22. Grace

- I See Red—Vella-

It’s been over a week since the meeting with Dustin and Ambrose and without telling my mates, I made arrangements for the elders to arrive. Ruby sits in my office with me as we peruse the lists of the betas from both packs.

“What do you know about the Volkov Betas?” I look at Ruby as I stare at the list of ten betas from Nicolai’s pack.

“Not much. I know they were handpicked by Nicolai’s father. He was savage and vicious and almost a tyrant in his prime. They were vetted in the harshest way possible. Their loyalty goes without question.” Ruby exhales roughly as she wipes a single tear from her cheek. “There were dark days in the middle of Uri’s reign. He ruled by force and blood, and he took no prisoners when creating a security team for his pack.”

Tilting my head in Ruby’s direction, I stare at her for several moments. “That’s an interesting fact I was unaware of.” Looking down at the papers before me.

“Luna?” Gia, one of my assistants, pops her head into the office. “The elders are here.” Her eyes dart around nervously. The scent of fear wafted into my office and I honestly don’t understand why she would be scared.

“Show them in please and get beverages for everyone as well.” I try to hold my tone, making sure it was even as possible. Knots started forming in my belly from nerves. I was about to be face to face with five of the most powerful wolves in all the packs.

Gia moves quickly and left the room in the blink of an eye. Looking back over at Ruby, she smiles and moves to stand behind me, resting her hands on my shoulders as the elders were led in.

Remembering the protocols Ruby told me about, I stand up and slightly lower my head to the gentlemen as they enter. “Elders, thank you for taking time out of your schedule for me.” I hold my bow for several moments before standing up straight.

“What is the meaning of this Luna? Never in the history of the packs has a Luna summoned us to a pack.” The battle scar riddled alpha stares at me with one milky blind eye. Ruby leans in and whispers the Alphas name, Jakob Masbath.

“Alpha Masbath, you honor me with your presence. I will get to the point post haste.” Gently, I motion to the chairs I had set up for their arrival.

As the five elders take their seats, Ruby assists Gia in passing out the drinks. “Benjamin, it’s been a very long time since I saw you. You look good.” Ruby blushes fiercely and I hear a soft giggle escape her lips before she moves on to the next alpha.

“If you have not been made aware, I am the mate to four alphas and an omega.” Moving my eyes over the elders Jakob and one of the others, I don’t know their name yet eyebrows shot up.

“What do you mean, four alphas?” Jakob tilts his head and his eyes faintly glow.

“Do you want me to summon them?” I understand he’s an alpha, but if the books are correct, I out rank every person in this room. If the books are accurate, to go against me and my mates is almost like committing a mortal sin.

“A young Luna cannot summon their alphas at their whim.” Benjamin balks. He’s huge compared to the other four with him. His biceps are the size of my thighs, but more defined. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he was a strongman competitor. I’m positive he’s used his size to get his way more than once in his life.

I wink at Ruby and allow my wolf to surface. Her presence ripples just under my skin as I reach out to the threads of my mates I can feel. Gently I pull on them, not urgently, just a come here kind of pull. When I feel their energy spark up in response, I smile broadly. “They’ll be here shortly.” I sit back in my chair and one by one I feel their presences approach. The elders are speaking among themselves in disbelief that I believe I can summon my mates.

Ethan is the first through the door and he looks at the elders, then moves to kiss me on the cheek. “What’s happening?” He nuzzles my cheek, then rests a hand on my shoulder.

“Proving a point.” I look up at Ethan and smile, and he smirks, looking down at me.

“Flexing your muscles again?” He rolls his eyes and laughs softly.

“Just a little. The big show is yet to come.” I wink at Ethan when Conrad and Griffin enter together.

“Grace, is everything okay? We came as fast as we could.” Griffin states as he looks over the Alphas before nuzzling my cheek.

“Yup, just waiting on Nic,” I beam up at him, excited by the way the elders silenced, listening to the way my mates questioned why I had called for them.

“Nikolai Volkov?” The blonde alpha bristled, mentioning the name. His eyes dart over to the other four alphas, then back over to me.

“Yes?” Nicolai steps into the room, wearing his training gear. His body and shirt drenched in sweat and his veins standing on edge with his fully engorged muscles make him look more like a demon than a wolf. His eyes lock on the blonde alpha and he sneers. “Blake, I thought we had an understanding.” Nicolai’s eyes started glowing and I can see the fur rippling over his skin.

I move between Nicolai and the Alpha named Blake. Looking up into Nicolai’s eyes, I see his wolf fighting for dominance. I do the only thing I can think of. I place my hands to his throat and push the soothing Luna gift only on him. Several heartbeats pass before I can see the beautiful green in his eyes. “Sorry…” He sips at my lips, sending a tingling sensation through my body before breaking the kiss.

“I don’t know, nor do I want to know, what happened between you. It’s unimportant right now. We have bigger things to be concerned with.” I turn in Nic’s arms and look at the elders. “I am the Luna of both the Volkov and Murphy packs. You’re here because of the blending of the packs.”

The smallest of the elders stands and moves forward. “Luna forgive me. It’s hard to believe an ordinary she-wolf has four true mated alphas. That has only happened one other time in history and that was several hundred years ago.” He reaches into his messenger bag and pulls out the same book we have on the shelf. “There’s only three types of Luna’s capable. A Moon Wolf, a Darkness Wolf, and an Ember Wolf are the only written ones in history.”

I already know I’m a moon or lunar wolf. I can only guess how the other two are created, the ember one frightens me the most. “Shall we step into my garden so I can show you why you’re here?” Pressing a kiss to Nic’s cheek, I look over at Ruby. “Would you mind walking everyone outside while I slip into a robe?”

“Of course, Grace.” Ruby smiles and waves her hands to get everyone’s attention. “If you would be so kind as to follow me out to the Luna’s garden.” I watch as the men follow her out of the house when Barrett arrives at my side.

“Let’s get you ready.” He beams down at me and takes my hand, leading me to the closest bathroom.

“I’m sorry. Having the elders here is making you uncomfortable.” I kiss Barrett’s cheek as I remove my clothing in the bathroom.

His hands rest over some of the scared skin that tells the tale of my almost being murdered. His eyes look sad as he stares at it, then down to my stomach that is now sticking out, filled with their child. “You are a walking miracle.” He leans down and kisses my stomach and laughs when the baby kicks him.

“I lived because all of you love me.” Pulling on the robe, I loosely tie the sash at my waist before walking barefoot through the house.

Stepping out onto the back porch, I can hear Griffin and Ethan retelling how I came to be. Or should I say how my wolf came to be? Benjamin and Blake look from Ethan and I then back to Griffin. “He turned her? Was that wise?”

The deep growl that escaped my lips silenced the group. “I will not tolerate anyone speaking badly about my mate.” My bark was worse than an alpha’s bark, driving four, almost five, of the elders to their knees.

The fifth the gray-haired one laughs. “I believe we may be in the presence of an Ember Wolf.” When I calm down, the four alphas were able to stand again and catch their breath. “My name is Christos, and I am pleased to meet a Luna that’s so in control of her gifts.”

In the back of my mind I say to myself, it’s because I have no clue what I can do. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Shall I shift for all of you?” I remain smiling at the kindest of the elders.

“Whenever you’re ready Luna.” He smiles and steps back.

“Can one of my alphas shift with me? I’m quite uneasy with everyone here on display.” My eyes dart between the Alphas and then over to Ethan. He’s already removing his shirt, getting ready to shift with me.

“If it makes you more comfortable, then do it.” Benjamin says as he looks over at Ethan as his wolf bursts free from his human form.

Ethan’s enormous midnight black wolf approaches me and I kneel. He nudges my shoulder, the one that he had bitten as his wolf, and I lower the shoulder of the robe to expose his bite mark. Slowly, he tilts his head and takes my shoulder into his mouth and closes his jaw around it, putting just enough pressure to make my skin indent. “He turned her as his wolf?” Christos spoke and his voice held a level of awe I had never heard from an alpha before.

“She was dying, and it was the best chance we had at saving her. They were the closest bonded out of all of us. When we were kids, Ethan used his blood to heal one of her wounds so we wouldn’t get in trouble. She had bitten him with her human teeth and broke the skin. It made more sense for him to do it.” The pain in Griffin’s voice retelling how I was turned makes my heart ache. Without prompting the minute Ethan releases my shoulder, I drop my robe and shift. I turn and nuzzle my mate, placing my head under his throat.

“Her fur is pure white…” Jakob says as he moves closer to Ethan and I.

“Don’t get too close. She’s uncomfortable, and he’s on edge. Look at his hackles.” Nic mentions and I scoot out from under Ethan to walk over to him. “You’re safe, beautiful.” Nic presses a kiss to the top of my wolfs head.

The yips of the puppies catch my attention and I bark to get their attention. Both daughters come running over wagging their tails so hard I swear I thought their asses were going to fall off.

“Whose pups are those?” Blake asks as he looks back at Griffin.

“One is Grace’s, the other is Nic’s. She gave birth to a pup and survived. She didn’t know the father was a shifter, a rogue to be exact.” Griffin finishes his statement and the alphas look at me.

“Luna, can you please shift back? We would like to talk more about the blending of the packs.” Christos says with a smile and turns to head back into the house.

When Ruby leads the elders into the house, I shift back and reach for my robe. “You did wonderfully.” Nic’s praise makes me preen as I lean against Ethan’s wolf. “Let’s finish this.”

Ethan remains as his wolf as we head inside. Something was bothering him and I didn’t question it. At least for now, I will let the guys take the lead. My shifting changed the dynamics of everything for the conversation to come. A Moon Wolf or Lunar Wolf was written to rule over all the packs. I out rank even the elders. This meeting is going to take forever. Hopefully, the guys will feed me sooner than later.