Convincing The Luna Queen

Chapter 20

Emmet

I wake up the next morning surrounded by the scent of my mate. It brings a smile to my face knowing I get to do this everyday for the rest of my life.

Opening my eyes, I see she’s still sleeping. She must be exhausted after everything that happened yesterday. Not wanting to wake her, I quickly slip on my shorts and close her door with a soft click.

I cross the hall into my own room and decide I need to call my parents. I need to know they’re safe and I must convince them to come to the pack immediately. I dial my mums phone number and she picks up after two rings.

“Hello Emmet.” Mum says in a monotone voice.

“Hey mum. How is everything? Are you and dad ok?” I ask, trying not to show how worried I am.

“Why wouldn’t we be ok?” She sounds unusually cold towards me. I know I left home but I’m still her son.

“No reason. Look, the reason for my call is to ask if Alpha Cameron came to visit you yesterday.”

She sighs as if I’m irritating her. “No Emmet, he didn’t. What is all of this about?”

“I would prefer to tell you and dad in person. Can you please pack a bag and come to the pack house urgently?”

“No I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She dismisses the idea.

“Please mum. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.” I beg her.

“Fine. We’ll see you later.”

She hangs up on me. I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it dumbfounded.

“She still angry at you for leaving?”

Athena’s voice frightens me and my phone goes flying across the room. I clutch at my chest in shock.

“Goddess, don’t sneak up on me!” I snap.

She leans against the wall. “Sorry, I came looking for you when I woke up without you next to me.”

I pull her into my arms and she presses her lips to mine. I dip her backwards and she grips onto my neck.

“Pack meeting at ten o’clock in front of the pack house. All members must attend.” Beta Leo’s voice enters my mind.

“We’d better go grab a bite before we have to break the news.” I suggest.

“You go, I’ll meet you down there.” Athena turns back towards the door.

I grip onto her hand. “Are you sure?”

She nods slowly before leaving. I hope she’s alright.

~

An enormous crowd has gathered in front of the pack house. A thousand people looks a lot bigger than I expected. Suddenly I feel nervous standing at the top of the stairs between Apollo and Beta Leo. It’s just after ten o’clock when Athena steps in front of me in a black pantsuit.

“Thank you all for coming this morning. It is with great sadness that I must inform you all of my father’s passing. Alpha King Cameron is dead.” She announces sadly.

Gasps and muttering can be heard among the hoard of wolves.

“At this time we are unsure of the circumstances so I must request that you all stay within the pack walls for your own safety. We are doubling security along the walls and we are commencing a thorough investigation into this horrible tragedy. My father’s funeral will be held within the next few days and my Luna ceremony to follow immediately afterwards.”

“What about our new Alpha?” Someone calls from the crowd.

“There is someone that I want you all to meet.” She turns around to face me. My eyes grow wide in fear and I shake my head. She smiles warmly at me and grabs my hand, pulling me forward to stand next to her. “This is Emmet Grey, my mate and your next Alpha King.”

Cheers and clapping echo through my ear drums at how happy these wolves are. They are happy for me. I smile and hold up my hand.

“Please, there’s no need for that.” I laugh as the crowd quietens down. “While I am genuinely excited to become your next Alpha, I won’t be taking the title immediately.”

“Why not?” Another wolf calls out.

“I believe it’s not my time yet. I need to work on myself to prove to you all that I am the Alpha you deserve. An Alpha you can rely on and an Alpha you will be proud of. It will be my complete honour to lead this great pack!”

A chorus of cheers and whoops erupt from the crowd again and they begin to chant ‘Alpha’.

Athena leans in close to my ear. “I told you they would love you.”

I can’t help the smile that splits my face in two. “Thank you all! If you’ll excuse us, we need to have an emergency meeting between the ranked members.”

The crowd disperses and the ranked members follow Athena and I into the conference room. Athena sits at the head of the table and I take my place next to her. The table quickly fills up as Apollo, Oliver, Beta Leo, his mate Ruby and Elder Jonah all take a seat. Eliza comes rushing in at the rear.

“I hope you all don’t mind that I invited Eliza to attend. I was hoping you wouldn’t object to her being our Gamma.” I announce to the table.

“I’ll be the best Gamma this pack has ever seen, I swear it by the Goddess.” Eliza declares.

“Welcome Gamma Eliza.” Athena smiles at my sister.

“Let’s begin with the report, shall we?” I turn to Oliver and he slides it into the centre of the table.

“From the information we can gather from the GPS, the car only travelled to the police station in Port Douglas. Beta Leo says that Alpha Cameron had a meeting with an officer there named Roland. He’s a werewolf. The meeting was two hours, then they began the drive back to the pack.” Oliver explains.

“Have the pack doctors performed an autopsy yet?” Athena asks.

“Yes.” Apollo answers. “All seven of the deceased have the same approximate time of death. Cause of death seems to be wolfsbane poisoning.”

“This can’t be a coincidence.” I say aloud.

“How did they all get poisoned at the same time?” Athena asks no one in particular.

“The air conditioning.” Eliza points out.

“Come again?” Oliver questions.

“If they were all poisoned around the same time, maybe the wolfsbane travelled through the air conditioning and they all breathed it in around the same time.”

“This is two separate wolfsbane attacks within two weeks. There has to be a connection.” Athena thinks out loud.

“Could Alice and Roland be working together?” I ask her.

“What does Alice have to do with this?” Apollo asks Athena directly.

I clear my throat. “She’s the one who tried to kill me.”