The welcome dinner went along well. There were plenty of groups that kept to themselves, appearing skeptical of the entire situation. Many others mingled amongst each other, talking and chatting with others they may or may not know. Luna Jessalyn seemed to keep to herself as a single warrior was her only company. She also retired early from the gathering.

When it started getting late, Liam bid everyone goodnight, and they all began migrating back to their various dwellings for the night. I was relieved that we would finally be out of a crowd for the day. While I had grown more accustomed to being at large gatherings as a Luna, I was still not much of a fan.

Before we headed to our room for the night, I wanted to check on Lily over at the clinic.

“My Alpha,” I said as we headed inside the packhouse.Content rights belong to .

“Yes, Little Luna?”

“Let’s go check on Lily and Damien,” I said. He smiled and nodded.

“I think that’s a good idea,” he said.

We headed right over to the clinic where Doctor Ron was on his way out for the night. Liam stopped to chat with him while I headed back to see Lily. When I walked into the room, she was carefully shaving his face.

“Hey,” she said, noticing me come in.

“You know the nurses can help with that?” I said; Lily shook her head.

“No, I want to do it,” she said softly. She finished up, and I waited for her to wipe up Damien’s face and move her supplies away. “That’s a little better.”

I came over and put my arm around her. She leaned her head on my shoulder. “How are you doing?”

She let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t understand. If whatever you are doing is helping, then why isn’t he awake yet?”

“We’ll get him there; I promise,” I said.

“Not tonight, Little Luna,” Liam said, coming into the room. I scowled as I looked over at him.

“Liam’s right,” Lily lamented. “You need to be at 100% over the next couple of days. Even with your shadow over there, Liam needs his Luna.”

I hugged Lily tighter, wishing Damien would just wake up. She was losing weight and starting to look a bit sick. While werewolves generally don’t get sick, it still happens, especially when separated from our mates for too long. Some cope better than others, but stronger bonds usually come with greater physical dependence.

“Are you staying here tonight, or do you want to come back to the packhouse with us?” I asked her.

“I want to stay with him,” she said.

–

Liam was up before the sun the following morning. He went to his office early to debrief with the warrior in charge of the night patrol to make sure nothing was amiss last night. The wrench in our plans with the Twilight Dawn Pack caused some confusion, but Sean had resolved it before they needed to call Liam.

I woke early as well and texted Felix so that I could head down to the kitchens to help with breakfast preparations. Miss Marci had prepared a large arrangement of breakfast pastries beforehand to help with the workload of feeding so many people. Lacey accompanied Felix when he arrived at our door, looking round and glowing. She had a dazed smile on her face that I could only guess meant they were already up when I messaged Felix.

When we got down to the kitchen, it was bustling. Missy found far more volunteers to help with meal preparations than I realized, and everyone was working. When she saw us, Miss Marci tried to shoo me away.

“No, really,” I told her. “How can I help?”

“That wonderful daughter of yours found me more than enough help,” she said. “I have plenty of hands, and we are ahead of schedule!”

“Are you sure?” I asked her.

“Yes, yes,” she said, pushing us back out of the kitchen. “Coffee and tea are already put out in the dining room. Go get yourself a cup and relax.”

With no other option, I headed to the dining room with Felix and Lacey. I was surprised to see a few of our guests already inside, getting coffee before it was time for breakfast to be served.

“I’ll get us some tea, Luna,” Lacey said. She skipped over to the large table laden with coffee and tea, cups, creamers, and sweeteners. Felix rolled his eyes, and I laughed at him.

“She seems very happy that you are back,” I commented. Felix just nodded. “Have you guys been able to find out the s*x yet?”

Felix shook his head as Lacey joined us. She handed me a cup of peppermint tea and said, “We can find out in about a week. But Felix can’t decide if he wants to know or wants it to be a surprise.”

“Really?” I said, looking over at my longtime bodyguard.

Lacey laughed. “Oh yes. It’s tormenting him.”

Others started trickling into the dining room, looking for a caffeine fix, especially those staying at the packhouse. Beta Meadow came in looking thoroughly irritated, and I was worried it had something to do with their stay, so I approached her while she poured herself some coffee.

“Good Morning, Beta,” I said, offering her a smile.

“Oh, good morning, Luna,” she said.

“I hope you slept well,” I prompted.

“Oh, yes. Thank you,” she said distractedly. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “I am sorry,” she said, realizing I was looking at her strangely. “It’s my Alpha, unfortunately.”

“Is everything alright?” I asked. I didn’t want everything to be wrong before Liam even got a chance to present the situation to everyone.

“Aidan is a bit…” she trailed off for a second. “High maintenance.”

“If there is something I can help with, please let me-”

“No,” she stopped me. “No. He is fine.”

I looked around us for a moment, ensuring everyone else was not paying attention. “Can I speak frankly for a moment?” I asked her. She nodded and began stirring sugar into her coffee. “I may be very wrong here, but it seems like he treats you like an assistant, not a Beta.”

“That’s because I am his assistant,” she said flatly. “He made me Beta by default. He doesn’t trust many males in his inner circle, and I have been with him for a few years now. He thought it easiest to grant me the title.”

“Oh,” I said in surprise.

“Aidan is a good guy deep down; it’s just very, very deep,” she said resignedly. “He has become accustomed to having things his way, which can make my job very difficult.”

“I see,” I told her. “Well, if you need anything to make your job easier, please don’t hesitate to ask. I should go find my mate.” She nodded in goodbye, and I left her with Felix in tow; Lacey had disappeared.

“That Alpha will be a challenge,” Felix commented quietly.

“I know, but if we have his Beta and assistant on our side, we are heading in the right direction,” I reasoned.

“I get the feeling Alpha Lombardi doesn’t really care what his Beta thinks….” Felix said, his eyes scanning the room. He stayed closer to me than usual. Liam appeared with his father following closely; I could sense his irritation.

“Good morning, Robert,” I said civilly. He nodded at me.

“Good morning, Little Luna,” Liam said, kissing my cheek. I rubbed his affectionately and felt him relax fractionally. “How does everything look this morning?”

“Apparently, Missy did well, and the kitchen is over-staffed. I was shooed away,” I laughed lightly.

“Great,” Liam said, checking his watch. “So we should be eating in about ten minutes.”

Missy and Maddox joined us at that moment, preventing the grouchy comment I could guess was about to come from Robert.

“Morning,” Missy chirped happily. “Hi, Grandpa.” Robert smiled slightly at his granddaughter, then frowned at Maddox with his arm around her.

“Good morning, Alpha and Luna,” Maddox said.

“Maddox, I really think you can call us Azalea and Liam. You are Missy’s mate after all,” I said. Robert scoffed at my insistence.

“Why don’t we just focus on today?” Liam said, narrowing his eyes at his father. I wished Robert didn’t feel the need to hover over Liam so much.

“Everything will work out; I am sure,” I silently told Liam. He snaked his arm around me and squeezed just a bit.

“Thanks, Little Luna,” he said.

LIAM

My father’s presence only added irritation to my stressed mood. Luckily, I found Azalea with Felix right by her side in the dining room. By the time we finished eating, I was tired of my father’s voice in my head with all his opinions. If I thought it would do any good, I would have called my mother to come collect him, but I knew there was no point.

There was a brief intermission between breakfast and the beginning of the summit where Azalea and Missy’s teams cleared all the tables, getting us ready to begin. Each pack had its own table with chairs set around it so that everyone was facing the front where Langston and I were set. Getting up in front of so many other Alphas was a bit daunting, but when I looked at Missy and Azalea standing dutifully by Maddox and Felix, I knew I needed everyone’s help to keep them safe.

When everyone was seated again, it was time to begin. Langston stood behind me with the girls, Maddox, and Felix off to the side. My father was standing to the side of the crowd laid out in front of me.

“You can do this. They will believe you, and they will help,” Azalea linked me. Gavin purred at her support.

“I want to thank you all for coming here on such short notice,” I started. “I know my words were few and cryptic, but I asked you all to join me to discuss something of utmost importance.” I paused, looking around at everyone. So far, I had their attention.

“Many of you have heard the stories and rumors as to why my pack holds the name B***d Eclipse. And in order for you to understand the threat we all face now, you should know the true story,” I began. I could see my father tense, his fists clenching beneath his crossed arms. It has always been an unspoken rule not to talk about the previous war, but that needed to end. These Alphas, Lunas, Betas, and other wolves tasked with making decisions for their packs needed to know exactly what I was asking them to walk into.

Everyone listened with rapt attention as I wove them the dark tail of the previous war. I laid out every detail I could find on the conflict, even those that cast my family in a questionable light. The vampires were not the only ones that did harm before, and I would not hide that fact now. I needed every Alpha in attendance to trust me, and the truth was the best way I knew how to do that.

By the end of my story, whisperings began among the groups. I was sure they were discussing the rumors and stories they had heard versus what I was telling them today.

“There are wolves alive today, in this very pack, that can attest to my words. My father,” I said, gesturing to him, “can attest to the truth in these words. Our namesake has become something of a secret; the pain this conflict caused did not need to be relived. But because of this, because of the hiding and attempt at forgetting, many did not know of the existence of our enemy. So many of my own pack members, warriors, and even those among my chosen leadership could not identify the scent of our enemies before.”

I could see the vein in my father’s forehead pulsing in rage as I spoke. Specifically calling him out may not have been the best idea, but it would gain favor for the few in attendance who knew him as the previous Alpha.

“What does a war that happened decades ago have to do with now?” Alpha Andris called out from his spot next to Karsyn.

“We thought we ended that war by cutting the head off the snakes. We thought we killed the Sires of the vampire Clans that meant us harm. But we were wrong.”

There were small gasps of shock from mostly the women in attendance. Mutterings began across the crowd; I gave it only a moment before raising my hand to quiet them down.

“There is one more story I must tell for you to all understand. It all started a few months ago when a group of peaceful rogues showed up on my packland….”