The Possessive Alpha Chapter 85

LUNA OLIVIA 

The morning of the birthday Ball.

It's been a whirlwind of a week. I can't help but think about all the shit that has happened while eating my breakfast with the others like I do every day. After Elle's shift, we were left to facilitate numerous conversations about Elle's heritage and why she was brought here. No one asked if it had to do with Damon. At least by the adults, they know how two Alpha are together. While not as uncommon as it once was, it's still a rare thing to see. A pull between two Alpha mates is undeniable. It's magnetic and palpable. 

Making matters more complicated, I hope to find Elle and Damon at the table with fresh marks every morning. Instead, they turn up with bare necks. It's damn frustrating. I want to throttle their necks for being such teenage idiots! Jesus almighty! We have been following the plan to a 'T,' but nothing seems to get through their hormone-addled brains! Their inability to cooperate has frazzled my nerves, which isn't good when we have Alpha and their eligible daughters visiting under some stupid pretense that Damon might be their mate in them. 

It is fucking exasperating being worried about this plan following through and having others in our borders; the last time we visited Alpha's, it was a Thanksgiving day debacle, and I have no desire to repeat the experience. Dugray is a dick and made more in payoff than his son's life is worth. 

"Luna?" Elle asks, looking at me funny, and that's when I realize I have been staring at her neck, which hasn't been magically marked while I daydream. 

"Sorry, I have been so busy that I zoned out for a moment," I murmur, looking away in apology when something shiny sitting on Elle's hand catches my attention. It seems familiar with its gold band and raw emerald stone beside a crescent moon. 

"Elle, where did you get that ring? It's beautiful and unique. It matches your eyes perfectly," I ask. There is something eerily familiar about it that I can't quite place my finger on. 

"Doesn't it?" she says, admiring it with a smile, twirling it in her hands. A more profound shift has happened in Elle since gaining Scarlett full-time; she seems confident and has this raw power. This also affects Damon, his shoulders and arms filling out more than the average Alpha his age. "I found it at a cute little psychic shop during my birthday weekend. It called to me. The shop owner said that I could have it. I guess she had it for years without any interest in it. She said it's meant to be with me and wouldn't even let me give her money for it." 

Her words turn my blood to ice. As a memory, I hope I remember incorrectly comes creeping into my mind. "Interesting," I say, trying to remain calm, "well, it certainly suits you. If you'll excuse me, I forgot I have something else to take care of before we talk about the "mate introductions" later, dear," I tell Damon, earning nothing but an eye roll in return.

I am getting up from the table without arousing suspicion between them. I grab my plate, carrying it steadily into the kitchen out of eyesight and dumping it in the sink before hurrying to my room in a near panic. Racing into my room, I tear open my large walk-in closet, going straight to the fake back and ripping it off the wall. In the small cut-out sits all the clues regarding Cynthia and I's friendship. Taking out the photo album, I ripple through the pages until I land on the one I am looking for. 

Shaking, I land on the page I am looking for, a picture of Cynthia and me at her mating Ceremony. Sitting on her hand is Silver Run's "Ring of the Luna," which is the same as the one Elle wears. New Moon has their version of that, except it's a pendant, with opal on one side and a new moon on the other, resting on long chains. 

How did it even find Elle? This wasn't in the plans; her finding this ring was not mentioned in Cynthia's fuking novel of rules and Goddamn methods. 

'FUCK!" I scream, kicking the box of shit I have kept hidden behind this wall for years. I don't even realize I'm crying until I feel the teardrops on my hand. I should have known some shit like this would happen. 

"Woah," Charles's deep caramel voice says from the closest doorway as he rushes to me, sparks igniting my body from our contact, immediately calming me. But the sinking feeling there are things we weren't told is starting to settle in my gut. "Liv, what's wrong?" 

Thrusting the picture into his chest, I whisper, "look at it." Trying to gain the strength to keep going through with this bullshit plan, but I know I have to because I made promises that refuse to be broken. 

"Okay," he says, scanning over the picture, a look of confusion still marring his features, "I don't get it."

"Elle is wearing the Luna heirloom of Silver Run," I tell him, pointing at the small gold and raw emerald ring on Cynthia's hand. "I guess she got it from a shop in the city? What shop? Why wasn't it in the plans? This didn't leave a single thing out, but she doesn't mention this in her fucking manifesto?" 

I know I am rattling off questions at him like a madman, but I can't help it; I need answers, and I need them right the fuck now. "Baby," Charles whispers soothingly, trying to calm my frazzled nerves, "maybe they forgot? They had a lot going on at that time."

"Bullshit," I snarl, "when has Cynthia, or Alaric, forgotten something? Those two were always two steps ahead of everyone else. They wouldn't leave out something like that." Pushing him away, I stand, my feet starting to match the pace of my troubled mind. No, this ring is important and is telling us to prepare, but for what? I am not sure which makes it worse. 

"Well?" I ask, agitated that Charles hasn't said a word about fixing this, standing next to me silently while I have a breakdown in our closet. "What's the magic solution to this?" 

"Nothing," Charles confirms, his voice firm and full of conviction, "even if we wanted to do something, the vow wouldn't let us break the contract. You know what will happen to us if we do." 

"But-" I argue, but I am cut off by his Alpha aura lashing at me like a whip causing my mouth to snap shut harder than I intended. 

"Enough!" He yells, grimacing when I cringe at his reaction, "I am sorry, Liv. I understand your worry; trust me, I have my concerns with this new development, but there is nothing we can do except pray the kids mark each other in the next sixteen hours. Our hands are tired; now we sit back and see what happens. We did what we promised to do. We will do no more and no less. With the number of spells involved, it would be better to know what's going on and why it showed up before making a stupid decision that will get us killed."

With one last kiss on my cheek, he exits the room, but not before I notice the tension in his shoulders and how his hands flex in aggravation. Following his advice, I slowly pack away my hidden memories and send up one final plea to the Goddess, hoping this all doesn't turn into one giant shitshow. 

SLADE POV 

The night is finally here, the night I get to mark Elle. I made so many sacrifices to protect her and Scarlett until the time comes when we can be properly marked to each other. The number of spells Damon and I had to undergo so that the mate bond would be repressed. Despite my protests, this decision led him into that whole Melanie fiasco for years. 

I have known Elle, and Scarlett has been our mate since she was three and seeing Damon have to deny that part of him was one of the hardest things I have ever witnessed. The number of times I had to listen to Damon disrespect the connection he feels with Elle was worst than a knife being twisted into the gut. But I would willingly do it all again if it meant keeping them safe and protected. 

After tonight I can finally come clean with Damon and Elle. Revealing the part I played in suppressing our bond and Elle's amnesia. They'll probably be furious with me, especially Damon. I basically lied to him for years and kept him out of the loop about our issues. Despite how badly I wanted to tell him the truth, I knew the second I did, every plan set in motion would crumble away at our feet. 

But none of that matters now because, after years of waiting and countless sacrifices, tonight is the night when all of that is made to be worth it. Tonight I finally get to have my Luna by my side with our unique marks sitting on our collarbone, and the thought leaves me giddy with anticipation.