SORAYAThe mumbling was still the most prevalent thing, even after a few minutes, and we just stood there, letting the elders and other council members take it all in.The fact that Xaden chose a completely different interpretation from what they had all imagined, took them by storm, and I wasn’t surprised. Not a single bit.They never wanted me to be a part of them and it’d be stupidity to thing that all of a sudden, in the twinkle of an eye, one fight and a simulation would convince them. I knew it was a losing game right from the very start, and I still decided to play.And this wasn’t even over yet.There was no telling the horrors that awaited me, and I frankly didn’t want to even think about it as I was nestled in Xaden’s arms. Right now, his approval was all that mattered.“You really don’t know what you’re doing,” I could hear Lancelot mutter a little louder than the others, but Xaden still paid him no heed and just kept rocking me.Essentially, despite the choice of my mate…d
SORAYA“When a person tries to force something on you, it’s clearly a glow stick spelling the word ‘danger’, right? If you’re being forced to take a drink, it’s probably poisoned. When you’re unnecessarily coerced to go somewhere against your will, you can’t help but feel like it’s a set up for you, no?”I felt like screaming.What if that person was your mother, forcing you to leave the house and touch some grass?Unnecessary, but you wouldn’t think it to have any malicious intent!The people of the pack didn’t seem to think about it like that, though and seemed to completely resonate with Lancelot.“That’s the same way we have Soraya in our midst, believe it or not,” he nodded emphatically, his spectacles gleaming from the ray that hit it from certain angles. “Whether you would like it or not, she’s is a stranger. And accepting her as Luna is the moral equivalent of getting into the van of strangers, no matter how loyal she tries to prove. She snuck unto us…seduced our Alpha while
XADENHa! I knew it! I knew she had it in her to resist! To oppose!Here she was, eloquent as ever. As eloquent to the crowd in open, as she was to me in private. I knew she had it in her. I just didn’t know how to bring it out in her.Maybe all the encouragement has finally paid off. I wasn’t sure what awoke this beast in her, but I liked it.I could see the embarrassment flush through her face when she looked at me, and I immediately averted my gaze so as not to make her feel too uncomfortable, but that was too late.She buckled her knees and plopped right into the chair beside me. With a swell of pride in my chest, I took her hand and clutched it tight.Her courage was so sexy, I felt the strong urge to whisk her away, far from the prying eyes of the fault seeking crowd before us today, and to a place where it would be just us, and make such sweet love to her, more than she had ever experienced.It would be raw, and passionate, a big expression of how I want now, no one but her to
XADEN“Huh…” I took a step back to evaluate the situation. What was the play? It stumped me. I was a little confused, but she didn’t have to know, so I gave her a poker face.She still saw through it…or at least, acted like she did…which was a good bet.“What? You thought Soraya could fight a full-blooded beta wolf on her own? Let alone one that was trained and curated for battle?” she scoffed. “Gotta be kidding me.”“Why, then?” Soraya asked her. “Why did you do it? Why are you helping me?”“Because I believe in the power of the mating bond, Soraya,” Kira told her pointedly. “When all this is done. When I finish my duties for the day, I will go back home to a man. One look into his eyes will take away all the stress…all the anger…everything,” she mused.There was so much happiness in her eyes when she talked and I could really feel the genuine energy pulsing.It was weird, but it was welcome.“If the moon goddess…the first and original Luna…thinks you’re the mate of our alpha, then s
XADENI watched Kira leave, her quick paced footsteps peppered with a little bit of sass, as was her usual gait.There was always something about her. Something I couldn’t place that made me just a tad bit uneasy about her. That feeling became even stronger as I saw her move away, and I knew it was just the paranoia, but hey…anyone blame me?I turned to Soraya as soon as she was gone. “You really trust her?”“Of course not,” she scrunched her face and pursed her lips after her answer, bewildering me. “She’s offering a truce, though, and right now, we need someone there. Someone in the council that believes in us.”I nodded.“Okay, then…so, what’s the plan?”“Well, you heard her. We push for adjournment, and then we reconvene later and see what she has in store. If it’s not feasible, then we push forward alone, trying our best to convince the pack. If she wasn’t right about anything, I had to agree with what she said about the vote. It’s going to take more than a five-minute outburst
XADEN“Fine, then.” Rangok scoffed and flailed his arms in the air in defeat. “Go for your little break. You can’t run away from what is coming,” he grunted in frustration.“Which is?” I raised an inquisitive eyebrow.He held my gaze contemptuously and refused to spew whatever venom it was that was in his mind, and right at the tip of his tongue.“The court is dismissed, in light of no further questions,” he sneered and kept his eyes on mine even when the court started clearing out.Intimidation wasn’t my thing to back out of, and a staring contest was where you could imagine I would naturally excel as the alpha of the pack.I would literally back down for absolutely no-one.Not even when he started approaching me. He and a few other elders of the council. I remained stoic in my position, with my arms folded thick across my chest. I couldn’t even be bothered to curl my fists up for a fight, no matter how menacing they appeared.I could take all of them with just my teeth and legs…as e
XADENI watched them all leave, still not 100% sure what to think about Kira and her new secret mission.But perhaps, a far more pressing question on my mind, was what an innocent, young, inexperienced wolf like Soraya could have done to them, to elicit this vehement opposition from them.Like I said, this felt way beyond the usual norms and traditional ordinances, because if it were that, then I was willing to place a bet that with Soraya’s display and new found boldness, they would have been convinced.Something was wrong, and while I couldn’t place it, I promised myself that I would at least, try.Once the majority of people had filed out of the hall, the natural sunlight that came from the windows, came and casted their blinding glow on Soraya.Her beautiful, tanned skin looked even more emphasized under the assault of the sun, and the little wisps of hair on her arms and face, that would otherwise have been difficult to spot, now seemed visible enough.I watched as she squinted h
XADEN“I uhh…there’s a lot,” she hesitated.“I know, baby. If you don’t want to, you can tell me. All that has to…”She shook her head, interrupting me. “I want to do this, Xaden. There’s no other way to prove to the people that I can lead them without showing them that I can I can handle the ropes of leadership.”I settled into the chair, feeling a little more proud of the woman that Soraya was becoming, every single day that passed and I knew she could see it on my face.She looked away when I smiled a little, the little shy girl in her brimming to the top.“I understand you, Sora. You want to do this, but you’re…” I didn’t want to complete it on her behalf. I didn’t want to put words into her mouth.“Scared,” she muttered quietly and it made it a lot easier for me to offer my solutions. I loved communication. When it was clear and concise, communication was a very powerful tool.“I’m scared, Xaden…that I’ll mess it all up. I mean, I already started with a precedence…the speech from
SORAYAI tried to make a stance and defend myself to the best of my abilities. I wished with more than anything in me that Xaden would find me right now. I could really use the help. I watched as the Rogue continued to run at me, preparing to pounce. He came at me, claws first as he dove over a vehicle that separated us. I closed my eyes out of instinct as I waited for the killing blow. It never came. All I heard was a sharp wince that seemed to come from the Rogue as it collided with something—or someone.I opened my eyes, promptly locating the rogue on the pavement. He was been pounced on by someone. I couldn’t make out who exactly but I silently thanked them—feeling extremely lucky for their timely intervention.I moved slowly towards them and I noticed that it was a woman. She continued to beat the Rogue savagely. Clawing and biting at it with every intention of killing him. When the Rogue stopped struggling, probably from passing out or dying, I tried to thank her for coming to
SORAYAI quickly located the car in Xaden’s parking spot after a brief glance around the lot. It was a little corner spot that overlooked the faculty and I made my way to it before unlocking the trunk. I retrieved two large picnic baskets and set them down gently on the floor beside the car.It was really nice being out of the house again. Kaylee definitely needed it but I may have needed it more. The poor kid, it’s unfortunate she has to grow up in such less than ideal conditions. But at least for today, she could be happy playing in the sun and feeling the wind on her face. The atmosphere was clear and the sky was blue with very few clouds, it was perfect for a little family day out. The morning sun shone brightly, it’s golden rays sparkled with radiance. I felt renewed and content. Life couldn’t be better. Our enemies seem to have all been defeated and the pack finally accepted me as their Luna—I couldn’t explain the feeling I felt. Celeste had been banished, along with her father
MALCOLM“Can I see some Identification?”“Definitely. Uhh...let me check...” I stumbled through my jacket pocket and retrieved my business card. It still had the dark moon insignia from our previous business together.Thank the blessed goddess.She picked up the card and glossed over it intently, resigning only when she found no faults with it.“Well, it seems authentic to me Mr Malcolm. Being affiliated with a pack, especially one as influential as the Dark moon pack, gives you certain privileges.” She started as she folded her arms across her chest. “One of those privileges is free passage to and from the borderlands as long as you don’t plan to stir up any troubles there. However, it is my job to keep you informed on how dangerous a place it can be.” She said, looking up again. “Everyday, we are swarmed with reports of many going in, and only very few returning. Do you understand what I’m saying Mr. Malcolm?” She inquired as she made eye contact with me. I remained silent. I knew t
MALCOLMI mustn’t fail her. I must not fail Celeste again. I thought to myself as I made my way to the corner closet. I had to get her the yellow wolf’s bane even if it meant breaking the rules and crossing the border.Failing her would basically spell doom for me. Money was drying up fast and the business was basically dead in the water. Those spineless cowards! The community Pack leaders and the Alphas. Refusing to do business with me because they were afraid of him. Afraid of that bastard Xaden! I sighed at my impossible situation, knowing it was all my doing. This was all by my design. They would however be sorry in the end. Those spineless fools! When Xaden was finally back on my side. They would then understand the true meaning of pain.I drew out a large suitcase out of the closet. I didn’t know how long I was going to be gone. It was going to be dangerous. But I needed this. Desperate times required that I suck it up and get my ass across the border.What had I been thinking?
JEREMY“Where are you?” I asked, speaking into my phone and attempting to dust off my shoes as I entered the building. It was futile. I disposed of them and put on some hiking boots that had been left by some of the other groundskeepers. He was holed up in the basement. I found a small flashlight and went down the flight of stairs. “Cyrus..” I called out, peering in the dark and reaching for a light switch. Turning it on, the dark and dingy basement came to full view, completely lighting up. I spotted Cyrus sitting in a corner of the basement, clutching tightly to a steel black box. He was bruised and bloodied badly, looking quite roughed up.“Boss..” He managed to call out to me as he fumbled to get to his feet. He placed the box on a wooden slab, turning it to face me.“What the fuck happened, Cyrus?” I looked him over. He seemed to be healing but not quite fast enough. His jacket was completely shredded and he seemed to have lost an eye. I looked over at the box. I picked it up a
JEREMY“Take me back to the compound!” I said to the driver as I walked out the cemetery gate. I had been quiet in my arrival, slowly creeping up on him, startling him. He was leaning over the bonnet, probably smoking.“Arrgh...yes Sir...right away sir.” He said, dusting off the ashes and crushing the cigarette butt.It had such a rancid smell.“You were gone for quite sometime sir. I was beginning to worry but you’ve warned me never to interrupt you when you visited, no matter what.” He said looking at me and gesturing me into the car as he pulled the door open.“Yes I was and you were right not to disturb me.” I said, looking up at him. “I took sometime because I needed to take sometime and that’s the end of it.” I said, making my way into the car and pulling my phone out from my pocket as he locked the door.“Yes sir.” He said and made his way to the driver seat. I had indeed taken quite some time. The sun had set already and we slowly approached twilight. The autumn falls made e
CELESTEThe things I had done for him. He drove me so crazy and what was crazier still, was that I would do it all over again without missing a beat. That was how much I wanted to be with him.My train of thought were completely cut off by movements in the front porch. I heard someone stumbling against the door. It was probably my father again. He had been a loose cannon of recent, drinking himself rotten, only able to feel a little buzz with each binge. He was taking it hard. Business had basically grinded to a stop as he could no longer namedrop Xaden to the surrounding communal packs. He had become a disgrace, a pariah, almost executed even had it not been for the benevolence of Xaden and my own naïvety. The packs didn’t want to work with him for fear of Xaden and the humans would not work with him for fear of the packs. He was lost.It was his fault. I thought callously as I finished the last bit of scotch in my glass. He was a stupid man and the architect of his own misfortune. W
CELESTEThings had begun to fall pleasantly into place and it seemed like for once, the fates were finally on my side. I thought to myself as I took a swig of scotch before setting the glass on the counter. The bottle was almost empty and I let out a low growl—father couldn’t even afford to replace our liquor anymore.I poured myself another cup and made my way to the couch, kicking off my shoes and reclining into the sofa.The moon goddess was however very gracious to me. Even from the point of despair and sadness, a ray of hope seemed to burst through, casting away the shadows and banishing my worries.Jeremy. I thought to myself trying to remember the series of events that had led up to today’s meeting.I had been so down and bad, almost depressed to an inch of my life—how had things gotten so bad, so fast? I had it all. Everything I could have ever wanted lay in my hands and I lost it. I still could hardly believe it. Where had it gone oh so wrong?Soraya. I bit my lip at the thou
XADEN“Well hello Mr. Professor.” Soraya said, fondling the threads on my robe and wearing a mischievous grin. She drew me closer for another passionate kiss. “Lupine would be perfect for a little picnic and Kaylee could play with other kids.” She said as she hugged me tight. She had needed this. “Thank you Xaden. I’ll go get dressed.” And like that, she was gone. Hurriedly making her way upstairs.“And I’ll get the car ready!” I managed to call out after her before looking over to Kaylee. She was playing with her spork, messing up her leftovers.“And as for you little lady...” I begun, picking her up. She giggled loudly.“...we’re going to get you in a nice little dress.” She was on my shoulders again and we headed for the nursery. I could only stare blankly, in total awe, as Soraya made her way down the stairs. She was wearing a bright yellow maiden gown and a sky blue cashmere scarf. Both colors looked marvelous on her and she was radiant. I could fall in love with her all over aga