CHAPTER TEN

RILEY

Tonight, I look tough without, but within, I flinch at the unrecognizable sound of my own voice.

I hear a gasp from the crowd.

Okay, the plan is respect, not fear. I remind myself.

“Distractions throw me off. It’s something I avoid. I hope you understand and try not to interrupt me again.” My voice is softer this time.

“I understand.” Jill replies with her eyes on the ground.

“Good.”

One conquered.

I look towards her pair, Margaret, to read her reaction. But she immediately avoids my eyes.

Definitely conquered.

Oh the joy I feel.

“The apology wouldn’t involve you all, it will be myself and few of you, maybe two or three. This number of people walking into your house would raise an alarm, even before their intentions of coming is made known.”

No more objections. No more interruptions.

“After this is achieved, we move to the next plan; making a Delivery committee for the pack.”

I hear light murmurs as they turn to one another whispering their opinions, but they make sure I hear nothing. As the voices are supposedly not directed at me, I continue.

“Delivering our women of their pups will no longer be something done by the population that the woman sang or broke bread with. There would be a committee for such occasions. It will be a committee comprising of women for women. We will no longer lose pups because of malice or grudges, as this Committee will be trained and aware of their duties which is to help pregnant women deliver, your friend or not.”

Taking a pause, I realize that in the almost one million words I just spoke, a single stutter did not appear. I didn’t know I could be this fluent.

Could be the adrenaline from how angry I got a few moments ago.

I notice nods and smiles from few women in the crowd. But I don’t smile back. I show no emotions.

“And of course, it would be based on choice if you want to be part. We need a total of five women in this committee. Well, there’s only one person that has no choice but to join. Where is the pack’s midwife?”

I am aware that this pack has a midwife. That I don’t know much, does not mean I know nothing.

A tall, slender woman, standing in the very center of the crowd, raises her right hand. From where I stand, I can see few stands of gray hair, peeking from the brown scarf on her head.

“I am here, Luna.” Her soft voice is in contrast with her tall build.

“May I know your name?”

“May.”

I almost repeat my question, in case she did not hear me clearly, and just caught up the first word I uttered. Then I realize that it is her actual name.

“May, you are the midwife of the pack?”

“Yes Luna. My mom was, and her moms before, so I took it up from them.”

“And you are aware that this committee about to be created needs you. Not as a member, but as a leader.”

“If… if you say so your highness.”

“Perfect. Now please step out.”

Whatever makes her hesitate and look at the faces around her, almost immediately becomes affectless, as she marches over to the front, with her head high.

“One in. For remaining.”

We spend the next very many minutes with me trying to persuade, or suggest to some why they should be a part of other people’s delivery process.

I become exhausted as the number gets to four and gets stuck there. I say stuck, because on the faces of the women still remaining in the crowd, there is certainty that they would not be a path of anything that involves the activities of the committee.

“Since no one else is interested, I think we would go with four, then.” I say trying the push the last button of persuasion.

Then Margaret’s voice rings out.

“Leaders take the first step, to lead by example. So why don’t you be a member of the committee too, and show us how it is done. Then we will follow. I personally, will follow.”

Uh oh.

“That will not be possible.”

And the murmurs begin.

This triggers the previously quiet crowd to get noisy as murmurs of disagreement greet my ears. Some audible, some inaudible.

“It is something I cannot do.”

“Why is that?” Jill, who has finally recovered from the previous rebuke, questions.

Her eyes are back up, and on me.

“Be…because…” I trail off, recognizing the stutter as a sign of panic.

Because the sight of anyone in pain, makes me cry. Because seeing blood makes me vomit. Because I think that the act of child birth should be only be done by those that have experienced it before, in other to aid perfection and avoid complications.

All these, I want to say.

But I don’t.

My stutter has returned, meaning I am emotionally exhausted. I guess the sham of a confident outspoken, elegant Luna has run its course.

“Let us have a reseat on this issue. Probably tomorrow, by dusk. Do have a pleasant night rest.” I give a small forced smile to those who still stand, boring holes into my face with their eyes after some have started leaving the Base.

As I watch them leave, a rush of exhaustion takes over me and I feel light headed. This is expected as I have not eaten all day due to my anticipation and worry about this meeting.

Now that it is over, I feel exhausted like I have run a marathon to the pack’s boundary and back.

They all vacate the premises, making sure that their mumbles and murmurs of their unhappiness on how the meeting ended and the decisions made while it was going on, were made very audible to the initiator.

Myself.

I drag myself down the platform, and drag my feet to the house. There is a strong hope in my heart that Jude is home and in a good mood. Good mood means, he’ll be happy to see me, and probably even take me into his arms.

Those big powerful arms.

I peep into the kitchen, and on seeing the fire off and the pot down on the floor, I realize that dinner has been served.

Did the meeting take that long?

I move farther away from the darkness of the kitchen and head towards the direction of my room.

That’s sounds funny in my head. My room. I have never owned a room to myself. Well, only if the kitchen space is considered a room. That was a room I shared with rodents and insects.

Getting to the room’s door, I go tense and there is a pain in my stomach; from nerves or from hunger. I don’t know.

Could be my ears, but I hear a giggle coming from within. Does that bulky Alpha husband of mine giggle?

I ignore the sound as it could just be a sound produced by my ringing ears, and I knock.

Everything goes still, my heart, my breath, my brain, even the previously fluttering leaves on the trees that stand a distance behind me. All stand still, waiting for that beautiful voice to give me an invitation to come in.

I stay that way for a moment, but nothing comes.

Is he not home yet?

Is he out drinking again?

Has the meetings he went for not ended?

Questions upon questions pile in my mind. I register that he might not be home, but my legs refuse to move. I stay implanted on that particular spot.

I hear something metallic fall in the room.

Hmm?

I knock again.

What if he isn’t fine?

Wasn’t that the sound of a fall?

I knock harder.

“Give me a…minute.” That beautiful voice finally comes. But it comes out strained.

“Okay.” I whisper to myself.

A minute passes. Two. But I still stand out here, trying to use the extra material at the downside of the sleeveless dress I am in to shield myself from the cold.

At about three minutes later, the door flies open inward.

I am taken aback, and it takes me a minute to register who I am looking at.

Theresa.

She has no emotion in her face, as usual, but as she makes to pass by my side, I realize that she avoids eye contact. Even when she goes a few steps further, she breaks into a run.

I watch her till she goes out of sight.

Suspicious.

“You changed your mind about coming in?” Jude’s voice rings out from the room.

I don’t see his face, but I hear the annoyance in his voice. He sounds pissed.

I go through the still opened door and shut it behind me.

I go still when I see Jude.

There he sits like Adonis himself on the bed, with no shirt on. I stare unapologetically at him, my eyes scanning through those abs. I am only just funding out that he has a black scar at the lower right of his belly. Why didn’t I notice that earlier?

“How did the meeting with the women wing go?” His voice cuts me out of my visual assessment.

“Um, yes, it went well. Started off quite rough, but, just like you told me to, I handled it.” I can hear pride in my voice. I can feel it too.

“Quite rough?” his eyebrow pinches together.

“Hmm. Yeah. They went on about my age and the fact that I am an Omega.”

“Oh.” He looks away.

Oh?

That’s all?

“But they used their own mouths to tell me there has been a Luna younger than me.” I brag, my smile returning.

“Oh, I didn’t know about that.” His eyes, those blues come back to mine.

Despite the fact the distance, as I am still standing by the door and he is sitter many frets away from me on the bed, our connection is concrete. I feel like I can actually touch it.

“I am older than she is. Well, was.” I inform him, taking a step towards him.

“Interesting.”

I take another step.

I am thrilled as there is actually interest in his voice.

“She was eighteen.”

I take two steps, my smile big.

“Hmm.”

Another two.

“What? You don’t believe me?” I tease.

Another two. Almost there.

“I’m just surprised. Was she also an Omega?”

I stop.

My smile fades.

I am now standing for more steps away from him, but I feel like I have been thrown to another universe, worlds apart from him.

I am not vulnerable for my rank or ashamed that I had to clean for my Pa’s debts. Never. If that occurrence repeats itself, I would do it again.

And again.

But hearing Jude ask like that makes me feel bad. I thought he is not bothered by the rank differences or the age, though I still don’t know how old he is. I thought he didn’t mind it all.

This may be me reading extra meaning into his probably harmless question. Even if it isn’t, I don’t blame him. He was born an heir to the Alpha, and I was born an Omega.

That is a huge gap.

“I… I didn’t ask that.” My voice comes out low. Withdrawn.

“Okay, so has the issue been resolved?”

“Almost. We plan to me….”

“You women spend hours bantering and don’t come out with any result? That is one ugly thing about your breed. Women.” He throws his hands into the air. “Brainless talk everywhere. And at the end of the day, zero meaning, zero solutions. I couldn’t deal with that, that’s while I handed it over to you.”

“Oh.” Realization smack me in the face.

“Well, you are a woman, you can understand their ways. And you are the Luna, so that comes with it.”

“Okay.”

“So no reports for me? Zero solutions?”

I had planned on holding the details till it is resolved. But…

“I plan on creating a committee. A Delivery committee. I’ll tell you more about it when it is concluded.”

“Now, that makes sense.” He nods.

Pride swells in my chest.

“So why wasn’t it created?” His expression goes back to confused.

“Well, they insisted I should be part of the committee. And I can’t.” I focus on the ground, my fingers intertwined in front of me.

“That’s not how it’s done. You create a group, you join it. In fact, lead it.”

“I…I just cannot.” I can feel the frown on my face.

He goes silent. When I look up, I see an identical frown on his face too.

“Why?”

“Blood. I… I don’t feel bad at the sight of blood.”

Bad is definitely an understatement.

Terrible is the better word.

“Then you can’t be Luna.”