QUEEN OF ROGUES BECOMES THE PROPHESIED LUNA

EXTREME PROVOCATION

LEXIE'S POV

The moment everyone has been waiting for finally comes.

I walk down the corridor and onto the stage. Something bursts, temporarily shocking me, but filling the doorway with blue smoke and falling confetti.

Everyone in the hall is on their feet, and I know they're ready to welcome me.

Paul is standing at the center of the stage, his eyes fixed on the doorway as I come in.

The moment he sees me, his face lights up with a smile. Then he starts walking toward me, his arms already outstretched, ready to pull me into a hug. The distance between us is barely two meters, but it feels like a kilometer.

I pray that nothing happens to spoil this moment. I pray so because I know only too well that with Nate around, something is bound to happen.

But if it happens after Paul has introduced me, then I will be safe.

For a moment, my eyes stray into the crowd.

Everyone is clapping. My parents. All the Alphas. Rowan.

I know they are happy for me. They know how much I deserve this moment.

The distance between Paul and me shortens.

Then he stops.

He waits for me to walk into his arms, but I deliberately slow my steps.

I want Nate to feel the pain of watching me walk into the arms of his enemy.

I smile.

But there is nothing innocent about that smile.

Part of me wants this moment to end quickly before Nate finds a way to ruin it yet another part of me wants him to suffer.

I want him to see that I survived his rejection.

I want him to know that I moved on.

The hall explodes with applause. Some people shout my name. Others call me Luna.

Paul can't wait any longer.

He closes the remaining distance between us and pulls me into his arms.

His embrace is so tight that for a moment, I feel as though I might suffocate.

But I don't care.

I love it.

I wrap my arms around him and hold him just as tightly.

For that moment, nothing else matters, not Nate, nor the past.

Not even the rejection.

Just Paul and me.

And for the first time in a long time, I feel exactly where I belong. In the hands of my mate.

The applause gets deafening at that moment. My head is resting on Paul's chest, and I can feel his heart beating. This is finally where I belong.

Thoughts start running through my mind. Maybe, the rejection was the plan of our Goddess. Maybe she knew that I didn't deserve Nate, so she made him reject me.

Maybe my sojourn into the forest was a way of our Goddess trying to make me strong and learn something before letting me finally find my mate. Maybe that attack by Stormridge was also planned, so that I could meet with Paul.

Then I remember the dreams. How do they fit in all this?

Then something makes me remember elder Garrick's advice. And at that very moment I raise my head from Paul's chest and look at the crowd. At first I can't believe it. How did Garrick get here just when I thought about him?

Unbelievable. We left him at Dark Forest.

I close my eyes and look again.

He is gone. Or was that really him I saw?

Paul relaxes his hands, and so do I. We look at each other for a moment before he takes my hand and leads me to a seat at the high table where other Alphas are seated. Then he goes back to the stage and addresses the crowd.

“Invited guests and fellow pack members. I can't hide my joy today. As you can see, I have finally found my mate.”

Applause.

“It has been a long wait but I can now say that the waiting is over. Her name is Lexie Hale and she comes from the Dark Forest pack.”

Silence, then followed by some murmurs.

“Our pack and Dark Forest pack have not really been in good terms so I understand your murmurs, but that is now bound to change.”

At that juncture I remember that I had seen Garrick earlier. I wonder what brought him here, yet he is the one we entrusted the pack with while Rowan and I were away. I look around to see if I can see Rowan but I can't find him too. Paul is still speaking.

“So, we will soon invite you to another party. I'll let you know what it will be about but right now, continue having a good time. Stormridge is very happy to see you all.....”

Then I see Nate. He rises from a seat in the middle of the crowd and starts walking towards the high table. Paul has finished speaking and he is also coming this way. I can tell that we are only a few seconds to disaster.

Nate arrives first.

“So, you are the queen of rogues huh? What a shame, when a Luna position is waiting for you at my pack.” He says as he pulls a chair, ready to sit next to me.

“That is Alpha Paul's chair young man. Exercise some manners.” Nathan scolds him.

I look towards Paul's direction, but he is being briefed by Alfred. I was hoping he could hurry up and remove Nate from our table.

“Wow! Just wow Alpha Nathan. I wouldn't be here if I were you. I would be back in my ragtag pack, trying to salvage what is left.”

Nathan gets up, and Nate gets closer. The two men look at each other in the eye for a moment, then Nate chuckles.

“Think about that old buddy. Right now, let me settle some business with lexie.”

Nate doesn't sit. Instead he gets closer to me. Nathan sits down, deep in thought.

“An old man told me something and I have been thinking about it. That I was so foolish in letting you go. And when I asked him who he was he said he was the prophet of the Moon Goddess.” Nate speaks in a low tone.

The moment he mentions a prophet and the Moon Goddess, I freeze. Those dreams.

“He told me that your scar was the seal of our mother and you were destined for greatness together with your mate. Then I remembered that I was that mate.”

“No you are no longer her mate Nate. And am just curious, how did you come in here?”

“There you are Paul. Trying to snatch my girl from me. Ask her, she'll tell you that she was my mate....”

“Until you foolishly and painfully rejected her.”

The exchange attracts the attention of all the other guests, and I can see my parents craning their necks, trying to listen in. Alpha Nathan however, looks stressed.

“That can be rectified.”

“I don't think so. She is already my mate and you just witnessed the introduction, of course after crashing into my party uninvited.”

“Blame the laxity in your pack for that Paul. As for Lexie, don't call her your mate. You haven't mated yet, or even marked her.” This triggers a lot of anger in Paul and he gets closer to Nate.

Alfred and Rowan emerge from the crowd and stand closely behind Paul. Two more guards join them.

Paul grabs Nate's shirt and roughs him up a bit. The two men stare at each other, and it's quite evident that none likes the other.

“Not here Paul. I don't want to spoil your party. Let me go. I will leave at once.” Nate says.

Paul instructs Alfred to make sure that Nate is gone from the packs territory in minutes.

“No need Paul.” Nate adjusts his disheveled shirt. “I know my way out of here. But I assure you that you will pay heavily for humiliating me, and stealing my mate.”

“Nathan,” He shouts from the door before leaving, “remember what I have told you.”