He Is Waiting
He Is Waiting
Still Mercedes' POV
Blinking my eyes, I wake up in my room in Shadow Moon's packhouse.
Today is my birthday. Finally!
Contrary to what I planned and could have ever suspected, I am stepping into adulthood in Shadow Moon instead of my mate's pack. The past few days have been hectic. The tension between the three packs fighting for my hand was enormous, the Council of the Werewolves even had to intervene.
Who would have thought that not one but the three largest werewolf packs threatened to go to war over a humble Beta daughter like me?! This is the most insane thing I've ever heard.
Kenry leads a group of Midnight Moon warriors patrolling in the free zone outside the Shadow Moon territory for two days. They are ready to invade upon any mishandling of the two packs. After Zane understood that Alpha Rainer had his own agenda when he eagerly offered his help to him, he savagely declared war on him. He promised to personally behead Alpha Rainer for this betrayal and violation of bilateral agreements. My mate was already on his way to Shadow Moon for the biggest war in this hemisphere.
However, this was torpedoed by a joint army of other packs representing the Council, who cut Zane off halfway through the pass. The army arrived just in time to save Shadow Moon from a total massacre. Zane was furious as hell, threatening to burn Shadow Moon to the ground. My parents attended the negotiations that followed. They had rushed out of Silver Moon mainly to calm the mood and avoid bloodshed. So, the Council involved them in the peace talks with the packs.
It was determined that I would stay in Shadow Moon until my birthday.
On that day, this pack will then facilitate Glary and Zane to attend my first shift so that the Council could witness who my wolf would recognize as her fated mate. Zane refused to join this what he called a circus. However, he would delegate his Beta to ensure no foul play was involved. He is steadfast in being my mate and does not want to engage in any trading arrangement. My only requirement in all this drama was that my parents must be in Midnight Moon on the day of my birthday and Saphira be here in Shadow Moon to be my chambermaid. Also, I pressed that it turns out that neither of the two Alphas is my mate, I should be free to leave Shadow Moon to go to Zane. The Council granted all my demands, if I wanted to leave, the Council will ensure a safe exit from Shadow Moon.
So now I'm waiting for Saphira.
I know she arrived with Jace a few hours ago. Our mind link is intact again now that she is closer. ‘Beta, where are you? How much longer do I have to wait for you?’ I mind link her. I promised myself to relax this day and get rid of the stress of the past few days. I have noticed that the tension has seriously affected my health. My appetite has all but disappeared while my stomach is constantly up and running. Fortunately, an Elder's mate brought me herbal tea last night and gave me a nice massage on my neck, making me feel much better this morning.
'On my way, mega Luna', I hear Saphira teasing. ‘Do you realize that you are now the Luna of the three largest packs, my Lady?’ she jokes.
A few seconds later, my room door opens. I quickly sit up and stretch my arms out to my friend. “Saphira, I'm so glad to see you,” I sigh. "What a theater play! Why do they want to make it so difficult for Zane? Everyone knows I belong to him. This is unnecessarily complicated.” We hug tightly, her warmth soothes me even more.
“Don't worry, Mercedes. Everything will be fine. The Moon Goddess has everything under control here. This will be resolved in a few hours. As soon as your wolf speaks out, everything is done", she comforts me. I totally agree with her.
“Look, Zane sent you your birthday dress. Elise had chosen it, but he added an extra decoration to it. He wanted to let you know that this is not an ordinary gown.” She takes a bright red dress out of plastic. I do indeed recognize it as one of the creations Elise had chosen for me. My sister-in-law is so wonderful, I think she must be very disappointed now that our planned party can't go ahead.
The fiery red material stands out against my jet-black locks and gray eyes. Zane always makes sure everyone notices that he takes good care of me, never lets me go shabby. I gently touch the fabric and suddenly see the initials ZS embroidered in a heart at the neckline. A smile bursts across my face, Zane shows that he keeps his claim over me. I couldn't be happier. “Mercedes, the Council does not allow him to contact you directly because he refused to be here today. But he sent you something,” Saphira says softly.
Curious, I watch her pull out her phone and then hold out a video to me.
There I see my mate, fully dressed in warrior clothes. His eyes were full of adoration but somewhere, I read some anxiety, though. His sky-blue eyes sparkle when he looks at me. In a trance, I touch the screen, how I miss him! He is the most handsome creation of the Moon Goddess, there is no one like him. How I wish he were here with me today so we could prove to everyone that we belong together. But I understand him, he is a man. His claim on me is not equal to the greedy two others who think they are disrupting our lives.
‘Mercedes, my gorgeous mate. You are the best I have in my life. Without you, I can't breathe, the world stands still. There is no life possible without you. I've told you so many times how much I love you, there is nothing new to that. I adore you, my heart. You are so beautiful. As you face the Alphas today, do so with confidence. Show them we're an unbreakable couple, no one comes between us. I made the mistake of trusting Alpha Rainer, this is my second misstep toward you. But I swear I'll make it right. You are my heart. And when you leave Shadow Moon today, know I'll be waiting for you outside the gates. Step out of the pack and you'll find yourself in my arms again, this time forever. Until then, my mate.’...