Chapter 118
After he had conned me out of my mind for an additional hour, we found ourselves back in his office. Even though my body felt weak and my legs trembled when I walked, I defied his wishes to rest. Instead, I sat on his lap while he occupied the desk, his hand caressing my thigh as I hesitantly tore at a piece of bread.
"Do you feel any different?" I looked up from my soup and gave the delta a quick glance; strangely, his inquiry was devoid of any hint of insinuation, which was appropriate given his patience.
Derrick's neck mark was as visible as mine, but the smell that filled the air around us made my cheeks flush as brightly as the soup bowl in which he was supporting me on his knee.
The fact that he still wanted me on top of him made it even more evident what we had been doing for the past few hours.
As the thought of him reclaiming me occurred, I began to wriggle in his lap and press my thighs together. I could feel his hardness pressing against me as I squirmed in his lap, making it obvious how aroused he already was.
"I feel," I murmured to myself, "more in control."
I hadn't felt anything at all when my magic first made its startling debut. Then it seemed like forever was passing, and I could feel little aspects of myself coming together that I was completely unaware of.
"I used to feel like I could control my magic better, but it felt like it was lashing out. It would come to me in short bursts and then disappear for days." I said, dipping my bread into my soup and offering Derrick a piece, but he shook his head at me. He shook his head at me as he watched and then put it in my mouth.
"I could probably keep a force field up for weeks if I had to."
The beta, the delta, and the two warriors my mate had chosen to designate, especially for my protection, were silent in the chamber.
"We know you can make force fields, but can't you do more than that?"
When Morgan raised his voice and Derrick growled at his beta's tone, I tensed myself.
I wasn't angry with Morgan for what he did because, really, how could I be when he was simply carrying out his alpha's orders? Morgan hadn't spoken much to me after he discovered that I was innocent of all the crimes he had accused me of.
Morgan said less angrily, "I mean, no disrespect to you, Luna—but we'll need more than a force field to protect us from your mother if she means to murder our king."
I hesitated, feeling a bit like a let down and not really knowing what to say. They all believed that I possessed an all-encompassing magic that I could use whenever I pleased, but I had not had much experience using my inheritance. When I was younger, I detested magic and tried to use it as little as possible, even though I hadn't had much of it to begin with. Eventually, they took it away from me to separate me from my mother. When my magic returned, it was also taken from me, disrupting the calm I had managed to find.
"My magic has always worked on a reactive basis." I gave a shrug. "Just get me close enough to my mother, and I will know what to do." Derrick growled again, menacingly, as my remarks heightened the tension in the room.
"No." Derrick was blunt in his tone. "Do you seriously believe I will permit you to do something that foolish? It would be like abandoning a puppy in the nest of a scorpion."
I turned to give him a glare.
"That sounded suspiciously like an insult, my love." I spoke with a trace of vehemence, yet even so, his face softened at my affection.
"Even though your magic is powerful, you have never used it in combat; as you mentioned, your abilities have always been reactive. You use them as cover; you haven't learned how to use the violence you'll need to stop your mother." Derrick spoke sensibly.
It was always Kyle who would fight; he had a harder heart than I did, and he could use violence. I was too mild for the impending fight; even my brother realized it at the time.
Morgan said, "Maybe if she has the right motivation," addressing his alpha, then…"
"What does that mean?"
"Alpha, perhaps we might use you as bait. If you have a strong and genuine mate link, perhaps she will use her power to protect you if she senses that you are in danger."
With a start, I got up, letting the cup of soup spill its contents all over the hardwood floor. My magic ignited within me, and before I knew what I was doing, it spiraled out of control around the beta, hurling him against the wall. I held him there, his squirming in shock and horror as my wrath spiraled out of control.
"My mother will kill him on sight if she knows that we are bonded; say something stupid like that again, and I'll snap your fucking legs in half, which would be a courtesy for your mate and child; otherwise, I would rip out your heart." Then, as soon as I announced my threat, my magic vanished.
I had struck him a blow, yet he still smirked as he sputtered to the ground.
I had passed the darn test, and he had deliberately agitated me.
Derrick's hand was on my back, massaging my spine in calming circles.
I sighed in frustration and dropped back onto his lap.
"You damned well ruined my soup," I exclaimed as Derrick placed a peck on the side of my neck. But before he could explain that he wasn't sure that my newfound abilities would keep me from succumbing to my mother's abuse, the pack link ignited in my brain, and a warrior stormed into the room.
"Alpha, a wolf that is hostile is approaching our area. Although he is not attacking, he will not yield to our orders." Derrick got up from his chair and helped me get up by holding onto my hips.
He didn't even look at me before turning to face the warriors on his side.
"You will guard your Luna with your lives; you will be at her side at all times—do you understand me?" With a nod, they went to flank me immediately.
Derrick gave me a look at that.
"This wolf might be a decoy; you will keep your distance from me until I have determined it is safe—there are no exceptions." I shook my head in agreement, even though I wasn't quite committed to abiding by his regulations.
Before I could say anything more, he was moving with his delta and beta wolves and planting a kiss on my forehead.
I trailed him at a distance, like he said.
By the time we arrived in the area, the wolf was already there, and I knew immediately who it was when I saw my closest buddy running over the grass; she hardly even looked at anyone, her sights solely on her partner.
My brothers came to aid in our victory or to instigate a war.