Chapter 11

We should probably get back before Kyle comes looking for us,” Mistrea laughed doing her best to lighten the mood between Zac and herself. Everyone was in the living room; all talk ceasing the moment they set foot in the front door.

Mistrea smiled hoping to calm everyone; pretty sure they’d expected World War III to erupt between her and Zac. They were waiting, she guessed for her to explain ‘what now’. She glanced at Zac, before turning her gaze on the rest of room.

“Okay.” She glanced at each person there, “Zac and I talked. We aren’t together, but I’m willing to at least get to know him, see if we can work things out. Shelby… well, that’s Zac’s business. He’ll have to deal with that situation.” she sighed. “This is my home and for the time being she’s not welcome, at least not while things are the way they are.”

Mistrea took a moment to order her thoughts, this was important, not just for her, but for the entire Pack. She thought she’d be more afraid or at least wary of what she was about to do, but what she felt was calm. This was what she’d been born to, this was her birthright and as she looked at those gathered in her living room she knew it was the right decision. The words felt right in her mind and she wondered how they’d feel once spoken.

Words had always been important to her; they were after all how she made a living. But this… this was for all intents and purposes, a monumental moment in her life. She took a slow calming breath and released it. “I’ll take my place as Luna. I’ll be the female Alpha.”

As the words left her lips she felt something click into place. She felt ‘whole’ in a way she hadn’t since she was a small child.

“There are things Zac and I will need to nut out in regards to my position as Luna and that’s not going to happen overnight. In the mean time, I want to emphasise that this doesn’t mean Zac and I are together. Until he’s spoken to Shelby and she’s made fully aware of the situation, there’s no way I’ll be doing anything more than meeting with Zac and Wade to discuss Pack business.” She turned to Zac and waited for him to give confirmation that he too understood what she’d said.

When he indicated he did, she turned to Wade. “I’m going to need a Second as well?” he gave her a nod and her focus moved to her Aunt. “Aunt Mae, I would be honoured it you’d take up the position?”

Mae smiled, “I’m too old to be your Second. You’ll need someone younger, someone with a great deal more energy than I have. For now I can be your advisor, a shoulder to lean on or bounce ideas off.”

“Sounds good. Thank you Aunt Mae.”

“I was thinking perhaps a morning tea or lunch to get to know some of the older women could be useful. If anything it’ll get word to everyone that you are our Luna and you’re here to stay.”

Mistrea smiled at her Aunt before turning to Zac, “Do you have anything you’d like to add?”

He gave her a wry smile. “I’m assuming you won’t be moving to the Pack house any time soon?” he grinned when he saw the expression on her face. “That being the case, the sooner we get the fencing down the better.”

Mistrea frowned and he tactfully prevented getting her back up. He couldn’t afford to get her off side, not now. “I know you’ve still got work going on, but can we at least leave the gates open? That way our people will have ready access to you. It’ll also show them you’re willing to get to get to know them, listen to their problems... maybe give advice.”

“Fair enough,” she returned. “I’ll talk to the foreman; let him know the gates are to remain open. I’ll also ensure that there’s adequate fencing around the areas where the builders are working. You should probably issue a statement or whatever to let the Pack know what’s going on.”

Zac sighed almost in relief. Things weren’t going as well as he’d hoped, but Mistrea was talking to him and she was willing to try and get to know him. “I’ll talk to the school board as well…”

“No!” Mistrea snapped. “I know you influenced what happened at the high school. The School Board and the Principal didn’t have to agree with you. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still not welcome there.” She couldn’t help but laugh, “I think it’s kind of ironic that I’m banned from setting foot on a place that was named after one of my ancestors.”

“Don’t make a firm decision on that just yet Misty.” He sighed and gave a slight shake of his head. “I pretty much bullied them into it. When they find out who you are,” he laughed. “They’ll be mortified knowing they banned you. Besides I’m sure the kids would be happy to have you back.”

Mistrea sighed, “I’ll think about it. Right now I have more than enough to contend with.”

Zac glanced at everyone in the room, he wanted this to work, hell he wanted Misty period. He gave her a weak smile. “If this is going to work, we have to be honest with each other. You’ll know, as I’m sure you’ve observed that I’m not always the easiest man to get along with. I’ve got a temper and well…”

“It’s got a short fuse?” offered Kyle.

“You’ve got a real knack for stating the obvious,” laughed Wade with a shake of his head. Everyone laughed, breaking the seriousness of the moment.

“One day at a time Zac. No pushing, no pressure and no agro. I don’t want to fight with you. If, like you said, we’re going to make this work… me and the Pack, and if in the end you and I end up together, then you need to explain things to Shelby.”

Her expression became one of sadness and a little anger, “And Zac, I mean explain, not just tell her. It doesn’t matter what you believe you have or don’t have with her, she cares about you.” Mistrea ran a hand through her hair pulling a few loose strands off her face. “I’d say she either expects more from you, or already believes you’re hers.”

Zac looked a little uneasy, “You want me to get all touchy feely with her; explain that it isn’t her it’s me?”

Kyle almost chocked trying to hold back his laughter and had to leave the room to get a glass of water. It didn’t matter, being a Were, he’d hear what was said anyway.

Mistrea took pity on the man. “No Zac. I just want you to be honest with her. If I’m going to be the female Alpha, Shelby will have to deal with me and at times do what I say. I’d rather that happen without too much agro or too many bad feelings.” She turned to her aunt not knowing how better to explain.

“Zac, I do believe what my niece is trying to say is, don’t break Shelby’s heart. If you do it’s likely to cause more problems. So be gentle but make sure she knows you can’t be with her any longer.”

Zac rubbed a hand over his face, “I’ll do my best.” He glanced at Wade, “We should get back. I have a feeling there’s likely to be a stream of people visiting the Pack house today wanting to know what’s going on.”

As they walked to the door Zac turned, “I’ll tell everyone to give you a few days before converging on you.” He gave her a pained smile and left.

“Converging?” Mistrea turned to everyone, hoping for an explanation.

It was Alwyn that finally spoke. “Zac won’t lie to our people. Once they’re told you’re our female Alpha, they’ll all want to…” he sighed.

“Pay their respects?” Mistrea asked her voice filled with hope.

“Yes and no.” began Ivan. “They’ll be curious; they’ll want answers about what happened and where you’ve been all this time. Most importantly they will all want to know why you returned and hid who you are. They’ll be relentless!”

Mistrea shrugged, “I can’t say as I can blame them. I’d be curious too, maybe even a little angry. Don’t worry, if I can deal with a room full of fans throwing questions at me all at once I think I can handle this.”

The following two days were fairly quiet, after that all bets were off! Mistrea had what seemed like a never ending stream of visitors to her home. For the most part all her visitors were female. Aunt Mae stayed close by and several of her female students called by and stayed to help out, serving tea and doing whatever Mistrea asked of them.

People were as Alwyn stated relentless; respectful but wanting answers to all their questions. At the end of the third day Mistrea all but collapsed onto the couch, “Aunt Mae I’m thinking we should have a female get together. That way I can explain myself and not have to answer the same questions over and over again.” She glanced at her Aunt hopefully.

“I’ll organise something for tomorrow afternoon.” She saw surprise on Mistrea’s face and continued, “I’ll organise the venue and an endless supply of coffee and tea. Our guests will bring a plate each and if you could perhaps do some baking as well?”

“No problem! If you can get the word out about the gathering I’ll start baking.” And she did. Mae organised the use of the training centre for the following afternoon and sent word out to everyone. Mistrea had done quite a bit of baking, needed to focus on something other than her being the Pack’s female Alpha. She was past being nervous about having to speak to so many women. She kept telling herself the past couple of days had been practice runs.

It turned out there was no need to worry, the women were curious but mostly just wanted to meet… to touch base with her. By the end of the day Mistrea was talked out and certain of one thing. The kind of privacy she’d always enjoyed would now be a thing of the past.

Pack mates both male and female would drop by, giving little if any notice and she was sensible enough to know that thought they might not ask for help or advice, that’s exactly what many would want.

Zac spoke to Shelby, twice before she took on board what he was telling her. He did his best not to hurt her, but Mistrea had been right, Shelby had assumed there was more to their relationship than he’d stated up front. When she cried, he held her, apologised for hurting her and telling her that he was still her friend.

All in all, it had been a rough few days since they’d all met in Mistrea’s home to discuss her future in the Pack and what if any future there might be with her and Zac. They saw little of each other over the next week, Zac wanting to give her time to come to turns with her decision. When they did meet, he made sure Wade was on hand so she never felt pressured by being alone with him.

Over the following weeks Mistrea saw another side of Zac. Ollie stayed by her side at all times, her safety his main concern and sometime in the midst of that time came a semblance of the old feeling she had for him. It was slight and not quite the same, but it was there. It was something to build on.

Zac too had learnt more about his hopefully soon to be mate. But what he learnt about her was in a way inconsequential to what he learnt of himself through her. He discovered he could be more patient, more caring, started dropping in on the juveniles training sessions. He became more, he became the kind of Alpha he’d always hoped to be.

Almost three months had past and thought the going was slow; Mistrea and Zac were becoming comfortable with each other. They’d even had the occasional meeting without Wade in attendance. Neither knew, but the Pack was watching, waiting all hoping for their Alphas to finally realise they were meant to be together. No one spoke of it, letting them go about things in their own way, but there was a quiet anticipation within the Pack.

Mistrea had had a busy morning, dealing with several issues concerning the Packs young people. It wasn’t anything serious, but enough to give her pause to consider having at least two representatives from that group that could come directly to her with any issued they had.

With was with these thoughts that she stepped out her front door to get some air. A short walk would do her good. Mistrea didn’t realise where she was headed until she got there. She stood looking at the entrance to the garden that had been a bargaining chip in negotiations with Zac some time ago. She now owned it, in truth the garden had always been hers, even if she didn’t have ownership papers.

Mistrea took a deep calming breath and entered the garden. It had been well kept, the grass soft and lush under her feet, the flowers and shrugs in brilliant greens, yellows, reds and purples. She sat by the pond and closing her eyes listened to the fall of water from the fountain, as she ran her fingers in the water. The goldfish swam but ignoring her and suddenly she was a child again, playing in this same garden with her two closest friends.

Mistrea had no idea how long she sat that way, only shifting when she sensed she was no longer alone. “I was wondering when you’d come here.” Zac took a seat beside her, a gentle smile on his face. He too it seemed was remembering their past.

“I wasn’t ready until now. I’ve missed this place Zac, it was so much a part of my… our childhood.”

“That’s why you wanted it.” She nodded.

Zach reached out taking her hand, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. She didn’t and something settled deep inside of him. “I was such a fool Misty, I can’t believe I almost lost you a second time.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, hoping she’d understand that he would never again do anything to jeopardise what should have always been theirs.

She leaned in closer to him and without thought he pulled Mistrea into his lap. He released a worried breath when she didn’t pull away from him. “No matter how long it takes Misty, I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that I’m worthy of your love.”

Mistrea could feel tears in the back of her eyes, there was no way she could respond without him hearing those same tears in her voice, so she rested her head on his shoulder, nuzzling at his neck.

“I love you Zac, I always have probably always will.” She reached up placing a hand on his cheek, a soft smile on her lips. “Baby steps okay… but Zac, in your arms like this.” Her smile erupted into a huge grin, “I finally feel like I’ve come home.”

Zac wrapped his arms around his mate. Holding her close, he breathed in her scent, kissing the top of her head. He was surprised to feel dampness on his cheeks and let them fall, realising that he too was home.

Mistrea held him back this man who had hurt her, this man who loved her and was her mate. Only time would tell if they’d become one. Time they would both utilise to do what was best not only for their Pack, but for themselves.