The girls all spoke at once. "Good morning, madam. How are you?"
Rosalie blinked at them. "I'm fine," then answered shortly, "Please don't call me that.".
It was their turn to look baffled.
"What shall we address you as, Madam Luna? Shall we call you 'Madam Alpha'? "One of them inquired with a perplexed expression, wondering if they had offended Alpha's new mate with their comments.
Rosalie gave a quick shake of her head. "No, please, just call me Rosalie."
Rosalie noticed that they were looking even more confused, as if her request made no sense to them.
"Please call me Rosalie; I'm not used to being addressed in such a formal manner."
They looked at each other, clearly unsure of how to proceed.
They gave a nod. They all chimed in, "As you wish, Madam Rosalie."
Rosalie heaved a frustrated sigh. "Just call me Rosalie, please."
They giggled as if they found her behaviour very amusing.
"We have never seen a Luna like you. You are so young."
"I am 18," Roselie replied. "I am almost the same age as you."
"We will try our best to make you feel comfortable, Rosalie," one of them said with a smile. "We are here to serve you."
Rosalie smiled back, feeling a sense of relief knowing she had their support and understanding.
"My name is Janet Malcolm. I am James's daughter," the blonde chirped happily.
"I'm Ashley Taylor, John Taylor's daughter," the brunette introduced herself.
"James?" Rosalie looked at Janet's pretty face. "I met your father earlier. He's friendly."
Janet beamed. "My dad is the Alpha's second-in-command," she said to her friend. "Ashley's father is the third-in-command."
"You'll meet Sarah later. The Alpha's sister. She is still serving her punishment."
"Punishment?" Rosalie's eyes popped open.
Janet giggled. She smiled as she said, "Yes, Sarah is the naughtiest wolf you will ever meet. My father caught her sneaking out and scaring the human children. She thought it was great fun."
Rosalie smiled. She was mischievous herself, but she drew the line and never bothered humans. "That's dangerous," she said. "What if she gets caught?"
"Oh! She is very careful, but Alpha wanted to teach her a lesson," Janet explained. " Alpha was furious with her, but he loves his sister, so he reduced her punishment from 130 hours of serving at a lower rank to 125 hours instead."
Rosalie raised her eyebrows. "A reduction of a mere five hours?" Woah! That was a different side to Alex. A loving mate and a serious alpha.
"Do you want us to show you around the estate?" Ashley asked. Rosalie smiled at her invitation.
"I would love that very much, thank you," she grinned at her new friends.
********************
There was complete silence in the office of the Alpha. James and the other betas gave their Alpha their undivided attention as they listened.
"Alex, are you certain that you are not exaggerating ?" James asked.
"It is unlikely that the council would agree. A war against the Silver Moon Pack is not an option for us." John nodded his head in agreement while expressing some uneasiness in his tone.
"What gives you reason to believe that Alpha Chris would try to steal your mate from you? You and Madam Luna have already been recognised by the Council and the other packs in the area, "James wondered.
When Alex thought back to the trial, he said, "I know you think that I'm worrying too much, but you didn't see the fire in his eyes, the raging train of schemes running in his thoughts when he left the council chamber with his mate." Alex was referring to when Chris had left the council chamber.
"Have you talked about this to Madam Luna?" James asked him. They were seated around a circular conference table that was sufficiently large to accommodate all of them.
Alex let out a sigh. He looked at his betas and said, "She's so happy and relaxed. I didn't want to make her anxious. No, I prefer not to worry her," he said. "It would make her anxious."
"Perhaps you might be right, Alpha," Troy said with a nod, "but it is not wise to wage another war. Honestly, I am not convinced that Ruben would be thrilled with the idea of you breaking the pact after everything he had done for you," he pointed out.
Alex frowned. "Perhaps we should have asked Uncle Ruben to attend this meeting."
"No," John said, shaking his head. "Have you forgotten that your uncle Ruben asked to be excluded from administrative matters? He deserves to have some peace after the last war."
Alex fiddled with his pen. "We shall be careful then," he decided finally.
"Yes, that would be a better choice." James nodded in agreement.
"I'll increase the number of guards along our borders and keep a tab on Silver Moon Pack activities. We shall do this silently and secretly," John suggested. "I'm certain that we are not at fault for remaining careful."
"Yes, brother," James said as he looked at his friend. "I think it would be wise for you to alert Madam Luna about your concern when you think she is ready."
"I must tell her, shouldn't I?" Alex asked them.
"You are worrying too much, but I never question your alpha instincts," James replied. The other betas nodded.
Alex stood up and walked to the window. And he couldn't help but smile when he saw Rosalie laughing as she walked with Ashley and Janet. He turned to them. "Your daughters are treating my mate well," he told James and John.
"Indeed?" John asked.
"Yes," Alex smiled, pointing to the window, "I think they are heading to the beach."
"That reminds me," James said suddenly, "Sarah has done half of her punishment already; do you want to let her continue or forgive her?"
Alex looked at James. "I think she has learned her lesson," he said. "Do you believe so, James?"
James chuckled. "You just have a spirited, fun-loving sister, Alpha," he smiled. "I don't think she meant to harm to those human children."
"I'll reduce her punishment hours by half if she agrees to stop causing so much trouble," Alex concluded.
Alex looked out the window again and observed his mate and his beta's daughters' backs disappear into the forest. Sarah would like her, he thought. Rosalie was quite a handful herself.
'Having fun, love?' He communicated with her in her head. All of his concerns regarding Chris vanished for a brief period.
'Yes. You haven't mentioned to me that you own a beach, have you? Rosalie answered back, grinning. What do you think about the idea of you and me going skinny dipping tonight at twelve in the middle of the night?'
Alex cracked a grin.
"I absolutely cannot wait until tonight, love."