The Tripartite Mate Bond Chapter 54: CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

“AXEL'S POV”

After the initial excitement at the mansion where we went to get Aurora, she promptly retreated into her shell, ignoring us all throughout the journey back to DarkMoon Pack.

I tried making conversations but was met with one word replies. Ares tried holding her hand and she removed it like he had burnt her. It was torture.

We got to DarkMoon and settled in. We planned to stay here for a few days before heading back to the pack. We will be alternating between here and there because of her. I hoped I'll be able to do this, I hated the feeling of her being gone and we were all very cranky and moody.

“Miss, please come have your bath” the housekeeper commanded her and I turned around, facing her.

“Miss? She's your Luna. Why such blatant disrespect?” I asked, holding my wolf back from forcing submission from her.

The woman began opening and closing her mouth like a fish

As if on cue, Kane entered the room.

“What is going on?” He asked, noticing my stance.

Aurora was biting her lips in nervousness, distracting me for a second.

“Your housekeeper doesn't think your Luna is worthy” I replied, looking her in the eyes.

“No, Alpha. I didn't do that, he's lying” she said and everyone gasped.

I let Kane handle his pack member’s disrespect. I heard her pleading as I went to make sure Aurora's water wasn't too hot. It was.

The woman hated her and I wondered why. This was different from the way my pack members initially felt about her. When she was kidnapped, I realized they actually liked her now. It gave me so much happiness that I would not have to force her. We didn't get to have the Luna ceremony anymore and I hated it. I guess we'll have to reschedule when the pack feels more safe.

“Did you offend her when you were here earlier? She has a vendetta against you. That water was scalding” I said to her as she walked into the bathroom.

“You forget I'm naturally hot, Axel. It wouldn't have hurt me”

Her tone showed she was still upset and I began rehearsing how to apologize to her but her body was distracting me.

She walked over and I swallowed a lump of nerves, she was magnificent.

“Princess…”

“Thank you for the water inspection, I'd like to have my bath now. You can go” she demanded and I felt like a scolded child.

“I'm sorry. We don't know what we did but I really hate it when you are upset.” I said and that seemed to make matters worse.

“You don't know why I'm upset?” She asked, her anger growing.

I looked at her, puzzled.

“Okay, maybe I should write a list. First of all, I got kidnapped and none of you cared to come for me for three good days! How about that, huh? Not enough reason to be “upset”?” She raised her cute fingers in a quote, her hand on her waist.

I took a step closer to her and she walked back, making me stop in my tracks. She was more upset than I had thought.

“Look, Juno had us in a tight spot the first few days but we were literally a step away from rescuing you before you were saved by Flynn.” I began explaining.

“Well, if he hadn't rescued me the moment he did, in fact, if he had waited one second later, I would have been dead. You guys promised you'd protect me but I've been close to death so many times since I came here and I'm tired of it all” she vented, tears forming in her eyes.

“I'm sorry, Princess. The supernatural world is a dangerous one but from now on, we will do a better job at protecting you, I swear on my life” I assured her, taking her face in my hand and wiping her tears.

I hugged her and I knew I had to leave immediately or I wouldn't be able to stop myself from taking her.

Being her first without the rest seemed like a betrayal in a weird way so I had to pull away but not without placing a firm kiss on her lips.

She wanted more but I had gotten to my limit. A minute longer and I will probably throw caution to the wind and take her like a wild animal.

“I'll be waiting outside so we can go to the pack cookout.” I said to her, my voice guttural. I could barely recognize it but she seemed to like it because the scent of her wetness became more prominent.

I felt guilty for putting her in this state without doing anything about it but I had to leave even though it was extremely difficult.

When she was done, I was already dressed and was discussing security details with Ares when she came out of her room, dressed in the pretty dress Kane’s sister lent to her.

“Wow” Ares breathed beside me. I felt the same way; she looked breathtaking with her hair longer than usual and she had taken it out of the messy bun it was in and allowed it to cascade down her body, giving her the look of a true queen.

Kane informed us they were ready for us and we walked out together, Aurora's arm attached to Kane's. It was his pack after all.

The meeting with our pack had gone well because they had had a chance to get familiar with Kane and he literally helped us win a battle so the news of peace and the whole treaty rolled off quite easily. But with the DarkMoon Pack, I doubted it would be the same.

Kane had been in coma for over a week in our pack, he had to share a mate with us and we were the last to attack them, killing their pack members so it was safe to expect hostility from them.

As we entered the open sphere where they were gathered, some in wolf form and others in human form, a low growl of displeasure could be heard, making Aurora flinch and go closer to Kane.

“We should have come with reinforcement, I don't like the looks of this” Ares said to in via mindlink.

“I think we should give him a chance to prove himself to us after the incident. Besides, if they turn against us, Aurora is tethered to the three of us, if we get hurt, so does she and their Alpha as well. But it's best to be on alert” I replied and he nodded.

Chairs were set for just two people, confirming my suspicion about us not being welcome here.

“Gerald, why do our visitors not have chairs? Is there a problem?” Kane asked someone in the crowd in a way that suggested he was making a demand.

“I'm sorry, Alpha, we didn't know if they were visitors or enemies” the man replied.

I guess his absence had given space for some people to get stubborn.

“Okay, everyone, gather around for an announcement”

More people joined us in a matter of minutes and I noticed Cora had gotten chairs for us while we waited.

“DarkMoon Pack!” He called and they responded with a howl.

“For generations before us, a feud has been between our pack and NightShade Pack. But it seemed the moon goddess had gotten tired of the bloodshed and she did the most unexpected thing ever. She gave us a mate to share. So for that among many other reasons, we have called off the war between us and established a treaty. From now on, we and the NightShade Pack are brothers” He said and to my shock, everyone began jubilating.

I exchanged looks with Ares and he was shocked as well. We expected the worst but instead, the DarkMoon Pack were happy. Maybe it was due to the end of the bloodshed or the mate situation, I couldn't figure it out but that night, there was joy and happiness in the air.

So many people came to directly welcome us, engaging in small talk and trying to do away with the decades of bad blood.

It felt really nice.