Chapter 7

I don’t know how long I was sitting there sobbing out loud into Marii’s chest, but my body just cried and cried until I could cry no more. Finally, exhausted, I stopped sobbing and wiped my tears on the back of my hand before sitting back up and staring glumly at the forest floor. I rubbed my face with my hands and pushed the hair up and out of my face before looking apologetically over at Marii.
“I’m sorry for crying like a baby,” I sighed, feeling suddenly drained. “I don’t normally let my emotions get the better of me like that. It's just that I realised that I have no family, no pack, and no home. It’s all just hit me like a train. I don't know what I'm going to do!”
“No don’t be sorry. You’re allowed to cry. You’ve been through a great trauma,” Marii whispered, squeezing my hand gently. “Anyway, you are part of our pack now. You said you were treated like a slave back at home, right?”
“Yes,” I replied nodding gently. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I am looking for someone to be my new handmaiden,” Marii replied gently. “Someone to answer to my every need and be there, just for me. My last handmaiden fell sick and sadly, she didn’t make it.”
“So, you want me to be a slave for you?” I asked slowly before rolling my eyes, not believing the cheek of it! “It would just be like getting a new master! I’ll never be free from slavery, will I? No offence, but I’d rather be a Rogue and be packless and be free.”
“No, not a slave, no,” Marii replied gently, holding my hands in hers. “You would be paid for your work, and you would have the freedom to come and go as you please, have days off and be able to make friends and have fun. See it as a job or as employment. Of course, it would mean you would be ranked as an Omega, but you would be safe. In this pack, it doesn’t matter what rank you are. We are all family!"
"Can I at least have a few days to think about it?" I replied slowly, feeling a little suspicious.
"Of course. I'm not going to force you to do anything or keep you here if you don't want to stay," Marii nodded before looking serious once more. "May I just say, I think you should know that my son mindlinked me, begging for me to come and save you!”
“He did? I mean why?” I asked in shock at this titbit of news. “He doesn’t know me, and I’ve never met him! I don’t even know his name!”
“Well, he is called Blake. Blake Carson. And I don’t know the reason why, so I couldn't tell you. He is currently away on a business trip with his father, but he stays in constant contact with the pack through the mind-link,” Marii replied thoughtfully. “He must have heard that Alistair was sending himself and his warriors after you and realised that they were going to kill you. He pleaded and begged me to go and intervene, so I raced all the way here. Blake said there was something about you that he needed to see for himself. His wolf sense told him to save you.”
“Oh,” I replied faintly with a hint of sarcasm. “Well, I will make sure that I give him my personal thanks when see him!”
“There’s something strange about you,” Marii murmured as she began to scan me with her eyes once more. “I can’t put my finger on it. It’s not often you see a pure white wolf such as yourself, except for your black tips. It's a rare colouring. Anyway, come on, let’s get back to the packhouse and get you cleaned up. I’ll get you checked out at our hospital wing too, to make sure you’re not too gravely injured!”

Marii chuckled before standing up and brushing herself off gently. Carefully she turned to me and extended a hand, helping me to stand up and get up off the forest floor. Silently, I followed her through the undergrowth, feeling the leaves crunch and twigs snapping noisily under my feet. Above my head, I could hear the birds chirping loudly while flapping through the trees. It wasn’t long until a large mansion appeared before us with a large sweeping lawn in front of it. Perfectly sculpted bushes lined the garden and sitting beside the house was a crystal-clear swimming pool.
"This is your home?" I gasped in awe, drinking in the beauty of it all. "It's beautiful!"
"Yes, this is our home and our packhouse," Marii smiled proudly. "We have done well for ourselves as a pack and we like to live comfortably. We have everything here we could ever need. We are very content here!"

As we continued to stroll down the vast lawn, I spied a group of men waiting for us at the end of the lawn. As I got closer, I saw it was Alistair and his crew of warriors, who were all sat causally on wooden picnic benches. As we approached the group, Alistair stood up and angrily marched towards us, making the warriors quickly stand up as if they knew a fight was about to ensue. Quietly, I stepped back a few steps, allowing Marii to take centre stage.
“Have you got a problem, Alistair?” Marii asked calmly while raising an eyebrow before growling in warning. “Libby, wait there. I don’t want you getting hurt!”

“Yes, I have a fucking problem,” Alistair roared, running towards us before leaping in the air towards Marii, and quickly shifting back into his wolf, his fangs exposed. 'Was he really going to defy his luna?'

Before I knew it, there were two wolves now circling one another angrily on the grass. Alistair had turned back into his large brown wolf with thick shaggy fur, while Marii had turned back into her silver wolf with sleek shiny fur. All around them, the warriors, one by one, turned back into their wolves, just in case they had to separate their Luna and the Beta.
“What is the matter Alistair?” Marii growled loudly, her voice oddly calm while filling our heads as she used the mind-link. “Come on. Be a man. Do tell us, my dear!”
“My problem is you Marii,” Alistair snarled, snapping his jaws in the air furiously. “How dare you go against my orders and bring that thing here! You know what happened last time! I am second in command of this pack, and this is how you treat me, by defying my orders!”
“I think you forget your place, Alistair!” Marii roared angrily, while still keeping her head low and circling Alistair threateningly, snapping her jaws angrily while her eyes glowed a fiery orange. “You may be the Beta and my second in command, but I am the Luna! I still outrank you! My husband is the Alpha for this Pack and while he is gone, you answer to me! I take orders from no one! I was born to lead!”
“I do not!” boomed Alistair threateningly while snarling viciously. “That pup is a threat to our Pack, and you have allowed her to come into our home where she could be secretly plotting to kill us all! Get out of my way and let me finish her like I should have done earlier!”
“Alistair, take it easy man,” Jenson whined while shooting me an apologetic wolfy look. “Give her a chance! She's only a pup!”
“Never! This goes against everything I believe in and have worked hard for!” roared Alistair, who was now licking his lips hungrily. “I will finish this once and for all. Like any of you will be able to stop me!”