"What in the hell were you thinking?" Elijah growled at me as he slammed the door closed behind us.
"I was thinking that I wasn't going to let the asshole get off so easy," I replied, brushing off Elijah's anger. I knew he'd be mad, and that was fine. I knew deep down, he understood why I did it.
"In front of the entire pack, Lena? We haven't even held the Luna ceremony yet. You're not officially the pack's Luna, and if someone decided they wanted to be a pain in our ass and bring that up, they very well could, and then we'd have a serious mess on our hands," he lectured.
I rolled my eyes before turning back around to face him, "Well, you've already promised my parents that the ceremony will be this week, so I'm sure we can get it out of the way before any technicalities arise."
Elijah groaned and stormed off towards the bedroom, likely to change into something more comfortable. The rest of our evening was free, so we likely wouldn't be doing much. Ryder was to make sure Dean was properly seen off of pack property and back to his own pack, and from what I gathered, Zane would be returning home as well. Ryder had decided to stick around a couple more days to watch my mother's progress. I suspected he felt invested in her well-being now, after being the one to find my parents in such condition.
I had suspicions that he may have also been intrigued by Alpha Trey paying us a visit the next day.
"We will have the ceremony Friday," Elijah called out from the bedroom.
I paused to think about what day it was. As far as I knew, it was Wednesday, so that meant the ceremony would be in two days. In two days, I would officially be the Luna of Polar Moon.
As exciting as that was, it was also a bit nerve-wrecking. Every pack had their own variation of the Luna ceremony, and it was kept top-secret. Only the Alphas, previous Lunas, and anyone who had been around to see their previous Luna initiated, knew what the ceremony entailed, and they were all sworn to secrecy.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I walked back to the bedroom to find Elijah laying in bed with the blankets pulled up to his neck. I paused in the doorway and stared at him, raising an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Going to bed," he grumbled back, rolling over to turn his back to me.
I glanced over at the clock and then back to him – bed? The sun was only just going down!
"What? It's so early!" I questioned, suddenly feeling annoyed with him.
"I don't feel like arguing with you anymore tonight, and I don't know how early Alpha Trey will arrive in the morning, so I'm going to bed!" Elijah explained himself, sounding a bit like a pouty teenager.
I sighed and shook my head before approaching the bed and sliding under the blankets next to my mate. I curled my body closer to his, savoring the warmth between us despite our current frustrations with one another, and quickly fell asleep.
~~
I awoke much earlier than usual the next morning, likely due to how early we'd gone to sleep, but even so, I immediately noticed that Elijah was no longer in bed. I huffed in annoyance before throwing the blankets off of me and sliding out of the bed. Where could he have run off to so early?
My first thought was that Alpha Trey may have arrived sometime during the early morning hours, so I decided to go ahead and get dressed and cleaned up before going off to find Elijah. Although I hated feeling the need to make a good first impression, I knew it was necessary.
After I'd dressed myself in a nice sweater and jeans, I slipped on a pair of boots and did a once over in the mirror to make sure my minimal makeup and naturally wavy hair looked acceptable. Once I was satisfied, I exited the bedroom and headed for the front door, grabbing a banana from the kitchen on my way out.
When I found myself outside Elijah's office door, I didn't bother knocking, but simply walked right in. Instead of seeing Alpha Trey and his Beta, I was met with the faces of Daphne and Kenneth, who were seated in front of Elijah's desk and appeared like they were being lectures.
"Lena, just in time. I was explaining to my brother and sister some of the...quirks...of the Tropic Sun pack, and it'd be beneficial for you to know them as well. They do some things differently from the rest of the packs...very differently, in fact, and it'd be better for you all to know what they are ahead of time so we don't risk offending our guests," Elijah explained as I walked across the room to grab an empty chair.
He'd already told me that they used magic as a part of their daily lives, so obviously there was more to it than just that. I was intrigued. What could possibly be so different about this pack?
Elijah sighed and scratched his head a bit, seeming a bit troubled about the information he was about to relay to us, "As you all already know, they use magic frequently. It's a completely normal part of their everyday lives, and there's a good chance we may witness them using it casually while they're here."
"But the thing that typically bothers the other packs most about them...well...um," Elijah stuttered a bit, clearing his throat and making other nervous, unnecessary movements.
"They all have violet eyes," he finally said.
I raised an eyebrow, "Sure, that's odd and all, but I don't see other packs being uncomfortable with them due to their eye color."
Elijah sighed again, "It's the cause of the violet eyes. They don't believe in destined mates. They know the Moon Goddess pairs them with a mate, but they don't see that person as being their best possible match. Therefore, every member of the pack takes a potion once per year that prohibits them from finding their Goddess-given mate. If they were ever in the presence of their mate, they wouldn't know it. The bond is completely muted, however, if their mate is from a different pack and they just so happen to encounter them, their mate would still be able to sense the bond, and as you could imagine, that can cause a lot of issues."
"So, members of Tropic Sun have arranged matings. Their families usually plan it out at a very young age based on strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of the potion turning their eyes violet is so it's obvious if someone tried to skip taking the potion," Elijah continued to explain, seeming a bit winded by now.
"I know it seems like I'm rambling, but I'm informing you all of this because Alpha Trey and his Beta have requested to not be around any unmated females, although they agreed to make an exception for Daphne since she is my sister. I also want you all to understand this so that we don't accidentally offend them. It's common for us to ask about finding mates and such when we're getting to know one another. If you all feel the need to do that, just keep in mind that their mate pairing has already been arranged by their families."
"Are you done with the lecture?" Daphne asked, clearly growing just as bored and annoyed as I was. It was good to be aware of all of this, but at this point Elijah was practically talking in circles.
I was shocked, and even a bit uncomfortable with the concept of an entire pack refusing to acknowledge their destined mates. It even hurt my heart a bit to think about all of the wolves in other packs who were destined to be with a member of Tropic Sun, but instead had to live their lives alone and unknowing. I figured that was the reason why Elijah seemed so nervous to relay all of this information.
He finally nodded, "That's pretty much it. There's a lot of other odd things about them, but they're not as important."
Daphne and I were both silent for a moment, although it was obvious we had a lot of different thoughts going through our minds. Kenneth seemed indifferent – why should he care? He was rarely involved in pack business, since he was still only a teenager.
Just as I was about to speak up, a loud knock came from the office door followed by it opening rather quickly. One of Elijah's top guards popped his head in, ready to relay information to his Alpha.
"Alpha Elijah," he started, bowing his head slightly in respect. "Alpha Trey and his Beta have just arrived in Polar Moon territory. We're sending Omegas to gather their bags as we speak."
"They're extremely early," Elijah mumbled before sighing. "Very well. Once they've settled their belongings into the guest wing, escort them up here. Lena and I will meet with them."
"Yes, Alpha," the guard nodded before bowing his head again and exiting, closing the door behind him.
"Daphne, Kenneth, you two go elsewhere for now. Tend to whatever you need to do for the day. I'll send for you two along with mother and father later for proper introductions," Elijah instructed his two younger siblings.
Daphne rolled her eyes and groaned, clearly not happy about being left out of Alpha Trey's arrival. Elijah narrowed his eyes at her slightly, warning her not to challenge his authority, and without further incident his two siblings left the room.
Then, Elijah turned to me.
"Be nice," he said sternly. "Remember, they're here to help us."
My eyes grew wide at his mini-lecture, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You know what it means, Lena. You're not exactly warm and welcoming when meeting someone for the first time."
I scoffed, "I am perfectly capable of behaving professionally!"
"I never said you weren't," Elijah replied. "I said be nice. There's a difference."
I narrowed my eyes at him, "I'll be nice as long as they are."
Before anymore could be said, there was another knock on the door. I was slightly offended that Elijah felt it necessary to lecture me on my attitude around guests, but I knew he was still a little upset with me from my actions the day before.
"Enter," Elijah called out, standing from his chair.
I followed his lead and stood as well, prepared to welcome this Alpha and Beta into my pack as guests and hopefully, friends.
The same guard from earlier opened the door and stepped aside, allowing two extremely tall, bulky males to enter the room.
The first male to enter had golden-tanned skin and short, well-groomed brown hair, and wore a white, button-up shirt with charcoal colored slacks. He radiated the aura of a natural-born Alpha, and I immediately knew he was Alpha Trey.
The second man was only slightly less toned and muscular but had the same tan skin as Alpha Trey. His hair, however, was a dark, sandy-blonde. Clearly, this was Alpha Trey's Beta.
Although the two men had differing physical characteristics, they shared one that was slightly more alarming than I'd anticipated. They both shared the same vibrant, violet eyes.
"Alpha Trey, Beta Derek, welcome to Polar Moon. We're pleased to have you as our guests, and thank you for coming to assist us," Elijah greeted, reaching out to shake Alpha Trey's hand.
"Of course, Alpha Elijah. We would never turn down a fellow Alpha in need. This must be your Luna?" Trey asked, turning to face me.
Elijah nodded, "Yes, this is my mate, Lena."
"It's a pleasure, Alpha Trey. As Elijah said, thank you for coming to help us," I told him, offering him a handshake.
Alpha Trey grasped my hand firmly, gave it a quick shake, and shot me a pleasant smile, "And this is my Beta, Derek," he told me, gesturing towards the man behind him.
"I'm assuming we will wait until tomorrow for me to meet your parents, Lena? I feel coming at them with introductions in the middle of the day may only confuse them," Trey asked.
I was a bit puzzled as to why meeting them in the middle of the day would confuse my parents, but I didn't ask about it. Trey was the expert on all of this. I'd just have to trust him.
"Of course," I said with a small smile and nodded. Elijah nodded as well, cementing our approval.
"A tour of our territory can wait until later when most of the pack are in their personal quarters for the evening. I know you're not wanting to be exposed to too many pack members. My parents have arranged a private dinner for..." Elijah began to explain to Trey, only to be cut off by the office door flying open.
"They're not up here yet, right? I can't believe I forgot my phone! Have you two seen it laying..." Daphne burst into the office, rambling and looking around the room frantically, only to freeze once she saw that Alpha Trey and Beta Derek, were indeed, already here.
I was expecting Daphne to begin apologizing profusely, but she didn't. She simply stood there, eyes wide, frozen...
Then I noticed what Daphne was staring at...or rather, who.
Beta Derek.
I recognized that look in her eyes. I knew it all too well – it was unmistakable.
Beta Derek was Daphne's mate.
Ooooh no...did any of you see that coming? Well, that's certainly going to complicate things, isn't it? Luna Lena only has about 3-4 chapters left plus an Epilogue! Are you all excited?! Not only will Lena's story finally be concluded, but I'll be able to start updating Luna Zahra regularly too!
Please continue to read, vote, and comment! I appreciate it all so much. Check out Luna Hana and Luna Audrey if you haven't already. There's also a Prologue + Chapter 1 up for Luna Zahra, and a Prologue for Luna Skylar. Thank you all for all of your kindness and support! I'm so glad you all enjoy my stories.
xoxo -V