Lost and Found by her Alpha

Meet the Elders and Mac

Star POV

As I stepped out of the vehicle, I spun around taking in everyone and the decoration surrounding all the cabins, tealight adorning every single tree and home. It was beautiful. It was like a beautiful fairy-tale in the middle of the woods, as enchanting as your imagination could ever have imagined. People and wolves were moving around and placing benches and tables in every space they could find. Children ran around chasing each other. As I made my way through everyone, taking in all that the wolves had done.

“Is someone getting married or something?” I asked excitedly, that I might get to witness the ceremony.

“Not that I know of. Then again, I have been MIA for a long while now”, Zane said, but the smile that took up all my face from ear to ear was short-lived. Angela finally made an appearance barking orders.

“Ahh, there you are, come now, over there in that tent are the beauticians all set up and ready for you”.

“For me, what do you mean?” I was baffled. What the hell was going on?

“Mother?” Zane growled under his breath.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked as he spun in a circle.

“What do you mean? You said to bring the council together for the Luna ceremony. Now, get upstairs and get yourself ready.”

“MOTHER! I ask you to gather the elders to privately introduce Star to them, not throw her in the deep end of becoming a Luna”. This brought my eyebrows all the way on top of my head, possibly to the back of my head.

“What ceremony? I thought you said I was already your Luna or I am Luna, or something of the sort.” he growled again, as if that answered my questions. Angela took my hands.

“Sweethearts! Is my son your mate or not or is he delusional?”

“Yes he's delusional and my mate all wrapped up with a pretty bow, but what does that have to do with a ceremony?” She squeezed my hand and her smile got broader.

“I knew I liked you. You’ll make a fine Luna” she spoke like it was a done deal.

“Now, this ceremony is an introduction of yourself to the pack and vice versa. Also, you accepting your Luna position” stunt. I didn’t know what to say. Yes, I felt the tug or bond or whatever it was towards Zane, but did I really want to become his Luna? Especially to a bunch of people who looked at me and my children with disgust. No, I don't think so.

“I need to talk to you. NOW” I growl, squeak. Marching off leaving everyone standing there, I made my way to our so-called room to tear my new i***t mate a new hole.

“What the f**k was he thinking” I asked Serenity as I made my way to our room.

“Don’t mess this up for me Star, I want to be here and be the Luna, that's all I asked from you all these years. Give me that?” she said, surprising me as I got to the second floor.

“ What? Are you up for this, madness, we only just met him”. I noticed a few of his pack members staring at me, like I was crazy.

“What are you saying?” I asked her, puzzled and a little frightened by her strong stand on the situation.

“I’m saying we’re staying and he will be my mate. I have done the human thing long enough now. I’m not going back to that and it's unfair to the kids to continue. I mean, come on, you lived with a Tasmanian devil for nearly three years surrounded by so many different shifters and, supernatural, and you did everything not to learn anything about being a shifter and or about me and I'm apart of you. This is our chance to fully accept what you are, what I am. I won’t give him up even if you want to."

“what the hell does that mean?” she didn’t answer, just moved back to the far recess of my mind.

“Serenity… Serenity … Serenity, get back here now and talk to me” I yelled out loud into the now empty corridor. Taking a deep breath, I smelled him before he reached me. f*****g furr ball. I spun on my heels and raised my hands in a talk to that hand gesture and went back downstairs to Angela. Spotting her hurdling the kids towards one of the tents, I caught up with her. Sighing, I say

“Let's do this!” Before I knew what was happening, she was dragging me toward the tent and I was set down in a chair to be beautified. s**t! I sat in deep thought. I had already told Zane that I would try and being his mate came with extra protection and when we got to the sperm donor, that's two packs plus Mac looking out for use. For their sake, I can do this.

I just smiled and nodded my head. She was right, she has never let me down this far and I can make this decision for them. Besides, he’s not too bad to look at. The woman in my hair looked put out when it came to doing my hair and confused where to start. I took the scissor and cut the ends of all my braids and placed the scissors on the table and started to untwist my braids. The hairstylist picked up the scissor to continue to cut my hair. I snatched her hands so fast and twisted. I swear I heard it squeak and everyone grasp. OK, maybe it was the sound of the scissors hitting the floor. I just shook my head at her.

“So.. Sorry Luna” she mumbles.

“No, I'm sorry, I should have snapped like that. Just don’t go near me with scissors and we will be fine.” I tell her and she nods her head vigorously. Nina picked up the scissors. I didn't even see her when she came into the tent. She shook her head and showed the girl how to untangle my braid and there was a lot of hair once they got done.

“You have beautiful hair, Luna,” the young woman complimented.

“I know, but try combining it and it won’t be so beautiful then” I told her and smiled.

“Yeah , Star wash day is serious, it's an all-day process” Nina tells her.

“Don’t worry about my hair love, I got it. Go sort yourself out.”

“Oh no Luna, I must get you ready for this evening,” she tells me. I sigh.

“It's OK, I tell you what, you can fix Nina’s hair, my hair is easy to fix, look. I just shake it one time and BAM all done,” she grimaced and I giggled.

“Don’t you worry I got this,”

“Wait Nina, where's your sister?” I asked, panicking. I spun looking for Princess and Asher.

“Oh she’s in the next tent getting dressed up like a princess, Ashers with her, with their bodyguards.

“Oh. Ni, why aren’t you in there getting yourself done up too? Did someone say something to you?” I asked with danger in my tone.

“No, not what they said. It doesn’t matter, this is about you, today.” I squeezed her hands, and smiled. Don’t worry, I'm sure it will be fine soon. If not, we can always go on a killing spree,” that got everyone's attention in our tent. Good that will get the gossiping grapevines going. How the new Luna's nuts.

“I’m not so sure, stop threatening to murder people” I just smiled sweetly, “anything you say dear”.

I sat with her whilst contemplating my next move and the benefits of having a mate. Serenity still hasn’t come out of her hidyhole. Sigh. Listening to the bitchy wolves in the corner, chitchat about me and mine was making the headache that started an hour ago grow at an exceptional pace. It was taking everything in me not to turn and start knocking teeth out. I was more than happy when Nina was finished. I grabbed hold of her and tugged her out of the marque and headed for the children in the other marque. I found my girl in a beautiful pink dress and curls to die for. My princess looks like an actual princess. She turns to see me and I have nothing but tears in my eyes at the pure innocence and beauty she exudes and Asher lying at her feet watching over her like a good brother. The scene just melts my heart. I walked over to them and knelt down to their level and hugged them.

“Why are you crying?” asked Princess.

“These are happy tears sweetheart, mommy is happy because you look so beautiful”. She hugged me back.

“It's OK, mommy look, I got a crown for Asher two. Because he is the prince”, I ruffle his fur and he yelps playfully and jumps into Nina's arms and she snuggles him.

“Let's go. It's time for mommy to get ready for this shindig”. I manoeuvre the kids all to my room to get dressed. I haven’t seen Zane since I passed him in the corridor. To be honest, I wasn't in the mood to see him at all. Showering, washing my hair with some shampoo that I found in the shower. It smelt all summery and fruity. I had to do three washes because, boy this head was nasty. Once I finish, I blow it dry. My lion's untamed mane had corkscrew curls and fuller for once in its life. I had to have Nina pluck my eyes because I didn’t trust any of those bitches not to f**k my s**t up. Just adding lip gloss to my lips and I felt ready. I wore a brand new white floral corset mid thigh frill dress. The dress sat on my figure perfectly and the material kissed my skin like rain drops softly caressing rose petals first thing in the morning. I stood in front of the huge antique silver framed mirror. I saw, I felt beautiful for once in a long while. I heard the door open and I spun to see Zane walking through and stopped in his tracks. His gaze ran over me with what I could only describe as well. I don't know, no one has ever looked at me like that, and for the first time I see what Serenity speaks of. He was speechless, it was more than a minute, I think, and he still hadn’t said a word. I smile and he clears his throat. Uhm you look beautiful, he finally, says and steps closer to me, taking in every inch of me, so I gave a little spin on the spot.

“You think so?”

“Little mate, you are the most beautiful, sexist woman I have ever met.” I smiled sheepishly. The kids all watch us and even Serenity comes out of her dark hole to get a glimpse of what's taken place. I stepped to the side of him and turned to the kids who all had smiles on their faces. Nina's grin was too broad for my liking. She winked at me and I smiled. Let’s go before Angela comes looking for us. I straightened the princess dress and brushed the invisible lint off Nina's clothes. She looked amazing in her punk rock tutu midi beige coloured skirt and white top with leather jacket and ankle boots.

“You look gorgeous girl. I don’t tell you that enough.”

“So do you, momma”, I kissed her cheek and lifted Asher, "Let's leave Zane to get ready." But before we all exited the room, he tells me to hold up.

Zane POV

Coming back to the pack today was nothing short of a disaster. After all, it took for Star to start trusting and thinking of this place as her own. My own mother f***s it up in one big swoop. f**k, f**k, f**k, s**t f**k. I swear if she wasn’t my mother I would banish her, then hunt her down and dammit. All I wanted to do was introduce the elder to Star. That's it, I was going to mention the Luna ceremony after we came back from her father's pack. Fuckity s**t. But all that went out the window when I walked in and saw her standing in front of the mirror. I literally was speechless for the first time, her hair was completely different, curls beyond her shoulder all fluffy surrounding her face like a cloud.

I couldn’t move, think, breathe, s**t I forgot how to breathe.

Say something stupid.

“You look beautiful.” I could feel Xander rolling his eyes at my reaction.

“Real Smooth,'' he tells me. I have never felt like this before, never has any woman made me feel actual butterflies.

“Yeah, next you’ll be getting your period”, Xander teases.

“Oh, shut up, when Serenity comes out let's see how you react”, I admonish my wolf and he just chuffs at me.

“Admit it, she is perfect”, I told him.

“Of course she is, now kiss her, bite her, make her ours” he tells me and I roll my eyes at his stupidity.

“Not yet,” she sidestepped me as I was about to reach for her and led the children through the door. I stopped her half way through.

“Star, can you guys wait for me next door? It's customary for all of us to go out all at once to be announced and presented. I’ll be quick" I tell her quickly, trying to get all my words out in a rush, not sure why.

“Oh, okay sure, we’ll just be in the twin's room, don’t be too long.”

“I promise.” I watched as she closed the door behind her. I rushed to that shower room and took the quickest shower possible. I put on my two-piece suit and rolled the sleeves up. No tie mother can suck it.

I went across to the kids' room and knocked on the door before opening it to enter.

“Ready?”

“Yup” she replies. I mind linking mother to let her know that we were all ready and waiting for her signal.

“You look pretty,” I tell Nina, bringing a bright smile and a pink tint to her cheeks.

“Thanks,” she whispers. Turning to Star

“So this thing is all about me and you, but since me and you include these three, I want them on stage with us when we’re presented also.

“A what? There's a stage, I have to be on a stage? No one told me about a franking stage” giggling, because I notice she changes up swear words when she's around the kids.

“Not to worry, you’ll be fine.”

“It's time they were here” I heard my mother say. Letting her know that we were on our way down. I tried to calm Star's nerves by picking up Asher, who had a crown on his head to match Princess and Nina’s tiara. Placing my arms around Nina's shoulder, I led them all through the door and out the building onto the back of the stage that mother had made up for all her events. Letting her know we're here. Inhale deeply, taking in my mate's scent. I mind-link every member of the pack, letting Zander come to the forefront. I stepped through the curtains onto the stage, encouraging our mate to move forward with us.

“Greenwood pack I give you, your Luna, and our children.” Xander told them all and they all tilted their necks in submission. I kept Nina close under my arms and kissed her on the forehead. While Star held Princess. Once Xander retreated, they all whooped, howled and cheered. Once everyone was settled down, I let my mother take the children and the four old elderly came over to us.

“Young lady, my name is Elder Clerance, this is elder Elliott, elder Dean and elder Felix”. They shook hands and introduced themselves. She smiled and politely shook their hands. There was one elder, missing Claire. Not sure where she is at, but I don’t care for tonight, tonight is for Star.

“I have heard a lot about you, Star, taken on a human”. The elder Felix said, making me stiffen at his words.

"You heard correctly?”

“Why?”

“Why not?” that it. That is all she said.

“You're a wolf with a human daughter, which is pretty strange to. Well, everyone, I just wonder why?”

“Okay! she said and gave him a toothy grin. He was not amused at all. That made Xander roll with laughter. I think he just fell a little bit deeper in love with his mate, for completely ignoring the elder question so nonchalantly.

“Shall we continue with the ceremony? I ask to break up what I see will be a battle of the witts. I love that she can get under their skin without even trying.

He took the ceremonial blade and nicked my palm and blood welded up in my hand. It was Star's turn but she just looked at him and he to me.

Your hand my dear”

“For what?” He looked at me and then to her. It was a game of who could look at who first it seems.

“It's a part of the ritual, we have to spill blood onto the land which binds us to the land that has the Luna and Alpha.” I explained.

“Oh thank god for a minute I thought you were going to tell me I have to drink your blood like some Vampire”. Chuckling, she tried to take the knife from the elder but he refused.

“Look, I don't care who you are, but I don’t trust you with a knife near...” Quickly taking the knife, I took her hand and sliced her hand and she growled at me, but I just smiled.

Elliott took the binding cloth and placed it over our hands, wrapping it as our blood spilled onto the ground.

“Repeat after me” he said.

“Blood to land, I give myself now until I return what was given freely” we repeated in unison. Something I had never heard of happened, the ground answered. Wind blew, the earth shook and thunder could be heard.

“Welcome home my children” I swear I heard on the breeze.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, as all the elders looked at us in shock and what smelled like fear.

“That's what the feck. I would like to know myself?” we heard from a stranger in the crowd. I looked out at the stranger on my territory. Nina squeals and runs off in his direction.

“Uncle Mac, all the kids ran after her and he hugged them all, planting tender kisses on their foreheads and giving them hugs. I looked at Star who was now beaming, as she left the stage to run to this stranger.

"Who the f**k is that? " Jackson asked.

"That's what I want to know myself." As our mate reached him, the bastard gave her a bear hug and kissed her cheek. I couldn't help myself. I let out a roar to revere all the roars. Well, Xander couldn't help himself. I was a pool of jealousy and fear. Everyone then turns to face me. Star turned around and frowned at me and the stranger put the kids behind him like he was protecting them from me.

"Who the f**k are you?" I didn't really care.