Alpha's Legacy (Black Moon Saga Book 3)

22. Sister Showdown

A strange hush has fallen over the people in the packhouse once Lee and I return from our date. From what I can tell, it’s because my mother is here. I can hear the staff quietly whispering about it as we make our way through the building and up the stairs to where we’ve been summoned to meet with our parents.

“Did you see the Luna? She looks exactly the same as when I first saw her. The woman doesn’t age.”

“I heard that it’s the Divine-Touched and her warlock that are with us today. I don’t know what to think of him. When he looks at me, it’s as if he’s seeing straight through me.”

(That makes me giggle a little because I know exactly what she’s talking about. It’s the way my father gets when he’s anxious. He’s not looking through her, but he is doing his best not to look directly at her. He usually picks a point just beyond someone to focus on).

“No, it’s the vampire that’s the most unsettling. I can’t fathom why he even bothers going to meals with the werewolves because he just sits there looking hungry, and I can’t help wondering whether it’s me who’s going to be his next meal.”

(That’s ridiculous. He doesn’t feed from people, other than my mother, but that’s just a thing that vampires do with their mates. It’s how they bond or something).

And then once we get upstairs, we pass by a room where a few children have gathered to watch television, and I hear one of the little girls exclaim, “When I’m grown up, I want to work for the Luna. She seems so nice.”

I can’t help smiling about that one. She seems to be quite an idol or at least a favorite role-model for a lot of young girls. I was once one of them. Actually, I still am.

“It must get tiring being the Luna’s daughter,” Lee comments from beside me, whispering softly enough that it won’t carry. “I thought that it was easier for you because you’re not next in line to be Alpha, but I’m beginning to think I was wrong. You walk around with her face, and her hair, her smile. Don’t think I haven’t noticed all the people watching you, especially today.”

Well, that’s not helpful. Now I’m paranoid and self-conscious, though I’ve actually been forgetting to worry about all that for a while, ever since I’ve been with him. He makes for a good distraction.

But I guess he picks up on how what he said is making me feel because after a moment, he adds, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have pointed that out.”

“It’s okay,” I assure him. “It’s not like I didn’t know that, because I did. And yes, it gets tiring. Sometimes, it feels like there aren’t any achievements left for me to reach for that won’t be cheapened by the fact that she’s already been there and probably did it better than I ever could. Every good thing I do, I get compared to my mom. It’s meant as a compliment, but in my head, it ends up feeling more like a challenge or an admonishment for not being quite good enough.”

He c***s his head to the side, studying me as we walk, though his pace has slowed some.

“That makes a lot of sense, and explains a lot about you,” he says after considering it a moment.

I’m sure it does, though I don’t have much to say about it. I’m sick of it, and also kind of tired of having discussions like this one with him. Besides, now that we’re drawing nearer, I’m being overcome with a sense of foreboding, remembering everything that Tian was telling me this morning.

“I feel like there’s something you should know,” I tell him, tugging on his hand to bring us to a stop so we can chat for a minute before heading in to see my parents. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier and spoil our day or your good mood, but Tian told me this morning that the reason for my parents’ impromptu visit is because after my father found out about this,” I gesture between the two of us to indicate our relationship, “he decided that he needed to come and ‘fix’ it. He doesn’t like the idea of us together.”

“Which is unfortunate, but it isn’t going to deter me,” he promises, smirking as though he’s not even a little bit intimidated by that news. “I want your parents to like me because I know it’s important to you, but I don’t require it. And I’m assuming since you chose to come out with me anyway, even knowing how your father felt about it, you don’t care much about his opinion either.”

“Well, I do but I don’t,” I admit, chewing my lip uncertainly. “If he was anyone else, I’d brush it off. My life, my decisions. But my father is special. He has the same gift that the man who wrote all your religious prophecies had. He just took the lesson that was given to him and followed his predecessor’s advice. He doesn’t write down or really even talk about anything that he sees in his dreams.”

“Except he saw me in his dreams, and since it involves his baby girl, he’s gonna talk about it,” Lee surmises, sighing when he realizes that I’m taking it seriously.

“Well, it’s not that. Not exactly, anyway. He sees a lot of stuff about his kids and his family in his dreams, and he still keeps it to himself. What makes him want to talk about it is when he sees something that tells him about a potentially bad future, and when he has some clue of how we can prevent it.”

“Wait, hold on. He thinks I’m the key to some dark, dreary future?” Lee exclaims, his voice rising a bit along with his outrage.

I reach up to try to soothe him and calm him down, reminding him that we’re still in a hallway in the middle of the Luna’s Grace packhouse. As he’s always telling me, there are eyes and ears everywhere.

“I don’t know what it is he saw or what he plans to say to us today, but all I’m saying is we should at least hear him out. He doesn’t talk about this stuff for nothing. In fact, it was him that made the ‘no motorcycle’ rule, and after I’ve thought about it all, I’m wondering if the whole point of that was to prevent me from getting on your motorcycle specifically. Because when you think about it, if I hadn’t done that, then this,” I gesture between us again, “wouldn’t even be a thing. We’d still be mostly strangers who don’t quite know what to think about each other.”

“Nah, not true,” he protests my logic. “If you’d have refused to get on my bike, I’d have just taken a bus with you or something. Because truth be told, I was drawn to you almost immediately, at dinner the night before. I just thought you were with that other guy, the blonde one. Once I found out you were just friends with him and he had his own mate, the gloves came off, kid. I wanted you, and I was going to have you, bike or not.”

His words have me shivering from head to toe and smiling like a fool, and he grins back at me, leaning down to give me one final kiss before he gestures to the door ahead of us, asking with his eyes whether it’s time for us to go in. I nod, taking a deep breath and steeling my resolve to meet whatever fate awaits me inside.

He pushes the doors open and stands aside to usher me in, and I take a few quiet, tentative footsteps, curious and uncertain about the room inside. This is a private area that I haven’t been in before, a room that Alpha Magnus keeps for receiving important guests. It’s basically a sitting room, and it’s furnished with plush couches and chairs and curvy, Victorian-inspired accent tables. There’s even a grand fireplace at the head of the room, with an enormous mirror mounted over the mantle that makes the room seem even larger than it already is.

Except it feels kind of small with my mom, Tian, my father, Alpha Magnus, Luna Leah, me, Lee … and Margot, of course. She’s sitting directly beside my father on one of the couches, her arms crossed as she glares my way. I still don’t know what I did or said to offend her, but she definitely seems upset with me.

The real surprise is that even Lee seems intimidated by all the people gathered here. He’s gone a bit pale since we stepped in the room, and though I expected him to start right in with making some snarky comment to his father, he’s silent beside me, just quietly shifting his weight around and seeming uncomfortable. His eyes are darting around nervously, not looking at anyone in particular, and he’s also dropped my hand, to my despair. I was hoping to feel his support through whatever is about to happen.

“Come in and have a seat,” Alpha Magnus directs us, gesturing to the available couch across from Tian, my father, and Margot.

Alpha Magnus and my mother are standing together at the head of the room, just in front of the fireplace, and Leah has taken one of the high-back chairs that faces them from this side of the room.

“I suppose it’s not entirely unexpected, but your father seems to be taking issue with the declaration Lee made earlier this morning, about the two of you being mates,” Alpha Magnus explains, directing it at me.

“It’s not true,” my father insists, though his voice isn’t giving away any hint of emotion. “I’d prefer we not waste precious time and emotional resources on a relationship that is not what you think it is. Normally, I wouldn’t say anything and just let you sort things out on your own, Anna Jade, but this is a pairing that I just simply cannot allow. The consequences would be devastating, to the both of you, and you both have a fated mate out there who would suffer because of your choice.”

“I’m sorry, but I refuse to make decisions based on your magical powers,” Lee protests quietly, not even lifting his gaze to look at my father. He’s staring at the fireplace instead. “And obviously, it’s not the magic I have a problem with. I have a natural fondness for magic and casters. It’s just that my heart disagrees with it, and I’m choosing to follow it on this one.”

“I can’t say that I disagree with him,” Alpha Magnus interjects. “You know that I have a lot of respect and appreciation for what you can do, Alpha Eramund. I’m well aware that I owe you my life, and my warriors owe you theirs. What you did for us, the sacrifices you made, it is a debt that can can never be repaid, and I will never forget it. But on this matter, I can’t help feeling like there’s no place for your ability to get involved. My son is the future Alpha here, and he needs a Luna. He’s set to take over within the month, and to me, it feels like fate that he’s discovered his mate now. She’s not who I would have pictured for him, but she is good. She is light. She is a healer, and I believe that my pack needs that healing. She’s only been here for a short while, but I’ve already seen the difference in Lee. He needs her. My pack –”

“He already has a mate!” Margot suddenly shrieks out. “Just listen to Eramund, damn it. Anna Jade is not his mate, and she has no business pretending to be.”

“Margot,” my mother scolds her. “I told you when you insisted on coming and sitting in on this meeting that I would only allow it if you kept quiet and stayed out of it. You will be Alpha, but you’re not yet, and you have no right to speak to Alpha Magnus like that.”

“But he’s making a huge mistake,” Margot insists. “Luna’s Grace doesn’t even allow for chosen mates, and that’s what Anna Jade would be.”

“Margot, stop,” Lee says lowly, almost threateningly. “Listen to your mother. It’s not your place to protest this. In fact, you probably shouldn’t even be here.”

“Yes it is,” she argues, practically hissing at him. “And I have every right to be here. This concerns me too.”

“Stop,” he repeats, which sounds like both a threat and a plea. “Just stop talking, and please leave." He pauses, sighing before adding, "Please.”

“Oh,” my father exclaims suddenly. “Oh. Oh, I see. This was what I couldn’t figure out, but now it makes sense.”

“Well, it would be lovely if you would explain it to me then,” Alpha Magnus retorts, obviously frustrated by the bickering going on now.

“Look, I don’t know anything about anything, but I do know this,” I decide to cut in, mustering up every shred of bravery that I have and reaching for Lee’s hand for reassurance. “Lee feels right to me, and I want to be with him. I never would have pictured it for myself, either, but I want to be here and support him. I know he has a lot on his plate right now, and I don’t want to be a distraction, so I’m going to leave tomorrow like Tian suggested, but I promise I’ll be back when he’s ready.”

“He’s not your mate,” Margot shrieks again, shooting out of her seat and to her feet so quickly that all I can do is pause the rest of what I was going to say so I can gape at her.

She lunges across the short distance between the couches and reaches for Lee’s and my joined hands, forcibly ripping them apart.

“He’s my mate. My fated mate, granted to me by the Moon Goddess. You can’t have him.”

She’s quite obviously all wolf right now, the angry eyes of her inner wolf flashing their rage at me as she growls and claims her mate literally right out of my grasp. And before I know it, I’m on my feet too, hurrying to put distance between us. I haven’t even fully grasped what she’s saying yet, but when I look over at Lee and take in the way that he’s hanging his head with shame and fighting back tears, I can see the truth of it.

And like my father said, it all makes sense now. Everything Lee said about his mysterious mate, it fits her. They didn’t want to say anything because their union would ruin her entire life plan. Now that she’s impulsively jumped up and made a spectacle of it all, she’s not going to be Black Moon’s Alpha anymore. She’s going to be forced to be Lee’s Luna.

I wonder if she regrets allowing her jealous, possessive instincts to take over, because now she’s ruined everything. Alpha Magnus isn’t going to let me have Lee now, and he’s not going to let her leave here either.

“Leopold, is this true?” Alpha Magnus demands, far less angry than I would have expected. “Is Margot your mate?”

“No,” Lee tries to claim, but I don’t think anyone in the room believes him at this point.

“Liar!” Margot screams at him. “Don’t deny me, Leopold Arturo Ignacio. You are mine. Say it!”

I’ve never even seen her act like this, but I suppose that’s because I’ve never seen her let her wolf out like this either. Her she-Alpha, possibly the most possessive and territorial type of werewolf there is, even more so than the Alpha males.

“I won’t, because it’s not true,” he maintains, and it sounds like he’s choking back his tears. “Please, Margot. Stop this. It isn’t what you want.”

Instead of answering him with words, she lunges for him, climbing into his lap with her incisors out. I think she means to claim him, right here and now, with or without his approval.

“Margot, stop!” my mother commands, invoking her Alpha tone.

And it’s lucky that she did, and just in time, too. Margot was about a millisecond from marking Lee without his consent, but even Margot’s possessive and enraged wolf can’t disobey a direct order from her Alpha.

With a sorrowful yelp, she jerks to a stop just before her teeth make contact with his neck, and Tian and my mother reach out to pull her off Lee. They have her restrained, but she’s shaking and crying with both rage and sorrow at once, and Lee is on his feet, looking a bit shaken up himself as he stands behind the couch now, clutching the back of it for dear life.

And all I seem to be able to do is stand there, frozen with shock and fear, helpless to do anything other than look on as it all unfolds in front of me. Lee finally looks my way, and his eyes are filled with regret, remorse, and maybe even a little bit of fear.

“I’m so sorry,” he tells me apologetically, still fighting back his emotions.

“You have one last chance to tell me the truth, Leopold,” Alpha Magnus declares, his voice low and threatening now. “I’m about certain that I already know, but I need to hear it from you, and I think so does your mate. So does the Goddess above, for that matter. So, tell me, is it Margot who is your mate, or Anna Jade?”

Lee sighs, his shoulders slumping as he gives me one last look full of regret and sad, wistful longing. I can tell that this is not at all what he wanted to happen, not today and not ever, but he should have told me about Margot. I knew she was planning to come, and if I had realized what that truly meant, I would have warned him, and we might have been able to prevent this. Actually, if I had known, I never would have called her earlier, and she wouldn't even be here now.

“It’s Margot,” he finally admits defeatedly. “But I’m sure that you all realize why she can’t be my mate. She’s meant to be Alpha of her own pack, not Luna of mine. Please don’t force us to do this.”

“You’re mine!” Margot calls out again, still struggling against the hold that our parents have on her.

“We need to get her out of here or we’ll never accomplish anything,” Tian points out. “I’ll take her to my room and keep her out of the way so you and Alpha Magnus can work this out,” he tells my mother.

And when she nods her consent for him to do whatever he means to do, he reaches over and touches Margot’s forehead, and she instantly slumps over, unconscious now. He gently picks her up, carrying her bridal-style, and with one last disapproving look in Lee’s direction, disappears with her a moment later.

“I apologize on Margot’s behalf,” my mother tells Alpha Magnus after they've gone, and he immediately dismisses her apology with a wave of his hand.

“No, don’t. It wasn’t her fault. That’s just how an Alpha wolf reacts when her mate is denying her,” he turns and looks Lee’s way, glaring his displeasure at him. “It wasn’t your right to make that decision for her or to try to hide it from the rest of us. I understand your concerns, but that was not the way to go about it. Now, you’ve created quite a mess, and you’ve even gotten Anna Jade involved. Do you think it was fair to toy with her feelings like that?”

“I wasn’t toying with anything,” Lee argues in protest. “My feelings for her are real, and it’s not some stupid mate bond that created them. And besides, I didn’t decide it on Margot’s behalf. When we first discovered we were mates, it was her that decided for us both. She wasn’t interested, but she didn’t want to cause any trouble by rejecting me outright, knowing that it’s not allowed here. So, we agreed to keep it a secret until we found some way to dissolve our connection quietly so that no one would know. What I can’t figure out is why she suddenly seems to have changed her mind. She shouldn't even have been here for this.”

“There’s a whole lot in what you just said that you and I will be having a private chat about later,” Alpha Magnus informs him.

“I appreciate what you’re saying, Leopold, but I’m still begging you to reconsider,” my father chimes in. “Especially after what just happened with Margot. I didn’t realize that the rift I've seen forming between the sisters was connected to this situation between you and Anna Jade, but now that I know that, I feel that it’s even more imperative that you abandon your plans with my daughter. I hope that you’ll reconsider Margot because she has quite obviously changed her mind about you, but what’s far more important to me is that you and Anna Jade agree to part ways, here and now. This is not the right path for her.”

“It would be unlawful for Leopold to consider anything different,” Alpha Magnus insists. “He will part ways with your daughter, and he will be mating with Margot. End of story.”

“Unbelievable,” Lee grumbles, exhaling his frustration through his nose. “Just absolutely, completely, one hundred percent unbelievable, and I can’t stand listening to it even one second more. Have fun deciding my future for me, since my happiness and what I want obviously matter zilch to you, Alpha.”

Lee turns his head and gives me an uncertain, apologetic look before turning on his heel and stomping out of the room, not even waiting for Alpha Magnus to dismiss him.

And then it’s just me standing there, feeling very alone and completely heartbroken. I wish that I’d never answered my phone when Tian called to inform me that my parents had arrived. Everything was going great until they showed up and ruined it all.

I only wish I was more like Lee so that I could just leave here and get away from all this. I don’t want to stand here with them all looking at me with their sympathy and pity like that, and I don’t want to hear whatever else any of them have to say. I kind of agree with Lee on this. It shouldn’t be any of their business who he decides to mate with or why.

And it should have been me, damn it! Margot already basically rejected him. She shouldn't get to break his heart like that and then swoop in and mess it all up once he’s moved on to someone else.

Actually, I am going to take my cue from Lee. While my parents and Alpha Magnus are still talking things over, I turn and quietly leave the room so I can retreat to my guestroom and throw myself on the bed to cry it out. It’s not like they need me anyway. It kind of seems like everything has already been decided without even a care for how I feel about any of it.