A Luna Scorned

Chapter 9

I got cleaned up and met Liam at the bottom of the stairs. He took my hand and led me to the dining hall. The smell of pancakes and bacon made my stomach rumble. The dining hall was packed. I had yet to be introduced to the pack or to even see how large the pack really was. I’m sure this wasn’t everyone, but it was already larger than my little home pack.

“If I could have everyone’s attention.” Liam cleared his throat as he walked us up to the Alpha table. Sitting in the Luna seat was Rachel. Sandie sat next to her, and Jensen next to Sandie. The Alpha chair was open, for Liam of course. But Riley was seated to the right of the Alpha chair. I caught a cringeworthy glare from Rachel as she noticed my hand in Liam’s. “I would like everyone to meet my mate, Kyrie Winters. She is the daughter of Tyrone Winters of the Whiteriver pack. I expect everyone to treat her with respect. Hopefully she will be joining the pack soon.” Hushed whispers could be heard throughout the dining hall. I could take a jab at what they were whispering about. Liam hadn’t been too clear on what I was going to be to the new pack. I could see a smile creep up on Rachel's face. She had obviously caught it as well.

“Are you hungry Kyrie?” He looked down at me, oblivious to what he had just said, or lack of what he had just said, rather.

“Um, yeah.”

“Great, why don’t you have a seat and I’ll grab us some grub.” He headed off towards the large buffet at the other end of the dining hall. I looked at the full table. There were only two seats open, the Alpha’s chair, and a chair at the end of the table by who I was assuming was the Gama, and his family.

“Make her move. She is in our seat.” Natalie growled.

“I can’t Nat. My every move is going to be watched, and my next move will determine what everyone will think of me. Don’t forget, Rachel has a lot of supporters here. We can’t make them mad.” I looked up at Rachel in the Luna seat. She was staring me down, obviously not willing to move from her seat.

“Rachel, that is Kyrie’s seat.” Rylie stood up and a hush fell over the dining hall again. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.

“See, she needs to move.”

“Nat, no. I have to make smart moves here, and making her move wouldn’t be smart.” Rachel glared at Riley, her cheeks starting to turn red. She began to gather her plate when I spoke up.

“No. Riley, thank you, but I think Rachel should stay. She’s already seated and it would be rude of me to make her move in the middle of her meal.” Riley looked at me with confusion, shrugged his shoulders and sat back down. Rachel looked confused as well. I guess she didn’t expect that response either. I walked to the end of the table and sat down. Rachel looked very satisfied. My place in the pack was going to be the mistress if this didn’t get taken care of, and soon.

“That was very kind of you Kyrie.” Liam set a large plate piled with pancakes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, eggs, ham and doughnuts down in front of me. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got you a bit of everything.

“Thank you. This is fine.” He nodded at me and took his place at the alpha chair. I grabbed my fork and began to pick at my breakfast.

“Good morning Kyrie.” The gentleman next to me broke the silence. “My name is Mark Hudson.”

“Nice to meet you.” I smiled.

“Yeah, um...we’ve already met.”

“I’m sorry, you must be mistaken. I haven’t met anyone here yet, aside from Liam, Riley and Rachel, of course.”

“We met four days ago. On the edge of the pack borders.”

“You’re the silver wolf.” I gulped. I knew he wouldn't have attacked had he known who I was, and it wasn’t his fault, but I still couldn’t help but be slightly fearful of this man.

“I am.” He nodded. “And, I’d like to apologize for what happened. Had I known..” He trailed off.

“I know, Mr. Hudson. I don’t blame you. I should never have been out alone. It’s not all your fault.”

“Well, I am so sorry for what happened.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. But, if it helps, I do forgive you.” A wave of relief crossed his face.

“Thank you, Luna.”

“Please, don’t call me Luna. I don’t have that title and I don’t think that I will ever be getting that title, from the look of it.” I gestured towards Liam and Rachel. She was hanging all over him, laughing and smiling. He had his hand on her leg and also seemed to be enjoying her company. I happened to catch them exchanging a quick kiss before I looked away. My stomach turned in knots. He had played me this morning. It was obvious Rachel wasn’t going to put out, so he came knocking on my door, and I gave it up so easily. Was the show on the balcony just for me too? That seemed like a complete act now, watching them flirt and laugh, having a good time, completely unaware that I was even here.

“This must be hard for you.”

“Yes, a little bit.” I answered Mark.

“I wish I had some advice for you, but I would be lying if I said I knew how to fix this. I have never been in this situation, nor seen this happen before. Unfortunately, this will have to be Liam’s decision, and his alone.”

“Well, not completely.” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“I have a choice as well. I refuse to be a mistress. I told Liam that when I found out about Rachel before I came here. I told him I didn’t want to walk in here and ruin everything that he and Rachel had. I didn’t want to come between them. I asked Liam to reject me, but he didn’t. So I tried to reject him, and that didn’t go over well. He assured me that he would have Rachel move out, and that he would break up with her. He told me he broke it off this morning, but from the looks of it, they’re still on. I do have a choice here, and I won’t come between what they have.”

“Well, that’s very mature of you. Just don’t do anything you will regret. By the way, I want you to meet my wife. This is Nadine.” He wrapped his arm around a very pretty redhead. Nadine smiled, her mouth full of food. “And these are my kids, Cole and Ari. Cole is actually around your age. He just turned twenty four this year.”

“Oh, I am twenty two.”

“Well, Ari is twenty, so maybe the three of you will get along.” He winked at Cole.

“Can I ask you a question, Mark?”

“Shoot.”

“You’re so much older than Liam. How did you become his Gamma?”

“Well, Liam’s dad, Ralph, and I grew up together. I was Ralph’s Beta. We were best friends growing up, Ralph and I. Riley is my son as well. When Ralph died and Liam took over, he made Riley his Beta. They are best friends and I wouldn’t have expected anything less. But he appointed me as his Gamma. I believe it was out of respect for Ralph. I also became a second father to him alfter Ralph passed."

“Oh. What happened to Ralph?” I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask, but I wanted to know.

"We had gone to another pack to help them fight. They were at war over territory with a different pack. Ralph was fighting a wolf on a cliff ledge. They both went over. It hit the pack hard. But Liam's mom took it the hardest. She died of a broken heart about a week later."

"Oh. That's so sad." The rest of the meal was finished in near silence. There was some small talk here and there, but everyone mainly focused on breakfast. I tried hard not to pay attention to Liam. But my heart hurt seeing him flirting with Rachel after what happened this morning.

"Kyrie dear, have you seen the area yet?" Nadine finally broke the silence.

"No Ma'am. I haven't had a chance to get out and explore yet. I'm dying to see everything though. This place is so much larger than my home."

"Well, Cole and Ari aren't doing anything today. Maybe you two could show her around?"

"Absolutely!" Ari said excitedly. "I've been dying to hit the mall!"

"Well, that's that then." Mark and Cole cleared our plates and sat back down. I finally caved and looked towards Liam and Rachel. She was now sitting on his lap as he finished his breakfast.

"I don't agree with what they're doing to you." Cole finally spoke.

"Well, it feels like it's more what I'm doing to them."

"What do you say we get out of here?" Cole suggested.

"I say that sounds good."

"Oh! Wait for me, let me grab my purse!" Ari hopped up and ran out of the dining hall.

"I should get mine as well if we're hitting a mall. I'm not big on shopping, but you never know when you'll see something you have to have." I earned a chuckle from Cole.

"I'll be in the car." He headed out of the pack house shaking his head.

Cole gave me the grand tour of the pack grounds. It was absolutely beautiful here. Everything was a beautiful evergreen color and the air smelled of fresh pine. It was so relaxing. The houses were so cute. Modest, yet elegant, but each with its own individuality. After touring the pack we drove about a half hour to the nearest town. It was a small little town. The kind of place where everyone knew each other, like something straight from a Hallmark movie. The mall was quite large though. It looked very out of place here.

"I'm dying for some new shoes." Ari clapped her hands in excitement.

"Don't you have enough? You don't even wear most of the ones you own." Cole teased her.

"It's true." She turned to me and flashed a bright white smile. "I have way more shoes than any girl needs. But you never know when you will need them and not have them."

"You're addicted".

"I am not!" Ari punched Cole playfully in the shoulder. "Okay, maybe I am. But there's worse things I could be addicted to".

I liked Cole and Ari. They seemed really close and both were so kind. Just my kind of people. It was nice to get away from Liam. From the thought of what he was doing with Rachel. It pained Natalie and I to think about how flirty and romantic he was being with her this morning, after what he said and did with me.

I had a really great day with Cole and Ari. I got to know them really well. Ari and I bonded over shopping. She taught me all about fashion and what was in style. I even bought a few nice outfits. She was determined to make me more desirable to Liam than Rachel. I thought my jeans and t-shirts were fine, but Ari thought I needed things that were more girly and sexy. Cole and I talked about his pack, and my pack. We talked over lunch about my life at my pack and ranching. I even convinced him to come visit and get on a horse. He wasn't crazy about the idea at first, but I can be persuasive when I want to be. We spent almost all day at the mall. Finally Cole decided it was best to get home. He thought Liam might be worried about me. I don't think he probably even noticed I was gone. We hopped in the car and headed back. The three of us making plans for tomorrow. Ari had talked about a lake close by that apparently was a must see. I was happy to have some friends here. Something to keep me occupied and keep my mind free of Liam and Rachel.