"Yeah I think that would be a great addition to the pediatric wing! The kiddos are gonna be so excited when they see all the upgrades!"
"Hey Edee?"
Turning around to see her father in her doorway, Eden smiles and puts up one finger signaling her father to give her a minute. Playfully rolling his eyes and tapping the face of his expensive watch, he smiles back and nods.
"Ok, that would be wonderful! Can't wait to see the expansion when I visit the site next week. Mmhm, yes you too. Take care!"
Wrapping up her very exciting phone call she shoves her phone in the pocket of her pink silk jumpsuit. Tucking her waist length thick onyx hair behind her ears, she walks over and hugs her father.
"Hey dad!"
"How's my favorite pup doin?"
"Haven't been a pup in years, daddy!" Giggling she kisses his cheek. "What's up?"
"Uhh, mom and I need to talk to you."
"Oohh, sounds kinda important." She smirks.
"Definitely is kiddo."
"Ok, can you give me like ten minutes? I have to resketch the pediatric wing entrance to accommodate the carousel!" Her eyes sparkle with whimsy as she can literally envision the pack pups playing on the colorful attraction.
"Ten minutes exactly, Edee. No more." Telling her sternly her father points at her for emphasis.
"Yes sir, alpha!" She laughs and salutes him.
Chuckling he walks out of her office and down the marble hallway to he and his wife's master suite.
"Hey love how'd she take it?"
"Uhhh..."
Scratching the back of his neck he trails off and smiles sheepishly.
"Seriously Bentley? You didn't tell her?"
"I figured we'd tell her together."
"No, you want me to be the go between, like always." Smiling she shakes her head, causing her thick auburn colored curls to sway back and forth. "I can't believe you are one of the most respected and revered alphas of the century and still 23 years later that little girl still has you wrapped around her finger!"
"Edee will always be my baby, no matter how old she gets. That's what's making this twice as hard."
Sighing, Bentley sits in the deep navy blue velvet accent chair in their suite living room.
"I know B." Joining her husband, she sits on his lap and kisses him tenderly. "I know, but we knew this day was coming. We've put it off for 5 years without raising suspsions, but it has been our packs' treaty and tradition for five centuries. She'll understand. Its what she's been prepped for her whole life."
"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier."
"Make what easier?"
Asking as she walks in and looks up from her phone, Eden scrunches her nose up and sticks her tongue out seeing her mother on her father's lap.
"Ewww! No one wants to see that!" She laughs.
"How do you think you got here, Missy?!"
"Nooo, ma! That's so nasty!"
"Whatever, prude!"
"If only you knew." Eden mumbles and snickers.
"What you say?!" Her father almost yells half hearing his daughter's mumbled rebuttle.
"Nothing, daddy!" Smiling innocently she takes the chair opposite theirs. "Now what's not easy?"
"Uh, suggie?"
"Yea daddy?!" Eden laughs hearing her father's childhood pet name for her.
"Umm, you turned 23 this year, right?"
"Yep, I remember I was there!" She snickers.
"And we made a promise about that, right?"
"Uhh, yeeeesss?"
Looking between her parents, Eden's stomach feels like its about to bottom out.
"So, you know what that means, right?"
"Nooo, I just turned 23. I have time."
"No, baby you don't." Bentley replies somberly.
"Daddy?" She asks almost pleadingly.
"Look, Edee we have waited as long as we can, but they're getting restless. You knew it would be coming. We even got you an extra five years. They're not gonna be anymore benevolent if we keep waiting. I'm sorry baby." Her mother truly apologizes with her eyes.
"Its not natural to our kind. Its not fair. I don't wanna do this. I never have! This was put in place CENTURIES before I was even born! Why does it still apply to me?!"
"Eden, I understand that you are upset, but take that base out your voice."
"Daddy this is bullshit!"
"Hold the hell on! Who do you think you're talkin to?!" Standing up fully, his eyes begin turning from their beautiful hazel to a murky brown.
Bowing her head in reverence, Eden sighs.
"No one. I apologize, alpha. But its not fair." She replies barely above a hushed whisper as a sad lonely tear rolls down the bridge of her nose.
"Look Eden I know you've never gone with the flow. I know that you've always danced to the beat of your own drum and that's why you're so special, but this is the way of our pack. Mommy and I went through it."
"But mommy is your mate. You two actually love each other. The moon goddess blessed you two with a true union. I don't know him. He's not my mate. He's a stranger. And he's seven years older than me. I don't wanna do this." She pleads hopelessly.
"Yes mommy is my true mate, but we got lucky. Thats only happened a handful of times since our pack treaty. You will learn to love him."
"I don't want to learn to love the person I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with! I want true love, true happiness! An arranged marriage isn't that! It goes against the way of our kind! Wolves mate for life, we love with our all and have a true soul connection! This robs me of all of that. Why can't you see that?"
"I do, Eden! But as the next Alpha Luna in line its your duty to protect your pack and upholding this five century treaty is your duty!"
"Then I don't want it! Let Brax have it!"
"You know that's not the way it works! Your younger brother cannot take your throne. You, and only you, can have that title! You are the first Alpha Luna in over 500 years. Miraculously all the first borns have been males, you are literally one of two Alpha Lunas in our pack's history. With that you know you have special abilities that will be eradicated from the bloodline if you do not remain alpha. It is your duty. Do you understand me Eden Marley Lightfoot?"
"No! No I don't understand why I have to be matched with some 30 year old egotistical ass of an alpha wolf! I don't even know anything positive about him! Everyone says he's a sleep around and only looks out for himself! Why would you want me bound to that for life, daddy?! Why can't I just be a strong independent Alpha Luna until my mate comes along?!"
"Because Eden you don't have a mate!"
Her mother blurts out.
"Wait, what?" Furrowing her brows, Eden looks between her parents with a look of utter bewilderment.
"Hhhh, honey you-. You don't have a mate. I'm sorry." Chewing the inside of her mouth, her mother looks at her empathetically.
"Every wolf has a mate, ma. The moon goddess gives every wolf a mate."
"No, baby not the Alpha Lunas."
"What?"
"According to our pack history the rarity of an Alpha Luna is literally like one in a million. Their power and abilities are unparalleled. Therefore they don't need a mate to fully unlock their potential."
"So I can stay Alpha Luna and be single! I don't have to be arranged to their alpha!"
"Let me finish, however when your Ancestor Ada Lightfoot was on the throne your father's pack was attacked by three rogue packs that joined forces. They were strong enough to successfully beat two, but three put too much danger upon her people so she reached out to a neighboring pack, that is just as large and just as strong, for help. The RiverRun pack. Upon agreeing their single alpha agreed only if Ada married him. He knew she was an Alpha Luna and he knew of her gifts and abilities. Being that she loved her pack, she agreed. His other stipulation was that every Alpha Luna of her pack was to be arranged to their future alpha regardless if the RiverRun alpha had found their mate or not. He also put in the clause that due to the rarity of Alpha Lunas, every 20 years MoonWillow Alphas are to be arranged to a future RiverRun Luna to ensure that the Alpha Luna blood is still circulated between both packs. In hopes of another one being born. It just so happened that your father and I were true mates when we were arranged. That's why we think we were blessed with the first Alpha Luna since Ada."
"A blessing for who? Not me! I was screwed before I even got the damn chance to even plan out my own life!"
"Plan out your life?! Eden we kept our end of the promise! We allowed you to go through all of school, human architecture school included. Even though we could have been severely punished for allowing you to live outside of pack boundaries and be exposed to solely humans for FOUR YEARS! We even let you graduate and work as the pack architect. You have traveled and even built amazing things for neighboring packs and packs around the world. And don't think I don't know about that little human boyfriend you had!"
Hearing that father knew about her forbidden human boyfriend makes the beautiful sepia brown drain from her face.
"You were spying on me?!"
"No, we had our warriors stay in close proximity of you to keep you safe. If anything was to happen to the only Alpha Luna in 450 years all because you wanted to go to school, heaven help us! The RiverRun pack would wage war on us like no one has ever seen. And I was not willing to risk our pack for a silly dream of yours to become a 'degreed' architect. You could have been an architect for us without the degree!"
"Woooooow! A silly dream dad?! Pursuing my passion and my wants is silly all of a sudden?! All over being forced off into some loveless, joyless, business arrangement? OK I see what I'm worth in your little bidding game." Blinking back her tears, Eden nods in enlightenment. "Um, excuse me, I'd like to leave."
Standing up she smooths her bunched pant legs.
"Edee?"
"No its ok. Just tell me when I need to prepare myself to meet my future husband."
With that she allows her legs to carry her anywhere but near her parents.
"Fuck!" Hurling the TV remote into the wall her father stands and begins to pace.
Watching the gorgeous chocolate brown 6'1 man, Elise can tell he is fighting a forced shift. That and the fact that his nails are transforming into their claw like formation.
"Benny?" She calls softly. "B, please calm down."
"Calm down?! Calm down?! Elise my baby hates us and she has all right! We've hidden so much of the truth about her role as the Alpha Luna from her thinking we were making her happy and now she's devastated and doesn't trust us! She thinks we're just throwing her to the wolves, LITERALLY!"
"You're 100% right, but we'll fix this. I know the moon goddess wouldn't punish our beautiful perfect girl just for being an Alpha Luna. There has to be a reason."
As Eden rushes to her best friend's house, she can't ward off her onslaught of tears any longer. Crying hysterically she finally dashes through the lobby of the expensive pack high rise apartment building.
"Good afternoon, Ed-. Is everything alright?!" The handsome bellhop inquires as Eden boards the elevator.
"No, please just take me to Lily's, Dax." Sniffling, Eden turns to face the corner as he presses the penthouse button.
As the elevator dings open into the gorgeous foyer of her best friend's mahagony and marble entrance, Eden hears Lily's voice. Definitely giving an earful to one of her interns.
"Ayy, dios mio! I don't care! I told you to tell the human advocation lawyer that if they can't place my client at the scene of the so called 'werewolf' attack that the most we will pay for is damages done by a 'human' teenager during a vandalism mishap! Do you understand me, Stephen?! Do NOT call me with this minuscule bullshit when I have a possible murder trial to prepare for!" Angrily pushing the red 'end' button on her phone, Lily sucks her teeth.
"Jésus Crísto! Ayudeme!(Jesus Christ! Help me!) Good help is soooo hard to find!"
Finally turning around, Lily sees a distraught Eden.
"Oh my God! Edee?! What's wrong, mami?!"
Rushing over to her she engulfs Eden in her arms.
"I-. I can't do it!"
"Do what, mami?! Dígame!(tell me!)" Lily begs in her broken spanglish that Eden has always loved.
"The arrangement! Its happening!"
"Ayy! So soon?! You just turned 23 two months ago! Oh lo siento mucho, mi muñeca(I'm so sorry, my doll)! When did you find out?!"
"Just now. They sat me down and told me." Wiping her burning tearful eyes, Eden huffs and flops onto the gigantic cream colored pin tufted designer sofa.
"But didn't you know, babe?"
"Not all of what I found out."
"Like what, dígame."
Telling Lily everything her parents devulged to her this afternoon, Eden stares at her equally dumbfounded friend.
"Meirda!(Shit!) So they watered down everything they told you, and wonder why you're so fuckin upset! Es muy malo! Eras mentiras! (It's so bad! Those lies!)"
"I know, Lils. But they were doing it to let me have a semi normal upbringing."
"Babes, they told you it was a match making ceremony that all she-wolves went through at 18, not a fuckin arranged marriage! No es verdad! (It's not right!)"
"I know. And we shoulda known some shit was up when you never met with a match maker at 18."
"Actually, I did."
"Wait, what?!"
"Yeah, with my dad being the beta I had an engagement arranged. You know with me being the first female beta in like 350 years, they wanted me mated to a strong warrior, true love be damned."
"Why am I just finding this out?!"
"Cause you were so excited about going to college that I didn't want to ruin it, so I didn't say anything. But the weekend before we were due to have our bonding ceremony he was caught in bed with his best friend's girlfriend. So as a consolation gift my dad allowed me to go to law school, cause he felt so guilty. So, no era importante para mi.( It wasn't important to me.)"
"That's super important, Lils! And super fucked up! Did you love him?!"
"Hell no! I liked him, he was fine as hell, but obviously I dodged a bullet! So whatever!" She laughs and waves it off. "Shit cause of his community dick I am the highest paid and most bomb pack-human relations defense attorney this pack has ever had. Mi amor, I turned my shit into sugar! High paid penthouse sugar!" She snaps her fingers, as her chocolate brown eyes sparkle with accomplishment against her flawless toasted cinnamon colored skin.
"So do you not have a mate either?"
"I mean at 25 with not having found him, its possible. Or I just haven't been around him or her yet. Yo no se! (I don't know!) But anyway, when are you supposed to meet him?"
"I didn't wait around to find out. But I'm not going in there with an open mind. Hopefully he takes one look at me and calls the whole shit off! Or have his mate already. Whichever one."
"Bitch, who are you kidding?! You are too damn fine, smart, fun, and have freak dripping off of you! Bitch tu eres muy fuego! (You are too fire!) No man in their right heterosexual mind would reject ya ass!"
"Ugh, I hate this Lils."
"I know, mami. But heavy is the head that wears the crown. Maybe he'll be so unbelievably fine that you can deal with it and learn to love him!"
Snickering stupidly, Lily laughs harder as Eden flips her off.
"Like I told my parents I don't want to have to learn to love my fuckin husband. Like what if after I'm married I find my mate?! I will leave him I swear to the moon goddess I will!"
"No you wouldn't!" Covering her mouth, Lily let's a squeal slip from behind her hand. "That's no bueno, mami! But I thought you don't have a true mate?"
"I don't care! I just know it won't be his ass!"
"Well, forget that! What fun are we gonna get into tonight, Ms.Future Alpha Luna!"
____________
Thoughts?🐺
💗A.J
Cast:
Morris Chestnut as Bentley Lightfoot