The Eclipsed Life of Luna Mischa

Mischa had been mated to Alpha Anthony Trenery of the Night Whispers Pack for two decades now. They had a good, strong bond filled with love and happiness even though their lives were more than difficult at times. They’d decided when coming together early in their mate bond to put off having an heir or heirs for their pack. That they needed to focus upon the growing of the pack’s businesses. She ran the accounting company and kept track of all the pack's funds, was vigilant in their spending decisions, because when they’d taken over the pack it was in the red, and the pack owed money to a lot of other packs as well as human banks. Finally, they were completely in the black. No longer did they have loans to pay back to humans or other wolfen packs that had helped them out over the past two decades. They were also now a bigger, stronger and healthier pack, with more reliable businesses to support them. It had taken the two of them a mighty effort of complete devotion to clearing out the debts left behind, that no one knew the former Alpha and Luna had run up, until they’d taken over and seen if for themselves. She’d never have believed it if she’d not seen it with her own two eyes, and they’d sat down and had to talk it out, weighed the pros and cons of disbanding the pack or trying to rebuild it, and become viable and keep the wolves that lived here together instead of scattered all over the place. She’d already had her accounting degree but was fresh out of uni, and going through the funding situation had been hard for her, and even harder for Anthony to hear, being it was his own parents that had sunk the pack into debt and told no one how bad it was. But in the end they’d opted to try and save the pack, and although it had been difficult for them to do. They’d worked their way through the hardship and survived it. Tonight was the very first mating ball to be held by them since taking over. They simply just couldn’t afford to waste pack funds on it. The pack members had all understood and been allowed to go off to other packs of their own accord for mating balls if they wished over those years. Tonight was an event they’d planned together, how they’d be holding mating balls in the future as well. Only two a year, they were costly and though their pack was in the black now, they didn’t want to use a lot of funds on mating balls at this time, they would set more up as the years past when they had more available funds to do so. It was a simple sit-down dinner, where everyone came dressed in smart casual clothing and could mingle at will with the other packs. Any mating prior to the full moon had to be out of sight in one or another's accommodation, so there would be fewer issues for pairs scenting each other out. She stood as always next to Anthony to greet the arriving Alphas. Only one pack was unknown to them, but it came through a known affiliated pack. They were said to be safe and wouldn’t cause them any issues. She and Anthony were hoping for some pairing up tonight, and she smiled at the comments from their Allied Alphas about finally, they were holding a mating ball, and those that knew the true hardship she and Anthony had been through, over the last two decades smiled and congratulated them on beating the odds, and them now having a prosperous pack. She was happy with how things were going and sat down to eat her meal, smiled and chatted with the other Alphas at the table. Her own Mate, Anthony, smiled at her as he always did. What she’d not seen coming was as the moon set her own Alpha Mate of 20 years, nostrils flaring and him breathing in all deeply; as he scented out a second Mate. Her eyes widened, as she watched him just stand up and leave the table, to go and hunt the one he scented. Many eyes were on him, they all knew she was his Goddess-Gifted Mate. They were the same age and scented each other out at 19, inside this very room the full moon after he’d come home from Alpha College. Mischa was more than shocked as she watched Anthony step right up to she-wolf and just reach out and touch her face all soft and lovingly. She’d braced herself to feel the pains of betrayal, right there in front of all their allies, and she’d even felt Paul, her Gamma’s hand on her arm, as he also readied himself to try and ease the pain they all thought she was going to feel. She had not stood up or even objected to Anthony’s scenting of a second Mate, wouldn’t protest against it even though a part of her wanted to. This was the will of their Goddess, that he was getting a second Mate, and here inside this pack they believed one should accept their Goddess-Gifted Mate. Anthony’s hand cupped that she-wolf’s face, and she felt absolutely nothing, not a single pain of betrayal at all. Paul frowned a little, and she sighed with relief and murmured. “Is the will of Selena, so she grants me no pain.” Though a part of her was unhappy about her loyal, loving Alpha Mate now having a new and likely much younger Mate on his arm. She knew that he wasn’t going to reject her, she’d been gifted to him by Selena, so of course, he would accept that she-wolf. She gently removed Paul’s hand from her arm. “It’s fine… is meant to be.” She’d stated softly, all she could do was accept it. If it was a lie or some sort of magic to trick him, she'd have felt the pains of betrayal, but there were none. So she just sat there and watched as Anthony lay his verbal claim upon that she-wolf, for all in this room to hear without any hesitation. “My pack, I have been blessed by Selena herself, with a second Mate and Luna,” he'd announced, and she’d even heard the pride in his voice as he’d spoken. He was very happy with this. Had yet to even look at Mischa regarding him getting a second Mate; to see what she thought of it. She’d been eclipsed by a new Mate and Luna for the pack in a heartbeat. He was supposed to love and cherish only her, but now he had someone else to love and cherish, a she-wolf that barely looked old enough to be here at this mating ball. Likely only just turned 18 a moon or two back, she thought absently to herself. That girl's smile faulted instantly at Anthony’s words of her being his second Mate and Luna, and her eyes had moved around the room to look right at her. Mischa had nodded her head ever so slightly to the girl. Who’d turned back to Anthony and bowed her head to him, stated in softly spoken words, “I am happy, Alpha, and will work alongside your first Mate, to learn from her to be your perfect Luna.” Anthony had laughed. “Mischa is loving and kind and will be a good friend and confidante to you, as well as to teach you all that is needed and the three of us will be truly happy together.” Then he had walked that she-wolf over to the table she was sitting at, and smiled at Mischa “Sweetheart, I was blessed by Selena once more. This is Christy.” He introduced the girl to her. She felt many eyes upon her from not only at this table but from the room. It was a very unusual set of circumstances to be seen. She did know that when one wolf got gifted two Mates it was usually at the same time, not 20 years apart. That the one wolf, if his or her Mates were from different packs, they would have to choose one over the other. But Anthony was an Alpha Wolf, and he reigned over this pack so he could choose to have both of them as his Mates, because they’d all live here. This was what he was doing. He’d not even thought about it, not even so much as taken Mischa's thoughts into account about him having a new Mate. No, he’d just accepted Christy and announced her right away, expecting Mischa to just accept it and that was the end of it. Mischa wasn’t about to throw a fit or even argue it there was no point; he’d made his decision already. The Goddess had blessed him was how he’d put it. She wasn’t that kind of person, arguments were only to be had if she could win the verbal battle, which she knew she couldn’t right this very minute. It was also not her place to tell him who he could or couldn’t be mated to, if he was gifted a second Mate. It was entirely up to him to accept or reject that she-wolf. “Hello, Christy.” Mischa greeted his new Mate, and she saw the way that she-wolf instantly moved closer to Anthony and hugged into him. “It’s the will of the Goddess, please Luna don’t ask him to reject me,” Christy stated with a slight tremble to her soft voice. Mischa raised an eyebrow at her “I wouldn’t dare to. If Anthony accepts you, then so do I,” she countered the girls between the line's accusation. She understood in that one moment this she-wolf was out to cause trouble, and wanted Anthony to see Mischa was unreasonable, and appear to be unwilling to accept her as a second Luna to this pack. Mischa wouldn’t play that game, her eyes moved to Anthony, and he was frowning down at Christy, he wasn’t what she would call a stupid man, and had also picked up on there was no greeting from Christy to Mischa, just an unspoken accusation that Mischa would want to tear them apart. “Christy, what was that? Mischa would never come between us, and you just accuse her of it right away. I brought you over here just to say hello,” he stated and removed her hand from his arm. Mischa refused to allow the smile that wanted to touch her face to reach it as she heard the disappointment in Anthony’s voice about what he was seeing and hearing. She watched as Christy kind of looked up at him in surprise, that he would not only defend his current Mate and Luna, but step away from Christy herself, to look down at her in disapproval. This she-wolf had thought Anthony would come to her defense instantly, and be drawn into her innocence, and I’m afraid of your first Mate, act. That she was so clearly putting on for all in this room to see. She didn’t know him at all, and had played that hand way too soon, but Mischa now understood herself this was going to be something Christy would do all the time. She was already scheming inside her mind on how to push out a Luna and Mate of 20 years, so she could be the only Mate and Luna to this, her and Anthony’s hard earned pack.