Training should have been the least of my worries. My wolf definitely had great focus and was also good speed wise. I was no way near my parents’ level but I could keep up with the training, and it turned out it wasn’t as harsh as I had expected it.
We were out in the open field, and we had gathered a little bit of a crowd, mostly kids who had just finished school, and were cheering me on.
All in all, if I were to be honest, training was enjoyable.
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” my dad let out as we finished our first training session.
Tears stung my eyes at that.
“We’re proud of you,” my mom put emphasis on the we part. “You did incredibly well for someone who just shifted yesterday.”
“You think so?” I asked, incredulous beyond words.
“You’re definitely gifted,” my dad reassured me with a nod.
“She’s got good genes playing for her too,” mom bumped shoulders with him, and he smiled down at her. His smile spoke louder about his love than any words could.
I admired their complicity, loving the way they loved one another till this day, wishing the same for Alex and me. I wanted my mate and I to grow old together, bicker and argue only to make up later.
“How’s our Luna doing?” Luc and Trevor had just arrived, and it was the latter who spoke.
“I trust you did well, Jade,” Alex’s beta then told me softly.
“Well? Maybe not, but I definitely did better than I expected,” I told him with a nod.
“You’re selling yourself short, sweetheart,” my dad told me in a chiding tone of sorts.
“She did well for a first timer,” my mom went on.
“I bet,” Trevor nodded in agreement, a small smile stretching his lips.
Luc’s eyes were twinkling with amusement as he told me, “We’re here to escort you back to the pack house, but my guess is you don’t need us really.”
“Xander is definitely overprotective,” Trevor nodded.
“I might not need protection really, but I will definitely appreciate the company,” I told them as a response before sticking my tongue out.
My sweet loving mate was definitely the overprotective type. He made not only Luc but also Trevor come to accompany me back to the pack house.
I knew there was something about the elders wanting to see me at the meeting today. It was a last-minute thing, and I couldn’t help but worry. Was there something wrong? What would they require my presence for? But then again, I was now the luna of the pack. I had duties and responsibilities to shoulder. Maybe it was a common thing, and I was thinking too much into it.
The short walk to the pack house was enjoyable. Luc and Trevor definitely made good chitchat. I had learned from Alex that the three of them had grown up together, and that could explain the way they understood one another easily, without the need for words at times. They had a strong bond, not merely that of an alpha with his beta and gamma, but that of brothers basically.
Luc stopped me just as I was about to get inside the pack house, “Take close care of yourself, Jade.”
“You’re not coming in?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.
“Duty calls,” he flashed me a smile.
“When does it not?” Trevor quipped on a sigh.
“Have a great day, boys,” I told them in parting.
They waved their goodbyes at me, and that’s how we parted at the door of the pack house.
A quick mind-link to my mate told me I had just enough time for a shower before the meeting, and thus I headed upstairs.
I took the quickest shower I could muster, but then carefully chose my outfit for the fateful meeting. I had heard rumors regarding the elders, and even Luc had told me in passing that they had once tried to force a mating on Alex.
If they had no qualms making such suggestions, under the excuse of having the pack’s best interests at heart, I could only conclude they were a meddlesome bunch.
“Here goes nothing,” I told myself as I left our wing roughly twenty minutes later.
I wasn’t surprised when upon entering the conference room, one of the elders let out in a tone that was definitely mocking, “Happy you could finally join us.”
I had been mildly prepared for such a welcome, and thus I just smiled at him and said, “Thank you for having me.”
His expression soured briefly. If he had expected to get a rise out of me, he had another thing coming. Even though I was still a teenager for all intents and purposes, I wasn’t that easy to rile up. My parents were elite warriors, and had made a point to tell me it wasn’t merely their skill that kept them alive, it was also how they made adequate strategy each time they went out to fight.
I naturally sat next to Alex, and he smiled at me before saying, “Let us start the meeting then.”
Let us play! I thought to myself.
The elders, albeit seemingly happy that the alpha, the renowned Alexander Bad, had found his mate, expressed their displeasure openly regarding my lack of training.
“May I remind you that I only awakened last week?” I smiled at them even as I countered their arguments with the only one that should be valid.
“You’re no pup. A Luna needs to be strong for the pack and for her mate both. And with an alpha of the caliber of Alexander, even more so,” one of them let out, contempt seeping into his every word.
“What’s astounding is the fact that you even mated and marked one another before your first shift,” another one told me in puzzlement. “How did that come to be?”
“Mother nature has its ways,” I shrugged with a nonchalance I was no longer feeling. They were starting to seriously irk me and I wasn’t sure I would be able to stand them much longer.
“Of course it does,” he deadpanned. “And yet it feels like we’re missing something vital when it comes to you.”
We were talking in circles, and I was starting to feel the anger build up within me at their tones. I had never been a violent kid per se, and now wasn’t a good time to start, but what was I to do?
“You should be elated that I got mated at long last, and yet here you are being the usual unpleasant you,” Alex all but growled at them. “I grew up tolerating your nonsense because that’s just the way of the pack. Elders are to be respected. But let me tell you that respect goes both ways.”
They were stunned into silence. “Alpha Alexander,” the one who had remained the most silent so far spoke up with deference which I didn’t entirely believe to be genuine, “We only have the best interests of the pack at heart. And while we are naturally happy about your union, we are worried about Luna Jade. She wasn’t trained for the role of a Luna and doesn’t have much of an idea of all the duties that come with it. Young people these days aspire for the role, believing it’s easy and all that’s required of them is to hold parties and make a good impression on…”
“I believe I need to stand strong next to my mate, come hell or high water. I need to support him in his decisions, in the way he runs the pack. We need to be the strongest couple around, the unshakable item people look up to and trust, so that we can carry out our duties properly,” I told him through gritted teeth. I could now feel that the animosity was mostly directed at me. “Parties aren’t exactly my thing to begin with.”
“I don’t see why you’re so hell bent on proving that Jade, my mate and your Luna, is inadequate for her fated place next to me,” Alex thundered out.
“It isn’t our intention to belittle the Luna, we are merely concerned as to the future of the pack.”
“I know that you had been looking forward to a possible merger of a mating, but I was clear regarding that before. My private matters should be none of your concern. And if you dare even breathe Jade’s name the wrong way, believe me that I would take appropriate action. Tolerating your input is one thing and enduring disrespect is another thing.”
“We meant no disrespect, Alpha Alexander. We are sorry to have offended you,” another of them chimed in at once.
“Shouldn’t you be apologizing to Jade, first and foremost?” He countered.
The man had to gulp down his reluctance and pride and say, “We meant no disrespect Luna. With the interests of the pack at heart, we got carried away.”
I merely nodded at them in response.
Already, I couldn’t stand the bunch, and I barely even knew them.
** ** ** **
“Are the elders always this insufferable?” I asked Alexander once we were back in our room.
He nodded and then on a sigh told me, “The pack has always had meddlesome elders, I’d say. But they took it too far. I couldn’t speak for the first half of the meeting because, in my anger, I was afraid I’d blow up at them.”
“Do you think their view of me will change given time?” I put on lipstick and finished getting ready for the bonfire that was held tonight.
He shook his head at me and with small smile said, “You shouldn’t be worried about making an impression on them, or anyone for that matter. You’re my fated mate, my one and only. We are meant to be together, and that’s all that should matter.”
“But the pack…” I cut in, worrying my bottom lip.
“I am sure they will come to love you once they get to know you more.”
“I hope so,” I told him in a tone that spoke louder than any words could of my disbelief.
“And I know so,” he retorted before pulling me into a hug. “Don’t let the elders’ words get to you.”
I nodded against his chest, and inhaled his soothing scent which had the knack to put many of my worries at ease. “You’re right! I am the proud daughter of elite warriors. I will not allow them to shake my confidence, and I will prove them wrong.”
“You do that, sweetheart. You have my full support.”