"This is Bell," I introduced quickly. "Killion's, urm... brother."
The guys at school were right. If tonight proved anything, I was a terrible liar.
"Yeah, my brother." Killion attempted to help, but from the volume of the growling around us, it only made things worse.
Ben looked carefully at Bell. "He has golden eyes like your mate."
Harvey considered this. "Ki doesn't have a brother, princess."
Rebel growled at Harvey. "My princess."
Killion quickly inserted his arm between them. "Ah, he's kind of possessive."
Rebel soothed my frazzled hair down, and like magic, it completely settled, falling placidly at his touch.
"Oh my." Mum said, putting a hand on her heart.
Pop. Just pop.
I glared at Ben and Harvey. "You two are supposed to be on my side!"
"We are." Ben shrugged. "We're making sure he doesn't get killed by your Dad."
Oh yeah, there was that... Dad, in King Kong mode, just standing there with all his glorious hackles up.
Dad stalked up to Rebel, and the both of them squared off.
I groaned, crossing my arms to wait it out.
Male wolves...
Killion, on the other hand, backed off immediately.
Harvey, Ben, and Beta Lucas pretty much put my mum and Savy behind them.
Never get in between two alphas fighting, because it's really dangerous. The alpha static and low growling, open snarling… They didn't even need to exchange blows for the atmosphere to become stressful. I noticed Beta Lucas eyeing the door as if marking the nearest evacuation exit.
"How old are you?" Dad asked.
"Eighteen," Rebel answered.
"Why do you have no scent?" Dad asked again.
"I'm traveling in a dream," Rebel answered.
He lifted his eyes to the window. Dad followed suit, his eyes widening at the sight of the full moon where the crescent moon should be.
And for no reason I could fathom, this was all Dad needed.
He raised his hand and took Rebel's in a firm handshake. "Nice to meet my daughter's mate."
Seriously?
"Likewise," Rebel answered. "I'm told you were expecting company."
And then Dad's laughter boomed. "Yes, quite right, we are."
Dad patted Rebel on the back.
"We were just setting up the trap for them. Come, our guests are arriving soon. We should get to my Beta's house... Have you met my mate? This is my Luna."
Dad introduced Mum to Rebel as they headed down the stairs together. I had never seen my dad so chatty.
Okay... that went surprisingly well.
"I'm going to change out of this wet shirt," Killion told us. "Don't leave without me."
Savy looked at me. "Is that really your mate?"
"No," I answered bitterly. "He's my brother."
Savy cackled softly.
I finished packing my gym bag and grabbed my school bag. At the last minute, I put my Lycan homework file into it. Who knows? I might get some done at school on Friday.
I was so bad at lying, I couldn't even convince myself.
Outside on the landing, I heard Dad say, "I accept you as my daughter's mate, but she is still very young. I hope you understand not to cross the line until she reaches mating age."
Mum added, "It's better to take things slow with her... She has led a sheltered life, so she is more naïve than other girls her age."
"Yes, best to keep it PG!" Beta Lucas announced loudly.
OMG. No...
Somebody wake me up from this nightmare. I dared not look to see any of my betas' reactions.
The Moon Goddess was messing with me.
For some reason, she had decided to help me transcend the highest limit of embarrassment. Was she punishing me for something? I retaliated by sulking, and everyone else had the sense to leave me alone.
{Rogues are near}
With my mood as it was, you should be feeling sorry for the rogues.
Because I was in such a bad mood, I just sulked on the sofa while Savy and Mum made up the fake sleeping lumps on the bed, and everyone else rushed to set up the rest of the trap.
Rebel made himself useful, helping Beta Lucas figure out the new cameras and setting them up around the house. By the time they got to the living room, Beta Lucas was talking to Rebel like a long-lost son, telling him stories of his war days, which for some reason pissed me off more.
But when Beta Lucas called Rebel "Luna," and Rebel paused before very reluctantly answering, I felt happy.
I would like to have said it was my heart feeling proud and happy and one of those sappy feelings of having my mate acknowledge his position in my pack... But if I were completely honest, it was because I knew he hated the feminine Luna title. And seeing him forced to swallow his pride and acknowledge it, hahaha, that soothed my bad mood somewhat.
Yes, I know it was my fault he was here, not his. I mean, my wolf was the one who dragged him here from his dream. But at the moment, I was in too black a mood to be reasonable or grown-up about it.
I continued sulking.
{Rogues are near}
{Gammas are near}
{Warriors are near}
This time, Wolfie was restless. I got up to check on my betas. They were still sealing the front door. I went upstairs to the second-floor balcony door facing Beta Lucas' home. I unlocked it. This would be our entrance should we need it.
When I got downstairs, everyone was gathering to leave. Harvey was picking up my gym and school bags from the sofa where I had been sulking earlier.
"Twenty rogues, six in wolf form, four in vehicles, and the rest on foot," Beta Lucas announced.
"They would expect us to capture some of them," Dad said thoughtfully. "I suppose we shouldn't disappoint them. Give the order to cull them off just a bit."
"Gamma Harry, Jonah, and the other warriors are on standby at the pack house," Beta Lucas said. "I'll send out a fringe patrol tonight to hunt a few down."
{Rogues are near}
{Deltas are near}
Wolfie was ready to run into battle. It seemed like the game had begun.
"Let's go," Dad said, and we all beelined into Beta Lucas' home under the cover of darkness.
Beta Lucas' house was dark, except for the basement, where there were several screens set up.
Mrs. Beta and Lizzy were waiting for us. There was tea and biscuits, too.
"Whoa, another hottie. Sam is always picking up hotties nowadays," Lizzy commented.
Rebel growled. Killion grabbed his arm to hold him down, but Rebel merely clenched his jaw and nodded a greeting.
Mrs. Beta's eyes widened. She stared at Rebel.
"I was supposed to test the new cameras from here," Beta Lucas explained the temporary setup. "I was setting up to test them this Sunday, but this is a good opportunity to test the surveillance system, too."
Beta Lucas looked at his mate, who was still staring at Rebel. Rebel looked uncomfortable, but he refused to back down under her scrutiny.
"He..." Mrs. Beta said at last. "He's not really here, is he?"
"I'm dream traveling," Rebel confirmed.
"I had never thought I would ever meet a wolf with dream-traveling powers in my lifetime," Mrs. Beta marveled.
Rebel blinked. "I'm not."
"Then how?" Mrs. Beta asked.
Rebel looked at me.
Mrs. Beta gasped. "Oh, of course! The blue wolf! I can't believe it! It was right here in front of me... I didn't expect it to be so literally blue... But then, that means you are..."
"Our Luna, yes." Killion quite enjoyed Rebel's dilemma with the Luna title and was all out to torment him. You could tell they were good friends that way.
"It's very nice to meet you, Luna. My name is Willow," Mrs. Beta introduced herself with a warm smile. "I'm Lucas' mate. This is Lizzy, my daughter, and you must have already met Ben, my son. They're twins."
Rebel managed to bite back his growl and nod.
"My mate calls me Bell," he said after a prolonged pause. I think he was torn about giving his real name to Mrs. Beta.
If he said his name was James Lorent, that might not sit well, since his family was suspected of sending rogues to attack us now. If he said his name was Rebel, well... that's a pretty famous fight dog name, last I checked. And unlike Killion, Rebel looked exactly like Rebel. The only difference was that he wasn't topless or in tight leather pants right now.
Poor guy would have to live with Luna or Bell until he woke up from this dream.
"Lunabell." Killion grinned. "Such a pretty name."
Rebel growled then and struck Killion quite hard in the stomach. Killion crouched down in pain... You could tell they were good friends that way.
"Poor Ki. Don't provoke the Luna." Savy patted Killion's head. It occurred to me then how Savy and Mum had accepted Killion so quickly into the family.
"Our new Luna is really something," Harvey said with a low whistle. Then he turned and winked at me.
It occurred to me then how everyone around me had accepted Rebel as the next Luna automatically.
Rebel growled at us, and Harvey stepped away from me.
I didn't feel like dealing with Rebel's possessive nonsense right now, so I simply averted my gaze.
{Rogues are near}
"I see them," Ben said from in front of the screens.
The camera on the back porch had caught sight of glowing eyes and some fur.
{Rogues are near}
My hair was flaring in excitement. We were so going to nail this! My hair was probably a gambler's worst nightmare. I'd have to shave my head to play poker. But then again, since my lying skills were so dismal, I probably should just stick to fighting things out.