Aurelia shook her head as she did her best to gently let down yet another of her many female pack members trying to get her to drink. While she knew that what she was doing was far from ideal, she really didn't care if it meant she could hold onto her lucidity for even a moment longer.
She refused to get drunk. She absolutely refused.
"Come on, Lady Aurelia," Lady Tatiana coaxed her with a smile. "You have to drink. It's a celebration, after all."
"She's right, you know?" Lady Cornelia, yet another bad influence by Aurelia's side trying to get her to throw away her sanity, eagerly suggested. "What're a few drinks compared to a bit of fun?"
Aurelia inwardly hissed as she did her best to keep her smile intact. She knew for a fact that there was no way that she'd be able to dodge this social construct unless she decided to just run away and lock herself in her new room. No, she was going to drink, and she'd do so whether she liked it or not.
[Just make sure to control yourself,] Aura reminded.
[I know,] Aurelia sighed. [The problem isn't that I like alcohol. It's that I don't know my own limits.]
Even after two incidents of her going blackout drunk, she still knew painfully little about her own tolerance. She would experiment if she really wanted to know, but she didn't have both the time, patience, and eagerness enough to drink for her to try and see how many bottles she had in her before she lost her mind.
"Only a few glasses then," she sighed in resignation.
"That's the spirit," Lady Tatiana cheered.
Shaking her head, Aurelia lifted the glass of wine to her lips and drank. As was last time, the liquid burned down her throat as she feigned enjoyment of what she was drinking.
"There, happy?" she sarcastically scoffed.
"Not in the slightest," Lady Cornelia chuckled. "Our Luna should know how to have fun!"
Aurelia held her tongue as she flashed the fakest smile that had ever graced her face ever since she arrived at that great hall. She knew that her new subjects meant well, but they should really know their boundaries. Still…
"Fine," she grumbled as she grabbed the nearest bottle of wine and poured herself another glass. "If only to appease you all, I'll do it."
Maybe one or two glasses of wine wouldn't hurt. She'll just have to fake being drunk somehow or something like that later.
***
"Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!"
Aurelia was practically drowning in her own glass as she downed yet another helping of red wine. Time seemed to have lost all meaning as the world around her felt… loopy, somehow.
[Aurelia, please stop,] Aura worriedly said. [You're on your third bottle already.]
[N-Nonsense,] she slurred at her wolf. [I-I think I'm still good to go.]
In truth, she was far from being coherent at this point. Her heart thumped wildly inside her chest with every glass she took, and the more her eyes landed on her mate just by the next table, the more this weird tingle within her burned in annoyance.
"Y-You're so smaaaarrrttt…" Tatiana slurred right next to her, a half-empty glass of wine in one hand as she dreamily blushed at her. "I-I'm sssssooo jealoussss…"
"It's only n-natural," Cornelia smugly chuckled, a bottle of wine in her hands as she swayed back and forth in her seat. "L-Lady Aurelia's both pretty, and int-intelligent."
"T-That's right," Aurelia confidently smirked, her cheeks flushed red as she stared at her two new friends. "I-I'm no stupid lady that only knows how to spread her legs… I know how to run a country if need be…"
[N-No, we don't,] Aura weakly chimed.
[Y-Yes, we do,] Aurelia scoffed. [We can study for it, and we'll make the best country the world has ever seen.]
Yes… She knew for a fact that she was more than capable of running things if needed. Why, she was already having ideas on how to improve the Midnight Pack before she even swore herself into her new position as its Luna. Still, that all depended on whether or not her mate knew what he was doing… And speaking of mates…
"Lia?"
Turning around, Aurelia almost felt herself swoon as Calypso's impressive form stood right behind her. She could tell that he was worried, but what was he even worried about?
"O-Oh, it's you," she cheerily swooned, shakily standing up and wrapping one arm around his. "C-Care to take me to bed? I-I'm rather full… at the moment…"
"That, you are," Calypso frowned, her arms moving as he carried her in his embrace. "At least you clearly had fun."
"I did," she happily cheered. She then turned to her two new friends and waved them goodbye. "Till next time, Tatiana! Cornelia!"
The two drunk ladies simply smiled as they waved back in unison. "Y-You too, Lady Aurelia!"
With that done, Aurelia allowed herself to relax in her mate's embrace as he carried her to their shared room. All the while, the burning within her never seemed to stop as the way his skin brushed against hers only stoked the flames blazing within her chest.
"Y-You look great," she blurted out, her mouth already running away from her as she dreamily stared at him. "You sound good too."
"I'm glad you think that, Lia," Calypso smiled at her, making her desires run all the more rampant within her. "Though, I didn't think you'd get drunk again after everything that had happened."
"I-I'm not drunk," she quickly denied.
[Yes, you are,] her wolf sighed.
"No, I'm not," she answered back. She then turned to Calypso for support. "Calypso, I'm not drunk, right?"
"I suppose you're not," he chuckled with a shake of his head, his tone humoring her. "Still, you should rest. You're clearly tired."
Aurelia pouted just as they reached their bedroom. "I'm not t-tired yet."
Unfortunately for her, her mate seemed to think otherwise as he laid her down. He tucked her into bed, his form laying close to hers as he moved beside her.
"I guess I'll turn in myself," he chuckled. "The celebration's almost over anyway."
She couldn't help but frown as she felt his presence beside her. Before she knew it, she was already on top of him, her vision still swaying even as her eyes locked themselves with his.
"L-Lia?"
"I-I said I'm not tired yet," she pouted, her lips pursed as she slurred. "I-I'm going to prove it to you…"
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