Luna of Mine (25 page)

“
Now,
though I could flash us to my home, I would much rather walk. So
begin at the beginning, which I would assume has something to do
with the death of your parents. That I will admit distresses me
greatly as I had nothing but the utmost respect for them. Now
begin, and keep it interesting; I am old and very little is
interesting to me anymore.”

“
I
thought you were going to give him
a full day before you pursued him,” Ivan said.

Emilian stared out the
window of the office that had once been Vasile’s. He looked out
over the courtyard where only hours ago he had changed the course
of his future. He was Beta no longer. He would never be second
again. Today he had become Alpha and he had dethroned the last in
the line of the Lupei dynasty. Now he just had to remove Vasile
from the picture all together.

“I lied,”
he answered simply.

“What are you going to do
with him once you catch him?” Marion asked.

Turning from the window he
looked at the two males who would be his Beta and his third. “I am
going to do what any smart dominant does and eliminate the threat.
As long as Vasile is alive, he could attempt to regain control of
the pack. I will not allow that mongrel to take what is now mine.”
He let out a breath, calming the anger that suddenly welled up at
the thought of Vasile. “Now, I need you two to go spread the word
about a pack meeting at noon tomorrow. Everyone is to attend. I
want everyone to know who I am and that I am their new Alpha. Based
on reactions to the announcement, I should be able to see who is
still loyal to Vasile. It will be those members that we will need
to keep a close eye on.”

The two wolves left to do
his bidding and he was finally alone. It had been almost too easy,
he thought. He finally had what he wanted and yet he could not
shake the feeling that it should have been more difficult to take
Vasile’s pack away from him. Vasile was an extremely dominant wolf
and dominant wolves did not let go of those they considered theirs.
So why had he given up so easily? Sure Emilian had threatened the
lives of the unmated females, but what is a few lives compared to
ruling an entire pack?

“
What
are you up to, Vasile?” he muttered under his breath into the empty
room. Whatever it was, Emilian would be ready.

F
rom the number of people gathered in the courtyard the next
day, Emilian estimated that nearly the entire Eastern Romania pack
was indeed present. He stepped forward on the steps to the front of
the castle and looked out over the crowd. As more and more people
began to notice him, the murmuring of voices began to grow less and
less until at last it was completely silent. The air was filled
with anticipation as they waited for him to speak. For a moment
Emilian simply enjoyed it. He soaked up the energy that having
power over others seemed to give him.

“
Today
is your first pack meeting under the reign of a new Alpha.”
Immediately there were whispers that rippled across the crowd. “I
stand before you as one who was not raised by a pair that lied to
their pack for centuries. I stand before you as one who was willing
to do what was necessary, no matter how difficult, for the good of
the whole. From here forward we will begin to heal from the damage
your former Alpha pair caused, and we will rise from the ashes like
the phoenix, stronger than before.” The faces stared up at him.
Some were in shock, some nodded their head in approval, some
narrowed their eyes in mistrust, but all were still on their feet.
He had sent out a wave of power but it had not brought them to
their knees the way Anghel was capable of doing with his pack. So
Emilian did the only thing he could think of to prove that he was
powerful enough to lead. He knew it would not last long because as
soon as Anghel realized what he was doing, the bond between Beta
and Alpha would be severed. He pulled on the power of the Alpha of
the Western Romania pack, something that mates could do and usually
Betas as well. He felt it filling him up and as quickly as he had
grabbed it, he released it over the courtyard filling it with his
intent and forcing the entire pack before him to their
knees.

Within a matter of
seconds, the power was gone and to cover up his inability to hold
them there he said, “I will not hold you on your knees before me.
That is something I want you to give willingly. But I needed you to
know that I am powerful enough to do it if forced.” Emilian had to
prove this power in order to discourage other males from
challenging him. If he showed any sign of weakness, or inability to
control the dominant wolves, then he would be challenged. He was
hoping that by showing that much power, then the dominant wolves
would not even attempt to approach him. He could handle one or two
of them, but he knew that he was not the most dominant wolf in the
bunch, and in order to keep those more dominant than him from
noticing, he would have to keep their attention averted from
him.

“
Ivan,
my Beta, and Marion, my third, will be assisting in getting the
villages the resources they have lacked because of Stefan’s
inattention. I know that this is all a shock and that it will take
time to adjust. I will be patient and I ask that you be the
same.”

He dismissed the group and
claimed that he had urgent matters that required his attention,
leaving Ivan and Marion to deal with any inconvenient
questions.

It was done. He was Alpha
and now everyone knew, including his former Alpha who no doubt felt
the intent of the power he drew from him. His steps echoed on the
stone floors of the castle as he walked towards
his
office in
his
castle and towards a future that
promised power. And it was power that he would reach out and grab
with both hands. His rule was just beginning and as the high
continued to grow at the realization of his destiny finally being
fulfilled, he knew that he would do anything in order to keep that
rule.

“
W
hat are we going to do?” Alina
asked walking beside her parents as they returned from the pack
meeting that had just changed their entire world. For the first
time in a very long time someone from outside of their pack had
become Alpha.

“
Vasile
told you that for now he just needed to lay low did he not?” her
father asked.

Alina nodded. She had
woken up that morning after having heard from Vasile and told her
parents everything.

“
Then we
will do the same. We will continue on with our day-to-day lives.
You said Vasile was concerned that Emilian might target you if he
thought that you were Vasile’s mate. So in order to make sure that
he has no reason to believe such a thing, you need to look as
uninterested in the changes as you can. We get up, we work, we go
to sleep, and then we do it all over again.”

“
For how
long?” she asked fearing she already knew the
answer.

“For as
long as it takes,” Petre answered.

“
Vasile?”
She reached out to him
needing to hear his voice and his response was
instant.

“I am here.”

“Emilian gathered the
entire pack today to inform them that he was the new Alpha and to
make sure they all knew about your parents.”

“
How did
they respond?”
he asked.

“
No one
spoke out against him or challenged him, but that does not mean
everyone agrees with what has happened.”
Alina pictured the meeting in her mind so that Vasile could
see exactly what had taken place.
“My
father says we just need to continue on about our lives as though
nothing has changed.”

“
He is
right, beloved; that is the best way not to draw attention to
yourselves.”

“
That is what he said,”
she responded somewhat disgruntledly. She
heard his chuckle and felt his amusement at her
irritation.

“
I know
you want to do something, Mina. That is the dominant in you―the
need to take action when a wrong had been committed. That is what
will make you an amazing Alpha female one day.”

He was right; she did want
to do something. Sitting by while her mate was having to fight for
his life and her pack was being taken over by a tyrant did not sit
well with her or her wolf. But she understood that sometimes
inaction was the best course of action.
“Are you safe?”
she finally asked,
not wanting to talk about how she could not help any
longer.

“
We are
safe but I do not want to tell you where I am. It will be better
just in case you are ever asked if you know my whereabouts that you
are able to tell the truth and tell them no. I love you; please
stay safe.”

“
I
will,”
she told him knowing he needed to
hear it.
“I love you too.”
She did not say more because she knew that he
could see in her mind everything she wanted to say but could not.
She knew that her emotions were flowing freely from her like a
raging river straight into him; no words were
necessary.

T
he next morning Alina woke, dressed, and went about her daily
chores as if her heart was not breaking at the separation or worry
for her mate. She spoke with her neighbors, met with Sisily at
their spot next to the river, and sat around the fire in the
evening with her parents. Late at night while she lay in her bed
she talked to Vasile through their bond. He reassured her that he
was safe and she told him about her day. He listened as though what
she said was the most fascinating thing he had ever heard, and
before he told her goodnight, he asked if any of Emilian’s wolves
had come into the village. She did the same thing the next day and
the next. So it was with her life from then on. Day in and day out
she pasted on a smile when all she really wanted to do was fight.
She wanted to fight for her mate and fight for those in their
village who would not fight for themselves. Some days the only
thing that kept her from doing just that was Vasile reassuring her
that their time would come, evil would not win, and he would not
give up. And because she was determined to be his equal, to be a
mate he was proud to call his own, she would be patient and not
give up either. She trusted him to keep his word. He would come
back, and when he did, nothing would be able to protect those who
had taken what was his from the wrath he would unleash.