My dad takes a deep breath and then looks at Seleste.
“Seleste, will you come up here please?”
Seleste walks up and stands in front of my father. I must admit, she is looking very nice in her dress. It is a one shoulder number that fits her curves perfectly. Unlike me, Seleste is looking calm and composed. Looks like things are backfiring a little. She should be the one that is flustered and angry. Not me.
“Son, do you see that mark on Seleste’s right shoulder?”
I look closely. There is a crescent moon with a star on her shoulder. I have read something about that symbol before, but I paid little attention to it and what it means.
“Yes. I see it, So?”
“I’m losing my patients with you, pup. Disrespect my Sweet Pea one more time. I dare you.” Mr. True says through clinched teeth.
My father sighs.
“Son, that mark is the mark of The Protector. The Protector is a direct descendant of Fenroe, the Original Protector. This honor has passed down through the True family since the moon goddess created the original six werewolves.”
“Wait dad, are you telling me, Seleste is a descendant of an original werewolf?”
“Yes, son, Seleste is a direct descendant on her father’s side and a distant relative on her mother’s side. She is a pure blood gamma and chosen by the Goddess to be the Protector of all supernaturals. As a reward to our pack for being the chosen home of the protector line, the moon goddess has kept a protection around our pack. She has also blessed an area in the middle of the forest so that our wolves, especially the protector, can be close to her and recharge. I noticed our blessed place has not been the same over the last couple days and now I know why.”
“Are you saying that because I rejected Seleste, our pack is not blessed anymore?”
“As long as the True family freely stays with us, the blessing of the moon goddess remains, but if they choose to leave, they take the blessing with them. Every pack in this country, including the royal pack, would accept them with open arms and you, my son, told them to leave.” My dad says and shakes his head.
“Alpha, just so you know, If Seleste choses to leave, I will take my entire family with her. She is my only child and my number one priority.” Mr. True says.
“How do you know my father would grant you permission to leave?”
“Really, Trevor, stop talking. How is it you have understood nothing your father has said to you so far?” My mother says.
‘Son, did you not hear what I said. The True family has a choice to stay with a pack or not. Don’t you remember any of the history lessons you learned? The Original and their descendants are all alpha wolves. The original beta and the original gamma respected the original alpha enough to lead with him. They always have to choose to submit. It is not a compulsion for them. They could actually leave and go form their own pack or align with another alpha.”
My heart sinks when my father says that. I remember hearing about the originals, but I paid little attention. I know that Seleste family was here from the beginning of this pack, but I didn’t think it was that serious. There are a lot of families that were here at the beginning.
“Son, your ancestor and Seleste’s ancestor made an alliance when this pack was created. The families agreed to lead together and work with the council to ensure that the protector received the right training and growth in order to fulfill their duties to all the supernatural community. For a millennium, we have honored that alliance, but you broke the alliance without a thought.”
“But dad, I didn’t know. I thought I was doing the right thing for the pack.”
“Son, you should have known. We covered this in alpha training. You say you were thinking about the pack, but you were only thinking about yourself, your pride and your selfishness. You obviously are not ready to lead the pack. We will not be having your alpha ceremony anytime soon. I will remain alpha for the foreseeable future.”
My father then turns to Seleste, “I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive my son. I don’t know what made him turn this way, but the pack needs him. Do you think there is a chance for you and him to reconcile?”
Why would my dad ask her that? I definitely don’t think that will ever happen.
“Alpha, I asked Trevor to take time and think about the rejection; to be sure that rejecting ne was what he really wanted. He told me he was sure that this was what he wanted. I tried to reason with him, but he was determined to reject me. All because he was upset about our fight in training.” Seleste said,
“See alpha Connor. Trevor had it in his mind that I made him look weak because I didn’t fight him at full strength. What I never understood was why he would think that I would use full strength while training. So he was mad at me for not treating him like an enemy. He purposely hurt me, while I tried to be a friend to him. Not only did he hurt me, he made my wolf cry twice. I don’t see a way past this at all. Not for him and I.”
“Wait,” Alpha Connor said.
“That whole situation over the past year was about the training match you had? The one that everyone was bragging about how well Trevor fought against you? The one that I was bragging to the warriors that my son lasted a whole round with you?” My dad asked.
“Trevor, I can’t believe that this was your issue. The purpose of the training is to test your skill and learn areas you need to improve. Seleste usually continues the fight long enough to test us, then she ends it by either taking the opponent down or in my and her parents’ case, taking a fall and letting us win.”
“Dad, did you just say Seleste lets you win?”
“Of course she does. She does it out of respect. We are not in an official challenge, so why would she want to win against her alpha in front of everyone? The purpose of training is to improve. Each time I train with Seleste, she pushing my a little further and fights a little harder. I measure my progress by the degree of increased fighting we do. Thats her job. She does it well and we are a better pack because of it.”
“I never knew that she lets you win against her. The fights look so real.”
“They are real, Trevor, but the point of the fights are for training, not hurting or killing each other. There is so much more for you to learn about leading a pack.”
My dad returns his attention back to Seleste.
“I hate to seem like I’m pressuring you. Seleste, you know I love you like a daughter. Is there anything Trevor can do to make you consider giving him another chance?”
“Alpha, Trevor has never even apologized for what he did, nor has he asked for another chance. I don’t think there is any hope for us being mates. He chose another female, and he has already been intimate with her. I’m ok with that. I was angry at first, but I know I will be better off in the end. I will still have an experience that he never will. I’m sorry if that sounds petty alpha, but it is how I feel.”
I wonder what she means by that. What experience will she have that I never will?