A Luna's Duty

Chapter Five

-Claire’s P.O.V.-

The ringing of my phone is what wakes me up in the morning. I roll out of bed with a ‘thump’ then proceed to curse whoever called me until the last ring. “Hello?”

“Claire.”

“Allison,” I breathe out, letting my head rest on the cool floor. “What’s up?”

“What do you mean ‘what’s up?’” I pull the phone away from my ear with a cringe. “I stayed up waiting for you.”

“You did?” I question, suppressing a yawn. “But I told Aaron I would be staying over since it was too late.”

“That bastard.” I chuckle. “Do you want us to go pick you up?”

“I’ll get there on my own.”

“You sure?”

I smile at the concern in her voice. Allison knew how nervous I actually was to return here. I didn’t know how I would react to seeing my pack members or how they would treat me. Hating me from a distance turned out to be a pretty favorable outcome.

“Yeah. Thanks for offering, though.”

“So…” Allison pauses. “How was it?”

“The funeral?” I ask. “As depressing as you’d expect it to be.”

“Not that. Seeing him again.”

“Oh.” I let the question settle. “Normal, I guess. We have talked throughout the year, so it isn’t as if we haven’t heard of each other.”

“Claire,” Allison says, her tone serious, “I’ve heard half of your conversations with him. It’s usually a bunch of small talk that makes me want to jump off a cliff in search for excitement.”

“Is the hyperbole necessary?”

“Yes.” Allison sighs. “Anyway, it’s not my place to preach to anyone about mate bonds. I certainly didn’t know how to deal with my own. Did you ask him about Landon and me?”

I almost don’t catch on her question, still stunned by the offhanded manner in which she mentioned her mate bond. For a moment, I am tempted to ask, but Allison and I had a balance, an agreement, regarding our mates. She turned the other way when I stared at my phone after a phone call with Jake and I didn’t ask why she had to replace her mirror ever so often after reading a letter she then resealed and put away in her drawer. We got along better because of it.

“I haven’t yet,” I say, looking at the clothes Lucia left me for the day, “I am planning to ask before I go right now.”

“Alright, please let me know as soon as you do. Landon dislikes being in foreign territories like this.”

I frown. “Then why did he come?”

“Because you had a near breakdown after telling us you were going back home, and Landon is a helpless white knight.” I can imagine Allison rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry about him too much. Aaron is entertaining him at the moment.”

“Ok. Thank them both for me. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Alright, see you later.”

I hang up, grabbing my clothes and heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

---------

Zack is downstairs eating breakfast with some pack members I recognize but can’t name. When he sees me, he stands up and heads towards me. The pack members glance our way then turn away when they notice I am looking.

“Morning,” he greets. “Hungry?”

“Very.” I look around. “Where’s Jake?”

Zack grimaces. “I think the elders managed to corner him.”

“Oof.”

“Indeed.” He walks with me to the kitchen. “Why do you need him?”

“Allison, my friend from the other pack, wanted to know if he would accept their help.”

“Oh, right. I mean you can go to him right now if you want to. They are in his office. I am sure he wouldn’t mind the interruption.”

I raise an eyebrow. “The elders will love that.”

Zack laughs. “I somehow can’t find it in me to care.”

I laugh as I make myself a tortilla wrap. “This rebelliousness will surely lead you into exile, brother.”

“Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. They know being away from them will be more of a reward than a punishment.”

I almost drop my tortilla wrap. “Have they really been that bad?”

“Worse,” he confirms. “I think they have been like this for longer than we think, just that now that the alpha and luna are gone and we actually have to deal with them ourselves it seems more obvious.”

“That’s certainly possible.” I wrap my tortilla tighter to make sure nothing spills out. “Well, I guess we have no choice.”

“We? What?”

I grab his hand. “Let’s go save Jake.”

--------

The meeting couldn’t have been that official, I assure myself, since the door wasn’t locked.

The elders recognize me as soon as I walk in with Zack in tow. I recognize them as well, and I take a bite of my tortilla for comfort. “Oh, I seem to keep interrupting things, don’t I?”

Jake tries to hide a smile by looking away. One of the elders, a female named Elora, takes notice and frowns.

“Claire,” another elder, Matthew, I believe, is the first to speak up, “I heard you were back in town.”

There is something in his tone that makes Jake tense. Zack doesn’t look too happy about it either. It’s unconcealed dislike. He isn’t pleased by the fact that I am here or the fact that I came back at all, really. I suddenly feel as if barging into the meeting was more of a mistake than I initially suspected.

“Yeah,” I mutter, nodding my head like an i***t, “came to pay my respects.”

Elora looks at me pointedly. “I see.”

“So, you aren’t here to reclaim your position.”

I slowly lower my tortilla wrap. “Position?”

“I am sure you haven’t missed the detail that we are short of a Luna as well.” Agatha, another pack elder with piercing grey eyes, can’t keep her tone from sounding condescending. “As Jake’s mate, that is your position to fill.”

“Ex mate, Agatha,” Elora reminds her, making both Jake and I flinch. “She holds no claim to the position now.”

“There is no such thing as ex mates,” another elder cuts in, “the moon goddess has exerted her will. What kind of wolves would we be if we did not follow it?”

“Modern wolves?” I suggest. The crowd isn’t pleased.

“Do not cheek us, child.” I chew my tortilla wrap slowly and tighten my grip on Zack’s hand. This was definitely a mistake. “The luna position is a great burden.”

“One,” Elora says, looking straight into my eyes, “I don’t believe you are capable of bearing.”

My wolf rises at her challenge. I growl, low and dangerous. She looks away. “Don’t condescend me, my wolf doesn’t like it.”

“Either way,” Matthew says, though he seems a bit more cautious now that my wolf has made an appearance, “If you are not back here to fill the position, we’ll have to find someone to fill it.”

Jake chooses this moment to finally speak up, “Excuse me?”

“Don’t act as if you didn’t see this coming, Jake.” Agatha rolls her eyes. “You can barely fill the alpha position; you can’t stand in for both. This pack needs more than one person right now.”

“I am sorry, am I suddenly not here?” Zack asks, looking more irritated than usual. “Jake and I will hold the pack as long as we need to hold it.”

“As long as you can hold it, you mean.”

Jake growls. “You are out of line, Agatha.” He looks at the rest of the elders, their shoulders hunch forward. “You all have been for a while. I accept your advice; I do not live by it. Claire certainly doesn’t. Do not take my mistakes out on her.”

“Claire.” I look up, our eyes meet. “Did you want to tell me something?”

I nod. “The pack I came from, they want to offer their support. The alpha’s son and daughter came with me to speak for them if you want to meet.”

Jake seems pensive for a moment. “What pack?”

“Lycan Blood Pack.”

“The twins are here?” Elora asks. “Landon and Allison?”

“Yes.”

Jake turns to her. “You know them personally?”

“Of them, only.”

Jake nods. “Me too.” He turns to me again. “Tell them I’ll meet with them. Tomorrow, though.”

The elders look as if they want to say something, but they hold back. It seems as if they realized they reached the peak of Jake’s tolerance already.

“Okay, I’ll tell Allison.”

I have the feeling that I’ve been dismissed, but I came here with a purpose. “Jake?”

“Mhm?”

“My car won’t start,” I lie, ignoring the exasperated looks from the elders, “could you drive me home?”