The Moon's Choice

The Invitation

He keeps true to his promise. He truly doesn't touch me. Our relationship improved after his promise after our relations stopped. We share the same bed, but he doesn't invade my space like he normally did and I can sleep well during the night. The nightmares have stopped, too. I have breakfast downstairs with the pack every day, but we share lunch in his office. We don't talk about much except the pack. He insists on not telling me where he gets the money for all the expenses.

"Do they rob houses?"

"No."

"Banks?"

"No."

"Supermarkets?"

"Quit it. I'm not going to tell you."

"Don't you trust me? Do you think I'll hand you over to the police?"

"This has nothing to do with trust. Some things should simply be kept a secret."

I lean back in my chair. "It's that bad, huh?"

He doesn't respond and kicks me out of his office. I'll drop the subject for now, but I still want to know. But it's a touchy subject for him, so maybe he has a pact with the devil.

I run the house errands a little better now he's started explaining some things to me. He also handed me a book with recipes and dishes, so I keep them in mind when Donovan asks me what he's supposed to cook for the day.

My attitude towards all this has changed drastically. I'm kinder, not what I used to be, but I'm treating everyone better. I'm the one who has to interact with them, so it's better if we keep it friendly. Being unfriendly and unsympathetic harbors resentments, and if there's one thing I've learned from this werewolf world, it's that resentment causes disagreements, and disagreements lead to wars and revolts. That's not what I want, or any of us for that matter.

The female who did my hair normally helps me keep myself presentable during the day. She does my hair in the morning and touches up my makeup after meals. I've learned to embrace her talkative nature and I've learned much from her regarding style and my sense of fashion is much better. Even Kyle notices and compliments me occasionally.

We have lunch together, and he tells me he's planning on joining the pack for meals. The news pleases me. I take his hand in mine. "The pack will thank you for it."

And they do when he finally takes us a seat at the head of the table. They're more excited and content and he looks better, too. He looks at them, then at me. He grabs my hand and I don't pull away.

Once we're in bed, he turns to me. "I don't get a reward for good behavior?"

"Your pack should be your reward. Didn't you see how excited they were to see you? You did them a favor, not me."

"What happened to leniency?"

I look at him and sigh in an exasperated way. I lean towards him and kiss him lightly on the cheek.

He hasn't tried to initiate anything, and I haven't either. I think we should keep this up for a while. He doesn't invite any other female to his bed, so I guess we're making progress. I keep my thoughts of Kilian to a minimum, and I usually walk into the woods, just to distance myself from Kyle when I think about him.

"You go into the woods to think about Kilian, don't you?"

"I go to think in general."

He shakes his head.

I stop by Claire's daily for her tea. She prepares it for me and I take slow sips. Sometimes, I pour my heart out. I tell her that I miss Kilian terribly, but I know that it hurts Kyle. And hurting him isn't a priority for me anymore. I'm trying to ameliorate our relationship, not pick it apart with my own hands. This takes effort from both sides. He's trying by not touching me, and I should try by keeping his brother in the back of my mind.

Claire walks towards me and takes my hand in hers. I drain the tea and hand her the empty cup. I thank her and leave. Kyle will be wondering where I am and I don't want him to know I spend time with Claire. He'll overreact like he usually does and accuses me of thinking about him and discussing him with Claire. I don't want to deal with irrational Kyle. I still have irrational Ryn to suppress and work on.

I go to my–our—bedroom for some time alone. I left Kyle in the training grounds. He's been there all morning, taking his frustrations out on his Beta. I would say it's a fair fight, but Kyle is the strongest of the two. When I left, they were completely naked. They have a method of shifting between combat and alternating between wolf form and the human form. They shift so fast it gives me whiplash.

I sit on the bed and close my eyes. I need this time alone on most days. Everything gets so overwhelming and dealing with Kyle is exhausting. He's like a child. He needs constant reassurance and I need to push him most days. It's a strain, but I'm not complaining. I just need time for myself. Our relationship is much improved and I couldn't ask for better. I don't know how long we'll stay this way, but he needs to be patient with me. I'm still not over his brother and he needs to understand that. It isn't as simple as he thought it would be. Bonding with him prevents me from physically needing him, and emotionally, but I can't erase our memories. Now that I have learned to fight against it, it's becoming easier to think of Kilian, and I'm getting better at disguising it.

I stand by the window. I can see the training grounds in this bedroom. Kyle isn't among them anymore. He must be in his office. I watch them train for a little bit. Even females are excellent warriors. Should I take some self-defense classes? I think every Luna should. A catastrophe could hit us at any moment, and everyone needs to be ready. Especially the Luna.

I see a person I have not yet seen emerging from the woods and handing Lee a white envelope. They exchange some words and then the man leaves. Lee hands it to someone who then runs into the house. What's happening? Who was that person, and what's in that envelope?

I leave my room to find out.

Kyle summons me to his office the second I get downstairs. I get the message from a young girl, one of the cook's daughters. I walk to his office with my heart in my throat. Did something happen? Who was that man who delivered the envelope? Is it trouble?

I get inside and he's pacing back and forth. When he sees me, he jumps. "Close the door."

I do what he tells me to do.

"What is it? I saw someone talking to Lee."

"He's a messenger." He opens one of his drawers and hands me the envelope. "We've received an invitation from the BloodPaw pack."

"BloodPaw?" I've heard this name before, but where? I open the envelope and hold the card in my hand. It's formal and written, not typed. There's a signature underneath it.

"They're the most powerful pack in the South. The Alpha, Romain of BloodPaw, sent the invitation himself."

I press my hands together. I don't know what he wants me to say. I put the invitation back in the envelope. "What a privilege."

"Yes," he nods. "A privilege, indeed."

"What's the invitation?" I didn't bother reading it. I'm only relieved there won't be trouble. I was imagining the worst.

"He wants to discuss what to do about the rogues from that Nameless Pack who are wandering the woods. No doubt they're causing trouble. They're hungry and running wild without a leader." He runs his hand through his hair. "We should accept this, shouldn't we?"

"Of course. If Alpha Romain invited you, it means he believes you are fit enough to decide this matter. How many Alphas will be there?"

He looks pleased with my words. "I don't know. The invitation doesn't say." He moves towards me and grabs me by the hips. I know he's excited, so I don't protest. Besides, this can be considered harmless. "You'll come with me? The invitation extends to you. But if you don't want to go, I'll make an excuse. I don't want to force you into anything."

I nod. "If you want me to join you, I will."

He kisses me on the cheek and lifts the hem of my dress. He bunches it around my waist and presses me against the table. "What would I do without you?"

"You'd go. Maybe you'd take another female with you." I say to him and shove my dress back down. He presses his erection to my thigh.

"Is that so?"

I nod.

"Do you think they matter more to me than you do?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Get off of me."

He obeys me and steps back, but he keeps his hands on me and starts explaining how they went about inviting him. There's a whole process. The Alphas hosting the event have to sit and decide on the guest list. Normally, to end up on the guest list of a large and powerful pack, your pack needs to be prestigious, which explains why Kyle won't stop jumping around. And talking.

I don't know what to make of his invitation to this other pack. I don't understand the werewolf culture well. I have other things I'm concerned about. How am I supposed to act in front of other Alphas and Lunas? What are the roles of Lunas, in any case, during such an event? Do they give their opinions, or remain in their husband's shadow? Will they be young or old? There's so much I still don't know.

Kyle sends someone to my room to help me pack a bag. I think it's a bit too early for that, but he insists that it isn't. "Take everything you'll need. These events usually take up to three days. Pack enough clothes and anything else you can think of."

"So we'll have to stay the night?"

"Three, possibly. Maybe more."

I gulp. I don't think I'm ready for this, but I don't show it. Packing takes longer than I expected, and many bags. I packed everything I could think of. I rarely went on trips, and the ones Ryan took me to were short and mostly on the beach, or at a hiking trail, simple things that didn't require much. But this is a formal event. I need to be dressed in my best. I'm representing SilverMoon, after all. This invitation is important to him and I don't want to mess this up. It also took longer because I had to pack for Kyle as well. He wants to take his best suits and choosing between them took an eternity and a half.

I'm done packing and I sit and chew my nails. Then I stop. I need to look presentable. Bitten down nails are in no way attractive. I can sense Kyle's excitement. Every time I go to his office to ask him a question, he's pacing around. I can tell this has never happened before, and he probably doesn't know what to think about this, either. It's a big deal for him.

Even the packmates are all excited. They are a reflection of their Alpha. He broods they brood. He's happy, they're happy. They're happily assisting me with anything I need and boxing up presents. I didn't know we had to take presents, but it's a formality. I wonder what's inside the boxes, but I don't have the time to ask. I go to Claire and ask her to prepare me some tea and I tell her we'll be leaving on a trip. She grows sad and kicks me out of her room as soon as I drink all the tea. I stare at her door, shocked. What's with her today? She isn't normally like this.

I return to the bedroom. Kyle is there. We're going down for dinner. He sees my face and asks me what the matter is.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

"It's Claire, she's being weird again."

"She's always been this way. She's kind one minute and upset the next. When I was younger, they said the spirits possessing her caused these mood swings."

I recoil. "Do you believe that?"

"Claire is an enigma. Who knows? Maybe it's true? She was known to be a fortune-teller before Xathan cut her tongue. People used to travel long distances to see her."

"I didn't know that. In the camp, people called her a witch."

He shrugs. "That, too."

"Has she ever predicted anything that came true?"

"She told my father Xathan was a traitor and would kill them all, even before he appeared. But when the time came, he didn't listen to her." He explains. "That's all I know. When I was growing up, she couldn't speak, and ceased her fortune-telling business."

I sigh. "That must have been so hard on her." I believe Claire does have some supernatural abilities, well, apart from being a werewolf. She's an excellent leader, and how many times has she saved me from me?

Kyle fixes his tie. "Let's go, Ryn. They're waiting for us."

We descend the stairs hand in hand like we're expected to.