The next day, they came for her. She hugged all three of her parents goodbye and went with them. As she sat in the carriage, she mentally went over all of the avenues in her path to revenge. She then leisurely sat back in her seat. She was sure that she had almost everything in place for now. The only thing she needed was people. Her power could substitute for a lot of things, but she still needed people. She wasn't worried, though.
The things she had in her possession were extremely difficult to come by for the average pack member. She was sure there'd be no problems with manpower, even if the Alpha himself may not be able to get it. She wanted to solve it all in 150 years at most. It could be done sooner, but as much as she hated his guts, she wanted him to stress out and lower himself to others more than she wanted to stop seeing him. She wanted him to watch everything he loved slowly crumble right before his very eyes. She wanted to see the despair in his face, then she wanted to give him hope... so she could crush it again. She couldn't wait to wreak havoc.
An hour later, they finally arrived. When she stepped from the carriage, she saw what seemed like all of the members of the pack lined up to greet her with baskets of flowers to throw as she walked to the Alpha. She smirked sarcastically. This would have been extremely romantic if it hadn't been done by someone whose fingernails and skin she wanted to peel off. It was quite well done and tasteful. She knew that it couldn't have been done by him instantly. A little girl ran up to her while she was walking and gave her a white rose. She took it, giving the little girl her first real smile of the day.
"Thank you. What's your name? " She asked, as she picked her up.
"I'm Sabella. It's a pleasure to meet you.. "
"Salana. You can call me Salana, "she responded. The little girl was adorable. All rosy cheeks and straight black hair with big brown eyes and long eyelashes. She'll be a beauty when she grows up, she thought. She handed Sabella back to her mother after promising to visit her some time.
"You have an adorable daughter," she said to the mom.
"Thank you, Luna!"
Right. She had momentarily forgotten where she was. She smiled politely at the mom and continued walking up the path. When she got to the top, he smiled at her. She could feel her stomach roiling as he did, but she held on and returned his smile.
He turned to the crowd. "Today, the Luna has come to our pack. Be sure to make her feel as welcome as if she were at home. "
"Yes, Alpha."
He turned to her, extending his hand. "Now then, shall we go?"
She took his hand and he led her over to a pavilion that was set up in the clearing of the forest. They sat at a table for two persons and watched as the rest of the pack filled the seats.
He stood, raising his goblet, "I now pronounce this banquet open."
The pack cheered, and servers began to fill the tables with platters of food. Several women came out dressed in traditional dance wear, and they performed the Dragon dance, the Court dance, and the Lion dance. As much as she abhorred the company, she clapped and enjoyed the dance performances. They were truly beautifully done.
Following that performance, another group of dancers came out in entirely different attire. They performed what they called the Grass dance, which was a tradition left over from their tribal chief's bloodline. They had continued the tradition of teaching it to their children for 5000 years until now. She was astounded. To think that they could maintain their cultural roots for thousands of years. That spoke to the earnestness and the dedication they put into it. After the Grass dance, they performed the Rain dance, the War dance, and then, to close off, the Sun dance. Salana stood up and clapped for them when they were finished. It was always great to learn something new, and that's what she felt like she did.
They had a talent show-like segment where various members of the pack showcased their talents. There was singing, dancing, and even hula hooping, which made her burst into laughter upon seeing it. A member started off jungling balls and moved to juggling kids. She felt her breath catch constantly at the thought that they might fall, but the kids were laughing excitedly and no one else looked worried so she decided to just enjoy it.
After a few more performances, almost seven hours after it started, it was finally time to pack up. She watched as Nathan took her hand and smirked. It was going to be an interesting show for sure.
Nathan felt his heart beating as if he were running a marathon. Ever since he saw her walking toward him on the path with flowers flowing through the air and around her, he felt like he was on cloud nine. After all his preparation and work, he had her within his grasp. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. She looked a bit older, more refined. When he sat next to her during the performances, watching her face light up at the show made his heart feel light. He had specially arranged for food with aphrodisiac tendencies to be arranged for her along with something extra to get her in the mood.
He couldn't wait to have her. He took her upstairs to what would be her room and they entered.
Then he cornered her in the room. Her heart was pounding as he looked down at her. He then held by the arms and pinned against the way telling her to stay still while he removed her robes. As he undressed her, he felt like he was in a dream. He finally had her under him. He spent time touching her while she shook her head. She smelled so good that he almost lost control then and there. This was going to be a great night, he thought.
******
Salana sat, hands under her chin, staring at him as he played with the bedsheets, holding down the pillows and telling the bed not to move. She chuckled. She took a recording stone from her anklet and set it up. If there's a show, there should be an audience, no?Did he really think she would let him touch her? After what he did to her love? She would put up with him but there was no way in hell she'd let him touch her. She would kill herself before that happened. She watched him undress himself and then strip the sheet from the bed. As he stripped doing and proceeded to do unspeakable things to the bed. As he said,"you feel so good while stroking the sheets."
She leaned back in her chair and smiled. What could be better than an after-party show?
He was so foolish. Why would she be here if she didn't have something to rely on? Why else would she walk into the lion's—wolf's—den without being confident enough to take on the wolf herself? By the time she got within 20 kilometers of him, she was already actively releasing her ability. She continued the entire seven hours they were at the welcome banquet as well.
The ability she had awoken was called illusion, but it didn't simply create illusions. That was far too simplistic for a gift bestowed by the Moon Goddess. No, what it did was present others with a false reality. A false reality that is superimposed onto theirs seamlessly. The emotions felt, the voices heard, and the sensations felt were all based on what the user desired to project. The longer it was used on a person, the harder it was to escape reality. In fact, if she used it on a person for three consecutive months, that particular illusion would only be canceled when she chose to do it. However, it couldn't be used for everything. One of the biggest drawbacks was that she could only focus on a few things at once, which is why she decided to use it sparingly and instead use the manpower she could get.