Seventeen

Marianne watched as Draco and his mate, Olivia banter back and forth and her heart really ached at the sight of them together but as much as she loved and wanted Draco to be hers, she knew he wasn't ever going to be and she could only wait patiently for the day she would also meet her mate and maybe, just maybe her feelings for Draco would finally become a thing of the past.

At first, she knew Draco and Olivia really couldn't stand the sight of each other and bicker every now and then but now she could tell it was more than that.

Their banter may have at a point seemed like an obvious show of the dislike they had for each other but now, she could tell that they had both grown used to it and now they enjoyed bickering so much so that they actually feel quite uncomfortable if they don't bicker at each other for one reason or the other.

"You are such an airhead Draco! How can you not see what I'm seeing? It's the fucking obvious you dummy. Think about it, she is the Alpha of the Redmoon pack, our fucking enemies and suddenly she wants to find the blah blah blah and you guys are allowing it like you don't see it's just a dumb tactic to ruin us!" She hissed and Draco fumed mentally.

"You are unbelievable Olivia. You do realise your cousin is her mate and whether they both like it or not, they cannot do anything about it just as I can't do anything about you. So just like I can't hurt you as much as I sometimes want to, she can't do the same." He retorted and she glared at him.

"Well guess what, I also do not care about you and I also want to hurt you but unfortunately, I have to tolerate your sorry ass." She snarled.

"Well, good for you, you big stupid baby!" He hissed a reply.

Olivia felt her heart ache from his words. As much as she acted tough by pretending to be irritated by his presence, she had come to like him a whole lot and she didn't really mean any of the rude words she said to him but she couldn't say the same about him as he always made sure to hurt her right back with his words.

"I will never understand what I did to deserve such a useless, childish and stupid man for a mate! Unbelievable!" She spat out, getting up in annoyance.

"Where the fuck are you going to?" Draco asked.

She hmph, "I highly doubt that's any of your business dummy! It's not like you actually give a fuck about anything that goes on with me." She hissed.

Draco mentally rolled his eyes. There was really no use arguing with her as she was never going to listen. "You're right, I don't give a fuck so go fuck yourself." He replied nonchalantly.

She turned to glare at him but he seemed unfazed by her action.

"Fuck you!" She spat out.

He smiled, "Well you haven't fucked me yet but if you want, we could get at it now."

She scoffed. "In your dreams you fucking pig! I wouldn't fuck a man like you, you...you...argh!" She groaned in frustration as she couldn't think of anything to describe him with.

He smiled, "You are so eager darling but it's fine. Your secret's safe with me. Besides you and I know I wouldn't want to fuck a hothead like you anyway. I'm pretty sure you know I'm not easily swayed by your supposed beauty like many others and as far as I'm concerned, you are like every common woman out there and there is absolutely nothing special about you so you can fuck off you irritant." He snapped back at her and his words genuinely hurt her.

His words had pierced through her heart with those words that basically belittled her as the same as every other woman out there.

She wanted to say something but she couldn't bring herself to say anything so she simply shut her mouth and walked out of the room.

Draco sighed.

"You know you shouldn't be saying those words to Draco. You keep hurting her feelings." Marianne said from behind, finally coming out to show she had witnessed the hot mess.

Draco had not noticed she was in the room but hearing her voice now, he turned to look at her.

"You really went too far this time Draco. You know such hurtful words can't be taken back." Marianne said.

"I know, I know Marianne but you know how she is. It's so fucking hard to get things to work with her and it's hard not to say mean things to her when she literally gets on my last nerves." He replied with a tired sigh.

Draco couldn't deny the fact that the crazy girl had grown on him and he was finding it hard to accept it.

Marianne watched his facial expression switch from both upset to worried and she mentally sighed as she tried so hard to keep her emotions in check. She couldn't help but envy Olivia and it ate her up on the inside that she had to be the one to deal with him whenever he and Olivia had issues.

"You'll both be fine." She said to him and he nods before turning to look at her with the beautiful smile that weakened her. She loved him and there was absolutely no denying it.

**********

After a very hectic and messy back and forth, the Redmoon pack members finally decided to let Kira speak on the reason she had decided to take the step in trying to make peace with her supposed mate who was also their enemy.

"It was a lot at first but as we all know, the moon goddess always has a reason. Maybe this long term feud had to come to an end sooner or later and she wants to use us both as a means to end it all." Kira spoke softly.

"What rubbish!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

"You are telling us to move on so easily? That's impossible! The silvermoon pack hates us and giving them a chance like this would be the end of us all!" another person shouted.

Kira gulped. Her head was spinning and she was thinking of the words to say to them and how to convince them otherwise.

"It's not gonna be the end of us you guys!" Layla defended.

The crowd laughed out as if what Layla had said was stupid and unnecessary. Kira wished her father was alive, maybe he would have been able to convince them as he was already loved and respected but as for her, they didn't even think she was ready to be here.

She began to think that maybe this was another reason why the moon goddess had chosen her mate to be from their rivalry pack. There were people who were against her leadership and she could see it clearly as they belittled her and made it seem like she was incapable.

"Enough all of you!" She growled furiously when the noise from the crowd became very suffocating and annoying. Immediately her voice went off, the crowd went silent.

"You say it's gonna be the end of us, okay fine, maybe it will really be the end of us!" She spat out.

"But guess what guys, we do not get to choose our mate and the moon goddess decides what's best for us and you all want me to challenge her all of sudden? Aren't you all with your mates because you believe she's never wrong? So why can't mine be the same?" She scoffed.

"Have you all realised that our pack is becoming divided? I'm gonna assume this is another reason for it, we are not as united as we once were and it's a shame that the elders of this pack are so nonchalant about our future."

"You say you want a war but why can't you just choose to be at peace? We say they hate peace but what about us? Aren't we acting the same way we see them? Listen people, I see this whole situation as a medium for us to make peace and if possible form a good and stable alliance. We cannot possibly keep killing each other and hating each other cause at the end of the day, what are we gaining?"

"Many of you weren't there when the first war broke out between the Silvermoon pack and our pack but we all lived by the stories that were passed down to us without even being sure of the authenticity. Aren't you all tired already? Does the back and forth not wear you out? Aren't you sick and tired of always watching your back like some criminal?" She asked, raising her voice a little more than she wanted to.

Everyone went silent not because they wanted to but because they knew she had a point and anything they said would not be enough to counter her words.

"There will be no war between both packs anymore and if I can go to the silvermoon pack and get familiar with them whilst observing and understanding them, then this long time feud is going to come to end. You can call me undeserving or incapable but I will not promote hate and murder in my reign. If you can't deal with peace, get out of here cause from now on, I'll make sure my people don't have to walk around with the fear of getting attacked and children will no longer be taught how to hate eachother and fight just because of a stupid feud. Is this understood?" She said firmly.

Layla couldn't be more proud of Kira. Her niece had definitely exceeded her expectations and she was more than proud of every word she uttered.

Kira sighed now that she saw her point was getting across to them like she wanted.

"I had called for this gathering because I want us all to be on the same page and for us to be one. As long as I am in the silvermoon pack territory, they won't make a move on our pack and I want the same energy to reciprocate. The Alpha of the silvermoon pack cannot kill me and he has no other option but to stop whatever evil schemes he may have already had and even if he doesn't, I'll make sure to never let it happen." She added.

"What will you be doing while in their territory?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"I am afraid I won't be disclosing that yet but I promise you, this war, this era of violence will come to an end because I believe that we need allies not enemies and trust me when I say, the Silvermoon pack is not our enemy. Have a good day everyone."