My Mother Mate is my Mate

ANAYA POV "Luna Anaya are you still with me?" I heard Elder magnus yelled from the other end of the room slamming his hand on the table right in front of him. I jerked up in shock, my now red eyes staring at him like I had seen a ghost. My whole body shook, with sweat running down my face, hand, and legs. "Uh..unh..." I said unconsciously, rubbing my sleepy eyes. "Oh yes, of course, I can, I think I can." I said at once without stopping to breathe. "Then can you tell me what I said last," Elder Magnus said, now glaring me, his eyes blazing in rage. "f**k," I cursed under my breath. I didn't know how I managed to sleep off under the scrutiny of seven elders right in front of me, glaring at me like they wanted to devour me. I wouldn't blame me, I got tired of them repeating the same old thing to me almost every day now. The pressure from them was becoming essessively much and annoying at the moment. "I said you have to find your mate in the next two month," Elder Magnus said, "We can't keep allowing you rule the pack without a mate, an Alpha, it's inevitable." I clenched my jaw my body vibrating from barely contained rage. I stared at him. There it was, the same old story. I had heard it so many times that I could practically recite it myself. Zuko leaned forward. “Elder Magnus is right.” Of course what did I expect? They always agreed with each other. “You are thirty-seven years old,” Zuko continued. “You have no mate, no Alpha beside you, and no heir. How much longer do you expect this pack to wait?” I curled my finger beneath the table. I hated that question, not because I didn't have an answer. Because they always asked it as though being unmated made me less of a leader. Kael spoke next. “You have ruled this pack alone for four years. We allowed it because we believed you would eventually find your mate.” His eyes hardened. “But four years is enough.” I slowly raised my eyes to him. “And what exactly do you want me to do?” “You know what we want.” “No.” I leaned back in my chair. “I don’t have to give it to every of your expectations.” A few of the elders exchanged glances. Kael's expression darkened. “The laws of the Shadow Clan have existed for centuries. The throne is meant to be ruled by a Luna and an Alpha together.” “And yet I've been ruling it alone for four years.” I said back. “And that is exactly the problem.” He fired back instantly. I narrowed my eyes. Before I could respond, Marian rose from his chair. He walked toward me slowly, his expression filled with something that looked suspiciously like pity. “You're making this more difficult than it needs to be.” I almost laughed. “Am I?” “Yes.” He stopped in front of the table. “The throne is incomplete without an Alpha.” He paused. “And frankly, Luna, a woman should not have to carry such a burden alone.” Silence, my hands went still. Marian continued anyways. “Perhaps this is the Moon Goddess's way of reminding you that you need a man beside you.” My blood boiled. For a moment, I said nothing. Then I slowly stood. The chair scraped loudly against the floor. “I have fought for this pack since before I ever sat on that throne.” My voice was dangerously low. “I have stood on battlefields while half of you hid behind your walls.” Marian's face stiffened. “I have bled for this pack.”. I stepped closer to him. “I have killed for this pack.” My gaze swept across the elders. “And I have won battles that most Alphas were too afraid to even enter.” No one spoke, good. They knew exactly what I was talking about. “The Zukalus Battle.” The room went completely silent.Even Marian's expression changed. The Zukalus Battle wasn't an ordinary challenge. It was a battle that requires you fighting ten strongest pack warrior with a strong Silver chains wrapped around the challenger's body. It was meant for the strongest of strongest Most Alphas refused to participate. Those who accepted rarely walked away alive. I had entered that battlefield alone, and I had walked out victorious. That victory had changed everything. It had made the Shadow Clan one of the most feared and respected packs in the territory. And I had done it without an Alpha. Without a mate, wiithout a man holding my hand. I looked directly at Marian. “So tell me again,” I said quietly. “How exactly am I too weak to rule?” His lips parted, but no words came out. I smiled bitterly. “That's what I thought.” Elder Magnus cleared his throat. “This isn't about your strength.” “Then what is it about?” I almost snapped now. “Your mate.” I rolled my eyes. “Of course.” “This isn't a joke, Anaya.” He fired back. “I know.” “You seem to have forgotten what is at stake.” I crossed my arms. “I haven't forgotten anything.” I sighed. “The longer you remain without a mate, the more vulnerable this pack becomes. Other packs are already watching us. They know our Luna has no Alpha beside her.” I scoffed, his eyes remained fixed on mine. “But even the strongest pack can fall when its leader refuses to follow its laws.” I hated the way he said refuses. As though I had chosen this, as though I had woken up one morning and decided I didn't want a mate. As if, if I had found my mate, I wouldn't have accepted him. But I hadn't. What exactly did they expect me to do? Walk into the forest and order the Moon Goddess to send me a man? “None of this changes the fact that I don't have a mate,” I said. “You can't force the Moon Goddess to give me one.” “No.” Magnus's expression changed. And something in my chest tightened. “No,” he repeated. “But we can force you to face the consequences of remaining without one.” I frowned. “What does that mean?” Nobody answered immediately. Then Richard, who had barely spoken throughout the entire meeting, slowly rose from his chair. That alone made me uneasy. Richard was usually the quietest of the seven elders. He looked at me. “Since you have ignored the law for four years…” He paused. My heartbeat quickened. “…the council has decided on your punishment.” I stared at him. My anger slowly disappeared. Something colder replaced it. “What punishment?” Richard's expression didn't change. “You still have maximum two months to find your mate, failure to do so you would be remove from this position. But before that, you have another problem to deal with.” He said coldly. I paused waiting for what he had to say. “A major battle is coming in one week, and the pack needs a strong leader. You have to go on a battle spree with Akon to prove your competence. If you cannot defeat him, how can we trust you to lead us into battle?” My eyes widened. “Akon?” Everyone in the room went silent. Akon was one of the most dangerous wolves in the territory. He was more like a machine than a wolf, trained to fight and kill without hesitation. He was a ruthless fighter who had never been defeated in a battle. Many Alphas avoided facing him because of how strong and brutal he was. He was known for killing his opponents without showing mercy, and no one who had fought him had ever forgotten the experience. “And tomorrow morning,” Richard continued, “you will fight him in front of the entire pack.” My hands tightened into fists. “You want me to fight Akon?” “Yes.” I stared at him in disbelief. They weren't just trying to punish me. They wanted the whole pack to watch me fight one of the most dangerous wolves alive. And if I lost, everyone would see their Luna fall. Without uttering another words, I stood up immediately walking out of the meeting in anger. As soon as I stepped out, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen. My heart skipped several beats. Of all people. “Can today get any better?” I groaned in frustration. I watched it ring for a few seconds before finally answering. “Hello?”