Chapter 55

*Athena’s POV*
After admiring the pack crescent, an airy voice sounds behind us. I look over and see someone has their arms around my mate. My eyes narrow and Blanche growls viciously in my head. Some other she-wolf is touching what is ours.
Silas unlinks his hand with mine and proceeds to get this she wolfs hands off him. He quickly turns around and his eyes narrow in anger.
Then she flicks her eyes toward me with a quick glance. “Babe, who’s that?”
Babe? Excuse me!? Blanche is now clawing to get out and put her in her place. How dare she touch what is mine!
He introduces us and her eyes go wild with fury and jealousy. She calls herself his Luna and calls me a “thing”. I am now seething with quiet fury. I keep my face calm and impassive. I will not give her the satisfaction of getting a rise out of me. This Anna person is Lotte’s sister? I raise a brow at the fact that she is continuing to fight even though we have marked each other. Her eyes begin to glow and she takes a threatening step forward. Silas steps in front of me and growls protectively.
“You bitch! How dare you take what is mine. I am his Luna! I am the Luna of the Lunar pack!” She screeches and ignores her Alpha’s warning. I keep my composure and don’t react and that seems to piss her off even more. Silas snaps at her and tells her to back down but I tell him that it's alright. I step forward to speak with her with a straight face. I refuse to be a doormat any longer.
“Anna,” I say firmly and strongly. “Let me properly introduce myself, I am Athena Goldstein, potential Alpha of the Mystic Evergreen pack. I’m sorry it seems I am stealing him from you but we both know perfectly well that is not the case.”
Her eyes narrow into slits and ready to pounce.
“As an Alpha, my role is to follow the goddess and inspire others of her will. Fated mates are gifts from Artemis herself. Anyone who tries to interfere with the bond goes directly against her. Are you willing to defy her plan?”
Then a fuse blows. She screams and charges after me. I glance at Silas who is about to step in but I shake my head no. I want to take care of this myself.
She sends a punch my way and just before It connects, I grab her wrist quick like a serpent. Her eyes widen in shock as I glare silent daggers at her.
“I didn’t want this to result in violence, Anna, but if you ever try to touch me again. You will regret it. Get this through your thick skull. He is my fated mate and I am his. You are not anything to him anymore. I will not hesitate to put you in your place if you retaliate like this again.” I throw her wrist away and she yelps like a wounded dog. She regains her posture and continues her mission of jealousy.
“YOU BITCH! YOU HARLOT! YOU WHORE! I don’t care who the fuck you are or what the Goddess says! He was promised to me years ago! I am meant to be Luna!” She snarls again and goes in for another attack. This bitch doesn’t learn. As she closes in, I crank my fist back and nail her square in the face. She goes flying back and crashes onto the floor.
“I warned you, you little bitch. Next time I won’t be so nice. Do you understand?” I narrow my eyes and growl with a final warning. She looks to Silas for help but her face crumbles in betrayal when she realizes he will not come to her rescue.
She gets to her feet and with a sob, she takes off and we hear a door slam. I turn back and Silas has a grin on his face. A grin of pride and a lot of something else.
“I was told that you had pack whores here, but I didn’t expect to meet a past fiancé.” I grin back in mock.
“She was hardly even that.” He rolls his eyes. “I’m sorry, I should have warned you about her.”
“Allowing me to punch her makes up for it.” I giggle contently and loop my arm with his.
“Majorly sexy by the way.” I look up at his daring smirk. “Made me and Vladimir want to haul you back to the bedroom.”
I shake my head at his comment, and we continue our journey to the kitchen.
We walk through an arched entryway and find a beautiful kitchen, furnished with black cabinets and white-painted walls. In the center, there is a black marbled counter. At that counter sits Freya, Beta James, Alaric, Lotte, and Cirilla. They are all talking with each other and a melancholy atmosphere hangs in the air. It’s almost suffocating. They’ve been this worried about me?
Then hearing us approach. Freya quickly turns around and a smile immediately lights up her face. Beta James also turns and realizing it's me, his body slackens, and a wide smile also spreads across his face. Freya rises from her seat and before I know it, I’m in her arms being consumed in a tight hug. My arms find their way around her and my stiffness completely settles from that incident from earlier. She pets my head and rocks me like my own mother.
After a while she releases me, and her eyes meet mine and they are glassy. I turn my head to the approaching Beta James, and he also brings me in for a tight hug.
“Thank goddess you’re alright.” He whispers and tightens his embrace. “If we lost you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. Your father would make sure of it.”
“Uncle James, I’m alright. Stop blaming yourself. The stress is making your hair go gray.” My lips turn up into a grin.
“Hey, my hair is not gray. At least, not much.” He pouts for a moment, but he chuckles to himself. “It’s good to have you back kiddo.”
My smile widens and I look at Freya. “Did you call my mom? I bet she already ripped all her hair out and chewed down all her fingernails to stubs out of stress.”
“Yes, you know your mother. She was ready to burn the world down. She’s waiting for us to finally bring you home.” She sighs and her smiles turn weary. “So, since you’re finally up and mostly healed, we should go.”
I chew on my lip in contemplation. I need to see my mom but when I go back it reopens all the problems of becoming alpha and all the alphas who don’t approve of my mate. I’d rather stay far away from all that and stay here with my love.
This even puts questions in my head that shakes my whole being. Do I really want to become Alpha? Do I want to become the Alpha of a pack that doesn’t approve of me becoming their leader? Maybe it’ll be easier to save Aiden and stay at Silas’s side as Luna.
Then a presence brushes against my mind. Not a forceful push but like a warm summer breeze. I raise a brow in question and realize it isn’t Blanche.
Believe in yourself, daughter. You are the White Wolf. My closest daughter. You are more than just an Alpha. You are more. So much more.
A whisper soft as silk, speaks in my mind. It almost makes me jump. A female voice that is velvet but powerful. A voice that can bring you down to your knees but seduce you with its soothing melody. It's far ethereal to be human or wolf.
“Artemis?” I whisper out loud.
“Yes, It was the mother herself,” Blanche says breathlessly. She is as surprised as I am. “I can see why she whispered a message to you, and she is right. Don’t doubt who you are. Prove those who doubt you wrong. Prove you are meant to be Alpha.”
I take a deep breath and retake my composure. Why does she always have to be right?
“When are we leaving?” I ask.
“Whenever you are ready to go.” Freya nods and her head turns towards Silas. “Will you be returning with us?”
He quickly nods without hesitation. “Yes, my Beta and I will go back to Evergreen with you. I will never be separated from Athena again.” He says with stone resolution. This causes a bit of heat in my cheeks and my lips turn up into a satisfied grin.
“Nor I with Celeste.” Alaric gets up and grimaces when he realizes he said that in front of James. But Celeste’s father only grins to himself.
“By the way. Is that what I think it is?” Lotte speaks up and her eyes are flicking between the two of us with a wicked smirk.
My mate rolls his eyes. “Subtle, Lotte.”
Then on cue, everyone averts their eyes to our shoulders and necks. All their eyes widen and Freya squeals with excitement.
“Show us!” Lotte feigns a pout. I shake my head in amusement and roll up the sleeve of my t-shirt. I expose the unique mark on my shoulder and neck. All of them gawk in awe at its stunning beauty. Freya and Lotte are star-struck as James grins in satisfaction.
“At least now, Granite can rest in peace knowing his little girl has found a mate who will take care of her.” James’s comment causes my eyes to mist up. I think he would have liked Silas. I could just imagine him pouring Silas, some of his favorite whiskey and talking about what I was like as a child. Particularly all the embarrassing moments just like any good father. I wish he was still here to give me away during my mating Ceremony and to see his future grandchildren. I wish he was here to see me maybe become Alpha. There are still so many things I don’t know, so many things I need to learn.
But he’s not here. He taught me what he could and left me prepared for anything. It's up to me to adapt and continue to be strong. For him.
“I have never seen a mark like this. It seems to be a symbol of power and unity. You are the opposites of a coin but completely compatible.” Freya continues to study my mark. Then her eyes travel to the sapphire lines on my forehead. “We need to figure out what this means. In my studies of werewolves, no White wolf was gifted with this mark. But all the White wolves that came to be are from your bloodline on your father's side. However, I can only go so far back on names. The Goldstein name changed over the years. For instance, sometimes the men in your line took their mate's surnames. Like there was a secret in the name to be kept. Eventually, the original name was lost in time. I would bet money that the Elders in Greece would have records.” Freya ponders.
Man, she knows about my family even more than I do. I raise a brow and she notices my surprise.
“What? I do my research. Since you became the White wolf, you gave me more to wonder about. Being a doctor only takes so much of my time.” She giggles.
I smile and shake my head. Of course, I should have known.
“Shall we get going?” I look up at my mate with his hand still in mine. He looks down at me with a soft smile.
“Of course, Angel. I’m ready when you are.”