Chapter Thirty-Three: Enough is Enough
Sunday Night
Emerald's POV:
After the ceremony, everyone piled back into the packhouse banquet hall for the after-party. The quads insisted that I make rounds, greeting pack members and visiting Alphas, claiming it was a great way to learn more about pack members.
But with all the glares from the she-wolves from the pack and outside the pack, I wasn't so sure I would be welcomed. Whenever the quads were busy, I could feel some of the male wolves giving me lustful stares. They were walking a fine line, if their new Alphas caught them, it was probably lights out for them. I shuddered at the thought.
Despite the occasional glance from the males, five stares were constantly on me: the triplets and twins. Fantastic; if the twins weren't enough, the triplets decided to hop on the bandwagon as well!
I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard a familiar voice call out to me with so much love. I whirled around and saw my parents.
"Mom, dad!" I all but yelled out. I made my way to them, leaving behind the quads and another Alpha to their boring talk that I had totally zoned out on.
The moment I was at arm's length with them, I hugged them. Yeah, they were my adopted parents, but they treated me as nothing other than their biological daughter. Growing up, my dad was my hero and my mom my best friend, when no one else wanted to be around me.
"Emmy, how are you, my darling?" asked dad, hugging me back tightly as he kissed my forehead.
"I'm fine, dad! How are you guys? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I asked, pulling back smiling at him.
"Well, you haven't been telling us much either, young lady. Or should we say, Luna?" Mom said, snatching me up in a hug.
Crap! It slipped my mind to give them a call and update them. With all that has been going on and the rollercoaster of emotions I have been dealing with, it completely flew out of my mind. They must think I purposely hid it from them.
I pulled back and gave both of them apologetic smiles and said,
"I'm sorry, I was just going through so much! Long story short; Eli and Leah were mates, and that same night the quads claimed I was their mate. It was so confusing because I didn't feel anything, and I was moved into the packhouse. I had planned to tell you soon, I swear,” I said in one breath, looking directly into my parent's eyes to make sure they knew I was telling the truth.
"Oh, baby girl, calm down! We understand! Hannah filled us in and made sure we were coming. She said you could use the support,” Mom said.
Hannah did this? Goddess, how was I blessed with such a sweet soul of a friend like her. I looked back and saw Hannah smiling at me and winking. I mouthed her a 'thank you' and turned back to my parents.
"Honey, we know you might have some doubts about the Alphas, and I am not going to lie, so did we, but from what we've seen and heard, the Alphas adore you. You can see in their eyes how much they love you. You may not feel the same way right now, and the thought of Eli might still hurt you, but don't let that come between something beautiful in your life. The mate-bond is an extraordinary thing, honey. Don't shun it because the Goddess blesses not many to have it,” said dad, as he looked at me with so much love and a hint of proudness shown in his eyes.
I understand that now. I was stupid to think that the quads and I were not mates.
"Little Luna…,”I heard Ezekiel call behind me. I smiled at him and the rest of the quads, motioning them to come over.
"Too boring to stick around, angel?” Zeke asked, with a smile as he came near me and kissed my forehead.
I blushed in embarrassment, I didn't think they would notice that I didn't care about what they were talking about. I kept a smile on my face and nodded every once in a while to show everyone I was listening.
Was I that transparent to my mates?
"Is that even a question, bro?” I heard Sam as he snickered.
Ugh! trying to divert the conversation I said,
"Anywho, I would like you all to meet my parents, Arthus and Rose Hutton."
"Mom, dad, these are my future mates,” I turned and said to my parents.
"Alphas." They both said as they bared their necks in submission.
"None of that, please! You’re our Luna's parents. We're all family now,” said Ezekiel, as he went to shake dad's hand and hug mom. The rest of the quads follow suit.
"We apologize we hadn't come to you sooner regarding Emerald being our mate. We planned to visit after her first shift, so the bond was fully formed,” said Azreal, looking apologetic.
"Oh no, Alpha, please don't apologize. We understand. We just hope you'll take care of our baby girl. Emerald might have mentioned we aren't her biological parents, but she is like a daughter to us; scratch that, she is our daughter, so please take care of our baby,” said mom, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked at me with so much love.
I held back my own tears.
Sensing my emotions, all the quads gathered around me and held onto me somehow.
"That is one thing you both never have to worry about,” said Sam, kissing my cheek.
My parents smiled in return. We were all brought out of our conversation when I heard Luna Crystal call for mom,
"Oh, Goddess Rose! How are you? I don't remember you visiting anymore. Can you believe it? Our kids are mates! Emerald here is such a sweetheart; you raised her so well,” said Luna Crystal, as she steered mom and dad away with her, tugging Alpha Alexander in tow.
We all chuckled, and the quads led me back to the rest of the remaining Alphas we had to meet. After a while, my feet began to hurt, so I excused myself to sit.
As I was sitting down, my mind went back to the ceremony. Why hadn't I bent the knee? I knew Lunas and Alphas stood equal in rank, but I wasn't their mate yet; the bond hadn't fully formed, and the aura that washed over the quads was so strong that my body should have automatically lowered down. The way the triplets and twins looked at me back there, as if they couldn't believe their eyes had me questioning myself further.
Could I somehow be related to them? That was the only logical reason. But that was dumb; if I was related to any of them, why would my biological parents drop me off at the edge of the border?
Goddess! This was so frustrating! Judging by the look of the quads, they were getting antsy about all the mysteries surrounding me as well.
"So you're the so-called future Luna that everyone can't stop talking about! I don't know what all the hype’s about, generic face and body, nothing out of the ordinary,” I heard someone say. I saw a beautiful tall she-wolf that radiated a powerful aura when I turned around. She was an Alpha's daughter.
Even though she was gorgeous, the scowl on her face showed her opinion of me wasn't all that great.
Perfect like I didn't have an eventful day already.
Was she another one of the quads’ conquests? I take back the statement I made in the room that it was worth the hassle. The constant attacks from these she-wolves were getting on my nerves now. The Goddess paired us, not me, or the quads, like get over it!
Exhaling, I put a smile on my face; standing up, I said to the she-wolf,
"I'm sorry, I don't think we have met, I'm Emerald Hutton. You are?"
"Maya, daughter of the Alpha of the Red Crescent Pack, and I know who you are, the so-called mate to the quadruplets. Like Goddess, what do they even see in you? What are you ranked anyway, omega? I can't believe Ezekiel turned down my offer to make me Luna and ended up being with you. Such a pity,” said the she-wolf I knew now as Maya.
Ah, so she was Ezekiel’s conquest.
Fan-freaking-tastic! The only brother left whose ex hadn't gone crazy on me today.
I’d had enough of this crap; it was like something switched within me. I looked right into Maya's eyes, even though she stood at least six inches taller than me,
"Well, boo-who for you! He should be thanking the Goddess that he wasn't paired with an egocentric she-wolf like yourself. I'm generic, like seriously? You're the definition of generic, same shoulder-length blonde hair, brown eyes, and the uniform slut outfit, with those boobs hanging out, and I'm generic. Puh-lease! Anyhow, listen well, she-wolf, because I'll say this once since I'm so done with you all for today; we are fated mates, not chosen mates, so you and anyone else have no right to come and question them or me. You have a problem take it up with the Goddess and stay out of my way,” I practically screamed at her.
To say she was shocked would be an understatement; why does everyone think I can't stand up for myself! I am very capable, but just because I’m not a violent person and tend to listen, everyone has treated me like crap. Enough is enough. At this point, everyone was looking at us, watching the scene unfold. Well, there goes the spotlight meant for the quads. Could anything go right today?
Maya's shocked expression quickly turned into rage. She raised her hand to slap me, but before her hand could connect with my cheek, someone came in front of me and held her wrist. Ezekiel.
"You dare come onto my territory and attack my Luna! Who the f**k do you think you are bitch?" yelled Ezeakil, canines bared and eyes black.
All the other quads surrounded me, shielding me away from Maya.
"Answer me!” yelled Ezekiel.
"Ezekiel, I…, I…,” stammered Maya.
Oh, where's all that bravado now, Maya, huh?
"Enough! I could have you killed for this!" said Ezekiel.
"NOO! I'm an Alpha's daughter; this would mean war between our packs,” sobbed Maya, trying to break free from Ezekiel’s hold.
As much as I would love for Ezekiel to put her in her place, a war between packs was something that I couldn't let happen because some she-wolf was infatuated with one of my mates.
Stepping around the quads, I went in front of Ezekiel, put my palm against his cheek, and rubbed it with my thumb.
"Ezekiel, look at me. Calm down; she didn't hurt. Let her go. She isn't worth the hassle,” I said.
"No, Luna, how dare she disrespect you. She will pay!” Ezekiel said to me, seething even though his eyes had returned to his stormy grey under my touch.
"I'll deal with her; she insulted me, so doesn't it seem fair I carry out her punishment?” I asked, changing my tactic to make Ezekiel back down.
Ezekiel and the rest of the quads looked at me, their eyes hazing over, probably mind-linking each other. Much to Ezekiel’s chagrin, he and the rest of the quads nodded and stepped back, but stayed close behind me. I smiled at them all and then turned to face Maya. Then I did something I had never expected I would do. I slapped her, hard, leaving a handprint on her cheek. Her hand automatically went to cradle her face.
"Let this be a reminder that you do not come into my pack and insult me. I'm letting you off easy this time, but I swear to the Goddess, I see you back in my pack again, I'll throw you in the dungeon. To hell, if we go to war with your pack." I said calmly, but my eyes were stern, showing her how serious I was. Well, maybe not the war part, but she didn't need to know that.
She went to say something, but her father's booming voice had her stop in her tracks. After a series of apologies from the Alpha of the Red Crescent Pack, and promising to deal with his spoilt daughter, before the party could go back to full swing, I heard Ezeakil say in his Alpha voice;
"Listen up, everybody, this girl right here is why your Alphas live and strive to do better for you and the pack. I swear to the Goddess if anyone of you dares to disrespect your future Luna ever again, no matter who you are, death will be an easy escape,” he said, as his brothers stood behind him with their arms across their chests, standing as a united front before their wolves. A chorus of “Yes, Alpha!” was heard around the room, and the party slowly came back to life. Turning around, Ezekiel faced me along with his brothers,
"I'm so sorry about that, little Luna. I didn't think Maya would do something so stupid,” he said looking guilty.
I knew it wasn't his fault for what Maya did, nor was it the other quads' fault for what Aria, Cassandra and Ivy did; however, it was their fault to let them think they all had a chance against their fated mate. It was becoming too tedious. I didn't want to dampen their mood, so I just smiled, saying that it was okay and went to sit back down again. I knew the quads knew I was brushing them off and wanted to be alone, so they let it go. Eventually, they were hounded by other Alphas, and they became busy again.
"You okay there, Luna?” I popped back to reality when I heard a deep masculine voice behind me that oozed power. Looking up, I saw one of the triplets. I quickly stood up, not wanting to disrespect His Highness.
"Yes, Your Royal Highness. It's been a long day, so just tired,” I said, giving him a small smile. I didn't know which of the triplet this was; unlike the twins, I couldn't instantly tell them apart, I had to concentrate a bit.
"Tristan, just in case you couldn't tell me apart from my brothers. There's no need for the titles; I don't think there's a need,” said King Tristan.
Wasn't a need? Had he lost it? He was our ruler, eldest of the triplet Kings. Disrespecting any of them would be an automatic death sentence. Seeing my horrified expression, King Tristan just chuckled and held his hand forward. I looked at it confused and looked back at him. He had his eyebrow cocked on one side.
"A dance, Luna?” he asked.
Oh crap! Blushing in embarrassment for not picking up his gesture earlier, I put my hand in his and smiled. It wasn't like I had a choice. Could you say no to the King if he wanted something? He led me to the dance floor and put his hand on my waist, and I put my hand on his shoulder. It wasn't inappropriate in any way, and for some reason, I felt that his touch seemed familiar. That I was safe here and he wouldn't hurt me. The same feeling I would get from the twins.
"I'm glad you stood up for yourself back there with that she-wolf. What surprises me is that if the quadruplet Alphas are so possessive about you, why haven't they marked you. Are you the one holding them back?” he asked, the last part smirking.
I blushed.
"Um, my birthday isn't until another five days," I said.
I thought King Tristan would say something, but it was totally quiet. I looked up to see if his attention was elsewhere, but to my surprise, he was looking right down at me as if I was some enigma.
It was getting awkward, but before I could break him out of his thought. I heard a throat clearing behind me, breaking King Tristan out of his intense stare. He looked up and nodded, giving me a small smile, he thanked me for the dance and left.
Strange!
"Baby, I hope you don't have the hots for Lycan King over there, because that could earn you some serious damage points,” I heard Sam whisper in my ear playfully.
I giggled and turned and hooked my arms around his neck. Even though his tone was playful, I could see the hint of jealousy in his eyes. I smiled and pecked his lips.
"Why need a Lycan King when I have quadruplet Alphas?” I asked, earning me a grin in return.
"Let's get you to bed, angel, you look exhausted,” said Zeke, coming behind me and caging me between him and Sam.
I was tired, especially with the day I had. I could use the rest. Hopefully, tomorrow the triplets and the twins would leave, and everything would go back to normal. Plus, I had my first date with one of the quads tomorrow, so I was excited. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.