Convincing The Luna Queen

Chapter 17

Athena

Ever since my mother died, my father has become an introvert. He very rarely makes an appearance at meal times in the dining hall so I always try my best to attend. Being next in line to the throne, I want to appear approachable to the entire pack.

When father doesn’t show his face again that night, it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I don’t think anything of it and continue to enjoy my night with Emmet, Apollo and Eliza. I’m almost finished my meal when Oliver comes over to us.

“I need to speak to you urgently in your office.” He mutters in my ear.

“Apologies guys, I’ll have to cut this short.” I say to the others and stand to my feet. It’s then I see Beta Leo standing in the doorway. His expression is unreadable, his best poker face on show.

“It may be best if Apollo and Emmet join us.” Oliver advises.

We all look at each other intrigued and head into my office. Beta Leo is the last to enter and his demeanour turns solemn.

“I’m afraid we have some bad news.” Oliver begins.

“Maybe you should sit down.” Beta Leo advises.

“One of you better tell me what’s going on right this second.” I demand, my stomach is in knots.

“I’m so sorry Athena … your father … Alpha Cameron …” Oliver can’t seem to get the words out of his mouth.

“He’s dead.” Beta Leo blurts out.

My chest tightens as I stop breathing. My whole world is crumbling to the ground around me. This can’t be.

“There must be some mistake. We saw him a few hours ago.” Emmet tries to argue but it’s no use. I already know they’re telling the truth.

“How?” I ask with a hoarse voice. My throat constricts and my eyes burn with unshed tears.

“We’re still trying to work it all out. Their vehicle was found a few kilometres away from the pack walls and all seven people inside were pronounced dead at the scene.” Oliver explains.

“I want a full report first thing tomorrow morning. Double the guards on watch and I want to be informed immediately of anything suspicious. No one comes in and no one leaves. This is an act of war.” Emmet takes charge of the situation for which I am glad, I can’t form any coherent thoughts right now.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Beta Leo says to no one in particular. “Athena must be crowned Luna Queen immediately.”

“Make the arrangements with Elder Jonah. Until she is crowned, I believe you are in charge father.” Apollo instructs.

“You’re correct son. We must address the whole pack tomorrow morning.” Beta Leo advises. I nod vigorously in his direction.

“I need to take Athena upstairs. Stay safe everyone.” Emmet dismisses the room. He wraps an arm around me and leads me up to my bedroom.

He doesn’t say a word as he strips me of my clothes and replaces them with pyjamas. He brushes my hair and massages my feet. I wish I didn’t feel so numb so I could enjoy this feeling of Emmet taking care of me.

He finally tucks me into bed and wraps his body around me from behind. It’s then that I begin to feel vulnerable and the tears start to fall. I cry and sob for Goddess knows how long.

I love that he made me feel comfortable before all of my emotions erupted like a volcano. I feel so utterly grateful to have him in my life right at this moment.

“Would you tell me about them? Your parents.” Emmet whispers in my ear.

“They met when my mother moved here when she was eight years old. They were inseparable and they knew they were mates straight away. They loved each other so much that when they both turned eighteen and received their wolves, they marked each other straight away.

My mother’s name was Rhea, her identical twin sister is Apollo’s mother Ruby. She was named after a deity heavily associated with motherhood and fertility. It’s ironic considering she died in childbirth when I was five years old.

Father and I miss her so much. He never wanted a chosen mate after my mother died and this is why he cherishes the bond the Goddess gives us so much. She gave him his one true love and he was so broken without her. We both are … or were.”

“Thank you for telling me about them. So your father didn’t mind passing his title onto you? I thought Alphas liked to pass it down to their sons.” He asks.

I laugh halfheartedly. “No, he wasn’t one to follow traditions. The title was always mine whether I was a boy or girl.”

“Are you nervous about becoming Luna?”

I turn around in my bed to face him. “I am. Am I going to be able to lead a whole pack and a kingdom? Am I going to live up to my father’s expectations of me? Will I make him proud? I guess I’ll never know anymore.”

He places his hand on my cheek. “You’ll be incredible, I know it. Besides, you’ll always have me along for the ride.”

At some point during our conversation I stopped crying and now he has me smiling like a fool.

“How can you be so sincere yet so silly in the same sentence?” I giggle.

“Yet another one of my many talents.” He jokes while pulling my body flush against his. His lips press against mine and we loose ourselves in each other’s embrace.

Once we come back up for air, there’s a question floating around in my mind that I desperately need to ask.

“Emmet, do you want to become Alpha when I become Luna?” I query.

He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling, pondering. For some reason, his delayed response hurts my heart.

“Look Athena …” he begins.

“Forget I asked.” I go into the bathroom to brush my teeth. How stupid was I to ask that question right now? I’m midway through brushing when he follows me into the bathroom.

“Will you let me finish?” He demands with his hands on his hips. His eyes flicker from black to blue before he continues. “Zeus disagrees with everything I’m about to say but he needs to respect my wishes. I want to be your mate more than anything in the world Athena but I’m just not ready.”

I spit the toothpaste into the sink and rinse my mouth. “If this still has anything to do with needing to prove yourself to me, you don’t need to Emmet.”

“Yes I do. Imagine what the pack will think when they find out that some eighteen year old nobody marked their Luna when they didn’t even know we are mates. All those wolves at training that saw me back down to Oliver the first day? They’ll think I’m pathetic. You were right I’m not Alpha material, not yet anyway. I need to work on myself, not only to be worthy of you but to be an Alpha King that every damn wolf in this pack will be proud of.” His chest heaves rapidly.

“You want to know what I think?” I turn around to face him and poke him in the chest with one finger. “Seeing you make commands earlier was pretty f*****g hot. If the whole pack could have seen you like that, every single one of them would already think highly of you. You’re on some damn quest to level up. Well guess what? This isn’t one of your stupid video games!” I push him forcefully and his back hits the tiles. “I’m sick of this puppy dog act you’ve got going on. Show me that Alpha wolf that I know is inside of you and take what you f*****g want for once in your damn life!”

Emmets eyes immediately turn black. His hand flies up and grips my throat. “Take off your clothes.”