Chapter Five

Thrian

It was suddenly, completely impromptu, but there was no other option. I had to do it at the moment since the meeting came up and was suddenly pushed forward. Fuck it, those elders are going to regret it the moment I finally find my position. I'm going to make them pay one by one. They think they can manipulate things so easily now, don't they? I thought to myself, thinking about the council.

All the other pack leaders were coming, and elders of many packs were going to be around as well. As the supreme alpha, I was tasked with presenting everyone with my mate, because an alpha was never at his peak unless he had his mate with him. And if I didn't have my mate with me at this moment, it was already a weakness that people could exploit, as I was not fully secure yet. Oh, but I was actually fully secure – I didn't need anybody to be with me for that to happen, but apparently nobody would think so.

She being presented as my mate was important not just for their political reasons but also for my safety as well, since a couple of attacks and rebellions would stage the moment they found out that things weren't as rosy as it seemed inside. "Get it together," I told myself, rushing out of the room and leaving her feeling flustered and shocked.

It was a brief explanation, a simple one that I gave her in the spur of the moment. I was still a little conflicted as to why I gave her any explanation at all – maybe it was a good idea for me to just keep it all to myself and let her play along when the time came. With the little preparation, I was starting to wonder whether it would have been best not to prepare her at all because now anything could actually happen. Well, she'd better cooperate, I thought as I arranged my dress.

Yes, I was already completely dressed and ready, but there needed to be some finishing touches, and that was what I was up to now. Rika was near me, frowning. "You might have told her earlier," he starts, but I looked at him sharply. He stopped immediately, saying nothing.

I waited a while, but this silence felt too uncomfortable, so I replied, "Yes, I might have, but I thought there was time." I pointed out, "I didn't expect it to be pushed forward so suddenly to be today. It's like they knew what they were doing, that I won't have anybody, and they were trying to make some kind of plan to assert my position as supreme alpha." I told him. He is my beta and therefore the one person I trust with everything to an extent. Sure, we weren't that close to each other, but he's someone I knew wouldn't betray me, and so I could discuss such deep matters with him without worries.

He nodded simply. "I understand now," he stated. I nodded in agreement and continued my dressing before looking to see that he was gone already, most likely to check on her.

"Put a good word in for me and make her cooperate," I shouted, knowing that he was still in the vicinity. He couldn't have gone far.

"Yes, Alpha," the response came, and I smiled. With him on the job, I could be confident that everything would go well.

Before long, we were in the cars and headed swiftly to the mountain summit where everybody was already gathered. High noon, with a lot of people around. Yes, there were the audience, but then there were also the council of elders, the important people who were here. I needed the people to know that I was ready to lead them into the new generation, the prosperous new era, by presenting my luna and making it clear that an heir, the successor to my reign, was on the way. While I needed to prove to the elders that I was strong without any weaknesses at all. Yes, it would all happen today.

[Continued due to length...]

There were canopies all around and there was actually a building there – the hut, or should I say shrine, of the moon goddess. I knew that the priestess was there, and she was going to be the one officiating this. After all, this wouldn't be complete without a ritual and some sacrifices to the moon goddess for blessing me with a luna and to thank her for everything in general.

Yeah, religion wasn't really my thing, but why should I anger whoever was up there, if there was anybody at all? Clearly, the moon goddess didn't really care what happened with us, but I couldn't deny that there were some influences in my life, though I could rule it out as coincidences if I really wanted to. However, I just didn't want to scatter anything, so I decided to follow the tradition and waited patiently as she went about doing the previous rites and her assistant officiated everything.

"What is he? A master of ceremony?" I questioned internally, finding it hard to hold myself in my seat as he took the limelight. He seemed to be quite comfortable in that position, the position that was supposed to remain with everybody looking at him and waiting for his next word. I felt incredibly annoyed. I felt like he was showing off even though his actions seemed natural. In fact, those natural-seeming actions were what made me feel even more like he was showing off.

But I kept my cool for once, waiting patiently for the moment that would crown me as the alpha. I looked to my side at Rika, who was there. "Where is she..." I whispered.

"She's nearby," he said. "I will prepare her right now." With that, he left simply, and I waited patiently, knowing that within a minute or two he would be back with her and then everything would go smoothly from then.

"I hereby call upon the Supreme Alpha to bring his Luna and present her to us all," the MC said, smiling as everybody started clapping. The standing ovation was something I really enjoyed as I stood up, walking forward towards the lady that had just appeared.

Amelia looked very pretty. And for the first time, she actually captivated me much more than I had ever been captivated in my entire life. I went up to her and extended my hand for her to take it so that we could walk up to the main stage and then proclaim our love for each other and our plans for the pack together.

However, she pushed my arm away, immediately looking frightened. The claps continued and the shouts were louder. I looked at her, frowning. "Come on, cooperate," I spat, my voice becoming low and bitter.

"What is all this about?" she starts. Just as I was confused, she raised her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "He's not my mate! We don't even know each other much!"

It was at that moment that I felt glad for her low voice yes she tried to sound loud as you possible but just wasn't loud enough however at that moment I noticed all the clapping slowing down.

Fuck it, they heard her. I started to panic, but I knew that with her voice so low, they couldn’t have heard much about what had happened. Sure, they knew part of it, but not all, and as long as she confirmed within the next couple of seconds, it would seem like they had misunderstood. I looked at her, my eyes demanding, but she raised her chin to the sky, and I knew the mission was doomed.

"She's not my mate," she said, her voice clear now, no clapping to mask the silence that followed. Then she continued, "I reject him as my mate."

I widened my eyes in disbelief, as did many around me. Gasps erupted, and I suddenly felt a stinging sensation on my cheek. It was emotional, a wave of shame washing over me. I looked at her, disbelieving, but she stared straight past me, her gaze unwavering and determined.

What was this? I questioned internally, my hands clenching into fists. This was completely unplanned, yet devastating. I growled at her, This is how she repays me? The rage swelled within me. I saved your life. I freaking saved your life.

I let her go, dropping her to the ground, unwilling to create a scene. Not everyone had seen what I’d done just now, so I could still play the victim. I watched her cough, struggling to catch her breath, while I tried to pacify the crowd in my own way.

The MC had already taken over, which was a relief, but it didn’t change the gravity of what had just happened. No matter how much I tried, I knew things were beyond repair now, and it would take far more than I had to turn them around—if it was even possible.