Mother of the Moon - Chapter 136 - Diplomatic Meeting
Lunaya.
As I looked around the room at all in attendance, I took everyone in. The large room was packed to capacity. I picked up some Alpha auras, some Betas and a few Lunas.
“Beta Elaine, Lunaya, thank you for joining us” Cole boomed from the other side of the room.
“Please come and take a seat” he motioned to two empty chairs to his left, next to the Luna-mother and her Mate, the former Alpha. We slipped behind the crowd of diplomats, each set of eyes followed us closely. We took our seats and the room sat in silence.
“Where is Alpha Gunner and the Triple Goddess?” a muscular balding man asked from the other end of the table.
“The Alpha and Luna are not attending. I am holding an open line of communication with the Alpha. He can hear all and will answer your questions, within reason” Cole replied without hesitation. The same man then turned his eyes upon Elaine and I.
“Are the rumors true?” he announced, not exactly directing his question to us specifically,
“You have come from Luna Eclipse?” he asked eyeing Elaine curiously. Elaine stood and without saying a word she commanded the attention of all in the room.
“Listen closely, as I am not in the habit of repeating myself” she said with her usual firm voice, only this time she let all of the power and authority she had seep into the words.
“Yes, I am Beta Elaine of the Luna Eclipse pack. We are very real and have existed in seclusion for decades, however the arrival of the new Triple Goddess is worth revealing ourselves for. We are here for her protection and to assure an alliance between the Luna Eclipse and the Tri-Moon packs. Our loyalty is to that of the Goddess and only the Goddess. We will not entertain your notions of alliances or Mating or friendships with Luna Eclipse, so save yourself the time and do not approach me with your requests. I will say no more on the matter. Now Beta Cole, if you’d please continue”. With that she sat back down and looked up to Cole. He, along with everyone else in the room, was watching Elaine with awe and caution. Her words were sharp, fast and to the point. Messing about isn’t really one of Elaine’s personality traits. One Were however, held a certain amount of lust and longing in his skeptical gaze.
The mammoth of a man stared at her intensely. His bald head shined under the light and his dark chocolatey skin glistened with a thin layer of sweat. Elaine either didn’t notice or didn’t care for his attention. I would assume the later, Elaine notices everything. The Were sat at Cole’s right, so he is of some importance. The more I watched him, the more curious I became. Everything about his physical appearance should be daunting and intimidating. But there was something about him, something I couldn’t put my finger on. He is different from the others, there is more to him, something magical.
I had gotten so caught up in the giant Were, that I had lost track of the back and forth conversation around the table. As I concentrated again, I caught on to the fact that the visiting diplomats were upset that Tri-Moon didn’t realize that their Luna was going into heat. They argued amongst themselves that they had no way of knowing and that she didn’t show any signs. After someone asked why this was the first heat of such magnitude, my interest peeked.
“That we don’t know” Cole answered him.
“How could you not know?” the Were snapped back.
“She was in a coma for three fucking months, it’s the first heat since then. We didn’t fucking know. How many more times can I say it” Cole roared and slammed his fists onto the table. A coma? How did we not hear of this already? I jumped to my feet and glared at Cole.
“Why was she in a coma?” I demanded. Elaine lifted her hand and took hold of my forearm.
“The Goddess was shot by a laced bullet in the attack against our pack” he admitted. By the hush that fell over the room, it became obvious that this is new information to everyone but Tri-Moon.
“Her injuries were so bad that she was comatose for three months?” I asked. I tried to disguise the concern in my voice, but I don’t think I succeeded fully.
“According to the doctor, her wounds were fully healed and the poison was out of her system after just two weeks. The rest we don’t know, he couldn’t give us answers for those questions” Cole answered, his eyes looking into my own. He knows about my personal state in this, he knows why I care so much.
“So, you think this last heat is just a consequence of her coma? Because she was unconscious for her last three bouts?” a handsome Alpha said from the seat across from me. His white teeth shined through his perfectly shaped beard and his country twang filtered into his question. I slowly sat back in my seat and turned to Cole for his answer.
“Artemis, you can answer these questions better than Gunner or I can. Will you take over please?” Cole asked as he turned to look at an old man standing in the far corner of the room. I hadn’t even noticed him standing there. He stepped forward and walked around the table to stand next to Cole.
“Triple Goddess was sleeping, yes, three months with no heat. Is possible she feels it all now” he said slowly. His thick Greek accent was dominant in his voice.
“You don’t sound convinced” Elaine spoke up from beside me. Artemis whipped his eyes to her, and he eyed her for a moment before his eyes shifted to me. His gaze was pointed and scrutinizing. He was looking into my soul, searching the inner corners of my eyes for my secrets. His eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath.
“Artemis?” Cole said softly, looking at him with concern.
“I am not convinced” he said while keeping his eyes on mine.
“Tell us then, what is your assumption Prophet?” Elaine said firmly. Multiple gasps were heard from around the room at the term ‘Prophet’. How could she possibly know if he is a Prophet?
“You’re mistaken Beta Elaine, Artemis here is a healer. A very powerful and talented healer, but he is not a Prophet” Roe’s Mate said. I am still yet to get his name.
“You are?” Elaine asked him,
“Forgive me, I am Lupus, former Alpha of Tri-Moon” he said as he put his hand to his chest and tilted his head.
“Greetings Alpha Lupus” Elaine responded with a tilt of her own head. After a moment all eyes were turned back to Artemis for his assumption.
“Artemis, you were about to tell us your theory” Elaine pushed.
“Yes. At ceremony, powerful magic was used. Moon Goddess came down, touched Triplí Theá. With extra magic and power from Moon Goddess, it has made her more” he said through his broken English.
“That’s ridiculous” someone spat from the back of the room, and more voices joined into the dispute of this theory, until the room was alive with a mash of indistinguishable words. I looked around at the yelling and tense faces.
“Artemis” I spoke loudly to catch his attention, though it seemed I already had it. He was watching me still.
“You are sure about this? You think the Moon Goddess visited?” I asked him. The room slowly hushed again, to allow Artemis to answer my question.
“Yes” was all he said.
“Alpha Gunner, accepts and agrees with Artemis. He has said that during the ceremony, the Luna told him she could feel the presence of the Moon Goddess” Cole said loudly,
“Alpha Gunner said this?” a strong and bulky looking Were asked from across the table. His aura was powerful, very powerful, and dominating. He’s an Alpha for sure
“Yes, I told you, he is listening” Cole said as he tapped the side of his head.
“And did he feel it too? Did he feel her presence?” the same Were asked again.
“He is not sure but would believe it if Artemis agrees”. All eyes turned back to Artemis, who just nodded his head. I grabbed hold of Elaine’s shoulder and pulled her across to my face. I pressed my cheek to hers and whispered softly into her ear,
“When we arrived at the border, I told Alyse that I could feel magic in the air”
“And you didn’t think to mention this before” Elaine hissed back,
“I didn’t think it was relevant before. It’s not just that, I think she spoke to me. I heard a voice in the wind that was telling me to go to her. That was right before we ran to the village and found it in chaos. The Moon Goddess was there, she told me to find our daughter”.
Elaine sat back and stared at me wide eyed.
“Ahem” a sound caught our attention. It was Cole, he was watching our exchange, as was Artemis and the giant bald Were.
“Care to fill us in?” Cole asked sarcastically.
“No” Elaine snipped back. Cole snarled before he turned to Artemis again.
“So, if the Goddess did visit the Luna, their bond, their shared bloodline, it could have affected her? That could be why the Luna went into heat so fast and so strongly?” Cole asked him.
“Yes” he replied bluntly. Artemis isn’t much for words apparently.
“Well, that is good enough for me” Lupus bellowed as he stood,
“The Luna mother has arranged breakfast for everyone, it will be served outside shortly. Unless there is anything further Beta Cole?” he asked, glancing at Cole.
“Actually, Beta Cole, I would like a private word if you please” the curly haired Alpha said as the rest of the room began to rise from their seats.
“Of course, Alpha Lace. Thank you all for your time, if you need anything during the remainder of your stay, please let myself or Delta Smith know” Cole called as the group of Weres began to filter out through the door. I followed behind Elaine as we exited through the door and continued outside onto the porch. The rest of the diplomats met with their waiting pack members and scurried off to the food tables spread out in the middle of the village clearing.
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