Risen From the Ashes

Risen

"That will be all for today. Meeting dismissed."

The council members stood up from their seats, papers in hand and a few murmurs starting to rise from the group. I was beginning to clean up my own papers when a council member approached me.

"May I ask a question, Miss?" He asked me.

I regarded him, slightly annoyed from a headache from a long day with meetings and such. "Yes, Mr.Ashter?" My voice was a lot more monotone than I wanted it to be, I was simply tired.

Mr.Ashter continued on, "When is the next time I can speak to Alpha Alexander?"

Mr.Ashter regarded me with a lesser standing than he had. I had a lot of problems with this council member before and today was not the day for his nonsense. "Anything you can take up with him, you can take up with me, Mr.Ashter."

He insisted, "No, this is something I need to talk to the Alpha about."

I thought for a minute, trying to recall anything Alex would say he was expecting to be talked to about, "Alpha Alexander hasn't talked about anything new. I'm sure I can talk to him about whatever you want to bring to our attention." I tried to reason with him.

Still, he was hard-headed about speaking to Alex instead of me. "No, this is something the Alpha has to handle, no one else. " I was out of patience with him.

I stood from my seat and stared evenly at him, Christina coming forward a bit, the way Alex taught me, and spoke to him, "Mr.Ashter, I am Luna of the Weston pack and the Alpha and I rule together under its name. If you cannot talk to me like you talk to Alpha Alexander than you do not deserve an audience with either of us. Now either say whatever needs to be said or please, take your leave."

Mr.Ashter didn't speak another word to me. He simply put his manila folder on the desk in front of me and walked out, his eyes challenging me about my authority. Some of the other members lingered to watch the encounter, but they quickly went out of the room once they locked eyes with me.

I was frustrated leaving a meeting once again, but I promised Alex I would take his day off of his hands so he can take some personal time off. I wasn't angry at him for it, I was angry at dickhead council members who never gave me my proper respects. I picked up the folder that was put down and start walking out of the meeting building, heading back to the pack house.

As I was sitting with my thoughts, I saw Molina and Jr in her arms standing outside the building. I was more than happy to see them as I was missing my family back at the house. Molina smiled weakly and Jr waved at me with his little fingers. "Hey, guys!" I greeted them much happier than I had earlier.

I gave Jr a high five and he giggled and I was under his cute spell again, "Alexander wanted me to walk with you and make sure you get home safe."

I shook my head and laughed, continuing to make faces at Jr that made him laugh and smile, "Does he thinks something's gonna happen during my walk back?" I questioned.

She shrugged, "I think he's just bored at the house now. Ever since he had to leave the house to work, being home drives him crazy I swear."

I smiled. Alexander wasn't resting like he should and while he wasn't looking, I made plans to move the meeting room out of the house and a half a mile walk away. It kept him home a little often and it was easier for him to separate work life and home life. He was mad at me, but also I knew he was silently thanking me. I reached my arms out to hold Jr on the way back and Molina handed him over. She looked tired and overwhelmed again, something that became commonplace with her lately. She needed another break.

I changed the subject, "So what did you and Mr.handsome here do all day?" I tickled his stomach and he fell backward in my arms, laughing and wiggling.

"Well, I've been trying to catch up with work and all that, but he's been a trooper with me this whole time!" She praised him. Jr. laid his head against my chest and started to suck on one of his fingers once he calmed down from all the laughing. He was suddenly pooped. "How did your meetings go?"

I shook my head, unbelieved by the meetings that I had endured through, "It's been two and a half years and people still don't treat me like Luna. You'd think they'd be terrified to entertain the thought of being disrespectful to the Alpha's mate. The nerve of some people,"I vented. Mr.Ashter was the most direct form of disrespect of my authority, but I had been getting it all day. Molina nodded along as I spoke, "Do you have any backlash with that as Beta?"

Because former Beta Isaac never formally got married to his mate and passed before his announcement, Molina had no claim to the position, but Isaac Jr. did and Molina ruled as Beta regent in his place. Alex also moved a few things around to legitimize her title to the pack and not question her, but she was still technically the Princess of the pack.

She shrugged at my question, "I mean, sometimes, but maybe it's because the pack is used to me and my title. The pack is always pretty closed off to new members." She guessed.

"Yea, but it's been two years. When is that gonna change, Mo?" I asked, honestly wanting an answer.

She simply repeated again, "This pack doesn't like new members."

I found that fair, but also, I just wanted to skip to the point where they all accept me as a ruler alongside Alex. I stayed pretty quiet when I first got to Pack Weston, mostly because I was taken as a prisoner/refugee, but still, it wasn't until I was kidnapped until the pack found out that their Alpha had their mate. At first, many were excited to hear Alex finding his other half, but there are some that still fighting this new change.

We finally reached the pack house and opened the door to the air-conditioned from the summer air. It was nice to be home again after a long day of work. I wasn't sure if Alex experienced the tiredness like I would, but the relaxation of being home knowing I didn't have to put a mask on anymore. Work in the house was probably making Alex so aggressive when we first met. He was a profound killer.

Well, not anymore that is.

I put Jr down on his own feet and he ran towards the kitchen. Molina instinctively followed after him, making sure he didn't get into anything. As one family left the throne room and went to the ktichen, another one came in.

It was my heart and joy.