Safe

Safe

Zane's words really motivated me.
After watching the video several times and having a desperate outburst, I was ready to go. I can do this, after weeks of training, I can handle every setback. When this is all over, Zane and our pack will be proud of me, the way I've gone through it all. And later, our pups will tell everyone what a terrific mother they have.
I'm confident, that's what I'm radiating.
“It is almost a shame to have such a beautiful dress on when, about an hour later, you will tear it up to shift,” Saphira sighs as she closes the zipper. “The dress is a few sizes big. Have you lost weight, Mercedes?” I stroke my sides and indeed notice that a few full parts on my body have now gone flat. What stress doesn't do to people! Saphira fixes my makeup again this time I prefer some light colors. And then the hilarious part of this situation dawns on me. “Do you know, Saphira, that this is my second Luna ceremony with the wrong Alphas? But I believe that three times is a charm”, I laugh.
Shocked, she first looked at me and then we burst out laughing. We fall on the bed of madness, tears of joy rolling down our cheeks. There are we when there is a knock on the door and a servant enters with a bouquet of roses in hand. I grin at Saphira. So, this admirer doesn't know me well enough. Roses are beautiful but definitely not my preference. Those are the Lely’s and then the white ones. This is not a gift from Zane, for sure.
“Luna, Alpha Rainer delivered this. There is a card with it”, she says as she puts the flowers on a bedside table. She brings me the card and immediately leaves the room. Meaningfully, I beckon to Saphira before reading it. ‘For my Luna. Prepare for our wedding night and honeymoon. With love, Alpha Rainer.’ Again we cannot contain our laughter. Who comes up with such a text?! It is more than obvious who loves me and who feels vulgar desire and possessiveness for me. Come on!
“We've only got five minutes to get to the dining room. The pack organized a banquet with the entire entourage present, Mercedes. You will be in the Luna seat next to Alpha Rainer. What a joke”, my friend remarks. We are still smiling as we leave the room. We take the elevator and Saphira escorts me to a huge dining room. This one is bigger than in Midnight Moon, but the atmosphere is much less. I greet everyone politely and look around.
I see my father sitting there.
I walk towards him with big steps, he catches me in his arms. “Mercedes, my daughter. Please take it easy, everything will work out fine. The Council is here to protect you, nothing can go wrong”, he reassures me as he strokes my hair. And then I feel my mother's soft arms. We cling to each other like drowning men. “I'm sorry, father, to cause you so much grief. All this has disrupted your life so much”, I sob around my mother's neck. My father shakes his head. “No, my child. This is all the result of greed. This could have been prevented if all the Alphas had waited for your shift. Only the Moon Goddess determines each other's mate, these grown-up wolves know better but still behave like schoolboys," he says with reproachful looks at the Alphas at the table.
Someone coughs somewhere at the table.
When I look up, I see an older man, his posture emits power. “Mercedes, my child. I am Alpha King Remus of the Silver Bow pack, special envoy of the Kingdom of Werewolves and President of the Council. I guarantee your safety here in Shadow Moon. You are at the center of it all,” he explains. “You decide whether to accept or reject your fated mate, you have that right. If you decide to leave this pack, we guarantee your safe departure, no one can stop you as long as I am here”.
Gratefully I bow slightly to the man.
"Alpha King, I don't think it's appropriate to remind Mercedes to reject her mate," Alpha Rainer said sourly. "Isn't the Council propagating that fated mates stick together and make their pack happy?" he sneers.
The Alpha King is not deterred. “Alpha Rainer. Mercedes has previously indicated that she wants to leave for Midnight Moon. Now that she's eighteen, she has that right to decide, even if her fated mate turns out not to be the Alpha of that pack. Whoever she chooses or rejects, she has free will in everything. Until she is voluntarily marked, she retains all rights to herself," he replies inexorably and final.
Alpha Rainer presses his lips together in discord.
And then my eyes finally fall on Glary. He stares ahead in silence, clearly uneasily in the territory of another Alpha and then in a hostile atmosphere. But yes, that was his own choice, he could also have resigned himself to the fact that we are not fated. Glary is around twenty, if I were his fated, he would have discovered it at eighteen. Obviously, he can never be my mate, his jealousy and temper are playing tricks on him. And each one sitting here knows that. The Alpha with the best cards here is Rainer, but I doubt that too. I don't feel any connection to him, and hate is the closest I feel to him after his stunt. I hate traitors and that's what Alpha Rainer is.
“Mercedes, your seat is right here next to me. On the chair of Shadow Moon's Luna”, Alpha Rainer taunts his audience. A sigh goes through the room, everyone understands his provocation. Well, the battle is not over yet, I think.
Reluctantly, I walk over to him and take a seat next to him. Saphira stands behind me. When Alpha Rainer wants to snap at her, I give him a menacing look. Fortunately, he rethought his action and kept his silence. Looking further over the table, I see Jace sitting. His face is brooding at first, but when our eyes meet, they light up.
“Beta Jace”, I greet him explicitly. Overjoyed to see me, he nods at me.
And then the meal is served....