Chapter 62
It took the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon to go through all the dresses Maria had brought, several I didn’t even try on, afraid I would stretch out Maria’s clothes with my fuller figure. There was an obvious difference in sizes, especially in the chest area. Maria had a svelte, slim physique, while I was curvier and had much larger breasts. We settled on a simple black wrap dress, that fell to my calves, it was a little lower cut than I would’ve liked but was still the best option considering our very different body types. Paired with my black pumps and some simple jewellery, I was a little less nervous. Miranda combed out my hair and put it up in a simple chignon. Elegance and grace seemed to be the goal and I wasn’t disappointed with the simple nude make-up and overall look the women in Daniel’s life had helped me create. We had even eaten lunch in the large bedroom, Miranda refused to leave me alone for even a moment, encouraging me and tailoring my answers to be more diplomatic or put the truth in a more flattering light. All too soon the time of my appointment was drawing near. The nerves were getting to me, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking as we all walked down the stairs. Daniel was waiting for me in the kitchen, he was clearly nervous, it was the first time I had seen him anything other than confident, and it made my own anxiety worse somehow. I walked up to him, I trembled with the anticipation of what I was about to endure. Daniel jumped up from his seat at the breakfast bar when he saw me, his eyes raked over my body, obviously appreciating my outfit and makeover. I couldn’t help but smile at his lascivious looks, my anxiety momentarily forgotten.
“You look amazing baby!” He whispered in my ear, as he wrapped his arms around my waist to pull me closer. I blushed when I saw the kitchen staff watching us, several of the women had tears in their eyes and were looking at me with a mixture of outrage and pity. Great, I thought to myself, did the elders put out an announcement? Or an invitation to witness my humiliation?
“We need to get going soon,” I whispered, my voice breaking slightly. “Where are you father and brother?” I needed a distraction badly.
“They’re in the living room with my mother and Maria. I won’t be able to come with you to the examination.” He said through gritted teeth. “So, Maria will go in with you, but I’m going to drive you to the pack hospital, my parents are going straight to the meeting hall. The elders have things to prepare while you’re with the doctor, so they have to be there. But I will drive you there after your appointment too, and I will be right outside, so if you need me have Ben link me. I don’t care what the rules are, they put one toe over the line I’ll be there to rip their throats out.” He growled; his eyes flickered to that of his wolf.
“Shh, it’s alright. Calm down, and don’t go killing anyone on my account. I just want this over with, with as little fuss as possible.” I attempted to calm him down, by kissing him softly and stroking his arms.
“I hate that I can’t protect you from this! It’s wrong and backward and disgusting!” He cried, visibly getting more agitated despite my efforts to cool his temper.
“Then change the rules after this, so no Luna of this pack ever has to go through this again. Besides, if your mother can get through it and somehow keep her temper in check, I’m sure I can come through it with flying colours.” I smiled, and kissed him again, deeper this time, ignoring our audience, until I heard a sob and a sniffle. I looked around the kitchen to see Kathy openly weeping on another member of the staff who had a hard determined look on her face. She nodded towards me, almost a bow, exposing her neck before she raised her head. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes, these women knew almost nothing about me but cared, and were showing me their respect in their own ways. I gave them the best smile I could muster, and returned the nod, hoping it conveyed my own respect for them. I took Daniel’s hand, who had been silently watching our interaction with his own sad smile and led him towards the lounge. Maria was pacing, wringing her hands, while Ben tried and failed to comfort her. Miranda and Richard were standing by the window, foreheads pressed together, it almost looked like they were praying while taking comfort in each other. I ran through the scripted answers Miranda had helped me cultivate while I leaned into Daniel for strength. He cleared his throat, alerting the group to our presence and the fact we would have to leave soon. Maria immediately came to me, grasping my free hand with both of hers and gave me a resolute nod. Ben, unwilling to touch me in any way and incur Daniel’s wrath, put his hands on Maria’s shoulders and gave me his own nod of acceptance. Richard and Miranda, however, didn’t move, they remained in their position for several more moments. As if they had finished their prayer, they lifted their heads slightly, kissed each other softly on the lips and turned to face us all.
“We have to leave now, we will see you at the tribunal, we will do what we can to steer the questions away from your visions, but any elder can ask anything they wish,” Richard informed me as they both headed for the front door. Much to everyone’s surprise, Miranda stopped before she left the room, and kissed my forehead, showing her maternal side. She didn’t say anything, I think words actually escaped her at that moment, but she gave my shoulder a squeeze of encouragement and strode past her baffled husband and out of the house. I managed a weak laugh at everyone’s bewildered expressions, hoping to lighten the mood slightly and Daniel led me after his father. Maria gave me one last tearful hug before she retreated to her and Ben’s car, leaving Daniel and me to walk to the garage to get his. As usual, he walked me to my door opening it for me, and ensuring I was secure before he ran around to his side. The moment we pulled out of the garage, he captured my hand in his, holding it close. Neither of us spoke, it wasn’t a comfortable silence, but we needed no words to express to each other how we felt at that moment. The drive to the pack hospital took less than fifteen minutes, the butterflies in my stomach were in an all-out war by the time he parked. Maria and Ben had already arrived and were waiting patiently outside their car, Maria made her way to me the moment we pulled in. It was the first time Daniel hadn’t opened my door for me, but I didn’t want to force him to leave the car if it would be harder for him not to come inside. Maria took my hand again and led me inside the innocuous-looking building. It was very modern and sterile looking inside, with white walls, floors and ceilings, splashes of colour here and there from the artwork that had been hung. There were several signs on the walls further down the halls that spread on either side of a large reception area just inside the main doors.
“Hello, how can I help you today?” The pretty-looking, young girl behind the desk asked as we reached her.
“This is Charlie Phillips, future Luna of our pack,” Maria said in a clipped, pissed-off tone. “She is here for her examination with the Kappa.” I tried to keep my facial expression neutral, but no one had mentioned a Kappa, and I had no idea what it was. I made a mental note to ask Daniel or Maria later, as the poor girl behind the desk’s face fell.
“Oh, yes my apologies, Luna, Beta.” The girl said, bowing slightly and picking up a phone. Maria gripped my hand tighter as if she could hold me up if I fainted with sheer willpower. I fought a smile at her overprotective nature and listened intently to what the girl was saying.
“Dr Hanson,” pause, “yes, the Luna is here ma’am.” Pause. “I will send her down now ma’am.” She put the phone down and smiled at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “The Kappa will see you in her office, it has an exam room next door, for... you know.” She cleared her throat nervously. “It’s the fourth floor, fifth door on the right as you exit the elevator.” She motioned behind her to a row of elevators; Maria took off without so much as a thank you. I think if she had opened her mouth at that moment, she wouldn’t have been able to resist telling anyone and everyone what she thought of this whole thing. We got to the first elevator and Maria pressed the call button, I felt my knees getting weaker the longer it took to get to us. When the doors finally opened, I was grateful there was no one inside as the fear had made my eyes prick with unshed tears. The instant we stepped inside, Maria pressed the fourth-floor button, the doors closed behind us, and she turned towards me.
“You will not cry, they don’t deserve your tears, and whether they agree with this disgusting behaviour or not, they haven’t refused to complete this farce of an exam. So, deep breath, shoulders back, head high.” She ordered, her hands on my shoulders, I couldn’t help but laugh, I could imagine her giving a similar speech to her children on their first days of kindergarten.
“Okay, no tears, but what the hell is a Kappa?” I asked, making her laugh too.
“It’s the head doctor, another honorary rank or title, and an elder, shockingly!” She replied, widening her eyes in mock surprise, then moved back to my side, and grasped my hand again. The elevator binged to signal we had reached our floor, Maria marched forward, head high, just as she had instructed me to do. When we reached the door, she didn’t bother knocking, she just slammed the door open with considerable force.
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