Chapter 67

(**Sebastion**) 

We gathered every member of the pack in the meeting room for the pack meeting. With such short notice, I expected some to not show. I am surprised that everyone showed up. As I look out at all their faces, I can see many emotions go through the crowd. 

I can feel the nervous energy coursing through the room as I wait for everyone to find a seat. They have every right to be nervous about what I am about to tell them. Rogues, we can handle and have been doing just that for years. The threat of Vicktor Treadstone is something we have never faced before. 

Werewolves are simple to understand. We are primal. We fight for land, food, and the safety of our people. Humans fight for the same thing, but in different ways. This new threat we are facing differs from all others.  

He does everything for money. Kills when provoked. Captures innocent men and women. Then puts them all on display for the rich. His kind of hunting leaves shattered lives in its wake. I will do anything I can to prevent that kind of damage from happening to my pack. 

“Thank you everyone for coming on such short notice. I know many of you are wondering why I called you here today. I will get to that in a few minutes, but first I have a few announcements to make. I am pleased to announce that we will have the Luna ceremony in a few days.” 

Cheers erupted throughout the room. This makes me smile. My pack has been waiting patiently for the day that I find my mate.  

“There will also be fresh additions to the pack. We will swear them in before the Luna Ceremony. After the ceremony we will also swear in additional guards for the Luna. Jodi, Melissa, and Frankie will now be Irina’s personal guard.” 

A loud explosion of cheers follows that announcement. Almost all the cheers coming from the women of the pack. The next thing I have to say will make them all happier.  

“I am encouraging all the women who want to join the warriors or scouts to do so tomorrow morning. We will start you all off in the beginners’ classes taught by Frankie and Jodi. When they feel you are ready, they will pass you up to train with the rest of the guards. Anyone interested can meet at the training grounds tomorrow morning at six a.m.” 

I give the crowd a few minutes to digest this. The cheerful voices I hear are encouraging. The training has always been open to everyone who wanted to join, but until now I never realized how many women were interested. Why had they never joined the warrior or scout training?  

“I want to apologize to for what comes next."

The questioning looks on their faces make me keep going. 

“I have always allowed anyone who wanted to join the guards and scouts to do so. Mandatory training was never something that I was fond of. I can see now that I should have taken more interest in who trains and who doesn’t. With what is coming, I feel the need to make warrior training mandatory.” 

That got the crowd’s attention fast. Questions fired off throughout the room. What is going on? How long do we have to train for? Why now? What if we refuse to train with the warriors? Who will be forced and who will be allowed to refrain? 

"These are excellent questions. Now for the next announcement."

The one that I know will strike fear into everyone in the pack. Our walls have always kept us safe from humans. Rogues have never breached our defenses.  

Treadstone is on a whole different level. 

“After the meeting is done, Finn will explain who will be required to be on the training fields tomorrow. Now, I will get to the main reason for calling this meeting. We are under threat. Something is coming for us.” 

“What kind of threat? If it were just rogues, you wouldn’t call us all here like this.” A loud angry voice shouts from the back of the room. 

“You are right. If it were rogues, I am confident that our warriors and scouts could handle the situation. No, what is coming our way is something different.” 

I pause to gather my thoughts but before I can speak again, Irina steps up next to me with Zasha at her side. There is an instant hush among the crowd as they all look at her. I can feel the nervous energy in the room focus on Irina and the small child by her side. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce myself to all of you formally. Some of you I have already met while most of you I have yet to have the opportunity to do so.” Irina says. 

As I look out at the faces in the crowd, I see all eyes are on Irina. She has their rapt attention, and they don’t even know who she is yet. Alpha females have a power that I have only seen once before. Irina becoming my Luna will heighten the power within her that she was born with.  

Making her one of the most powerful Lunas in our pack’s history. 

“My name is Irina Belova. I am the mate to your Alpha and your new Luna.” 

Cheers came from those Irina has already met while she has been here. I hear Jodi, Frankie and Melissa the loudest. That makes me smile. The women of the pack have accepted Irina already. Though part of me thinks it is just because they have been needing a Luna for far too long. My mother has helped but she isn't here a majority of the time.

“Now, I know that some of you are wondering why I haven’t introduced myself until now. That is an excellent question to ask.”  

Irina looked down at Zasha, then up at me. I know what she is asking from me with just that look, so I do the only thing required. I step back so she can have the center of the podium. This is her story to tell, not mine. Hearing it from her will have a much stronger effect than it would coming from me. 

Irina looks back at the faces of our pack. I watch her scan the room as if she is looking for someone. I tap her shoulder, then point to the right side of the room where her family is standing. Alexei is watching her with a mixture of pride and fear on his face. Natalia is helping Pavel hold Oleg up, but her eyes are on Irina.  

I am surprised to see that Oleg is here, but after everything he has been through, I am just happy he is here. Pavel looks like he would rather be out fighting someone instead of standing here. I honestly can’t blame him on that sentiment. 

“The reason I have not introduced myself until now is because I have not wanted to become your Luna. The reason for that is that I felt unworthy of the title.” 

That got the entire pack’s attention. 

“Hear me out, let me tell you all my story, then you can judge me all you want.” 

“Is that child the Alpha’s bastard too, like Jace?”  

Anger spikes in me at the mention of my son. I know the voice of the man who spoke up. He was one of Gia’s strongest supporters for her to become my Luna. I had suspicions about the two of them, but Gia always assured me that there was nothing like that going on between them. 

I now know that is untrue. I wonder just how many men in my pack slept with her while she was pretending to love me? How many of them laughed at me for being her lap dog? 

“This has nothing to do with my son, Harold. So, if you know what is best for you, keep his name from ever crossing your lips again. Gia was unfaithful, but let me make one thing clear to each of you right now. Jace is my son. That is something that I know for a fact. Now, everyone, give your Luna your undivided attention until she is done.” 

Irina squeezes my hand as I step back from the podium. 

“Thank you, my love. Now, to answer your vulgar question, Harold, is it? This beautiful angel beside me is my daughter. She is the reason for almost everything I have done. Zasha is the daughter of my first mate, Gustav.” 

Whispers erupt through the room as she tells them in very simple words that she and I are second chance mates. What she does next surprises me and everyone else in the room. Irina gives them a taste of her Alpha power. 

Power that I have felt building in her for the last few days. The healthier she becomes, the more her true nature is revealed. Her Alpha lineage is strong. I feel it is as strong as mine or stronger. Most Alphas would feel her power and see it as a threat. 

I see it as something amazing. Apart, we are each powerful in our own right. Together we have to potential to be one of the strongest leaders any pack has seen in generations. True Alpha pairs are very rare. 

(**Irina**) 

As the pack digests the news I just dropped, I try hard to find the right words to tell them the rest of the story. Telling Sebastion my story is one thing, but telling the entire pack is another. Will they judge me for my actions, or will they pity me for what Treadstone did to my life? 

I don’t want anyone’s pity. Everything I did for that monster; I did to survive and ensure that my child lived. I will be a victim in anyone’s eyes. 

“I was born in a small pack in the mountains of Russia. There I was the daughter of the pack Beta. My father, Alexei Belova, was the brother of the pack Alpha. I am an Alpha by birth. I had a happy family, a mate that I thought I loved, and my beautiful baby girl.” 

The silence in the room encourages me to continue. I thought there would be pain when I spoke of Gustav and what happened to my pack. I am surprised when only the thought of my pack being slaughtered brings me pain.  

“A human man brought hunters to of village one day. He was searching for something that is rare. Or so I thought it was rare. He certainly thought it was.” 

“What was he looking for? Why was a human tracking your pack?” 

I know that voice now. Harold. This man is going to be a problem. 

“His name is Vicktor Treadstone of Treadstone Industries. He was looking for something he thought could be used as a secret weapon of sorts. Your pack has scouts that can mask their scent to smell human. An ability that Treadstone always assumed was rare. My pack had one person who could do the same thing.” 

The whispers erupt through the room again as I tell them they are not the only pack that can use human scent as camouflage. I expected this to happen, so I just wait for them to quiet down again. What will they think when I tell them that I was what Treadstone was looking for? That I am the wolf that can cover her tracks and appear human. 

When they quiet down again, I continue with my revelations. “Treadstone was in Russia for another reason. The rare pure white wolf. Now, you may all be wondering what that has to do with me. It is quite simple. I am who he was looking for.” 

I can feel the shock that ripples through the room.  

“Is that why we are under this new threat? Because of you and your daughter?” Harold asks. This time, there is no anger in his voice.  

“Treadstone came into my pack, killed everyone who resisted. Then he shot my mother in front of my father. He shot my father when he refused to answer his questions. They shot Gustav in the back while he was trying to protect me and our child. He failed.” 

I spend the next thirty minutes telling them what happened next. I skip over some details that they don’t need to know. Like how I was used to hunt down our kind, or how I was used as a whore for Treadstone’s ambitions. What I didn’t gloss over was all the abuse that Treadstone subjected me to. 

What I refused to leave out was why he wants my daughter back. 

By the time I am done telling the pack my story, I can feel the sympathetic looks already. What I didn’t feel from any of them was pity, which makes me happy. The anger from them, I understand. What surprises me is that it isn’t directed at me. 

That is amazing. It will benefit them, going forward. The anger they are feeling can now be harnessed into their combat training. Wolves are dangerous when they are protecting something that they love.  

The Luna is the heart of the pack. I am new to all of them, but I can feel their loyalty already, just by the whispers I hear through the crowd. One voice stands out more than all the others. Harold. 

What he does next surprises me. He kneels and submits to me. This causes a ripple effect through the room. Soon everyone is on their knees. I turn and lock eyes with Sebastion. The surprise on his face matches mine. 

They do not know me, but they have all submitted to me like they did their Alpha.

After acknowledging what they are showing me, I ask them all to stand. “Treadstone doesn’t follow our laws or laws of the human world. He will use anything and everything he can to get what he wants. What he wants is your Alpha, his sister, their company and everything that goes with it. He wants to put them in cells for the rich to pay to see. We are not worthy of respect in his eyes. We are animals.” 

This comment makes the crowd angry. Their anger will either help protect the pack for the coming war or it will get someone else killed. For their sake and mine, I hope this pack is smart enough to fuel their anger to where it will help the pack rather than harm it. 

With nothing more to say, I step back from the podium. Sebastion stops me from walking off the stage by pulling me against him. The kiss he gives me is tender and full of promise. When he releases me, there is a collective cheer among the pack. 

When I step away from him, a feeling of dread washes over me. Something bad is coming. Something evil is here already. Before I can react to the feeling, there is a sudden cloud of black smoke next to Sebastion. The cloud prevents me from having a line of sight to him. 

My heart skips a beat when the smoke clears.  

Sebastion is gone.