CHAPTER 5

THE MEETING

Lily had made them decorate the family room with flowers and ornaments which the maids had to pull down from storage and polish till they could see their faces. With Lily reminding them this was for their survival. So the room looked like a miniature version of the stateroom. Logan and Alpha Lister chatted and looked over some documents.

Luca felt a bit off discussing a deal on the day he was supposed to meet his future wife. It felt transactional; that was why he asked Logan to take the reins on the business angle, with Alpha Lister. He trusted Logan even with his life, they have been friends since they were in grade school. Logan’s father was Luca’s father’s Gamma. They practically lived together. So he had no problem with him negotiating on his behalf. The only problem was that the girl was taking so much time. He rubs his hands on his knees. He sees Luna Lily looking at him strangely.

“Everything about this is strange,” he says in his mind.

Deciding to make the whole experience less awkward as he has seen Logan giving him "the look" that says he should lighten up. He turns to Luna Lily.

"This room looks impeccable." Luna Lily giggles as she takes in the room with pride.

“This is just our family room; we like it cozy and personal.” She says.

Luca catches himself before he rolls his eyes. A chuckle escapes as he remembered what he and Mavis would have done. Luna Lily gives him a questioning glare.

“What is so funny?” she asks

Laughing, Luca says “My wife Mavis would have….” He stops as he sees the look on Luna Lily’s face.

She pastes a stiff smile on her face and says “I’m sure she was a lovely lady. We are here for a new beginning”

He’s about to answer. The door opens, and everyone stops talking as they look up to see Mona come in Marvin’s arm.

“She’s beautiful,” he thinks to himself. She was wearing Mavis's favorite color. It suited her. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Logan walk towards him and Alpha Lister moves to his daughter. He expected her to be fragile and her face swollen from crying, but she looked….

MONA

Stoic and strong; she told herself she had to look strong. She’s going to be a Luna. Lunas are fearless and handle issues head-on. This was her first test. She looked at the man that was talking to her father as he moved to the other man; perhaps his Gamma. Alphas talked to Alphas. The man looked a little old, with a protruding midriff and a few lines of grey. She noticed "the Gamma" was looking intently at her; his look made her a bit uneasy. He was good-looking, fit, and well-groomed. She wondered why he would look at his Alpha’s future wife like that. She asks herself.

“Are you okay?” Her father asks her as he takes her arm from Marvin. She smiles at him and nods. She knew her father always wanted what was best for her; deep down she knew he felt guilty that he had to do this. She didn’t want to make him feel worse. She had decided to feign being happy, to reduce the burden on her father.

“If you don’t like him after this meeting, you don’t …” He whispers to her; his voice cracking.

“He looks good father; I will be fine,” she says. They were in front of the two men. Her mother moves to her side.

Mona turns to Logan, she smiles a little at him. Alpha Luca scowls in irritation, Mona scowls at him, wondering why " the Gamma" was scowling at her. Her mother sees the exchange, she clears her throat and gestures to Alpha Lister to make the introduction. Her father clears his throat.

“Alpha Luca of the Swansoolo Pack, meet my daughter; Beta Mona Lister” Her father says. From the corner of her eyes, she sees the Gamma stretch his hands towards her. Dazed, she extends the back of her hand to him. With a smirk, he pecks it lightly.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Beta Mona,” He says

“Same here Alpha Luca,” she says. A million thoughts running through her head.

“Has she messed it all up by looking at the Gamma?” she thinks to herself.

“Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!” she silently berates herself. She notices that his mouth is moving. She blinks, pastes a smile, and looks at him.

“Can we talk? Alone?” Luca asks Mona.

“We were about to have dinner” she says to him.

“Just a brief chat,” he says to her firmly.

Her mother taps her on her lower back to agree. She sees her parents exchange curious glances. Logan looks a bit uncomfortable.

“Please,”he says firmly.

Marvin walks up to them, “Perhaps we can show Gamma Logan around before dinner.”

“ah yes! I would like to take a tour of your magnificent home”, Logan says with exaggerated enthusiasm.

“And we can conclude on business,” Alpha Lister says.

Laughter all around except for Mona and Luca. They keep looking at each other as her father ushers the others out. The door closes with a loud thud, Mona winces. Alpha Luca looks at her with disdain.

“For a warrior, you scare easily” he spits out.

Mona’s flips. Her mouth is dry as she feels she has not made a good impression. What would she do? She looks stoically at him as her mind runs riot.

Mona smiles at him, she goes to the drinks table, and she pours herself a drink. She takes the first gulp, she pours another. She saunters to him.

“Alpha Luca, I’m an experienced warrior; I’ve been by my mother’s side since I was the same height as her. Helping her plan, helping my pack overcome challenges.”

She takes a sip from her drink

“A simple thud of the door does not decrease my ability”. She says as she sits.

Alpha Luca looks at her with his steely eyes for a while. He walks to her, his gaze making her a bit uncomfortable, but she decides to not to show him any sign that he did. She raises the glass to her lips. He gently takes the glass from her. She gasps horrifically.

“You shouldn’t be drinking; it messes with the female’s reproductive system. “ He says as he places the glass on a side console. Mona smirks. He turns to her.

“Are you happy with this … arrangement?” He asks.

“I’m happy when the pack is happy,” She says.

“Your pack or mine?” He asks as he looks intently at her.

“The pack I’m going to be the Luna” she replies.

“Doesn’t this make you uneasy? Sad?” he asks her

“does it…? Make you sad?” she retorts.

He paces a bit.

“I was a bit uneasy before I met you. As for sadness, there’s no sadness that can be worse than what I’ve gone through.” Luca says; his eyes darken with deep sorrow.

“Your wife or your child?” She asks

“Do you not know anything about me?” He asks a bit irritated.

“I am Alpha Luca of Swansoolo!” he booms; his wolf Matis growls.

Mona looks at him blankly unshaken by his tantrums. He looks at her shocked.

“You truly are Luna material” he says.

“I didn’t want to know anything about you till I met you. I didn’t want to assume anything. “ she says

“And now? What do you see?” he asks; trying to hide his embarrassment.

“This ‘arrangement’ would need dedication and work for both of us to get what we want. I see a man dedicated to his duty; a leader that would do anything for the Pack” she says as she gets up seductively

She comes close to him. She could smell his scent; it was strong; They stand face to face; willing each other to blink first.

“You read all this from just meeting me?” He asks

“It’s been long” he says in his mind. His body betraying the vow he made to Mavis. It’s a good thing they were in her place, he would have….

“Alpha Luca?” Mona says with a seductive smile. It was good she had that effect on him.

“ She’s just a woman; nothing like my Mavis,” He thinks to himself. He lets out a low growl and forcefully backs away from her. She looks at him confused.

“I need a wife and your pack needs trade with Swansoolo to make sure you don’t come to financial ruins.” He says with a belittling tone.

Mona looks away; she blinks back, the tears burning the back of her eyes.

“This has nothing to do with love; it is a transaction I’m willing to honor as long as I live. I don’t know about you” he says with a smirk, showing he got her where he needed her. Mona turns and looks at him.

“Alpha Luca, I agreed to this arrangement and was not forced into it. I’m a woman committed to duty, so you don’t have to worry” she says.

“In that case we should tell them that the marriage should be finalized today,” He says with an air of finality.

“Today?” she blurts out a little too loudly not hiding her shock.

“Today. What is the use of postponing it? Let’s get it over with and move on to our ‘dedicated’duties” he says as he strides to the door, opens it, and walks off.

Mona looks at the door in total shock. She turns to Mana, she looks weak, her heart racing.

Mona strokes Mana’s hair, not knowing what to do.

“What are we going to do?” Mana asks.

Mona looks at the door, unsure.