Chapter 8: Challenge

Accalia’s face pales faster than Rain thought was possible.

Even with Rain’s keen senses, Accalia’s speed is impressive as she bolts out of the door like she’s being chased.

Between the sound of Accalia’s pounding feet and the door slamming against the wall as Accalia threw it open, Rain can hear screams from downstairs.

Glass hitting the floor, unintelligible shouting with dozens of voices overlapping, and most of all, the sound of snarls from wolves.

Staring at the now open door, she had a decision to make.

Ultimately, her curiosity beat out her stubbornness.

She followed Accalia’s path, out of the door and down the winding hallway. The packhouse looked massive from the outside, no doubt it was confusing to navigate on the inside.

She followed her ears and her nose, tracing the scent trail Accalia left behind. As mixed as it was with dozens of other wolves, she found the downstairs easy enough.

The closer she got, the more of the argument she heard.

“You’re protecting that thing!”

“That thing is our Luna!”

“The Moon Goddess has failed us!”

“How dare you question the Alpha!”

Rain crept down the staircase, flattening herself to the wall. Delightful smells of breakfast teased her nose and despite having already eaten, she was almost drooling.

She leaned over the wall, taking the scene before her.

Two wolves stood on either side of the large room, almost a hall instead of a dining room. Dozens of unknown faces stood on either side. In the middle stood a large wooden table filled to the brim with all kinds of food.

“No matter your feelings, Rain is Orion’s mate,” The Beta, Virus? Said in a loud booming voice, cutting through the protests. “We must honor the Moon Goddesses' decision.”

He stood beside the familiar black and brown colored wolf, one she knew well by this point as it snarled at the other side of the table. Accalia was on the other side of Orion’s wolfy form, looking between the two sides with vainly disguised concern.

“All due respect, Beta Vikas,” A woman stepped up, next to the snarling wolf on the other side, “I disagree.”

There was no denying how gorgeous the woman was, strong, powerful, tall, and proud as she took hold of the wolf's attention. She was a vision to behold, her hair cut short to her chin and her eyes smoldering with passion.

Everything Rain was not.

Rain leaned against the wall even further, hoping it swallowed her as the woman’s dark eyes matched Vikas’s.

“We cannot have a rogue-born as our Luna,” The woman said, crossing her arms firmly, “It goes against everything the packs stand for. This is a mistake.”

“Are you implying the Moon Goddess makes mistakes?” Vikas narrowed his eyes.

The pack rumbled uneasily, whispering unsurely to one another.

“Yes,” The woman answered. No hesitation, a devised clear and cut answer.

“How dare you?” Vikas snarled.

“How dare I? You welcome a rogue-born into our pack and expect us to welcome her with hugs and praises just because she’s Orion’s mate? Have you ever thought about what keeping a rogue-born in our pack would do? What they’ve already done to us? Did Alpha Lyas mean so little to you?” The woman screamed out the name.

“Orion, no!”

Orion snarled, wolf form already jumping at the woman’s form but Accalia and Vikas jumped into action, restraining his thrashing body as best they could. They both kept screaming for him to calm down, struggling to pin him down but he kept trying to throw himself at the calm and composed woman.

“Reyka!”

A new voice called over the chaos and the room fell silent all at once.

She was older, hair lined with grey streaks and wrinkles forming at the crease of her eyes, but still just as beautiful. She looked tired but powerful.

The pack members parted for her, respect in their every movement.

Whoever this was, she was very important.

“Luna Liana,” Reyka murmured, looking like a scolded child.

“Mom,” Accalia breathed out in relief, tears shining at the corners of her eyes.

Liana did not take her eyes off the wolf, who fell limp in the arms of Vikas and Accalia.

“Orion,” She said sternly, “This is no way for an Alpha to behave. Shift back, now.”

Orion did as he was asked, Vikas quickly throwing clothes over him.

The pack members looked away respectfully as he dressed. Once fully clothed, he faced his mother with a grim look.

“I’m sorry, Mother, I lost my temper,” He admitted.

Liana simply humphed under her breath, turning to Reyka’s form. She narrowed her eyes.

“No matter how much favor I have bestowed upon you, Reyka, that is no excuse to throw my mate's name out for your own purposes.”

“Yes, Luna,” Reyka muttered. “I apologize.”

And with that, the tension dissipated just a little bit.

“Now, about Orion’s mate,” Liana started, taking a seat at the now empty forty-seat table. “Our laws are clear. Mate bonds are sacred. Unless you can prove that she is unfit to be our Luna or she forfeits the title herself, She is our future Luna.”

Reyka frowned, looking a moment from protesting but Liana spoke first, her eyes meeting Rains from where she stood at the staircase.

“What say you, Miss rogue-born? Will you forfeit your title as Luna and my son’s mate?”

All eyes locked onto her.

“Rain,” Orion breathed as if he had not even noticed she had been there.

He took a step towards her but his mother raised her hand and he stopped in his tracks.

Liana’s eyes did not leave hers. There was no anger, but that only made things worse in Rain’s opinion. She couldn’t read any emotion in Liana’s eyes, just a simple expectation like she expected an answer and she expected it now.

“Uh,” Rain’s hoarse voice barely made a noise as she tried to respond but how was she supposed to answer?

She didn’t know their laws, had barely even known what a mate was before yesterday and now they wanted her to make a decision she wasn’t informed about?

Rain hid her shaky hands behind her back, unsure of how to answer.

This indecisiveness is what broke the straw.

“See! She’s too much of a savage to even give a simple answer!” Reyka protested first, eyes narrowed hatefully on Rain’s form.

“Maybe she can’t even speak. What do you expect from a rogue-born anyway?”

“I bet she’s too stupid to answer. Someone like that as our Luna? What a joke.”

The whispers piled up and Liana’s eyes continued to narrow every second but what was she supposed to say?

“Our pack deserves better than that mongrel,” One wolf huffed.

“Alpha deserves a better mate,” Another one snapped.

Rain’s mouth shut with a snap, flinching back at those words.

That cut deep.

Because wasn't she right? Didn’t the pack deserve better than a trash scavenging rogue? Didn’t Orion, so handsome and so kind as he had wrapped her useless arms, deserve better than someone who had only hurt him?

Rain didn’t know the first thing about being a Luna. She didn’t know how to be a mate, either.

She was too broken.

“How useless. Someone who backs down doesn’t deserve that place,” Reyka stepped forward, her words cutting deep. “I challenge you.”

“Reyka!” Orion snapped as everyone’s attention focused on the beautiful woman.

“I mean it! I challenge you, rogue-born, for the right to be Orion’s mate and future Luna,” Reyka stated proudly, facing Rain with every inch of her taller towering form.

Rain felt like she was facing one of the giant buildings back in the city instead of a simple few inches.

Murmurs of approval rang through the pack but Rain was only focused on the woman’s passionate eyes, furious and ready to fight.

But why?

Rain wasn’t stupid. She knew challenges between wolves often meant until submission or even more commonly between death.

She’d seen challenges between rogues before, had watched them tear one another apart over food, territory, even something as simple as a dirty blanket.

But for this?

Rain’s eyes slid over to Orion’s, furious.

He was handsome, like those movie posters that often got discarded into the trash but surely not enough to die for?

Reyka would be a much better Luna. Would be a better mate for him.

But an answer to that burning question on the tip of her tongue was all she needed to give up, once and for all.

“But why?” It slipped out but she didn’t regret it. “Why would you want to hurt yourself just to be Luna? Is it that important?”

Reyka’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

The room fell into silence and Orion flinched back, wounded. Silence reigned over the room, nearly every eye locked on her in outrage.

Rain had messed up.