Gallant Luna

13. Vane

After Hunter and Riley's first rough night together, the bed needed to be replaced and she was a little embarrassed when she realized that everyone heard them the previous night, but told herself to get used to it and it was normal because they all had a heightened sense of hearing.

Now that they were together, they wanted to sleep in the same bed so they wouldn't be apart at night.

With their intimacy only just beginning, they couldn't get enough of each other and because they didn't get exhausted easily, it left them ripping off each other's clothes every time they were in heat.

Since Riley was completely part of the pack, she felt that her responsibilities would be overwhelming, but with Val and Dawn to guide her, she believed she could do it.

For the next few days, she found herself getting nervous whenever her input was needed, but braced herself and acted courageously in the presence of everyone and they all listened to her, which gave her a little bit more confidence to embrace what was expected of her.

One afternoon, she was called to the study by Nico and as she walked in, she was still fixing her messy hair, which Hunter had been pulling not too long ago before he left home.

After walking in, she found him seated at the table and smiled at him.

"Hey," she said to him, not even trying to hide what she and Hunter had been up to.

When he smiled back and told her to have a seat, she sensed a little urgency in his voice.

"What's going on?" she asked, sitting down with narrowed eyes.

"You've learned a lot since you came here," Nico said, resting his elbows on the table.

"Yeah and it's mostly thanks to you," she said to him.

"Yeah and that all had to do with our pack, but now it's time to learn about other packs and other beings." His usual silly and goofy tone was missing.

"Why would I want to learn about other packs and other beings?"

"It's important if you're gonna survive."

She chuckled, thinking it was a joke, but when she sensed how serious he was, she composed herself, curious about what he would tell her.

He first told her about how most of the other packs were enemies, but only few weren't and would annually meet at the pack meeting organized by the council of elders so everyone would continue to live in peace.

The more she learned about the battles and reason for the annual meetings, the more she realized there was a heavy target on their backs.

"So you mean to tell me other packs have their eyes on this estate?" she asked.

"Yeah, at least a few of them. You've seen how massive the Mayfield Estate is and it's been our territory for a long time. We've defended and protected it at all costs so it's not taken from us."

"But why wouldn't the other packs respect that this is our territory?" she asked.

He smiled, making her raise her eyebrows.

"What is it? I don't think I said anything funny," she said.

"You said 'our territory' and that just freaking warms my heart," he said with pride.

"I did?" She wondered, then firmly nodded. "Yeah, it's our territory."

"Normally," he continued, "other packs should respect that the Mayfield Estate is ours, but they don't because their territories are way too small and they believe they should have a portion of it, and I think that's absolutely stupid."