Jaguar Moon ; Redemption

Betrayal/Getting Ready

Betrayal

The disgraced wolf bowed on his knees before the council, as they stood tall over him.

They were an imposing bunch, with the twelve of them wearing black robes with hoods that covered their faces to hide their identities.

Rumors of powerful sorcery abounded, as the Council of twelve took more control by the day.

“Walter Adams ,you are either very brave or very stupid to approach the council,” the leader stepped forward, only his black eyes visible under his hooded gaze.

“Maybe a little of both, your excellency,” the gray haired wolf admitted. His graying hair and wrinkles showed a man who had aged beyond his fifty six years of age, and his beady eyes told of a man willing to sell his soul to get what he wanted out of life.

“What is it you want from us?” A tall woman stepped forward, motioning for him to stand.

“Revenge,” Walter sneered.

“You dare come to us to seek revenge, old man?” One of them said.

“You are the only ones who can help me.”

“And who do you seek this revenge upon?” The leader asked, his black eyes boring a hole into the old man’s soul.

“The alpha of my pack, as well as his sister and the Wildwood pack.”

“Hmm” the leader rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “So they have betrayed you in some manner… Interesting. There is just one problem, Walter… We may be powerful, but we cannot go against the Highlander King, and his sorcerer wife. They are too powerful for us. Our only weapon has been banished from their site, too weak now to be of any assistance. In fact, we are planning to ..dispose of him soon.”

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“Stop fidgeting, Layla!” Lacey said, as she fussed with her short jet black hair, “Let me get you all prettied up!”

The Wildwood pack were going into the city tonight. Everyone who wanted had been invited to a fancy dance held by Aidan, the City Pack’s alpha. Not everyone decided to go of course, as Axel’s pack was at least a thousand strong, but all the dignitaries and anyone important had decided to attend.

This meant Axel and Layla, and Lacey and Alex of course. Jax, as Layla’s beta, would be going to, with his beautiful mate Kelly, as well as Miyo and Papa Bear. 

“Can’t wait to see Papa Bear in a tux,” Layla giggled as she thought of the big burly biker all dressed up with a combed beard, pulling at his tie.

“Yes, and Miyo too ,”Lacey added, “He’s so used to running around in his Black leather jacket and pants. He will have a scowl on his face. "

“There, all done,” Lacey stepped back with a grin on her face, “Oh, Layla, you look beautiful.”

She was dressed in a beautiful glittering golden gown that hugged her curves, then flared out as it hit the floor. Long slits ran up both sides, showing her toned legs. Lacey had paired it with a four inch pair of heels ,and matching golden necklace and earrings.

“Oh wow,” Layla blushed as she looked into the mirror, hardly recognizing herself.

“Go ahead, give it a twirl,”

Layla spun around, amazed as the gown went with her. When she stopped, it curled around her legs like smoke wafting around a fire. The top of the dress was sleeveless, with a cut all the way down to the front of her navel. Even with all of her tan skin showing, it still covered up her tiny breasts, which she was thankful for.

Lacey had opted for a silky red gown with a mermaid cut, perfectly sticking to her curvy figure.

Her long blonde hair hung in loose curls down her shoulders, and her lips were a bright red as well.

“We are going to kick ass tonight,” she smiled, as she put her arm around Layla.

“Yeah, as long as we don’t fall on our asses,” Layla added dryly.

“Oh, whatever, you are the kitten and the jaguar princess. You can jump from a hundred foot tree and land on your feet.”

“But I don’t do it in heels.”

The ride to the city was quiet, as Lacey and Layla sat in the back of the white Suv Axel had bought for Jax to chauffeur her around in. For some reason, the guys had opted to go ahead of them but this was fine with the two young women. They liked each other’s company, and this was a good time to giggle over their mates' idiosyncrasies.

Obviously, Axel was the more uptight between the alpha and the beta, with Alex being the mischievous one of the bunch. However, Alex was just as protective over Lacey as Axel was Layla, which drove them both crazy.

“Hey Jax, “ Layla called from the backseat, “Why aren’t you as jealous over Kelly as our two hotheaded assholes?”

Jax’s blue eyes lit up in amusement as he looked at his two charges in the rearview mirror.

“Several reasons. One, most of the time, my days are spent working with the two of you beautiful ladies. How can I be jealous of Kelly when I am around women all day?”

“Good point,” Lacey grinned, “And we are beautiful.”

Jax rolled his eyes. “The second, is that I trust Kelly, and she trusts me. She may not love that I work with women all the time, but she likes you two. I know your guys trust the two of you, but they are both younger than me and not as comfortable in their own skin. There is not as much pressure on Kelly as there is on the two of you, and she likes to stay in the background, therefore, I don't have to worry about her like your guys think they do you.”

“But, Lacey and I are more than capable of taking care of ourselves,” Layla added, “At least when we are not running around in these ridiculous dresses.”

“Maybe that’s what they’re so afraid of, that you don’t need them.”

“Whatever,” Layla scoffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her eye. ”I know I’m young, but geez, Axel seems to think all I want to do is run away when all I really want is to spend more time with him.”

“Then why don’t you tell him that?” 

“Because, he’s always so damn busy. Pack meeting here, work a t the law office there, people needing his advice all the time.”

“That’s why he needs his fela,” Jax said, “He needs you Layla, to be at his side. He needs a strong, independent woman like you to help run his pack. The other members of the pack need you as well. They look up to both you and Lacey, that’s one reason the guys go so crazy when they can’t find you! They need you to lean on.”

“If you say so.” Lacey smirked.

“Well...you asked.”