Grace The Luna of the Hidden Pack

Chapter 8

After they wished a good night to each other, Saoirse went into her room. Maxim stood there for a little while. He was in a dilemma. His father was clear when he told him about his expectations. He invited a few young she-alphas, and he asked him to choose. His father asked him to choose carefully, not to fall for beauty at first. He expected the next Luna to be a smart and strong she wolf who is submissive to her Alpha, but hegemonic to her pack.

His father talked to all the potential she-wolves’ fathers before they would welcome their daughters. He explained his expectations for the next Luna of the Blue Blood Pack, and all the Alphas eagerly sent their daughters to meet Maxim, hoping for a connection with the pack's leaders.

His father asked him to focus on Saoirse a little more. Knowing the Red Moon Pack’s leader, Alpha Carrig, he thought Saoirse should be the most capable of the role.

Maxim kept reminding himself of what his father said, but Saoirse was so beautiful in his eyes, he felt like she had stolen his heart already. Her mesmerizing eyes and hair, her smile and her perfect body-shape made him want her instantly.

But she was soft. Maxim worried she would not be a strong Luna. She would love him the way he always wanted to be loved. She could give everything to him that he missed during the years his parents raised him under strict rules. But he had to think like an Alpha. An Alpha who will lead the biggest and strongest pack soon. All the Alphas need a Luna by their side, who could lead just like themselves.

He thought that after marking her, he would be in love with her soon, and he was not sure if he could stay strong if his beloved Luna would try to make him softer too. He did not know the mate bond connection felt, but he was weaker already, just after one look at her.

He agreed with his wolf, Caelan, to give Saoirse time. He advised him to focus on her more in those weeks they would spend together.

The next morning, just as he promised, he went to Saoirse early in the morning. She wore a beautiful green dress, and she put a nice red mantle on, half open.

She liked to see Maxim’s contented look. He dressed up elegantly, wearing a mantle similar to hers. He lifted his arm up, and Saoirse folded hers around it with a smile.

This time, he led her to a carriage, and he helped her gently to get into it. The way was not too long, although she did not want to get there at all.

When they arrived, Maxim helped her to get out of the carriage, and he led her to the podium. They were the last ones who arrived. They took a seat next to each other, and they just awaited the start.

Many people came out, and Saoirse felt disgusted when she saw many werewolves were eagerly waiting for the sinner to appear and could not wait to shame him. It happened soon. And it seemed like the guards took their time, letting the crowd enjoy themselves before they got to the stage.

Saoirse felt the same every occasion when her father forced her to watch this. Her heart was heavy for the Theta, and she looked away when they placed him on the stone and raised the sword.

When she heard the crowd shouting the word death, she felt the familiar pain in her chest. She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself. She felt Joice was hiding in her mind deeply, not giving a chance to steal her vision, and she whined quietly.

When the crowd applauded, she knew the Theta was in two pieces, finally. The only thing that she could think of was she would be out of here soon. Fortunately, they did not need to wait too long, but as youths, they needed to wait for the adults to leave first.

Obviously, the body in parts and the blood were still on the stage, so she did not dare to look in there.

She tried to find something to look at, then finally she felt a hand gripping hers. Looking down, she noticed Maxim’s hand held hers. She looked into his eyes suddenly. She felt bad because she suspected he saw what she did to avoid seeing the worse part, but Maxim just smiled at her.

Saoirse tried to think of what she could say, but before she could say something, Maxim stood up, still holding her hand, and he led her back to the carriage.

They talked a little. They had breakfast together. Then he asked Saoirse if Joice wanted to meet his wolf.

Caelan was a nice black wolf, with Maxim’s dark brown eyes. His attitude was the same as Maxim’s, and since Saoirse arrived, he often pushed him to let him meet Joice.

Saoirse agreed. She was happy to let Joice out. She hoped that would calm her beloved wolf.

When they shifted to their wolf form, the two wolves could not stop sniffing each other. They soon found harmony. They ran happily and played a lot.

Caelan was more than happy to notice. Even if Saoirse was soft, Joice was a powerful wolf, and she was good at fighting, too.

They were playing so happily, not Maxim and not Saoirse wanted to stop them. They missed lunch because of that, and they only shifted back in the evening.

When they walked back into the castle, Saoirse had a bittersweet feeling in her heart because she felt her wolf's happiness. A little later, Joice told her how much she liked Caelan, and she also told her she hoped Maxim would choose them as his future Luna.

Saoirse had to admit that she liked Maxim a lot, too. Her only problem was, she felt like with that decision, she would move from one prison to another. She always hoped her mate would live in a smaller pack, where her life could be free from rules, politeness and leading, at least for sometimes. And Grace. She was thinking of Grace. What would she do without her? Who can she talk to if she feels sadness or hurt? Who will be there to make her laugh and feel comfortable?

“Saoirse, there will be Maxim and Caelan. They will be there for us for a lifetime.”

Her eyes widened when she heard Joice’s voice in her head. And she had to admit that she was right. If he would mark her, she would have different feelings towards him, strong enough to take this pack’s cruelness.

After they went back into the castle, they got ready for dinner. Both of them were hungry. When they appeared in the dining room, they just needed to wait for the Alpha couple to arrive, then they ate.

Maxim could not take his eyes off of Saoirse. He found her even more beautiful, and since Caelan got to know Joice, he could not stop pushing him to choose her. Maxim always listened to his wolf. He knew their senses were much more sophisticated than their human parts. Caelan pushed him to talk to his parents, and tell them he had found his future Luna, but Maxim asked him to be patient.

He wanted to spend the week with her, just to see if there was anything else in Saoirse that would make her incapable of joining his family. He did not want to find anything, though. His wolf was wasted, and he wanted Saoirse so badly, but he still tried to think with a rational mind.