“I’m sorry, Matheson,” Neil said. “I think it would be best if you stayed behind.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
I searched my parents’ faces for their reactions, but they both seemed disinterested in looking at me.
“I amnotstaying behind, thank you very much,” I spat to Neil. I puffed up my chest, stomping closer to him. I wished he wasn’t taller than me right now. “What’s the reasoning behind your suggestion?”
Neil’s mouth went tight. “I think we both know the answer to that.”
“Because I’m an omega. Is that it?” I spat. “Well, too bad. I may be an omega, but unlike you, I’m the child of the pack leaders. Going to the Moon Meeting is my right. So step aside.”
At first, Neil didn’t move. Everyone around us went dead silent as I stood up to him, a respected alpha guard.
But I didn’t care about his biology or his rank. I was still the same person I always was; Matheson, only child of Lady Lilian and Lord Mitchell, leaders of the East Pack.
And I wasn’t about to let this asshole stand in my way.
Neil backed off first. He looked towards my parents as if I was a child misbehaving in a store and said, “What shall we do?”
Dad seemed uneasy. “It’s supposed to be a truce under the full moon. No one has ever shed blood at a Moon Meeting. It would be unthinkable.”
“But the other pack leaders will see him,” Mom interjected. “They’ll know he’s an omega. Since his heat, his scent has changed.” She narrowed her eyes. “It might be like spilling blood in shark infested waters.”
“Well, I’m not blood, and there’s no sharks there,” I retorted. “Nothing bad has ever happened at any other Moon Meeting I’ve been to except some arguments. Right?”
Mom and Dad exchanged uneasy glances.
“Besides, I won’t be alone. You’ll both be there, along with Neil, and some of the guards.”
“Yes, but the other packs won’t be alone, either,” Neil pushed in. “What would happen if your parents got hurt trying to defend you?”
I stared at him, suddenly wanting to smack him. A growl rose from my throat. After a week trapped in a cabin, I was pissed off and I might have been stir-crazy enough to start a fight right here.
“That’s enough, Neil,” Mom said. “Matheson is correct. It’s his right to attend the Moon Meeting, whether he’s an omega or not.” She added in a lower voice, “I suppose we’ll see if the other packs are barbaric enough to violate the truce tonight.”
“They won’t,” Dad assured her, though there was an edge of unease in his voice.
“Then let’s get this over with quickly,” Neil muttered.
