And then there were four

Glowing surprises

Placing my hand on my head, I groaned at the slowly forming headache at the base of my skull. I wanted to believe everything had been a dream, but I knew better. My life was far more complicated than that.
I was shocked though, that none of the guys were here to greet me as I awoke. As I took the opportunity to look around again, I took note I was freshly washed and changed into a clean pair of clothes.
However, that wasn't what intrigued me the most. It was, instead, how brightly colored everything seemed to be. It was as if someone had completely enhanced the color and view of every object around me as I slept.
My senses overloaded as I let it all soak in.
"This is different," I mumbled as I slipped from the bed and padded my way into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I caught a glimpse of myself. Long reddish- brown hair hung down to my waist, healthy and shining.
The sight almost caught me off guard, but what caused my heart to quicken was the color of my eyes.
     An iridescent sheen of blue stared back at me. The various shades illuminated against the white of my eyes. It was shocking to remember looking one way, and then suddenly waking up to see you have completely changed.
"Holy shit. What the fuck is this?!" I exclaimed, looking in the mirror. "My eyes look like the aura lights. The hell... Oh, they really do have a sense of humor, don't they?"
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I looked up towards the ceiling as if speaking to the sky itself. "Very fucking funny, Frigg. How the hell am I supposed to walk around looking like this? Damn it? This isn't what I meant by wanting to get back to my normal life!"
Frustration filled me but was quickly cut off as the sound of strained voices floated towards my ears. Damian was pissed off and arguing with someone below. I wasn't sure why I could hear things this clearly but wasting no time, I moved quickly from my room, and to my surprise, I was at the stairs faster than I expected.
Mental note: address that shit later.
I stared down at the foyer below. None of them noticed me as they stood on edge with three men I did not recognize standing before them. Two looked to be police or guards of some sort and the other was an elder man with an eerie disposition.
"This is bullshit!" Damian roared. "Things came up, and we weren't able to be there."
"It doesn't matter, Damian. We have to take into you custody for failure to appear. You're lucky we aren't taking you all," the man snapped, not wanting to see reason.
I wasn't sure what was going on, but I wasn't going to let them take Damian anywhere. In a flash, I was down the stairs and standing next to Damian, staring up at the man in front of him with curiosity.
"My apologies, I'm Ivy. I don't believe we have met before."
They all looked at me, shocked, as the man looked towards the stairs, confused as to how I just appeared at Damian's side. "You-where did you just come from?"
Frowning, I bit my inner lip and shrugged, "I don't understand what you mean. I have always been here. Now, what seems to be the problem?"
"Ivy-" Damian said softly as I quickly held up a finger, shushing him. It was more subtle than me telling him to shut the fuck up in front of these men.
"You were all summoned to the council and refused to come. Therefore, we have to take him into custody-"
   "Oh, please. I can explain that," I smiled cheerfully, watching as the man's eyes darted to the teeth. I hadn't gotten a proper look at them being as distracted as I was, but as I ran my tongue over them, I could feel how sharp they were.
"Uh-I'm sorry, but this is pack business and I don't know," he replied, narrowing his brows as if to show he was better than I was.
Shoving my hand into his for a handshake, I smiled, not giving him a choice but to shake my hand. "I'm Ivy Thorne. Their mate and the Luna of this pack. I do hope you will honor my place within this government."
Laughter from James caught my ear, causing me to smirk, but never once did I let my eyes fall from the man in front of me.
"Unfortunately, I can't verify that, so you need—"
     Gripping the man by the throat, I pulled him close and inhaled his scent deeply. "As I was saying... I don't tolerate disrespect, sir. I have warmly introduced myself and have been willing to explain what's wrong."
"Get your hands off me!" he groaned, gripping my hand as if getting me to release him was a difficult task. "I'll listen... I'll listen..."
Thrusting him backward, his guards looked ready to shit themselves over how terrified they were. "Would you boys like some iced tea? Coffee perhaps." I cheerfully said to collect myself. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement."
     "No, no," the man coughed, rubbing his throat. "I see that you were simply sick before... Is that right?"
My smile brightened even more hearing his words, "yes, of course, council elder. It was simply I was sick and being a new mate, I have been trying to adjust. I'm sure you understand how that can be."
"Yes..." he muttered. "Could we perhaps reschedule for three days from now?"
"Of course. That would be lovely and the men and I will all be present at the meeting. I am sure we can clear up whatever issues there may be."
Giving a single nod, he turned to his men, and the three of them scrambled from the front door that I quietly closed behind them. I felt powerful and alive having handled them. I wasn't sure what the meeting was for or whatever, but I was chuffed.
   "That went well," I laughed as I turned to face the four men who had changed my life forever. Damian's eyes were wide and his mouth parted slightly, as was James'.
     However, Hale and Talon stood in the background with their arms crossed over their chest and proud smiles on their lips.
     "Hey, gorgeous," Talon smiled as I took him in and almost cried.
"Talon..." Pushing past the others, I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck as he wrapped me in his embrace, holding me tight against him.
"I take it you missed me, then. I always knew I would be the favorite."
     Pulling away, I smacked him playfully, causing him to laugh. "I don't have favorites. I love you all equally."
"How are you here?" Damian asked softly behind me. Turning my eyes met his, and shaking my head, I shrugged.
"Fairy dust," I smirked. "Are you and James going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to give me a hug?"
     Damian didn't bother waiting for James as he cleared the space between us and wrapped his arm around my waist, crashing his lips against mine. His tongue parted the space between them as he swiped the inside of my mouth, causing me to moan.
The sensations he brought within me were different from before. This time I felt every little thing they did, and as he pulled away, I could feel how scared he was that he thought he lost me.
   "You thought I was dying?" I asked him, watching as he went speechless.
"We all did, Ivy," James replied as I pulled away from Damian and hugged him. "It's been almost two weeks."
"Two weeks? What are you talking about? It's been a few hours, or maybe a day," I gasped, staring at them. There was no way I had been out that long.
It was clear looking at them they were being sincere. I had barely had a moment to breathe, and yet, I was being thrown into chaos once more.
"Ivy, maybe we should go sit down," Damian suggested. "Are you hungry?"
I was hungry, ravenous actually, but for the time being, I needed to figure out more important things. "It can wait," I replied as I stepped towards the living room, knowing very well they were following me.
Hale and Talon didn't give me a chance to sit before I was swiped away by the both of them, and forced to sit upon their laps as they shared in the comfort of having me close.
     "You smell divine," Hale whispered in one ear as Talon inhaled deeply at my other side.
     "Seriously, guys..." James groaned. "How come I don't get to sit with her too?"
Talon didn't bother answering James as his growl said enough as it was.
"Talon, enough," I whispered as I kissed him. "Let's pay attention."
My gaze fell upon Damian once more as I grinned, "so care to fill me in on everything I have missed?"
"It's complicated," Damian sighed as he took a seat across from me. "When you guys completed the circle, it seems Allison was starting shit with the council. They are trying to prove we are unfit to run the largest pack in North America. She is trying to have us replaced"
"Excuse me?" I snapped. "Replaced by who?"
"Your father and Allison," he sighed, gritting his teeth.
Anger coursed through me hearing this. There was no way that Allison could persuade those people to do something like that. She wasn't even of Alpha blood, and my father-my father was a piss poor man with negative ambitions.
"That's fucking bullshit," I growled. "What the hell makes her think she has the right to do that? They can't just take your place from you. She isn't even an Alpha!"
"We know this, Ivy," Hale said, my eyes turning to him, seeing the defeated look in his expression. "Unfortunately, she has a lot of those men blinded."
   "How is that even possible?" I asked, turning back to Damian, completely confused. They had known Damian and the others since they were small. They had even known their parents, and these men were questioning everything about them.
     "We aren't sure yet. However, us not going to the first meeting poses a problem."
"Well, we will go to the next." I shrugged, trying to think positive.
"Yeah, but after what happened with the elder who came here, that is a worrying thought," James said, looking at his brothers, who all sat quietly.
     I didn't understand why they would find it worrying. I was polite and sweet. I was acting like a Luna... or at least what I read before about how a Luna was supposed to act.
"I didn't do anything wrong, though. I thought I handled myself rather well."
Damian and the guys broke out into soft laughter as they nodded.
"Yeah, you did, but he only agreed because he thought you were going to kill him," Damian chuckled. "Hell, we all thought you were about to kill him. The aura radiating off you was nothing I had ever seen before."
     "What are you talking about?"
I was being my normal self, and the fact they were saying I was something else didn't make sense. Taking a moment, I reflected and realized it must have been my eyes.
"Oh! Was it because my eyes are freaky looking?" I asked, turning to them, but watching confusion flood James and Damian's faces.
"What are you talking about? There is nothing wrong with your eyes. They look as they always have," Damian stated furrowing his brows.
"Wait... you two don't see it?" Talon asked, looking to Hale who was just as dumbfounded.
"See what?" James questioned as he stood and walked towards me. "They look normal to me."
"Holy shit," Talon broke out into laughter. "It's because she is cloaking it. We can only see it normally because of—"
"Enough!" I roared, my shoulders heaving as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I would appreciate it if everyone would simply be fucking clear when they speak. I'm sick and tired of all these fucking riddles all the damn time."
Opening my eyes, I stared at them all, and that was when I saw the shock on James and Damian's faces. "Oh, well, there ya go," Hale snipped out with a grin as he crossed his arms, getting comfortable
Sighing, shook my head, only to catch a glimpse in a decorative mirror of what they were seeing. My eyes were once again the iridescent color they had been before, but this time they were glowing.
"Great... so now when I'm pissed, they glow. That's fucking brilliant"