Crimson Moon

Twenty-Two

"What just happened?" Tahlia asked, her big eyes round with curiosity as she looked around at the adults. Being human, and a member of a pack with no Lycan females, neither she nor the twins had ever encountered a Lycan going into heat or the response that evoked in the males. As a matter of fact, Kristine had never witnessed that either. Cain glanced over at the Beta female, who was looking down the hallway after Lou, worry darkening her eyes.

All of the adults, including Cain, turned to Jack to answer the question. It was his child after all. The twins were just as confused, but they were far more uncomfortable. It was fortunate for everyone that the boys hadn't shifted yet because Lou's scent hadn't affected them nearly as much. Although, they still had strong wolf senses and were at least intrigued by her scent, even if they didn't know what it meant. All they knew was that it brought up some feelings in them that their bodies had a harder time suppressing. Going through puberty was hard enough for kids that age, but male wolves at that age around females in heat could hardly contain themselves.

Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Lou went into her heat. Male wolves have a hard time ignoring that in a female."

"Her heat?" Tahlia's nose scrunched in confusion. "Like a dog?"

"Uh, yeah. Her body was telling the males that she was ready to mate. It sends the males, especially those unmated, into a primal frenzie."

Tahlia's eyes widened in horror as her gaze swung to Cain and the warriors. "And you guys were going to fight over her, even when she was so scared? That's so disrespectful!"

"Tahl, they couldn't help it. They were caught off guard," Jack stated in a low voice.

"That's hardly an excuse," she snapped, glaring at the males. "And it's gross. You're like my uncles. I don't want to see your sexual urges."

Cain couldn't believe that a girl he'd known since she was a year old had just said the words "sexual urges" to him.

"Tahlia!" Ellen snapped. "I won't have that talk at the kitchen table."

"I'm not the one who was ready to attack Lou just because she went into heat. That's hardly kitchen behavior either, Mom."
Ellen sighed, but shot her daughter one more glare before turning it on the males. "No, it's not. Especially with young wolves present." She shot a pointed glance at the twins, who were red with embarrassment, staring down at their plates. Though Lou was no longer in the room, now that they knew exactly what had happened, why their bodies had reacted the way they did, they were mortified. Poor pups.

Cain sighed and nodded, scratching at his beard. They should be setting a better example for the twins, but none of them had smelled a female in heat in nearly a decade. It was hardly their fault it caught them off guard.

He opened his mouth to apologize to Ellen, but Tahlia wasn't done chastising them. "You should all apologize to Lou. That wasn't fair to her, what just happened."

Tahlia was entirely correct. They all knew it, but Cain wasn't sure how he would face her after what he'd said. Vince was the first one to respond to the girl. "You're right, Tahl. What just happened was wrong of us, and we're stronger than that. We'll make sure to apologize to her."

"I'll ask her if you did." The teenager's eyes narrowed in warning. Cain wasn't surprised that Tahlia was so quick to come to Lou's defense. She adored Lou. Likely because she was a new female close to her age, someone new to talk to who wasn't her mother, Caroline, or Kristine. She loved those three, but she loved having another girl around.

"I'm sure you will, girl," Darryl smirked. "And she'll tell you that we apologized. We love Lou just as much as you do, Tahlia. We want her to feel safe here, too."