The Women Between

Chapter 21: A Luna is Born

Warning: A fight will ensue. One wolf and one man. Do not read if you feel like this will read like cruelty to animals. For the record, I do not believe in mistreating our furry friends in a despicable manner.

The white foyer of the packhouse is large and spacious enough to hold fifty or more people to fit in comfortably. This is especially for those visiting the kings and their new Luna Queen. It has a high ceiling that holds a single, large crystal chandelier trimmed in gold to shine over everything. Its light gleams off the spotless white tiled floor and brown wooden banisters while a red carpet shields the brown steps. The rest of the staircase is done in white trim. It is the first thing noticed before anyone looks at the gold framed paintings of the first King and Queen. They hang near the double, white wooden door leading to the outside. A few of the omegas look at it while cleaning one of the four large windows facing the driveway, feeling content about their life. That is until Thomas came flying from one of the five white wooden doors on their left, causing splinters to fly everywhere.

He crashed into the opposite wall with a boom that shook half the packhouse and cracked the wall. A growly grunt came from him as he fell to the floor, knocking down the silver framed photos of his parents and grandparents. They were on the left side with their formidable frowns showing that they were a force to be reckoned with, just like their children. He did not really care about that, especially as his wolf pushed him up and forward towards his brother’s black wolf.

Zeal had taken over his body upon hearing the news of what Gregory had done yesterday.

Cassandra, however, saw them after Simon set her down and held her by the arm to steady her. He used his wolf speed to get her to them, stopping abruptly when he sensed the alphas’ presence near the foyer. She did not have any time to adjust after he threw her over his shoulder and was taking her to them. She did not even argue about it, knowing that she was the only one who could stop their anger. It is just that she fears what they may do to her when she tries to make them feel better.

Then, there is her need to fight them with her physical strength, which she does not have when she feels something towards them.

Her mind is in an emotional chaos right now with dizziness on top of it all. It is starting to make her nauseous as she struggles to focus her eyes on her god-looking men. She had to blink several times while swimming through the swampy anger that wanted to drown her. It is very reminiscent to that of the twins when they saw her, especially Derek. She could not breathe with the hatred oozing towards each other that made her heart hurt.

Cassandra knows that it is her fault they are fighting. She does not know how, but it is making her heart flip between thumping wildly to squeezing with pain. Sometimes, it would be both, especially as she watched Thomas punch Gregory’s wolf into the other wall. It let out a yelp that she felt all the way to her soul, making her drop to her knees. The pain that those two inflicted on each other was not bad, but it did not feel that way to her.

Her breaths became ragged to where she could not hear who was trying to talk to her. The loud rushing sound is in her ears, making it difficult to make out their words. She is lost to the memories of those pack members laughing at her for being a weakling or crying. They taunted her and cajoled her like she was some animal in a corner that they had caught and tormented until they got bored. She wanted to cover her ears and not listen to them anymore, except she could not move her arms to do it.

Her hands are in fists with her mate’s anger feeding her chaotic emotions. The pain they kept raining down on each other made it worse, which drew too many bad thoughts to her mind. They are just like them, she thought as her teeth clenched, wondering when it would go away. When will she be free of this pain caused by werewolves?

“Your Majesty, Cassandra!” Matt called loudly as he grabbed her arms and gave her a shake. “You must call them.”

“She is lost in their emotions,” Simon snapped at him with worry coating his face.

“Listen,” Matt called, giving her face a gentle caress to try to draw her to him. She turned slowly from the blood-smeared floor and her mates, who were looking haggard, to him. She is struggling to see past the images in her head and her reality to focus on him licking his lips to speak, again. “You need to get their attention. They will not hurt you.”

Cassandra’s head whipped back to them, feeling the pressure that had built from all the emotions inside her. A knot had formed in her throat that had made her silent and would not budge even as she swallowed hard. She wanted to tell Matt that she could not do it. Everything is just too intense for her to do anything more than be frozen in place like a statue watching her mates fight to end. She shook her head, letting the first few tears dribble down her face, feeling helpless to do anything.

“I told you,” Simon huffed and rolled his eyes at the beta. “She felt them to the point where it hurt her.”

“If we don’t get her to do something,” Matt argued, “then we won’t have kings or alphas!”

“STOP, STOP, STOP!”

The words ripped out of her, hurting her throat. It was hoarse, with the last one being a slight shriek that gained Gregory’s and Thomas’ attention. It left her breathless and empty from all the emotions swamping her. That word screamed three times seemed to have taken away the chaos spiraling out of control in her head. She would have felt relieved if it were not for the grief filling her soul. The way their eyes softened on her and looked shameful even made it worse. Her tears came down harder. She has not cried since she was sixteen, but they made her do it, which hurt her more.

“Stop, please,” she whispered with an ache in her voice and her eyes begging them not to fight. “You’re hurting me, because I know it is about me.”

“Cassandra,” Thomas breathed, taking a step towards her.

She held up her hand and shook her head, wanting space from them. She had told them to never fight over her, and they did it anyway. That makes this worse for her, feeling like she had caused a problem in the pack. She had given them a chance to show her their worth, and they did that. Even as she pushed herself up with Simon and Matt trying to help her to her feet, she hurt knowing that it was her fault. The kings was fighting over her.

She waved them off, feeling a wave of dizziness swamp her, making her sway where she stood.

“You both were fighting over me,” her voice came out in a whine that hit their hearts like a whip. They visibly flinched at the pain in her voice, and the way she looked so hurt and vulnerable at that moment. “I told you not to do it. I told you I do not want you two…” She shook her head, refusing to say more than she knew that she should. “We will reject, if you cannot settle your differences regarding me by the end of the night. I do not want to feel this way again.”

“Cassandra!” Thomas called softly with his voice bearing his pain, while Callus growled at her words.

“No!” she screamed, narrowing her eyes at them through the tears still flowing down her face. “I have a brother. And with all the bad that has happened to me… I still love my brother even though I know one day that pack is going to warp him against me. I had come to terms with that before I even moved back. You two are brothers. I am your mate. You are kings and alphas where people depend on you. You should not be fighting over me, causing a rift to occur in your kingdom and your people made to feel helpless as to whose loyalty they will give to which brother!

“For right now, I don’t want to talk to either one of you for a few hours. I just need some time alone.”

“Here, Luna Queen,” Maggie said as she rushed to her and handed her a bottle of water. “You need this.”

She drank it down while keeping her eyes on the black wolf and Thomas seeing the pain in their eyes. She did not know what she was going to say next, but she needed this moment to ease the pain in her throat and her heart. It is hurting too much with the thought of rejection and the fight over her. She could not stand the thought of losing them nor them fighting over her, except there must be a line that they cannot cross. They must learn to share her and for her to accept the Moon Goddess’ decision.

“Your Majesty,” Matt said gently, breaking the silence. “Their Majesties were fighting about you.” He received a growl from both men, but he forged on refusing to meet their menacing glares. “However, it is not what you think. It was over a decision regarding telling you something about your former pack.”

“I don’t care about that pack!” she shrieked, getting into his face. “I already had a conversation with Gregory yesterday about my thoughts on it. My mother,” she raised a finger, “and my brother,” she raised another finger. “That is all I care about regarding that pack. If I have queenly duties to do there, then I will put on that fake smile, congratulate those assholes, and then be on my merry way without an incident between us. But under no circumstances will I ever get involved with whatever is underneath the surface that is scratched up by an investigation.”

“Understood, Your Majesty,” Matt said, giving her a bow.

“As for you two,” Cassandra snapped at them, pointing her finger at the kings. “Get cleaned up and get to your respective places. Do not talk to one another until you cool down.”

“Come, Luna Queen,” Maggie called, sounding worried as she waved her away from the blood and the broken decor. “Let’s get a bath or a shower. We both stink from our run.”

“Yes,” she nodded at the wolfless woman. “I think that might be the best idea right now.”

Slowly, she walked away from the mess the two men had made in the foyer. She did not look back as she went to the stairs, but her soft sniffles could be heard echoing off the walls. The eyes of the omegas are on her feeling a deep appreciation for what she is willing to do for the pack. The deltas and gammas that had managed to make it to the fight to keep everyone safe regarded her with respect due a Luna. They could not help it when they saw the pain in her eyes and the hurt bearing down on her. They all knew that this was the right woman for these men, especially with their kings'longing looks trained on her, until she disappeared around the corner.

“We hurt our mate, again,” Gregory said sadly through the mind-link.

Thomas turned to Gregory, feeling his anger still beating in his heart, saying, “We need to give her something to make up for what we have done to her. But for now, I am going to do exactly as she said because I do not forgive you for your trespass, Brother. I’m pissed.” He turned to their beta standing there looking between them sadden and hurt, too. “Thank you, Matt, for giving us time to come to an agreement.”

“I did not do it for you!” he grounded out, turning his head quickly to show that he was angered by Gregory’s order. His eyes are outlined in red and hardened as he faces them. “For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of you two. The drunken brawls, the flashy women, the clothes strewn everywhere, the cordoned-off areas of the packhouse so you can f**k a woman, Thomas, and even the angry disgruntled alpha that takes his s**t out on everyone… I have never once been ashamed and brushed it off that you needed your mate, and now, she is here giving you a chance. I did it for that reason alone.

“I believe that she would be able to straighten you up from your idiocy and deviant behavior that leaves most betas bald from pulling out their hair. But this…” He clamped his mouth shut and tensed for a moment in his anger. He took a deep breath, struggling to keep calm, knowing that the pack needed someone of high rank with a level head. “She was sinking in your anger and the pain you inflicted onto each other. Simon and I both could not reach her to stop you two from hurting her so badly that… Well, all my hard work is in vain, now, isn’t it?”

“Matt, we will make this right,” Thomas vowed, taking a step towards him, looking worried about his beta.

“I just lied to the Luna,” Matt shouted angrily. “You two better make it worth it.”

“We will,” Thomas said as Gregory rushed up the stairs with a breeze of guilt nipping at his paws. “My brother knows that what he did was wrong. And I know that I let my temper get the best of me at that moment. Mating is not easy, to say the least.”

“Good luck,” he huffed, and walked away from his alpha ticked off and sadden.