Loving Luna - Stephan

Chapter Six - Council's Word

Nervous. Terrified. Excited. These were just the tip of emotions Stephan was feeling as he looked up at the Victorian mansion. He followed George and Frank inside as he tried desperately to breathe calmly. The last time he had been here, it was to face the council for a different reason. He felt that it was a reminder of what he had done. Stephan shook his head, trying to clear his mind and focus on the subject at hand. Hunters. They were real and not just some scary story Michael used to tell him whilst growing up. Stephan stood quietly behind Frank as they waited for the secretary to take them through to the council chamber. After what seemed like hours but was in fact just a few minutes, they were led through the double doors.

“Breathe, son,” George’s voice echoed through his mind and he breathed in and out before looking up at the council members. Although they were here for different reasons, Stephan still felt intimidated to be facing the council yet again.

“Welcome,” one of them called out. George and Frank bowed respectfully while Stephan just lowered his head. “Alpha Lavoie, you have the floor,”

“Thank you, our pack was scouted out by what seemed to be a new hunters group. Six in total, split into teams of two. The first two we came across, panicked and ran away when they spotted us. I assume they are new recruits and didn’t act like being hunters at all. The second two we came across, seemed to be discussing a plan, one was quite adamant that any shifter be shot on sight whilst the other one refused to go against the orders of ‘B Man’. This guy then left. The one that was left, raised his rifle when he spotted us, took a deference stance but left. We heard a gunshot and rushed over to find, one of our warriors had been shot. The last two were not new to being hunters but panicked when they saw the numbers we had against them. Sam has fully recovered. Although the pack has been attacked once before by hunters, it was obvious this wasn’t the same group of hunters. These men where inexperienced, afraid and unorganized,” George spoke clearly and didn’t waste any time explaining what had happened. Stephan wondered how George could look and sound so calm when it felt like he had a storm going on inside of himself.

“Do you have any leads?” one of the members questioned.

“We only saw the first four, however, Frank said he recognized one of the men,” everyone looked over at Frank.

“I’ve seen him around the human town, although I don’t know him or anything about him, I am sure I can find out,” Frank spoke clearly, and Stephan wondered if Frank could truly be trusted.

“I suggest Frank tries to find out as much about this person as soon as possible,” one of the council members were thinking out loud whilst looking around at the others. “However, you will have to be very careful,” he added looking at Frank.

“Otherwise the best you can do is prepare yourselves for an attack. If they were there to scout out the pack, then you must know an attack will follow soon,”

“If any of your pack members have family in neighboring packs, you should suggest they take some vacation time,” Stephan wished he knew the members by name as they seemed to be having a heated discussion. He wasn’t sure who was who.

“In the meantime, make sure that each and every one of your pack members are aware of the hunter's threat, do not keep them in the dark,” the council member that had spoken sent shivers down Stephan’s spine and he knew that he was the ultimate supreme Alpha.

“I agree with Dimitry, don’t wait to warn them,” a female said, Stephan wasn’t sure who she was, but she too created a tingling sensation to rush through his body.

“What about your alliances? Warren? Jeffery? Ayden?” one the members asked.

“Jeffery informed me that he would send some guards over to assist, all he needed was a timeline. I haven’t given him one as yet, as I wanted to speak to you first. Ayden is still in his lovey-dovey honeymooning stage with Sasha and hasn’t gotten back to me as yet. Warren gave me the same answer as Jeffery, offering only a lot more soldiers,” George took his time in explaining about his alliances. Stephan was impressed and finally understood why George had ‘sold’ his daughters.

“Who is close to Ayden or Sasha?” Dimitry asked looking around at the other members. Stephan looked over at one of the members who looked familiar to him as he had been at their wedding.

“I will get in touch with them and stress the seriousness of the situation,” the wolf said. Stephan kept trying to put names to them all but eventually just gave up.

“It isn’t just about having the numbers, although it will be helpful, you still need to take the correct precautions, understand?” that female said, she was staring at George so intently that Stephan cringed.

“Of course, I understand,”

“Good, because if you fail, your pack will suffer,” she argued a good point and the whole situation was making Stephan a lot more nervous.

“We will be in touch and keep you informed,” George announced before Dimitry dismissed them. Stephan quietly followed Frank and George out of the chamber but was called back by the guard.

“Stephan, the council would like a quick word,” Stephan glanced over at Frank and George, who seemed interested and all three turned to re-enter the room when the guard stopped the Alpha and Beta. “Just him,” Stephan shrugged as he walked back towards the members.

“Stephan, how are you adjusting?” Dimitry asked him. Stephan thought about it for a moment and decided that being honest was the only way to go.

“I won’t lie, it hasn’t been easy. George and Frank seem to forget that although I didn’t grow up in their pack, I was still raised to be an Alpha. It has been quite difficult at times to prove to them that I am capable,” Stephan spoke softly, clearly and passionately. He wanted the council to see him for what he truly was, not for his mistakes. “However, I must admit to having almost zero knowledge about the hunters and appreciate being allowed to be here today. George has gone to great lengths to give me the history of the hunters, not more than that, but I will get answers to my questions,”

“Is the pack accepting of you?” someone asked.

“The whole pack accepts me,” as he spoke the words, he could hear the lie in it. “Alright, Frank is a hard wolf to please and I suspect that he doesn’t like me or trust me,” Stephan felt better with his answer but then felt guilty. “Rightfully so of course, I don’t mean to throw him under the bus or anything,” he realized he was rambling, and he looked up at the members, only to find that most of them were hiding their amusement whilst other were open in showing it. He was officially mortified in front of the members.

“You will be a good leader, a great Alpha and a legend in the future,” Dimitry praised him and Stephan smiled.

“What about your mate? I forgot her name,” the female spoke up and Stephan blushed.

“Jewel, she has been difficult but rightfully so, I did capture her brother and put her pack through hell. However, she knows my heart, my love for her and understands that she can threaten me with rejection but will fail,” Stephan smirked as he informed them about his relationship with Jewel, remembering that day when he had bluntly refused her rejection.

“Well, regardless, I’d like to offer myself and my mate to be your supporters. You can call anytime, ask any question, we will do our best to guide you, help you or just be there to listen,” Stephan wasn’t sure what the wolf’s name was but he smiled and let out the breath he had been holding.

“That would be wonderful, thank you,”

“Of course, that includes Jewel, we will make a stop by the pack soon,” the wolf said before Stephan was dismissed. He quickly left the room and exited the mansion to find George and Frank casually waiting for him outside.

-

Jewel paced the bedroom she shared with Stephan. Andrea had explained to her that the hunters had come out to scope the pack. Jewel wasn’t new to the threat of hunters and had been trying to get hold of her annoying brother for the past two hours. She knew that Ayden and Sasha were blissfully happy while playing house, but this was serious. When her phone rang, she jumped from the sudden noise.

“Ayden?” she said as she answered.

“Yes, it is me,”

“Thank the heavens!”

“What’s up sis?” she could hear the irritation in his voice, but she brushed it aside, she would tackle him about his shitty attitude later.

“Listen to me and listen to me carefully, we are going to be attacked,”

“What? By whom?”

“Hunters,” the single word held so much meaning for the siblings that the silence that followed was expected. Jewel continued to pace the room as she gripped her phone so tightly, her knuckles were turning white.

“I don’t know what to say,” Ayden finally said. Jewel wasn’t surprised by this reaction. “I mean, f*****g hell Jewel, that’s really bad,”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Now I understand why George has been trying to get a hold of me so desperately. I will give him a call immediately,” his voice had turned hard and cold, but she wasn’t worried about his demeanor.

“I think it would be best for me to come home,” she informed him. She didn’t want to be around when the hunters attacked. She didn’t want a repeat of the most horrific time in her life. Not to mention she also saw it as an opportunity to get away from Stephan.

“Jewel, you can’t do that,”

“What do you mean, I can’t do that?”

“You can’t just leave the pack, what about Stephan?”

“And why not?” she stopped pacing and leaned against the wall.

“Because that’s a d**k move,” he pointed out.

“Good thing that I don’t have a d**k, so it's not a d**k move,”

“Fine, it’s a shitty move then and you know it,” Jewel groaned out in agreement. She was very much aware that it was a shitty move, but she couldn’t help it.

“Ayden, it’s just that I-”

“I know,” he said interrupting her. “Have you spoken to Stephan about this?” he questioned her, and she shook her head. Realizing that he couldn’t see her, she quickly responded with a resounding: “No,” she knew exactly what Ayden was going to say to her and she prepared herself for the lecture. “Jewel, if you can’t open up to Stephan about your past, then you don’t deserve him. You don’t deserve to be there. I didn’t want to accept Sasha but, on the day, I announced her, I told her what happened. Not in much detail at first, but I wanted to share that with her. You need to share that with Stephan and if you can’t, then you should reject him and come home,” Jewel could hear that someone had entered the room as Ayden’s voice went from loud to soft. She figured it must be Sasha that had disturbed him. He seemed distracted with the rest of the conversation and Jewel just hung up. She sent him a quick text.

        *Get in touch with George as soon as possible, please

He didn’t respond and she could only hope that he would, in fact, do as he had said. Jewel threw her phone on the bed as she resumed her pacing. She thought about what Ayden had said to her and she wondered how she felt about telling Stephan. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she knew what he had meant. He had wanted to share it with his mate and Jewel found that she too wanted to share her past with Stephan. One thing Jewel was starting to realize was that no matter how much she wanted to leave Stephan, she couldn’t. She was already head over heels in love with him.

Jewel had curled up on the bed and fallen asleep waiting for Stephan to return home. When he did, she sat up and stretched out.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered. She watched as he took out a pair of blue boxers from the drawer. Turning to look at her, he smiled. “Go back to sleep,” he said before going into the bathroom. Jewel had no intention of going back to sleep. She had missed him. A lot. She waited for him to finish up and when he was back in the room, he gave her a weird look.

“We need to talk,” she blurted out. Immediately she regretted her choice of words as he frowned at her. “Or actually, I need to talk, to tell you something,” he relaxed slightly as he climbed into bed. Jewel shifted so that she was sitting facing him. Seeing her in that position, he moved up and leaned back against the headboard. They sat staring at each other for a few minutes while Jewel tried to figure out how to start.

“I don’t want to push you, but its been a long day and all I really want to do is cuddle you until I fall asleep, so please, talk,” normally such words would upset her but she understood that he was tired.

“My parents weren’t mates. They had an arranged marriage, unfortunately, they weren’t as lucky as your sisters have been in finding that their partners in an arrangement turned out to be their fated mates,” she paused as she glanced up at him. When she was sure that he was in fact listening, she continued. “Not to say they weren’t happy, because they were. My mother, Carol, died when I was sixteen, she had gotten seriously sick and her body hadn’t been able to heal correctly. My father, Drake, changed after that. He was never the same after she died, but a few years later, another female came into my father’s life and Gloria turned out to be his fated mate. They married almost immediately, and we were all so relieved and happy. The loss of my mother had heavily impacted our pack,” Jewel brushed the fallen tear from her cheek and gave Stephan a weak smile. “After that everything seemed to fall into place. The pack was thriving and doing well once again until we were attacked,” Jewel stopped at that point. The memories were playing in her mind and she struggled to keep her emotions in check. Stephan reached out and held her hand, silently comforting her and she was grateful for his affection. “The hunters came so unexpectantly that it was such a blow for us. My father was so intent on protecting his mate, that his distraction cost him his life. My father died trying to protect her, he was so consumed by it. He didn’t want to lose another mate, another love. When he died, the pack fell apart. Everyone was devastated. Gloria, of course, was beyond devastated. She didn’t last long and died soon after that. The hunters that attacked us had been so horrifying, so brutal that it left so many of us in shambles. Ayden and I had to stand up, be strong and we worked hard to get the pack back together. We did everything to rebuild the pack, it took time, but we succeeded. When Andrea told me that the hunters had come to scope out the pack, I was right back there, at that moment, I cannot bear to go through something like that again,” Jewel broke down when she finished talking. She was over emotional and unable to stop the tears from falling. Stephan pulled her gently against his chest and held her tightly until she managed to stop crying.

-

Stephan held her closely, listening to her heartbeat. She had stopped crying and her breathing was back to normal and slowing down. He knew that she would be asleep soon and as much as he wanted to say something to her, he couldn’t find the words at that moment. He hadn’t known about her parents. He hadn’t known that her pack had been attacked by hunters. However, he was happy that she had shared her past with him. He understood that she felt that she couldn’t bear to go through it again and he hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. Stephan knew that he would do everything in his power to stop the hunters before all hell broke loose. Jewel's soft snore made him smile and he settled down against the soft pillows. The more he thought about it, the more he realized and understood why her father had been so obsessed with protecting his mate. Stephan felt he would do absolutely anything to protect Jewel. Theodore and his mate Florence had offered themselves as personal councilors to himself and Jewel. They would be arriving in a few short days, hopefully, they would be able to help him put Jewel’s mind at ease and offer some support to the situation. Stephan gently ran his fingers through her soft blonde locks, he would be damned if anything happened to her. She had said that Gloria had died soon after, he didn’t need to know how she died, it was obvious she died of a broken heart. Stephan made a silent promise to himself that he would also protect himself, he didn’t want Jewel to have to go through that either. Slowly he felt his tired body giving in to the sleep that he so desperately needed. With a soft kiss on his mate's forehead, Stephan drifted off and gave in to his tiredness and slept.