Chapter 165: The Reckoning

It was the time for the Pack Meeting and everyone was assembled. Elder Graham stood front and center on the podium staring out at the Rock Canyon Pack. At first, he didn't say anything, he simply surveyed all those standing before him. Then when he finally spoke, his voice was loud and clear.

"Rock Canyon Pack we, the Council, have been in deliberation with the Peppermill family and the Alpha of the Blue Mountain Pack to decide your fate today. We have decided to do several things. They are a bit unorthodox in nature, but they are necessary," announced Elder Graham.

Murmurs could be heard from the pack as Elder Graham took a breath.

"First things first. Let's address the issue of Luna Sandra. The Council is curious just how many pack members actually do not want Luna Sandra as their Luna. So, we will have you line up appropriately. If you want Luna Sandra as your Luna, you will line up to the right, your left. If you don't want her as your Luna, you will line up to the left, your right of the podium. Simple right," explained Elder Graham. "Do we have any questions?"

No one raised a hand or voiced a question. So Elder Graham took it as his cue to continue.

"Rock Canyon, I command you to line up as directed if you WANT or DO NOT WANT Luna Sandra as your Luna. You will do so as you feel with your heart and soul. Do it NOW!" commanded Elder Graham.

The pack started moving accordingly upon hearing the command. The pack had two hundred and eighty-four members of which one hundred and twenty-four were children. When everyone stopped moving, only fifteen pack members stood on the side that did not want Sandra as their Luna. Interesting.

Beta Rafferty walked over to the fifteen pack members and asked them to follow him. He led them to a training room designated by the Council. The other pack members just watched them walk off in silence.

"Thank you all for participating in this activity. Now comes the hard part Rock Canyon. Now, you have to show us, the Council that you mean it. Actions speak louder than words for us. We will continue to monitor this pack. We will know if you truly want Luna Sandra as your Luna and this pack has had a change of heart. I hope we see a change for the better from this pack," declared Elder Graham. He stepped back as Elder Terrance stepped forward on the podium.

"Rock Canyon Pack now the real work begins for you. You all have said you want Luna Sandra to be your Luna. Okay, now comes the time when you put in the work to prove your worth to her. She has done nothing but show love, compassion, and forgiveness in the face of disdain and disrespect from her fellow pack members. She still suffers excruciating migraines from the forced separation. She has one today. Instead of being in bed like she's supposed to be, she is here with us because she is a true Luna. She puts the pack first. Now, the pack needs to put her first. You all need to show her you are worthy of her," commanded Elder Terrance.

Elder Terrance nodded to James as he stepped back. James addressed the pack, "Rock Canyon Pack this afternoon you made a choice to accept my mate as your Luna. However, we will not have her Luna ceremony just yet. We first have to SHOW her we are worthy of her first due to the disrespect and disdain she has encountered at the hands of other pack members. Now, it is our time to shine. Let us show her why we want her to be our Luna," James declared with pride in his voice.

A resounding "Yes Alpha" was heard from the pack. The Council had a look of pride on their faces as well.

"Rock Canyon Pack, you are dismissed!" commanded Elder Graham.

Elder Graham told everyone to follow him so they could deal with the ones in the training room. We all filed into the training room behind the Council to face the pack members who didn't want Sandra as the Luna for Rock Canyon.

"Thank you Beta Rafferty for bringing them in here for us. Now then, let's get to business, shall we?" declared Elder Graham to everyone in the room.

"Why were we brought in here? Why were we separated from the rest of the pack?" inquired Selma Atkins to no one in particular.

"Why indeed. I would like to hear from each of you why you do not want Luna Sandra to be the Luna of the Rock Canyon Pack," declared Elder Terrance in reply to her question. "Why don't we start with you? State your name and why you don't want Luna Sandra as your Luna," commanded Elder Terrance.

"Selma Atkins and I don't want her to be Luna because I've never liked Sandra. I should've been James' mate, not her," fumed Selma.

"How dare you continue to disrespect my sister like that! It's Luna Sandra and Alpha James to you! Even in high school, you were a rude, disrespectful bitch," seethed Timothy at Selma as he stood inches from her face.

"What about you?" commanded Elder Terrance to the next wolf in line.

"Terry Mitchell and Luna Sandra shouldn't have rejected Alpha James. I know they were commanded to do so, but still, I feel it was the ultimate betrayal to the pack. Why didn't she try to fight it?" Terry explained to all of us.

"Have you tried to fight a command before?" asked Michael to Terry.

"Yes, and it's really hard to do so. But ultimately I couldn't do so," he stated.

"Then you have your answer," Elder Frampton declared. "Next, what about you?"

"Adrian Williams and I still cannot get over how much death and destruction was brought about due to the mate contracts. I know her Grandfather made them, but people died protecting her. Shouldn't she shoulder part of the blame?" he asked with certainty.

"Hmm? Why should she shoulder part of the blame? She didn't sell herself. She was a victim like those who were killed or injured. She herself was injured many times during several abduction attempts. What about the guilt she still carries with her-those who have died protecting her? She knows there was nothing she could do to stop the attempts from happening, yet she had to live with the knowledge that others would get hurt because of her" explained Elder Terrance to Adrian.

"Oh, I didn't know she carried around guilt like that. No one told us about that. I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you carried around that kind of guilt Luna Sandra," Adrian stated on his knees in front of the Council and Luna Sandra.

"Rise Adrian. Apology accepted," I stated as I stayed close to Davidson and James.

The other pack members had similar statements that they didn't 'like Luna Sandra,' thought she 'wasn't good enough' for Alpha James, or still couldn't get over the death and destruction that the mate contracts brought against the pack.

Once the Council had heard from all fifteen pack members, the Council made their determination. Adrian and Camille were pardoned because they showed remorse and were allowed to rejoin the pack.

The other thirteen were dealt with as follows: Alpha James banished all thirteen pack members from The Rock Canyon Pack. Then they were inducted into the Blue Mountain Pack by Alpha Scott. His Beta instructed them to pack their belongings and report to the Blue Mountain Pack in one hour. If they were late, they would face consequences.

Before they left, the Council asked my family if any of us had anything we wanted to say to any of them. To my surprise, my son Greyson raised his hand.

"Elder Graham, may I say something?" Greyson asked him.

"You have something you want to say to these people before they leave Greyson?" questioned Elder Graham.

"Yes sir, I do. I want to say that I don't know how you could be so mean to my Mommy who hasn't done anything to anyone. She lives in pain from … from what others have done to her. What you have done to her. You don't care about my Mommy! You have hurt her more! You deserve to be punished not her!" Greyson shouted with tears trickling down his cheeks.

"Shh … Greyson baby. It's all right. Don't let them upset you like that. They're not worth you getting upset like that my son. Please calm down," I pleaded with him.

"But Mommy their why you have a headache now. Why it's not getting better!" whined Greyson.

"Greyson, We can't make them understand the error of their ways. They don't understand that we or rather I had nothing to do with any of the death or destruction. I'm a victim just like everyone else was. I couldn't stop the attacks … I couldn't stop my Grandfather from selling me to clear his debts. I had no control over any of it. It's …" was all I could say before I collapsed into Davidson's arms.

"Sandy! Sandy? Baby? James, we need to get her to the pack hospital right now. She's unconscious. Michael, can you help us with the boys?" Davidson quickly asked as he was running out the door with Sandra in his arms bridal style.

"Of course, get her to the pack hospital. We'll be right behind you," Michael shouted.

"Mommy! I want to be with my Mommy!" Greyson yelled as Michael tried to get him to go with him.

"Greyson, I need you and Owen to come with me. We are going to go to the pack hospital too. Please come with me. I know you are worried, but please come with me," pleaded Michael to Greyson.

"Okay Uncle Mike," sniffled Greyson. "Come on Owen. Mommy needs us."

After we had left the training room, the Council turned to the thirteen pack members and Alpha Scott.

"What you have just witnessed is a by-product of the forced mate-bond snap between Alphas James and Davidson and Luna Sandra. When she was forced to reject them, she started to get the most excruciating migraines. During that time, she almost died twice. Since then, her health has declined, but she has not let it define her. She has persevered. Not a lot of people know her trials or tribulations of the past two years. Her son Greyson is closely tied to her-he senses her emotionally. He can tell when she has a headache or is not feeling very well or is in extreme pain. This unfortunately has become her normal. She continues to put the pack, her mates, and her children first before she considers doing anything for herself. And you stand there and judge her saying she's not good enough to lead a pack. You truly do not deserve her as a Luna. Get them out of my sight! NOW!" commanded Elder Graham.

"Yes Elder Graham," replied Beta Samuel, Beta of the Blue Mountain Pack.

Once again, they were told they had one hour to report to the Blue Mountain Pack house or there would be consequences. Once all thirteen pack members were out of the room, Alpha Scott reassured the Council that he had a special section of his pack just for them. They would be living in a section that they would have to 'clean up' in order to move in. They would have the worst of the worst jobs to perform in the pack.

He would keep the Council informed of their progress. Also, Alpha Scott asked if he could be updated on Luna Sandra's condition. He was concerned about her and wished her nothing but the best.