Chapter 49: The Vote

The room got loud. Some yelling for me. Some against me.

The Elder raised her hand. "Quiet! Everyone sit!"

Slowly, the Alphas sat. But everyone still looked tense.

"A vote has been called," The Elder said. "But first, let's hear from others. Who else wants to speak?"

An older Alpha stood. Gray hair. Nice eyes. "I'm Thomas. Sierra Pack. Lita saved my pack yesterday. My daughter would be dead without her. I vote she stays."

"Thank you," I said.

Another Alpha stood. Young. Maybe thirty. "I'm Derek. Coastal Pack South. I agree with Sienna. Not about kids. That's weird. But Lita's been Luna for what? A week? That's not enough."

"She proved herself by not dying," Alex said. "By beating demons. What more do you want?"

"Time. Years of leading. Not just one fight." Derek sat down.

More Alphas spoke. Some for me. Some against. The room was split almost even.

Then Ragnar stood. Everyone went quiet. He was the biggest. Strongest. His vote mattered most.

"I fought Lita in the trial. She beat me. Not with size. With brains." He looked at me. "Then I watched her die and come back. Kill a demon general. Unite packs that haven't worked together in years."

He stopped. "She's young. Yes. New at this. Yes. But she's brave. Smart. Willing to die for us. That's Luna. That's what we need."

"So you vote she stays?" The Elder asked.

"I vote she gets a chance. Six months. If she fails, we vote again. If she does well, she's Luna for life." Ragnar looked around. "Fair?"

People talked. Some nodding. Some shaking heads.

"I can accept that," Sienna said. "Six months trial. Then we decide."

"What counts as doing well?" I asked. "What do I need to do?"

"Lead. Unite packs. Solve problems. Prove you can handle it." The Elder looked at me. "Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Then we vote. All who want to give Lita six months as Luna, raise your hand."

Hands went up. Ragnar. Thomas. Marcus. More. I counted fast.

Twenty eight hands.

"All against?"

More hands. Sienna. Derek. Others.

Twenty two hands.

The Elder smiled. "It passes. Lita stays Luna. Six months trial. We meet again in November to vote."

Relief hit me hard. Six months. I could do that.

"Meeting done," The Elder said.

The Alphas stood. Some came over to shake my hand.

Others left without looking. Still mad.

Sienna walked past. Stopped. "Don't mess this up. I'm watching."

"I won't."

She left.

Ragnar came over. "You did good today. Stood up for yourself. That matters."

"Thank you. For your vote. For the compromise."

"Just don't make me regret it." He smiled. "And about kids. That's your choice. Not ours. Sienna was wrong."

"Thanks."

He left too.

Soon it was just me, Cole, Alex, Stacey, and The Elder.

"Well," The Elder said. "That went better than I thought."

"Better? They almost kicked me out."

"But they didn't. You have six months. Use them well." She got her papers. "First job. The demon bodies. Clean them up. Burn them right. Make sure they can't come back."

"I'll do it," Alex said.

"Second job. Fix things with packs who voted against you. Visit them. Talk. Show them you're serious."

"Okay."

"Third job. Find a second. A Beta Luna. Someone to help you lead. You can't do this alone."

I looked at Stacey. She looked back.

"What?" she said.

"Be my Beta Luna. Help me lead."

"Me? I'm a fighter. Not a leader."

"You're both. You're strong. Smart. People trust you." I touched her arm. "I need you."

Stacey looked at Cole. At Alex. At The Elder.

"What do you think?"

"Perfect," Cole said. "You've been training Lita from day one. You know her. Trust her."

"Plus you're scary when mad," Alex added. "People will listen."

Stacey laughed. "Okay. Fine. But I want a cool title. Not just Beta Luna."

"Like what?"

"Luna's Fang. Or Luna's Blade. Something badass."

"Luna's Fang it is." I smiled. "Welcome."

"This is gonna be crazy," Stacey said. But she smiled.

The Elder left. Alex followed. Said something about checking security.

Just me, Cole, and Stacey now.

"Can I ask something?" Stacey said.

"Sure."

"The kids thing. Sienna pushing you. That bothered you. Why?"

I sat down. Thought about it.

"My whole life, people told me what to do. How to act. Who to marry. What to want." I looked at my hands. "My mother. My father. Brian. Everyone had plans for me. Nobody asked what I wanted."

"And Sienna's doing the same."

"Yeah. Telling me I have to have kids. For duty. For bloodline. Not because I want them." I breathed. "Maybe I do want kids someday. Maybe not. But it's my choice."

"I get that." Stacey sat beside me. "For what it's worth, I think you'd be a good mom. If you choose to be."

"Thanks."

Cole sat on my other side. "I'll support whatever you choose. Kids or not. I'm with you."

"Even if the bloodline ends with me?"

"Even then. You're more important than bloodline." He took my hand. "We'll figure it out."

I leaned against him. Tired. But grateful.

My phone buzzed. Unknown number.

"Congrats on keeping your title. For now. Six months isn't long. You'll fail. When you do, I'll take over. Sweet dreams, fake Luna."

I showed Cole.

His jaw got tight. "Sienna."

"Probably. She really hates me."

"She's jealous. You have what she wants. Power. Respect. A mate who loves you." He kissed my head. "Don't let her get in your head."

"I'll try."

But doubt came anyway. What if she was right? What if I failed?

Six months to prove myself.

And enemies waiting for me to mess up.

My phone buzzed again. Different number.

"This is Dr. Sarah Chen. Stanford Health. You missed therapy with Dr. Ward. She wants an evaluation. Call back. This is mandatory per your treatment plan."

Susan. My old therapist. Still trying to control me.

I deleted it. She had no power anymore.

But it stung. My old life. Still reaching for me.

"You okay?" Cole asked.

"Yeah. Just old ghosts." I stood. "Come on. Let's do something normal. Not life or death stuff."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Movie? Food? Anything but fighting or politics."

Stacey jumped up. "Pizza. We're getting pizza. And watching something dumb. I need my brain off."

"Perfect."

We left the gym. Got in the truck. Drove to pizza.

For two hours, we were normal people. Eating. Laughing. Watching a stupid movie on Stacey's phone.

No demons. No prophecies. No votes.

Just us. Just friends. Just alive.

And for those two hours, everything felt okay.

Like maybe we could have normal lives.

Like maybe I could be Luna and still be me.

Like maybe we'd won more than a war.

We'd won a future.

And that was worth everything.