Chapter Forty-eight: Motherly bonds

Lukas and I had started heading back to the pack house. As we did, he asked if he could tell the pack that the Luna ceremony was tomorrow in front of the pack house. I agreed, expecting him to tell one of the other ranked members to send out a memo but I notice straight away his eyes turned black, showing that he’s doing it through a mind-link.

When his eyes return to the golden irises, I can’t help but ask. “Is it hard to mind-link the entire pack at once?”

“Not for me, as Alpha it’s sometimes a necessity. However only an Alpha can do this. At best, a Luna or a Beta can maybe mind-link a few hundred at a time.”

I smirk, I guess we’ll find out sooner or later.

We continue on to the Pack house and enter without being disturbed, then start heading towards the dining room. To my surprise, we find all of the ranked members there, along with Lukas’s family waiting for us.

Each of them give us their congratulations and welcoming me to their pack, officially.

Lastly, Estelle walks up to me and hugs me. “We can’t wait to stand behind you Ali. We all look forward to having you as our Luna!”

She turns round to the other ranked members. “Come on, let’s go. Aliana and Lukas needs to spend some time with her new family.” She, along with her mate, Rosella and the gammas make their exit, which leaves Lukas and I, along with their family, in the dining room.

As soon as they leave and close the door behind them, Jorge enters. “Hello Alpha, Miss Aliana. I hear you are going to be our packs Luna from tomorrow onwards? We’re all excited to see what plans you have in store for us here in the pack house!” He says whilst bowing slightly. I wonder what he means.

Before I look to Lukas, he then turns to the group. “We’ll be serving food in a few moments. We’ll start bringing it out.” He says, bows once again slightly, and heads out towards the kitchen.

Lukas takes my hand and leads me to the head of the table, where we sat last time we were here. A few seconds later, everyone joins us, looking to sit as close together as possible. I had seen Mandy look at the chair on my right, but as she goes to sit in it, I see in the corner of my eye Melinda give her a look. I turn my head to see Mandy moving away from the chair and instead going to sit in Melinda’s place, next to the former Alpha. I raise an eyebrow at Mandy who gives a very slight shrug, then sits down next to her Dad, Loretta sitting next to her.

I look to my right and see Melinda sit down next to me, a small smile on her face.

“I thought we’d change things up a bit, so we can chat a bit more.” She says to me whilst smiling.

I smile back at her. “I’d love that, Please, sit.

I hear Lukas start up a conversation with Markus about fishing, and I hear both of the girls huff at the same time. I laugh to myself internally, not regretting I’m missing that conversation.

I look to Melinda. “So, were you ready for the Luna position when you first met Markus?”

She gives a loud laugh. “Oh dear Goddess no! I remember being in a very similar position to you when I was only eighteen! Of course we have a lot of differences between how Markus and I met, and how you and Lukas found each-other, but no way did I expect my beloved mate would be the future Alpha of the pack!”

I look at her and can tell she’s being serious. I say nothing, slightly surprised, and allow her to carry on.

“I had never seen, never mind spoken to Markus before. Obviously everyone knows who the Alpha of the pack is and who is next in line, it doesn’t mean you get to meet them though. There’s tens of thousands of wolves in this pack, and unless it’s a special ceremony or gathering of some sort then the likely hood of meeting the Alpha or the ranked family is slim.” She says, slightly sour. I wonder why that was. It doesn’t seem that way now.

She looks at me, understanding my confused expression. “Now, we try and meet all of the families we can. Markus and his Father were….set in their ways, shall we say. The ranked members were the authority of the pack, and they felt that they should be seen only when needed, at events or ceremonies. When I found Markus, which was by complete Luck he showed up at my shifting ceremony, we became one with our bond, and I put a stop to the foolishness of his forefathers.”

Now that was not something I expected. Melinda was a loving Mother, maybe a bit over dramatic, but I admire her courage to come between an Alpha and what he’s been taught by his Father, and his Father before him.

“Anyway, I told Markus I would not become his Luna unless he changed some things. I wanted the pack to love us, and of course respect us. Not just respect and fear us because of the unknown.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I think it’s worked.” She says, looking over to Markus with love in her eyes.

I hear Markus cut his conversation and call out to her. “Of course it did my love, and I love you and appreciate you for it, even after all these years.” I see the look they give each other and you can tell the bond is still strong. I turn my head to Lukas and he’s smiling at me warmly, which I return to him.

Melinda puts her hand on mine gently. “So, I was not ready to be Luna, not because I wasn’t strong enough, or because I didn’t know what to do, but more because it wasn’t the right fit for me before I made changes to the pack….I felt the need to change it, for the better, which I think it has turned out to be.” She looks at me more softly. “And I hope you’ll be able to do the same.” She whispers encouragingly.

I ponder on that a moment, and think I know exactly what she means. I look to her and smile. “I think I’ve started on a good foot then.” I say, without giving any hints.

“Oh, dear, I know. I’ve heard about some of the changes you’ve asked for already. I could never have imagined Markus would give into those. Some things he just wouldn’t budge. I had thought Lukas was going to be the same, until yesterday.” She says, giving me that warm smile again with a small wink.

“You keep doing what you’re doing. I’ve got a good feeling about you and Lukas leading this pack. There will be rough times, trust me, and you’ll feel like giving up or it’s the end of the world. But there will also be big triumphs yet to come which will make it all worth it.”

“Thank you Melinda. I appreciate you coming to speak to me. Only one question though which I hope is not really awkward….what are the main responsibilities of a Luna? I have no experience and nothing to go off of as I’ve only arrived.” I feel bad for asking her, as I reckon she didn’t need much guidance, but I’d rather ask her and be embarrassed than join the pack and have no idea what to do.

She gives me a loving smile. “Don’t feel embarrassed, I asked the exact same question! And I was here forever.” She says whilst chuckling, relieving me of guilt slightly. “Your day to day responsibilities will include keeping the ranked females in line, ensuring they’re carrying out their jobs correctly. Looking after the Omegas of the pack, directing them through the head and senior Omegas. And most of all, being Lukas’ right hand. We have the ranked males, the Beta and Gamma.”

She side eyes Lukas and Markus who are still in a deep conversation. “Let’s be honest, we can’t leave the men to control everything or it would be complete chaos.” We both chuckle which causes the conversation to die down slightly. We both look at each other which causes us to laugh a bit more, before the door to the kitchen opens and Jorge comes out along with a few of the other Omegas, bringing out what looks to be a feast.

I can’t help but lick my lips as I smell the delicious food being spread out in front of us. I head Lukas laugh whilst looking at me and I can’t help but pout.

“I love you, little one. You enjoy, we’ll see a lot more of this tomorrow.”

I smile internally. I patiently wait for all of the food to be laid out in front of me and look to Lukas, who chuckles once again and waves his hand in front of us. “It’s all yours, enjoy!”

I can’t help but start tucking into everything available, picking and choosing as much as possible to put into my plate. I see Melinda look to Lukas and grimace, but I think nothing of it, she’s probably not seen anyone as ravenous before……I stop, unsure why I am so hungry all of a sudden. I had a load of Sushi for lunch, and now I’m destroying the food here as if I’ve not eaten in days.

I shake the feeling, putting it down to my werewolf side, and continue to grab food to place onto my plate, being a bit more mindful I’m not on my own.

“Just saying, it’s not me, it’s you.” Athena says to me, I ignore her as I start to wolf down my food.

We continue to eat and converse, talking about the ceremony tomorrow and what to expect. I try to listen but can’t help focusing on my food. I gather it’s in front of the pack house and the majority of the pack will be there, if not all of them. The Elders will conduct the ceremony where Lukas and I will exchange a blood oath, inviting me into the pack, where I can then mind-link them all. There will then be a celebration after, including lots of food and drinks.

I couldn’t help but get excited over the prospect of more food. I shake the thoughts from my head though as I finish my current plate off.

We continue to talk about random subjects for a while longer, before Lukas pushes his chair back and stands up, giving his hand for me to take his. “I think it’s time for us to go to sleep Ali. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow, and no doubt you’re tired.”

I take his hand into mine and stand, which makes me realise I’m exhausted. I try to think about the last time I felt so tired and I can’t remember it. I place my arm in his, needing the support, and we say our good nights to the family and head upstairs.

We get to the second floor, where Lukas then picks me up and carries me up the stairs. I start to nod off in his arms, unable to keep myself awake for the last two flights of stairs, but before I do fall asleep in his arms, I hear him whisper to me before I conk out.

“Don’t worry little one. Tomorrow will be much more difficult than we expected. I’ll be there to look after you.”