When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Luna Demetra.

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“Wow… it’s you guys.” Teddy says, eyes bouncing between Emris and Riley like she loves this reality show.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emris is defensive immediately though no one even said anything yet.

Riley looks at me. She’s uncomfortable. Well, I’m uncomfortable too.

I literally did not know who she saw when I saw her resume and hired her for the Delta students. She had the credentials, I saw the overseas training and I thought…yes, that’s exactly what this pack needs. I If I had known even a fraction of the history between her and Slade and Emris I would have at least paused.

“Luna Demetra, good morning.” Riley nods at me, then her eyes shift. “Um… Sab? Sabrina, is that… really you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Sabrina smiles, and there goes that part too.

Apparently, she and Sabrina went to the same high school. I’ve not really gone into the history of that, but the way Riley is smiling doesn’t seem as though they had a bad past. If anything, she looks genuinely happy to see her.

“You know… each other?” Emris is the one asking now, and I feel like scoffing but I’m holding it in.

“We were cheerleaders at the same high school.” Sabrina says.

“Really? Who was captain?” Tiffany asks…because Tiffany will find the competitive angle in any situation on earth and pull it to the front.

Sabrina frowns at her.

Which means Sabrina wanted captain.

Which means Riley was captain!

And if Riley is an excellent Delta, it would mean she was the one who was capable of doing the stunts the most. The math adds up.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing you.”

“She’s engaged to Alpha Slade.” Teddy adds, clearly enjoying being the one with the information. “And we’re… celebrating. Well, we were about to go celebrate shortly.”

Riley blinks. Yeah, none of us are comfortable right now in the same environment, and I can feel this scene dying a slow death. We might just end this as fast as we can.

“We should go.” I say to the girls.

Just as we’re about to turn, Summer runs toward me.

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“Oh perfect!” She’s beaming. “Luna, you said you wanted to start training. This is Riley, the new head of the Delta trainees!”

Emris looks at me in shock.

The girls burst out snickering behind me.

I had been going around saying I need to learn to get stronger after what happened at the pack house…with the Lycan, that part is true. But of course I don’t want Riley to teach me! I was hoping to take lessons from Creed or Jupiter or literally anyone else.

“You… what?” Emris steps forward with his one visible eye narrowing.

“I… I never said that!” I shake my head. “I don’t remember saying that.”

“But you did. Just a day ago-”

I pinch Teddy as fast as I can and she screams, slapping her hand across her mouth.

“If you want to learn, Luna…” Riley smiles. “I can teach you.”

“A Luna doesn’t need to learn to fight when she has Deltas, Zetas, and her fucking Alpha alive-”

“Oh, let’s absolutely not go there, Emris.”

I stare at him. Hard.

He immediately comes closer, putting his hand on mine like we’re besties or something, like he didn’t just spend the night running away from me through the woods with glowing blue eyes.

“Are you really-”

I walk off before he can say whatever he thinks he has the right to say.

We end up in another section of the house where I don’t have to see him standing so close to Riley.

“Did you see the sweat on his face?” Tiffany laughs as we get into the sitting room, where we can see the large pool of the house being taken over by birds in the garden.

“Oh, the way he was shaking.” Sabrina winks her eyes at me.

They just know I’m mad with Emris for some silly reason. They don’t know how deep it really is. Storming into the woods like that and leaving me. His eyes being blue, hiding it from me.

It’s not fair to bring it up when we’re supposed to be talking about Sabrina’s engagement to becoming the new Luna of the Lion Pride pack.

“Or the way he couldn’t even form a sentence.” Teddy is still laughing. “I have never seen my brother look that way. You sure keep him on his freaking toes. Thank you, Luna.”

Arieth comes in, looking very graciously at the floor like she’s a new soul. I gave her the choice to get fired or

Chapter 142

stay demoted. She chose.

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“Can we get some onion rings, some milkshake smoothie from Susan, and some…” Teddy looks around for input.

“I’ll have ice cola with lemonade.” I say, huffing as I sit down, pushing a pillow away with a face that I know looks like Amira when she’s puffing.

Guess that girl learned her character from me.

“Yeah, and a charcuterie board. What do you think, girls?” Teddy looks back at us.

“Add a champagne to that, because we definitely have something to cheer about.” Tiffany chuckles as she twirls in the living room.

This is the last of the house tour I was giving the girls since we couldn’t do it on gala day cause we were too busy getting ready.

“Should we go spy on the boys?” Tiffany flops onto the couch. “I don’t think they’ve come out since they started their… sort of meetings. What do you guys think they are talking about?”

“Apart from whatever they may be doing. it’s even more crazy that Slade and Emris are friends now. Isn’t that crazy?”

Sabrina says my name. “Demetra?”

I snap out of it.

“Um, yeah.”

“What the hell are you thinking?”

I shake my head. Press my lips together and try to pull myself back into this room, this moment, this

conversation.

“No… nothing really.” I look out the window at the birds on the pool deck. “Just the entire fate of this pack. Lake has drawn a line by inviting us to a contest slash housewarming, and in that, he and Emris are going to fight. I’m thinking about the outcome of that.”

The girls go quiet but Sabrina reaches over and pats my knee.

“He’s going to win.”

“Emris is gonna win, obviously.” Tiffany says it with so much confidence too.

The problem is, I know Emris is a fighter. But the fear of him being in harm’s way is just what’s wrong me. It sits in my chest like a second heartbeat, always there, always pounding.

with

“Remember, the Lycan… ran.”

“But he’s not a coward.” I say cause I saw the way he fought Emris and the way he didn’t flinch even when

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things went wrong. The only reason he left was because he realized he could not compulse Emris….something he didn’t calculate. That doesn’t mean he ran because he’s weak.

“Guys, we should have a slumber party and discuss it! After today, it’s gonna be the week heading toward the contest. This is probably the only time we’re gonna get to sit like this before everything goes down. We should spend more time together.”

“Sleepover.” Teddy points at her. “Yes. I second it.”

“I agree.” Sabrina pulls her knees up. “What are you planning though, Demetra? After everything settles?”

“Well, for one… your engagement party.” I chuckle, grateful for the distraction. “My assistant at work also signed me up for an art competition, so that. And then….I’ve been thinking about applying to Wolf Arts Camp. The one in Rocksville.”

“What?” Teddy’s jaw drops. “That’s basically four months of college?”

“Yeah. I know.” I pick at the edge of the couch cushion. “But I didn’t go to college. And I just… I’ve been lacking inspiration. I think what I need is to be taught. You know, take a moment to just be the student I never was.”

“Except Wolf Arts at Rocksville is not just an art academy. It’s a death trap of the kinds of wolves one doesn’t even wanna come in contact with. It’s literally everything you can think of. Yes, they have the arts program, the studios, the galleries, all of that. But it’s also where they send wolves who want to learn everything else. They’ve got combat professors who train students to be ruthless. Every kind of wolf from every kind of territory all in the same place.” Teddy shakes her head. “It is probably the most dangerous and most interesting college experience you can have.”

“Does Emris know you’re thinking of it?” Tiffany asks quietly.

I hesitate.

“I haven’t told him yet. Cause we’ve not been… talking.”

The girls exchange glances.

“Okay.” Tiffany leans back. “So the Luna is gonna be gone for four months.”

“I trust Derisha to take care of the pack once the Lycan is no longer a threat.” I nod, solidifying the plan in my own head. “I’m gonna sign up once the form is out. And I’m obviously going to hide my identity in the camp. If I go as Luna, I’ll spend four months being treated like a title instead of a student, and that defeats the entire point. If anyone suspects, I’ll just say I look like her.”

“Woof.” Tiffany says.

“Well, you guys heard it first. Now, let’s get this sleepover started!” I shimmy my shoulders around.

“What are we gonna watch?”

“I vote to watch Scream. There’s a new release!”

“Guys, I can’t do scary.” Sabrina says.

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“We need robes. Our nails done. Cucumber under our cheeks for this sleepover to be worth it.” Teddy points at all of us. “Don’t turn on anything until I come back!”

She threatens us with her finger before disappearing. The moment she’s gone, we dig into the snacks on the charcuterie board.

Then we hear voices of the boys coming out.

“Where’s she running to?” Silver walks in and reaches for one of our snacks.

“Hey, back off!” Tiffany crosses her arms. “It’s our sleepover snack! And boys are not allowed. That goes for you too, Alpha.”

“What?” I hear Emris.

“You heard her.” Sabrina says. “Y’all should go back to whatever you were solving in secret.”

“We weren’t-”

“Sorry for the Moon Goddess.” Sabrina rolls her eyes at Slade’s voice.

I lift my head a little and see Emris.

He’s leaning against the wall and staring back at me.

Part of the reason I’m going to leave to Wolf Arts Camp is to give him the space he needs to figure out what’s wrong with him. Because it seems like maybe it’s my fault. Ever since I told him about Lake… what Lake did to me… we’re just not the same.

And maybe if I left, he would figure it out better. Solve the blue in his eyes. Find himself again.

But first, I have to be at his side so he wins the contest.

“Okay, can you guys scootch away and go back to whatever you were doing?” Teddy comes back holding fluffy robes, passing one to each of us.

She shoos the boys like they’re flies.

“I’m gonna go change so I can be comfortable.” I grab my robe, stand up and walk past Emris.

His eyes follow me like he wants to eat me alive.

15:54 Tue, May 19

Chapter 143