Kraig received the microphone from his father and the audience cheered him on. He raised his hand, at the same time thanking and asking the people to be silent. The audience started to became quiet, as he asked, until they all fell silent.
"Thanks to all those present. It is with great pleasure that I accept to be the leader of this very friendly and powerful pack. I hope to live up to all your expectations and reach the expected level of an Alpha from the Hamza Dum Pack! And by my side, a powerful Beta is needed, so I give you Kendric Sullivan!" The audience cheered again with applause. Kendric stood beside him, just a step back, waving to everyone.
Nora was ecstatic. He held out his hand to where she was in the audience and they all turned to look at her. Delina, as was expected of a best friend, was at her side. Some people turned up their noses at the human. Nora shot them a cold look, and, as the new Beta's wife, since they were mates and she had already been marked, the other wolves had no choice but to bow their heads. She squeezed Delina's hand, as if to comfort her, and went to stand beside Kendric, with whom she would live in a few days.
As Nora arrived on stage and was also greeted with applause, Kendric held hands with her and received the microphone from Kraig's hands. He gave a nice speech, presenting Nora as his mate, and at the end he raised the hand that was holding Nora's.
"Today Keira is going to be Luna." A pale blonde girl spoke close to Delina, who immediately looked at the girl. She was one of Keira's friends.
"Are you sure?" the black haired one asked.
"Yes, yes! Kraig asked her to dress impeccably tonight because he had a 'very special announcement', in his own words, to make during the ceremony. It can only be this!" The two continued talking, but Delina couldn't hear anything anymore. She looked toward Kraig. He was staring at her, his brow furrowed, but he quickly looked away, turning to Kendric and Nora and handing them the Beta's necklace, so they would be recognized even outside the pack.
Delina turned her back and left. Her heart was pounding in her chest, so loud that it reverberated through her ears and caused an increasing pain throughout her body. She got to the car and drove. Despite not having the license, she knew how to drive. When Elenora turned to look at the girl, she realized she was alone. She went out to look for her, but saw nothing.
"Our Beta already has a mate, Nora Saito. Now, every pack needs a Luna, and as one of the most powerful packs, you will have one too." Kraig spoke as he took the mic again. The entire audience was silent.
Bernard was not aware of this and was taken by surprise. His son wasn't very happy these last few days. Keira and he were dating, though, he knew they weren't mates. She wasn't even marked. He looked at the girl and she was proud, just like her father. What if one of the two found their respective mates later? That would destabilize the pack. Bernard looked at Kraig and shook his head, saying he wasn't supposed to do that.
"Son, we'd better talk about it lat-" Bernard started talking softly, so only Kraig could hear, but despite hearing his father, he continued to speak.
"Keira Dowllery, please!" The audience went wild, screaming and clapping. The girl made a face of loving and submissive and went up to the stage.
Nora and Kendric had hoped that Kraig would get his act together and give up the madness of dating Keira, but what they never imagined wasthat he would make her the Luna of the pack. They both looked around the audience, looking for Delina, and didn't see her. They looked at each other and Nora went down from the stage. Kendric gave Kraig one last look and followed behind his mate.
Keira was smiling next to Kraig, who felt an excruciating pain in his chest. He knew he was sharing Delina's pain. When he looked at Keira, as soon as she put her hand on his arm, he felt a disgust like never before. He looked to where Delina should be, but she was gone. Zyon, who had been silent all this time, was howling in pain.
"You asshole, she's leaving!" Zyon yelled.
The audience realized that Kraig was not well, and gradually the hall fell silent. The smile on Keira's face faded as the audience fell silent. She looked into Kraig's face and could clearly see that he was rejecting her.
"Baby?" she asked, bringing her hand to his face. Instinctively, he pushed her hand away before it touched him. The audience let out an 'oh' in unison. Kraig ran down the stage and, even staggering, he reached his car. Bernard followed him and did not allow his son to enter the vehicle.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bernard asked, taking Kraig's arm.
"I gotta go."
"Go where? I just made you the Alpha of this pack and what do you do? Run away?" Bernard was irate.
"She is leaving. I..." The pain was excruciating and Kraig passed out. Other people came out to see what was going on. When they saw the new Alpha in his father's arms, everyone's concern was immense.
Nora and Kendric turned into wolves so they could run faster. Nora was a light brown wolf, with eyes the same color as her fur. Kendric was a beautiful, completely gray wolf, with blue eyes, in addition to being huge.
Delina quickly got home and went upstairs only to get the money she had saved so far. Kicking off her shoes and pulling on her sneakers, she went downstairs and into the kitchen. She threw coffee grounds and other herbs on her shoulders and specific spots, like behind her ears and wrists. The idea was to mask her smell. She ran back to her car and drove to the place where she used to go with Nora. She got out of the car and ran, as the road had come to an end. She wanted to get out of there, from that pack. Without realizing it, she was approaching the spot where she had been left as a baby and found by the pack members who were prowling that side of the forest. However, despite wearing sneakers, she ended up tripping and hitting her head on a rock. She touched the bruised spot, dizzy, and felt something sticky on it. 'Blood', she thought. Then everything went dark. As she passed out, her hand fell and touched the trunk of a huge tree.