Dr. Luna
Chapter 18

"Which is privileged information for now." Tristan smiled as he saw her pouting face. "Come on, let's go dance. After all, if you are trying to make that mate of yours suffer... this would be the best thing."

Lilly reached up and took his hand. As he led her to the dance floor, she could see Tyler looking at her from the corner of her eye. He was noticeably angry, but she didn't care. She was going to dance with her friend. It would be her first outside attempt at real normalcy in her unnormal life. This was going to be her first dance. While she wished it could have been with her mate, since it would have been more special, she was still glad to have this moment.

Tristan led her to the middle of the dance floor and naturally twirled her with the music. She giggled up at him as he was clearly mimicking a scene from what he had watched in movies. They danced to a couple songs before noticing the thinning crowd. Lilly glanced over to notice that the Diamond pack was all seated in their area. Tyler must have ordered them all off the dance floor because of her.

"Now isn't that petty." Tristan growled quietly noticing the situation.

Lilly noticed how none of them were even sparing a glance her way. They must have been instructed to ignore her by Tyler, even Avery was looking away. Something only an order would have made her do. Tyler was proving a nasty point to Lilly. The friends she has are only as deep as what the Alpha allows. It was a disgusting abuse of power. Sadly, it pricked her heart. Were they her friends, really her friends? She scanned over the Diamond pack and noticed that there was one person defying his Alpha, Cedric. Cedric was still keeping an eye on Lilly, ignoring the Alpha's orders. Though it looked like it was a struggle for him to do so. Alpha orders are absolute, to refuse them is to not acknowledge the person as your Alpha. This usually ends up with you being cast out of the pack. Cedric was going to watch over Lilly, despite the Alpha's orders. Tyler mentally confronted Cedric over his defiance, but let it go when he said he just wanted to make sure she was safe. After that, Tyler left him alone over the issue. He must have figured that having a set of eyes on her was not a terrible thing. Cedric was not happy about what Tyler was doing. She had been shunned by her previous pack and Tyler was now showing her that her acceptance is based fully on him allowing it. It was ill-spirited and childish. He wanted to take her away to someplace where she would be treated with the love, and respect, she deserved. Fate had decided for her to be mated to the Alpha of the Diamond pack, for now, he would see how things played out. This wasn't who Tyler was, he was not a petty person, though jealousy can make you do childish things. Something changed for him a few years ago... after it happened Tyler was not the same. It was when that happened that he started paying more attention to Jessica. Cedric frowned as he thought about it, it was time for Tyler to let go of the past.

"Let's go get a drink and then find a place where I can sit and take these shoes off." Lilly spun her high heels up and scrunched up her nose.

"It's a good thing you have those heels on or you would be too short for me to see you." Tristan teased, leading her off the dance floor.

On cue, the moment her feet left the dance floor the Diamond pack in its entirety reentered the dance floor. A statement was made loudly, and this gesture was noticed by the other packs. It sent the message that he was a cruel Alpha that was not to be messed with. A few werewolves suddenly shifted their interests... to the beautiful girl that seemed unwanted by her pack.

Lilly was hurting, but she buried it deep down. This was not new to her. She had been treated like this her whole life, so why should it bother her now? Maybe because she was finally feeling accepted? There was another reality that hit her then too. Had her father ordered the pack to get along with her they would have. It would have been fake, and she internally debated about that. Would she have preferred to feel accepted and it not be real? Or was it better to know how they honestly felt about her? In the end, she preferred her father's methods of not ordering his pack to accept her and left them to decide on their own free will. This at least showed him their character. It also showed her that real friends were few and far between.

"Have a seat here Lilly and rest your feet. I will bring us back something to drink." Tristan left Lilly sitting on a bench at the far side of the hall as he walked the short distance to the buffet table.

The moment Lilly did not have Tristan near her the wolves descended. Four men from another pack made their move as they walked up to an unaccompanied Lilly.

"We noticed that your pack seems to neglect you." One of the men greedily looked over the body in front of him.

"We wouldn't treat you bad. We would take good care of you." Another voice came from the side.

"Such a pretty neck." The man in front of her licked his lips. "I want to sink my teeth into it." He took a step forward and Lilly narrowed her eyes on him.

"Touch me and I will snap your neck." Her eyes looked upon the man and grew dark. Lilly was snarling and threatening to kill the lecherous men in front of her. Had Lilly been more guarded she could have been prepared for what happened next. Everything happened so quickly. Another man came from the side and pushed back on Lilly's shoulders holding her in place while the man in the middle came forward. He had his canines drawn out and he was planning to forcibly mark her. Lilly could not move, and she yelped as she felt the heat of his breath coming dangerously close to her neck. Then he was gone, and loud growls filled the air. James and Tristan barreled into the men and ten of the Ashen pack soldiers lined up at their sides. Someone had turned her body into theirs and she looked up to see Cedrick was holding her away from the sight in front of her. She could not see him, but she could hear his thunderous growl, Tyler was also there. And from the sound of it, he was beyond furious there was a murderous intent in his sound.

There was loud shouting and growling. This would not be a simple hand slap; those men were going to die. They were not just trying to force their mark on just anyone, it was the Alpha's mate. This was a death sentence. She heard the sound of another Alpha; he was the Alpha to the men who tried to assault her. She heard him say "Take them outside and deal with them as you must."

The mob in front of her went outside and the room began to liven again with music and people chattering. Outbursts were common among werewolves, so no one gave it more thought and continued on with their evening. For Lilly though, this was not okay. Someone had tried to mark her, and she was not able to react in time to do anything about it. A second later... only a second later and his canines would have pierced her neck.

"Lilly, let me see you." Cedric lifted her chin up and inspected her closely. He let out a sigh in relief when he saw that she was untouched. "Are you okay?"

Lilly's eyes watered and the fountain she had been fighting hard to control let loose. She felt violated, for the first time in her life. No one had ever tried to take advantage of her before, part of the perks that came with being feared and isolated. Fancy that, there was a perk. She could still feel his hot breath on her throat, and it made her shiver with disgust.

Kira was seeing red. She wanted blood and was ready to go on a rampage. She began clawing at Lilly's mental barrier demanding to be set free. Lilly could not risk Kira getting out. Not in the state she was in and not with the little control she had over her right now. She held her head from the pain and her eyes flickered with the internal battle she was having.

Cedric placed his hands on Lilly's shoulders. "Your wolf does not have to come out and protect you. I know she is used to feeling like that because you have been alone. She can relax. You are safe and you have people here to protect you." Cedric was staring through Lilly's eyes and was addressing Kira as much as Lilly.

Lilly felt Kira settle down slightly, enough that her head quit pounding. Lilly's emotions were all over the place. She was angry and felt wronged. She had to witness her mate with another and was being ignored. Strange men almost forced a mark on her. A storm was brewing inside of her and she was trying her best to suppress it. She kept feeling the heat of that mutt's breath on her skin. He had been so close, his nasty hot humid breath had touched her neck. The small streams silently pooled from her eyes. She needed to get out. To get out of that room. To get away from the noise. The happy chatter and laughing. The fun music. She had to escape it and find silence. She turned and ran out the back door. The sound of Cedric's footsteps echoed closely behind her. So much for enjoying a normal night.