The Luna’s Choice

Chapter 254: Theo© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Why did you tell us this before, Sister Mona?” Ayla asked, as confused and frustrated as I was.

“I could see how important it was that you had all of the pack leaders’ support in this,” Sister Mona explained. “I didn’t think presenting them with such a restraining time frame would be conducive to your argument.”

“But you’re telling us now,” Alpha Harden said.

“I believed we could come to an agreement,” Mona stated plainly. She looked around the table, taking in all the faces. “I understand that this is a daunting change for you all. I even understand your concerns that this could be a threat to your way of life. But I can assure you all that not going through with is an even bigger threat. I think you’ll find that Luna Aniya isn’t the only occurrence of a shiftless wolf among your packs. There are also fewer fated pairs. The Order has been monitoring these things. We know how bad they are getting.” Her eyes seemed to fall heavily on Alpha Trent for a moment. “Even when your leaders insist on hiding it. How many Alphas has it been since the Dawnfall Pack has had a fated Luna? Four? Five?”

“Seven.”

Alpha Trent looked at Sister Mona with disdain. We could all see she was revealing something that greatly impacted his pack and their standing with the rest of us. No wonder he was so concerned about us trying to take over his pack. Fated mates are one of the few sacred gifts that were culturally significant to us. That and our wolves. For a pack to be lacking in either would be dangerous. It was a grave weakness. A weakness that would be easy to exploit.

“Yes, that sounds about right,” Sister Mona said. “And the rest of your pack hasn’t been fairing much better. You are all losing the moon goddess’s blessings. Our connection to the Moonstone is waning. It has been separated and hidden for too long. Our kind won’t make it to the next solstice eclipse.”

“Why does the solstice eclipse matter?” Luna Victoria inquired.

“The ritual that is necessary to merge the two halves can only be performed on the night of a solstice eclipse,” Sister Mona explained. “If we are going to do this, it must be done then.”

“That’s nine days from now,” Ayla said. “Is that even enough time to prepare?”

“We have been preparing for this for some time,” Mona replied. “We hoped this would be the year the Blessed One would arise.”

“And you two were already planning on holding your Alpha and Luna ceremonies that night,” Kingston said. “Naturally, we’ve all been invited and would be in attendance regardless.”

“Oh, for goddess’s sake,” Alpha Trent yelled, standing from his chair. “How the hell does this not sound like a coronation to the rest of you? I won’t vote to be ruled over.”

“Alpha Trent, that’s enough,” I said forcefully. “You believe what you wish. We don’t have time to convince you otherwise right now. Despite this new information, we will stick to our original intent.

Whatever happens in nine days will depend on all of us. Like we would do at an annual gathering, we will take a vote.”

“And will this be a majority vote?” Alpha Patrick asked. “It seems to me with the seriousness of either outcome, a unanimous approval may be in order.”

I looked at Ayla with concern. It was a very rare occasion a unanimous vote was asked for. We already knew Alpha Trent would vote against it. I now suspected Alpha Patrick may as well. Or at the very least, rely on the fact that Trent would. I wasn’t sure we would be able to convince Trent otherwise.

“Perhaps a demonstration would help,” Alpha Vincent offered. “If we want this to be unanimous, then we should ensure all the information has been presented. We asked for Luna Ayla to command the health of one of our pack members. If it is possible to do so, I think that would go a long way to supporting the necessity of this ritual.”

“With all due respect,” Alpha Patrick said, “we are ready to go home, Alpha. We own packs to lead. We don’t have time to wait for you to bring someone here for spectator sport have our.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that,” Alpha Vincent said. “We have all respected Alpha Torin throughout his role as Alpha. None of us will deny he is a good man who doesn’t deserve to die the slow and painful death he has been condemned to. I say Luna Ayla start with him.”

All eyes fell on Ayla.

“Ayla,” I addressed her, “is that something you would be willing to do?”