Wyatt
"Did we really fuck up twice in one day?" I asked Anthony.
"I think that one was all you." He said. "I would have paid to see the look on all those bitches faces when they picked up their pups covered in paint."
"All I meant was I need to know who am I going to have to appease to clean up her literal mess." Why was suddenly everyone so sensitive?
"I don't think she wants you to. I think she was quite proud of herself for pissing them off."
"Proud of herself?" Why would she be proud of herself?
"She's right. They do sit around all day, and they don't even take care of the pups. Someone else will have to give them a bath, feed them, and, in many cases, put them to bed. Cause by then, they pass the pups to their mates pretending they were dealing with them all day and need a break." Anthony kept looking down at his shirt. "I am annoyed I have to change before dinner, though. Small price to pay, I guess."
"This could be a new fashion statement?" I asked him, and he rolled his eyes.
"You wanted her to be happy here, to feel safe and part of things? I guess this is her way of doing it."
"Then I will not do anything to take it away from her." He was right. I needed to let her be. As long as she wasn't going on a killing spree, there wasn't much harm in what she did- other than to my ego. Over time, I could steer her towards other things, but that could wait. At least she didn't seem to want to run away anymore.
"You better not." Anthony threatened me. "Cause I have to spend my time protecting her. I want that to be as pleasant as possible. And I've seen Richard's Beta with Lissa. He is miserable all the time."
"Maybe if Richard would keep it in his pants even for a night, she'd be a little more pleasant." I shot back at him.
"I'm not defending my little brother, but I won't defend Lissa either. They both have made a mess of their lives. I asked you to give him the pack to get him away from me for a reason," Anthony reminded me. It was hard to always clean up his messes here, if you remember. It was easier to let him have the dumpster fire that is his pack all to himself."
"Yes, well, I did it to keep you happy, and I guess I'm willing to do what I can to make our luna happy to keep you happy as well," I promised him.
"That benefits you way more than me." He was right.
We headed back to the house and did ultimately change. I kinda thought Val would be there, but she wasn't. She had showered and disappeared. She made it a point to leave her paint-stained clothes on my side of the bed. How cute. I asked one of the maids to come up and deal with it and to be quick about it. If she knew that's how I handled it, she would be pissed.
Was I wrong? Was I too worried about my own image to ignore her happiness? Was my image even at risk, or was that all in my head?
'That one. You are worried about the wrong thing.' Felix jumped in. 'Did you see how happy the pups were when they left the school? Or how impressed people were watching her fight? They might be concerned about her, but they also love her.'
'You mean accept the traitors?'
'There's always a few in the pack.'
'True.' There were almost always wolves who were disgruntled by something. A strong alpha keeps them in line. I was strong enough to shut down any real threats. So why was I worried?
'Great question.' Felix mumbled and laid down in my mind.
Anthony
Back in my room, I took off my shirt and smiled, staring at it. The paint had dried, and it smelled just like her. I inhaled it, and it brought back the memory of her. What I didn't know when we first met was... this. How she would be in a pack. What she could do. And I firmly believed she could do anything.
'It is nice.' Xander said. 'And I did think that was genius. She should be our luna. Take her back already. With her help, we could reestablish the pack easily. With someone less capable, it would be a lot more work.'
'I agree, except maybe not that last part. We cannot take her back. It's too late, Xander. However, I should follow her more to watch the messes she makes. I rather enjoy them.' If Wyatt wanted to be annoyed, let him. I'll spend all my time cleaning up her messes if I have to. Maybe she can breathe some life into this place that was so dead for so long. We were existing, not living. Val showed me that and showed everyone else that. They didn't like the truth, but I did.
'I enjoy the idea of following her around. That would be a great view of her.' Xander had a thing about coming up behind she-wolves. All the wolves did, but I think he was a little extreme about it. In this case, I would also enjoy the view, so I didn't argue.
I folded the shirt and tucked it in my nightstand, not wanting to wash it. It wasn't just the smell. It was nice to truly see her happy. I don't think she has been since coming here. The last time I saw her happy, she was sleeping in her bed next to me. So, I really hoped it continued. If I couldn't have her, at least I wanted to see her happy.
'I agree.' Xander responded to my thoughts. 'I like seeing her happy.'
But I really liked seeing her eyes studying me while I was on my knees for her. No one else would ever be worthy of that. Fuck. I cursed at myself. Somehow, I needed to get past it, or I would lose my mind.
How could I ever do that when everything she did today made me love her even more?