"What does she think about herself?" Eleanor muttered as she headed back home. "She thinks she can do as she pleases because she is Zane's mate. As the future Luna of the pack, she should be courteous and compassionate to all members of the pack. But she is arrogant. She bullies the others. She lacks the qualities of a Luna."
She pushed the door open and walked in.
Cecilia frowned at her flushed face. "Wow! Who pissed you off in the early hours of the morning?"
"Uh…" Eleanor sighed in dismay as she put the basket on the table and sagged in the chair. "I am upset today. I could hardly control myself."
"Oh… What happened?" Cecilia sat down beside her, searching for her eyes. In the meantime, she spotted the rashes on her cheek. She grabbed her jaw and turned her face aside to examine her cheek. Fingerprints were visible on her delicate skin.
"Who hit you?" she asked, her eyes brimming with rage.
"Ruby."
"That witch!" Cecilia exclaimed, rage coursing through her veins like lava. "How dare she lay her hand on you? I will kill her."
"Calm down. We can't mess with her." Eleanor squeezed her hand. "She is powerful. Our family will be in jeopardy if we do anything with her."
"Do you mean she can bully others if she is powerful?" Cecilia snapped.
"This is not what I mean." Eleanor scowled at her. "But the reality is we can't do anything with her. She is the alpha Gustav's daughter and the future Luna of our pack. Can we stand up to the Blue Moon Pack and the Moon Keepers? Alpha Dimitri will kick us out of the pack."
Cecilia narrowed her eyes as she tried to process her words. She was well aware that Ruby was arrogant because of the forces behind her. She also knew that it was next to impossible for them to stand up to her. But she could not understand why Ruby came to mess with Eleanor.
"Wait… How did you encounter her so early in the morning? Why did she get angry with you?" She regarded her with a squint, curious.
Eleanor looked aside, her face pale with melancholy. She didn't want to tell Cecilia that Zane was interested in her.
Her silence made Cecilia even more curious. "What is it?" She tugged on her arm. "What are you hiding?"
"It's nothing." Eleanor stood up and walked into her room.
"Nothing!" Cecilia exclaimed, following her. "How could that be? Tell me the truth." She yanked her arm and drew her back.
"She thinks I am flirting with Zane." Eleanor's sharp voice boomed inside the house.
"You, what?" Cecilia's pupils dilated. The shock was evident on her face.
Eleanor rolled her eyes at her puzzled expression. She went into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Bang…
Cecilia blinked with a gaping mouth, still reeling from the shock.
In the packhouse…
Zane walked down the hallway, talking to Lucas. He noticed Ruby and her friends walking in.
"Meet me in the backyard in half an hour," Ruby said to her friends. She then waved goodbye to them and approached Zane with a smile.
"Ruby…" He walked over to her. "You wake up so early!"
Ruby threw her arms around his neck. "I went for a walk with my friends."
"Find me in the training ground." Lucas strode out.
"Hmm…" Zane turned his focus to Ruby, his gaze full of concern. "Don't roam around the woods so early in the morning."
"I am not afraid of rogues. I believe you have increased border patrols."
"Yes, but don't go into the woods at dawn."
"Can we have a shower together?" Ruby changed the topic immediately. She drew some patterns on his chest with her finger and smiled seductively.
Zane smirked and leaned over to her. "You have to wait for that," he whispered. "See you later." He placed a kiss on her cheek and strode out.
He came to the training ground and joined Lucas in a workout.
"You are finally here," Connor smirked and came up to them. "I thought you were sleeping."
Zane continued his workout without paying attention to him.
Connor chuckled, looking at his indifference. "Uh… you are trying to ignore me."
"Looks like you are free today," Lucas sneered. "Instead of training, you start chatting."
"I am in the mood to chat today." Connor smirked.
"Then you are in the wrong place," Zane growled.
"Huh…" Connor sighed exaggeratedly. "I thought I would tell you something. Since you don't want to talk, I should leave." He turned to leave but paused and looked back at him. "I saw your mate… I mean, Ruby… bullying our new cook… Uh…" He wrinkled his nose and scratched his brow. "What's her name? Ah… Eleanor…" He stretched the name purposely while taking a quick look at Zane.
Zane's grim face made him smile. "What a lovely name. I was wondering why Ruby was hitting a humble maid. Do you have any idea?" He looked at him with a squint.
Zane became agitated when he heard Ruby hit Eleanor. He grew angry at the same time. He wanted to find Ruby and ask her why he had struck Eleanor. But he vented his rage on Connor.
"How would I know?" he snarled, his fists clenched. "You were there at the time, not me. Tell me why she was messing around with a humble maid."
The rage in his eyes made Connor realize that Ruby was not assuming anything irrationally. It turned out Zane took an interest in a modest maid.
"I would not have come to ask you this if I had known the answer. Anyway, I am not interested in finding the reason for the conflict between the two women. But you should ask Ruby about it." With a smirk on his face, he strode away in a hurry.
Zane glared at his departing form, molten anger rolling through him.
"What on earth is wrong with Ruby?" Lucas snapped. "Why did she hit Eleanor?"
"Eleanor might have done something to annoy Ruby." Even if Zane was mad at Ruby, he took her side anyway. He believed she wouldn't bully anyone just like that.
'Maybe she finds out you are attracted to Eleanor,' his inner voice whispered in his head.
Zane shook his head to discard the thought. "Ruby is not someone who intimidates others." He walked into the gym area.
Lucas frowned at him, puzzled at why Zane looked furious.
Inside the packhouse…
When the red-haired woman came out of her room, she saw Connor leaning against the wall next to the door. She was always trying to get his attention. When she noticed him outside her room, she became ecstatic.
"Hi…" She smiled shyly and waved at him.
"Hi…" Connor moved in closer, his gaze dropping to her cleavage, which was accentuated by the tight-fitting top.
She blushed furiously, looking at his smiling face.
Connor unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his muscular chest. "I have been thinking of something," he murmured, moving even closer to her.
The woman swallowed the lump, her eyes glued to his chest.
With his calloused finger, Connor stroked her cheek. "Why don't you come with me to the shower?"
She skipped a beat, her face crimson. She nodded in a trance and pulled him into the room, grabbing his hand.
Connor pulled her into his arms and devoured her lips, slamming the door shut behind him. He took off his clothes in a hurry and shoved her down on the bed.
Her body gently bounced up and down on the mattress.
He lunged at her and kissed her urgently, dragging her skirt up. He then slid his thumbs into the elastics of her panties and pushed them down to her ankles.
She kicked the panties down to the floor.
Connor shoved his erection into her without any foreplay.
"Ah…" the woman yelp, clutching the bedspread.
He sealed her mouth with his lips, moving faster and faster.
"Mm…" she moaned against his lips.
"Tell me why you bully that cook," he hissed.
"Huh…" She frowned at him, wondering why he had posed his question at this moment.
"I need an answer," he snarled, pushing his cock deeper within her.
"Ah…" she cried out, her eyes rolling back to her head. "Because… Ruby is… jealous… mm…"
"Why?"
"Zane… is attracted… to her."
"Are you sure?"
"Ruby thinks so... mm… please…"
Connor kissed her once again as he moved faster and faster. He stilled for a brief moment before thrusting a few times as he found his release.
She cried out in pleasure and shuddered beneath him.
Connor rolled out of bed after a while and began to dress up.
"Stay with me for a while," she urged.
"I have things to do." He walked out without sparing a glance at her.