Kieran POV
I sit between my fathers and wait for the elders to enter the chambers. Raven is sitting at the head of the table with Oliver by her side. There is an empty chair for Leo if he can convince Mae to come to the meeting.
The elders file into the chambers one by one. Each one of them has a scowl on their face. I can only assume that they have been told about Mae and Tish. I can't help but think maybe it would be best if Mae didn't attend this meeting.
After the elders take their seats, Leo and Mae walk into the chambers. I am both relieved and nervous at the sight of her. I don't know what she and Leo spoke about, but she looks defeated. The urge to run to her and hold her in my arms is overwhelming, but as I get to my feet, my father grunts in disapproval.
Ignoring him, I stroll across the room and pull out the seat for Mae beside Leo. I want to sit beside her, but the seats are already taken.
Mae gives me a pleading look, and I know she doesn't want me to leave her side. Standing behind her, I grip the back of her chair.
"If you will please take your seat, Alpha," one of the elders eyes me suspiciously.
"I will stay beside my mate," I inform the room.
"Mate?" The elder questions. "We were not informed that you had found your mate."
"I wasn't aware that it was any of your business," I snap at him.
"Of course, it is our business," he raises his voice in my direction. "Everything that goes on in this pack is our business."
"Fine," I roll my eyes. "I found my second chance mate."
"How wonderful," another elder says as he claps his hands together. "Tell us all about her."
The first elder lifts his nose to the air and inhales deeply. "She is a human," he gasps.
Mae shifts uneasily in her seat at the mention of her being a human. I place my hands on her shoulders. She is tense and even my touch isn't easing her.
"She is a human," I say confidently. "Is that a problem?"
"There has not been a human Luna in the history of the North Pack," the first elder complains.
"Now there is," I cut him off. "The Moon Goddess wouldn't have put her in the situation if she wasn't capable."
"That is true," the second elder replies. "The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes."
"How will she learn about our ways?" The first elder argues. "It isn't like she will just be another member of the pack. There is a certain amount of responsibility that comes with being Luna."
"She can be taught," I growl.
Raven lays her hands on the table and gets to her feet. She clears her throat loudly and the arguing between me and the elders stops.
"We have bigger problems than that of a human Luna," Raven says loudly.
"What could possibly be more important?" The first elder groans. "What has our young Alpha done now?"
I can't stop the growl that is rumbling in my chest. "I have done nothing."
Raven sighs loudly. "I wouldn't say that. You brought a familiar onto pack territory."
"You what!" The elder shouts loudly.
"She was my friend," Mae chimes in. "I wouldn't have come without her."
Murmurs fill the room and I instantly know Mae has made a grave mistake. The elders will never trust her knowing that she is friends with a familiar.
"Where is this familiar now?" The second elder demands to know.
"Gone," I answer shortly.
"It would appear she has been taken by rogues," Raven fills in the parts of the stories I left out.
The murmurs in the room escalate to shouts. Mae's shoulders are shaking under my touch. She is frightened.
"Enough," I yell over the arguing in the room.
My Alpha Aura spreads throughout the room, and everyone bears their necks to me except for Raven and her mates.
"The familiar is not a threat," I tell everyone.
Raven glares at me. "I disagree. The familiar has knowledge of the North Pack now. That information could be used against us."
"She was here for barely two days," I shout at Raven. "She couldn't have learned that much."
"It is a little odd that the rogue attack happened on the same night that the familiar came to our pack," my father says. "Perhaps she has been working with them all along."
"How do we know your mate hasn't been working with the rogues as well?" Another elder speaks up.
"She wasn't aware of our world until she met me," I jump to defend her.
"How can you be so sure?" The elder growls as he looks at Mae.
Karr is clawing at the recesses of my mind. He doesn't like that the elders are ganging up on Mae. He tries to force the shift but I push him back.
'They are insulting our mate,' Karr snarls in my mind.
'We need to remain calm,' I try to reason with him.
The room has gone silent and all eyes are on Mae. The elders are waiting for her to defend herself. But Mae doesn't speak. Her eyes are glued to the table in front of her. Her skin is pale and she looks like she might be sick.
"I have spent time with Mae," Leo speaks up. "I do not think she is a threat to the North Pack."
Mae lets out a little sigh of relief.
"There is one way we could be sure," the first elder butts in. "If the Luna Queen were to use her powers to read the human's mind."
"Absolutely not!" I exclaim. "I will not have my mate's mind flipped through like an open book. She deserves some privacy."
"Wait," Mae whispers. "What would it entail?"
Raven's face softens as she looks at Mae. "You just have to let me in."
"Go ahead," Mae says, and she squeezes her eyes closed.
Raven takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. The room goes silent. I keep my hands resting on Mae's shoulders to offer her support, but I keep my eyes on Raven.
Tears begin to stream down Raven's face. Whatever she is seeing in my mate's mind must be heartbreaking.
Raven's eyes fly open. "She is innocent," she says as she chokes back sobs.
"That settles it," the second elder says cheerfully. "Now you just have to mark her to make it official."
Mae is silently crying and wiping tears from her eyes.
"If you will excuse me," Mae says as she gets to her feet.
No one tries to stop her as she heads for the door. She rushes out of the chambers, and the door slams shut behind her.
All eyes are on Raven.
"You are dismissed," Raven says as she shakily sits back in her seat.
The elders quickly exit the chambers, leaving me alone with my family. I turn my attention to Raven.
"What did you see?" I ask her.
"That isn't for me to tell," Raven says quietly.