Chapter 30 - This Must Happen

— Ylva —

Well, I could see what Darren meant. I’d definitely do this girl.

I thought I saw her change her stance, prepared for a fight. Maybe she’s not completely useless after all. That might make it useful if she’s to become Luna. Or just to survive.

Smurfette dragged Luna-in-waiting to the pool. What was her name again? Ela-something?

The other Alphettes were next to the pool waiting for them. Wait, there were two missing. Well, Eva works now, and I have no idea about the other. So, four spoiled princesses trying to corrupt their future queen. Queeny, on the other hand, seemed like she had no idea how to handle the situation. She mostly just stood there awkwardly until one of them dragged her to a chair.

They all looked strangely at me. I’m not the kind of chick to chill by a pool. So I just retreated a little in the back. I found a good position with my back against a wall, with a good overview of the girls and all main entry points.

There were some talks, nothing really worth mentioning, then people began appearing. It was just a few girls at first, then a few boys. I say boys and girls, because there was probably not a single one of them older than twenty-one.

My guess is, the Devon girls called a crowd to party.

Queeny, didn’t seem to agree with that plan.

I would not either. That is not what the Alpha ordered. This is not discretion.

I was about to get up to tell her so, when I saw her get up herself.

It hadn’t been a full hour since we’ve been there, but there were nearly twenty, sixteen to twenty-one, kids swarming around the pool, and I saw some beer bottle pop out of all sorts of places.

The packhouse is technically public space. But it’s there only for the member of Blakemore proper, but it could also be for whomever they invited, and though those Devon girls didn’t have specific titles amongst the pack, they still, strictly speaking, outranked me.

Well, if we got really technical, Queeny had the potential to outrank us all. She was not even Blakemore at the moment, but unless she tried to go against a direct order of the Alpha, her word had more weight than any of us. She couldn’t force anything to happen, she couldn’t challenge the Alpha, but she could still order people around if she wanted too.

But she looked like a scared doe about to run off into the woods.

To her credits, she didn’t look that scared. It wasn’t fear that was written on her face, uncertainty maybe. But behind a nigh impassive mask, I saw that the situation made her very worried.

If Kaden was right about the things that were done to her kind, if things like that were the boogeyman stories of her youth, then today could feel like potential for nightmare fuel.

She was a little too polite for my own taste. She never did anything to upset the Devonettes, even when she clearly just wanted to leave. But I guess they are in-laws. People are nice to in-laws, right? Or is it the other way around?

Anyways, she got up, inclined her head politely to the closest people, and bid her farewell. So I got up my ass and made my way to her.

“Hey, where are you going?

“The party is just starting.

A few of the closest people to her got in her way.

“What? No, you can’t go,” said one of the Devon girls. “Look, I’m sorry for the other time. I didn’t want to insult you. You were just being odd, and I wanted us to be friendly, and I thought this was a good idea to get to know each other, and connect, and make up, and it’s a family thing, you know,” she said in nearly a single breath.

“I am not angry, so do not worry,” Queeny said. “But this is not a great idea, at the moment.

“What? You think you’re too good for us or something?” said a red-head that had been particularly loud since she came.

“What?” said another girl next to her.

I sensed that the whole thing was about to devolve.

“That is not my mindset,” Queeny said.

“Mindset? Who talks like that?” red-head said. “Did you come from a posh school somewhere?

“I haven’t seen you around,” said one of the guys.

“I am not from here, and I should go,” Queeny said.

“Look Missy, Jasmine did this for you,” she pointed her finger at Queeny. “And you don’t even thank her and just want to run off.

“Karla, it’s fine,” said Jasmine with a bit of a pout.

“I am sorry for sounding rude, that was not my intention,” Queeny said. “But it does not change facts.

“Maybe you’re not hanging out with the right crowd, precious,”

“Karla, that’s enough,” said a guy next to her.

“I’m not finished,” I think that girl had managed to have a little too much alcohol. In what little time they’ve had to drink, and given how resistant werewolves are to being drunk, that was a somewhat impressive feat. It’s like teens every year find a way to get drunk faster than the previous generation.

“Do you know where you are?” Karla asked. “Maybe this place is not for the likes of you if you can’t learn respect. Maybe you should take the place that is yours.

I saw Queeny’s eyebrow twitch.

I stood just behind them. “This is enough kids. Maybe you should all go home.

“You can’t order us,” she told me, which was true. “What are you, playing Amazon with that sword?

Oh, I want to gut her, from navel to nose.

Kids, they don’t know shit. Most of them have not even seen a training ground.

I took one step towards her, but Queeny raised her hand the slightest in my direction, telling me to stop. I did so on instincts.

Huh?

“Just go back to the hole you got out of, and leave. You’re not worthy of this place, or these girls. They shouldn’t have invited you here, to begin with, snobby bitch,” said Karla.

That escalated quickly.

“Where are the training ground?” Elaeya asked Karla calmly.

“Heh?” she replied wittingly. Most of the others looked at her confused.

“The closest training ground?” she asked again. As there were no answers, she turned her gaze to me.

“There’s one on packhouse land, not far, east.

She nodded thanks to me.

“You want to train now?” asked a shirtless guy with a beer next to her. There were more than a few odd looks coming her way.

“No, I do not wish to train. I have been told about packs, respect, and positions a lot lately. As was I told about my position.” She closed her eyes for a brief moment inhaled slowly, then exhaled, her face melted in absolute stoicism, all emotions invisible. “It seems I have a point to make.

“What kind of point?” asked shirtless dude.

“About my position.

There were a few ‘huh?’ going again. Man, did I looked this dumb when I was young?

“Positions are asserted through strength and conflicts resolved with challenges, are they not?” Queeny asked me.

My eyebrows went way up. “Yes,” I admitted.

She then looked at Karla.

“I’m not fighting you, my mate is gonna stop you if you try to hurt me,” she said tugging at the guy arms next to her arm.

“He’s your champion then?” I asked.

The too of them blinked at me. His eyes widened realizing what was going on. She didn’t catch on right away.

“You can’t fight her, she’s my brother’s girlfriend,” said Jasmine to them.

It took a couple of seconds for the information to process, then everyone’s eyes got really big.

Queeny sighed. “I suppose this is exactly why this must happen,” she said. She never raised her voice through the whole thing, she was the epitome of calmness. The only emotion I’d gotten from her was mostly discomfort, and now, a sort of resolute sadness.

Her words sank slowly.

She wasn’t wrong. If she was to be Luna, then it meant that challenges to her authority had to be addressed, and strength was the best way to discourage further infractions.

“Lead the way,” she told me.

I turned east bound and we headed for the training ground.

“Come, now,” she said. Her voice was not any louder. There was no command in it like that of an Alpha either, but there was authority regardless, and within minutes, we were heading to the training ground with a bunch of post-pubescent knuckleheads in our wake.

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