Wolf-less Omega Luna

CHAPTER 17: CLAPS, HOOTS & HOWLS

Alana’s POV

Squeeze on my hand like this. Squeeze on my hand like this. Squeeze on my hand like this. Maybe if I did it many times over, it would work and I would feel less pressure.

It didn't.

“Alana, Princess,” Axel called, pulling me from my mini panic attack.

“Yes,” my eyes snapped to him towering over me.

Axel had led me from my room to the front of the pack house where hundreds of pack members had gathered for the announcement of our…union?

My eyes were fixed on the floor until Axel called my name.

“Relax. Take a deep breath. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

There were so many things to be scared of. One was the fact that I was an eighteen year old

omega who was about to become the Luna to a pack this large. Another was the fact that the same people whom I was ‘supposed’ to lead, comprised of those who had mistreated me for years.

And another was that aside from Axel being my mate, I was still a weak and wolfless omega who couldn't run as fast as needed, mindlink, or lead.

Axel spoke again.

“Alana,”

My eyes were on him now.

“Your knuckles are white.” He said it softly, just loud enough for me to hear.

I looked down at our locked hands to see that my knuckles were indeed white and short of blood. I dropped my hand from his quickly and saw that my fierce grip on Axel’s hand had left a white gloss on his.

“I’m sorry,”

He shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry about.”

Axel’s hand settled on the small of my back as he led me to the center of the crowd. He smothered my back gently, sending a sweep of calm through me.

Pack members in their shifted forms surrounded us to form a circle. Some shifted wolves lay on the floor while some stood upright. Other pack members were in human form. Men, women, the elderly, pups, and they all stood or sat around Axel and me.

My eyes did a quick scan of the place and settled on Lexi beaming at me from the end of one corner.

She mouthed the word “gorgeous” to me and imitated her head being blown into bits.

Behind Axel and I were Tyler and Coral sitting among other people who I assumed to be the high ranked wolves.

Two grey haired versions of Tyler and Coral locked hands beside them. — Papa Tyler and Mama Coral for sure. —

My eyes rested on Tyler who gave me a tight lipped smile and a curt nod. Coral was bouncing like a child on Christmas morning, gleaming with excitement either in admiration of me or her handiwork. I couldn’t tell which it was.

Slowly, my panic attack was replaced with relief and warmth. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. I already had pack members who liked me. All I had to do was to get the other pack members to do the same. Easy peasy. Right?

To the right, Britney stood with a group of girls a little distance away from the sitting high ranked wolves. They were all dressed in training uniforms and glaring at me. Literally stabbing me with daggers from their eyes.

I mean, it's not like I expected her and her friends to dress up for an event planned for my sake right?

Almost instantly, her stony expression was immediately replaced with a sweet smile that stretched her lips to her ears. If she tried to smile any harder, there was no doubt her lips would come apart.

I turned to see that Axel’s head had followed my gaze to Britney and her friends, and that explained why her death glare was replaced with a smile.

Two-faced, deceptive bi*ch.

“We’re about to start, Princess. Axel whispered in my ear.

I nodded because my mouth was dry and my brain was so messed up that I didn’t think I could form

reasonable words.

Axel had said I didn’t have to address the pack which I was more than grateful for.

“Good evening pack mates of Crescent Moon,” Axel began, his face expressionless and his thick baritone voice smoothly slivering through the crowd.

Only his voice could be heard as the crowd went so silent that if a muffled fart was released, someone without enhanced hearing would hear it.

I inhaled as much of Axel’s soothing fragrance as I could to steady my racing heart. This was going well so far. Right?

“Thank you for coming out on such short notice for this announcement. As you all may know, I have been without a mate for as long as possible since the Moon Goddess hadn’t yet deemed it fit for me to find my better half.” He ran his thumb slowly over my knuckle.

“I thought something was wrong somewhere and other plans were almost set rolling to serve as a solution to the problem.”

Was he talking about Britney?

Lexi had told me about how Britney was going to fill in as the Luna of the pack if Axel had not found his mate soon enough. That was why she always prided herself as the soon to be Luna since she was the Delta of the pack, and by extension, Luna material.

I could feel her stabbing looks tearing through my back.

“It turns out,” Axel continued, “that my mate was right here in this pack ever since. Now that my better half is of age, I have recognized her, and with that, it is my pleasure to introduce you all to your Luna, Alana Green.” A satisfied smile crept up his cheek, enhancing his beauty. However, for the first time, that wasn’t my focus.

The crowd was still silent. Dead silent.

Oh no. This is bad.

Slowly, whispers crammed the air. No. These weren’t whispers, because if they were, I wouldn’t clearly make out what they were saying.

“That’s Alana?”

“The omega?”

“I didn’t recognize her.”

“The omega is our Luna?”

My knees grew weak and wobbly. My stomach instantly twisted in a knot. Churned.

Who was I kidding? There was no way they were going to respect me, or even accept me as their Luna. They never accepted me as a pack member. Why then would they accept me as their leader?

Axel resumed running his thumb over my knuckles in our joined hands and that was when I realized that my panic was already visible.

This time, Axel’s voice took on a hard edge and was a punch of pure power and authority that could be heard miles away. It had to be his Alpha tone because the crowd shook to its core. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“She is the Luna of this pack, and you will all acknowledge her as such, and accord her the respect due. There are no two ways about it.”

I realized I wasn’t affected because I was his mate.

The hushed whispers ceased and after a few seconds that seemed like hours, one, two, three, four,

all the pack members of Crescent Moon pack went on one knee and bared their necks in submission to Axel, and acknowledgment of me as their Luna.

Those in their wolf form did the same, crouching their necks.

A spurt of overwhelming energy surged through me. Relief followed.

As soon as they all rose to their feet, a sharp, percussive clap tore from one corner of the crowd. It was Lexi. One clap from her, and another, followed by another.

Coral joined her, and my head snapped to Tyler who joined them, and another pack member, and more, and more.

Within the next seconds, the entire pack was clapping, some hooting loudly, some banging on hard surfaces, and those in their wolf forms howling.

Axel’s grip on my hand hardened a little bit more and when I looked up at him, there was a flash of…pride in his eyes.

For the first time that evening, I smiled, content with what the occasion turned out to be.