a Primal Pursuit

nine

Waking up to the sound of voices, I shifted out of the tight ball I had curled myself into. Inhaling deeply, the scent of Asra flooded my nose, and I hummed with appreciation. The soft blanket covering me fell as I stretched, and I frowned when my hand hit something solid. Tilting my head, I found the source of my barrier was a sofa arm.

This sofa was surprisingly comfortable. I didn't even remember falling asleep on it.

Settling back into the sofa, I noticed the room had fallen silent. I turned to my left, my eyes widening as the audience staring back at me. There were three large men sat with their backs to me, but they all turned to stare like I was some kind of animal in a zoo. There was Caleb, Everett and even Rio, so something interesting had gone down.

Rio observed me with a kind smile compared to Everett, whose gaze was as hard as ever. The man never changed. Caleb's dark eyes were staring at me with interest, his eyebrows raised as he observed me. I swallowed, looking between them in search of the one who would give me context. Asra was leaning in his office chair, one elbow propped on the arm, its hand running across his jaw. His eyes softened when I finally met his gaze, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Good afternoon." He chuckled.

I propped myself up on my elbows, trying to comb some of the wildness from my hair. They drew the curtains across the window, so I assumed it was nighttime, but I felt confused. The sleep not fully left me.

Clearing my throat, I sat upright. "What... what time is it?"

"A little after ten. I didn't want to disturb you." He shrugged.

"Oh..." I muttered, glancing at his men in charge. "And..."

"We had a meeting."

I gave him a second to continue before my sarcasm kicked in. It tended too when I was tired, my brain unwilling to converse normally. His blank eyes told me he would not indulge me anymore than that.

"Right. I can obviously see that, unless this is a boy scout group. Are we about to go bug hunting?" I drawled. "Sing songs around the fire? I could never join the scouts. It surprised me we even had it in Evermore. I'm glad to see you branching out, though, Asra."

Asra's eyes dropped into a glower, his nose twitching with annoyance. I heard Rio and Caleb stifle chuckles, whereas Everett's shoulders tensed. Was this an emotion? Tensing shoulders?

"Very funny." Asra rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, it just comes naturally. I think the nap really helped." I shrugged.

"Why don't you go back to sleep?" He grunted. "Get better at it."

His annoyance only humoured me more, and I giggled.

"Well, if you just took a moment to tell me something interesting, I wouldn't have to resort to these manners." I sang, standing to stretch out my limbs.

His eyes followed the bareness of my legs and I blushed, remembering that I was only in his boxers and shirt. Clearing my throat, I wrapped the blanket around me like a skirt, thankful the other three males were not interested.

"She has you there." Rio cocked his head, eyes flicking between the two of us. "I feel Luna should know what we are discussing since it is so based around her."

I smiled triumphantly, nodding and waiting for Asra to continue. It didn't even cross my mind that he had called me Luna until my eyes met those midnight blue ones. Was I already the luna? I wasn't a wolf, so did the other wolves still class me as their luna?

"Yes, I suppose the Luna needs to know." Asra cocked his head, amused.

I glared at him, crossing my arms. He knew I was unsure of the title and rubbing it in my face was only his way of trying to get me to give into his game. I have been awake barely ten minutes and already he was annoying me.