awkwardly where I stand.

Kai curses under his breath and fidgets like he is ready to rush over to them and get in on the moment they are sharing. When Declan finally pulls away from her he leads her to one of the free seats and grabs a plate for her. He fills it way too high and moves quickly to sit beside her. She goes to reach for her fork but he beats her to it and holds out a piece of fruit to her. She flushes again but leans forward and takes the fruit into her mouth.

It shouldn't be sexy but watching her slowly eat the fruit was the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I straighten and make my way out of the room.

"I'm going to shower," I call out as I leave and I hear Kai laugh.

"Make it a cold one brother," he calls out and I growl in annoyance.

It's going to be hard not to throw myself at Luna for much longer. My instincts to claim her were getting harder to ignore.

As much as Kai's suggestion annoyed me I took it to heart and opted for a cold shower. The thing about Alphas is a cold shower sometimes isn't enough, and that was the case for me this morning. I had to take matters into my own hands...literally before cleaning myself thoroughly. Since Luna and I hadn't been too physical since the night she texted me I didn't need to worry about her scent being on me, so I used my usual products.

I quickly dry off and look at myself in the mirror. My five o'clock shadow had depended and I considered leaving it be a few days more. Would Luna like it if I let my beard grow a little longer? I guess we would find out.

When I step out of the bathroom I bump right into someone heading into someone and I glance down to see Luna. Her eyes go wide and she quickly backs away from me. I go completely still and battle on what to do, but she is blocking my exit now. When I took her over I see that her gaze is fixed on my very naked chest now and I watch her throat bob. A spark of excitement rushes through me at her plainly checking me out. There is also a sense of pride that my Omega seems to like what she sees.

My hands twitch with the urge to reach out for her, but I don't want to spook her by being too forward. So I stand perfectly still and wait to see what she will do next.

Torture.

This is pure torture.