When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 124

Chapter 121

Chapter 124

Demetra Pride Covenant.

“Morning, sunshine!”

I groan into my pillow.

I pull the covers over my head. The bed is warm, there is silence and there’s the specific perfect temperature that only exists right before someone ruins it. I am not ready to give any of that up-

Until I remember what day it is and I hear Summer’s voice again.

“Morning, sunshine… Lunaaaaaaa.

The way she draws out the title is like a song.

I push one eye open.

Summer is standing at the foot of the bed with both hands on her hips. Behind her, hanging on the golden cart near the window, is my dress still sealed in the dry–cleaning bag.

“Morning.” I manage. “Can I have one more hour?”

“I already gave you thirty extra minutes-

“Ugh.”

I’m pushing myself upright, dragging my hair out of my face and trying to locate consciousness when the bed begins moving.

“Mummy, it’s Luna day! It’s Luna day, it’s Luna day!”

Amira arrives on with the full kinetic commitment! She bounces, both feet leaving the mattress and the reverb moves through the entire bed in waves.

There is no going back to sleep after this-

“Yay, it’s Luna day,” I say, throwing both hands up with the enthusiasm of forty percent there but will get the rest of the way eventually. By the way, who told her it’s called Luna day.”

going to wear dresses and tiaras, right? Right?”

“Mama, mama…we’re going to

“Right.” I catch her mid–bounce and pull her into a hug before she continues to be an air

bender.

“And Daddy said…Daddy said there’s going to be a chariot like in Cinderella.”

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I turn to look at Summer.

“What.”

“There is.”

“W–what!?” I say it again.

I’ve genuinely not been paying attention to the preparations. Derisha was in charge as well as others in the family cause I’m guessing they knows exactly what a Black Covenant Pack bonding gala looks like and I was happy to let them while I focused on work.

Apparently the process includes a chariot.

I’m still processing this when the door to the Luna suite opens after a knock and Arieth walks in. Behind her is a rotation of Deltas….at least six of them reporting for duty. I feel my patience die before anyone has even said a word.

I have told her. Multiple times. Clearly. That I do not want the full ceremonial staff rotation for anything…especially my personal morning. I am capable of getting dressed without an audience of six trained wolves watching me do it!

Cause if I need something, I will ask.

I’ve made it clear but Arieth keeps rotating in anyway and by the way, this is how Elena liked it. So, she’s basically following Elena’s preferences and version of what a Luna morning looks like… as if the change in who sits in this room hasn’t registered yet.

“What are you doing here!?” Arieth’s eyes land on Summer

“The Luna asked me to be here-” Summer starts.

“You are a housekeeper To

Your place is cleaning, maintaining, supporting the kitchen staff… not standing in the Luna suite on a gala morning. Everything relating to the Luna’s personal care

and preparation runs t

1. me. I am Head Delta! That is the hierarchy-”

Amira flinches at the volume Arieth uses.

“Really,” I say softly. “In front of me.”

Arieth blinks, licking her lips as she recalibrates where she is, who is in the bed she just shouted across, who is watching.

“Sorry, Luna. I just needed to address the hierarchy situation quickly-”

“Hierarchy.” I push the covers off and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I’m not raising my voice. I don’t need to.

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“Let me make sure I understand the hierarchy correctly, since you’re bringing it up. I am an Alpha’s daughter. I am the Luna of this pack. And you just walked into my room… after I have told you, on multiple occasions, that I don’t want robotic help arriving unannounced and the first thing out of your mouth was to embarrass someone I personally invited to be here.” I

pause.

“Is your hierarchy above mine, Arieth? If Emris gave you an order, would you so easily pretend you didn’t hear him and disobey anyway?”

“Luna, it’s the bonding gala – I assumed you’d want-”

“Uh… uh, Luna. It’s the bonding gala. I assumed you needed all the help you could get!”

“You assumed. And instead of leading with that, you led with making Summer feel like she doesn’t belong in this room because of her job title. Does it matter who does the job, as long as I’m comfortable with them? Do I have to run my personal preferences through you first? Was that how it worked with Elena? Am I Elena!?”

The last three words land differ than the rest. The staff behind Arieth goes very still.

I look at my daughter who is pressed against my side, watching this with her big dark eyes. She is going to run a pack one day. She is going to make decisions and have people push back on her…she’s going to need to know, from watching me, that the answer to that is not to fold.

“I’m demoting you, Arieth.”

“De – demoting–Luna, please—”

“This isn’t a charity

eve and it i

and you’ve chosen not

me to the Alpha.”

It’s a pattern of behavior that I’ve addressed

18 hink I’m being heartless, then go ahead and report

adjust. If

I look past her to where Summer is standing, covering her mouth with one hand in the very specific way to contain her laughter.

“Summer. You’ve been in this pack house as long as I can remember. I know you, I trust you. The position is yours if you want it.”

“Me?!”

Summer’s hands drop from her mouth and her eyes go enormous.

“Luna, I have dedicated years to this position. I have proven myself; I have worked hard for

“For Elena.” I cut her off. “Not to me. I have given you a chance to prove yourself but you seem stuck on the one you did for Elena. You can leave now, submit your patch at the Delta

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office.”

“Luna-”

“You heard the Luna.” Summer says. Her shoulders are perfectly straight all of a sudden tpp

I do not laugh. I do not laugh. I absolutely do not-

The door closes behind Arieth and the remaining staff.

Summer and I look at each other across the now–empty suite.

We last approximately one and a half seconds before we both completely lose it in a way that bends

you in half.

“No way.” Summer grabs my arm, shaking me. “No way you just made me Head Delta.”

“Head Delta, Summer.”

“HEAD DELTA-”

Amira watches the two of us with a concerned expression.

“Literally…who else would I trust with it? We knew each other at our worst, Summer. Both of us, at our absolute rock bottom and we were still good to each other through all of it.” I look

at our best.”

at her properly. “Now imagine us

Summer stares at me for exactly one second.

Then she lets out a

und that is somewhere between a scream and a sob and launches herself at me, and we crash back onto the bed together in a heap. Amira takes one look at the situation and jumps directly into the middle of it.

“They are all going to lose their minds when I tell them I’m Head of Delta,” she breathes. “Yeah, you should go tell them while I take my bath….go, go, before everything starts-”

She nods quickly. “I’ll bring breakfast when I’m coming.”

“I’ll come too!” Amira announces, apparently having decided that wherever Summer is going so she runs after her.

After she’s gone, I take a moment to sit at the vanity. In a matter of hours, I am going to be standing in front of the most powerful people in West Virginia and Georgia.

I grew up in this pack house so I have seen the reality of it. The conversations I overheard while clearing tables. Summer and I used to press our backs against the wall in the service corrid

whenever a notable guest was arriving because a single mistake could have cost us

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everything.

Now it’s like… am I going to be the one judged?

Especially with Elena living in the pack house…which I really do not like. What else are they going to look at me and criticize me for? The way I talk? The way I hold my fork? The way I’m not Elena?

Then my phone rings on the vanity and it’s Dad’s on the screen.

“Hey, cub-”

“Dad.”

Just his voice and my whole chest does something warm.

“How are you? When are you guys getting here? Tiffany was supposed to be here already, I haven’t heard from her-”

“She’s on her way, I promise you that.” He laughs.

“Switch to video?”

“Give me a second…okay, there.”

The call switches and I prop my phone against the mirror on the vanity so I can see him while I start pulling my hair back. In the background, slightly out of frame, I catch a figure.

Slade.

And the moment he realizes the camera is on, he moves his eyes deliberately away-

“That wolf is a lucky bastard to have my daughter,” Dad says and I wish there wasn’t a smile tugging on my lips. But he knows. He knows I’m happy with Emris now.

“Is that Demetra?!”

Aunt Scotty’s face appears in feathers and jewels. I can confirm that there must be an actual team of stylists with her.

“Demetra…our royal Luna!”

“There’s our luna!” Craig and Timothy appear, my cousins appear and I throw my hand over my mouth in shock. They had been away for the hockey season.

“You’re back?! You’re supposed to be at championship… when did you get back, no one told

me-

“We couldn’t miss this, cub.” Craig grins.

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“Only Dad gets to call me that!”

23

My cheeks are hurting from how badly I’m smiling. And I see Slade chuckle in the background. Good. Whatever Emris is doing, he did it well enough to let me see his brother smile again.

“We’ll see about that, Luna Cub.”

“What-”

“Let’s leave Demetra to get ready… we all need to finish getting dressed and we are going to be late if Scotty doesn’t wrap up with the stylists.” Dad claps.

“Oh but I’m nearly done!”

“I love you.” Dad says, staying on screen longer.

He just looks at me and I know that look.

It’s a look of guilt. When I was in Paris, being depressed, I found out that he was trying to find my mother in the hope that she would save me. So now he probably thinks I need her on this important day. But how can you need someone you never knew?

“I love you, Daddy,”

B

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125

Chapter 15

Chapter 125