Chapter 189: Here For Each Other
SELENE’S POV
"What do you mean they’re calling for a meeting?"
"The elders of the three territories are calling for a meeting, and it’s about what we broadcast," William said.
"Is it bad or what?" My stomach tightened. I needed to know what all the fuss was about.
"They didn’t say," he answered. "But we’re going."
The meeting was to be held at Bloodmoon, the only territory without an Alpha for now. They said it was to honour Roran, and I had no problem with that. Just the thought of his name still made my chest ache.
William and I took the car and drove down to Bloodmoon with only two soldiers. Anything could happen. It wasn’t that we didn’t trust our own people, but the breaches of the last few days had been completely crazy, and we had to stay on our toes.
Lucian was already there. I saw him the moment we walked in. There was no Luna beside him, only Valerie, my friend, whom I waved at. We didn’t have time to talk right away, but the smile she gave me warmed something in me that had been cold for days.
Two elders represented each territory, and we sat down at a round table. The meeting was scheduled for exactly 5pm, and it started exactly at 5pm. I admired the coordination, the order, and the discipline of Bloodmoon’s people, even without an Alpha. It proved that Alpha Roran had set down systems before he left, systems that had become a way of life. I knew a few of them myself. I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept my face blank.
"We welcome you all to this meeting today," an elder of Bloodmoon said.
I was glad we were having a joint meeting at least. The reason wasn’t a happy one, but we were together, and that was a good thing.
"The reason for calling this meeting is what our brothers have been doing on their own and claiming responsibility for," the Winterwood elder added.
"And what do you claim that to be?" one of our elders asked.
𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
"You are doing everything alone. I know the disaster happened on Icefang soil, but I assure you, you won’t get victory by yourselves," the Winterwood elder said.
"How do you even know you’ve cancelled out the threat that came on the festival day?" a Bloodmoon elder asked.
"My soldiers and I went to the location and killed a lot of people, the ones responsible for the attack," I answered.
One of the elders laughed. "And you think that’s enough to keep them quiet and in their place? These are humans. For them to come back, we know for sure they’re looking for something."
"So what are you implying we do now, elder?" my husband asked him.
"We join forces and protect our territories. I’m not saying we kill them or wipe them out the way they tried to do to us, because honestly we can’t. We just have to show that we’re strong enough to be left alone."
The elder was probably speaking from experience. Every time humans had attacked the werewolf community, it had never ended well for us. They loved to dominate everywhere they went, and now they had set their eyes on Morvaine.
"We’re here for each other, if we really profess that, and I think we’re on the right track," I said.
"They’ll come back. They will, for sure. Humans never give up, so we have to be ready," Lucian said, reluctant and hesitant. His voice sounded like he hadn’t slept in days.
I wanted to look at him. I didn’t.
"When they come, we’ll be ready for them. The soldiers of my territory are ready. I hope yours are too," William said.
"They are. We can do this," the elder replied.
We each took a sip of water. We had been talking for a long time.
"The next item on the list is the information broadcast by the Alpha and Luna of Icefang yesterday," another Bloodmoon elder said.
"It was a very good initiative," a Winterwood elder said, "but we should have held a meeting about it first before acting just like that. It’s only for the sake of respecting culture."
"We’re sorry about that," William said. "We felt it was an urgent matter that needed immediate attention, so we went ahead with the broadcast."
"Apology accepted. But to be honest, we love the idea, and we’re going to implement it in our territories too and make it work," a Bloodmoon elder said. "We can’t go extinct, ever. We’ve come too far to be obliterated like that."
"Thank you for believing in our vision. We want to see a better Morvaine," William said.
We shook hands and raised our cups to the motion. For a moment, the room felt lighter, like we were one pack again.
But while we drank and celebrated, Lucian kept looking at me. It was that look, the one that said, it’s your fault, you’re the cause of all my pain. It crawled over my skin, and I held my chin higher.
We talked and bonded for a while. I shook hands with everyone except Lucian. I didn’t want to talk to him, and I didn’t want to pretend I did.
"Are you taking care of him?" I asked Valerie quietly as we hugged, my eyes flicking toward Lucian.
"Yes, of course. It’s my duty. He’s coming around," she said.
I didn’t want to think about her fucking him. My mind went to all those places anyway, and I forced the thought away. I had no right to it, and I didn’t need it. Still, something small and bitter twisted inside me before I buried it.
Valerie and I laughed a lot before we parted ways. It was the first real laughter I’d had in days.
We got back to Icefang happy that our idea was being appreciated and used. Everything we had put in place for conception and pregnancy plans was already being utilised, and seeing it work filled me with a quiet pride.
I went back to my company to see what was going on. I hadn’t been there physically for days, but everything was still running smoothly. I was so happy that because of my company, the entire district didn’t have to suffer when it came to food. That was our little contribution back to society, and for the first time that day, I felt like I’d done something right.
When we finally got home, William and I held each other in our room. His arms wrapped around me, and I let myself breathe. The weight of the day, the elders, Lucian’s eyes, Roran’s absence, melted away for a moment.
"How many pups do you want to have?" William asked softly.
I smiled against his chest. "I don’t know, like four? I like numbers."
"That’s a great idea," he said, and I felt his smile in my hair.
I closed my eyes, holding on to this peace like it might disappear. Something told me it would.
What was coming next was the main deal.