Zeus

• XLI •

           

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I pushed myself to write this chapter so y'all could have a little present at the beginning of 2017. How was your NYE? Did you get drunk, kiss as the ball dropped, or stay at home for the entire night like I did? LOL. January 9th is my birthday. (PRAISE THE LORD). Well, that's all I have. Enjoy the chapter, darlings! -May

I can't possibly say anything that can sum up how I feel at this exact moment after hearing Ryder's description of me. I-I never knew he felt this way towards me. I only assumed (from what Caitlyn told me) he was missing time with his brother, his Alpha. But to find out that's not the case? I'm shaken.

At this instant, the question for me, for the pack, is: what can I do to change. . . me?

I wasn't expecting the problem to be myself! I never knew I caused Ryder to feel threated. Lately, I've been assuming I've beginning to do my job as Luna. Does that mean I back down a few steps even though my ranking is higher than Ryder's ranking because I'm mated to Zeus?

Anger mixed with utter confusion boils hotly in my veins. My hands, which are on my lap, ball into fists to control said anger.

"How can you possibly feel threatened by me, an insignificant human, when I have never been trained like my pack members or learned the laws of th-this culture?" My gaze sharpens, and I push myself out of my seat, slowly rising to stand and to force Ryder to crane his neck to watch me.

My hands grasp the edge of the table and my nails dig into the grains of aged wood. Ryder's eyebrows crease together as if he's perplexed my by reaction. Heat fizzes and bubbles in my veins, causing my body heat to rise in degrees and sweat to form on my temples and neck. A pressure in my head builds to a distracting feeling, but I need to push the pounding away.

"You have the upper hand, Ryder. You—" My breath catches the moment the pressure in my head intensifies into jackhammers. The agonizing feeling makes my sight blur for a few seconds until my vision quickly focuses like a camera to Ryder staring me in utter surprise.

"Aurora," He softly breathes out, trying to stop me from talking, but I won't have any of it, not when everything around me is burning and my head is killing me.

"No! Let me finish for one fucking moment! Because you have the upper hand, there is no need to feel threatened, to have a need to protect my pack members from me, their Luna. Zeus and I should be the ones protecting the members. Your ranking as Beta of the Golden Stone pack is to be of assistance during training, be the Alpha's right-hand man when needed, and to protect your Alpha and Luna!" I'm panting by the end, and my body temperature becomes too much for me to bear.

Ryder's eyes widen into saucers as I stand gripping the table. "Luna, your—" I can't hear what Ryder says next because the pounding in my head doubles, triples, in pain, and the front door of the log cabin swings open and my name is roared so loud that the cabin and trees surrounding Ryder and I tremble.

My knees weaken. Not from the roaring of my name, but from the pain and scalding heat my body is in. Right when my tense fingers release the table, my knees bend and I drop to the wooden floor of the kitchen. Ryder scrambles out of his seat, knocking over his chair and hitting the table with his frenzied motions.

"Zeus! Her-her eyes! They—" Ryder exclaims but gets interrupted.

Rushed stomps echo off the floors of the log cabin and stop when they reach me. I try to lift my head to see Zeus, but I can't, the pain, the burning is all too much! The pounding only slightly lessens when Zeus crouches beside me and runs his hand through my blonde hair.