Thalia's POV
Obviously, I was going to accept that I had a wolf.
I mean, it wasn't as if I was agreeing to have taken part in a massacre or something such as that.
So, I went ahead and shook my head, answering the question that was asked by the old woman.
I didn't see the need to lie when it was something that they already knew.
Little did I know, that I was slowly planting seeds that were going to sprout so fast even a bamboo plant wasn't going to have a chance.
All the Elders' eyes were on me, and they were fixated for a couple of seconds.
Nothing was said for those few seconds, but I could tell that it was coming.
Cassian on the other hand seemed like he was also trying to make sense of why the elders were looking at me like that.
I mean, it wasn't as if I had told them that I was cursed.
And just as I was thinking about it, the first murmur came in.
In a very low tone, as if the elder was trying to make sure that the others hear him and I shouldn't, one of the elders mumbled,
"They picked her to be the Luna of the Obsidian Howl Pack."
It wasn't a question or an exclamation statement. It was just, neutral.
I didn't even know whether he was trying to portray it in a positive or negative way, as he didn't have any visible expression on his face.
But that's just it.
Reading the face of someone like that was near next to impossible. Years worth of experience had made the elders experts in maintaining a very composed look on their faces, even if they would have any compelling emotions that they needed to let out.
So, no matter how much I tried to read their faces, I couldn't make out whether me having gotten my wolf and somehow not having it, was a good thing or not.
And let me not talk about how the wrinkles on the Elders' faces helped them so much to hide any emotions that might have passed through their defensive walls.
So, as Cassian and I stood there for those couple of seconds, with me waiting to hear a follow-up on the statement that was made by one of the elders, I anticipated for the worst.
As they exchanged glances every few seconds, so did Cassian and I.
The feeling of wanting to just walk away from all of that was high, but my curiosity was high.
That was one of the very few times that I was curious to hear what someone had to say about me.
I mean, they weren't just anybody.
If someone had told me three months earlier that I would be standing in front of the elders of the Obsidian Howl Pack, as their newly crowned Luna, I would have laughed so hard that my lungs would hurt.
But it was happening.
'Why not?' I asked myself as I waited patiently for the verdict to be passed.
The same elder that had read my palm, stretched out her hand and opened it.
She was waiting for me to place my hand in hers, again.
I didn't feel like I wanted to do it, but since I was there for the lore and what was about to happen, I slowly lifted my hand and placed it on hers again.
Once again, she immediately went to work and was focused on my palm, following the marks on it slowly.
This time,.as she was reading my palm, she went ahead and looked up right into my eyes.
I could feel those eyes trying to tear down at the walls that I had set up. Unmoved, I looked into her eyes as well, trying to find whatever she had seen or was thinking about deep inside her thoughts.
My best guess is that we were both unfortunate in what we were looking for, and therefore we broke off the eye contact.
And just like the first time, she released my hand and looked at the other elders surrounding her.
I had a feeling that they were communicating, it's just that I couldn't hear them.
Little did I know that as I was thinking that they were communicating to each other, that they were actually using the mind link to talk to each other.
I was just crowned winner of the Luna trials, but not yet completely transitioned to become on of them. This meant that I couldn't hear their interaction or use the mind link.
Now that I think of it more deeply, I'm just realizing that in that moment, Cassian looked as confused as I was.
My best guess is that they didn't involve him in whatever they were talking about, and that adds layers to the topic.
Sick and tired of being left out and not being able to be part of whatever they were talking about, I decided that I was going to need to stand up for myself.
I mean, Cassian had already told me that I needed to act like the spine that was going to hold Kade high over everyone else.
On top of that, when I glanced over the shoulders and looked at the direction where I had left Kade standing, I wasn't that surprised to see him still standing with Alpha Ronan in front of him.
Kade has his own things to deal with, which meant that I was on my own on that.
"Whatever you want to say to me, say it straight to my face."
The words came out like a hot knife on butter, moving effortlessly and cutting through the tension that had been building up that entire time.
I even saw the shock on the Elders' faces as I had expected, since I don't think any of them was expecting me to even open my mouth.
The female elder that had read my palm, twice, turned to look at me and I could see the shock on her face that I was even audacious enough to open my mouth.
However, I wasn't going to stand there and let them think that I didn't have a spine.
I had suffered under Alpha Ronan for so long, and I would have been damned if I was going to be given the chance to break free from his chains successfully, only for me to find myself chained to another man, for life.
Well, that was going to be the definition of escaping hell, only to find myself in the devil's chambers.
Sounds weird for me to say that, but given the reputation and difference in influence that Alpha Kade had over Ronan, I can say that it should make enough sense.
"I can tell that there's something being discussed, and it's certainly about me." I started telling them, proving that my first words were not just a slip of the tongue.
"And instead of talking using the mind link to each other, why didn't you look me straight into my eyes and tell me."
I don't even know where the courage to say such words to the elders of the Obsidian Howl Pack came from, but it sure felt like the best thing that I had done for myself in a long while.
Even Cassian couldn't stop staring at me as he stood right next to me, for a couple of seconds.
I could tell that it wasn't advisable for me to pick that tone with the elders, but I was way past my point of caring, and wanted to know whether they knew something about my wolf.
The female elder finally relaxed as her shoulders dropped, and she looked like she was tired of calling her silent bluff on me to see if I was going to give in or not.
That's when one of the male elders said, "We knew that you were wolfless."
"But, we didn't know that you had your wolf." Another one said.
"Losing a wolf and not having a wolf entirely have no difference. It's the same way that I could have been born blind or become blind." I said to them, eagerly waiting to hear if they had some information on how I could get my wolf back.
However, they seemed more concerned about the statement that I had just said, and I could even see them subconsciously shaking their heads, disagreeing with the statement that I had just made.
"Your logic is flawed. We are werewolves and we are like this because of the wolves that we get when we are old enough." The female elder said to me.
"Once you get your wolf, you don't just lose it like a bunch of car keys or they didn't just disappeared in the back of your head.
Our wolves are bound to us till the day that we die. And it works both ways, neither party can just ghost the other just like that." She added.
Taking in a deep breath, I could see were the conversation was headed, and I didn't want for it to go any further.
However, we were so deep inside that topic that I didn't think I could even pull myself out.
"You and your wolf can ghost each other, but... that's not the same as you not having her completely." The female elder said, looking at me keenly as if she was trying to spot any kind of reaction from me.
She finally asked a question that I knew was coming and wasn't going to answer,
"What happened to you?"