Carver regretfully stops his growls and lowers his eyes from those of his Alpha.
"What are you doing with Sage's sister?"
"She's mine," Carver claims gruffly, pulling me closer to counteract the little space I had made in my struggling.
"Faith is still a juvenile and you cannot claim her as yours until she is old enough for her wolf to recognize yours. Unhand her immediately," Mason orders, pouring his Alpha command into it. Carver forcefully lets go of me and I quickly step out of his arms and run to Sage's. She pulls me against her chest while I hide my face in her neck. I feel pressure on the side of my head where she presses her lips soothingly.
I can feel Carver's eyes burning holes in my back but I don't dare turn around.
"Now Carver... why the hell did you think you had a right to growl at my mate, your Luna?"
I hear Carver's heavy exhale as his eyes leave me. Only then do I sneak a peak at the male who now stares angrily into his alpha's eyes.
"Faith is mine, Alpha. Juvenile or not, she knows it just as much as I do," his eyes find mine again despite my attempt to hide the fact that I'm watching him. This time I can't look away. "You of all people should know how possessive a male is of his mate."
"Still no right to pick a fight with my mate, Carver. If you weren't one of my best friends you would be severely punished in front of the pack. But since you are, I will punish you differently. Until further notice, you are not allowed to approach or otherwise intimidate Faith without her full consent. Do you understand Carver?"
Carver roars out at this, parts of his body shifting to wolf form while the rest of his bones and muscles threaten to follow suit.
"She's mine!" He claims, canines descending.
Mason's nails grow out into dark claws and his eyes become black pits. I don't know how my sister doesn't fear him. This side of him- the side I have grown up hearing about- is pure hostility and dominance.
When the two begin to walk towards one another in menacing stances, my heart constricts in pain and my wolf howls out in sorrow. Our mate is strong but Mason is an alpha by birth. Mason is being challenged and will fight to the death for his birth right, friend or not. Carver is blinded in rage and possessiveness. He is not thinking or fighting clearly. There is no chance.
"Stop him Sage," I plea, pulling away from her as my wolf pushes me to help our mate.
She huffs in response but moves swiftly in front of her mate, placing a hand on his chest to push him away from his friend.
Mason growls at her and she growls right back, canines exposed. This side of my sister is new to me. She has no fear of Mason. It is nice to see her this way. Confident.
Conner broke her down to nothing. She would never fight back because he'd dish it back at her ten times worse. But here... with Mason she is stronger.
My mate shifts to attack, still in the mindset of getting to me.
My scream reaches all our ear as I move in front of my sister, blocking her back from his claws.
Just before his claws meet my cheek, he pulls away. He stumbles backwards away from me, horror in his dark brown eyes.
My eyes find his easily and I know they reflect my fear.
"Faith!" Sage screams, checking my face for injuries even though we all saw him restrain his movement.
"Friend or not, you were willing to attack your Luna. This will not go unpunished," Mason growls out, his angry voice vibrating the walls around us. "I, Mason Taylor, Alpha of Bloodlust, remove you, Carver Stevens, from the position of Gamma of Bloodlust. One more strike against this pack and you will be exiled."
Sage gasps and Carver grips his chest as if in physical pain. An ache spreads in my chest and I have to look away from him, my wolf growling angrily at Mason.
"Mason he's one of your best friends!" Sage exclaims, her expression worried as the weight of this stupid quarrel sets in.
"He tried to hurt you. None of my friends would do that," Mason answers coldly, turning from us all and walking out of the room.
The room is silent despite Carver's heavy breathing.
"Sage?" I finally break the silence, my voice barely above a whisper.
She looks at me to show that she in listening and I continue, "Why were you so angry when you came in if you were excited just a few moments ago upstairs?"
"Because you are my baby sister and my responsibility. You finding who you believed was your mate was exciting but I never wanted you to act on those feelings until you knew for sure. You see where a pre-seventeen relationship got me. I just want to make sure you are safe."
"I'm not a baby, Sage. And Carver isn't Conner."
"I didn't think Conner was Conner," she barks back, clearly offended by my insinuation that she could have known how physically abusive Conner was before he smacked her for the first time.
"I know. I know Sage. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. But Carver... I do believe he's my mate. And he agrees. There's no way that's coincidence. I might not be old enough to have my wolf screaming the word 'mate' over and over again, but I feel that he and I are for each other."
"I don't want you near him until you know for sure. I don't want you making any mistakes or giving him... anything meant for another male."
Carver growls at what she's implying while I blush a dark red.
"Sage... I am confused enough without you ordering who I can and can't approach. You should know by know that I can make my own decisions."
"I almost walked in on you giving out your first kiss! You just met him an hour ago!"
I glare at her for giving that information away. Carver doesn't need to know how inexperienced I am.
"Again, I make my own choices."
"Well you just caused your mate to lose his position because you were 'confused' so I hope you're happy with your 'choice'," she snaps.
"Sage come on. You aren't really going to let that happen are you?"
"It happened, Faith. This isn't a game. Carver isn't a puppy for you to call on only when you feel like it. You were struggling to get away from him when I walked in and I reacted to protect you. If I had seen you happy, none of this would have happened. And now you act as though you want him. That's not fair Faith. You can't just lead him on and shove him away and lead him on again. If you think you are old enough to accept him as your mate, you better start acting like more than a juvenile with no concern for consequences."
"I'm sorry, Sage," I whisper, feeling my shoulders sink with disappointment in myself. She may not actually be my Luna yet, but she has the power to be and the weight on her words bruises my wolf's ego. On top of that, she's my big sister and I hate when she is mad at me or disappointed.
She sighs, obviously knowing how ashamed I am. "Let's just go to bed. We can talk more during the trip."
"Wait... what are you talking about?"
"Well I'm not leaving you here alone now." She looks at me like I'm crazy.
"Go be with your mate, Sage. This week isn't the time for me to interfere."
"I'm supposed to protect you Faith. Even from yourself. We'll talk later."
"No we will talk now. I am not going and crashing your sex trip!"
She gasps before recovering and narrowing her eyes on me. "I don't know what you think-"
"I may have only just gotten here but people talk Sage. You have sex this week and get knocked up, or you lose your mate and go back to Conner. I think I know your choice."
"What gives you the right to speak to me like that? What has gotten into you?"
"Just go Sage."
"Go upstairs now Faith. I will deal with you when I come up," she growls, not taking kindly to my attitude. My wolf stirs restlessly, howling and growling and whining. Her sounds of displeasure echo endlessly in my head as I follow Sage's command and stomp away like a spoiled five year old.
I don't know what's wrong with me.
**Sage's POV**
Faith grumbles and stomps to the stairs, her fists clenched in anger.
When she is completely out of earshot, I then turn back to Carver who has sat down in a barstool with his head in his hands.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do in this situation. I have never had Faith be so argumentative and moody. I know it's strictly due to the fact that her wolf is now beginning to stir to life with the recognition of her mate. Although the recognition of the bond isn't fully developed, the possibility that her wolf is mature enough to know Carver is hers is very plausible.
I want to be happy for her. I want to be excited that she has found her other half. But I'm not ready to let go. I'm not ready to accept that my little sister is fleeing her juvenile years. I'm not ready to hand over my responsibility of protecting her to a guy neither of us really know.
But all these things are selfish. And it is out of my hands anyway. Fate has stepped in and I have no choice but to accept that Faith is going to be with him.
"Carver-"
"I'm sorry Luna. I'm so sorry I almost hurt you. I don't know how I lost control so fast. My wolf has never reacted so harshly."
"She's your mate. It wasn't your fault, really. You'll learn to control his new territorial tendencies. It won't be easy. Mason still likes to wolf out on me and those around us who even look at me. But you'll both learn. Give it time."
"I can't believe that happened," he whispers after a few moments of silence pass. I move closer to him and gently lay my hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"I'll talk to him. He didn't mean it. He did something stupid out of anger but there is no one more fit to be his third in command. It will be fixed. I promise."
"Why are you being so nice to me? We almost tried to fight each other."
I shrug. "Nobody ever claimed wolves to be the most intelligent species. Nor are we level headed. But we are who we are. Powerful, territorial badasses," I smile, thankfully earning one back. "I know I'm new to this Luna thing, so I was expecting some power struggles. We'll get this eventually."
"You're doing a pretty good job, Luna. Especially with the comforting part," he grins. He stands up and hugs me against him, surprising me at first. Slowly I hug him back, smiling at his praise. "Thank you Sage," He mumbles next to my ear.
I pull away first and walk towards the stairs, leaving him with his thoughts. Just before I leave the room, I cast him one last look. "I'm glad you're Faith's mate. I'm sorry I didn't start with that but you'll be good for her." He smiles widely, puffing out his chest slightly as I help grow his ego. "Just promise me one thing? Keep her safe."
He turns serious and nods back. "With my life."
I nod back and then leave to go apologize to my sister and take back what I said about forcing her on the trip.