Chapter 1 : Introductions

*Valeria*

I frowned as I looked around the great room.

“No, put that there instead, it’s blocking the window where it is now,” I said, directing the people carrying one of the large floral arrangements.

They obeyed immediately.

“How is this, Luna?” Heath asked as he helped move the heavy object.

“Perfect,” I said with an encouraging smile, hiding my anxiety well.

“Anything for you, Luna,” Corrine said with a small bow of her head, stepping back with Heath.

I checked again and made sure everything looked perfect, not only for humans but also werewolf and Lycans. It was not a hard job for me, but as the human Luna of Sapphire Moon pack- one of the biggest packs in America, I was not so confident when it came to welcoming the Lycan King.

6 years ago I met my husband and my mate Declan in college and we fell in love immediately, after 3 years of relationship he told me his real identity was Alpha of a big werewolf pack, I didn’t believe him and thought it was some kind of prank, but after he took me to his pack and I witnessed the shifting of a werewolf, I finally accepted the fact that my future husband was supernatural species that I thought it only existed in fantasy books.

Lucky for me, Declan’s pack, the Sapphire Moon Pack, had been very accepting of me from the beginning. It had made adjusting to this world easy enough, and I had ruled over them as Luna in peace for the last three years, standing alongside my perfect mate.

The only regret we had was that I still didn’t conceive for him, an Alpha needs an heir.

Usually, I wouldn't be so serious about this work, but today was different.

I shifted nervously back and forth. My nerves were so high that I jumped as an arm laced through mine.

“Quit overthinking,” Rosie said with a warm smile. “It looks great.”

My body relaxed ever so slightly as the comfort my best friend was offering me.

“It needs to be perfect,” I told her, trying and failing to smile back at her.

“And it will be,” she tugged me away from the room. “Now, come on, it’s time to make you look perfect. Even those uppity Lycans will be in awe of your beauty.”

“Don’t let them hear you say that,” I said, but a smile finally spread against my face.

“So, what should I know about Lycans, will they eat me alive? ”

“They aren’t as bad as they sound,” Rosie continued, leading me to my room.

It was easy for her to say that, she was a werewolf. Even as an omega she was stronger and had more power than me. If I wasn’t mated to Alpha Declan, I would have less power than her. Humans and werewolves might intermingle, but they still believed they were superior to us.

But in those three years, I had never met the Lycans. As much as I tried to have confidence, I had the odd feeling that something was going to happen. I needed to talk to Rosie to ease my nervousness.

"The Lycans rule over the werewolves," Rosie continued, brushing through my hair. "It's not in a werewolf's DNA to take orders from anyone but their chosen Alpha. But the Lycans were above the werewolf, they were larger, stronger, and more powerful.

I nodded. Despite their smaller numbers, they were too strong to overthrow.

“Most of them are just like us, but some of them were cold-hearted monsters, I heard some of the warriors saying that King Dominic is the worst of the worst, he killed his own mate after she betrayed him” she continued, my stomach doing another flip. "But I don't know if that's true or if it's just their awful male egos."

Well, that didn't ease my tension!

"Really??” I looked at her in surprise and shock. “I mean, I’ve heard they are ruthless, but I would have never guessed that.”

“I don’t know if they are that bad really,” Rosie said, her voice suddenly turning serious. “I’ve seen pretty bad things…"

A chill swept over me. If she thought it was bad, then it really must be. Flashes of how I met Rosie passed through my head.

It was not long after I became the Luna of the pack, Declan told me that they caught two rogues in their territory, I was there too and that was the first time I met Rosie and Melissa. Declan believed they were rogues, and Declan couldn't stand any rogue wolf.

But I insisted on saving the two girls, it was one of our first arguments, but I wouldn't stand back. I could tell that they were just young girls, even if they were rogues, they didn't deserve to die.

And somehow I had won.

Rosie and her sister Melissa had fallen crying at my feet, telling their tale of how their pack had kicked them out and they were being hunted by rogues. Rosie's sincerity had drawn me to her immediately, Melissa was younger. She had turned and clung to Declan, thanking him for his kindness.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly as she continued to brush my hair.

“There is nothing to apologize for,” Rosie said, shaking her head. “It’s been two years since then, I’m fine, and I am grateful that you saved us, Luna Valeria. ”She smiled at me and I could see the sincerity in her eyes, I smiled at her too.

“Me too Rosie, you are my best friend.”

Rosie had become my maiden when she returned and was in charge of taking care of me. We had made fast friends, and I had been her shoulder to cry on multiple times, she was my biggest support except for my husband, I didn’t have any sister, so we were as close as sisters by blood.

“So how was Melissa’s 18th birthday, does she like the dress I chose for her?”I asked. I didn’t know it until a few days ago, but Declan told me that he brought a gift to Melissa. I was shocked; I never heard Rosie mention Melissa’s birthday. I brought Rosie things she liked on her 18th birthday and promised that I would pay for her college as long as she wanted to go to college when she told me she was already an adult. Yet I hadn't even realized their birthday was so close.

It was odd, but the two did not get along.

As if reading my thoughts, Rosie continued as she curled and pulled on my hair.

“Melissa was happy, but I think she would like a gift from Alpha Declan…Luna Valeria, I need to tell you something.” Rosie suddenly became serious.

“What is it?” I asked. “You know you can be open with me.”

“I think you should send Melissa away.”

“What? Why?” I pressed.

I looked at her trying to read her emotions. Had something happened? Rosie almost looked…nervous. I thought.

Rosie stepped back admiring my hair before moving on. “Time for makeup.”

At first, I didn’t think she was going to answer me as we sat there in silence as she started on my makeup. After a few moments though I heard her let out a sigh.

“I think she has a thing for Alpha Declan,” Rosie said.

A laugh broke from me before I could stop it. Declan was my mate, my one true love…and wolves didn’t mess with mates. Even if I couldn’t feel the bond as a human, I had enough people describe it to me that I knew how intense it was. Besides, Declan loved me, Melissa was like our little sister. There was no way he would be interested in her.

“It’s not a joke, Luna,” Rosie said tightly.

“I’m sorry,” I said in a more serious voice. “I didn’t mean to laugh. What is this really about though? Did you two fight? She’s your sister you know, you need to be nice to her.”

“I’m not joking,” she said just as seriously, and I peeked at her through my closed eyes to see that she was indeed serious.

“Okay, okay,” I said soothingly. “Why do you think she has a thing for Declan?”

A deep breath.

“I know Melissa, I am her sister, you might not notice but I did, the way she looked at Alpha Declan was weird. And because it’s happened before,” Rosie said. “That’s why our last pack gave us over to the rogues. Melissa was accused of seducing the Alpha.”

“But she was only sixteen when we saved you guys,” I said with a frown.

“Don’t scrunch your forehead, it will ruin your makeup.” Another pause as I relaxed. “The Alpha denied having sex with her, and I stood up for my sister… but the Luna said she had proof and she kicked us out, me for defending her.”

“That’s terrible,” I said slowly. “It must have been the Alpha’s doing then, you were both so young…he must have deceived Melissa, taken advantage of her. He should be blamed, not her. And I know that Declan would never do something like that, even if she was interested.”

“I thought like that too, but I always had a feeling that Melissa lied to me about the truth, Luna Catherine was not an unreasonable person, she was nice to us and she said she had evidence. A few days ago I warned her to keep her distance from Alpha Declan, she said I was jealous because she could stay with Alpha Declan.”

“She is just a girl and she just turned eighteen Rosie, she will grow up.”

“You’re too kind,” Rosie sighed. “You never think anybody could be bad, even when they are.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said as my stomach flopped again. “Those Lycans sure sound bad…”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to find out for ourselves, won’t we?” Rosie said. “Now let’s get you dressed.”

***

The gown that I now wore swished along the floor as I walked towards the double doors. Even with the heels I wore, the dress was a tad long. Most werewolf women were taller and more muscular than me, so getting dresses to fit my petite frame proved to be difficult. I could have the dresses hemmed, but I found it a waste of pack funds, plus there weren’t many occasions for gowns this fancy.

A smile broke over my face as I saw Declan standing by the doors waiting for me. He was dressed handsomely as well in a tan-colored suit that looked sharp on his light skin. My pace quickened, wanting to get to him sooner.

“Hey, handsome,” I said when his eyes met mine. He smiled when he saw me and gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“Valeria my baby, you look stunning tonight.”

I moved in to hug him. And I could smell a hint of something on his jacket…was that vanilla? I had never smelt vanilla on him before.

A strange feeling flashed through my mind, I asked him with confusion.“What is the smell on your shirt?"

His body was tense and stiff beneath mine, and quickly pulled me out of his arms.

“What smell? I smell nothing.”Declan frowned.

“Declan, you forgot this!”Before I could ask more. A voice called and I turned to see Melissa running up to us.

Wait. Had she just called him by his name? Not Alpha?

Melissa’s cheeks were flushed as she looked at me. “Oh, apologies Luna. Alpha, you forgot this in your office, and I was asked to bring it to you.”

Melissa handed over Declan’s watch, the one I had gotten him for our first anniversary.

“Thank you,” Declan said, his voice still tight, but not quite so cold.

Melissa gave a small bow and then turned to head back down the hallway. When she turned her hair flipped towards me and even human, I could smell the strong smell coming from her.

It was vanilla.

Rosie’s words from earlier flashed through my mind and my chest seemed to squeeze as I looked back at Declan.

“There isn’t anything going on between you two, is there?” I asked, feeling dumb but needing to voice it.

“What? No, of course not,” Declan said. “Why would you even suggest something like that? Are you trying to put me in a worse mood?”

“No, I’m sorry,” I said, but I couldn’t back down. “It’s just that…I swear I can smell her perfume on you.”

“I had her iron my suit, maybe she accidentally sprayed it or something, I don’t know,” Declan continued.

The uneasy feeling in my chest didn’t lighten.

“Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Declan said softly, leaning in to give me a small kiss. “It’s just this damn visit. Let’s get through tonight, and everything can go back to normal.”

I smiled at him. He was right, I was being silly. I loved him, and he loved me. I was his mate. He had put his trust in me and the trust to be his Luna, and I needed to return the favor. Our bond was strong. There was no way he could betray me. I needed to give him that same trust.

Even if everything inside was screaming at me not to.

“Normal,” I said in agreement with a smile, grabbing his hand.

The double doors opened, and we walked inside, walking by our pack, and our people as we made our way to the two seats at the side of the room. They weren’t as extravagant as thrones would be, not wanting to insult the Lycan King, but decorated enough to separate us from the rest and mark us as the Alpha and the Luna.

As soon as we sat the chatter began again. Declan turned towards his Beta standing beside him, whispering something in his ear that I couldn’t hear. I looked out over the crowd, trying to settle my nerves that were still itching and burning.

The feeling was getting stronger. The feeling of tension, of nerves. It almost felt like I would be sick, so I grabbed a flute of champagne from one of the waiters as they walked by.

Someone cleared their throat suddenly and the entire hall went silent. I held my breath.

“Announcing King Dominic and his court,” the voice cried out, clear through the silence.

And then there they were.

Five bodies walked through the entryway, all wearing black, enforcing the aura of power and danger that seemed to leak out of them. My heart skipped a beat. I was sure that all of them would be able to kill me with one hand.

Their muscular forms were clear under their clothes, and I had to admit that I understood the rumors. Getting used to werewolves had been odd, but these guys were in another world. Strong and lethal were the first words that came to my mind.

I continued to inspect them, feeling drawn to the figure in the middle: the tallest and best-looking one for sure. His black suit was dark, but it didn’t even hold a candle to the darkness of his hair. The hair curled and twisted, looking windblown as if he just got done running. The hair that perfectly framed his strong jaw and furrowed brow.

His eyes suddenly looked up, locking onto mine, I felt a small sigh escape me. The tension I had been feeling disappeared.