Alpha's Mate

Chapter 35

Jade's Pov

   "We have to admit, we were shocked you called a meeting. Before we begin, can we know what these two ladies are doing here?" One of the older men asked. Christina rolled her eyes and stared at Ayden. I wish she rolled her eyes so far back they remained there.
    "I can't wait to see the look on her face when Ayden announces that we are Luna," Sara snickered.
   "Yes, the purpose of this meeting was to notify you that I have found my mate." He declared. A round of gasps went around the room and all eyes landed on both Skylar and me. It's almost as if they were attempting to figure out if it was one of us.
    "It's okay you got this" Ayden's soothing voice chimed through my head.
   "I present to you, Jade Brooklow, Your Luna of the Crystal moon pack." He stood us up and they all looked stunned.
   "Luna," They said at the same time and bowed. I shifted awkwardly on my feet and glanced at Ayden.
    "We have officially marked each other and will be hosting the Luna ceremony soon." He stated and smiled down at me.
   "Congratulation Alpha. Welcome to our Pack, Luna Jade" One of them said and I gave him a small nod.
    "Wait!" Christina got up and I heard Caden groan. We looked her way and she had an aggravated look on her face.
   "How do we know you didn't get a stray from outside and made her Luna, so you can handle the pack for yourselves?" She asked.
    "I wasn't interested in searching for a mate before I met Jade." He kissed my head. "Now, I have never been happier." He turned to look at Christina with a serious face.
   "Christina, we can't neglect whoever is his fated mate. If that's who Moon Goddess Evangeline chose for him then we have to respect that." They explained and she scoffed.
    "We all noticed her. We all doubted her and thought she was part of the people leaving dead bodies on the border." I looked at Ayden confused and he had a violent look on his face.
   "Whoops sorry. Did our precious Luna not know about the dangers and problems that are going on in the pack?" She smirked and I felt my fist ball up.
    "It's not Jade's fault she wasn't authorized to know the information until she was Luna," Ayden said through gritted teeth.
   "She can't be Luna! I was supposed to be your Luna!" She shrieked.
    "Enough! How dare you disrespect your Alpha that way and dishonor your new Luna?! What rank did you say you were? You need to realize your place and learn how to respect your Alpha and Luna." I snapped at her. She was in shock that I brought up the words she told me when I first met her.
   "I am a top warrior and-"
    "I don't give a damn if you are top warrior because I can replace you in a second. Respect doesn't come with the title it's earned. If I recall, you have done nothing but disrespect me and my friend the entire time we have been here." I argued. The whole room was silent and she struggled to come up with something to say. I did not break eye contact with her and eventually, she sat down.
   "Get out." Ayden spat at her.
    "The meeting isn't over." She argued.
   "You're out. We can finish the meeting ourselves. You're banned from the council. Go instruct the next training class. Lance will be busy." He said and looked down at the papers on the table. She scoffed and left, knocking down her chair on the way out.
  "You're a badass Luna." Caden linked me.
    "Suddenly, I have more confidence," I replied.
   "The agreement was the council would finish as soon as I would find my Luna," Ayden reminisced and they nodded. "I will set up a few more meetings until Jade gets caught up in everything."
    "Yes Alpha," They said in unison.
   "Take the rest of the day off." He said and they stood up.
    "Alpha, Luna" They bowed at us and I pressed my lips together.
    "That face isn't badass" Caden snickered.
    "Will you find it badass when I kick you in the nuts?" He laughed out loud and then clasped his hand over his mouth. He scowled at me and I stuck my tongue out at him. They all left the room and Skylar sighed.
   "That was intense." She giggled.
    "Someone had to put her in her place," I scoffed and crossed my arms.
   "It was amazing," Ayden said. He leaned in to kiss me but I moved away and stepped back. I felt bad instantly but I was still upset with him.
    "Please don't be mad at me."
   "Ayden you're in trouble" Caden teased. Lance snickered and Ayden glared at him.
    "Go have your marking celebration with the boys." I stood up, his sad gaze following my movements. "Skylar and I are taking a girl's day" I grabbed her hand and walked towards the door.
   "Jade! Don't leave please!" He called out and I turned around.
    "Later you're going to have to explain everything to me," I said and he nodded.
   "Ayden, you are so submissive," Caden stated. Lance slapped his head and he grimaced. I stormed out and walked Skylar to our bedroom. I shut the door and slid down the wall.
    "What's wrong?" She asked and sat by my side.
   "I keep having all these mood changes. One minute I can be so confident that I can break someone's neck, the other I'm a frightened little wolf." I buried my face in my knees and sighed. "How am I supposed to be Luna?"
    "Jade, Ayden won't rush you into this. You heard him, he will have the council for a few more meetings until you can catch up. I thought it was cool how you stood up to Christina. Everyone in the room was surprised to see your outburst,"
   "I don't feel like that all the time. What if, when the time comes, I have to decide on something and I freeze?" I asked.
    "Pick up your head, I can't hear you clearly," I raised my head slowly and she smiled.
   "You have to stop questioning yourself so much. You have to accept that you are Luna. It's your fate. You can't ignore it. No one is perfect you're going to make mistakes. Everyone does, so what?" She said.
    "I can always count on you to cheer me up."
   "I know"
    She stood up and I looked at her confused. "Come on, you have to tell me all the juicy details about you and Ayden, but I'll rather do it while we are laying down on the comfy bed not the hard floor" She extended her hand and I took it so she could pull me up.
    "Do I have to tell you every single detail?"
   "No, just the important stuff."
    "We had sex."
  She sat up and playfully slapped my arm.
   "You're kidding!"
    "No, I am not. It happened last night."
  She laid back down and squealed. How was she so excited about us having sex?
   "I can't believe it! How was it?"
    "It was. . .painful." I trailed off. "He is big. I was scared at first but after a few minutes I got comfortable with him."
    "No wonder you're walking funny"
   "Wait you can tell? Please tell me it's not that obvious."
    "You're walking as if you have a rash between your legs,"
  I groaned and felt my face getting hot. I didn't even realize I was walking differently.
   "How does the marking happen?"
    "It turns out you have to bite your mate with your canine teeth to complete the process." I moved my hair and showed her the mark on my neck. She stared at it in awe and smiled. I had shown it to her already, but this time she was able to examine it closer.
   "I'm glad you finally found your person. I hope I find mine soon." She pouted.
    "Don't worry. He. . .or she is out there somewhere." I smiled at her. "If not, you'll always have me." She scoffed and I acted hurt.
   "I know you will always be there, but I want someone to share my intimate life with. Someone that can make me feel like Ayden makes you feel."
    "That's why I'll always be here. Don't close that door on us." I winked up at her and she busted out laughing.
   "Jade! I'm being serious!" she sighed.
    "Look how about we make a deal? I won't worry about my Luna duties and you won't stress about your Mate. Things take time. We are all on different paths. We just need to let life take its course"  I said and she nodded.
    "You know I love you right?"
   "I love you too"
She crawled over to me and I hugged her.
    "Are you sore?" She asked me as I pulled away.
   "Yes, It still hurts. It'll probably go away in a couple of days." I shrugged. I felt anger run through my veins and I sat up.
   "What's wrong?" Skylar asked and sat up next to me.
    "This morning before I woke up, I felt fear run through my body. Ayden woke up panicked when Caden linked him that you were freaking out." I said. She nodded slowly trying to figure out my point.
   "Right now I have the same feeling, but with anger."
    "Are you telling me you can feel Ayden's feelings?"  I shrugged.
   "Ayden?" I tried opening a link with him.
    "My love are you okay?"
   "Are you angry?"
    "Why do you ask?"
   "Can you just answer the question?"
    "Yes. Caden got me upset. Jade, can we talk about earlier?"
   "I can't right now, I'm with Skylar, I'll talk to you later"
    I closed the connection and Skylar was looking at me with anticipation.
     "What did he say?"
   "He was angry at Caden. It's a connection that mates must have within each other I guess." She clapped and I laughed.
    "How exciting! You have cool magical powers and now you can feel what he feels. Can this get any better?" She went on. "Do you think we can go down and get some food? I'm kind of hungry."
    "You know we don't have to ask for permission to go." I stood up.
   "I'm still getting used to the rules here." She shrugged and stood up.
    "Don't worry it's understandable."
   We left the room and headed downstairs to the dining room. I let go of the braid I had to cover my neck. I don't know what people know about me and I want to keep it secret for now. I saw two familiar kids running around and stopped when they noticed us. They ran toward us and clung to our legs as they did with Caden.
    "What did I say about doing that?" Their mom came and attempted to get them off.
   "Hey! Rachel right? It's okay don't worry about it. Did you have lunch already?" I asked and she shook her head. "What if we took care of the kids while you ate?"
    "Oh no, It's fine I don't want to disturb you."
   "You're not," Skylar assured. Rachel smiled at us and nodded. She bent down to the kids' level and grabbed their hands.
    "These nice ladies are going to take care of you. Please be on your best behavior okay?" She said and they nodded. She stood up and looked at us confused. "I'm sorry I didn't get your names.
   "I'm Skylar and this is Jade." Skylar introduced us and her face went into a panic.
    "Jade as in THE jade?" She asked and I looked at her confused.
   "What do you mean?" I asked her.
    "There are rumors about Alpha Ayden picking a Luna with the name Jade. They said you were hideous and unstable to be our Luna, but you look perfectly fine to me" She said. I felt my jaw clench and I smiled at her.
   "I'm sure whoever started these rumors were spreading out false information" I laughed awkwardly.
    "Are you sure I don't bother with the kids?" She asked again and I shook my head.
   "Go enjoy your meal. We won't be far." I reassured and she nodded.
    "Thank you so much." She said before walking away.
   "I guess Christina has been busy being mischievous" I linked Skylar.
    "People will get a bad image of you before they even know you. Aren't you worried about that?"
   "No, I'll prove to them that everything she is saying about me is false."
    I looked down at the kids who were giggling at our feet. Taking care of the kids shouldn't be that hard right?