Page 97 of Crystal Luna

“Growl all you want, little pup,” Vel teased. “If you ever try to touch me, I’ll rip you apart.” She stood up and he couldn’t help but stare though her loose dress covered that stunning figure. “I dare you to try.”

Seemingly pleased with herself, she disappeared into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

‘Fuuuuk!’ He wanted to jump up and follow her, but Isaiah held him in place by a firm hand on his shoulder.

‘She wants you to lose it.’

‘Why is she only taunting me?’

‘Because you’re the one with the temper. She knows she can get to you.’

‘Great. So I’m fucking target practice.’

‘At least you get some sort of interaction with her.’

Though Isaiah tried to hide it, he couldn’t. Asher felt every bit of his jealousy pouring through the bond. He was getting all of her attention andin Isaiah’s eyes, Asher was simply being rewarded for bad behaviour.

‘I’m sorry,’ Isaiah sighed.

‘Maybe you should misbehave more often.’

Asher could feel his brother seriously considering it. He’d envied the little moments Asher had taken with his unrelenting attitude. Isaiah scrubbed his palms over his face, trying to keep his composure. He hated this as much as Asher did but just couldn’t bring himself to step over the thin line.

‘I want her, Ash. So fucking bad!’ He growled silently for Vel. ‘But if I do anything to show her, she’ll only treat me how she’s treating you.’

‘Welcome to the doghouse, brother.’ Asher moved over to the armchair to sit, soaking in every bit of her lingering scent. He clung to every piece of her he could get like an addict—but he no longer cared how he appeared. ‘I don’t think she’s told anyone about our past.’

‘It seems like she only told a handful.’

‘That shit-faced Rayan knows. I can tell by the way he looks at us.’

‘You would look at us like that too.’

‘Why hasn’t she told anyone?’

Isaiah shrugged. ‘The pack adores her. They were the ones to rescue her when she was at her lowest. She knows people would likely get hurt if they knew.’

The way Vel got along with her new pack made Asher jealous to an unrelenting degree. Though he loved that she was so comfortable with them, he wanted that same attention from her.

She was so different from what he remembered. Loud and outgoing compared to the shy, quiet girl that used to hide her face in a book or a sketch pad. They weren’t… enemies necessarily, but they’d had no interest in her before. Their fathers were close since her’s was beta, but it soon was clear that he wouldn’t bear a son. Ely’s father was determined to be the next beta, so it was natural that Ely became their best friend.

It was only when they got older that they began to tease her. It started with harmless jokes and jump scares—pathetic teenage pranks. But at some point, it became so much more than that. She’d never fought back, but instead distanced herself more and more.

Looking back, Asher hated what he’d told her. He’d said that she would never find a mate—because mates were for wolves and she was nothing more than a pathetic human. Things only got worse after her parents had died and she’d moved in with them. Their mother had given Vel household chores and once they’d figured out they could do the same they’d done so—abusing her vulnerability. Now, there wasn’t an ounce of that left. Vel was filled with determination to break them just as they’d broken her.

A little muffled sob made his eyes flicker up to the door where Vel was hiding behind. Her heartbeat was slow, her breathing even—she was asleep, though her dreams were anything but calm. She would likely give anything to keep her life with the Howlers.

Isaiah laid on the couch, typing away on his phone. Unlike himself, his brother hadn’t let his alpha duties slide since finding Vel. He was the picture-perfect alpha—always keeping track of everything going on.

Isaiah snorted. ‘One of us has to make sure we can bring her home to a functional pack.’

‘Not like she would care.’

‘What do you think of Beta Wayne?’

‘Why so eager to change the subject?’ Asher teased.

They hadn’t talked much with the Howler’s beta, as Alpha Heath hadn’t made him part of their meetings. Though while they were waiting for Vel to return to her cabin, Beta Wayne had shown up to ask if they could keep a secret from Vel. He’d wanted to give them a gift from the pack for her luna ceremony.