The Perfect Luna Chapter 56

Maya was the first to leave the circle and stand by her Alpha’s side.

“l pledge allegiance to The Pearl Moon pack and Alpha Riannon Michaels!” she declared loudly. Tatiana and Aria were next, followed by many others.

“l pledge allegiance to The Silver River pack and Alpha Brayden Thorn,” the elite warriors announced one by one. Almost all of them, although not all.

One by one, their people chose their side, and soon two groups were standing in front of each other. It was ,more or less the way she expected it. At the moment, her crowd was much bigger than her ex’s, but that was a given since they were on the land that belonged to her old pack. Not everyone was present, and she knew this was only the beginning.

Brayden, on the other hand, became gloomier and gloomier with each person who did not choose him. It probably played very differently in his head. He had never lost anything in his life before, and now it was beginning to look like a pattern for him.

“Thank you for making your choice,” Riannon said as she smiled when the process was over, looking at the people who stood before her, “I know this is not an easy situation. And I am still grateful for the years I spent as your Luna. Our ways part now, but you will always remain in my heart. I want you to know that I will not hold this against you.”

Brayden wanted to say something as well but changed his mind at the last moment.

“I think we are done here” he announced dryly and then turned to his people, “Pack your bags. We’ll be leaving this pack today for the old Silver River packhouse.”

The pack was bustling with people saying their goodbyes to each other. Despite the sudden turn of events, they had spent years as one pack, and the division was hard for all of them.

Quite a few people were glaring at Roxy, feeling like she was the one to blame for their current situation. The fake omega was playing her usual part, looking at everyone with doe eyes and holding her belly, which wasn’t protruding in the slightest, to evoke sympathy.

Men and women approached Riannon to offer their farewell and words of respect even though they were leaving with Brayden. Riannon made sure to thank each of them, graciously letting them know her doors would always be open for them.

It was a victory. And everyone knew it. Her new pack members were congratulating her, happy to stay under her wing.

Soon, however, the crowd dissipated, leaving two small groups present. Brayden’s and hers.

“I hope you are happy.” her ex spat spitefully, “We are no longer the strongest pack there is.”

“Strength is not only about size, Bray,” Riannon parried, “l have to look at a bigger picture here. The safety of my people comes first.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“lt means you brought a wolf in sheep’s skin to our pack,” she warned. Turning to Maya, she motioned for her to hand over the folder which Gideon had previously given her. “However funny that sounds.”

“You are threatened by a simple omega?” he scoffed, and she let out a sigh as she did not expect any better of him.

“l am not threatened at all.” Riannon rolled her eyes. “I took precautions to protect my people. That’s what a good Alpha should do. One thinks you should know that, but speaking of her being a simple omega, what do you really know about her? Did you bother checking her past before you brought her here?”

“of course I did,” he said, “I talked to her previous Alpha.”

“The one who abused her?” she chuckled, “That’s some source of information!”

“He wouldn’t lie to me,” Brayden snapped, getting annoyed by her insinuations, “He knows I would kill him.”

“Funny you should say that,” she countered, pushing the folder into his hands, “He is already dead.

Didn’t you notice he wasn’t present at the Summit?”

“That’s very sad and all, but I don’t see the connection.” Bray snatched the folder and opened it, skimming his eyes over the papers inside.

“A mighty Alpha was killed on a simple patrol of his own pack just two days after you happened to find your poor mate in his pack. Sure, that’s not suspicious at all.”

Riannon shook her head. “Neither is the fact that most of his pack members say that she appeared in their pack just three months prior to that life-changing event of yours. No one except for the deceased Alpha knew where she had come from.”

She could see how dumbfounded he became while reading the information she gave him.

She also knew he was a stubborn man, so she wasn’t surprised when he closed the folder angrily.

“This doesn’t prove anything!” He growled as Roxy smirked behind his back, “You are just angry at my mate for everything that has happened.”

“l am merely stating the facts,” Riannon replied calmly, “What you do with this information is up to you.

She is your problem now. Not mine. But, if I were you, I would at least ask her to shift. To see what she really is.

There is definitely something there.”

“Don’t listen to her!” Harper commanded, appearing out of nowhere and encasing Roxy in a protective hug,”

She is just jealous the two of you are happy together and are about to have a child! She couldn’t give you an heir for so many years!”

“Thank Goddess for that!” Ria exclaimed, unable to hold back a snort.

You see, this is your mistake here,” her ex-sister-in-law went on, “You think you are so much better than everyone else! Always the perfect Luna!

Always loved by everyone! Now the joke is on you! This is the first time when something doesn’t go the way you want it, and you just can’t handle it!”

“What are you talking about, Harper?” Riannon queried, rubbing her forehead, tired of the scene unfolding before her, “You sure never gave me any love.

Almost from the very beginning and I still don’t know how and why I had earned all that hatred from you. As for the rest, nothing came to me easily. I worked hard for everything I have. Something you always conveniently choose to ignore. You notice when someone praises me or when I win something, but you have yet to notice the work that was done before that. Fortunately, this is your problem. Recognition is not given for nothing, Harper.

You have to work for it. Not that you would know what work is. You haven’t worked a day in your life, have you?

So, what do you expect? Instead of obsessing over me and trying to bring me down at every opportunity, try improving yourself and your life. Maybe then you will finally be happy and stop being so bitter.”

Harper stared at her, gaping. Then she furrowed her brows and raised her hand, clearly intending to slap Riannon. She knew Brayden wouldn’t stop her.

However, her hand never reached Ria’s face as someone else caught it when it was inches away.

“Ash?” Harper looked at the Beta in shock. “What do you think you are doing?”

“Saving you from embarrassment,” the man replied, unwilling to release his hold of her hand as she tried to withdraw her wrist angrily.

“She deserves it!” the girl hissed, her pretty face distorted by her ugly emotions.

“Let her go, Ash,” Brayden ordered, “Riannon is not your Luna anymore. You don’t have to protect her.”

“She is not my Luna, that’s true,” Ash sighed heavily and looked at Brayden, who had been his best friend since childhood, “She is my Alpha, Bray. I pledge allegiance to Alpha Riannon Michaels of t he Pearl Moon pack.”

Ria’s lips parted in surprise. She didn’t notice Ash making his choice and just assumed he had stayed with his old Alpha. So this was now a surprise for her.

However, she was happy her friend decided to join her side after all.

“You are not serious!” Brayden growled in annoyance. Everything was crumbling under him today, and coping with it was getting harder and harder.

“l am,” the Beta replied, letting go of the girl’s hand,

“l am sorry, man, but you have lost your way. I cannot support you anymore.”

“Ash, no!” Harper looked at him pleadingly, placing both her palms on his chest, “You can’t leave us! You can’t leave-me.”

Ria covered her mouth with her hand, realizing there was more to the story. Looking at the two of them, it was clear Harper had feelings for the Beta.

“l am sorry,” the man replied emotionlessly, “It’s for the best.”

“But-” the girl now had tears in her eyes, and Riannon felt sorry for her, “You and I-“

“There is no you and I, Harper.” Ash took her hands off him, “I have told you that many times. I cannot give you what you want.”

“But she can?” Harper didn’t seem to care that the few people surrounding them were listening to their conversation. She pointed her finger at Riannon as Riannon ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

How did she get in the middle of all this drama? “Bray, did you know that your own Beta desired your Luna this whole time? I bet they have slept together behind your back-“

The sound of a slap made everyone gasp. Ria scratched her hand while Harper gapped at her with a red cheek.

“Would you calm down?” the Alpha female commanded, quirking her brow upward, “Stop your hysteria and stop accusing me of things you have no idea about! Ash is my friend! He will always be my friend.

“Don’t touch my sister!” Brayden ordered, finally snapping out of his shock, growling, “You have no right-

“No, Brayden,” she stopped him, “I have a right to defend my honour. As for you three, I think you’ve overstayed your welcome. You’d better leave. None of you is handling this well, and it’s getting embarrassing for all of us.”

“Apologies, Riannon,” Bray gritted through his teeth, “Betrayal hurts.”

“I know it does, Brayden,” she looked him up and down, “You made me familiar with the concept, remember?”

“Let’s go, Harper.” The Alpha pulled his sister, who was now crying silently for his ex-Beta, close and give Ash a glare full of hate. “We have nothing more to do here.”

They started walking away, with only Roxanne hesitating, staying for a few seconds longer. A sly smile spread over her face as she bent towards Ria and whispered into her ear, “This is far from over.”

“Oh, I know.” Riannon sneered at her enemy, “l am just starting with you. By the way, tell your friend Everett that if he wants to tell me something, he should just do it. Staring at me from the other side of the street is just creepy.”

Her words hit the mark again as the eyes of the fake omega shone red momentarily. However, she suppressed it quickly and fluttered her lashes innocently,

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Of course, you don’t,” Ria chuckled and dismissed Roxy with a wave of her hand, turning away to face Ash.

“You and Harper, huh?” She raised her brow at the Beta while the omega caught up with her mate.

“lt wasn’t supposed to be anything serious. I got drunk twice and this is the result” The Beta confessed,”

It’s just that she took it all wrong and-“

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me,” she interrupted him, “Your personal life is just that, yours.

However, if I were you, I would speak to her again, later.”

“I will,” he promised, “Not that Brayden will ever let me go near her again. I will call her and smooth everything over when the dust settles.”

“Good.” Ria smiled at her friend and squeezed his arm in a sign of support. “1 am happy you stayed with me, Ash.”

“I will always be by your side,” he promised, smiling back, and she could tell he was sincere this time.

“Just don’t count on being the Beta, though,” Maya said as she and Reid joined them, “That position is taken.”

“Fine,” Ash groaned, “Would you at least consider having me as your Gamma?”

“Gladly” Riannon agreed, “Welcome to the team.”

“Now that we are done with that,” Maya smirked, “

Excuse me, I need to go and locate my moron of a younger brother. He disappeared right before I could kick his a*ss for being friends with this demon!”

There were too many matters to deal with at the pack. The members of The Silver River left the territory when it was getting dark, and a lot of new arrangements had to be put in place to maintain safety for everyone.

Riannon sat in her office, exhausted yet understanding she was far from done. The Lycans helped Maya patrol and search for Dean, who was still nowhere to be found. She knew he was aware of the huge mistake he had committed and probably felt guilty about the whole thing. Dean was like a little brother to her, and she hoped they would find him soon. After all, he declared his loyalty to her and The Pearl Moon.

The phone rang, and she smiled, seeing Gideon’s face on the display. She took that one photo of him when he was sleeping and just the memory of it made her heart skip a beat.

“How is it going?” he asked in that husky voice of

“Just as I expected,” she admitted, “Although I don’t think that I will be able to get back to your kingdom today.”

“Not a problem,” he chuckled, “l will come to you.”

“Really?” she almost jumped in her seat with excitement.

“Yes, Ria, really,” he teased her, “l am not spending a single night of my life without you from this day forward. I am done for today, and I want to see my Luna.”

“I love you so much,” she confessed and heard him chuckling at the other end of the line.

“I know you do,” Gideon said, sounding smug. “I love you too. And l can’t wait to hear all about today.

“Oh, I have a lot to tell you!” she giggled, “Come Soon.”

“I”‘Il be there as fast as I can. See you soon, Riannon.” The Lycan King promised and hung up.

Riannon relaxed her back into the chair and closed her eyes for a few seconds. When her phone rang again, she answered it without looking, thinking it was Gideon, who was ready to tell her something sweet the way he always did.

“Did you forget something?” she asked, smiling, but that smile faded when she heard Roxy’s voice.

“If you want to see Dean alive, you will meet me in one hour at the forest tree house where you guys used to play as children. Alone.” The fake omega didn’t sound her usual sickly-sweet self, “Bring someone with you, and the boy is dead. It’s time for us to have a little chat, Riannon.”