Connor

I couldn’t stop the snarl that tore through my throat at his disrespectful comment. It seems neither could the other wolves around me. No one speaks of a Luna that way. A symphony of growls escaped them, making the eyes of the council widen in shock.

Except Leon.

He stood there with that grin on his face. The one I wanted to smack right off.

“My Luna knows her place. It’s right next to me so you can either put a lid of the misogyny, or you can turn right the fuck around and leave my pack.” I spit at them, the wolves around me yipping in agreement as Hope steps up next to me. I want to keep her behind me in a protective way, but that would go against what I just said, so I grab her hand and hold it tightly.

Leon scoffs at my words and rolls his eyes.

“I didn’t realize you were one of those “new age” alphas who think females are our equal. There’s a reason they are smaller, weaker. But that’s beside the point. We can’t simply leave, unfortunately. We were informed of a potentially dangerous wolf on the premises.” Leon’s eyes flicker between the wolves and myself, never even glancing at Hope.

“His name is Asher. He attacked our pack with a mix of rogue and his own pack for an army. He’s in the cells and will be dealt with accordingly. You have no purpose here.” I say, hoping they only heard about the fight. Maybe they don’t know about Hope’s abilities at all. But Leon waves off my words and his grin slips before his eyes narrow on me.

“It’s not the traitor we’re interested in. We have no doubt he will be dealt with.” He says and I shrug my shoulders.

“That’s a shame. I thought the whole purpose of the council was to punish those that go against our kind. I would think an alpha who attacked a pack for the sole purpose of stealing another alpha’s mate to keep her locked up and bred against her will would be a reason for the council to get involved. If not, I’m afraid I don’t see what the purpose for your little group is at all.” I trying to keep my voice calm, almost bored sounding, when really all I feel is rage that these men deem themselves above us but can’t be bothered to maintain the façade they built themselves up on. Leon snarls at my disrespect and Dean takes a step forward on my right, while Kade moves forward on Hope’s left.

“Of course if we had known about this problem, we would have been happy to assist.” Leon says, trying to lower some of the tension. His eyes are so brown it’s hard to tell if they’ve flipped to the black of his wolf, but I stay on alert regardless. No one will touch my Hope.

“If any of the alpha’s I’ve spoken to in the last few weeks had any idea how to contact the so-called Werewolf Council, you would have known about it. It seems you only crawl out of your hole when you’re worried someone may dismantle you.” I don’t keep the growl from my voice this time.

‘If I can agitate them to get them to attack first, we can end this and not have to worry about them.’ I mind link to our group. There are a few subtle nods, informing me they understand.

“Listen, pup” Leon snarls. “your disrespect will not be tolerated much longer. We have been lenient, due to the stress you’ve recently undergone, but you’re walking a fine line. So, how about you invite us in, allow us to do our investigation, and this will all be over soon.” He says with a sneer that makes my skin crawl. I feel Hope’s fear through our bond and squeeze her hand reassuringly.

“No. You are not welcome into our pack. If you attempt to enter, my wolves will take that as a threat. Now, tell us why you are here.” I say, my voice hard. I let some of my alpha aura out, even though these are old wolves and previous alphas, I should still affect them. It seems this is exactly what Leon wanted me to do, as he smiles and looks around at his cohorts.

“So it’s true? You forced another alpha and his entire pack, including rogues into submission? How did you do it, pup? How is this possible?” He asks, taking a few steps towards me. Two of the border patrol wolves snarl and leap out at him. I feel Hope’s shield encompass us, the warmth traveling along my body like a blanket. Hope and I look at each other in confusion at the line of questioning.

“What are you talking about?” I ask and Leon meets me with his own confused glare.

“We were told a wolf in this pack brought another to it’s knees, using only an alpha command. Is that not accurate?” He asks while giving our wolves annoyed looks.

“Yes, it’s accurate.” I say, not giving away any other information.

“Then how did you do it?” He asks and the realization clicks.

‘He thinks it was you.’ Hope links me and I look over at her.

‘Good. That will keep you out of danger.’ She shakes her head and looks over at me almost irritated.

‘No, it’s time the world sees a strong healer, rather than one needing constant protection. I am healer. Hear me roar.’ She smiles and winks at me before taking two steps forward, angling her body in front of me, taking a protective stance.

“Connor is not the one with the aura to bring every wolf in this world to their knees. I am.” She says proudly, with her chin held high and shoulders back. Leon chuckles at her and looks behind him to the rest of the council who all smile and shake their heads.

“It’s sweet that you want to protect your mate, little one, but surely you don’t expect us to believe a girl such as yourself has that kind of power.” He says, like he’s speaking with a child and I feel my hackles raise. My wolf can’t tolerate any more disrespect from this male towards our mate.

“Wanna bet?” Hope asks with a sly smirk and a glint in her eye.

Slowly, Leon begins to feel the weight of Hope’s aura. The moment he realizes the truth his eyes widen in fear and his body begins to shake. His face turns red with the effort of fighting her orders. The rest of the council watches in horror as their leader begins to fall in front of my girl.

“Submit.” Hope barely whispers, but Leon’s knees buckle beneath him and he lowers himself to the ground, face down with his arms stretched out as if he is worshipping at her feet.

Hope lets out a little giggle and I can’t help but smile at her. Seeing him like that made my wolf feel vindicated, I can’t imagine how hers feels.

“Stop!” Leon yells and Hope waits a beat before releasing him. He breathes heavily and rises to his feet so quickly he nearly falls over.

“Leon?” One of the other men tries to get his attention, but his wide terrified eyes have yet to leave Hope.

She crosses her arms and smiles at him as I walk up next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her temple before pulling her back closer to our wolves, in case the council decides to attack. Leon looks from Hope, back to his group, then back again before beginning to sputter out in indignation, much to Hope’s delight. She rocks back and forth on her heels, giggling so hard she has to hold her stomach. Kade and Draven huff out their own wolfy laugh while Dean yips in amusement. Ever the head warrior, her father and Colby stay silent, eyes fixated on the enemy.

“How?” Leon asks when his words finally find him. “How is this possible?” He asks and Hope finally stops giggling, wiping the tears from her eyes. When she looks back at him, her face hardens, and her eyes narrow in a glare that would likely kill most men.

“Because the Moon Goddess bestowed me with these gifts. That is how.” She says.

“Gifts?” Leon asks. “What more can you do.”

“I am a healer.” Hope explains and Leon scoffs.

“A simple healer? Why would the Moon Goddess bestow such a gift on a Healer?” he asks, not hiding the angry bite in his tone. Hope recognized it, and her response is dripping with similar venom.

“Because of selfish assholes like you.”