Alpha Ash

Romeo waited at the foot of the stairs while his father and stepmother greeted their guests.

"Aren't you coming, Romeo?" Rae called out before heading to the dining hall where their parents were entertaining guests.

Romeo glanced up the stairs and shook his head.

He wasn't letting Helena enter a room full of Alphas and Alpha Heirs alone. Who knew what those men would try.

'You just want all of them thinking she's your mate,' Ryder, his wolf, teased him.

'Comment all you want, but you wouldn't want them seeing her as anyone other than our Luna,' Romeo scoffed.

"Waiting for her?" Rae asked her brother, who only grunted in reply.

Rae rolled her eyes and shook her head, but she was smiling, if not trying to hold back a laugh.

"You've become extra broody with her home," Rae teased. "Stop being so clingy."

"I'm not being clingy," Romeo huffed as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"He's being clingy to what now?" Helena asked as she walked down the stairs.

She wore a pair of leather pants and a gray tank top that hugged her curves so well that Romeo was stunned into silence.

"With you," Rae said with a laugh before leaving them alone.

"You look amazing," Romeo managed to say as he balled his hands into a fist.

He was itching to reach out and pull Helena into his arms and kiss her. He knew that if he did that she'd probably knee him where the balls or push him away.

He wasn't ready to be pushed away again.

"Thanks. Do you think the Alphas will be offended by what I'm wearing?" Helena asked Romeo as she bit her lower lip before spinning around to show him what she was wearing.

Romeo shook his head and sighed.

"If they find you offensive, then they'll just have to deal with me," he said as he let out a small growl.

Helena laughed and shook her head.

She cupped his cheek and sighed.

"Not even the Alpha yet and you're already starting wars over me," she told him with a gentle smile.

"Helena, the only wars I'd start are over you," he swore before pressing his lips to her forehead.

It was Helena's turn to be left stunned by his words as she looked up at him and blinked.

"I— I forgot my jacket," Helena stuttered before running up the stairs.

'Proud of yourself?' his wolf asked.

'As long as she knows how much she means to me, then yes,' Romeo boasted.

"Got it," Helena announced as she came down in a leather jacket that hid some of the curves Romeo itched to hold.

"Let's go?" Romeo asked as he offered Helena his arm.

To his surprise, Helena hooked her arm around his and looked up at him with a thankful smile.

Their walk to the dining hall was filled with silence, but Romeo still wouldn't trade it for anything. He simply savored his chance to be with Helena without her fighting him at every turn.

When they got to the hall, Raul quickly introduced Romeo to a few Alphas, and to Romeo's surprise, Helena stayed by his side.

"And who is this beautiful woman by your side, Alpha Romeo?" one of the Alphas he'd just been introduced to asked.

"Beautiful and deadly," Romeo said with a deep chuckle as he moved his arm to Helena's waist, feeling the need to show these men she was with him. "This is Helena Willow, Alpha Heir to the Stonehill pack."

Romeo made a decision to let them know that they were stepsiblings.

"Ah, your neighbors," the Alpha said as he saw Helena in a new light. "Must be quite an alliance you have with the Stonehill pack if the Alpha is allowing his heir to be with you tonight."

"She's fulfilling the role of my Luna for the Alpha Rite," Romeo announced in a loud voice.

"Is that so?" a new arrival said as he joined their group.

Romeo felt Helena flinch when the Alpha made an appearance, making him wonder if this man was a threat to Helena and how she knew him.

"Alpha Romeo, Alpha Heir of the Blackmoon Pack," Romeo said as he extended his hand for the man to take.

The man took it and gave it a firm shake.

"Alpha Ash of the Red River Pack," the man said with a nod. "I'm quite familiar with Helena."

"Alpha Helena," Romoe growled, demanding that Alpha Ash extend the proper etiquette to Helena.

For the first time since she arrived, Romeo felt Helena shrink back and take a deep breath.

He reached out with his free hand and gave Helena's hand on his arm a small squeeze.

"I'm pretty sure after the connection Helena and I shared, there's no need for formalities," Alpha Ash said with a deep mocking laugh.

"You'll afford her the respect she deserves in our pack," Romeo said as he let out a growl.

He wanted to challenge this Alpha for what he was insinuating.

Romeo knew Helena was no blushing virgin, but she was entitled to have a past and to chase whatever pleasures she'd desired in the past.

If she were born a male, she'd be expected to sleep around, but as a female, her own nature was working against her.

This time, it was Helena's turn to put a hand on his arm and give it a squeeze.

"What happened in the past is in the past, Alpha Ash," Helena said, finding her voice.

Romeo smiled as the confident Helena he knew stepped forward.

"Will you really take a mate that's spread her legs—" Alpha Ash said as he began to accuse Helena.

'We can take him on,' Ryder hissed. 'He is not allowed to insult her.'

His wolf was right.

Romeo should not allow any insult to be made against Helena, and if he couldn't protect her from that, then what kind of a mate was he?

"Please," Helena scoffed from Romeo's side. "That thing is barely there."

Romeo laughed at Helena's comment, and with them, so did a good chunk of the room.

"Come with me," Romeo said as he pulled Helena away from the crowd and back into the more private part of the pack house.