MY MIRACLE PRIESTESS LUNA

CHAPTER 4 - SHE HATES ME - ELIJAH'S POV

"She hates me." I said softly as her bedroom door closed.

"She doesn't hate you." Nik said and touched my shoulder. "She can't, and she doesn't even know you."

"And yet, she hates me."

"Eli, our kind hasn't exactly treated her well, over the years." He pointed out, "It's pretty obvious the girl has been beaten and starved, but she'll come around, I know she will, there's not a girl alive who can resist your charms and there will be little pups running around here in no time."

"Everyone keeps getting ahead of themselves." I pulled out of his grip, and looked longingly at her bedroom door. "There is no evidence that I can have children with her. The curse hasn't broken yet."

"Yet." Nik said with hope, "But something is happening. I can feel it. Her being here means things have been set in motion. We must trust the goddess."

"I hope you're right."

"So, how did Gwen take the news?" Nik changed the subject, "She went with you today, didn't she?"

"She's not going to be a problem. I've already warned her."

"So she took it well then." Nik smiled, "I'm so happy that b*tch is out of the running for Queen. How you've put up with all these years is beyond me."

I heard footsteps and turned around to see Amery walking down the hallway.

"Amery good." I walked over to him, "Tell the keeper I wish to see him after lunch in my office and organize guards to be assigned to my mate. I want her protected at all times. Each guard will watch her for 6 hours before being rotated out for a new one, get as many mated guards as possible."

"Yes, sir." Amery began scribbling notes on his notepad.

"I also want a servant assigned to her, and have one of the dressmakers visit, so Ally can be fitted for clothing."

"I'll see that it is taken care of."

"What else would she need?" I asked Nik.

"Probably a tutor." He suggested, "I doubt that school of hers has the best teachers. She'll need to attend classes."

"Good idea." I agreed, "She'll need to be taught our history, as well as the rules of court."

"Yes, sir."

"Was Gwen a problem during the ride back?" I asked.

"She was..." Amery hesitated, "Not quite herself, she insisted that you were under some kind of spell, and she was going to contact her father. She said, if you would listen to anyone, it would be him."

"Well, it would be great to see Nesrand." I admitted, "It's been too long since he left. I think I'll let Gwen send her letter."

Before I could finish, Ally's bedroom door opened, and my sister walked out smiling. "Just wait until you see her." She mouthed quietly and moved aside.

Ally walked out of the room looking down, but my breath left my body. She was so beautiful, she was wearing a very lovely purple dress that hugged her body and showed off her curves and her hair had been pulled up into a braided plate that ran down her back and was held in place by a large golden clip.

I couldn't help the lust that consumed me as I looked her over.

"Are you going to say something, or just stand there with your mouth open?" Nik smirked at me.

I cleared my throat and stepped closer to my mate. "You look lovely." I told her, "Let's go. Lunch should be ready."

"I'm not hungry." She told me quickly, but I exhaled in annoyance. Would she always fight me about everything?

"Come." I said firmly, and looked over her body again. "You should eat."

I gestured for her to begin walking, and she sighed, but started walking towards the front door of my wing. I stood close to her, my eyes ran all over her body with longing, even underfed, her slim form was very curvaceous, and the dress was making her bust very prominent.

I longed to reach out and take her hand, but she had her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Was she cold, or was she afraid? I hated not knowing.

"Are you cold?" I asked and went to remove my jacket for her, but she shook her head.

"I'm very warm."

Was she lying?

"The fire that you produced at the school?" I asked, "Can you do that anytime? Does it keep you warm?"

"Yes, I can do it anytime, but no, it only keeps me warm if I create it."

"You can use your powers anytime you wish." I told her, "You will not have the same restrictions the others have."

"Lucky me." She commented, "I can use my powers freely because you think I'm your mate, but others are still being beaten every time they even use their powers accidentally."

"I have never approved of witches being beaten for using their powers."

"Perhaps not." She snapped, "But you've never stopped it either, have you?"

I growled in frustration. Would she always despise me? What could I do to make her love me?

"Ally," Nik said quickly when he realized I was upset. "Did you have a lot of friends at school?"

"Two best friends." She answered, her voice was low and she sounded upset.

"Did you get to say your goodbyes?" Nik asked, "It must have been a shock for them to find out you were the King's mate."

"No." She answered angrily, and I felt guilty. "I wasn't given the choice to say my goodbyes after I was ordered like a pet to follow your King."

"Ally," I reached out and touched her shoulder, but she pulled away from me and looked at her feet. "I'm very sorry for using my command on you, it wasn't intentional. I just reacted. I needed you safely in the castle and out of that school, and I'm so very sorry I never allowed you to say goodbye to your friends. If you like, I can have someone fetch them for you and-"

"Fetch them?" She repeated in disgust, "Like objects you can move around a board. No, I do not want you to fetch them."

"I didn't mean it like that." I told her, I could feel the others behind me, there was a tense panic in the air. "I simply meant that if you would like to see them, then I can make that happen. I didn't mean to deprive you of people you care about, and they are welcome to visit you anytime."

"Since when are witches welcome to do anything?" She asked and glared at me.

"I don't know about you, your majesty, but I'm starving." Amery stepped up to me to defuse the situation. "There's fried fish today, my favorite."

"Right." I cleared my throat, "Let's go."

There was an awkward silence as we wandered to the dining hall but, everywhere we encountered pack members, whispers followed, word had clearly traveled that I"d found my mate.

We walked into the dining room, and I noticed Ally lower her head as her heart began to race. It killed me that she was afraid, but I was pleased to notice that she moved a little closer to me. I wondered if she'd done this intentionally, knowing she would be safe, or if it was unconscious.

'Mate has never been around so many Lycans.' Asher pointed out, 'She must be terrified. Hold her hand.'

I wanted to, I even reached out to take it, but she moved her arms around her waist once more as if holding herself, had she never had someone else to count on.

Everyone stopped eating, and the room fell silent. It seemed that more Lycans were eating here today than usual. Word was definitely out.

"Yes." I announced and stopped in front of everyone. "You heard correctly, this is Ally, and she is my mate."

Ally gave a soft huff of annoyance, but I ignored it.

"It does not, however, mean that the curse has been lifted." I went on, "We don't know anything for sure right now. We will try to get answers for you as soon as possible, but please be patient a little longer."

The whispering began, and I rolled my eyes, "This way." I told Ally, who nodded and started walking again.

I led her down to the very back of the hall. I didn't like to eat with people behind me, Alphas were always alert.

It angered me to see who else was sitting at my table, but I hid my temper and pulled out a chair for Ally, who seemed surprised by my action. She looked at me as she hesitated but finally decided to sit down.

Once she was sitting, she held her hands in her lap and looked at them rather than the people sitting close by.

"Ally, this is my uncle Morgan."

I pointed to the man opposite Ally, my uncle was in his late 30tys with long brown hair that fell to his shoulders and dirty brown eyes that were always filled with hatred and judgment.

"And his mate, my aunt Lady Eleanor." I continued, and pointed to the lady beside him.

Eleanor was a cranky, unlikable woman in her early 30tys. She had straight red hair and blue eyes with a long neck and a slim figure.

"And you briefly met Gwen." I said quickly, and passed over her. She was glaring daggers at Ally, a fact Asher was not pleased about.

"And this is my cousin Tanya." I finished.

Tanya looked a lot like her mother except with brown hair like her father and unlike both of them, she was actually nice.

"They have another son, Landon, but he obviously isn't here." I told her, though I'd already warned her about him. "Everyone, this is Alyona, though she prefers Ally."

I liked that I knew something about my mate. I longed to learn more.

"Hello." Ally said shyly and looked down again.

"Hello." Tanya and my aunt said, but my uncle didn't say anything.

"I would hope after last month that you wouldn't want to anger me again, uncle." I commented, as I sat down.

My uncle had challenged me for my title, and I'd left a huge scar down his face as punishment.

"Greet your future Queen."

My uncle glared at me, and the room grew quieter.

"Good afternoon, Ally." He said in a false cheerful voice I knew only too well. "Welcome to the pack. It must be quite a difference from the squalor you're used to."

"Yes, it is." She surprised me by answering his snide remark.

"Ally, is there anything you'd like to eat?" I asked and sat a plate in front of her.

"I'm not hungry." She told me for the second time, "I'm not used to eating during the day. I'll wait for dinner."

My hand froze on the spoon I was using to scoop creamy potatoes onto my plate.

"What do you mean you are not used to eating during the day?"

"I mean, I don't eat during the day," She said childishly. "What part of that is confusing for you?"

I suppressed a growl while I took a breath and I noticed my uncle looked interested for the first time. What the hell was he thinking?

"I simply mean, do they not feed the students during the day, at the school?"

"Students?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is that what we are, no... we were never allowed to eat lunch. We ate breakfast and dinner."

No wonder she looked so thin.

"I never ordered that," I said quickly and looked down at her. "I'll make sure it changes."

"Why? You never cared before." She asked without any real emotion, it was if it didn't faze her at all which worried me. "You've been going to that school, and I'm sure many schools just like that one for years, and it never occurred to you, to actually see if the children were being fed properly, or I don't know, weren't being beaten or worst, you don't have to pretend you care now just for my benefit, nothing will change my opinion of you, you think you did my people a favor by freeing us, you should have just killed us all, it would have a far more merciful."

"Ally, I'm not pretending anything for your benefit. I really do care."

"Care, what a joke." She snapped and stood up. "You saw those kids in that place and year after year you did nothing. I'm sure you wouldn't care now if you didn't have some crazy delusion that I'm your mate."

"I think perhaps Ally is tired after such a draining emotional morning." Amery said quickly and stood up too. "Perhaps I should take her back to her room to lie down."

"I think that's a great idea." I said through my teeth. This woman got under my skin like no one I'd ever met.

Ally went to walk away, but I quickly grabbed her arm. She looked at me and tried to pull free, but I held her tightly.

"Stop." I ordered her firmly, and she froze and looked down. I released her and put some food on her plate before holding it up. "Take this with you."

"I already told you that I'm not hungry."

"Please, Ally." I tried a gentler approach now. "Just take it, in case you get hungry later."

Ally stared down at the plate as if she was confused by my actions. She really wasn't used to someone caring about her, someone wanting to take care of her. It broke my heart.

"Thank you, your majesty." She said softly and took the plate.

I watched as she walked away with Amery, all eyes following her.

"Well, the girl is certainly entertaining." My uncle smiled, "Doesn't seem to like you very much though. Now, does she?"

I growled at my uncle. "All she has ever known is pain and repression at the hands of Lycan's." I reminded him, "It's hard for her to accept that she is one of us, but she will come around and when she does, she will accept me."

"And if she doesn't?" My uncle asked with a smile on his face. "Will you force the girl?"

"NEVER!"

"Perhaps you should let her choose her own mate." He suggested, so this was his plan. No wonder he seemed pleased by Ally's distain for me. "Someone she likes, someone whose father didn't enslave her people. Perhaps she might prefer your cousin Landon instead."

I finally lost it, all the rage from Ally's rejections, all the rage from seeing her in pain and scared, all the rage from knowing I'd left her in the place to grow up while I visited every year and didn't even know she was there being beaten and starved and now my uncle has the nerve to try and take my mate for his lazy, pathetic cruel son.

I roared with pure rage and flipped the table before I launched myself at my uncle. Several women screamed while everyone at my table stumbled back in fear as my crawls wound around my uncle's throat.

I slammed him into the stone flooring, leaving a huge crack. "IF LANDON SO MUCH AS TOUCHES MY MATE, I WILL BURN HIM ALIVE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"YES!" My uncle said as he choked, his nails dug into my hand in order to pry my hands and claws away from his neck, but I tightened my grip and looked out at the pack who were looking on in horror.

I slammed my uncle down one last time and stood up. "LET ME MAKE MYSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR TO EVERYONE," I said in my alpha tone and every one of them shrank back in fear. "ALYONA IS MINE AND MINE ALONE, I WILL NOT LET ANYONE TOUCH HER AND I WILL NEVER LET ANYONE CLAIM HER. IF ANYONE EVEN SO MUCH AS TRIES I WILL KILL YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY LINE!"

I looked down at my uncle again before I kicked him in the stomach hard. He groaned and curled in on himself.

"See to it that Landon gets that message." I warned him and marched out of the hall.