Gemma
Her nerves were on edge, so she went running again that next morning. It seemed it was not just her the Elders were going to talk about, but also Wade and Charlie. She was terrified for her friends and she needed to do something with all the nervous energy. So early morning, she stepped outside in her work-out clothes and found Charlie, Wade and Grant waiting for her at the front of the pack house. The commander soon showed up as well.
She didn’t say anything as she started her run, mostly because her throat was constricted with worry. But soon she noticed something was odd and glanced around to find half the pack running behind her. What the hell was going on?
Shaking her head to herself, she kept running, the commander had fallen into step beside her, but she studiously ignored him as she pushed herself to go that little bit further than she had the previous day. The running helped somewhat to soothe the ne
GemmaThere was a long silence as the Elders seemed to mind link among themselves. Then all eyes turned to her once more. Well, the elder’s eyes, none of the others had stopped watching her.“Is it true, Commander, that Luna Gemma is your mate?” Elder Heath asked with a stern scowl on his features.The commander came to his feet once more, and stood proudly. “That is correct, Elder Heath.”“And yet, she has no mark or the slightest scent of you on her.” Elder Heath answered in reproach.“We have not had time to get to know each other, Elder Heath.” The commander answered in return, his expression and voice emotionless.“Very well.”“Elders, I request permission to woo Luna Gemma as a chosen mate.” Attorney Thompson spoke as he came to his feet.Elder Heath blinked at him in surprise. “Is it the pac
Dale“She called them the eldest and the mid-lifers! I love her!!” Grant was cackling in his mind, while Duke was snort-laughing with his own amusement. Only his training kept his features smooth at the situation.It would be adorably endearing if she hadn’t already insulted Elder Heath. He was a no-nonsense wolf that seemed to have no sense of humor when it came to his duties. He hoped her mutterings wouldn’t get her into deeper trouble.At least Elder Daniels seemed to like her adorable confusion with everything wolf. If she hadn’t rushed out of the meeting yesterday, they might have been able to answer some of her questions and maybe informed her somewhat of what to expect. But she was just so headstrong and unwilling to trust them – well, him.If they had had the conversation, they might have been able to warn her that getting the Elder’s attention any m
GemmaElder Daniels had started explaining some things to her the previous night. It had ranged from normal pack traditions to a Luna’s duty during those traditions. He also explained that she would need to go through the initiation as a Luna before the tournament happened, but Elder Crawford insisted that they needed to do a before and after scan of her brainwaves to see if there would be a change.After dinner she had tiredly trudged up the stairs, but Commander Dale intercepted her and informed her that she would be sleeping on the Alpha floor as the Luna of the pack and that all her things had been moved. He had also told her that, for the moment, she would have to work in the office with them until an office could be cleaned up and prepared according to her specifications. Yet another thing she would have to oversee.Her night seemed too short after that and she sluggishly raised herself when her alarm went off. She was d
GemmaHis intense gaze had her frozen on her spot and she opened her mouth to yell at him for growling at her, but then he surprised her by laying a gentle kiss on her lips. The sensations that coursed through her at that tender touch had her staring at him in wide-eyed shock, leaving her speechless for the moment.“What the Elders want and what the alpha wants is not always the same.” He whispered gently while he cupped her face in his hands. “Alphas need their Lunas to balance them and that means being his partner, not his slave.”She was drawn from her daze by Elder Stuart’s chuckle. “I have a feeling the other Elders are about to have their hands full with her. She’s spunky! And exactly what the wolves need, I think. We have been wallowing in the past for far too long.” He grinned and winked at her.She glanced back to the commander who was still towe
DaleTwo weeks into their month of preparation for the tournament Dale found himself both amazed and angered by what he could see happening around his mate.Against all odds, she had managed to be a quick learner, moving on to more advanced self-defense as well as soaking up information about packs and history like a sponge. She had also managed to have most of the shops revamped and their omegas now had quite a few businesses running.They now had a diner, a nail bar, boutique, hairstylists, coffee shop, building company and a combined gift shop and homemade candy store. They even had an ice cream stand.But what angered him was seeing how the Elders had both used her as a lab rat and trained her to be nothing more than arm candy for an alpha. Was that what they expected a Luna to be? Pretty but brainless?Apparently, she had decided that her turning would take place over the weekend since she was in perfectly healthy condi
GemmaGemma was annoyed when they insisted she had to go for more tests on Friday afternoon, but she guessed they wouldn’t take no for an answer. She had a list of things she wanted to sort out that afternoon and she’d thought she had done the expected amount of tests already. How many more tests could they possibly do on her?She was shown to a room and told to change into the stupid hospital gown. That alone was enough to annoy her even more, since she was usually expected to walk around from room for the tests and now they wanted her in a hospital gown that would bare her butt to everyone. Defiantly she kept her underwear on, but changed into the gown and sat down on the bed that was raised into a sitting position.Gemma watched as two doctors entered with Elder Crawford, expecting him to list what they wanted to do today, like he always did. The male seemed completely uncomfortable with conversations, but she sensed
DaleHe heard her screaming as he came down the hospital corridor; he and her friends had come to support her through the turning, thinking it had been her decision.But it turned out that she had been led into a trap and Elder Heath had decided to take away her only decision. He was livid and he didn’t blame Wade for nearly shifting. He was also battling Duke, knowing that if he shifted he would be of no help to her, but then she stared down Elder Crawford with a measure of hatred that made everyone close to him cold with which she delivered her warning that she would go rogue.He would go rogue with her if she decided to do that. She had not deserved the treatment she had been given by the elders. Elder Stuart was livid as was everyone else that was close to her in the room. The pack medical team was crowding the door with their own anger clear in their growls and attempted to breech the door to protect their Luna.Bu
GemmaThroughout the night the wolf would repeatedly attempt to get through the door. Gemma had resorted to lying on the couch pushed against the door so she would wake instantly if the wolf tried to get in.Once again she felt the door shudder as the wolf threw herself against the door. “You should stop; you’re only going to hurt yourself.” She called out, despite asking herself why she thought this wolf would even understand her.“You need to let me in!” A female voice called out from outside.The voice made her leap towards the window and look outside. Surely, there wasn’t a woman outside when the wolf was here. But no, all she saw was the wolf pacing back and forth in front of the door.The wolf noticed her at the window and stopped to stare at her. Gemma was surprised to notice the wolf’s eyes had changed from the amber it had been before to traces of red melti