Chapter 198 The pack meeting 2

Chapter 198: Chapter 198 The pack meeting 2

Talia’s POV

Every day that passed was another day she spent alone, and another day she spent wondering if anyone would ever come for her. I could not let that continue.

"The longer we take, the more danger she is in." I said.

Kaelen reached over and took my hand.

His fingers were warm and steady, and I felt the love radiating from him. He believed in me, and he believed in this mission.

"We will find her." He said.

I looked at him, and I felt the love in his eyes.

It was the same love I had seen in his eyes since the day we met, and it gave me strength.

"I know we will." I replied.

One evening, after a long day of training and research, Kaelen sat beside me at the desk. He looked at the map, then at me.

"The pack needs to know," he said. "We cannot just disappear without explanation."

I nodded, and I felt very nervous, but I knew he was right.

I had spent so long being invisible, and being nothing. And now, people were counting on me. It was terrifying and wonderful at the same time.

The pack had trusted us, and we owed them the truth. Or at least part of it.

"When?" I asked.

"Tomorrow," he said. "I will call a meeting in the Gathering Hall."

I took a breath and nodded again. "Okay."

The next morning, the Gathering Hall was full. Wolves filed in, with their faces curious, and their voices low.

The morning light streamed through the high windows, casting long golden rectangles across the stone floor.

I watched the dust motes dance in the beams as the pack members found their places, with their scents mingling into a familiar tapestry of mixed scents, earth, and wolf that I had come to think of as home.

They did not know why they had been summoned, and I could see the questions in their eyes.

Kaelen stood at the front with me beside him.

I stood tall, and I held my head high. I was their Luna, and I would not show them fear.

He raised his hand, and the crowd fell silent.

"I have called you here because I need to tell you something," he said. "Talia and I are going on a journey. So we will be leaving Blackmoor Valley for a while."

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

I could hear the questions in their whispers, and the worry in their voices. They did not understand, and I could not blame them.

Wolves exchanged glances, and I could see the worry on their faces.

I could feel some of their eyes on me, and I could feel the weight of their expectations. They were looking to us for answers, and I did not know if I had them.

Kaelen continued. "I cannot give you all the details. But I need you to trust me, and I need you to trust your Luna."

The murmurs died down. The wolves looked at Kaelen, then at me.

I felt the weight of their gazes on me.

It would have been easy to look away, and to hide behind Kaelen, but I did not. I met their eyes, and I let them see that I was not afraid.

And I held my head high. Because I was their Luna, and I would not let them down.

One wolf stepped forward. It was a warrior I recognized from the battle.I had seen him fight, and had seen him bleed for this pack. ℯℯ𝑙.

His face was hard, but his eyes were steady.

"We trust you, Alpha," he said. "We trust our Luna."

He had earned my respect, and his words meant more than he could ever know.

The others nodded and murmured their agreement.

They did not know everything, but they trusted me anyway. It was more than I had ever hoped for.

I looked out at the sea of faces, and the wolves who had celebrated with me at Mooncrest Hall. These same wolves, who had welcomed me into their pack hesitation, after I proved myself worthy of being their Luna.

They were now nodding their acceptance of a journey they did not fully understand, simply because they believed in the woman I had become.

I felt the tears prick at my eyes, to know that the pack trusted me. They trusted me even though they did not know everything.

Kaelen took my hand. "Thank you," he said. "We will return, and we will be stronger. And when we do, you will all be informed as to the reason why we have to go on this impromptu mission. And after that, we will be stronger than ever."

The wolves bowed their heads in acknowledgment.

Kaelen squeezed my hand, and I looked up at him. His gray eyes were soft, and he smiled.

"Together," he said.

"Together," I repeated.

I stood beside him, looking out at the pack. They trusted me, they believed in me, and I would not let them down.