20: Protest
ELIJAH
I return to the packhouse with a heavy heart. Irene and Drake join me in my office to discuss everything that has happened so far. But I don’t have any words to spare, nor am I in the mood to discuss anything. My world has fallen apart, and I have no one to blame but myself.
Rena would have been with me if I had just believed, if I had just said that I would trust her.
Footsteps approach the office door, and Joshua walks in with a rigid expression. “We haven’t found Edna yet,” he reports.
I stare at the dark gray sky through the window and reply slowly, “I
see.”
“But I have launched a search team to find her. I am confident we’ll get to her,” he sounds angry, “I won’t let go of someone who dares to hide such vital information from us,” he spats.
“But you weren’t very cooperative when Drake told us that Edna is lying,” Irene intervenes, and I turn back towards them.
Joshua’s brows knit as he stares at Irene, “What are you trying to imply here, Irene?”
Irene shrugs, “Just reminding you that if he had listened to your advice. back there then we wouldn’t have learned the truth,” she doesn’t try to hide the accusation in her voice.
My Beta scoffs, “I was only trying to assess the situation logically.”
Irene crosses her arms with a smirk curving her lips, “Yeah, sure.”
His jaw tightens, “Watch your tone, Irene. Remember, you are talking to the Beta of this pack,” he warns with a smug smile shaping his lips.
“And you are talking to the First Division Commander of the Pack Borders Security, Beta Joshua. Don’t pull rank on me. It does not suit
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you,” she retorts smoothly, her smirk intact.
Before these two can start quarreling, I intervene, “Search every corner of the pack, even the borders. The throbbing in my head intensifies. “I want Edna alive.” I order, the rage evident in my voice.
Joshua nods, sparing a last glance at Irene and Drake before marching out of the door.
Irene uncrosses her arms and looks at me with concern, “Are you alright?”
“Do I look like I can be alright after all of this?” I ask while rubbing my palm over my face, and yank the potted plants off the window. The pots crash on the floor, the mud splattering on the white marble.
Drake flinches at my outburst. Irene pats his shoulder with a smile on her face, “Don’t be scared, little boy. I’m here to protect you.”
“I wasn’t,” Drake flushes, and looks away.
“I fucked it up! I ruined everything!” I growl.
I should have been there for her. Instead of comforting and caring for her, I rejected and banished her on the same day. The worst part is that I can’t blame her. She tried to tell me, and begged me to believe her despite my cold attitude.
I rest my hands on the table, looking down in shame and disgust. Disgust at myself. The effect of rejection and banishment is dangerous on a pregnant woman.
“What happened to the pup?” My voice trembles as my gaze finds Drake. “Did she miscarry?”
“The pup is safe. Dory gave Luna some herbs to protect the child,” he replies.
“Oh, thank Selene!” I sigh in relief, grateful for the witches who created such herbs. I’ll never hunt a good witch from now on.
“You still banished her from the pack,” Irene reminds me, her eyes.
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filled with disgust.
Fear returns to my mind. Shit. The banishment won’t kill the pup, but it will affect Rena’s physical health.
I stare at the lines on my palm. Banishing her was not my intention. I wanted to keep her safe with me. But that skunk Alpha Carlisle just had to step in and claim her as his mate. If Rena hadn’t stopped us, I would have ended his life there so that he wouldn’t take her from me.
However, it wasn’t entirely because of Carlisle. It was Nixie who demanded Rena’s banishment. I had no choice but to grant her wish since she is going to be the future Luna of this pack. Why did my ancestors create such a terrible law?
My mind drifts to Rena’s face. She was crying under the heavy rain, silently asking me not to do it, not to banish her. It reminds me of the day we stood in an empty street while the rain poured heavily on us. I could have called Derek to bring my car, but I did not. Because I wanted to watch her bathe in the rainwater, I wanted to steal that moment.
Her tangled black hair clung to her face, and the outline of her bra was visible under her tight white blouse as she closed her eyes and stood under the downpour. The streetlight cast a soft blue light on the empty. street and glistened on her smooth face like pearls. I only saw her as my partner, someone to take over the duty as Luna. But that day, my heart was pounding loudly in my chest as I stared at her ethereal beauty.
I still remember the touch of her lips on mine, the soft petal–like texture of them as I hungrily kissed her. Our first kiss. After that day, I craved for her lips like a drug. I blamed it on the mate bond, but was it just that?
The sound of shouts pulls me back to the present, and I jerk my head toward the window. The shouts are coming from outside. I look at Irene and ask, “Did you hear that too?”
Irene furrows her brow. “Yeah.”
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I turn to Drake, who nods in response. Someone rushes into the office, and it’s Derek. He huffs, his face painted with panic.
“Alpha! You need to come outside!” he says urgently.
“What happened?” Drake asks.
“A group of parents have launched a protest against you,” Derek answers, grabbing the water bottle from the table and gulping it down in one go.
“Why? What did Elijah do?” Irene asks, looking at me questioningly. I shake my head, gesturing to her that I have no idea.
Derek’s throat tightens as he swallows the water and says, “It’s because of the new pack training curriculum for the children. The elementary school children have pack training in their physical activities curriculum, but recently the pack training has become very harsh for the pups, including literal deadly sparring among them. And if they are not able to keep up with the training, then they are given terrible punishments. The parents are worried for their pup’s life because they are getting sick from the harsh training.”
My brows shoot up at the news. “But I did not implement this new rule,
I protest.
Derek nods, “It’s not you. It’s the new Luna, Nixie. She implemented this new rule and now there’s an angry mob outside who are threatening to burn down the packhouse.”
“Shit!” I curse under my breath and storm out of the office with Irene, Drake, and Derek in tow. What’s even worse is that nobody informed me about this rule.
As I step onto the porch, I find an angry mob with banners shouting at my men, who are stopping them from entering the packhouse. Their voices buzz in the air as they raise their fists and yell, “Hate the new Luna! Bring Luna Verena back!”
“End the new rule!“.
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“Burn down the packhouse!”
Joshua and five of my men are enough to keep them in control, but they can’t silence the voices they have raised against Nixie and me. Avoiding this situation won’t help either because it’s a matter concerning the pack’s pups. They are the future of this pack.
My eyes narrow at the people in distaste. Weren’t they the ones who hated Rena to their core because she was an orphan? Now that she’s gone, their attitude has completely changed and they want her back.