Jess and Jason catch up to me outside the conference room, and Jess hugs me. “Thank you for protecting my sister.”
“She sacrificed herself for this pack. It’s the least I could do,” I say, pulling back. “Are you guys leaving today with Alpha Peter and Luna Rachael?” I ask as we walk down the hallway of the pack house.
“Yeah. We’re leaving in about half an hour,” Jason says.
“Make sure you guys find me before you go, okay?” I say as we walk outside.
“Of course, we wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye,” Jess says. “We’ll find Alpha Peter for you.”
“Thanks,” I say, and they walk away.
I hear a crash come from inside, so I run back into the pack house and hear yelling from the kitchen.
“Did you seriously think you could leave our pack without repercussions?” I hear a male growl.
As I run into the kitchen, I find Beta Stephan holding Lauren by the throat against the kitchen wall.
“Get your hands off her,” I growl.
“This is none of your concern, Alpha,” he growls back, keeping his eyes on Lauren.
“You’re attacking one of MY pack members on MY Territory,” I growl again, stepping closer to him.
“She belongs to our pack. She had no right to leave it. We own her.”
Lauren growls. “I belong to no one, and I am no one’s property. Let go of me.”
“You’re nothing but an Omega to be used as I see fit,” he says, and Lauren growls again, her eyes changing color.
“I am one of the chosen, and no one will use me again.”
“You’re one of the freaks?! YOU ARE THE REASON OUR PACK WAS ATTACKED!” Beta Stephan yells and lifts his hand to punch Lauren, but she catches his hand and twists his arm, and I hear the sickening crack of his bones.
“Argh!” He screams. “You bitch!” He steps away from her, and I see he’s about to shift, so I let out a thunderous roar, stopping him in his tracks and making him cower on the floor with his neck bared in submission.
I storm over to him, lift him by the throat, and drag him towards the front door of the pack house. When I get outside, I throw him down the porch steps, and he lands with a thud on the ground. “IF YOU EVER LAY A HAND ON ONE OF MY PACK MEMBERS AGAIN, I WILL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT! AM I CLEAR?!”
He gives me a murderous glare as he holds his broken arm. “MY ALPHA WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!”
I roar again, causing everyone outside watching to whimper, and as I walk down the steps, Beta Stephan tries to crawl backward, away from me.
“You can tell your Alpha whatever the fuck you like,” I say as I crouch down in front of him. “Maybe I should pay him a visit and treat him the same way he treats the Omegas of his pack,” I snarl, and Beta Stephan’s face pales.
“You can’t do that! You might be the bitch Alpha of this pack, but my Alpha can run his pack as he sees fit!”
Everyone watching growls at him for calling me a bitch, and I can see the Crescent warriors pacing behind him angrily, trying not to shift and tear him to pieces.
I feel Enyo wanting to come forward, so I calm myself and allow her to take over, and she shifts in front of Beta Stephan. Everyone gasps as Enyo stands tall over him, and she knocks him to the ground with her enormous paw. She then holds him down with her paw on his throat and snarls angrily in his face, causing him to whimper.
I feel Andreas come up behind us, and he kneels next to Enyo, running his hands through her fur. “Your Alpha may want to reconsider how he treats the members of his pack, or my beautiful mate will have no issues with destroying him,” he says, but I realize that it’s Ares talking.
“You can’t do this! You have no authority over my pack!”
“The Elder Council does, though. Elder Laskaris, I think this mutt’s pack needs a visit. What do you think?” Ares says.
“I believe you’re right, Alpha,” Elder Laskaris says. “Lauren, would you like to make a formal complaint about your previous Alpha?”
“Yes, sir,” she says from behind us, and Elder Laskaris and Elder Andino take her inside to talk.
Enyo turns her head to nuzzle Ares, and after he kisses her muzzle, his eyes turn back to amber.
‘*Tell him I want him off our territory within half an hour, or I won’t be responsible for Enyo’s actions*.’ I link him.
“My mate wants you off her territory within half an hour, or you’ll be answering to her wolf,” Andreas tells Beta Stephan, and Enyo lifts her paw from his throat, and he quickly scurries away.
‘*Crescent warriors, keep an eye on him, please*,’ I command them, and they nod and follow Noah and Rich.
‘*You’ve grown, baby girl. There’s no denying you’re the Alpha of the chosen*,’ Andreas links as he rests his head against Enyo’s.
‘*I don’t understand how, though*,’ Enyo says.
“Seriously, Enyo. We need to talk about your size. You’re fucking enormous,” Ryna says as he approaches us.
“That’s what we were just discussing,” Andreas tells him. “Does anyone know why this is happening?”
“Gamma Alex and I had a theory, whether or not it’s true, though,” he says with a shrug.
“What is the theory?” Andreas asks.
“We think it has to do with her defeating two Alphas. She was bigger after she killed Damon, and then again after Costas.”
“It makes sense, I guess. Maybe she absorbs their power somehow,” Andreas says.
‘*It could be anything. There’s still so much we don’t know about the chosen*,’ I say.
“Doc is interested to see if Andreas’s wolf changes once you mark each other,” Ryna says with a slight smirk, and Andreas growls at him. “Don’t kill the messenger,” Ryna laughs with his hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying what the Doc thinks. He wants to see your wolf when you’re strong enough to shift, to compare any differences that might happen once you mark each other.”
“Alpha, everyone is getting ready to leave,” Tony comes over to tell us, holding a robe so I can shift.
‘*Come on, we have people to say goodbye to*,’ I say when I see Alpha Peter coming over.
Andreas stands behind me as Tony steps in front of me, and I shift, quickly putting on the robe.
“Alpha,” Luna Rachael says as she hugs me. “I’m so proud of you,” she says with a smile.
“Thanks,” I say, smiling back. “I’m sorry we haven’t really had a chance since you’ve been here,” I tell them.
“It’s been a little hectic,” Alpha Peter laughs. “I just wanted to apologize for how things were left when you left my pack. If I’d known any of what you have shared, things would have turned out a lot different.”
“It’s all water under the bridge,” I tell him. “There were things none of us knew, and you were just trying to protect your pack.”
“Thank you,” Alpha Peter says. “If you ever need anything, we’re only a phone call away,” he says and hugs me. “Keep us in the loop of what’s happening with the chosen.”
“I will,” I say, hugging him back.
“You ready to hit the road, Alpha?” Jason asks as he walks over with Jess.
“Yeah, everything is in the car.”
“I have something for you, Jason,” I say with a smirk and hand him the bag Andreas was holding for me.
“Oh? What’s this?” He asks, pulling out a bottle.
“It’s Harry’s special blend scotch to help you get through the flight,” I say, holding back a giggle as Jess laughs.
“Thank you, Alpha. I was wondering how I would get through this flight with the scaredy cat,” Jess says as she wipes tears from her eyes.
“He can’t have been that bad?” Luna Rachael asks as Jason’s cheeks turn red.
“I’ll tell you both the story on the way to the airport,” Jess chuckles and then hugs me. “Thanks again for everything, Alpha.”
“You guys are always welcome here,” I tell her, hugging her back and then hugging Jason. “Look after her,” I tell him. “She’s special.”
“Don’t I know it,” he says, looking at her lovingly.
#
“That’s everyone, Alpha,” Cassia says as we wave goodbye to the last of the guests from the mate ball as they drive away.
“Thank the Goddess, I’m exhausted.” I sigh.
“You and Alpha Andreas should rest,” she says kindly, gently placing her hand on my shoulder. “You haven’t stopped since the morning of the mate ball, which feels like forever ago.”
“So much has happened in the last three days,” I say as we turn to walk toward the pack house. “I feel like I could sleep for a month, but there’s still so much to do. We need to organize the pack house for when Alpha Pollux returns and make sure we have room for anyone he brings with him and anyone else who decides to return for protection.”
“Let me and Ryna worry about that. That’s what we’re here for. You and your mate should spend some time together.” She smiles.
“What are you roping me into, Luna?” Ryna asks as he walks out of the pack house with a grin.
“You and I have work to do, Beta,” Cassia says, returning his smile.
“Remind me again why I accepted this position,” he says with a groan, and Cassia and I laugh.
“Because you love me dearly and would do anything for me?” I say sweetly.
“Yeah, sure, let’s go with that,” he smirks, and I punch him in the shoulder. “Ow!” He yells, rubbing his shoulder.
“Watch it,” I say with a laugh, and he sticks his tongue out at me. “How’s Gino taking being Beta?”
“What do you mean?” He asks.
“He’s your mate? That makes him Beta too...”
“Shit...” he says, rubbing his face.
“You haven’t told him yet, have you?”
“I’m going to do that right now!” He says as he runs down the porch steps and towards their house.
“Don’t forget we have work to do!” Cassia yells out after him.
“Yeah, yeah!” He yells back.
I hear some clear their throat behind us. “Luna?”
I turn around to find Michael standing there awkwardly. I stand in front of Cassia, and Harry and Leah rush over from where they are standing and stand with me to protect her.
“What do you want, Michael?” I ask.
“I wanted to talk to the Luna,” he says sadly. “You don’t need to protect her; I’d never hurt her.”
“You hurt her every time you failed to protect her from Damon,” I growl.
“I was in an impossible situation!” He shouts.
“You were a coward,” I say, and Cassia puts her hand on my arm.
“It’s okay, Alpha. I’d like to talk to him,” Cassia says.
I turn my head to look at her. “Are you sure?” I ask, and she nods. “Okay, but Harry and Leah are not leaving,” I tell her, and she agrees.
I turn back to Michael. “If you do anything to hurt her, I will kill you,” I growl and walk away.