"The party will surely commence." He assured them.
Spontaneously as he declared, Alpha Vesper entered, following his presence was his voice screaming cheerfully, "Mooma!!!"
Their faces lit up to see Alpha Vesper except Alpha Harlan who still bore a heavy frown.
In the spirit of greeting, Alpha Vesper approached his mother with three times prostrates. On the third prostrate, he fell flat on Queen Morgana's feet.
Joy brimmed their hearts.
The thrice prostrates means that he went on a battle, conquered the battle, and arrived home safely.
Queen Morgana immediately supported him to stand and hugged him, "It had gotten to us that you won the battle but why don't you come home straight?"
"Mooma, it is your saying that says refreshment comes after conquering a battle. I decided to refresh my mind after the battle and guess what I brought home?"
"Shut it!!" Alpha Harlan squealed, standing up from his seat in fury.
His action made everyone startled, looking at him like a ghost.
Meanwhile, Elara was standing outside as instructed by Alpha Vesper. When she heard him refer to whom he brought, she quietly stepped in.
Upon sighting her, Alpha Harlan's voice rolled back. He flinched on his stand and his angry face softened within a twirl of time.
His change of expression made others turn to the doorway. Elara carried herself gorgeously. Her scent enthralled everyone like the nectar scent of a flower.
A hard-to-believe frown squeezed Alpha Harlan's face, confusion and doubt occupied his heart, 'The red-haired girl?' He questioned, almost having drool on his lips.
Alpha Vesper's face welcomed smiles as Elara approached him. 'My Sleeping Beauty.' He whispered lowly, making Elara have a stain of frown on her beautiful face.
Meanwhile, as she walked inside, Alpha Harlan couldn't resist the transformation she had undergone within the time he allowed her to follow Alpha Vesper.
Stunningly, he examined her from head to toe.
On her head, fine sleek curly hair had replaced the silky clustered dirty hair. On one side of her hair was an attachment of silvered hairpin that held the half-part of her hair in place and the other half was curled, falling on her shoulder.
Her once dirty and bruised face had been covered with a soft touch of make-up, unveiling her natural beauty like a hidden gem brought into the light.
Her eyes, once dulled by hardship, now shone with a radiant light, revealing the once-lost confidence within her. Her presence got everyone mesmerized.
With each blink, her lashes fluttered like delicate butterflies, adding a touch of allure to her mesmerizing gaze.
Her lips were painted red, enticing like a petal of a rose. Little gloss was added, making her lips lusciously glow and appear irresistibly kissable and alluring.
Alpha Harlan unconsciously licked his lips. Fortunately for him, no attention was on him while Alpha Vesper proudly smiled.
The royal attire on her delicate skin was carefully selected such that it complemented her radiance beauty. Her perfect 8 figure was gracefully covered by the white long gown of flowing silk and the attire shimmered with every movement.
On her ears, were jewelry completing her gorgeous look, a necklace of glowing pearls around her neck, and bracelets adorned her wrists, each piece adding a touch of sparkle and beauty.
She paused at a meter distance from them and elegantly curtsied with a greeting bow of her head to them. An atypical manner of Royal curtsy which affirmed to the Queens that she was not a commonor but undoubtedly from a royal family.
This made them smiled with contentment.
Once she stood up, Alpha Vesper opened his arm and tangled her hand with his hand like a just wedded couple.
While Elara was yet to understand Alpha Vesper's intent, —the reason he chose to transform her when termed her by his slave, made her confused, however, she played along.
Even if this moment would be a short time, she was going to embrace that she found a new confidence in herself after two years of pain, agony, and tortured lifestyle.
As she stood next to him, she felt a surge of pride welling within her.
Alpha Vesper looked down at her. Her height beside him was like that of Tom standing beside Jerry.
Elara tilted her head to him while the elegant smile refused to leave her face, she murmured to him softly, "Thank you!"
Alpha Vesper scoffed, "You're welcome, my sleeping beauty."
Their intimacy got on Alpha Harlan's nerves. He felt infuriated and perhaps jealous. How she ended up tangling hand with him, cut him out of the daze after examining her with a disbelieving heart.
"She is whom I brought, Mooma!" Alpha Harlan beamed with pride as he presented Elara to the royal family.
With a flourish of his hand, he introduced her, "Her name is Laia!"
Elara stunningly averted her gaze to him, she recalled telling him her name and even pronounced it.
Alpha Vesper feigned pretense and met her face with the raise of his brow. He responded with a gentle scold, "What?"
"Laia?! That name sounded foreign. What Pack did she belong?" Queen Anara asked. She welcomed Elara warmly but her question seemed to have intent.
"Thornflake Red Moon Pack." Alpha Vesper replied.
"You fought with the Red Moon Nation, was that the Pack you conquered?" Queen Morgana asked, starting to doubt if she was their Luna.
Alpha Vesper nodded his head, "Yes, Mooma."
Bearing a confused face, she turned to Alpha Harlan, "She isn't the Luna we've been waiting for? Where is your Luna, Harlan?"
Their smiles and expectations slowly faded immediately the information they heard differed from the information brought to them by Alpha Harlan's spies.
Meanwhile, Alpha Harlan has been preoccupied with jealousy, his eyes widening in disbelief and even disgust over his brother's dominant attitude towards Elara, however, he couldn't condone the lies.
Transforming her look to cover up her status was enough of kindness but taking it far as lying to their mother was too extreme and even dangerous.
Alpha Harlan couldn't handle his lies anymore, he bluntly shouted his name instead of answering Queen Morgana. "Vesper!"
Alpha Vesper glanced at him innocently as though he did nothing to deserve Harlan calling him.
He had an unconcerned expression that made Alpha Harlan shut his eyes at once. Right there, he contemplated whether to follow the lying path of his brother or to come clean to his family.
Tiredly, he opened his eyes and shame clouded his face. There was no way he would reveal the truth because he knew the implication of having a slave as a Luna. Yet, he didn't want to play along with his brother in deceiving their mother.
He approached Elara and smiled lovingly at her, "Mother, she is the Luna." He answered, allowing his mother to come back to life, and then continued, "Since Vesper found her first, I allowed him to bring her home."
Majestically, he took Elara's hand into his and placed a soft kiss on her knuckle, "Welcome to my Kingdom, My Luna."
At the mention of Luna, Elara become confused, wondering what got into his head, however, she couldn't describe the strange feeling that crossed her core as soon as his lips touched her.
Alpha Harlan released her hand gently and turned to face Queen Anara, "Where is Zephyr?" He asked, noticing his absence among the royal, "How dare he not come to welcome my Luna?"