About a half hour after we had all changed into our jeans and family t-shirts, including Beverly, we took a walk out to the training arena that was a half mile from the pack house.

The girls needed to burn some energy, and this would be our first meeting with the whole pack as Alpha and Luna.

Tristan warned me that we needed to make some decisions regarding moving these wolves to the Montana pack. A lot of them would have to stay in the main house with us and at the ranch hand cabins until more housing could be built.

We decided to build a second apartment building with the same plans as the first so that we could quickly add more housing until more single-family homes could be finished.

That building had been underway when we departed for our trip here, but it would still be three months before it was completed.

We stepped into the arena, which was lit up in the field. There were hundreds of pack members in the stands including men, women and children.

Douglas came running up to us as we entered the arena and said something to Tristan who leaned over to Beverly and said, “Sit there on the front row with the girls.”

She sat in the space reserved for them and then Tristan took my hand as we walked out to the center of the training arena.

Tristan called out in his rich booming voice. He didn’t have to talk very loudly, this was an arena full of wolves, but his voice exuded authority.

“Two weeks ago, I challenged my father, Alpha Martin, when he invaded my territory in Montana with intent to kill me and my pack. I won the challenge. I am here to receive your allegiance or your challenge. Choose now.”

There was a murmur around the crowd, but it didn’t get very loud. No one came forward with a challenge and Tristan nodded.

“You can make your pledges tonight at the pack house. If you wish to offer neither pledge nor challenge, you may pack up your belongings and leave to find a new home first thing in the morning.”

“If you choose this option, you will notify First Montana Pack when you have chosen a new pack, and a proper transfer will be made. Only those who have broken the law will be rogued from this pack.”

He paused again to allow everyone to consider his words.

Then Tristan held my hand up in the air for a moment and said, “This is Jane Marie Martin. Many of you remember her as an orphan servant in this pack house who was exiled from the pack. Jane is my true mate and my Luna.”

“Some of you might remember that you were unkind to her. If you have such a memory, you need to come down to the field and line up to speak your apologies. Be specific. I don’t want any generic sorries.”

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“I think you will find that your Luna is a kind and forgiving woman. It is not she that has asked for this. It is I that am requiring this of all of you.”

“If your apology does not satisfy me or if she does not forgive you, you will be exiled. Abusing innocent pack members who have done nothing wrong is against pack council law and there will be no exceptions. You are at Luna Jane’s mercy.”

There were gasps everywhere in the crowd and slowly people got up from their seats and made their way down to the field to line up before me.

I was a little overwhelmed at the length of the line, but I recognized all the faces, and the memories flooded my head.

I looked over at Tristan. He stood near me, off to the side with a steady expression on his face. He locked eyes with me, and I suddenly realized Tristan wasn’t doing this to punish them or to stroke my ego. He was doing this to give the pack a fresh start and to show them what we were made of. This would not be like his father’s pack.

I understood him. After Connie’s reaction at dinner, I believed he was making a good decision for the pack. It just so happened it was also good for me.

This gave me a chance to heal and them a chance to alleviate their guilt. Then we could all move forward together in Montana as a united and free pack.

I stood there for two hours listening to apologies and forgiving people that had bullied me and spoken ill of me to my face. There were even a few people who had done things I never realized, and their apologies were honest and sincere. With each person I forgave, I felt lighter somehow and ready and willing to welcome them into our pack family.

At the end of the line was Jessica. She looked nervous and uncertain, but she came forward and knelt at my feet.

“Luna, I’d like to apologize to you for everything,” she said.

“What is ‘everything’?” Tristan demanded harshly.

“F-f-for treating you badly when I became your dad’s mate. For making you hide from me as a child because of my temper. For being a bad stepmother,” she stopped again.

Tristan glared down at her, “And?!”

“I’m sorry for paying a witch to lock up your wolf and making my uncle think you were human so he would make you a servant,” she finished.

There were gasps all around the arena. People hadn’t realized that I wasn’t just a woman without a wolf. It wasn’t surprising they hadn’t noticed since to them, I would primarily smell like their Alpha. He had long since marked me and my scent had changed accordingly.

Immediately, people began to look at her with scorn and hate. This was a serious crime and offense in our world. To restrain someone’s wolf, a child’s wolf, who had done nothing wrong would be equivalent to cutting off someone’s arm or leg just because. It was a high crime and cruel in the extreme.

I knew in that moment that it didn’t matter if I forgave her or not, the pack wasn’t ever going to accept her again. They would only consider her a danger to others after what she had done.

I thought carefully for a moment and began to speak as our pack fell silent to hear what I would say, “Jessica, you were a terrible mate to my father and a worse stepmother to me. What you did was a serious crime. I am thankful to the vampire Gabriel who was able to remove your witch’s curse and set my wolf free. It is because I have been restored and because I wish to never think of you again, I am choosing to forgive you.”

People gasped in astonishment. They had not expected me to be so lenient. But I wasn’t finished.

“However, you can’t be trusted to be loyal to this pack. We also can’t be sure that you won’t be a continued danger to me or to others. Because of this, I have no choice but to think of the pack’s safety. You will be exiled. I’ll give you tonight to leave the territory. You will be severed from the pack at first light.”

Jessica fell into the dirt of the arena floor and began to sob. I turned on my heel and marched out of the arena, never to think of her again.