Chapter 70: Game Changer

Chapter seventy: Game Changer

Elena

I woke up bright and early in the morning. The sun was still down but I felt like I had slept for a hundred years. It was the first time in a long time that I woke up and my heart was full. I felt no burdens or aches within me and I knew the reason why it was like that, it was because of Bernard. Our mate bond had grown stronger to the point where I could feel him now even more. I could tell that he was still sleeping and that is what I didn't even know but I just knew it.

I got ready for my day, the smile hadn't left my face since yesterday. I had an extra skip in my step and a twinkle in my eyes. Even when I looked at myself in the mirror in the morning, I could just tell that something had shifted within because I looked different. My eyes were more vibrant and there was a rosy colour to my cheeks. I looked alive and for the first time in a long time, I felt alive. For ten years, I had merely been existing and now I am finally living. As I walked into the bakery, Veronica could tell that there was something different about me.

"Someone seems to be feeling better, what happened? Did you take something to make the pain go away?" She asked and I had to fight the smile from creeping onto my face as I thought of Bernard.

"You could say something like that." She turned to her batter and continued to beat it with a knowing smile on her face.

I felt Veronica already knew that something was going on with Bernard and me. I didn't know for sure but I had this feeling in my chest. We continued to work on the dough and batter for today's stock. We finished everything in record time and we were already preparing the cafe area for customers. The sun was rising now and everyone's day was slowly coming to a start.

"Veronica?" She lifted her head from the napkins she was currently stuffing into the dispenser and waited for me to speak.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, dear. What is it?"

"When did you know it was the right time to move in with your mate? Did you move in the right way or did you wait a little bit?" She laughed slightly.

"Oh, I couldn't wait to move in with him, I practically dragged him to the chapel a month after we met. But why do you ask?" I shook my head.

"Just curious." She stopped what she was doing and looked at me incredulously.

"Is there something you maybe want to tell me, Elena?" She asked and the way she was looking at me, I knew she knew the truth. I couldn't get anything past this woman.

I don't think there is any harm in telling her the truth. She is Veronica after all, she is trustworthy and she is someone who I believe has my best interest at heart. She would never try to sabotage what I have. I sighed and looked at her through sheepish eyes.

"How long have you known?" She smiled at me knowingly.

"I picked it up when he came here a few days ago. Then after that day, you came in looking like your dog had just been murdered. Jana had also told me that Bernard was also not in good shape emotionally. Then, I put everything together and came out with my answer." I guess we hadn't done that great of a job of hiding our feelings for one another.

"Well since you know all that, I guess you will be happy to know that we officially accepted each other as mates now." She clapped her hands together in joy.

"Are you serious?" I nodded, finding it difficult to contain my happiness.

She rounded the front counter and enveloped me in a big hug. I returned her embrace, appreciating her warmth. She had this air about her that always made you feel at ease and happy. The kind of energy you only received from grandmothers. She pulled away and I could see her hazel eyes glistering from the unshed tears.

"Why are you crying, Veronica?" I asked.

"I am just so happy for you, dear. You seem like a girl who has seen her fair share of hardship and this is finally your turn to be happy. May the moon goddess bless your union and grant you all the wisdom to play your role of Luna correctly." The emotions formed a lump in my throat. Her words were kind and from the heart, it is people like her who knew nothing about me yet had shown me kindness from the moment they had met me.

"It still feels so strange to think that I will be the Luna of this Pack."

"Not will be, Elena. You are already the Luna of this Pack." I laughed nervously.

"I can only hope to be the Luna that you all deserve but I am just scared. I have loved a large part of my life as a wolf, I am still relearning human skills like how to operate things and how to properly conduct myself in public. I don't know if I will live up to the role of Luna." I told her.

"Come and sit with me." She ushered me to one of the nearest tables and we sat down facing each other.

"I am going to tell you a story about one of the greatest Luna this Pack had ever seen. Her name was Evelyn and she is more commonly known as Bernard's grandmother." I was intrigued.

I sat up straight in my chair and looked at her eagerly. Bernard had briefly touched on his grandparents when we had spoken yesterday but he hadn't said much about his grandmother. He talked more about his grandfather.

"Evelyn was from one of the eastern Packs. Her family didn't have much, they were the lowest-ranking gammas within the pack. They often struggled for food and were treated poorly by the Pack, her father and mother came down with cholera after having drank infected water. They couldn't afford hospitals and at that time, doctors were not widely accessible to low-ranking wolves. They died when she was just fifteen years old."

"That is terrible." I gasped and she nodded.

"Back then, things weren't as inclusive as they were now. Everything followed rank and if you weren't a certain rank, you would be treated differently."

"So how did she end up on the western coast of the country?" I asked.

"When her parents died, the Pack refused to take care of her as they just saw her as a disposable member of the Pack. And at the time, the country was facing one of the greatest recessions it had ever seen. Foods were already scarce and Evelyn was an extra mouth to feed so they kicked her out and forced her into a rogue life."

I was starting to see why Veronica saw similarities between Evelyn and I. She had lived her life as a rogue, she had been forced into it just like I had been.

"She traveled for years just simply trying to stay alive. She worked odd jobs here and there, trying to earn a living for herself. Then one day at the coffee shop that she was working at, Alpha George Joseph walked in with a group of friends after they had been traveling for a while. They knew from the moment they laid eyes on each other. George was elated that he had found his mate but his father was not. He didn't want his son marrying a rogue, let alone a low-ranking gamma. He wanted him to get married to the daughter of an Alpha from the neighborhood pack." There were so many parallels between our two stories.

"George and Evelyn had to fight for their love. George had to stand up to his father and even challenge him. Evelyn had to fight the scrutiny of a pack that loathed her but then eventually they grew to love her. You see, they were a couple who faced more adversity than most but the adversity is what made their love stronger. Evelyn was resilient in her love for George at every turn, where she could have run. She chose to stay and be by his side."

Just like Bernard and I. From the moment we met, our love was challenged even before we knew it was love. Unknowingly, we had chosen each other at almost every turn without realizing it.

"Evelyn reminds me a lot of you because, unlike most high-ranking wolves, she wasn't born into it. She got to live on the other side of the spectrum that wasn't always glittery and golden. So she understood the true inner workings of the Pack. She was the one who established the gamma's house. Not many Packs have housing for gammas, she also established the hospital and made it so that all Pack members got the same treatment and had the same privilege. She believed everyone had the right to these basic things and pushed for Alpha George to make the necessary changes."

"She was a game-changer." I murmured and she nodded.

"She was that and so much more. I see some of her qualities in you. You have that same flare and fire behind your eyes like hers. I had only met her a few times but every time I had walked away from our conversation, I always felt better. It is the same feeling I get when I speak to you so I know that you will make a great Luna, Elena. Just trust your instincts and never lose your head."

"Wow, I think that is probably one of the biggest compliments I have ever received. Thank you, Veronica." She placed her hand on top of mine on the table.

"No need to thank me, dear. I am only speaking the truth." She said.