Chapter 103 Choosing A Husband
The Moonlight Festival is coming and Mira has decided to invite the three Alphas who want to court her. She heard something not good about them and wanted to test them and teach them a hard lesson that she is not easily defeated. She can’t be dethroned from the pedestal that she worked so hard to achieve.
Last week, she received a warning message from an unknown sender who revealed that she heard the three Alpha of the neighboring packs planning to attack the Moon Star Pack and forcing the fallen Luna to marry one of them so they can take over the profitable mining operation and benefit from it.
She heard that these men are the late Alpha Austin’s drinking buddies and they are also irresponsible leaders to their pack.
Grrr! Her face contorted in anger.
Traitors…
Freeloaders!
When there was a landslide and flooding in their villages because of too much downpouring of rain last year, she sent her men to bring relief goods such as groceries, medicines, rice and basic necessities to the three packs whose territories were badly affected by the non-stop rains that lasted for almost two weeks. She has been a kind and generous neighbor to them.
The Moon Star pack was lucky during those tragic times because their territory was not flooded much and they encountered less damage and no fatalities.
The Eclipse Pack was led by Alpha Gary. The Grayme Pack was led by Alpha Robin and the Frost Crown Pack was led by Alpha Movin. These packs struggled economically. They have rich and fertile lands but the leaders are the problem because they are corrupt, lazy, irresponsible and drunkards.
She pitied the people living in those packs. They are struggling to put food on their table because their leaders are busy pursuing personal gratification, fattening their wallets and enjoying the best of life while the rest of their pack members are suffering in extreme poverty.
These despicable leaders only care about themselves and let the majority of pack members rot in hunger and poverty. Her heart was bleeding for those poor souls because she personally knew how it felt when she was at the bottom of society.
Some of these people openly expressed their intention to want to live in the Moon Star Pack because they saw how progressive Luna Amira’s pack is. They have abundance of food, free education, and people are living good and satisfying lives.
But she didn't accept those poor souls because she wanted to avoid having bad blood with the neighboring packs. She values the peace she is enjoying right now. She doesn't want the other pack leaders to think that she was trying to lure their people into abandoning their packs and coming to her pack.
After receiving a warning message from the concerned sender, and remembering what Alpha Gideon’s team told her that the neighboring packs probably also have huge mineral deposits deep in their lands but they have no idea about it, she came up with a brilliant idea…
She can hit many birds with one stone, annihilate her enemies in one move, govern the three packs and help their struggling people financially by mining their minerals, then create a powerful pack/army out of the four packs combined.
Inspired by her brilliant plan, she glanced at her pet Brownie, watching TV while relaxing on the bed. Her pet has gotten addicted to watching cartoons and anime on TV in the past few years. Her pet also developed a taste for eating junk foods such as potato chips, nuts, Cheetos and many more.
It’s been five years since Brownie killed someone to protect her.
This time, she wants her pet to kill three bad useless people for her plans to work. She wondered if her pet still had power left to do the deed.
She doesn't want to abuse Brownie’s power. If only she had some power she would do a dirty deed. She would kill her enemies with her own hands.
She doesn't even know how to fight anyone physically. But she can manage the entire pack, she’s good at it, that’s her only talent, but when it comes to fighting, she has no talent and is weak as a delicate flower.
She released a deep sigh.
Brownie looked at her, slithered towards the bed and came up to her lap, looking at her face, as if asking if she had a problem.
She sighed and patted the snake’s shiny skin. “I have a new enemy and they are planning to attack our pack, then force me to marry one of them. Since I won’t let that happen to me, they will kill me. Then they will take over the pack and the mining operation. Are we going to allow these evil bullies to attack us?”
The snake was shaking its head.
“To protect the pack and this place we call home, we should eliminate them! We should eliminate our enemies before they can hurt us. Do you agree, Brownie?” Mira asked, her eyes flashing with anger and defiance.
Brownie nodded its head, its eyes turned red dangerously, agreeing with Mira’s statement.
Mira explained all the details of her plan to her pet snake.
Brownie listened attentively to every word Mira said.
That night, Mira was not able to sleep early. She could think of many possible scenarios on how to kill the three Alphas but her first plan outweighed the others.
She will just stick to her original plan, the one she already explained to Brownie.
She needs to plan everything well because if she succeeds, victory will be swift and sweet and she can expand her empire far and wide.
After she finished connecting all the dots together in her masterplan, she was finally able to sleep peacefully that night.
…
The following day.
After breakfast, she called Ruth to her office and explained to her what her plan was for the Moonlight Festival, a festive event celebrated by the Moon Star Pack every year, honoring the Moon Goddess for giving their pack bountiful blessings all year round.
“I want you to send an invitation to the three Alphas of the neighboring pack so they could join us in celebrating the Moonlight Festival. Tell them that I will organize a friendly fight match between the three of them and whoever wins, I will choose him to be my husband,” she said in a serious tone. “I will also invite their people to join us at the celebration. Those who can’t come will be given grocery packs delivered straight to their homes as my way of sharing our blessings with our less fortunate neighbors,” she added.
Shocked, Ruth stared at Luna Amira, her eyes and mouth wide open in shock. “This is not a joke right?” she asked in pure disbelief.
“Yep!” Mira smiled and nodded her head.
“Luna, are you ready to get married for real?” Astonishment flashed on Ruth’s face. “Luna, are you sure? You are now ready to find a husband and raise a family of your own?”
"Yeah, but I realized that you were right. I’m getting older and it might be too late for me to conceive a child. So this year I’m finally getting married,” she replied with a smile.
“But why choose a husband from the three useless Alphas?” Ruth protested openly. She disliked the three Alphas in the neighboring packs. They are useless and irresponsible leaders of their packs. Until now their pack had made no real progress. Their pack is still poor.
Mira flashed a mysterious smile.
“They are drunkards. I have to remind you that they are your late husband's drinking buddies. Birds of the same feathers flock together,” Ruth added vehemently, openly expressing her dislike of Luna Amira’s poor taste when it comes to choosing a husband.
Mira heaved a sigh. “I know. But if I have to marry and get a husband, I must choose one of the neighboring packs. I can’t choose an Alpha from afar because they are perfect strangers to me. At least the three useless Alphas, I know them personally and I have already interacted with them in the past. I think… If I marry one of them, I can manage him and control him with an iron fist. I don’t want him to control me. In short, I only want his baby so I can produce an heir. I will not allow my husband to interfere in my affairs. I’m still the one and only Luna and the leader of our pack,” she elaborated further.
“Ah, I see… you just want an heir. I understand now. As long as he does not interfere with the pack’s management, I’m fine with it. I will support you." Ruth finally agreed to her plans.
“The Moonlight Festival will happen in two weeks. Make a grand preparation. I want an abundance of free food flowing on the streets, lots of entertainment and fireworks. We will invite hungry people from neighboring packs. We will give them free food and drinks so they can also witness the friendly fight between their leaders,” Mira said mischievously.
“OK. But wait a minute… are they going to fight using real weapons?” Ruth asked curiously.
Mira shook her head. “Nope, they will fight using their bare hands, feet and whatever they can think of. I don’t want to put any real weapons in their hands because I don’t want people to see real blood during the Moonlight Festival. They will fight with raw power and strength. Anyone who surrenders is a loser and the one man standing in the end is the winner and would become my husband. He will give me an heir,” she explained clearly.
“I see, interesting fight indeed,” Ruth smiled, giving Luna Amira a thumbs up.
“I want a brave and strong Alpha to be the father of my children. I will only choose the strongest Alpha out of the three packs. I don’t want a weak Alpha. Period!” Mira declared in a serious tone.
“OK. I got it. But you have many suitors, why only choose three? You can get a much finer husband candidate from far away places as well. We can invite more Alpha to join the game of strength,” Ruth suggested wisely.
Mira laughed, amused. “You are right. I can always look far and wide to search for a better husband, but let’s settle with these 3 Alpha’s first. If they accidentally died during the fight, I might call for a bigger number of Alphas to compete to be my husband. That sounds fun!”
“So I will go ahead now and invite more Alphas to come and take the challenge to be your husband?” Ruth asked.
Mira shook her head. “Not for now. I already had made up my mind. I decided to stick with the three Alpha's from the neighboring packs. Let’s test the waters first. I will decide later after the outcome," she declared. She can’t tell Ruth the true purpose of the event yet. She is not looking for a husband, she just wants to eliminate the evil Alphas who want to bring her to her knees and ruin the reputation of her pack that she had worked so hard to achieve.
Although she never doubted Ruth’s loyalty, she couldn't tell her the truth about her plans yet. The same reason why she didn't have a private assistant is for security reasons. The enemy might have planted a spy around her. Ruth’s mouth might accidentally slip and her plans will reach her enemies' ears and all her plans will be ruined. The only person she trusted when it came to keeping sensitive information was herself and her pet brownie.
“OK, copy Luna. I will order my assistant to make an invitation letter for the three Alphas in the neighboring packs,” Ruth said. “If nothing else, I will take leave."
“Yes, please do that as early as possible.” Mira nodded her head. “By the way, is everything okay at the mining site?” she asked.
“Yep, everything is smooth sailing there. No problem at all,” Ruth replied casually. “Um, did you already invite the crown prince Alpha Gideon to attend the Moonlight Festival?” she suggested.
Mira fell silent. She was wondering if it was wise to invite Alpha Gideon to the Moonlight Festival? Would he even come? He is too busy with affairs in the capital to come to see the festival.
She shrugged. “I dunno. Should I invite him?” she muttered to herself. The truth is she missed him so much. It’s been five years since the last time they saw each other.
They only chat occasionally.
The distance between them has grown far and wide over the years, as wide as the Pacific Ocean.
She still loved him deeply. But she doubted if he still had feelings left for her. As far as she knows, he is already happy with his wife and son. His family is already complete.
"Just try to invite him, Luna. If he doesn't come, no problem,” Ruth insisted, breaking Luna's deafening silence.
Mira looked at her and replied, “Alright, I will try to invite him but don’t raise your hopes high. I’m sure coming here to join the festival would not interest him at all.”
“OK. I’ll go now,” Ruth said. She picked up the folders from the desk and moved towards the door, exiting the room quietly.
Heavy silence fills the room.
Damn, tears filled Mira’s eyes.
Why does Ruth have to remind her of Alpha Gideon again?
Why did her heart start beating wild again?
She’s been doing fine without him for the last five years. Why would she invite the person who broke her heart to attend the Moonlight Festival?
Is she ready to see him again in person?
All those sleepless nights when she would stare at her phone hoping and wishing he would chat with her before she went to sleep at night. He never did!
Damn, the pain starts pouring on the old wound in her heart again, subjecting her heart to endless pain and longing.
Five years have gone by and yet she still loves him deeply.
She can't move on.
She can’t love another guy, only him.
Despite the pain and doubt, she picked up her phone and composed a message, explaining to him why he needed to come to the Moonlight Festival because she would ask for his help and pointers in choosing a husband to marry among the Alphas of the neighboring packs.
Without editing her message, she hit the send button and put down her phone on the desk and went to the window.
It’s done, she already sent the invitation. Would he come?
She shook her head negatively. No he wouldn't come.
He already stopped caring for her a long time ago. He will never come.
She took a deep breath, admiring the beautiful flowers in the garden below the window. Then she looked heavenward, admiring the blue sky.
She is already a successful leader in her pack, respected and admired by many, yet she is alone, sad and lonely. Nobody loved her and she had no one to love, only her pet.
Such a lonely life to live in.
Dammit, why was she suddenly craving a family now?
What’s gotten in her head. She used to say she didn't need a husband and a family because the pack was enough for her.
Why did she suddenly and desperately need someone to love her truly, madly and unconditionally?
Why have these things affected her now?
She left the window, walked over to the mini fridge in the corner and grabbed a pint of chocolate Rocky Road ice cream and began eating. Wanting to feel good, so she could erase the sea of loneliness engulfing her heart and mind, making her feel miserable.
The longer it took for Alpha Gideon to reply to her message the more she felt lonely, sad and desperate for a mere drop of his attention.
Sigh.