Chapter 48 Preparing for the Shift pt 2
Seren
It made me nervous, if I was being honest, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell Duncan that. He’s been really great with me so far, and I know that he’s holding himself in check because of what I’ve been through. I did my best to give him a smile, even if it wobbled at the edges. “It’s fine. I’m sure we’ll find something to do while you’re gone.” I could tell he was still worried, but he just squeezed my hand and kissed the top of my head.
“Let’s start getting things organized for the upcoming battle. Lucian, Eric, and Alex, coordinate with the warriors and get them ready to leave just before nightfall in two days. Julian, Gideon, Axel, Malachi—let’s head to my office and pull the maps. Dad, do you think you and King Cian can work out the strategy that we’ll use at the gates for distracting Beta George? Kayla and Seren, I can take you to my mother’s office and let you spend some time planning the ceremonies?” Duncan asked, and I nodded in agreement. “Elaine, where would you like to be during all of this?”
“I think I can be most beneficial if I go with you to the front gates, Alpha Duncan. I can shield if necessary, or aid in the distraction efforts.”
“Okay. In the meantime, we’ll get you set up with one of the guest rooms. Everyone, let’s get moving. We can meet back up for dinner in the dining hall.”
Several hours later, Julian was knocking at our conference room door.
“Hello, ladies. Are you ready to come up for air yet?” He was laughing as he pulled Kayla out of her chair and into a hug. I smiled at them. It was so nice to see how happy Kayla was, and Julian was clearly besotted.
“It’s just about time for dinner, so I thought I’d come escort you down to the dining hall,” he said.
Duncan’s mom, Catriona, just laughed. “I think I could have gotten us all there just fine, Julian,” she teased. She has been nothing but nice to me so far, telling me to call her Cat until I’m comfortable calling her Mom, and letting me know that she’s ridiculously happy to have me join their family. She and my mother have apparently had a friendship for years, and they had spent the time since this morning’s war meeting plotting out all the details of my Luna Ceremony. I didn’t even know that there were five different types of table linen, much less which one would work best for such a formal ceremony, but these women just breezed through selections like they were born to it. Which I suppose they actually were.
We got up to head out, and I pulled away from the group when we came up on the restrooms. I stopped at the entrance to the hallway. “I’ll meet you guys there—just need to run to the ladies’ room for a moment,” I said.
“Do you want one of us to stay with you?” Mom asked me. She was trying to give me space, but I could tell she was still worried about me. It was…nice.
“I’ll be okay. I won’t be that long. You guys go ahead.” They nodded and then headed off. Truth be told, I really just needed a moment to myself. Things have happened so quickly that I’m utterly overwhelmed and trying not to show it. Everyone around me has had days to come to terms with my situation, but in reality, until this morning, I hadn’t even been conscious. I went from being comatose to fully healed and part of a war council, then planning a ceremony to make me Luna to one of the strongest packs around while announcing that I was the long-lost princess returned. It would be a lot for anyone to come to terms with.
I took a moment at the sink to splash some water on my face. Inhaling, I relished in the fact that I could breathe as deeply as I wanted with zero pain. It had been so long since that had been the case. Even if my ribs weren’t broken, I usually had injuries around my torso in some form. I haven’t felt this whole in years.
Kara was quiet in my mind. I think she was still resting, and taking some time to process some of this on her own as well. After all, she had just been reunited with her brother, and we had found our mate, but we still hadn’t actually had time to really talk about that with either of them. With so much uncertainty on the horizon, one-on-one time didn’t seem like it was going to be easy to come by.
As I exited the bathroom, I bumped into someone standing by the doorway. At first, I thought they were heading in and tried to move around them, muttering, “Excuse me, I’m sorry,” as I passed by, but then a hand grabbed my bicep.