My Omega Queen
Chapter 28: Formalities

POV: Emily

Everyone’s silent and staring at me, baffled.

“Now I’ve done it… is he going to kill us?”

“Of course not, he’s our mate. He would have found out sooner or later.” Accalia tried to reassure me.

“But he’s also our King…” My thoughts are interrupted by Edward’s reaction:

“Michael, Amanda, you two can go to sleep, it’s late. We’ll talk about the details in the morning.”

The Betas nod respectufully and leave the room, confusion written all over their face. After we remain by ourselves, Edward sits down at his office, looks me dead in the eyes and asks:

“Would you care to explain what just happened?”

I gulp, and try to reply. It comes out more shaky than I had wished: “W-what do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. I used an Alpha command yet you were seemingly unnaffected. How can that be?!” his voice sounds both confused and frustrated.

“I don’t know.” I tell him maintaining eye contact to prove my honesty.

My answer was not well received as he stood up from the desk and began stomping towards me. His huge, bulky arms pinned me to the sofa.

“Mark me.” He said, as blunt as a rock.

“Huh? Why?! I’m sure Arthur would want it in another kind of setting…”

“I need to know if you’re honest with me, and I could feel that through our mate bond if it were completed. Now mark me.”

His request took me by surprise. Accalia couldn’t care less about his reasoning as long as she got to mark her mate, so my fangs came out instantly at the idea. Due to all the ruckus, we had almost forgotten to complete our part of the ritual. If this is what needs to be done so that he can trust me, then we are more than willing to offer it to him.

I grab his head by the scruff and bring his neck closer to me. The sound of his b***d flowing through the veins is mesmerizing, guiding me to the precise location where my mark should be. I go ahead and pierce his skin with my fangs. The moment his b***d touches my tongue, I can feel both the mind-link with the pack and the mate bond taking form. I quickly lick the wound by instinct to protect him from any pain, and I distance my head so as to look at his face.

“You… you really don’t know… b-but how…” Edward begins saying, while taking a step back and turning on his heels. He looks extremely shaken up by the information. His face conveys multiple complex emotions, even subtily so. From the initial joy of completing the bond, to his confusion upon confirming my words, culminating with a slight fear in his eyes, as he tries to form a coherent sentence. I really want to help him, so I aim to clear the air a bit:

“I have never felt the normal submission towards another wolf, not even an Alpha, for some reason.” After saying this, I get up and try to follow his footsteps and hug him, but he gestures me to stop and says in a whisper:

“Please, leave me alone for now.”

I could almost hear my heart break in two at his words. Yet, I found it appropriate to listen to his wishes and avoid frustrating him any longer. Accalia’s impulse to calm her mate was especially hard to control at this moment, making me clench my fists in the process. I decided to leave the office and wallow in my helplessness. I headed towards our room, took a shower and crawled in the bed. Despite waiting for the rest of the night, Edward had not returned to our room. I could feel his confusion and pondering flowing through our mate bond, keeping me awake all night long.

I didn’t even realise what time it was until Michael mind-linked me. He scared the hell out of me as I hadn’t received a mind-link in awhile:

“Good morning Luna, my apologies if I have woken you up. We have been summoned to the office for today’s briefing.”

“I’ll be there in a minute”. I replied. I got ready quickly and made my way to the office. As I walked in, Edward was sitting at the desk, clearly still distraught. Amanda and the two Elders were sitting on the couch and Michael was standing beside the door, as per usual. I didn’t exactly know where to stay, so I chose to stand beside Michael.

Edward did not even look at me, he merely joined his hands in front of him and began the meeting using a grim tone:

“Now that we’re all here, we can proceed. So, to bring everyone present up to date with the news, the traitorous Elder Cole has admitted to his wrongdoings and ill intentions. Therefore, as per the law, he has been executed.” Elders Andrew and Lance gasp loudly, but recover soon after Edward looks suspiciously at them, his eyes darkening with anger:

“Are you surprised that a traitor has received his punishment?” he said, focusing his look on the Elders. They straighten their back and reply almost in unison:

“No, Alpha Edward.”

Edward nods and continues: “That’s what I thought. To get on with the decisions, Rachel Greyback shall be exiled with the possibility to join other packs from the county while the other offender, Antonio Marcus Greyback, shall be executed publicly tonight, at sunset. Right after these ceremonies, we will continue the night with the much awaited hunt, in order to celebrate the Luna and raise everyone’s spirits. That would be it for today’s briefing, you are free to go. Michael, Amanda, you two please stick around a bit more.”

The thought to ask for a moment of his time to talk has occured in my mind, but he is the one who needed space, so I decide to leave, again. I cannot tell if he is angry at me, afraid of me or simply confused by the situation. “Are they going to talk about me and my weird capabilities?”

Accalia yawns and feels the need to step in: “What if they are? It’s a good thing for the pack.”

I nod, unconvinced. My only hope is that tonight’s hunt will help ease his feelings. With that in mind, I make up my mind to spend the day helping around at the kindergarten and at the training grounds. No sooner said than done, the pack members welcome me with open arms and receive my help gladly. Even Rachel’s chihuahuas bared their neck when I met them at the training grounds and greeted me respectfully. I was actually having such a great time that I completely forgot about everything else and I have again been taken aback by Michael’s sudden mind-link:

“Luna, please begin making your way towards the southern border as we are preparing for Rachel’s exile.”

“Already?!” I ask, as I notice the dark red sun almost setting down. “I’m on my way.”

Arrived there, I could see Rachel’s figure on her knees, still with her hands cuffed at the back. Her head was lowered to the ground as she was sobbing. Only Edward and Michael were there, seemingly waiting for me. I pitied her as she must have figured out her father’s punishment by now which would explain her miserable condition,

Edward did not seem to flinch at her crying noises, but he chose to look away. Michael smiled at me gently and said:

“Due to the circumstances, the winner of the challenge, meaning you, Emily, has to conclude this ceremony.”

“Shouldn’t we also call her friends to say goodbye?”

Michael looked saddened towards Rachel’s state and noted in a low voice: “Unfortunately, no other pack members are allowed to attend during this event. Rachel Greyback had been made aware of the consequences of her decision before the challenge and she agreed to them.”

“I see.” I said as I stepped in front of her dejected shape. Rachel stopped sobbing at hearing my footsteps close to her head and lifted it. Her body seemed more of a vessel than a human being. She stared at me with her empty eyes, in anticipation of her sentence. I gulped as I remembered that I had never witnessed an exile. Since nobody ever expected me to take on such an important position in the pack, I had not received proper Luna training, which usually takes years of study. However, the moment I opened my mouth, it felt as if the words came pouring out naturally:

“I, Emily Midnight, command you, Rachel Greyback, as your Luna and Queen, to continue your life roaming this earth as a rogue. You are allowed to join another pack, if there will be one as desperate as to receive you. May the Goddess watch over you.”

We feel her mind-link break at the same time as she starts screaming. Michael uncuffs her hands and we all stand waiting for the pain to subside. Eventually, she calms down and slowly gets up, dragging her feet towards the wilderness.