The treasure of the Goddess

The final deadline

“There’s no going back…” that simple phrase echoed louder in John’s mind than the shouting between his father and the pack Elders.

After Bao had made that statement, she somehow got time to continue on as if nothing had happened. Alpha Mac and the Elders showed no signs that they were at all aware that they had been frozen in time and that John and Bao had the conversation that completely changed his world.

Bao. He looked over at her calmly sitting, taking in everything that was being said to her and about her by his angry father.John was having trouble standing there in the presence of the great Alpha Mac, in all his power. It was physically draining to have to endure the waves of anger that poured out of his father. Even the Elders were showing signs of exhaustion. Bao looked completely not effected by the powerful negative energy, which at first shocked John. But then, the longer he watched her unflinching in the wake, he was more shocked that his father was not able to recognize her strength.

John felt like his eyes had been opened to something that he was ashamed that he ever missed, the fact that being strong did not have to be purely be a physical characteristic. Bao was still tiny and fragile and yet, she met the Alphas gaze without flinching. Her calm face never cracked. The storm in her eyes were raging, the lightening shining brightly as the strikes were constant, but physically, she never changed. Was his father so blind as to not see how amazing his mate was?

Suddenly, John stepped in front of Bao, shielding her from his fathers angry energy. The force that John was suddenly subjected to almost knocked him off his feet. Was physical strength so important in a Luna that his father was willing to put up such a strong fight? John was conflicted in the depths of his heart. Everything he was raised to value, he was starting to not necessarily doubt, but he was starting to think that maybe focusing on physical strength and worth was a mistake. What other attributes of those deemed weak by the physical standards did his pack miss?

John’s thoughts were interrupted by Alpha Mac shaking his son and demanding “ reject her! Reject her now or know that you will no longer be deemed worthy of the Alpha title and I will pass it on to Patrick. Do it now, your time is running out!”

“Actually Alpha,” Elder Jameson spoke up, “by the law of the Goddess, even a wolf chooses a mate without the consent of its human, the human has until the next full moon to decide to accept or reject the mate that was chosen. We all saw Axel choose Bao and we all know Young Mac was not present. So, by law, Young Mac has the same deadline as those before him. I suggest he takes this time to seriously consider why the Goddess has allowed his wolf to step in and make this decision without him. Because whether he accepts her or reject, his choice will effect every member of the pack. He needs to try to figure out why this rare circumstances have been put upon him.”

John listened to the respected Elders comments but suddenly one thing he said jumped out in his mind, “wait! You said those before me? Who has had this happen before me? I’ve never known of a wolf taking over in funding a mate. Who else and why?” John exclaimed, looking up at his Elders.

Another Elder stepped forward, “ Young Mac, it has happened only once before that us Elders know of. It is not widely spoke of because this wolfs choice changed the course of our pack. He was able to correct the pack from going down the wrong path and his choice ended up saving our people from destruction. But he didn’t know until after he made his choice.”

“Who! Who was it?” John felt so much better knowing he wasn’t the first.

Elder Jameson put his hands on John’s shoulder, “John McNally. The first John McNally.”

John’s mouth dropped. John was the 3rd John McNally. He was named for his grandfather, John McNally but he was the 2nd. The first was actually his grandfathers grandfather. In John’s alpha training, he had to learn about his family legacy, each and every alpha that came before him. He felt connected to each one but John the first was somewhat of a mystery. Many of their laws and traditions came from John the first, but there was very little said about his youth, his mating, his are or his wolf. Now John could understand why. He always assumed that the records were lost but now he realized they were protected. And now, the hidden history seemed to be repeating itself and that worried John. But what worried him the most was he now knew he only had 2 weeks, 2 weeks until the next full moon to make a decision that could change the path of his pack forever.