Kieran POV
Leo places a kiss on Raven's forehead before he stands to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" I ask him.
"I am supposed to be keeping watch over Mae," Leo shrugs his shoulders.
"I will go to her," I say in a clipped tone.
Leo looks at Raven, and she gives him a small nod. He sits back down beside her and runs his fingers along her back, trying to soothe the pain that she felt from Mae's memories.
I leave the conference room without speaking to anyone. My father is calling after me, but I refuse to turn around. I am not in the mood to have a discussion with him.
Pushing in the door to my bedroom, I see Mae pacing back and forth. Her face is red with anger. Her blonde hair is a mess, and tears are streaking down her face.
Stepping in her direction, I reach out for her, but she steps away from me.
"Don't touch me," she hisses in my direction.
"Are you angry with me?" I whisper.
"Yes," she spits at me, and then her face falls. "No. I don't know."
"What can I do?" I plead with her.
"Is it going to be like this every time?" She cries. "Am I always going to be treated like an outcast?"
"You aren't an outcast," I try to tell her.
"Everyone in that room hated me because I am a human," she turns angry again. "How do you expect me to be a Luna or whatever it is called when no one will respect me because I am a human?"
"They will eventually come around," I try to reassure her. "It is just new."
Mae grunts angrily and stomps her foot. I know she is trying to be intimidating, but it isn't translating. Frankly, she looks adorable when she is angry, and I have to stifle my laughter.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I try to hide my amusement, but I am failing miserably.
"Are you laughing at me?" She snaps.
I cough to hide my laughter. "Of course not."
"You are laughing at me," she shrieks.
"You are just so cute when you are mad," I tell her.
"Nothing about this situation is cute," she screams at me. "I was just humiliated for over an hour. Your sister dived into my mind and looked through my most private thoughts. Now she knows all of my secrets. Heaven knows what she must think of me…"
"Whoa," I say, grabbing Mae by the shoulders. "No one thinks any less of you."
"Where you not in that room?" She asks. "Everyone in that room thinks less of me. They started out thinking less of me."
I don't know what to say to make this better. I can't lie to her; she was in the room and heard everything they had to say about her. They were not kind. And I am sure the things they said about Tish didn't make her feel any better. Sometimes the elder council can be a little backward in the way they think about things. But I know Mae will be a wonderful Luna. The rest of the pack just needs to give her a chance.
Mae's foot is tapping impatiently on the ground. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and her bottom lip is quivering. She looks like she is about to burst into tears.
"I don't know what you want me to say," I finally fill the silence in the room. "It will take them time to get used to having you around."
"Maybe I should just leave," she sobs. "It would be better than this."
"No!" I shout at her angrily. "You can't leave me."
"You don't get to tell me what to do," she hisses at me.
"I am your mate," I growl at her. "You belong to me."
Mae gasps and takes a step away from me. Her blue eyes are sparkling with tears, but they don't fall down her cheeks.
"I don't belong to anyone," she says coldly. "You don't get to own me just because some Goddess in the sky says it is so."
"That is exactly what it means," I yell at her. "You are mine, just like I am yours."
Mae takes a step forward and rears her hand back to slap me, but I catch her hand in mid-air. Tingles erupt all over my skin as I hold her wrist. Yanking her forward, her chest crashes against mine.
Her eyes are glaring into mine angrily, but I am focused on her lips. They are pursed together in a little pout, and whether she means for it to be or not, it is very seductive.
Mae tries to twist her hand out of my hold, but she can't escape.
"Let me go," she says through gritted teeth.
"Why?" I ask with a smirk on my face.
"We are fighting," she tries to keep arguing with me.
I run my fingers along her arm, and she shivers under my touch. "This doesn't feel like we are fighting."
"You can't get out of this conversation by seducing me," she whispers.
"So, you are saying that it is working," I chuckle.
"Kieran," she whimpers as more sparks ignite between us. "We have to talk about this."
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I tug her closer to me. "I want you here, and that is all that matters. Everyone else can do to hell."
Mae relaxes in my arms, and I know she is losing an internal battle with herself. She desperately wants to remain angry, but she can't resist the pull of the mate bond.
I let go of Mae's wrist, and she curls her fingers into my chest. She stands on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine.
She spreads her lips slightly as a moan escapes them. The kiss between us turns hungry. Our tongues twist together. Both of us want to be in charge. Mae's hands claw at my shirt as she tries to rip it away from my body.
Breaking away from the kiss, I let her pull my shirt over my head. She runs her hands over my chest and pushes my back toward the bed.
"Lay down," she commands.