#3 By the Light of the Silver Moon

Fox

Not long after I settled into my office, my dad came walking in.

“It seems that your mother and your mate have really hit it off.” Dad jokes, sitting down in one of the oversized chairs and pouring himself a brandy.

“I hoped they would.” I smiled,

“Marigold really misses her mom. I figured she would like someone to talk to.”

“You have a good one, Fox, we really like Mari.” Dad nodded approvingly.

“Thanks, Dad, that means a lot to me.”

“Just remember what I’ve always told you, the job is important but your mate is the most important. You can afford to lose the title of Alpha, you cannot survive losing her.” Dad’s tone turned serious as he spoke of the mate bond, just like it always did when he told us about it growing up.

“I know that now more than ever. You don’t have to tell me how valuable my mate is to me. She’s everything.” I assured my father that I understand how precious Marigold was for both me and the pack.

“Smart man. Your mom and Mari are off bonding so I thought I would come check in with you.” My father shrugged.

“Yeah, actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.” I told my father about my new alliances with Alpha Noah and Alpha August, and their accusations against the Council.

“I think you handled it well, making an alliance with two strong, young Alphas, is smart no matter how you look at it. As for the Council, I didn’t have any interactions with them myself, they steered clear because we were handling our pack business just fine. But, my father, your grandfather Samuel, never had good things to say about them.” Dad said with a shrug.

I never knew either of my grandparents. My father’s parents, Samuel and Natasha, died very young. Natasha died giving birth to my father’s younger brother and Samuel committed sucide after handing the pack over to my dad when he turned eighteen. The thought of spending any more time without his mate drove him crazy.

My mother’s parents, Lilliana and Marcus, were omegas in a pack that was disbanded by the Council when my mother was just a baby. The pack’s Alpha was keeping omegas as sex slaves and, when the Council found out, he was sentenced to death for his crimes and the pack was exiled; left with no other option than to either join the neighboring packs or become rogues.

The ranked members were accepted by other packs, but most of the omegas were forced to become rogues. Lilliana and Marcus became rogues and were killed when my mother was a teenager. She was lucky to find a pack who were kind enough to take her in. When she turned eighteen, the Alpha of that pack became her mate.

“What did he say?” I asked about my grandfather, Samuel.

“He blamed them for flaking on their responsibilities and, instead, putting their noses where they didn’t belong. He had this theory that the Council purposefully disbanded packs and murdered Alphas for crimes they didn’t commit in order to form larger, stronger packs who we’re thankful for the Council’s intervention. My father always said that the Council wanted a werewolf empire, not a community. By creating larger clans, instead of smaller packs spread out throughout the country, the packs would be easier to control and manipulate.” Dad explained.

“It sounds like the Council has been up to no good for a while.” I sighed.

“Honestly, I’m not sure how they came to power in the first place. No one does. They just showed up one day in the time of your great, great-grandparents and all the ancestral documents from before the Council disappeared.” Father said, taking another sip of his brandy.

“Well this pack is going to be prepared to take them out if the Council comes at me and my mate.” I growled.

“If the Council crosses that line, they’ll have more than just this pack to worry about.” Father agreed.

As if on cue, my phone rang and an unknown number crossed the screen. I gave my father a weird look and pressed the green ‘answer’ button.

“Hello?”

“Alpha Finn Oxford?”

“Yes?”

“This is Elder Jacob from the Council.” I glared at my father and he mouthed what? I pulled the phone away from my ear and pressed the speaker button.

“What can I do for you, Elder Jacob?” My father rolled his eyes at the sound of a Council member’s title.

“I’m told that you found your mate but I have not heard a Luna announcement from your pack, yet?” Elder Jacob said.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that the Council was concerned about my pack’s Luna status.” I snapped. My father made a motion with his hand to try and tell me to calm down and be level headed.

“We are interested in all of our packs Alpha and Luna to ensure that each pack is being led to its fullest potential.” Elder Jacob responded.

“Hm.” I grunted.

“Alpha Finn?”

“Yes, Elder Jacob, I have met my mate but she has not completed the Luna ceremony yet.” The better question was, how did the Council even know I met my mate when no official announcement has been made.

“Oh?” More lied behind Elder Jacob’s one word answer, but I offered no explanation, only silence.

“May I inquire as to why?” Elder Jacob pressed.

“My mate and I simply aren’t ready for that yet.”

“Why ever not? Does your mate not want to be a Luna?” Elder Jacob tone was accusing.

“She wants to be more prepared.” I said in a plain voice.

“More prepared? Does she not come from a ranked bloodline?” My father and I shared a look, trying to determine if Elder Jacob was just playing stupid or he really didn’t know that Marigold wasn’t a werewolf.

“No.” I replied.

“Ah, I see.” Elder Jacob paused, waiting for me to say more, and, in doing so, gave himself away. I gave my father a knowing nod. Elder Jacob, and the Council, knew exactly who, or rather what, Marigold was.

“It’s been some time since the Council has made a visit to Silver Moon. Perhaps we will come and meet this unwilling Luna of yours, Alpha Finn.” Elder Jacob’s voice was clearly threatening.

“She’s not unwilling, Elder, she’s simply not taking a job that she is not yet prepared for. Please feel free to visit anytime, but, make no mistake, my mate will not be the one on trial. Good day, Elder Jacob.” I ended the phone call before he could reply.

“Way to stay cool, son.” My father said, shaking his head.

“That was a witch hunt, and you know it.” I snapped.

“Oh, I know that, but you don’t need to hand them their case, Fox. Diplomacy is half the battle, have I taught you nothing?” Father eyed me curiously, knowing damn well that he taught me everything. He sipped his brandy with a knowing smirk.

“He questioned my mate. That’s unacceptable.” I nearly growled, my level head long gone.

“You said it once already, Fox, no one will touch your mate. You have strong allies who have assured you of that. You have a strong pack who will guarantee their Luna’s safety.” My father’s voice was strong and I was compelled to believe it.

“I want to be selfish for my mate, Dad, but I don’t want to be selfish with the pack. How can I be an Alpha and not put the pack’s wellbeing first?” I sighed, feeling defeated.

“The pack loves the Luna just as you do, they won’t let anything happen to her and they expect the same thing from you. The pack will only look down on you if you let harm come to their Luna, not for choosing her safety over theirs. I assure you of this.” Father leaned forward in his chair and spoke to me with his world famous Alpha speech-making voice.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You know, that makes me think of a time I had to make a similar decision.” Dad sat back in his chair and dove into a story. I smiled and decided to relax and listen.