Two

“What’s the matter, Luna?”

“Nothing,” Avery answered. “It’s just that things kept going south. I am afraid that things will get more complicated if this turn of events continues.”

“I am worried too,” Maya declared. “It seems like the Alpha is being controlled by his instinct instead. That shouldn’t be the case since he already has a chosen mate, and he is the Alpha of our pack. If he shows even one sign of weakness, it will be all over for us.”

Avery nodded in agreement. She can’t rebuke what Maya declared. She is right in any way. With the current situation where other packs are conquering territories, the display of weakness will only be seen as an invitation to conquer and enslave them.

“The Alpha isn’t thinking straight. He only wants what pleases him,” Maya added.

“Maya, you should be careful with the words that come out of your mouth. There are a lot of ears everywhere. We don’t know who’s on our side, so we might as well be careful of the words that will come out of our mouths. We ought to be more careful now that James found his fated mate.”

“I am sorry, Luna.”

“It’s fine. Just be careful next time, Maya. I can’t afford to lose you, too,” Avery stated. “Anyway, can you give this to Brylle? These are the documents that the Alpha needed to sign by the end of this week.”

“As you wish, Luna.”

Maya left while Avery remained in her seat, staring at the invitation letter that the Prometheus clan delivered to them. It was an invitation to join a banquet. It was rumored that the beta of the Prometheus clan, who has not yet found his fated pair is finding a suitable partner, though Avery can sense that the banquet is more than that. It might be something more than finding a partner, like finding out what pack to conquer next.

“What are they trying to do?” Avery blurted out. Although she’s curious as to what the Prometheus clan was planning, attending the banquet when things inside the pack weren’t as good as before would be considered as feeding the pack to a formidable predator. They are weak right now. The pack can’t show its weakness. She knows how the wolves play their game. They attack the weakest spot. Once they spot even a slight weakness, they would immediately attack it. She can’t give them that opportunity. She can’t lose her pack no matter what.

Avery got the invitation and kept it in her cabinet. She massages her muscles before getting out of her office. When she was about to go to the pack house, she saw Georgina with Alpha James, laughing with each other together with the rest of the pack. They were in front of the pack house where everyone could see.

“While I am busy managing the pack, here he is, enjoying his day with his fated pair?” Avery murmured silently. She wasn’t expecting James to be a workaholic just like her, but she at least expected him to exert an effort in helping her manage the pack’s internal affairs. But instead, all she got was the blatant disrespect. “And he’s flaunting her in front of the pack as if to disrespect me.”

Avery sighed in exasperation. She wanted to take a break from everything, but a vacation is out of her choices right now. James is distracted, and it seems that with the presence of James’ fated pair, the two faction in the pack are blatantly showing their animosity towards each other. They don’t even dare to hide it. While the other faction supports James in taking in his fated pair, the other faction that supports Avery is also vocal about their hate of the decision. The conflict inside the pack only weakens the entirety of the pack, and if the issue about it goes out, Avery couldn’t imagine what the other pack will do. She knows that they will grab this opportunity to take over their pack.

When Avery was about to enter the pack house, Georgina called her. “Avery!”

Avery’s brows immediately furrowed. She turned to face the petite girl. “Georgina, I might also remind you that I am the Luna of this pack and calling me by my name only shows a sign of disrespect, not only to me but to the pack as a whole, especially if the one who did it is of lower status,” she declared.

“I am sorry, L-Luna,” Georgina declared.

“While I know that you did not know proper decorum as you were living somewhere out there, as the Luna of this pack, I can’t tolerate such a mistake twice. I consider that you will take this as a warning.” Avery looked at the girl who was standing next to Georgina. “Teach her the basic etiquette she needed to know.”

The girl bowed her head. “As you wish, Luna.”

Avery nodded her head and turned her back on them. She did not even greet James. There is a limit to how much she can tolerate such disrespect.

“Avery,” James shouted as he grabbed Avery’s hand. “Cut her some slack. She does not know how to properly address you.”

Avery brushed off James’ hand and coldly stared at his eyes. “I did consider her upbringing, that is why I did not push the proper punishment that she should shoulder for disrespecting me, the Luna; however, if she wishes to stay here longer, she should know the boundaries.”

“Does that mean that you are allowing Georgina to stay here?”

Avery looked at Georgina and smiled sweetly. “I should not throw away someone who has no home, right? A charity for those who are excluded does not sound so bad.”

“Luna!”

Avery raised her brows and innocently asked James, “What? I was only kidding.”

“Jokes are half-meant,” James declared, irritated.

Avery looked at Georgina once again. She examined her and laughed at herself. “If you say so…”

Avery did not wait for James to say another word. She turned her back on him and walked away. The reason why she can treat the Alpha like that is that their power is on the same level. Originally, the two factions present on the Knight pack were two different packs merged by marriage. Avery holds the same authority as the Alpha. Avery was also raised to be the future Luna. She was trained to death when she was young, be leading the pack or fighting. Despite that, she still couldn’t get her pack because of a blood pact made by their parents. Even if James betrayed her all over again, she wouldn’t be able to escape. That was her fate, and she condemned her parents for that because even if James killed her, the blood pact would remain.