Chapter Sixty Seven

Liam

I woke up to the most delicious view of my sweet mate, naked in my arms. I felt so complete. She trusted me completely. She stirred in my arms and I nuzzled her face with my own. A smile crept up on her lips, but she didn’t open her eyes. I kissed her soft lips and she giggled.

“Good Morning, Little Luna,” I said.

“Mmm. Good morning, My Alpha,” she hummed. I love when she calls me that.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Great,” she said, finally opening those gorgeous green orbs. Her eyes captivated me as I stared at my dazzling mate. How couldn’t I always see her?

“Liam?” she said breaking me from my revelry.

“Yea, baby?”

“I have an idea about White Moon….”

-

We were sitting in my office, waiting for Madame Eirlys to join us. Azalea sat in my lap, fidgeting around, lost in thought. I ran my hand in small circles on her back as we patiently waited. I was actually impressed when she presented her idea to me this morning. I agreed with the contingent that she presented it to Madame Eirlys. I knew she was nervous, but she had no idea how proud I was at how much of a Luna she has become practically overnight.

A knock on the door told us that Damien had arrived with Madame Eirlys. “Come in,” I said in a flat tone. I did not want her to have any pretense as to what was about to happen. I wanted to let Azalea set the tone.

Azalea stood from my lap as they entered. Damien came to stand behind us and Madame Eirlys took a seat in front of me.

“Well, you have summoned me Alpha?” she said expectantly.

“Actually, my mate has come up with a solution to your dilemma,” I said in a bored tone. I looked at her with a small smile. She gave me a tight smile back. I stood from my chair and pulled her over to sit in it, giving her more authority. I stood behind her with Damien.

“You sure?” he linked.

“She has got this.”

“Madame Eirlys, we face a little bit of an impasse. Your pack is without an Alpha and is hurting from the recent attack you faced. I am the only one of Alpha lineage from White Moon, but I have no desire to go to White Moon. To be honest, your desire for me to take over the pack seems more of desperation than anything else. You knew my parents were killed and left me here in Blood Eclipse to be an orphan.” Azalea paused. “I have a proposition for you as a representative of White Moon. Join Blood Eclipse. Merge our packs and we will welcome the White Moon pack members with open arms. My Alpha and I have discussed this, and we feel that we have the space and resources to combine our packs.” Azalea held her gaze steady at Madame Eirlys.

The old lady gave Azalea a precarious look. “Interesting proposition,” she said finally. “But are you even able to offer me this when you are not the official Luna of this pack?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. I began to growl but Azalea immediately responded.

“The delay in my Luna ceremony is the fault of Kol and this issue he caused in challenging my mate for his title. I assure you; I will be made Luna soon and I have the full support of the Alpha and Beta on this. Do you think we would be in the Alpha’s office with him in attendance if I were offering you something I could not do?”

“You are smarter than you appear. Much like your mother,” the old lady reminisced. “I will have to discuss this with the remaining members of my pack. I will do so under one condition.”

“Yes?”

“Tell me what your wolf’s name is.”

“You want to know what my wolf’s name is?” Azalea asked her confused. The old lady simply nodded to her. “Clemencia. Her name was Clemencia.”

Madame Eirlys’ eyes grew large. She looked over Azalea like she could not believe it. Then what Azalea said caught up to her. “Was?”

Azalea smiled and stood up. “Please, talk with your pack members. We will send someone with you to bring back a reply.”

The old lady stood, her face showing a mix of irritation and awe. She turned and left the office. Damien was the first to speak once the door closed.

“Luna, what did you mean by ‘was’?”

She remained quiet. I could feel a small amount of embarrassment from her, but I couldn’t see her face. I approached her, pulling her to me.

“Let me explain later…” I linked him. His eyes connected with mine and he understood.

Azalea

“Luna, what did you mean by was?” Damien asked. I froze. So far, only Liam knew about it and I forgot he was in the room. Tears sprung up into my eyes; I was not ready to tell everyone yet.

Liam came over to me, pulling me into his arms. I buried my face in his chest, letting his touch calm me.

Someone knocked on the door. Liam looked towards the door. “Are you okay?” he linked me.

“Yea, I am okay,” I said dashing the tears from my eyes.

“Can I introduce you to someone?” he asked.

I looked up at him confused. “Bring him in,” said Liam to Damien. Damien standing at the door. He opened it wider letting someone follow him in. Damien and the man stood in front of the desk.

“Azalea, I would like to introduce you to Felix. He will be replacing Austin as your personal guard,” Liam said, giving me a measured look. I nodded at him and looked at the man across from me.

He was large, as large as Damien and Liam. He easily looked like he was of Alpha blood. He had full, vibrant grey hair and a scar above his eye that cut his eyebrow in half. His hair was long on top shaved into a fade down the sides. His eyes were a chocolatey brown. He wore a simple black shirt with dark jeans. He had a stoic look on his face. Most would probably find him unapproachable. I did not miss the mate mark on his neck, slightly hidden by his shirt.

“Do I have a choice?” I linked Liam as I gazed up into his worried blue eyes. He shook his head at me. Okay, he needed this. I am sure he and Damien went through countless choices to find one that suited all Liam’s criteria.

I walked around the desk and approached Felix. I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Felix. I am Azalea and it looks like we have no choice but to be good friends,” I said smiling at him. His face was struck with confusion as he shook my hand. “So, tell me, do you like to bake?”

-

It had been a few days since Madame Eirlys left back to White Moon. Liam and Damien were expecting their reply soon. I had been keeping myself busy trying to integrate and make friends in the pack. Missy had brought all her friends over after school one day and we made cookies and played games. Some of their parents were uneasy when they came to get them but when the kids gushed about how much fun they had with their Luna, everyone softened up to me. I did find it comical explaining Felix to everyone. Of course, Missy was not afraid of him at all. She simply wanted him on her team for tug-of-war.

Felix and I were getting along well. I found out that he had joined Blood Eclipse only two years ago, meaning he knew nothing about me. He had lost his mate in a rogue attack before coming to our pack. Knowing Liam, all these factors pointed to the perfect guard for me. The more time I spent with him, the more he loosened up, but he was still very straight laced.

The only discussion we had about White Moon after Madame Eirlys left was Liam asking me why I did not pursue having her train me to use my gift. I explained to him that as I thought about it, it felt like something that White Moon wanted to use to their advantage. Although I would like to find out more and learn to control it, I also wanted it to stay between us for now. Surely the possibility that I have the power to heal others would make me a target which only hurts Liam more.

I was currently in the lounge with Missy and Felix, cleaning up. Felix stood to the side, giving us a bored look as we laughed and joked. “Alpha!” Missy squealed as she looked towards Felix. Sure enough, when I looked over my shoulder, there was my handsome mate watching us. Missy hopped up and ran over to him first.

“Thank you for letting my friends play here today, Alpha Liam! Luna made us snacks and we had so much fun!” she said excitedly.

Liam chuckled at her. “Of course, Missy. Thank you for keeping Luna busy today,” he said.

Her smile got even wider on her small face. “But your mom is here to take you home. Why don’t you run along?” She nodded her head at him before running back over to me. She jumped at me and I caught her in a big hug. Felix rolled his eyes.

Once she had gone, Liam came over to me, opening his arms for me. I happily walked into his arms, wrapping mine around his waist. His arms wrapped around me and I relaxed into him. “Hello, Little Luna,” he said into my hair.

“Hi,” I said into his chest.

“I should warn you, I am only here as a messenger,” he said over the link.

I pulled away giving him a confused look. He chuckled. “There is someone coming for you. Apparently, your assistance is needed for wedding planning?”

Just then Lily came into the room. “There you are!” she said exasperated. “Come on, Alpha. Give her up. You can have her back later. She needs to help me pick out my wedding dress!”

Liam chuckled. “Sorry,” he said.

I rolled my eyes and he leaned down to peck my lips. I extracted myself from his arms and let Lily pull me from the room. I had promised her to go dress shopping together and with everything going on, it had been put on hold. Apparently, she was done waiting.

“Come on, if I have to do this with Mrs. Hale, I need back up!” she said. We headed to the front door. I laughed at her.

“Can I grab my bag and coat?” I asked.

“Already got it,” she said. I laughed again.

“Of course you did.” We got to the front door and another one of Lily’s friends was standing there with both of our bags and my coat. We grabbed our things and loaded up in the cars.

Lily and I were joined by her mother, Andrea, Damien’s mother, Mrs. Hale, and 2 of her friends, Katy and Betty. Andrea and Lily’s friends went in one vehicle while Lily, Mrs. Hale, Felix, and I went in the other. Lily told me she pitched a fit to Damien and Liam about Felix joining us, but Liam would not budge. Felix drove us and Lily sat next to him in the passenger seat. I did not mind as Mrs. Hale was really nice to me and one of the few older members of the pack that accepted me.

It did not take long to get to the small bridal boutique. We all loaded out of the cars and went inside. Felix hid in a corner while we all went to the fitting area where Lily could try on dresses and show all of us.

Lily started by trying on a couple dresses that her mom picked out. She did not love any of those and soon moved on to Katy and Betty’s choices. Again, she didn’t love them. Mrs. Hale kept asking her why she did not like things or what she would prefer. I could tell Lily was getting frustrated by all the questions and that Mrs. Hale was just trying to help.

After Lily had tried on about 25 dresses she was getting pretty upset, not having found ‘the’ dress yet. I was walking around the boutique looking at some various styles when Mrs. Hale came up to me holding a dress.

“Here,” she said, handing it to me. “Suggest this one to her. I think it's the perfect one.”

“Why don’t you show her then?” I asked.

“She won’t like it if I give it to her, but I just have a feeling,” said Mrs. Hale with a thoughtful smile. This confused me but I took the dress over to Lily anyway.

Lily was cranky but I managed to convince her to try on one last dress. She went to the changing room begrudgingly but came out with a look of awe on her face. And Mrs. Hale was completely right; this was the one. Lily curves hugged the dress in the most perfect way. It accented her physique perfectly without taking away her femininity. She practically glowed as she looked at herself in the wrap around mirrors. The details were simple and just girly enough without being too over the top. We were all stunned with amazed smiles on our faces.

I looked at Mrs. Hale as she admired her soon to be daughter-in-law. She had the most loving smile on her face. For a moment, my heart hurt a little bit knowing I would never have a mother or mother-in-law that loved me the same way.

“Azalea, where did you find this?”

I shook my head. “Lily, I would love to take credit but that was all Mrs. Hale,” I said to her with a smile.

She turned with a shocked look at Mrs. Hale. She just smiled at Lily. “I wasn’t meaning to annoy you, darling. I was just hoping to find the details you were looking for,” she said pausing for a moment. “You make my son so happy and you are better than anything Declan and I could have asked for in a daughter. I just wanted to help you find the perfect dress that would make you feel as beautiful on the outside as we know you are on the inside,” she finished.

Lily’s eyes watered. She walked towards Mrs. Hale and enveloped her in a hug. Lily’s mom smiled looking at her daughter.

-

It did not take long to get Lily’s measurements and purchase the dress. It fit almost perfectly off the rack. We were soon on our way back to the pack house. Lily and Mrs. Hale talked animatedly together about wedding plans that Lily had been hesitant to share until now. I sat quietly in the back just letting them bond. Felix kept eyeing me in the rearview mirror but would look away as soon as I looked at him.

Damien and Liam were waiting for us when we got back. Lily flew into her mate’s arms in a cheery mood. After they bid their mothers goodbye, they disappeared probably off to their room. Felix and Liam had some silent conversation before Liam, and I went off to our own room.

“I made you dinner,” he said as we climbed the stairs of the pack house.

“You did?” I said smiling.

“Damien helped but yea. We figured you girls may not have eaten. It’s already upstairs all ready for us,” he said with a big smile. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He seemed like he was being careful with me for some reason.

“You two are so sweet,” I said. They really were wonderfully thoughtful mates. When we got up to our room, I hung my coat up in the closet before coming over to sit with Liam on the sofa. He was eyeing me carefully. “So, what's for dinner?” I asked, trying to ignore his looks.

He leaned forward and pulled the cover off the dish sitting on the table. There was a beautiful grilled fish with braised vegetables. “This looks amazing Liam! Where did you learn to cook this?” I asked, amazed.

He smiled. “That bear of a Beta I have apparently had some hidden talents. He helped,” Liam explained. I grabbed my plate and took a bite.

“Mmmm,” I moaned. “This is amazing!” He took his plate and we started eating.

“So, how was dress shopping? I assume she found the one with how happy she was when you guys got back?”

“It was great. And yes, she did find the dress. Mrs. Hale actually picked the winner,” I told him.

“I bet she was not happy about that,” he said.

“Actually, I think they bonded,” I told him, smiling a little. He gave me another odd look. I set my plate down and crossed my arms. “Alright. Tell me. What is it? Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“No… It’s nothing…” he tried.

“What did Felix say?” I raised my eyebrows.

He looked nervous. He set his plate down too and turned to me. He brushed my hair behind my ear, and he looked into my eyes. He looked a little sad. “He said you seemed sad when you watched Lily with her mom and Mrs. Hale today…” he sighed. My face dropped a little. “I was worried you might be upset about everything. With your parents being gone and mine being less than welcoming… I was just worried…” His hand cupped my face and his eyes searched mine.

I brought my hand up to cover his. “I’m okay. I was a little sad. I won’t lie and say it didn’t cross my mind that I would never have a mom to do that stuff with. And like you said, your parents don’t care for me. I can’t imagine they would even accept an invitation should we decide to get married.”

“I am so sorry baby. I wish I could make them see how amazing you are. You don’t deserve their hostility.”

“It’s okay. Liam, you’re enough for me,” I said trying to reassure him. He pulled me to him, wrapping me in his arms.