Claimed by The Moon (previously titled Alpha Titus)

Chapter 32

Clearing my throat, my eyes slowly travel back down to Mell who was still kneeling in front of me and checking my injured leg that still wasn't healing as quickly as I'd like.

"They got us pretty good, but maybe you should make Mell stand to his feet instead of checking our wounds. Titus and Gemini won't like that." — Kraven growls low and I nod to him, knowing that.

I could feel the tension in my bedroom. It was so thick and uncomfortable, it was almost unbearable.

So I take Kraven's advice and grab Mell's fussing hands, which makes him look up at me.

"Can you give me a moment with Titus?" I ask, gesturing with my head towards the door where I hear my Alpha growling under his breath.

Mell scoffs. "No. I don't trust him not to hurt you."

"I won't hurt him," Titus jumps in, which makes both me and Mell look over at him. "Enzo is my Beta and my bestfriend. He's safe with me."

That was debatable. I knew Titus wouldn't kill me, but Gemini? Yeah, that wolf most definitely would if given the chance.

"Don't lie to me," Mell bites back. "Almost everytime you two are alone, you and Gemini lose your shit and it's always aimed at Enzo! I heard about what your wolf did in the pack hospital."

Titus narrows his eyes at Mell but then looks at me. I swallow, holding his gaze and feeling a guilty about divulging that information.

I hadn't meant to tell Romello what happened and how Gemini had almost killed me but I was pissed off with Titus and comfortable with Mell, so it kind of just came out.

Titus growls but doesn't say anything to me, he only back at Mell who was now standing to his feet. "No offense, mate, but I've known Enzo since we were in diapers. He knows I wont harm him and if my wolf tries, I'll always stop him."

That was debatable too. The whole pack knew that Gemini was stronger than Titus. He barely had a hold on his wolf. That beast controls Titus, not the other way around and they most certainly don't live harmoniously.

If Gemini forced the shift or took control, wanted to kill me and blocked Titus out, there wouldn't be much he could do to stop his wolf from ripping me to shreds.

The thought makes Kraven whimper and go running back to the shadows. We love Titus, really we do, but he's such a looses cannon, we can't trust him anymore.

"You mean like how you stopped him from mistreating me this past week?" Mell asks, approaching Titus in that manner that called for a challenge. I swallow nervously, feeling the air thicken. "You would stop Gemini from being the brute he is, just like you stopped him from abusing me?"

It was a rhetorical question, laced with sarcasm because we all knew that Titus hadn't stopped Gemini from mistreating Romello. They'd both kept him locked away in this packhouse, forced him to stay in his bedroom for punishment a few nights and even went as far as handcuffing him to the bed.

Me being the man I am, I didn't approve of any of that. So I'd been there for Romello in ways that Titus wasn't and I'd even taken him into the forest to get him some fresh air - without Titus knowing.

I knew I shouldn't have but fuck, Mell needed someone and Titus wasn't there for him, so I took the position and now Mell was attached to me. . . and hated Titus.

It wasn't a good thing for mates, especially new mates. Romello had only been here in the pack for a few months and so far, Titus hasn't exactly been the most successful man in winning him over.

"It's his temper. He needs therapy and a sedative." — Kraven whispers from deep within the shadows.

That makes me chuckle and it catches Titus' attention. I clear my throat again and look away from him, hating the rage and the pain I find behind those steel gray eyes that hold so much of me in them too.