Chapter 88: The Opposition

The Elder glanced at his friend, and they might discuss it through the mind link. Then one of them said, “Alpha Cameron, the peace treaty is important. Will you sacrifice our pack for one person?” They challenged me with their questions.

It was outrageous! How could the Elders who supposedly protected our people defended and supported outsiders? Yes, the Hurricane Dawn Pack was our ally, but their Alpha broke the peace treaty by his action. I growled and glared at the two Elders. I already prepared for the worst.

But then, the Great Assembly room’s door opened, and Anna walked into the room. She bowed her head to my father and Elder Tom, but also to other Elders. I immediately glanced at the youngest werewolf in the room. The youngster understood, and he took a chair and placed it next to me.

“Thank you,” I said. “Anna, please sit here.”

Anna rushed to cross the room and took a seat next to me. When she looked at Lisa, her eyes widened, but then she glanced elsewhere.

Lisa coughed and covered her mouth with a hand. Her face was pale. Yet Nate kept holding her hand. “Alpha, can I say something to Anna?” Lisa said.

I creased my forehead. What would she say? But we were in the middle of an important meeting. I didn’t think Lisa would be too stupid to create another problem. So, I finally nodded. “Sure, as long as what you say is a nice thing.”

Lisa coughed again. “Anna, I want to apologize for what I did yesterday. It was wrong and vile. I was jealous of you because I thought Cameron was the father of my pup. Apparently, I was wrong. I’m so s-sorry.” Her voice was shaky. Then she took a deep breath. “As a mother-to-be, I should show more empathy to you, instead I saw you as a threat.” Her lips trembled. “I-I truly apologize.”

Anna nodded at Lisa. “Thank you, Luna. I understand your position. I also heard you were drugged, so your memory was messed up. Yes, what you did was terrible, but as you were under the drug influence, I can understand. I accept your apology, Luna.”

I squeezed Anna’s hand. She made me so proud. I smiled at her and said, “I believe we all have heard how understanding my woman is.”

Some Elders smiled and nodded, but several of them didn’t show a positive reaction. Lisa bit her lower lip and wiped her eyes. She didn’t gaze at Anna. However, Nate patted Lisa’s back and nodded at her, giving her strength and encouragement without words.

“I have another request, Elders,” Lisa said. “I had no clear conscience when the marking ceremony was carried out. That’s why I want to ask for the annulment of the relationship between Alpha Cameron and I.” She glanced at me. “We had never consummated our relationship with mating. Instead, I mated with my mate, Nathanael Thorn. So, I hope all Elders will understand about this.”

“But what about the peace treaty, Luna?” an Elder asked. “The marking ceremony between Alpha Cameron and you should maintain the alliance and peace between our packs. If you ask for annulment, what about our alliance and peace treaty?”

“From what I can see, my father made a mistake by drugging me, and my brother (Alpha Bill) knew it. So, my brother agreed with my father’s action.” Lisa let out a heavy sigh, and her shoulders slumped. “Then, with what happened yesterday, I made a grave mistake, and so did my brother. I think my brother will understand about the annulment and won’t do anything to ruin the alliance between the two packs.”

Some Elders discussed it. An Elder stood and bowed at me. “Alpha Cameron, with the reports we heard from many people today, I think it is clear already. We are not on the wrong side. I support Luna Lisa’s suggestion.”

Elder Tom bowed his head at Anna. “I think the best decision is returning Beta Lisa to her pack, and immediately have another marking ceremony for our Alpha and Miss Anna. It is not good if we let the Alpha’s pup be born as an illegitimate child.”

My father beamed to hear that. “Thank you, Elder Tom. You are wise, indeed. I support your decision wholeheartedly.”

Some Elders supported the decision. It seemed we would reach an agreement. I was happy and satisfied to hear that, but sadly, it was too fast for me to feel like I was winning.

A few Elders stood together, and one of them nodded at my father and Elder Tom. “Alpha Cameron, Elder Horace and Elder Tom, we have different opinions. The peace treaty is too important to decide only with an unfortunate event. Instead of annulling the relationship between our Alpha and Luna Lisa, we can improve our alliance by forgiving Alpha Bill.”

“I will forgive Alpha Bill,” I said. “However, before agreeing to the marking ceremony with Lisa, I had made an agreement with Nate. I will give Luna Lisa to him as he is her real mate. Besides, we already heard what she said. If she wasn’t under drug influence, she wouldn’t have agreed to the marking ceremony.”

“You can’t break the relationship because of another woman, Alpha. What will other packs say? They will think you are weak because of a woman.”

I stood and took a deep breath to maintain my calm. Otherwise, I would strangle them with my hands. “With all respect, Elders, I don’t care what others think. If I can’t protect my woman, I don’t think I deserve to be an Alpha.”

“Is this a treat?” some Elders asked. “If you want to step aside, go on. We can choose another Alpha.”

“Halt!” Elder Tom said. “Why should we force Alpha Cameron to step aside? He did nothing wrong!”

“Elder Tom, you are Elder Horace’s best friend. No wonder you will support our Alpha regardless of what he did.”

“Because he did no wrong. I support him. If he made a mistake, I would be the first person to say it.” Elder Tom shook his head. “We must maintain our pack’s honor by protecting our people first. If other people, even if it is our alliance, think they can stomp on our pack based on the peace treaty, they are absolutely wrong!”