Page 31 of Forced Bonds

“Did anything happen?” a young woman asked, her eyes wide with worry.

Chris shook his head, “Nothing bad, I assure you. Well, other than the usual. I—” He held a brief pause, breathing in and out steadily. “I found and claimed my mate, and claimed another one as well.”

Their eyes widened comically and then almost as if they’d just noticed our presence at his sides, their gazes scanned us, assessing and taking in what this meant for them as a pack.

“A human and a vampire,” a man said, looking to be around fifty to sixty, but it was hard to determine with werewolves. He didn’t seem angered by us being his alpha’s mates, but perhaps he had enough self-preservation to hide his distaste for us. Only time would tell really.

“Yes,” Chris replied confidently. “I knew Benjamin Green was my fated from the first time I met him. I just had to figure out what that meant for us as a pack. I wouldn’t be able to create any heirs, and he’s human. That doesn’t matter to me anymore, though, and neither does the fact that he was already blood bonded to Salizar.” He gestured to me. “I have claimed them both as mine.”

There was silence for what felt like an eternity. Then they all bowed their heads in submission, showing us we had their loyalty as alpha’s mates. I nodded my head at them, trying to keep my cool even if I felt relieved beyond belief now that I knew we had been accepted by the strongest of the pack. I could feel that Benji’s emotions were a big mess. Although he felt relieved as well that there would be no drama from them.

One of the male wolves winked knowingly at Benji and I suppressed a growl at the sight. Chris didn’t suppress his and the werewolf froze before bowing his head again. I would need to keep an eye on that one.

Benji glared at Chris. “Don’t growl at Freddy! If it wasn’t for him, I likely wouldn’t be alive right now!”

Chris visibly flinched at his words. “I had that situation under control,” he gritted through clenched teeth.

Benji just scoffed. “Was that before or after I threw my bomb? Because the bomb could’ve been avoided if you’d been there.”

The werewolves looked both entertained and uncomfortable as they eyed Benji and Chris with worry. This wasn’t good. We were supposed to look like we were all in love and happy. Benji was letting his emotions take over and we didn’t need to make them doubt us. I decided to salvage the situation, turning my attention to the pack. “I apologize for our bickering, you see, normally we would be having some much-needed fun alone, strengthening our bond. Sadly, the situation we’re all in has come between our need for privacy and it has made us all more agitated because of it.”

Benji’s eyes grew comically wide. Yes, I’d just told the entire room he was acting out because he was horny and needed to get fucked. He could only blame himself, though. Besides, he did need a good fucking, and soon.

I was saved from Benji’s fiery glare by one of the women. She cleared her throat and asked Chris nervously, “What are we supposed to do tonight, Alpha?”

“Tonight?” Chris frowned. “We do what we do every night, we protect the treasure.”

She nodded and bit her lip. “Um, Alpha… It’s the full moon tonight.”

A rush of fear and worry came from Chris and it seemed even Benji felt it, as he eyed our alpha warily. “The full moon,” Chris breathed. “How the fuck could I have forgotten!” He was angry at himself, that much was clear.

Benji looked utterly confused when he asked, “Why does it matter if it’s the full moon or not? Can’t you just fight in your wolf forms?”

All eyes turned to Benji with a mix of indignation and repulsion. My poor bonded had no idea he’d just insulted a room full of werewolves.

“Benji,” Chris began, his tone full of patience and love. “We are werewolves, not shifters.”

“Yes, I got that,” Benji replied slowly, looking to me for help, as if I could someone explain the whole thing.

Chris continued, still just as patient. “We don’t turn into wolves at the full moon.”

Our feisty human frowned adorably at the news, his nose all scrunched up. “But you’re werewolves?”

It seemed it was only our alpha who had the patience of a saint, because the winking man scoffed and finally told Benji the truth. “We turn into werewolves, Benjamin. A half human, half wolf creature, driven completely by our instincts. We can’t control what we do under a full moon and that’s why we’re worried about tonight.”

“Thank you, Freddy,” Benji whispered, then swallowed audibly. It was obvious he hadn't known, and to think he was mated to a werewolf and only now knew what that entailed. At least I’d known and was completely ready to help out tonight as needed, as was my coven.

“We have allies coming to our aid,” I informed them, ignoring Benji’s worry and fear for now. “I think if you’re all ready to defend the treasure before you shift, then perhaps your other form will stay and continue protecting what it knows your alpha wants.”

Chris nodded in agreement. “And the vampires will help if we can’t stay and protect the treasure, but let's try anyway.”

“What about the vampires? And me?” Benji asked, his emotions now showing another kind of fear.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “You’ll be with me and my coven, as will Chris, even under a full moon he’ll want to stay with his mates.”

“But won't they attack us? We aren’t werewolves,” Benji asked, briefly glancing at our packmates almost as if he feared insulting them again.

Chris looked at Benji like he was the stupidest creature on earth. “Why the fuck would we attack a packmate?”