When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 146

Luna Demetra.

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Contd.

“Thank you very much.”

I shake hands with the first two judges with a smile that I mean, and I am in the middle of transferring the trophy to Lolly my when I see Lake making his way toward me through the thinning crowd.

On second thoughts, I might hold it just in case. He’s wearing a sweater, like he’s a normal person who does normal things on weekends, like he isn’t the reason my mate is somewhere preparing for a fight that keeps me up at night.

I could walk away and not give him the time of day. But I remember how terrified I was on that day when he took me to the woods. I was so scared that I don’t think I spoke my mind to him. I just fell apart.

“Your art was-”

“You’re an idiot.”

He blinks. To his credit, recovers quickly. “That’s not really how you speak to a judge.”

“You’re an idiotic judge! Did they know that when they hired you? You’re following me. You’re stalking me—”

“I’m not stalking you. I’m only just realising that you’re actually Metra… I did purchase a portrait from you, I’m a profess-”

I want him to shut up! I hit him across the nose with the trophy and his head snaps back! Lake’s hand goes to his face and I hope that’s blood spurting from his nostrils cause he is shocked by what I just did. All the judges in the background look at us in shock.

“That’s for taking me from my gala but I promise you, Emris will handle the rest.”

I walk out.

****

The drive back gives me just enough time to remember the letter. I am out of the car as I rush to the mailbox. Summer said it drops by 1pm, and it’s past that now. I yank it open and it’s empty.

I stand there for a second, staring into it like something might appear. Nothing does. I close it and run through the front door into the pack house and—

Emris.

He’s standing in the sitting area with Silver, shirtless, and he looks like he has recently returned from attempting to run through a wall repeatedly. There is sweat still drying on his chest and his hair is pushed back against his forehead while every muscle in his body is doing something that I am not going to

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Chapter 146

acknowledge right now.

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Silver is standing directly beside him holding a stack of papers and any one of them could be from Wolf Arts Camp.

I smile. Possibly too wide.

“Um-”

“Afternoon, Luna.” Silver’s voice is pleasant. Suspiciously pleasant.

“Where have you been?”

“Just…an art competition. That Lolly signed me up for.” I tuck my hair back from my face and keep my eyes moving naturally, casually, between the two of them and absolutely not fixating on that stack of papers.

“Is that all she signed you up for?”

I stop.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just asking. You seem pretty booked these days.” He glances sideways. “Doesn’t she?”

Emris clears his throat. He’s been looking at me since I walked in with an expression I can’t fully decode, which is extremely inconvenient. “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course.” I say, because I have no choice and also because my eyes have just confirmed that Silver is holding one envelope separate from the rest, slightly behind his forearm, and I need Emris to not be in this room for the next forty–five seconds.

“I’ll shower and-”

“The kitchen. I’ll meet you in the kitchen!”

Emris looks at me for a moment longer than necessary, then walks down the corridor.

The second he’s out of sight, Silver lifts the envelope. His face says gotcha in every language simultaneously.

I drop my purse onto the nearest couch and close the distance between us.

“What is that.”

“Just something I came across.” He turns slightly as I try to reach for it, keeping it just out of range, making me circle him. I circle. He circles back. We are doing a full rotation around each other like puppies in the middle of the sitting room.

“You know, I thought maybe it was Teddy’s, you know. Teddy’s in college. No way would she sign up her summer for Wolf…Arts…Camp.”

“Keep your voice down!”

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Chapter 146

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“And I thought…who do we know with genuine artistic talent in this house? Our beautiful Luna. But that’s strange, because Emris doesn’t exactly have the look of an Alpha who knows his mate is planning to leave for four months-”

He drops his arm and I snatch the envelope.

“I’m going to tell him.”

Silver looks at me like I’m lying.

“After the fight. I’m serious.”

He keeps looking at me.

“Ugh.” I press my fingers to my forehead. “Derisha can handle the luna responsibilities while I’m gone, it’s not… look, I made it clear to Emris from the beginning, when he forcefully bonded me without exactly consulting my schedule, that I have a life outside of this. A career. Ambitions that existed before he entered the picture. The pack will be fine. You’ll be here. The Alpha will be here. You’ve all been running this without me for years, Silver, nothing is going to fall apart because I spend a summer at an arts programme.”

“Yeah, but-”

“But?”

“Can you not see that Emris misses you? Moons, Metra…when did you two last actually talk? And now you’re leaving-”

“For someone who apparently misses me, Emris hides an impressive amount. Spills things to me when he doesn’t want me telling him he cannot wrestle with the Zetas. And then proceeds to invite Slade…his recent enemy into becoming his bestie.”

I look down at the letter and read it.

It’s an acceptance letter. Which I expected, because my credentials are perfect. Now I just have to pay the fee. And resume on the due date which is… a week from now.

A week.

Seven days. And then I’ll be gone for four months.

“What else were you saying?” I wrap it up with a smile.

“Demetra. Wolf Arts Camp is a death trap.”

“Yeah, but they have an amazing curriculum.”

“You’ve never been to college here. Let me just say that it’s packed with wolf breeds you’ve never dealt with in a social setting. Fuck wolves. Werecoytes. Chimeras. Fucking Panthers. And those are just the ones that are registered… you don’t even want to know about the ones that aren’t.”

I give him a look and start walking. “So you’re telling me not to go because there will be male supernatural’s in

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Chapter 146

the vicinity. Spoken like a true male.”

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“I’m not saying don’t go because of males. I’m saying these are the exact categories of thing that are gonna drive Emris mad. And to be fair, the dude’s a bit mad already. You wanna drive him madder?”

“It’s not like I’m going to college all over again. Just four months. The Lycan will be out of the way. The kids are gonna be alright and I’m going to come back renewed.” I look at him. “You went to college, so of course you think it’s not a huge deal.”

“Fine.” Silver sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Since you wanna go that bad, I’m gonna speak to a few friends over there. And they are gonna make sure you’re alright. Keep an eye on you.” His voice softens. “I’m still older than you, Demetra. We’re all older than you. Just because you’re a Luna doesn’t mean we can’t baby you.”

Now that makes me feel tingly. Like I have more than one brother now apart from Slade. I open my arms and hug Silver tightly…pressing my face into his chest and feeling his heartbeat against my cheek.

“Thank you.” I mumble into his shirt. “And don’t worry. Emris is really the only dude I love. I won’t even pay attention to any wolf, coyote, or whatever.”

He smiles as I jump away to go keep the envelope somewhere before Emris gets back to me.

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