Chapter 73: Their Cursed

Cullen

When we finally returned to the room, Remi was asleep. She was curled up against the headboard with a light blanket over her. Carson left as soon as we entered, not speaking a word to either of us. I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or disappointed that she had fallen asleep waiting for us. I was lamenting having to face her with her upset eyes from earlier. I didn’t want her to go to sleep upset though.

Everything was set for tomorrow now. We just had to wait for the pieces to fall into place and everything would be flipped around. I pulled off my clothes and threw them atop my bag, opting to sleep in my briefs tonight. When I came over to the bed, Calder was lifting her into his arms.

“She’s shaking…” he mumbled.

“We didn’t exactly leave here earlier in a jolly disposition…” I commented. He frowned at her, I am sure feeling bad for yelling at her and then leaving. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t feeling a tad remorseful as well. When I found out she had walked away from the table without Carson, I saw red. I couldn’t believe she would do that when she knew Zeus could easily corner her. We both got into bed and Calder laid her between us. She inched herself closer to him and my heart clenched. It really wasn’t fair to leave her like we did.

After finding out she was okay and Zeus hadn’t tried anything, I was calmer but still angry. Meeting with a few other packs had given me time to compose myself and although I was frustrated with her actions, I wasn’t angry with her. Calder wrapped his arms around her, and she seemed to relax. I tried let myself relax and fall asleep. I resolved to apologize for leaving in the morning, hoping that everything would be calmer once we all had some sleep.

Remi

I woke up cuddled into Calder. I finally felt warmer too. I breathed in his scent, not wanting to move. I was glad they came back. I hoped they weren’t mad anymore as well. Movement next to me told me Cullen was stirring. His arm snaked around my waist and my body was rolled over him to the other side of the bed. I twisted around to see his grey eyes staring at me intently.

“Hi,” I whispered. He leaned forward and ran his nose along mine. I closed my eyes, enjoying the affectionate contact. “Are you still mad?” I asked softly, not daring to look up into his face.

“No, love,” he said in a gentle voice. I opened my eyes to look into his again. My heart warmed knowing he wasn’t angry with me anymore. His hand came up and softly pushed some loose hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear.

“I’m really sorry,” I said.

“I know,” he said. “Not again, okay?” I nodded my head. His lips came down onto mine and he kissed me sweetly. I kissed him back, letting all the emotion from last night loose. Cullen gripped me tighter to him. When he let my lips go, I buried my face into his chest, letting him surround me.

“I won’t leave you like that again. I’m sorry,” he whispered into the top of my head. I curled myself impossibly closer to him and just let him hold me, accepting his apology.

-

I finished getting ready before Calder and Cullen, so I went to go see if Pip was almost ready. Today, my outfit was much closer to something I would actually wear normally. I had a white skater styler skirt on with little black stars spreading across it as well as a light blue simple scoop neck shirt that I tucked into it and a black cardigan. It was a little more relaxed than the other dresses which was nice considering we had to get ready for a formal event that evening.

When I knocked on Pip’s door, she didn’t answer. Surely, she wasn’t asleep still? I half expected Zeus to be knocking on the suite door any minute as that had become the pattern. “Pip, are you up yet?” I linked her.

“I’m almost back. Come let me in without telling the twins,” she linked back. Almost back from what? I hurried back out of the hall and over to the door. I checked that Cullen and Calder weren’t coming my way before opening the door and peeking out into the hall. Pip was jogging towards me with her shoes in her hand and still in her dress from last night. My eyes went wide.

“You stayed with Zeus?” I linked her. She nodded fervently as she approached and darted past me through the door.

I followed her to her room quickly. When we got inside, I closed the door. She immediately started pulling herself out of the dress, not even caring that I was there. “What happened? I didn’t see you at all last night but then I thought you came back while I was in the shower!” I asked her quickly. She started moving around, dressing herself quickly.

“When you left with the three of them, things got a little… frisky,” she said with a small smile. “But I had to stop him because we so couldn’t show up late again after breakfast. Then he broke it to me that his parents wanted us to join them, and I was freaking out,” she explained. She started pulling a comb through her messy blonde hair. “So, we did. And oh my Goddess, I put my foot in my mouth so many times. I wish you were there to help me. It was so bad Rem…” she trailed off for a second.

“Then he left me with his parents and disappeared for like 20 minutes and I got grilled about when I intended to move to Serenity Moon and stuff. I was like losing it, on the inside of course, by the time he got back. When we got away from his parents, he asked if I wanted a tour of the whole pack house and well…” she looked up at me with a giddy smile.

“Okay, I got it,” I said. “You could have like told me at least. What if I wasn’t ready when you got back and someone else answered the door?”

She shrugged. “I guess the Moon Goddess is looking out for me. By the way, that skirt looks fantastic on you,” she said looking me over. “I have the perfect thing!” She came over to me with something in her hand. She pushed a strand of my loose hair back and clipped something to my head. “There. That is Luna material,” she said with a smile.

“And you have yesterday's mascara under your eyes,” I told her.

“Crap!” she exclaimed rushing to the bathroom. She came back out a few minutes later, void of makeup. A knock on the door told me one of the Carlisle brothers was summoning us to leave.

“Don’t tell them, please Rem?” she said quietly. I shook my head.

“I won’t,” I said. “Just be careful. I know he is your fated but that doesn’t mean he can’t hurt you.” She nodded her head and gave me a bright smile. We linked arms and I laughed as we opened the door to Calder. He raised an eyebrow at us.

“I think I will escort Remi to breakfast this morning,” she said to Calder in an airy voice.

“Oh, really?” he said. “I should let you after you had her all day yesterday?” I chuckled a little as Pip scowled.

Calder

The Summit talks were coming to a close very soon. Cullen’s motion had just passed, officially changing the law that states she-wolves must move to their fated’s pack if they accept them. It was a smug win only because it irritated Zeus so much. Neither of us cared much about the law either way but it had also thrown Zeus off our scent about what was coming. As the voting continued on another motion, I kept my features schooled and calm. It would be the last item of the day and it would change everything completely.

Finally, Zeus said, “Are there any final motions or requests to be heard before we close the proceedings for the year?” Just like we planned, one of the Alphas from the packs denied assistance by Serenity Moon stood and came to the center of the floor.

“I would like to make a request,” he said in a confident tone. “I, Alpha Dane Earnest on behalf of Rolling Meadows pack, would like to formally request a union with Blue Moon Pack.” There were a few surprised grunts around the room and Zeus looked angry. My eyes wandered to Zane who also looked furious.

I stood up. “On what grounds are you requesting this union?” I asked.

“With the denial of assistance from Serenity Moon, our pack will not survive more than a year. We no longer have the resources and population to continue in a healthy manner and defend our territory,” Dane explained.

“What is the offer?” I asked.

“I will officially renounce my claim as Alpha, formally recognizing both Alphas of Blue Moon. My pack land will become yours, my pack members will become members of Blue Moon. We ask for the support and resources at your discretion to help us thrive,” Dane said. He kept his eyes on me, not faltering for a moment. Cullen stood up next to me, our eyes connecting for show.

Another Alpha stood and joined Dane on the floor, just like we had planned. “I would like to request a union under the same terms as well,” he announced. Murmurs started to spread through the room. For our part, Cullen and I had looks of mild surprise on our face.

“Are there any others wishing to request union with Blue Moon?” I called above the whispers. Four more Alpha’s stood and joined the other two on the floor.

“You all will renounce your titles and pledge your loyalty to Calder and me?” Cullen asked. As if it was practiced, they all bowed their heads in respect.

“Now wait a minute,” Zane boomed. “We are talking about rewriting territories completely. This hasn’t happened in over a century. Why should this Summit allow it?”

I turned to him with a cool demeanor. “I think you forget Alpha Zane; this Summit is merely a means of discussion when it comes to interpack relations. Although we as a race have had the decency to be civil and make out dealings openly known, we are not subject to the whims of other packs when it comes to decisions like these. The only authority recognized by the body is that to amend the laws that govern our race as a whole,” I said with disdain. His face drained of color.

“We accept the terms of your request. They shall be pending until we have officially taken the title of Alpha,” Cullen said, moving the attention back to the 6 Alphas standing on the floor.

“At which time, we will meet with each of you to determine a transition plan and official union ceremony,” I continued.

Zeus looked enraged, his brain beginning to catch up to what was actually happening. Blue Moon only needed two of these territories to become the largest in land space but with the six, our population would also overtake theirs, making us now the largest pack in the Realm.

“Thank you, Alphas,” Dane said. The six of them bowed their heads again and took their seats. Cullen and I sat down and looked expectantly towards Zeus.

He looked around the room, trying to figure out what his next move was. I cleared my throat. “I believe that is the end of business, Alpha Zeus,” I chimed. He swallowed, regaining his composure.

“Right, if there is nothing more, then I move to dismiss the proceedings for the year,” he said. I refrained from smiling victoriously as we stood and moved to exit.

As the room emptied and we got to the hall, I linked Carson, “If you haven’t yet, take my mate back to the suite,” I told him. I didn’t bother waiting for a response as I knew he wasn’t going to give me one. Cullen and I strode towards the suite, both of us not letting on our satisfaction with the outcome. As if on cue, we soon heard our names called as footsteps hurried out way. We turned to see Zeus and Zane coming towards us.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Zane whisper-yelled at us. “Are you trying to make a mockery of this gathering?”

“How would we be doing that?” I asked. The vein in his forehead was bulging.

“Territory lines have not been redrawn in over a century and you two are just going to merge with 6 other packs, just like that,” he said snapping his fingers.

I shrugged. “Like I already said, it is ultimately our decision. We respect the forum and the opinions of the other Alphas, but we decide what to do with our pack,” I said.

“I feel your anger is a little unwarranted after Serenity Moon decided to withhold any more support of these packs,” Cullen said coolly. Zane was beginning to sputter.

“You two don’t have the authority-” he started.

“Because we have not officially taken the title?” Cullen prompted, interrupting him. “Shouldn’t the same be said of your son then? We all know the Alpha can give decision making authority to his representative if he pleases. Are you suggesting that courtesy should be revoked because you find us in a position to challenge you?”

Zane looked as if he would burst into flames at Cullen’s words. He narrowed his eyes at us before turning and stomping away. Zeus followed suit, not saying a word to us. Cullen and I turned and continued towards our suite, the corner of my lip tweaking up into a smirk.