Three marks, one mate

Eight

Desiree.

I stepped into the large kitchen.

Several pairs of eyes swung in my direction. My nerves frayed for a split second but I reined it in. They would pounce on me as soon as they got the chance. But guess who wasn't going to give it to them? Me.

My eyes settled on one of the ladies standing by the cabinet opposite me. She looked every inch like Elder Maeve.

"These are the rest of the women that you'd be competing against." She said with glee shining on her face.

A group of ten women lined up, seeking Brandon's approval, just for what? A baseless trial?

I maintained my smile.

Instead, I just decided to take things slowly so that I could understand the tricks that I was going to employ in this.

I could see Elder Maeve staring at me like she wanted me to fail, but I was hell-bent on proving to everybody who had doubted me wrongly.

"Now, ladies..." she waved her hand at the ingredients.

She probably wanted somebody else in this position, but they were not going to get it as long as I was concerned, so she better wipe away those notions that made her think that she was on top of the world because I was going to be giving her something different.

"What may you like me to do for you Luna?" Maya asked fearfully.

"She's not the luna yet, until after the mating ceremony." Elder Maeve snapped at the poor girl.

Well, it was time to bring this home, and I'd better do it with myself, completely ready to do everything once I'm for all without anybody helping me out.

"I'm all for excellence so you better not drop the ball." She wiggled her fingers at me. "You are to prepare chicken soup for the alpha." She said carefully as though she was waiting for me to do something different but I didn't even care about it.

If she wanted to force my hand, then she needed to see somebody who was completely ready. "I don't think you're going to be able to pull it off, but what do I know?"

Her disbelief was enough to send a lesser person running but not me. I had to prove to the entire people that I was worthy of the position they were about to give to me and how best did I do that without losing my dignity.

I had been fortunate to enter the kitchen and do a lot of things, but nobody really respected my cooking skills. It was time to put them to use.

The lineup of ingredients was distasteful. It wasn't news that she didn't want me to be able to do anything tangible so that I could not pass this trial.

"Now there is also a time frame, nobody's just going to sit here and watch you waste all the time of the day." She called sweetly but I could hear the undertone of anger in her voice.

I wasn't going to be part of the people that she deceived into thinking that she had the alpha's best interests at heart.

*****

Thirty minutes later, I was already rounding up with the entire stew, and the aroma that had successfully filled the air.

I was damn proud of myself even more than I should have been, and with the way Maya kept glancing at me and giving me stylish thumbs up, I knew that I was doing something great.

Elder Maeve, on the other hand, kept her chin in the air, acting as if she was going to collapse if she gave a nice compliment about my cooking.

I didn't mind any of her excesses because it just didn't make sense, "It's time for the tasting, I guess."

She looks like she had a lot of things to say to me, but they decided to hold them back, and I appreciated that action.

Taking small bites out of the chicken had her wrinkling her nose. "This is overcooked. The alpha doesn't like his chicken soft. He's not a baby." Her verdict slapped me in the face.

"This is not overcooked. If I'm being honest I think this is just right. I made sure that I used the actual tender method to make sure that it is easily digested." I countered her.

Surprise flitted onto her face, "Are you trying to tell me that I don't know what the alpha likes?"

"I'm not trying to tell you anything. I'm saying that by all standards this is just the right measure of cooking that needs to be applied to the chicken to give it the normal taste it should have."

I was polite in my delivery so that she had nothing to implicate me with when it was time for me to finally deal with the issues at hand.

"Too much bravado for someone who doesn't even know if she's going to be allowed to spend another day in here after the duel." She scoffed.

Her repulse for me wasn't something that she could hide and I was thankful for that. Or else I was going to be deceived into thinking that a lot of people had my back and then I would have been shocked by the way they would return to spite me.

"We are going to serve this alpha and if he complains then you know what the verdict is." She let out a wicked smirk.

I didn't know what to expect from Brandon. It was random stuff, and I didn't want to act a certain way so that the balance was not rigged.

I would never have peace in my heart if I knew that I was the one who made Brandon choose my own type of cooking over what he had been used to.

"Maya, take up this meal to the alpha." Elder Maeve's voice cracked throughout the room like a whip, causing the young lady to scamper around.

I was pretty sure that all the maids around knew what was about to happen, and I could see the fear on their faces for me.

If I failed this test, I would have no choice but to be relegated. It was a series of tests that was going to lead to the final battle, and then I could claim what was rightfully mine.

"I'm sure you already have your bags packed. We cannot tolerate a person who doesn't know the first thing about being a Luna." She offered me an icy smile, as she marched towards Brandon's study.

I drew in a long breath.

With everything inside of me I hoped that Brandon didn't make a mistake.

********

The plates were meticulously arranged in front of Brandon, with a few elders staring at me like a hawk.

The shuffle was to make sure that nobody could change the results neither would any bias judgement be done.

Elder Maeve's daughter stared at me with a sinister smile.

My gut instinct signaled that something was wrong.

Brandon stuck a spoon into each of the steps, one after the other.

Anxiety gnawed at my insides as I waited for his verdict. He went round until it got to Celine's plate.

He took another spoonful of the stew, nodding his head in approval.

I caught Maeve smiling. This was what she had planned all along. "Are the meals to your liking, Alpha?" She couldn't resist asking to spite me.

The elders lay in wait for his response and I hoped to the goddess that it wasn't positive.

"Get me that plate." He pointed at mine.

The air grew tense. "S-sir?"

Brandon's response was the raising of his eyebrows. "You heard me clearly."

She reached for my plate, and handed it over to him.

Brandon took a spoonful of the stew. His eyes lifted to mine. An understanding and warmth passed through it.

Elder Maeve stood at attention, waiting for him to make a pronouncement. "Just the way I like it." He announced, quelling any rumors and suspicions.

I exhaled.