The Return of the Abandoned Luna

“What the fuck are you doing, Avery?!” James shouted as Avery slapped the petite girl.

“No! What the heck were you thinking when you entered the pack house with that woman?! Who the hell is she to disrespect me like this?!” Avery shouted in disbelief.

Her husband of five years just got home after their patrol with the other pack members including Brylle, the beta. It hasn’t even been five days since they left, and now they didn’t only get home without finishing their patrol. Avery didn't expect James to come back so early lest she had expected James to bring a girl back to their home. Avery thought that it would go as usual, that he would come home to her. Now, she’s having a hard time accepting the fact that her husband got home while he had his hand wrapped around another woman’s waist.

The cute-looking petite girl looked at her in a brief moment, and Avery swore she had seen her smirking at her.

“Ave, darling,” James called Avery in a very affectionate way as if she did not shout at her a few seconds ago. James is the Alpha of their pack, her husband, and her chosen mate. “I'm sorry, babe, but I need them to know that I have found my fated mate.”

It caught her off-guard. Avery cackled and asked amusingly, “You'll really do that this time around? Or, are you trying to insult me again?”

“I'm sorry, but I have to protect her.”

“Protect her from what?!”

"No... no... of course, not! I'm sorry, Ave, but my I really have to do this. As my Luna, you need to understand!” Alpha James declared.

Avery cackled. “Sorry?! Are you really sorry?” she asked, her voice trembling in anger. “What do you expect me to do, James? Do you expect me to just say yes and let you disrespect me? What do you take me for? A damn masochist?!”

“There is no other way, Avery! She was being chased by another pack! I can’t just leave my mate alone when I know I can do something for her!”

Avery looked at her husband again. This time, her looks were sharper. “You can protect her without telling them she is your fated mate! I can’t let you disrespect me more than you already did!” Avery shouted. “I can’t let you put the pack in danger for a girl who knows who! How can you trust a girl who was chased out by her own pack?”

Alpha James sighed and grabbed Avery's shoulder. He looked at her in the eyes. “Listen, Avery,” he said. “I know we are chosen mates, and you will always be my Luna. That will never change, but you know that my wolf needs Georgina to maintain his strength. He has been crazy ever since he saw her,” James declared. “This isn’t a good time to reject my mate, especially now that there’s a power struggle among all the packs!”

Avery tightened her grip. There it was—the excuse!

She loved James when they were younger— they were childhood sweethearts. Avery is a daughter of two Alphas, an heiress to an elite pack, while James is her father’s best friend’s son from another average pack. Ever since they hung out together, people have been talking about how they were a perfect match and that they were made for each other by the Moon Goddess—a paidestiniesethemeem. The pack members believed that they were fated mate. It was only the thing that ties the two different packs, reason why the merge was possible. Declaring that they aren't fated mate would cause rather a bigger chaos. Besides, Avery has been educated to be the Luna of their pack at such a young age. She was molded and raised to be the perfect Luna. No one of unknown and lowly background has the right to disrespect her!

“I won’t let you disrespect me any further, Alpha James.” Avery sternly said.

Brylle, who was silent the whole time finally stepped up. “Avery, you are our rational Luna. You can’t turn a blind eye to this and just turn your back on your husband’s fated mate. You are better than that!” Brylle declared. He is the beta of the Knight Pack.

Maya who was beside Avery the whole time finally snapped. “Really, Beta Brylle? Are you being serious right now? We can help that girl without introducing her as the Alpha's fated mate! You may be the beta, but you have no right to disrespect the heiress, lest the Luna of this pack! Or have you forgotten who Luna Avery is just because you obtained a gist of authority?”

“Enough!” Alpha James shouted.

Avery sighed in exasperation. She knows that everyone will be in favor of the Alpha as he is the one who is protecting and leading the whole pack, at least that was what others knew, but she can’t let the girl be introduced as the Alpha's fated mate. She is the Luna and what they wanted is clearly a huge disrespect to her and her ancestors. Avery knew that they can't ignore her, the sole Luna of the pack, after all, she is the mind of the whole pack and the one who manages everything, so she plans on putting off that idea.

“I’ll think about it,” Avery declared. She turned her back on them and was about to walk out when Georgina grabbed her hand.

“Luna…”

“I said that I’ll think about it,” Avery declared. “Georgina, is it?”

Georgina nodded her head. She smiled at her and turned her head to one of her trusted friends.

“Maya, take care of her for me and make sure to give her all of her needs.”

“Copy that, my Luna,” Maya declared, emphasizing the word Luna.

Before Georgina could utter another word, Avery turned her back on her and walked out. She can be as collected as she was earlier, but there is a limit to the disrespect that she can tolerate. James bringing Georgina into the pack as if he didn’t think of her is already her limit. That was the last thing that she thought James would do, but now that it has come to this, she doesn’t know how to react. What’s up with that girl, anyway? Even Brylle took Georgina’s side as if he had known her for a long time. Even Avery had a hard time gaining Brylle's trust, a man who is aloof and elusive, so why did he look like he trusted her more? Beta Brylle isn’t someone who would be moved by sole pity, Avery thought. There has to be something more in it, and she has to find out what it is.

“Thank you for letting Georgina stay here,” James said as he entered Avery’s room.

Avery shook her head. “James, please. I don't want to argue with you right now. What I told you earlier still stands, and you can’t change my mind. I can find her a better pack to live in, but she cannot stay here for long. I have my limit, James. Don’t disrespect me and push me too hard.”

“But…”

“When I met my fated mate before our wedding, James, you forced me to reject him and even marked me without my permission. You begged me not to tell Father, and I did. You were the reason why my fated mate couldn’t feel me, and now I have to face your shortcomings again? Do I have to face the consequences of your own weaknesses all over again just like when we were teenagers?”

Avery stared at James for a short a moment and sighed. “We're not kids anymore, so please be more careful with your decisions. One wrong move, and everywolf that is in your hand will die.

James looked at Avery angrily. The thought of Avery's fated mate was making him feel agitated. “Why are you tackling that man again? You did not even reject that bastard and come on, Avery! That was a long time ago!”

“You're right, it has been years, and I am still facing the consequences of your actions! Do you even realize how hard it is for me to face my fated pair that day and act all cool because he couldn’t recognize me?”

James scoffed. “Why are you putting the blame on me? Is it my fault that your connection is so shallow that a mere temporary mark was enough to break your connection with him?” James retorted.

Avery’s hand tightened. She wanted to slap James, but she knew he wasn’t wrong. She couldn’t think of any reason why he couldn’t recognize him when she could. She did not reject him, but he already couldn’t feel her anymore after only a temporary mark.

Avery sighed. “No matter what you say, I will not let her stay here for long. There must be a reason why she was chased out of her pack,” she declared. “You can’t put the pack at risk just for a mere young werewolf. You aren’t just an ordinary wolf, James. You are our alpha and you have to put aside your instinct and do your duty to your subjects. That is what makes a werewolf the Alpha of the pack.”