Bab 31: Chapter 28: The Elder's meeting
The atmosphere in the living room was tense and serious as everyone had kept quiet. Zyair still wore a scowl on his face while Aziel and Reginald sat back on their seats, with the latter's arms crossed across his chest. Ulanni was fiddling with the hem of her long sleeve as she awaits the start of the meeting. Her eyes darted back and forth between the Alpha and the other elders. Omorose, on the other hand, was still smiling that seductive smile of hers as she tapped a dainty finger against her bright red lips.
Erick's mother and Hamish's mother were sitting at the back, talking with each other in soft voices. They did not want to disturb the meeting with their little gossip. The triplets stood behind them, as if to protect them from harm, with their arms behind their back.
Paccia, who was on the left side of the room, was quietly sipping her tea as she, too, awaits for the Alpha to start the meeting. She looked relaxed as if she has all the time in the world. Dewei, who was sitting beside her, was playing a game on his phone. Looking closely, it looked like he was losing the game as it can be seen from his grip on the phone. He looked like he was about to break the phone in half. Erick shook his head in dismay. Such a sore loser.
Seeing that everyone in the room had begun to feel restless, Lachlan cleared his throat, getting all their attention. Fergus, who was standing behind him, took another step away, giving his Alpha space.
"I thank you all for coming here on short notice," Lachlan began. "As you all know that the full moon is coming in just a few days. According to Roel, who are in charge of the new soon-to-be shifters, there are 73 pups who will be attending the ritual." He paused and gave Erick a look before turning back to the others. "This includes Erick, my son."
"This would be our biggest ritual as it included those who had waited for five months [1]. I seek your help during this ritual as there might be some unpredictable outcome to this," he continued.
Everyone in the room became tense after the Alpha had spoken. It was because they had recalled something that had happened a couple of years back. More than half of the pups became rogue and it had been difficult and saddening that they had to kill them. Even if there was a chance to make them not turn to rogue, it was hellish and strenuous to try to make them calm down. Only a few managed to calm down but the number of them turned rogues was high. After the ritual, instead of being happy that there were those who became a shifter, but it was also upsetting to see family members who lose to their wolves.
Luckily, last year was alright. Although, there were those who had turned rogue and some of the shifters in the pack had to killed them, it wasn't much. In fact, only three pups had turned rogue. Again, it was saddening for the pack, especially the parents of the pups to see their child gone rogue. It was the parents themselves who had to kill their children.
Lachlan let out a long breath and said, "This year will be a difficult one due to the high numbers. But I believe that we will get through this and be able to protect everyone in the pack. Hence, again, I seek your cooperation to help with the ritual."
Omorose smiled slowly as she licked her lips. "Looks like we'll have another fun this year. So many new pups coming of age," she tittered.
Reginald rolled his eyes. "Start acting your age, old hag," he muttered.
Omorose's nose started twitching and she whirled around in her seat, glaring at Reginald. "Say that again, you b*stard," she threatened, her fingers started to change to claws. It looks like she was about to shift right there.
Fergus and the triplets started to come forward, ready to intervene if a fight starts between the two elders.
Lachlan cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes at the two elders. "I dare you two to disrespect me in my own house!" he roared.
The two elders stood up and bowed. "We apologize for our disrespect, Alpha," they said in unison.
Lachlan nodded and told them to sit. He then continued, "This year will be the 107th since the first shift in the Kendall pack. I pray that this year, the Moon Goddess will gift us with a successful shifting ritual. And I hope that I can count on all of you."
Everyone in the room stood up and bowed down towards Lachlan with their head bow and fist against their chest. "Yes, Alpha!" they said, all at once.
After the meeting was over, some of the elders stayed behind to talk with Lachlan and Fergus. Erick and Hamish's mothers both went to the kitchen to continue their talk there.
Omorose, who was looking around the room, found Erick standing near the entrance. A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes as a smile started to bloom on her mouth. She sauntered over and placed her hand on Erick's shoulder, who jumped in surprise at the sudden touch. "So, you're the Alpha's son?" she asked, still smiling.
Looking closer, Erick admit that although Omorose wasn't really beautiful but she has that seductive aura around her. And he had to keep telling himself that the woman in front of him was decades older than him. He gulped nervously and nodded.
Suddenly, Reginald appeared near them, standing beside Erick. He scowled at the bewitching woman in front of him. "I swear that you must have been born into the wrong species."
Omorose glowered at him, her lips pursed. "Shut up, Reggie," she said, using his shortened name that he despises.
Reginald growled back. He really did not like the name, 'Reggie'. He always felt that the name was too demeaning for him. He prefer being called with his full name, rather than an endearing nickname.
Paccia, who was watching the whole scene in front of her, giggled. She then beckoned Erick to come over to her. He turned and stood beside her, away from the bickering couple.
She gestured to him to bend over so that he could hear her. She whispered, "Those two are actually mateless. But they are exclusive bedmates to each other." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Do you know what that means?" she chortled.
Erick cringed after he heard Paccia's words. Seriously, that was kind of TMI. He really did not need that kind of information and he does not even want to know.
According to Paccia, Reginald actually has a crush on Omorose. It seems like he has that soft side of him. However, Omorose doesn't care about things like emotional feelings. She had hurt a lot after her mate had died in the war decades before. She only cares about her high libido. Some shifters, especially werewolves were known for their high libido). Hence, she does not lack of bedmates. It wasn't until a few years ago that Reginald had actually confessed to Omorose and had claimed her for himself. This was, of course, rejected by Omorose, who keep saying that she only wanted to bed around.
But apparently, the Moon Goddess has granted them a second chance. After the confession, it was found that they have become each other's second mates, much to Reginald's hidden happiness and Omorose's obvious discontentment. Since then, Omorose would call Reginald, her lover, instead of her mate. And whenever Omorose tried to flirt with another male, Reginald would mock and teased her. Which leads to their bickering.
Erick smiled as he watched the two elders still bickering. It was interesting to find that there was actually a second chance at love.
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[1] Please check https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/full-moon.html for more information on the full moon.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
TheTalkingCupcake
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