The Rising Moon Pack

Chapter 33

Jake POV

I was angry at Thorn’s treatment of Maria, I knew he was making a mistake by assuming she was a danger. I knew she was good, her heart was pure. She was a healer, I knew that.

I watched in amusement as she effortlessly took down the Alpha, and did so with a sweet smile. I loved that she didn’t have to resort to cruelty to make her point. She would definitely kill him with kindness, and I could see by the frustration rolling off of him in waves that she was winning. The angrier he became, Maria counteracted it with the kind of lighthearted firmness that caused his argument to dissolve.

“What’s the matter? Are you afraid I could kick your ass in a fight? You do realise that I’m not actually as strong physically as a big, bad, Alpha, right?” She teased him. “Don’t be afraid, your masculinity is still intact, I swear.”

I snorted with laughter at the flush of embarrassment that had graced Alpha Thorn’s face. Maria had hit the nail on the head; he was afraid she was more powerful than him. He was jealous, cos she was a girl. His head whipped round and he glared at me, as I continued to quietly chuckle to myself.

“I don’t trust you.” He finally spat at her, and I was about to stand to my feet when Alpha Ben beat me to it.

“That’s all we needed to hear.” He said. “I, Alpha Benjamin James Johnson of Rising Moon pack, break alliance with Alpha Thorn Thomas of the Black Mountains pack. I do this because he has continued to disrespect my daughter, Maria Jade Johnson, the Future Luna of Sapphire Moon pack.”

There was a brief silence as I stood to my feet.

“I, Alpha Jacob Asher Blue of Sapphire Moon pack, break alliance with Alpha Thorn Thomas of Black Mountains pack. I do this because not only has he disrespected my future Luna, Maria Jade Johnson of the Rising Moon Pack, but because he has continually disrespected my future father in law’s kindness and hospitality.” I looked Thorn in the eye, my alpha aura strong.

Jase stood to his feet.

“Before Alpha Thorn is escorted from the building, does anyone else here take issue with my sister?!” He bellowed.

The room stayed silent, Alphas shaking their heads vigorously.

“Before you leave, Alpha Thorn. Does anyone here want to keep their alliance with Black Mountains pack?” Alpha Ben asked.

Three, maybe four hands went up, but the rest stayed very firmly down. Those who were up, were up because Black Mountain was either their neighbouring pack, or much larger and stronger than they were.

“Alright, gentlemen. Those wishing to sever ties with Black Mountains, line up by the door. Thorn will be escorted out and one by one you can say what you need to say. Those of you remaining in alliance, there are no hard feelings. We understand your motives for doing so.” Ben continued.

Maria sat down in Alpha Thorn’s chair in front of the table, victory written clearly on her face. My baby had taken on her first Alpha, and won. I signalled to Noah to get up,and I picked up the plate of pancake we had been hiding from Maria. We made our way over to her, joy evident on her face at the sight of her plate.We watched in amusement as Alpha Thorn had to accept the rejections of almost every pack in attendance, shaking our heads. I guess this would teach everyone a valuable lesson, including him.

Never disrespect the daughter of an Alpha.

***

“I’m proud of you,Squeak!” Noah told her happily.

“Why’s that?” She asked, shovelling a pancake into her mouth. She moaned as the taste hit her tongue, and her eyes rolled back. God, I wished I could be the one making her moan like that.

“That guy was a dick.” Noah declared, interrupting my dirty thoughts. “And you just took him out effortlessly. You didn’t even cuss!”

“I did kinda imply he was afraid of girls, though.” She chuckled to herself.

“He f*****g was.” I grinned broadly. “Didn’t you see him s**t himself when you projected your memories?” I asked, proudly.

“No, I didn’t! I think I was a bit scared of how I managed to project to the entire room like that.” She admitted.

“How did you even do that,Maz?” Jase asked her, settling on a chair nearby.

“I don’t know. I just remember feeling pissed off because Alpha Jonah kept doubting me. Next thing I knew, the entire room was seeing what I wanted them to see.” She answered, shaking her head.

“ I must apologise, Luna Maria.” Alpha Jonah interrupted. “It was never my intention to offend you. Our kind has never been treated well by witches.”

“Again, I’m not a witch, man. I’m a goddess. I’m also still 100% wolf, even if I am a weird colour.” Maria chuckled to herself.

“Weird colour?” Jase asked.

“Yeah, bro. She’s green!” Noah laughed at him.

“Is she? I guess I didn’t really notice.” He admitted.

“Are you okay?” Maria asked him, concerned.

“Yes. Well, I don’t know. I guess I’m stressed, about the alpha ceremony, Matt. Mom.” He answered quietly.

Maria touched his hand gently, and for a brief moment her eyes glowed.

“Dad, can you finish up here on your own?” She asked Alpha Ben.

“Of course. What’s wrong?” Ben came over to ask.

“We’re going for a walk.” Maria answered,smiling brightly.

“I’ll stay here and help your dad.” I told her, and she smiled at me sweetly.

“Thank you baby! We won’t be long. We’ll meet you in the dining room for lunch?” She suggested.

“Of course. I love you.” I replied, and pulled her in close. She kissed me tenderly, then pulled away.

“Let’s go.” She turned to Jase, who stood from his chair.

“See you later!” He said,looking confused.

We nodded, watching Maria lead him away.

“Damn, I miss Mae.”Noah announced, wistfully. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone.

“No nudes!” I told him, holding it out to him.

“Aw,come on man! Not even one?”he protested.

“Noah, I swear to goddess if I see your d**k on my screen I will chop it off and feed it to you!” I threatened, making him laugh hysterically.

“Alright, alright.” He surrendered. “I’ll just FaceTime her. That way, there’s no evidence.” He whispered to me with a wink.

“Noah!!!” I yelled,and he darted away, howling with laughter.

I turned back to the room, filled with Alphas all staring at me, amused by my outburst.

“Young love.” I said, embarrassed, gesturing to Noah who had just stepped outside.

“Not to worry.” Ben laughed. “I remember how it is. When Harry would beg for my phone so he could call Lacey! Goddess, they’d be talking for hours.” He laughed.

I smiled warmly to him, feeling sad for him. He really had no idea what a real mate bond felt like, it had been taken from him. He noticed my hesitation, and his laughter was quickly overtaken by concern.

“Jake? Are you okay?” He asked, kindly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Can we have a private meeting after lunch?” I asked.

“That’s fine, Harry and Jase can stand in.” He answered, smiling.

“Great!” I replied.

Maria POV

I knew Jase was struggling. He hadn’t had the full update on our mom since everything that had happened to Matt. Matt being in the hospital had taken all of our focus, and I felt bad for not explaining things sooner. We walked quietly together, and before we knew it, we reached the treehouse.

“Coming up?” I asked him, gesturing to the ladder.

“Will we even fit?” He laughed, looking at the ladder dubiously.

“Of course!” I scoffed. “You haven’t got that fat since you were 14!”

“f**k you!” He muttered, before breaking into laughter.

“You coming?” I asked, beginning to climb. I loved the treehouse, but I hadn’t been up here since Bella had died. I was expecting it to be covered in cobwebs, but seeing as my mom had recently had the whole thing redecorated, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be.

Jase began to climb the ladder slowly, as I pushed open the treehouse door. It was still how I remembered inside, just freshly painted. A lilac armchair rested in one corner, paired with a pale pink fluffy cushion. A silver bean bag rested in the other, with a small coffee table between them both.

“Sit down.” I told Jase, offering him the armchair.

I settled myself into the beanbag and smiled as he curled up in Bella’s favourite seat.

“So, what’s going on?” He asked me.

“Well, obviously I couldn’t show them the full extent of my memories.” I told him. “There were some details I had to keep private.”

“Like what?” He questioned, his head tilted to one side.

“I can show you if you’d like. But it’s pretty heavy, so just be prepared. How much do you wanna know?” I asked.

“Take me back to the beginning. I need to see if all, fresh from the beginning.” He said firmly.

“Okay, well get comfy. This may take a while!” I told him, crossing my legs and settling in the seat.

I began from Bella’s last memories, projecting it carefully and as graphically as I could. I then moved seamlessly over to Jake’s dream meeting with Selene, not sparing any details. I left out his encounter with Wyatt, as that felt too personal to Jake. The more that Jase saw, I sense the pain and anger deepening. I was almost scared to show him Emeera, because I felt that what she had told us would be the final straw. I paused, and Jase was quick to notice.

“Why have you stopped?” He asked me.

“I just need to prepare you for this next one, okay? You can’t go rushing off and causing her harm.” I told him,gently.

Hurt flashed in his eyes.

“This ones about what mom did, isn’t it?” He asked softly.

“Yes. You’re about to hear some things that are going to upset you, but it’s imperative you hear everything I have to say.” I warned him.

He nodded, and settled back into the armchair. He closed his eyes, and this time I moved closer so I could hold his hand.

We settled together comfortably as I began to project again. This time, I felt Jase stiffen as he saw my wolf and registered her colour. I stroked small circles in the palm of his hand, and hummed quietly whilst he continued to watch my conversation with Emeera. A tear rolled down his cheek as he listened to Emeera explain how our mom had changed her fate, and had to use our sister to pay the price. The memory came to an end, and Jase opened his eyes.

“She was our sister?” He asked me, and I nodded, unable to look him in the eye.

“I wanna talk to Bella.” He stated, firmly.

“Are you sure?” I asked him, concerned.

“Yes. I need to talk to Bella.” He insisted.

Bella POV

Maria called me forward, and when I opened my eyes I saw I was staring directly into the eyes of my brother.

“Bella?” He said softly, his hand coming up to stroke my cheek.

“I’m here.” I confirmed, lifting a hand to touch his own.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry she did this to you, Bella.” He told me.

I shrugged. “This isn’t your apology to make, Jase. Its not your fault she did this.”

He looked down to his feet, knowing I was right. I sighed gently, and pulled him in for a hug. He still smelled the same, the warm menthol pine tar scent tickling my nose. I breathed him in, before taking a step back.

“I can’t wait to see your alpha ceremony.” I told him.

“Of course, I forgot you’ll be there! Your first shift.” He smiled proudly, and I chuckled.

“Well, yes.” I answered. “Although I think I may have to wait until my own ceremony.”

He nodded, thinking hard.

“Do you want to have your ceremony first?” He asked me. “I know you must be feeling cramped up there.” He said,gently poking my forehead.

“I don’t want to take away from your night.” I told him, firmly. “You go first, then we can have an intimate ceremony afterwards. Our closest friends, and family. How does that sound?” I asked him.

“Sounds perfect.” He smiled.

“We need to go and see Kate.” I told him, and his face fell.

“Do we really have to?” He whined.

I laughed loudly, he sounded just like when we were little kids.

“Yes! Otherwise she won’t hand over Maria’s powers willingly. It has to be done willingly.” I told him, and he nodded thoughtfully.

“Maybe we could take her lunch to her, and eat with her?” He suggested.

“That could work.” I smiled. “Let’s go now.”

He nodded again, and began climbing back down the treehouse ladder. I let Maria take control again, before following him down the ladder.