"In case you don't know before now, you are in the 'survival of the fittest' land, we might be trying to make you get adjusted to pack life before exposing you before but right now, I don't think your attitude deserves waiting as you might get killed before you know it," Claire said as we got to her office which I didn't know existed
The ride here was super quiet and the tension in the car was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The only question in my head was 'What the heck did I do wrong?'
Scarlett just kept looking at me with pitiful eyes and shaking her head multiple times
"Now Claire don't be so harsh on her" Emily said as she entered the room
"Emily!" I exclaimed rushing up to hug her while grinning widely and she grunted and laughed in reply, bitch didn't know how much I missed her
"Why are you here?" I asked not paying Claire any mind even though her words hit me hard, especially the get killed part
"I heard what you did at the training ground, it's all over the town already" was all she said and I raised my eyebrows thinking what the heck is going on, I mean common, what did I do?
"Layla, I would love you to know that not everyone in this pack wants you as their Luna I can assure you they are currently looking for a replacement for you and wouldn't hesitate to use your slightest mistake against you," Claire said while making a couple of hand gestures and honestly, her words keep hitting home one after the other
"Damien would surely flip out if he knows I'm telling you all this but your actions today at the TG was unacceptable"
"As a Luna Layla, you should be poised and know not to exert your anger on your subject always, especially in public, you should be considerate and more like a strong petal other than some bitch with serious anger issues and loose mouth" she raised strongly and I felt more than embarrassed, more like shallow
"Claire, you're..." Emily started before I cut her off
"But what the fuck! It's not like I asked for all this shit! What the fuck did I do wrong? Scream at those people looking at me like I'm crazy or getting angry at June and Rebecca or should I say, Elisa and Margaret? What.." I kept ranting until she cut me off
"Yes, you didn't ask for it! But now that you found yourself here and accepted it, you have to get used to it! Yes, you were wrong by screaming at your subjects! As a Luna, you are supposed to be curt and..."
"Fuck curt!" I said cutting her off and the thickness of the black in her green eyes almost made in squirm in fear
"No fuck you!" she shouted back and I was taken aback "this is me telling you fuck you! Rebecca is the daughter of Elder Montero and he is the leader of the group who is trying to push you off here in any way possible, why do you think you were placed on the safest floor of the pack house, it's so you won't get killed overnight when there is no one to protect you!" she exclaimed with every word cutting through my skin and stabbing my heart
"You might be a strong female Layla, but no matter what you're still a weakling," she said angry tears threatening to spill from both our eyes
"Where did you think Damien went? He went to resolve a fucking issue that revolves around you. They don't want you as Luna, they won't even let you wear your crown and then you are fucking things up by giving more people a say as to why you shouldn't be Luna?" she said in disbelief while I stood in silence
"Claire please calm down, it's getting too intense," Scarlett said as she moved closer to her trying to pacify her
"But I need her to know her attitude is only making things more complicated, she's..." she was saying until Scarlett placed a finger on her lips to shut her and she sobbed
"Layla honey," Emily said turning me to face her and seeing the redness in my eyes she pulled me into a hug
"Baby, she wasn't trying to be harsh, she just flipped over that's why her voice is like that, I'm sorry honey," she said cooing into my ears and that made a stray tear leave my eyes
The only thing I hate about this situation is that I couldn't say anything to reply. It's not like she's wrong, I'm new here and I wouldn't admit to the fact that I'm not safe, all I'm doing is worsen the situation which was already worse
"I..." I started before breaking into tears "I d-didn't mean t-to, it's just that t-that's how I-I'm, how am I s-supposed to just adjust just like that, w-why is everything just so c-complicated" I said between tears and Emily just consoled me
If I was watching this scene in a movie, I would be blaming myself I know it. Did I train myself better than this, cry at some stupid judgment given by a kid? It's just that this judgment isn't stupid, I'm at fault and I couldn't control the tears that spilled effortlessly from my eyes.
After some long minutes of cries and hiccups which seem to be normal to me after the number of times I've cried in these last days, we all calmed down and the room got so awkward, no one knew what to say.
"How do I blend in and not cause any problem?" I asked in a croaky voice
"We'll figure it out" Emily replied
"Firstly, we have to wait for Damien and know the result of the meeting he went" Claire replied
"But I thought you guys control these people and rule over them, that's why I acting like that, why is it so complicated and why would they oppose you peoples decision"
"It's not that easy Layla, yes we rule over them but we don't control them, they are not animals, they have a mind of their own, and Damien and I aren't the only people who had the right to make some crucial decisions" Claire explained in an equally croaky voice
"It's a pack and it has Elders, Rulers and other few people who have enough authority to affect some certain decisions"
"Yes, for example, there are 5 Elders in this pack, they are the oldest members and they mostly help build the pack's credibility since they survived through a lot of things and the Rulers include, Alpha Damien, the first tier, most power and leader of this pack, my mate Xander, Beta and the second most powerful member of the pack, the Gamma and the Delta, they fall the third tier and mostly help in wars and some other important decisions" Emily explained and the word war piqued my curiosity
"War?" I asked
"That's a discussion for another day Layla but yes, we go into wars almost every year," Scarlett said
"Like actual war?" I questioned again not being able to process her words
"Layla" Claire warmed and I kept quiet
"The only thing the Elders are concerned about right now is the pack's safety and credibility," Emily said
"Having a Human Luna is not as easy as it sounds, other pack's may look down on us and try to overthrow us since we don't have a strong Luna" Claire said and I couldn't help but feel bad once again, Emily once hinted on this before and I wished I could tell them I'm stronger than they think, but the truth is I'm not.
"And also we are at the risk of exposure here, I heard you come from a very powerful and rich family, what if they try to look for you if you don't go back home, our identities are in jeopardy here," she said and I reasoned with her
Honestly, I wouldn't say my dad can't do such a thing, in fact, he could do more, but I decided to shove that up in a part of my brain, I'm not ready to leave Damien alone, not when I've fallen for him
"I didn't say anything about it all this while because I'm sure Damien can take care of this and also, I can't rule over this pack for long since I have a mate out there so my decision can't make an effect," she said as she wiped her face with her hands
"We'll figure it out" was all I could say as I didn't know what I can say
"Well sure we will, but that would only be possible if you don't add petrol to the fire Layla, immaturity is something the Elders don't condone and if you give them too much chance, they'll use it again Damien and he'll have no choice but to do the unthinkable, either kill the Elders or you," she said venom lacing her voice
"And I can't assure you he'll choose to kill the Elders," Emily said looking into my eyes as a cold shiver ran down my spine.
And for the first time, the credulity of the situation I'm in came to me.
In fact, I don't think I'm strong enough for all this role play.
It still isn't too late to go back to my dad right?
.
.
***
The fuck Layla! You're running away at the very beginning!
The truth about our situation might scare us at a point, but even if we're weak, we should always try to overcome our problems.
There are two ways to overcome a problem though, either truly overcoming it or bypassing it and finding the easier path.
I think that's what Layla's planning to do right now.
.
Thanks for reading
Don't be a ghost reader, show me you're alive, do something!!!
I know this chapter is really eye-opening to the problems that lay ahead and let me tell you, it's much!
Hope to see you in the next chapter
Till then, bye
*waves and disappears*