discuss, don’t you think?”
“Not if those discussions are anything like the one you were about to start where you tell me I can’t touch my own mate anymore.” She frowned. “It’s not ‘anymore’ as in never again. More like, ‘anymore’ as in not for a while until I have this mess in my pack cleaned up. Which I really think is perfectly reasonable, given the circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“The ones where it’s my body and I decide who gets to fuck it, and I could cut you off from paradise forever if you pissed me off a bit too much.” 85
Christine Warren
He didn’t move a muscle, but Honor got the abrupt impression of tightly coiled Lupine just itching for a fight. “I think that would be a very bad idea.
Given the circumstances.”
This time, she was the one quirking the eyebrow. “What circumstances?”
“The ones where I am your mate, and at the howl in two days there will be an alpha mating declared. And in order to keep the blood of your pack from watering the plants around here into the next century, you might want to rethink the idea of making your mate jealous.”
She cleared her throat. “See…about that ‘mate’ thing.”
“Honor—”
“Hold on.” She held up a hand to forestall the bellow she could hear building. “Let me finish a sentence, would you? I’m not saying no, and I’m not denying anything, okay? But right now, the important thing is not me or you, it’s this pack. And if I have to do a lot of unpleasant things to keep the peace around here, I won’t blink an eyelash. That includes putting a temporary hold on—” She broke off, paused, and waved her hand awkwardly between them.
“On…this…then that’s what has to happen. I’m willing to do it.”
“But I’m not willing to let you.”
“Did I say something that would indicate this could possibly be your decision?”
He ignored her pointed glare and leaned forward in his seat. “I think you’re forgetting some very important points, honey. Ones it seems to be my job to remind you of. First off, you seem to be forgetting that this howl is going to be the biggest thing standing between you and making this job as alpha permanent.
And second, you need to brush up on your knowledge of Lupine traditions, or you would know that an unmated female alpha does not go over well with our kind.”
86
Fixed: Fur Play
Honor scowled. “What are you getting at, Logan? If you have something to say, just go ahead and say it. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”
“I’m not sure if you can, and even if you could, I’ll be damned before I’d let it go on.” He stood and crossed to perch on the edge of her desk, leaning forward until his intent, golden eyes filled her vision. “I’m talking about the Luna’s Mating Rite, honey. Did you really think you could get away without it? That someone wouldn’t bring it up and remind you and the pack about our traditions whether you like them or not? Admittedly, it’s not the prettiest of our legacies, but it exists, and I guarantee you it’s going to come up at this howl.” Not the prettiest of their legacies . Now that was an understatement to end all understatements. As proud as Honor might be of her heritage at the best of times, the Luna’s Mating Rite did not qualify as the best of times. It qualified as one of those times when it sucked to be a female Lupine in a culture where masculine traits like strength and speed and stubborn stupidity were valued above everything else.
“It’s archaic.” She felt compelled to protest, but her voice sounded weak even to her own ears. “No one in their right mind could think we should still be carrying on with a tradition of condoned rape in this day and age.”
“The Silverback Clan ran a mate hunt just last year,” he reminded her. “The alpha and seventeen other males chose mates that day, by running them down in Central Park and fucking them where they caught them. It didn’t seem archaic
“Not if those discussions are anything like the one you were about to start where you tell me I can’t touch my own mate anymore.” She frowned. “It’s not ‘anymore’ as in never again. More like, ‘anymore’ as in not for a while until I have this mess in my pack cleaned up. Which I really think is perfectly reasonable, given the circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“The ones where it’s my body and I decide who gets to fuck it, and I could cut you off from paradise forever if you pissed me off a bit too much.” 85
Christine Warren
He didn’t move a muscle, but Honor got the abrupt impression of tightly coiled Lupine just itching for a fight. “I think that would be a very bad idea.
Given the circumstances.”
This time, she was the one quirking the eyebrow. “What circumstances?”
“The ones where I am your mate, and at the howl in two days there will be an alpha mating declared. And in order to keep the blood of your pack from watering the plants around here into the next century, you might want to rethink the idea of making your mate jealous.”
She cleared her throat. “See…about that ‘mate’ thing.”
“Honor—”
“Hold on.” She held up a hand to forestall the bellow she could hear building. “Let me finish a sentence, would you? I’m not saying no, and I’m not denying anything, okay? But right now, the important thing is not me or you, it’s this pack. And if I have to do a lot of unpleasant things to keep the peace around here, I won’t blink an eyelash. That includes putting a temporary hold on—” She broke off, paused, and waved her hand awkwardly between them.
“On…this…then that’s what has to happen. I’m willing to do it.”
“But I’m not willing to let you.”
“Did I say something that would indicate this could possibly be your decision?”
He ignored her pointed glare and leaned forward in his seat. “I think you’re forgetting some very important points, honey. Ones it seems to be my job to remind you of. First off, you seem to be forgetting that this howl is going to be the biggest thing standing between you and making this job as alpha permanent.
And second, you need to brush up on your knowledge of Lupine traditions, or you would know that an unmated female alpha does not go over well with our kind.”
86
Fixed: Fur Play
Honor scowled. “What are you getting at, Logan? If you have something to say, just go ahead and say it. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”
“I’m not sure if you can, and even if you could, I’ll be damned before I’d let it go on.” He stood and crossed to perch on the edge of her desk, leaning forward until his intent, golden eyes filled her vision. “I’m talking about the Luna’s Mating Rite, honey. Did you really think you could get away without it? That someone wouldn’t bring it up and remind you and the pack about our traditions whether you like them or not? Admittedly, it’s not the prettiest of our legacies, but it exists, and I guarantee you it’s going to come up at this howl.” Not the prettiest of their legacies . Now that was an understatement to end all understatements. As proud as Honor might be of her heritage at the best of times, the Luna’s Mating Rite did not qualify as the best of times. It qualified as one of those times when it sucked to be a female Lupine in a culture where masculine traits like strength and speed and stubborn stupidity were valued above everything else.
“It’s archaic.” She felt compelled to protest, but her voice sounded weak even to her own ears. “No one in their right mind could think we should still be carrying on with a tradition of condoned rape in this day and age.”
“The Silverback Clan ran a mate hunt just last year,” he reminded her. “The alpha and seventeen other males chose mates that day, by running them down in Central Park and fucking them where they caught them. It didn’t seem archaic
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