CHAPTER NINETEEN

RILEY

“All hail the Alpha.”

The gravity of this shout, jolts me to instant awareness, wiping out all sleep remaining in me.

Theresa had not lied about everyone being in confusion. I had gotten here a few minutes ago and the murmurs were incomprehensible, but loud. Everybody was talking to somebody, with a tight worried expression on their faces.

What is going on? I had asked in my head.

On noticing that no one paid attention to my arrival, I moved to my side of the Alpha platform and stood overlooking their discussions and activities.

The Men wing, present. The woman wing, fully present, I even saw some familiar faces like Jill who faced about six women, probably giving them the ‘full gist’ of what had happened. Pups, very much absent.

Then my husband, the man in my dreams, came to stand on the Alpha platform. And all discussions ceased.

Jude raises his hand in silent response to their greetings, but where I’m standing, I can see his face through the help of the crescent hanging lonely in the sky.

He has a frown on his face. A frown of confusion.

“I was summoned to this meeting like every one of you. I still don’t have an idea why this meeting is taking place, but as I was made aware that the pack is here waiting to be addressed by me as my messenger had brought the message of this meeting to you, here I am. Can someone give me the report of what my messenger said to you as he arrived at your door step?” as he speaks, his frown goes in deeper, forming lines of wrinkles.

If only he would permit me to run my hand along that line and soothe him. If only.

A tall hefty man, standing at the front of the gathering, clears his throat loudly, ready to speak. That is an ancient way to seek audience, and he held wisdom acquired from age in his eyes.

As werewolves, aging never becomes a problem, no matter how long we live. You just get matured, then growth stops, but age continues.

“My heart had skipped on sighting the Alpha’s messenger, as it wasn’t expected. But I had to drop everything and listen to what he had to say. The mention of emergency made my heart beat faster. The messenger had come with news that our pack was in serious danger, and the Alpha summons us all, myself and my wife inclusive, to the Base for an important impromptu meeting at night. So, here I am.”

Many nod to this report, showing that they had all been told the same.

“Hmm.” My eyes returns to Jude, on hearing his sigh. “So details of the supposed emergency was not given to any of you?”

Heads turn to look at the persons standing close, to see if anyone knows the exact reason why they had been summoned.

Even Jill, who had earlier had a large group as her audience, now has nothing to say. Had she been feeding them lies?

On confirming that no one beside them know anything, heads begin to shake from left to right and right to left.

“No? Interesting. So is this false alarm? I never sent that messenger to you esteemed people of this pack.” Jude declares.

He didn’t?

This declaration triggers murmurs from different angles of the space. The frowns that had disappeared at the arrival of the Alpha has now returned on their faces, with fiercer agility.

But one thing about murmurs is that as everyone speaks, no one speaks. It’s just a wave of noise like the noise coming from a stormy sea.

This noise reminds me of the creek.

Why did I forget my spot of solace? I spent most of my days there when I was younger. It was my favorite place in the world as Ma rests there. And whenever I go there, I feel a connection with her, like she has me wrapped in her arms.

I had stopped going there, as I barely had time to do anything fir myseof as I got busy trying to clear Pa’s debt.

It’s funny that this murmur that makes me uncomfortable as it is being directed to my Alpha, has reminded me of my own spot. This noise is the same noise of nothingness heard in the creek, whenever the water is tossed about by the wind.

It’s a sign of a storm’s arrival, to disturb the peace.

“But, aside myself, there are people close to my rank that can make this kind of decision to send the messenger an errand in my name. Your Luna here, is one of them.”

Wh…what?!

How did this suddenly twist to become my fault? I didn’t do it. In fact, I’ve done nothing all day but sleep. If sleeping is a crime, then I am very much guilty. But this? What is going on?

All these come out loudly, in my head, so it changes nobody’s thought about the accusation.

They all stare at me with a murderous look. Men and women.

I definitely understand this situation. They have been dragged out here, for nothing and their ears have been itching for information that never existed. Now that they are aware of the futility of their coming here, they are looking for an entity to vent on.

They can’t vent on the Alpha. They cannot.

So now that they have been given a weaker entity to divert their rage on, that is my very quiet and very confused self, they seize the offer and pounce. Predator on its prey.

See? I told you I’m smart. I am beginning to get a hang on the reasons why things a done in a certain in this place.

But my smart mind is totally blank now, as it doesn’t offer me any solution to this situation that I’ve been put into.

By the love of my life.

This isn’t how I envisioned this night to go. I had thought my dream to be reality. A reality so beautiful, ill rather be locked up in than return to the actual reality. And now I’m standing, without warning, with multiple taunting eyes on me, silently accusing me of something I have no idea of.

Can I just return to sleep? To my dream?

“I’m sure the Luna has answer to our questions.” Jude rubs it in. Then he slowly turns to face me. Looking at me for the first time since he arrived. For the first time in weeks.

My confused and pleading eyes lock with his. Maybe he see way I try to communicate to him with my eyes. Maybe.

“So Luna, why are we gathered here tonight? What is the very huge emergency that we are gathered here for?”

He ignores the pleading in my eyes, and finally makes me prey.

I don’t know. I want to shake the earth with my scream, so it’s audible enough for them all. But my mouth won’t just open.

Being put in the spot awakens my nerves and anxiety overwhelms me. My palms get sweaty and I know if I force myself to speak now, that speech would be decorated with a lot of stutters, it might end up being incoherent.

So I keep mute, my eyes fixed to the ground.

“I had to leave my very young pup at home to run down here.” Very familiar voice, so I look up to who it is. “And I’m sure most of us left important things to be here.” Trust Jill to be very outspoken at this moment.

“I had to take out the fire it took me time to light up and suspend my cooking of dinner for this meeting.” Just as expected, her clone, Margaret speaks as backup.

There she stands fight beside Jill, her both hands on her waist.

Weird.

Why hadn’t I seen her earlier?

“So Luna, if it’s urgent, or an emergency, why don’t you speak up? At least, we hope it’s not too late to take action, so that we’ll get into action immediately. I don’t want to believe we got ourselves a mute Luna.”

I take my time to scan the whole space, different shades of eyes boring into my skin.

It is at this moment that that feeling returns in its full force.

I had had this feeling multiple times. When I had been locked up in the kitchen cage, when Pa had asked who I was, when I lay at my spot in Stefani’s parents’ house. That feeling shows up at every hard phase of my life.

That nagging feeling that has returned right at this moment.

Loneliness.

“Speak up.” Jude orders.

And like my body reacts to every word that come out of that mouth, my mouth gets to work.

“I…I don’t kn…know. I di…didn’t send th…the messenger.” I don’t even know who that is. But I keep that to myself.

The murmurs greet my ears again.

Oh how I miss the creek side. How I would offer anything to be there at this moment. Instead of here.

“Are you sure you didn’t send him?” Jude questions, audibly, suspicion evident in yhe look he gives me.

The crowd go quiet to hear my response.

I nod.

“You didn’t mistakenly send him off?”

I shake my head.

“Words, Luna.”

“N…No.” I force my mouth to work, with my eyes fixed on his.

“So what were you doing earlier today, Luna?”

Okay, that is easy. I was doing the most harmless thing one can do.

“I…I was sl…sleeping.” This stutter of mine.

Then the murmurs return.

I am unable to read the reason for their complaints or the expression on Jude’s face.

“So we were deprived of sleep by this news, while you spent your whole day sleeping?” Margaret voices out her displeasure.

Don’t judge me. I don’t know anything.

“Did we get ourselves a sleepy head Luna, who sleeps in the day while others work? Is being a Luna now a holiday? You work all your life then become Luna and don’t even lift an object while your tended to and taken care of?” Jill’s unfiltered words pour out from her unfiltered thoughts.

That’s not true.

“Has she suddenly forgotten that she’s an Omega, meant to scrub and clean?” this comes from an unexpected source. A much familiar voice.

A voice that has shouted my name multiple times.

That round woman that had refused to forgive my Pa, and had subjected me to years of hard work.

Stefani’s Ma.

Hearing that come from a familiar source, hurts more.

My eyes begin burn. A sign that tears that I have held back for years would soon begin to pour out of my eyes.

Why does this always happen to me.

To think that as Luna I shouldn’t be spoken to in such condescending manner. But what do they say about taking the gutter out of the girl? I will always be that Omega that knows only how to clean.

“That is no way to talk to our beautiful Luna.”

Jude?

I turn to face him.

That didn’t come from him. Jude has his gaze fixed on a person. “Stephen.”

Beta Stephen?

Had he said that? Did he just support me? Defend me?

He ignores Jude’s call and meets my gaze. His light browns on my blues.

“She said she didn’t send the messenger. So believe her, because I believe her.”

He does?

“What are you saying? And where have you been?” Jude asks, a hint of anger in his voice.

That’s true. He hadn’t been present earlier.

“Alpha, I was busy taking care of the emergency. And yes, there is actually an emergency. I get the hint of an attack and I came looking for you, but you weren’t at the Base. I believe that the Luna didn’t send the messenger to the pack with fake news, because I was the one that sent the messenger. And there is nothing fake about the news, as there was actually an attack on the pack’s store.”

Relief almost brings tears to my eyes.

I sag in relief as everyone’s eyes move to the Beta, where he stands at the left part of the Alpha’s platform. I hadn’t even known that I had stood that upright and stiff or that I hadn’t been breathing well, until a rush of breathe escapes my slightly opened mouth.

Goodness.

“Our sliver store?” worry is etched on Jude’s face and his eyes go wide as he asks.

And like that, my relief dies.

Beta Stephen nods.

Wait.

Green Creek Pack has a silver store?