Chapter 14

The room swiftly burst into a loud round of applause, clapping, and celebrating at my new status within the pack. I wasn’t sure if the members in front of me were being sincere and genuine or, just clapping out of politeness, but nonetheless, they were still clapping. I was vaguely aware of how many pairs of eyes eagerly scanned me as I was silently standing there, feeling bewildered at being the centre of attention.

Sensing my unease, I felt Blake’s hand snake in mine and squeeze gently, a silent act of reassurance. After what seemed an eternity, Marii and Jonas finally stepped forward and lovingly embraced us, before turning back to face the pack members. The room came to an eery silence as they waited for their previous masters to say something.

“It’s been a great few years leading this pack under my command,” Jonas boomed loudly. “We have had our ups and downs, our trials and tribulations. We have made many great progress and many an error. I feel like I am leaving the pack in good hands. Now that my son has found his Mate, he is ready to become the Alpha that this pack needs. From this day forth, me and my wife, have now stepped down from our duties.”

Gasping in silence at his words, I looked up at Blake nervously. If Jonas and Marii were stepping down from their duties, then it meant me, and Blake were now officially the new Alpha and Luna for the pack with immediate effect. Was I ready for this sort of power? Where would I even start? I watched helplessly as Blake stood forward and addressed his family.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you all for the support you have given and shown me while waiting for me to find my Mate,” he began carefully. “It is with great honour that I accept Alphaship of this pack. I aim to lead with an open mind, and fairness to all but with an iron fist. I will not let the standards of this pack slip which my father has worked hard to build.”

Once more the kitchen erupted into a wall of noise as the pack burst into a round of applause once more. Feeling myself being pulled towards the table, I carefully sat down in an empty chair beside Blake at the head of the table, as I eagerly awaited my second breakfast of the day. Glancing across at Marii and her husband, I noticed they were both beaming across at me happily, to which I returned with a gentle but nervous smile. It wasn’t long before large plates filled with sausages, bacon, eggs, and garlic mushrooms were placed in front of us and, hungrily, I tucked in.

A soft voice gently coughed, and I looked up to see Marii gently smiling at me, with her head resting gently on her hands. Jonas had also stopped eating and began looking at me intently, only making me feel nervous under their wary stares.

“Libby, I need to apologise to you,” Marii whispered gently. “I am sorry for ever doubting you a worthy candidate as a Mate for my son. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
“It’s okay Marii,” I replied gently. “You don’t have to apologise to me.”
“Well, seeing as we are all good, we do have something important to discuss as a pack,” Marii began gently. “We need to discuss what we are going to do about your stepmother and that abhorrent boyfriend of hers.”
“Do we have to?” I mumbled quietly. “I don’t want everyone knowing my past!”
“You are our Luna now,” Jonas murmured softly. “We are your family, and we are one in this Pack. You do wrong to one, you do wrong to us all!”
“Besides, what they did is inexcusable,” Marii added firmly. “Especially now that you are a Luna. They can’t be allowed to get away with this.”
“I’ve already told her that they have broken at least seven laws,” Alistair loudly butted in. “You’re looking at antisocial behaviour, child and domestic abuse, modern-day slavery, rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment!”
“All of which are punishable by incarceration,” declared Jonas loudly. “We cannot let them get away with what they have done to you. All pups under the age of eighteen are protected by law. I believe you will be eighteen next week, which is when your official Luna duties will start, by the way.”

Our conversation had now begun to draw the attention of the others who were sitting around the table, as one by one, I began to notice many pairs of eyes staring silently at us. It wasn’t until Charlie, our Gamma, who was a tall slender man who had dark brown hair with a matching moustache, stood up and looked at us all gravely.
“Please, excuse me, my new Alpha and Luna,” he began solemnly. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. As third in command, I vow to help punish those who have wronged you. Marii and Jonas are right. We cannot let them get away with what they have done!”
“Here here,” a pretty redhead called out, who I realised was one of Charlie’s daughters. “If we let them get away with it and word gets out, our pack will look weak!”
“Everything we stand for will be tarnished!” agreed a warrior loudly, thumping on the table with his fist.
“We need to know exactly what happened!” a second warrior agreed. “Please, Luna, tell us your story!”

Taken aback, I looked around nervously at Blake, who nodded reassuringly. “Go on. Tell them,” he whispered. “You may as well. They won’t let it go now!”
Gulping nervously, I quickly stammered “Where do you want me to start? It’s not going to be pleasant, trust me.”
“How about from the start,” Alistair soothed gently. “Don’t worry about getting anyone into trouble. We need to know everything so that we can process a legal case against them.”

Nodding, I leaned back in my chair and began to think back before coughing slightly. “Well, two years ago, everything was great. I had my mum and my dad, we lived in a big house right by the city and we were happy,” I began. “Then one day, my mum went to go out and attend her gym session. But she never arrived. Me and my dad went out searching for her, we tried calling her but found her phone was switched off and we put posters up. That evening, we rang the police and reported her missing. The next day, her belongings were discovered on top of Hell’s Mouth cliff, which was a notorious suicide spot in our territory, alongside a suicide note.”
“Was her body ever found or recovered?” butted in Alistair loudly, looking at me curiously. “What about a death certificate?”
“I don’t know about a death certificate if I’m honest,” I replied shrugging. “I never asked my dad about it as I didn’t think it was important at the time. But no, her body was never recovered. We just assumed that the sea had claimed her body, so I guess there wouldn’t be a death certificate.”
“There must be a declaration of a presumed death then,” mused Alistair thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “I can go to the national archives and find out later. Carry on Luna!”
“Anyway, Dad went through a difficult time of mourning, and he turned to alcohol to ease his grief. Mum’s death was a shock, something neither of us was expecting. But one day, he went to work and came back all smiles like he was back to his old self,” I continued before pausing briefly. “He met Julianne at work and quickly became besotted with her. Julianne was a best friend of my mum’s and she helped pull my dad from his drinking tendencies and made him happy again. It wasn’t long before they got engaged and then married and before I knew it, add had sold our house and we were moving into Julianne’s.”
“Was she nice to you at the beginning?” Marii questioned. “Or was she always a bit of a bitch?”
“Yeah, she seemed all right,” I shrugged. “Me and her daughter Louisa didn’t see eye to eye but I guess she just didn’t like sharing her mum with me or my dad. I was bullied for the way I looked at school and Louisa never stood up for me, but I guess it wasn’t her place. Dad seemed happy and so, I was happy, until the arguments came.”
“Arguments? What arguments?” Alistair grunted, looking at me questionably. “I thought you said they were happy together?”
“They were until my dad was promoted to Gamma, following the death of the previous Gamma,” I replied. “Dad spent a lot of time helping to train our warriors, and so, spent a lot of time with one of the lead warriors, Iona. Iona was a beautiful woman with long brown hair that reached her buttocks. She had dark brown eyes, tanned skin was athletic and had a body to die for. Julianne got jealous of the amount of time my dad and Iona were spending together at work and accused my Dad of having an affair.”
“Were they having an affair?” Jonas inquired while folding his arms and leaning back in his chair.
“No! Well, my dad said they weren’t. I believed him as my dad wasn’t that sort of person,” I smiled as I remembered how great my father was. “He was kind, loyal and brave. He would do anything for anyone, and I was proud to call him my dad.”
“So, what happened next?” the Gamma’s red-headed daughter called out, impatiently. “I thought you said your dad died too!”
“He did,” I nodded sadly, sighing at the memory. “I went to school that day after my dad had another blazing argument with Julianne and when I came home, Julianne was waiting for me with the news that rocked my life forever. My dad had died.”