Threat-1

Atasha’s Point of View

The time got closer for us to attend the evening's main event. Every attendees in the masquerade party were getting more and more excited, not only because they would have the chance to finally meet the Alpha of the Crimson Moon pack, but because they would all be witnessing a special performance that had been tailored precisely for the Alpha and his troops. In this particular instance, a theatrical performance was planned, which would be presented by East Land actors and actresses.

One of the most prominent themes of the play was how Alpha Gregory liberated the people of East Land, and several sections of the narratives were particularly notable for the way in which Gregory established a system for the construction of roads, schools, and other infrastructure that helped to shape this land into what it was today.

The people of the East land were evidently happy and looking forward to seeing how the Alpha would further take actions to make this place a better home for them. However, in our specific case, the Silver Moon Pack— the latest pack that had battled the Crimson Moon Pack— we were well aware that the Alpha of our rival pack was only interested in invading different areas here because of the natural resources they typically contained. They have a huge amount of resources here in the East land, everything from coal, iron, and a variety of other things. Mineral mining sites may be found in other sections of the Eastern lands as well.

On the other hand, the sole reason the Crimson Moon pack conquered the land of the Silver Moon pack, according to legend, was due to its abundance of diamonds, gold, and platinum. I recalled hearing this while I was with the Silver Moon pack in the past. It was an argument that could not be proved to be true as there was no single evidence that would point out such wealth in our land. That being said, Astrid and I doubted if that information was reliable or accurate. Perhaps, it was just a mere humor.

We didn’t know for sure why our little land— which had nothing but a plain community living a normal life— was considered to be a rival to the Crimson Moon. That fact alone made me think why Alpha Gregory wasted more time to battle against us, who had nothing to offer.

But by the time I arrived in their territory, it became clear to me as I had heard that the Crimson Moon pack had planned to acquire control of any regions that may pose a threat to the royal family of Montreals.

That information made me feel enraged more towards the Alpha. In fact, I also wanted him dead to justify what he’d done to the Silver Moon pack. I wanted him to suffer and face the consequences of his cruelty and brutality . . . but I had to keep it all inside. Those were just wishful thinking as I didn’t believe that murdering him would put a stop to all of these battles he started.

All I could think about right now was to take advantage of the chance that had been provided to me— to become a Luna of Elijah, and while I worked with him, our goal to build a better world would be carried out as planned.

The moment we got close to the main theater, I made it a point to stand tall and lift my head. However when I spotted Clarence standing at its main door, I let out a gasp.

"Hello there! So, I think everyone is here already," Clarence stated to the gathered crowd.

I did look at her intently. Her eyes were sparkling in joy as she gazed at Elijah. My lips were pressed together and formed a thin line. I had to admit that I felt an unfamiliar grief inside of me, knowing that they had already reconciled. But I guess, it was Elijah’s decision in the first place. Who was I to even judge him about such an action? What we had was purely business.

"Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?" Veronica asked her curiously. I was a little surprised that she didn't recognize Clarence, given that she was Elijah's girlfriend in the past.

"It was me, Clarence. Don’t you remember me?" Clarence responded with glee.

I glanced at Veronica whose brows furrowed with Clarence’s statements.

“I apologize but I never heard your name before except from Atasha. However, I am very delighted to meet you. I’m grateful that you took care of her while she’s here.” Veronica looked at me and mouthed something, “The soon to be Luna of the Alpha’s son, Elijah Montreal.”

But it seemed like Clarence deciphered what Veronica said based on how she raised her brow as she looked at Elijah’s sister.

"I'm not sure how the supporters of the Hero's daughter are going to react if they find out that she will be the future Luna of the next Alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack," Clarence said with a smirk on her face. She then flipped her hair and shoved me in the shoulder. "Get out of the way, mutt," she said in hushed tones then gave me a cold gaze.

I squeezed my fist, and then I felt Elijah patted the back of my shoulder.

"Don't worry about her, Atasha," he remarked, which only added to my annoyance.

"As I already stated, it does not bother me at all. Whatever it is that your ‘girlfriend’ is trying to tell me, I couldn't care less," with a grave tone, I replied.

I saw how Elijah’s face turned grim. I looked away and decided to distance myself from him. Veronica then gently massaged my shoulders from behind me.

"Don't worry about her. She was just being envious," she said and then chuckled slightly.

I took a deep breath, nodded at her, and then we all went inside the theater room. The moment we stepped inside, my eyes looked for Leo immediately, who seemed nowhere to be found.

“Did you happen to see Leo?" Elijah inquired.

Veronica shook her head, while I remained silent as I couldn’t find any traces of Leo. We took a few steps down to the bleachers and found some seats which had our names on it.

I was taken aback to discover that Leo, who was the one who prepared the whole area, decided to make us sit in one row, my seat being on the right side of Elijah’s and Clarence on his left. I felt how my pulse pounded wildly just by staring at these seats that were reserved for us.

Was there anything that could possibly be more significant than this idea?

Were you playing a joke on us, Leo? I was too confident that he orchestrated everything, and this was intentional!

I paused for a moment but then regained my composure and settled on the seat that was assigned to me in silence. On the other hand, Veronica and Zach were seated in front of us, next to the designated seats for the Alpha, his Beta and assistant.

I haven't seen Alpha Gregory and his troops yet. This included Leo as well. I was anxious, thinking that he might have decided to pursue his plan which was why he couldn’t be seen anywhere around here. But I prayed inwardly, hoping that my gut feeling was wrong.

Each and every one of the people who were invited here was an ally of the Crimson Moon pack. I recalled Leo telling me that I was a part of his plan; however I was hoping that he meant that he wanted me to be with Elijah. The fact that I had no way of finding out whether this night may come to an abrupt end without any notice or not, it made me feel uncomfortable.

I couldn’t help but also questioned the Alpha’s reason why he had to come to this event despite learning about the fake war his children had created. No one even knew about what happened to the conversation he had with the Chief of Military forces here, and I was too curious to learn how the Chief handled the situation in a diplomatic matter.

I sighed and shoved all these thoughts away from my head. I looked at the other side of the bleachers and spotted the old man who helped me get home when I was lost in the market before. I checked the balcony and other seats behind me. A lot of people were seated and there were still some who were entering the room. I guess this would be a really big performance then.

My eyes were too busy checking out the people entering the area, hoping that Leo would show up, when I felt someone caressing my neck.

“Hey, stop it!” I shoved Elijah’s hand away and stared at him angrily.

“I don’t understand what you are mad about, Atasha,” he commented.

I took a deep breath, shook my head and clicked my tongue.

“About what you’ve witnessed in the clinic, I wanted to let you know that it was just a misunderstanding and I didn’t reconcile with Clarence.”

Misunderstanding? Clarence was naked on the bed!

“Elijah, I’m not interested in what happened earlier,” I said in a cold tone. “But I bet you enjoyed speaking with Clarence. You two sure had a good time.”

He held my hand and squeezed it. My heart skipped a beat, brows were furrowed as my gaze was pinned on our hands.

“Atasha, I’m not here for Clarence. She only wanted to seduce me. That’s it. I didn’t bed her, you have to believe me. I know you’ve caught us in a very awkward situation, knowing that she’s fully naked, but I didn’t take her back,” he explained.

I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes. I could see how he swallowed hard, struggling for the words he wanted to say.

"I tied her up because she annoyed me, and so that I could get away from her.” He sighed and squeezed my hand once again. “Atasha, you are the only one to whom I am committed. I'm committed to prioritizing our plan. Keep it in mind."

I observed the emotion painted on his face and he did appear to have made some sense. But then, I recalled the image of Clarence’s and how she was tied up on the bed which was the same scene that happened to us in the forest back then, and it sure did make me feel upset once more.

Was it Elijah’s way of bedding women?

"So you love tying the hands of your preys whenever you bed them?” I didn’t mean to sound suspicious of him but it came off that way.

He groaned, shook his head and leaned forward to meet my gaze.

“No, that’s not it, Atasha but . . .” He swallowed once again. “And I’d love to show you that I’m capable of other things aside from trying women’s hands whenever I bed them. How about we do it later?” he queried.

My cheeks flushed as I gazed at him, astounded with those words he just stated.

“Can you tell me what the heck you're talking about?" I almost yelled at him.

My heart thumped faster and I could have sworn I felt an electrifying feeling running through my body.

Was he trying to tease me?

He grinned playfully. “Well, once we get back to our home, we will tie the knot and we have to mate. That’s normal for married couples, isn’t it?”

“Aside from the fact that we are not a normal couple, I find it inappropriate, Elijah.”

He smirked, licked his lower lip and was about to say something but couldn’t voice it out for some reason. I swallowed very hard, trying to calm my heart as it was banging my rib cage already.

Damn, Elijah and his unexpected words!

"Besides, I was under the impression that you had already reconciled with Clarence," I commented.

Now, his emotion seemed to have changed, more enraged as he heard Clarence’s name.

"That is a name I do not want to hear again. I assure you there’s nothing going on between us anymore and when we go back home, we’re going to get married as soon as possible,” he said.

My emotions were running high. I wished I could let it all out here but I needed to maintain my composure as creating a scene in the middle of the crowd was the last thing I ever wanted.

“It would be better if we convince your father first and make him realize that I’m worthy of becoming your Luna, rather than to give him another grief because of your impulse decision to marry me just to prove that you’re not interested in Clarence.”

If he really wanted this alliance to work, I thought about doing the right procedure as I didn’t like the idea of doing things out of pulse. This mess alone made me feel sorry for his father who expected another war but ended up finding out a botched plot of his children. Sure, I knew they had done such actions for me but I could no longer stand another mountain of falsehoods being built only for the purpose of training me to become the right fit for him. Somehow, I was able to partially shift my hands, which was a little step forward for us, but we still have a long way to go.

“Instead of rushing the marriage, why not take our time instead? I’ve asked Zach to teach me how to properly shift into my wolf form, which is required so I can be your Luna. Sounds like a plan, isn’t it?" I inquired.

But instead of agreeing to my plan, his brows wrinkled as he glared through me.

“Do you think I still have the confidence to trust Zach knowing that he was the reason why my original plan got ruined? How can I possibly put my trust in him when it concerns you?"

I sighed and pulled my hand away from his and rested it on my lap. "I want to be better, Elijah. I want to establish myself as the most qualified candidate for the position we are aiming for. If you are unable to place your confidence in Zach, then at least put your faith in me," I expressed it in a calm and collected tone, hoping that somehow he would agree with me this time.

Looking back at what happened in the forest, I literally had no idea how I managed to partially shift. That alone made me realize that I wasn’t really cursed. Even though I didn’t know how to do it again, I’d do everything so I could master the shifting. I had high hopes that I would be able to finally unlock my wolf and present my abilities to Alpha Gregory.

Perhaps Elijah was correct in supposing that I was a late bloomer, similar to Veronica. This time around, I knew that I'd been given something special by the Moon Goddess, which I wanted to use to prove my value to everyone, including myself.

All I ever wanted was to show to everyone that they were completely wrong about what they believed they knew about me. For the sake of my father, Julian Greene, my sister Astrid, and the Silver Moon Pack, I have chosen this path. I was heading in the right direction. I would then exhibit what I was truly capable of . . .

But for the time being, I would put in the work necessary to get there.