“Your Luna and I have agreed to start fresh in running Crescent Moon. We don't want any pent up anger bubbling inside any of our pack members, only to have it blow up at a later date. Therefore, we give you the chance to speak up now, raise any concerns you may have, and most important, decide if you want to remain in the pack or not. If any of you is unhappy with the way we plan to rule, you are free to leave, and we can speak to allied packs as to take you in, so you won't be rogues.”
Nobody else says anything after Jason finished talking, so we figured they all got the idea that we aren't playing. To my utmost delight, Timothy disappeared from the crowd, and asides from Mr Biggins and a few other scruffy elders, nobody expressed any wishes to leave the Crescent Moon pack.
Staying true to his word, or more like our words, Jason promised the elders that he will speak to the Alphas of the packs they wanted to join after leaving us. Most of them were going to packs where they had family, so it seems like it will be an easy transition for everyone involved. I certainly don't mind having the old headmaster gone. I can't wait to start searching for someone better and more open minded to fill his position. Hey, I'm starting to like all this being a Luna business, I think to myself while smiling like a goofball.
In true wolf pack fashion, we organised a barbecue to be held after our announcement and talks were finished. Everyone attended, and I'm guessing I'm slowly earning brownie points with the pack. Though it should be the other way around, but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take whatever I can get that holds the peace within our pack.
Once people started to have a drink and grab a bite to eat, they even approached me and Jason and congratulated us. Most of those who did it, seemed... genuine, so I am counting today as a success. Oh, I shouldn't say things like that. The day is not over yet, and I really hope I haven't jinxed myself. I am not known for being lucky, quite the opposite.
Chatting away with some of the Omegas of the pack who dared to bombard me with suggestions on how we can run the pack house better, I didn't notice that Jason was nowhere in sight. Finishing up with the ladies and promising them to start implementing a new procedure soon, I excuse myself and go looking for my mate.
Not feeling like I should take any gambles in approaching just any pack member, I just start walking towards the pack house. My eyes light up when I see Brian so I sprint towards him.
“Hey, have you seen Jason anywhere?” He looks at me with a slight frown before answering.
“Yeah, he actually went looking for you. Someone told him you were heading to the pack house, so he went that way.”
“That's odd. Thanks, I'll go after him.” I tried to remain composed, but at soon as Brian told me that Jason went looking for me, I got a bad feeling. This weird tension in my stomach, that just screams 'something's off'.
I walk over to the pack house and head straight for the Alpha's office. If Jason would be anywhere in this house, it would either be the kitchen or his office. Since I already walked past the kitchen on my way in, the office looks like a sure bet.
I still can't shake the feeling of uneasiness that's been building up in my stomach. It gets even worse as I near the office. I walk closer and notice the office door is slightly ajar. Jason's scent fills my nostrils, but unfortunately it's mixed with someone else's and it makes me gag.
Making sure I am as stealth as possible, I approach and peak inside the room. I can't see anyone, but I hear Jason telling someone to get off and then something about a throat and ripping. Oh, thank Goddess!
I get the door fully open with a kick, and there I see them, all tangled up in each other's arms, kissing, and groping. At least that's what it looked like.
“You filthy little whore!” I roar getting both of their attention. Jason jumped and quickly pushed Rianna as far away from him as he could.
“You thought I would just come in here all oblivious, see you all over my mate and then just turn around and run away crying and wondering why is this happening to me, didn't you?” By now I can already see Rianna's face beginning to fall, and Jason's posture relaxing, unsure if he should be smirking by now or not. This only confirms to me that I was right to trust my mate, trust that Jason would never do this to me.
“Well guess what, bitch? I am so much smarter than any of you assholes ever gave me credit for. I can smell your desperate attempt at driving a wedge between me and Jason, from a mile away.” Ming makes herself known in my words, and by now Rianna is shaking like a leaf. She did not expect her stupid little plan to backfire like this, and it's almost funny to watch. I can tell Jason is having a lot of fun with following how I manage this situation. I can read the sense of pride in his eyes. Must be a nice stroke of his ego to see that I trust his that much, and that I use my brain instead of falling prey to hasty emotions. Like I said before, I like making him proud.
“I bet you that your friend and my designated bully is in on this as well. Timothy, show yourself, will you?” I raise my voice even further to make sure that weasel hears me loud and clear. I can tell that I almost broke Rianna. Looking at her, I can see she is absolutely terrified at how calm I am and how easily I caught on to their childish plan.
I can sense Tim walking behind me, and smirk at how good my guessing was. But I must have gotten cocky, because in a split of a second, I see Jason's eyes widen, he tries to warn me, jump to my aid, but it was too late. And then I feel it, AGAIN, might I add, the familiar burn of being stabbed with a silver blade.
Shit, I'll admit I did not see that one coming.
“Timothy, still a fan of silver daggers, I see.” That's all I manage to croak out before good old Timothy's body stood in the same place, next to me, but his head flew out into the hallway hitting one of the walls and leaving a trail of blood behind.
59 - Preparations
Jason
“Shut the fuck up, or else your head is going to be rolling next.” I roar at Rianna and thankfully she stops her hysterical screaming.
I'm holding Samantha in my arms, still shaking in anger, waiting for the pack doctor, or anyone with medical training, to arrive and help my mate. As I apply pressure to the wound, my mate stirs in pain even if she seems to be unconscious.
I can't help but wonder, what the hell is wrong with the wolves in my pack. How did they ever imagine that the stupid plan they concocted would go their way? That bastard had a much too easy death, so I will make sure Rianna will suffer for the both of them before she joins him in the afterlife.
After the pack doctor patched her up, I decided it's better to take Sam to our house. She would surely feel safer and more relaxed if she wakes up in our bed than in the pack hospital. The doctor offer to come and check up on her in the morning, but assured me that she would be just fine.
I knew all about what happened the last time Samantha got stabbed, and I was relieved when this time she woke up just a few hours after the incident, all healed up, with only a faint scar. My mate is a fighter and she is so much stronger now. I gently trace the old scar with my fingers, and then trace the outline of the new one. Samantha softly moans at my touch, and I smirk knowing that she is as good as new.
“Glad you're feeling better, love.” I whisper while kissing her forehead.
“How long was I out for?”
“Just a couple of hours, you can go back to sleep, it's still the middle of the night.”
“Jason, I'm sorry.” I was getting up to go change out of my clothes, but stopped abruptly.
I look at her confused. “Why are you apologizing? It's me who should apologise to you.”
“I'm sorry I was a little too overconfident in my ability to keep on top of the situation. And I kind of underestimated Timothy.” I chuckle lightly, remembering how she didn't doubt me even for one second.
“Yeah, you were on fire, I've never felt so proud of you and so turned on.” I wiggle my eyebrows and she playfully punches my arm.
“Though, I'm with you. I severely underestimated how stupid those two are, and for that, I
am sorry.”
Sam's face changes when I mention the 2 who planned this whole charade. “
What happened to Rianna?” She asks a bit weary, clearly remembering what I had done to Tim.
“She's still alive, Brian took her to the dungeons, and last I spoke to him, he was trying to get information out of her. We can't risk it, there might be other pack members involved. Either way, her fate is sealed. She conspired to kill her Luna, so...”
“No, stop, Jason, you can't kill her also. Just banish her, kick her out of the pack, but please, no more killing. We can't start out like this, our pack will hate us, it will be chaos. I'm sure they all seen just what you are capable of, after what you did to Timothy, anyway.”
A heavy sigh escapes me and my shoulders slump. I fully lay on the bed next to Sam and hug her tightly, bringing her head to rest on my chest.
“When did our life become so fucked up? It's like no matter what we do, there's always something going on. I thought we might get to have a simpler life by being Alpha and Luna of Crescent Moon. Jason, I don't want to be the leader of a pack who despises me and always thinks of ways to kill me. I don't want to be the leader of a pack who fears me, either.” I can feel Sam's tears staining my shirt as she tells me this, and it hurts. It fucking hurts that I can't give my mate a pack that would welcome her with opens arms and respect her.
“We'll get there, my love, we'll get there. For now, it's better they fear us so they don't do something stupid like Rianna and Timothy did. It's for their own good, and any worthy leader always keeps their pack's best interest in mind.” She seems to relax a bit after my attempt to make her feel better about this whole situation. Truth be told, most Alphas would have gone on a killing spree and decimated the pack after an attempt on their mate's life, but I knew that would only make things worse in Sam's eyes. I'm glad I didn't let Luder take control, I was tempted, but now I see my resistance was worth it.
As Samantha's breaths even out and I know she's asleep once more safely in my arms, I allow myself to drift off as well.
Samantha
“How are things going in Crescent Moon?” Jennifer asks.
“We're starting to get into a routine. I guess it was an adjustment for everyone. They all seem more accepting of me lately, even getting excited for the wedding and stuff.” I tell her, and it's true, things have been going well for the past 2 months. Now we find ourselves a week before the wedding and I don't have a dress yet. Regarding the wedding, things have kind of snowballed, so we are expecting almost a thousand guests. To say that planning such a big wedding in less than 2 months is stressful, would be a huge misunderstanding. Even Jason is nervous, because my uncle invited the King and Queen of werewolves, and they gladly accepted to come, along with the Princess. Add to that the people who helped us fight against Marie, our friends from the Alpha Academy and allied packs, my uncle's friends from the Royal guards as well as some people from my parents' original pack, and the numbers increase to the point of me freaking out. An evet like this, a wedding like this one, is the Luna's ultimate test, I swear.
“How about this one?” I ask while walking out of the fitting room in what seems to be dress number one million.
“I won't even grant you with an answer.” Jennifer briefly looks at me and her nose scrunches in disgust. She's also holding up little Aron, sniffing his diaper, so I chose to believe that her reaction was not to the dress I currently have on.
“Fine, I'll be right back.” I huff picking up the bottom of the dress and heading back into the dressing room.
Struggling with all the ties and lacey bits on the dress, I try my best to get if off without damaging it.
“I haven't heard from Luke in a while. Is he alright?”
“He's been trying to find his mate. He is convinced he has a second chance mate out there. I think it's something that Tyler actually said to him, but I don't know, the guy was probably just trying to say something nice and console him, but looks like my Alpha took it quite literally.” Hearing Jen talk about Luke and his newest obsession with finding his mate, saddens me. It's not fair what happened to him, being paired with Marie and having their bond end the way it did. Unfortunately, I agree with Jen. I think Tyler was just being considerate in telling Luke not to give up, and that he has a mate out there he will meet soon. That's exactly why Ty doesn't tell a lot of people about his ability, they tend to think that everything he says is a prophecy of sorts, or a prediction and they take it literally.
I'm standing in my underwear, looking at the last dress that I selected to try on, and I feel a knot forming in my stomach. This is the one that I liked the most, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to try in of before the others. Like I am scared I wouldn't like it on me as much as I like it on the hanger, but I am literally out of options now, so here goes nothing.
“This is the last one, so you better have something nice to say about it.”
When Jen doesn't respond, I quickly turn around to watch her reaction and I find her in tears.
“You.. you look absolutely beautiful, Sam.” She sniffles, making even the baby confused. “I love it. You look like a goddess, and Jason will melt when he sees you waking down the aisle in this dress.”
Relief fills my heart and I finally let out the breath I was holding. I smile brightly at Jen and make a funny face at my little godson before I turn around and look at myself in the full length mirror again. Yes, this is my dress. Suddenly it's all so real, I'm actually getting married, I can't believe it. I'm both scared and excited, I kind of want to get it over with and have things settle afterwards.
This has truly been a productive day, I think to myself as I finally get hone, exhausted, but contempt. I can officially say all the wedding preparations are now done, provided nothing happens on the day, of course. Knowing my track history, the flowers will not get delivered on time, or the food will somehow spoil before serving it, but I have faith that the Moon Goddess will give me this one day to go without a hitch.
“Good day?” Jason asks as he descends the stairs. He looks at me with caution and I laugh, putting him at ease. Yup, human of werewolf, men know better than to upset a stressed, upcoming bride. And yes, he knows, because he's upset me plenty of times by simply asking the wrong questions.
“I found a dress.” I chirp happily and he leans to give me a kiss.
“Goddess, I can't wait to marry you.” He bites my lower lip before quickly adding “And to see you in that dress.”
“Good save, Alpha.” I chuckle and carry on kissing him.
60 - Wedding
Samantha
My wedding day.
I can't believe it's finally here. If someone would have told me two years ago that I would be marrying Alpha Jason Wright, I would have laughed hysterically and told them to go get their head checked out by the pack doctor. Looking around me, I can't believe this is my life now, I can't believe I made it, that WE made it.
This day already is nerve-wracking, exciting, a bit sad, but still the happiest day of my life.
Over the past few days even Jason started to feel the nerves of the upcoming wedding, though if asked, he would never admit it out loud. I thought it was cute how the big bad Alpha freaked out when he heard about the florist not being able to get the peonies I requested. Needless to say, the venue is being decorated right this very moment with the exact flowers I wanted for my dream wedding. I didn't ask how he made it happen, I have a strong feeling I wouldn't necessarily approve of the method.
It feels strange waking up after not sleeping next to Jason. Carla and Jennifer insisted that is tradition for the bride and groom not to see each other before the ceremony. Out of the 3 of us, I'm the only one who gets to have a proper wedding, so I kind of feel like they're living out their own dreams through me, so I reluctantly agree to whatever 'traditions' they make me follow, I don't have the heart to disappoint them.
Luckily Jen was never a party girl, and how she has little Aron glued to her boob all the time,
and Carla is too mature for silly little things, so they didn't push me into a classic bachelorette party, much to mine and Jason's relief.
The wedding ceremony will take place at a small historic church in a village where mostly humans live. It's not that far from Crescent Moon territory, and every time I would walk from school to my shift at The Hound, I would daydream about having my wedding there. Never in a million years would I have thought that dream will come true. The church is rather small, but for the ceremony only our close friends and family will attend. All other guests, both pack members and outsiders will meet us straight at the party venue which is on our pack's grounds.
After adding the finishing touches to my bridal look, my mind goes to my uncle who will be the one to walk me down the aisle and give me away to Jason. Carla told me about how both excited and nervous he was, but I didn't think he would act like such a dad. I know my real father was his twin, so this is a really big deal to him and it probably makes him feel close to his brother again. I know it makes me feel like I have my dad here with me. It's a bit easier picturing my dad, because I have Bolder, but when it comes to my mom, the one who gave me life, I feel ashamed that I can't remember her. I have seen some pictures that Bolder had, and others that people who knew my parents were kind enough to send me, but next to my dad could have been any woman. I know I was too young when they died, but I still feel bad for not being able to picture both my parents, aged accordingly, standing next to me on my wedding day.
Jason
Is it so bad that I'm thinking this? Shit, does that make a horrible person? I'm sure it does, and Sam deserves more, she deserves better than me.
“Stop that.” I look away from the tall mirror I used to adjust my tie, and see Sam's uncle walking in the room.
Fight For The Highest Wolf Rank Page 29