Chapter 20
POV: Shahara Vikesh
The Vikesh family were in the receiving area of the Lunar Pack Mansion, waiting for Elder Urticius, the assigned Were Elders’ Council Member who would assess Tamara. He was an elder wolf from the Northern Side and part of the Midnight Pack known for their firm sense of unity and equality.
She was fidgeting her fingers because of anxiety. Well, all of them her both parents who were also present in the room were laced with concerned expressions.
Her mother was drinking her glass of water as if she was too thirsty in every passing minute while her father was checking his leather wristwatch from time to time.
They were all worried because every one of them had no clue about whichever the assessment would become. Tamara wasn’t that knowledgeable about the history nor the other information about the Lunar Pack.
Their only consolation was Elder Urticius wasn’t a person who might probably pull tricks on their pack but she was more concerned for him, being a strict and fair-minded elder who was a strong believer in the moon’s fate, culture, and traditions. Though, he was also knowing how to make things lighter and face every possible arising complication positively.
That would only mean that whether Tamara would pass or fail on this assessment depends on her capability and competency, nor because of power or authority.
Well, at least he wasn’t part of any of the Dark Wood Pack nor their surreptitious alliance, unlike the other elder wolf from the North Side Shahara let out a deep sighed.
The Were Elders’ Council has six members. From the Northern Side was Elder Uriticius, and Elder Mondar an elder wolf from the Night Walker Pack who was well-known for being a cunning and a turncoat person.
From the Western Side, it was Elder Zeparu, who was a part of their pack. Another was Elder Gioreu, who was a part of the Red Sparrow Pack which were known for their unbelievable speed and agility. They were conceited, yet they didn’t easily trust other packs.
And from the Eastern Side, was Elder Courdamus an elder wolf from the Dark Wood Pack and Elder Nord of the Black Blood Pack. Both of them were known for their slyness and greedy ambitions.
Shahara was about to talk when the guards announced the assigned elder’s presence, making hers and her mother’s eyes grow wide open. His father let out a deep sigh and wears his signature strict and stoic look the prominent expression of an Alpha of the Lunar Pack.
They all stood up to greet the elder assigned to them for the assessment.
A man with white hair entered the room together with Beta Benson and a servant.
The elder had a gray mustache and beard almost covering half of his face. He was wearing a mischievous smile as he gave a glance at everyone in the room. A typical style of Elder Urticius.
“A pleasant day, Elder Urticius,” his father greeted him in a low but deep voice.
“Oh, come on, cut the pleasantries, Lorenzo. We shouldn’t be formal in this kind of assessment. The stress of the competition is making me old.” He joked and let out a slight chuckle.
His father might have been the Alpha of the pack, but elder wolves were highly respected in every pack, too. They gave him a small smile as they took a sit on the couch.
“Very well then, do you mind some tea, wine, juice, or anything?” Her mother politely asked their guest.
“Oh, just tea chamomile tea if you had.” Elder Urticius answered with a small smile.
Her mother gave a slight nod to Benson and whispered the request to the servant beside him who immediately went out of the room quietly to obey the order.
“So, how is the selection going, Elder Urticius?” Her mother couldn’t stop her inquisitive tongue after a fleeting silence.
“Well, it is quite tough. After we visit all of the assigned pack, there will be an inclusive debate and deliberation for the chosen top ten candidates. More than half out of sixty-nine packs are already assessed. Good thing that this is spearheaded by the prince.” Elder Urticius answered, making her heartbeat faster than usual just by a mere mention of the prince.
“That is great…and well, fair enough.” His father said, making every one of them nod their heads in agreement.
“Mondar and I are assigned here on the Western Side; Zeparu and Gioreu on the Eastern Side; and Courdamus and Nord on the Northern Side. That is quite tricky hopefully everyone will exhibit the fairness of assessing every candidate.” Elder Urticius told them with that knowing look.
They were embraced with silence as the servant brought the chamomile tea and served it in front of the elder.
“Thank you,” he sincerely acknowledged, and the servant just bowed her head and dismissed herself out of the room.
“Anyway, now, I will be making it quick because I want to take a rest. I will be needing everyone to kindly excuse us except for Shahara.” A low but authoritative voice from the elder echoed throughout the entire area.
A roaring silence briefly engulfed them as he sipped his tea.
“Excuse me, Elder Urticius, but you got it all wrong.” His father spoke with clarity and high precision.
The elder’s forehead creased with confusion.
“What do you mean by that?” He bewilderedly asked.
“Our pack had a different representative for the competition.” He politely answered.
The elder wolf was more serious now as his brow shot upwards.
“We will have Tamara Davis as the representative of the Lunar Pack.” His father announced, making the elder’s mouth ajar and his eyes bulge because of the unsolicited surprise.
“T-Tamara? Y-you meant to say…” He couldn’t believe what he had heard.
“Yes, Elder Urticius, and we will be needing a favor from you.” Alpha Lorenzo lowly spoke with too much sincerity and expectation.
She and her mother remained silent as they were all ears in listening to their conversation.
“I hope it won’t be about her passing this assessment, regardless of whether she is…” The elder cleared his throat and gave them a conscious look before picking up the teacup from the table in front of him.
“Oh, no. We will not ask you that kind of thing no way.” His father told him his voice was laced with huge disapproval.
“What we would ask you is to keep her name as Tyra Amaris for the mean time during the deliberation because her safety was at stake, so we wanted to protect her from whoever was running after her. I know that you knew that, too.” His father’s aura darkened, making her swallow the lump in her throat.
Her father always had this menacing aura that would never fade to frighten her well, only under certain circumstances.
Elder Urticuis let out a deep sigh as he stared directly at his father, who was also doing the same at him.
“Very well, then.” The elder just shrugged before continuing sipping his tea.
“Benson, kindly escort Tamara here in the receiving room.” She heard her mother in her strict tone order the Beta of the Pack, who escorted the Elder into the room they were in.
“Right away, Luna Rania,” Benson answered and bowed his head before finally going out of the room.
Her heart beats speedily fast because Tamara’s assessment will start now.
She just prayed to the moon that Tamara could pass the assessment.
Well, she needs to be.
***
POV: Tamara Davis / Tyra Amaris
Meanwhile, Tamara was pacing back and forth to her room because of anxiousness and a little bit of giddiness. Her heart was thudding loud and fast that she could already hear it from her ears.
After she read the book about the Pierce Clan yesterday, she was out of focus with her lecture discussion with Shahara and that made her more tense now.
Hopefully, she could remember all the things that they talked about.
“Mom, Dad, please guide me,” she lowly whispered as she took another look at herself in the body length mirror given by Shahara yesterday and placed near her closet.
She’s wearing a simple backless black dress that reaches just above her knee. It was matched with three inches of strappy black high-heeled shoes. Her wavy and bouncy hair which was now a glistening burgundy color with crimson-red highlights was tied into a stylish braided waterfall knot.
She just used talc powder on her face and a mascara to emphasize her dark brown eyes. To complete her simple make-up, she wore a lip balm as a finishing touch.
Shahara had given her a simple gold and ruby jewelry set a necklace, bracelet, earrings, and a ring with a design of a crescent moon. She tried to decline it, though for she was already embarrassed for all of their help but she was too persistent in giving it to her as a present that she finally accepted it. Truthfully, she loved her present from her, making her excited to wear it.
She held her small necklace and heaved another sigh as a knock from her door resonated in her entire room that brought her to reality from her floating reverie and making her jump a bit.
“Y-yes?” She nervously asked.
“It is me, Benson, Miss Tamara.” She heard the familiar voice of the beta from the other side of her room, answered.
She went near the closed door and unlocked it before finally opening it.
“Luna Rania were asking for your presence in the receiving room, Miss Tamara,” the beta informed her after he bowed his head for respect.
She felt awkward for the way he calls her, though, but her growing anxiety took over her rather than minding or correcting him about that.
“Please follow me,” Benson plainly said, and turned around before proceeding to where she needed to go.
She let out a nervous sigh before closing the door to her room and languidly followed Benson.
She could feel the raging mixed emotions lingering inside her keeping her wolf at bay.
She tried to compose herself. Surely, a sudden transformation to her wolf form certainly won’t help her.
She slightly bit her trembling lower lip as she clenched her fist.
They stepped down into a stair meaning that the receiving was on the first floor of the mansion. She mentally takes note to herself that she needed a proper tour of the entire pack mansion.
She always forgot about it because of her intense training with Shahara.
They stopped at a huge wooden door were the Vikesh family was patiently waiting for her.
“Finally, you’re here.” Uncle Lorenzo acknowledged her presence and heaved a deep sigh.
“Elder Urticius is waiting for you.” He kindly added and motioned his hand to the closed wooden door in front of them.
Elder Urticius?
She remembered him, for Shahara explained about the Were Elders Council to her yesterday.
An elder from the Northern Side.
She nodded and her gaze moved towards Aunt Rania who suddenly gave her a tight and warm embrace.
“You could do it, Tamara. I know, you will,” Aunt Rania sincerely said which makes her calm a little.
After she broke the embrace, Shahara held her cold and trembling hands and gave her a sweet smile.
“Remember, what we’ve trained and studied for. This time, just be yourself and trust your instincts. I believe in you. We believe in you, Tamara. You will pass this. Remember why you are here now. It’s for the pack, but most importantly, it’s for yourself. For your parents and for your plans.” She sincerely told her, giving her a boost with so much determination.
Yes.
She was there for a reason, and she will do her very best to attain her goals.
A sudden burning sensation crept into her entire being.
Tamara nodded her head and gave them one last look before entering the room.
She held her head high as she wore a plain and stoic look on her face, making the Vikesh family and Benson’s mouth slightly ajar because of shock but she didn’t give attention to it, though. She was now focused on the assessment.
Authority and power radiated within her as the door closed behind her. Even she, couldn’t recognize herself, but her resolve to pass was consuming her even her inner wolf agreed with her for the first time.
“A pleasant day, Elder Urticius,” she plainly greeted the man who was sitting on the couch and staring blankly at the wall.
The elder abruptly dropped his gaze towards her he was wearing an unbelievable and astonished look on his face. But in a split second, it changed into an intimidating and serious aura making Tamara anticipate more instead of anxiousness, and she didn’t even know why.
“A pleasant day, too. Please take a sit, Tyra Amaris” Elder Urticius said, and picked the teacup from the table and sipped it while watching her confidently sit to the couch in front of him.
“Very well, let’s start this assessment as quickly as possible. I will just give you three questions that you need to answer.” The elder said with a mischievous smile on his face, making Tamara narrow her eyes into thin slits.
Elder Urticius swiftly put down the teacup didn’t want to be intimidated by the lady in front of him. Although deep inside him he was nearly rumbling down by her intense gaze.
“Go ahead, Elder Urticius,”
Even Tamara was deeply shocked by her confident and authoritative voice, but her face remained blank and stoic.
Elder Urticius cleared his throat before speaking.
“For the first question, do you know who started this whole leading territory?” Elder Urticius trickly asked her as he leaned his back to the couch.
Tamara crossed her arms and legs and shrugged her shoulders her intense gaze never leaves the elder.
“Well, I believe the moon’s blessing is where it all started. Everyone just follows to whatever purpose the moon granted to every werewolf or any other creature. Like what it did to Alpha King Reeve Pierce and Luna Queen Hadia Pierce.” She smartly answered, making the elder curled his lips upwards.
“Is that it?” He boldly inquired.
“I guess so.” Tamara answered briefly never giving any emotion at that.
“Well, then, question number two. Which is more important? Being good or being kind?” Elder Urticius impishly asked, making Tamara’s forehead crease.
Is this some kind of tricky question she mentally thought.
“Well, I believe being good is more important, for if you do good things kindness will follow. Doing good is a manifestation of being kind. Besides, kindness comes with goodness.” Tamara briskly answered which makes Elder Urticius slightly chuckle.
“That’s it?” He ardently asked.
She just nodded her head.
Does it she makes any sense Tamara thought.
She clenched her fist firmly.
You can do it, Tamara. Just answer his questions. Don’t think of any. Just concentrate.
Tamara mentally told herself and sighed.
“Well, for the last question,” Elder Urticius said with his elbow placed on his knees as he intertwined his hands together and looked directly at her eyes.
“If you were chosen to be part of the top ten of this competition and continue this battle, what would make you a Queen?”
Earnestness and seriousness were dripping in his voice.
So, this is a pageant-like competition, huh? that lingers in her mind.
Tamara gulped the lump in her throat.
“Being a Queen?” Tamara let out a dark smirk.
“Well, it’s not only about how you deal with the roses but also its thorns.” Tamara shrugged and leaned on the couch.
She didn’t know where her confidence was coming from. She just felt like a normal thing to do.
“To her people, a kind but in a tough manner. To her King, a competent comrade and soft-hearted mate. Immense goodness, but surely needed to be shown in a hard way well, at times.”
“Really?”
Elder Urticius asked as he let out a hearty laugh making her forehead creased questioning herself.
Why?
Were her answers wrong?
Did she fail to pass the given assessment to her?!