Spurned Luna’s Return: On Your Knees, Alpha Chase

Usually, it has been any chair that looked grand and pricey that the champion to be enthroned sat on. But today they brought out this throne. Not that it was as good as that of the top 50 Alpha kings but it was something never brought out. This showed how much the officials of this contest didn’t want to piss off the Olmpha behind Zehelina.

Now that the throne was set in place, what was left was Zehelina’s arrival.

Everyone kept staring in the direction they expected her to come through. But surprisingly, Zehelina came from the other direction walking by herself, looking more confident than ever, clothed in a strapless leopard skin top that stopped just below her belly button, and a black mid-thigh-length fur skirt that proclaimed her exquisite legs and feminine shape. Her hair had been woven into seven big braids with five kobicha-coloured beads -big and small and of various shapes and sizes- each fastened at the burnt tips.

There were two thin dangling peacock gold earrings on her ears, three layers of black chains around her exposed neck, golden cuff bracelets on both arms, layers of thin black bracelets on her left wrist, and on the other, a thick gold bangle with the face of a wolf engraved on it. Her waist was adorned with layers of thin brown beads and a thick wavy chain underneath them that had intricate drapes and various small gemstones embedded on it. Her bare feet had beautiful golden anklets which possessed black bells that jiggled with each step she took and her finger and toenails were painted in a pecan colour. This time her face was bare of any makeup; she looked killer even without it.

At this point, there were some whistles from the audience along with cheering as Zehelina finally stood before Alpha Francis. He beamed and led her towards the throne. She climbed the stairs that led to the throne and then sat on it cross-legged.

A minute later,

A middle-aged woman came over carrying tools for branding. After bowing to the Alpha King, she turned to Zehelina and without a word proceeded to draw a wolf skeleton on her right shoulder. Zehelina clenched her teeth and balled her hands into fists while staring at the audience, not making a sound.

Once the skeleton was drawn, the woman knelt and proceeded to draw two crossed swords with a rose in front of them on Zehelinas left leg.

“Gosh! That must hurt!” Lavana mind linked her mate. If it was her she wouldn’t feel it too much, not after going through all that baptism of fire, water and thunder at the ancestral island.

“Indeed,” her mate nodded in agreement, “But she’s a strong woman. The path of Alpha King isn’t for the weak-hearted. This is to make her aware of the burden she must carry. It isn’t about wealth, possessions and enjoyment.”

She nodded, “Yeah. There’s a lot more.” she sighed. “This painful ritual can’t be skipped, right?”

Her mate replied, shaking his head, “No. If you aren’t Alpha King by birthright and you become an Alpha King through this competition, you need the two tattoos. The first is to acknowledge the title and the second is for beauty and also a warning that she isn’t just a woman but a being one must fear unless, of course, he’s an Alpha wolf.”

“I see. Oh, look! Both tattoos look stunning on her.” she pointed out and her mate nodded.

Zehelina having received the tattoos still maintained an expressionless face. Alpha Francis thanked the woman and she left with the tools in a red box.

A tall, ripped, handsome youth carrying a silver pillow that had red fringes all around its edges and a golden crown studded with 3 emeralds placed atop it, walked over and knelt before Alpha Francis.

The Alpha King gently took the crown and faced Zehelina, “You are a brave warrior, and it is evident to all that this is your destiny, as the chosen elite out of hundreds of others seeking this jewel. This crown comes with glory, wealth and influence. But it also comes with sacrifices, pain, weighty responsibilities and even death. Are you willing?”

Zehelina rose from the throne and descended the stairs, eventually going down on one knee before the Alpha King with a face of determination. She responded, “Yes, Alpha!”

“Will you rule with fairness and promise to uphold the laws of the council governing Alpha kings?”

“Yes, Alpha!”

“Now look towards your pack members,” Alpha Francis ordered and she heeded, fixing her eyes on the Blood Star pack members. He added, “Make your vow to them and earn their bows,”

Zehelina heaved a sigh before bringing herself to speak, “Beloved Blood Stars, it’s me, Zehelina, the Lina you’ve always known. It is unanticipated that I am the one to be crowned. In my heart, I hoped it was any one of you guys. But here I am, about to be crowned. It is a good thing, I know. We don’t get to disband and there’s an Alpha King to govern the pack. The trepidation that comes with each triennial contest is gone, isn’t it? But I never trained for this. I tagged along, wanting to see how far we could go. I never expected to be chosen. Rolandro, and Mel, you two always trained for this position so that either of you could become Alpha and Beta. But it is not to be. I know that behind the happiness is a little disappointment.”

“No, Zehelina, there’s none!” Rolandro yelled.

“Lina, you don’t know how proud of you we are. We can’t even express our happiness. No, dear, we aren’t disappointed. You know we both came here along with the 6 of you in hopes that anyone of us could save the pack and Moon Goddess has chosen you to be our leader.”

“Your words make my heart glad. Rolandro, Mel, Phoenix, Dante, Oliver, Lavana and Zyair, do you all support me in becoming the first Alpha King of the Blood Star Pack?”

“YES!!” the 7 of them yelled in unison.

“I, Zehelina Mockridge, vow to take this pack to greater heights and rule with clemency and justice. In my reign as Alpha, no one regardless of wolf rank should be used as a meat shield or starved, for we need each other to grow and to survive. I vow to make sacrifices and decisions that will benefit the people of our land. If you support me, show me your submission!” after saying the last sentence, her eyes turned red as she looked at her pack members. Well, she knew that Lavana and Phoenix, being Olmpha and Alpha wolves, didn’t need to bow but the others ought to.

But surprisingly all 7 of them bowed their heads and showed their bare necks, signifying submission.

“Gosh! That Olmpha bowed her head too and even submitted?” Alpha Marcus exclaimed telepathically to the other Alpha King with him.

“Crazy, I tell you!” Alpha Dmitri replied.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Alpha Francis was inwardly dumbfounded just like the others in the venue, but unlike them, he didn’t lose his composure.

Zehelina was stunned too when she saw that the couple bowed their heads to her when they didn’t even need to. Her eyes turned back to normal and she fought to hold back the tears in her eyes.

“Go, Lina!” Lavana cheered and the other pack members including her mate and eventually many in the audience joined in cheering and whistling as an encouragement to Zehelina.

“Thank you for your support. I vow not to fail the Blood Star family,” she said with determination before rising and facing Alpha Francis.

Without a word, she climbed the stairs and sat back on the golden throne, legs crossed and hands on the armrests with the arrogance of a queen. Alpha Francis also climbed the stairs and stood by her side.

Looking towards the audience, he declared, “With all the needful having been done, it is my pleasure and great privilege to crown this gorgeous lady right here, the brave Zehelina Mockridge, as the new Alpha King of Blood Star pack.” he put the crown on her head. He also gave her a red thorny whip and put an emerald ring on her left index finger.

Then with joy, he announced as she rose from the throne, her whip touching the floor, “Behold, Alpha Zehelina!”

At his proclamation, those making music quickly resumed with great zeal and there was thunderous applause, lasting cheering and whistles from everyone, including the Alphas and the Lycan King.

“Lina!” Lavana ran ahead of the Blood Stars to hug her friend joyfully. “I’m happy for you, Lina.”

“Lavana, without you and your mate’s help, it wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you so much for your support.” Zehelina hugged Lavana tightly, struggling not to let a tear fall but she was unsuccessful at this attempt. Those last females who dressed her up told her several things that she didn’t know before.

When they broke the hug, the other members of Blood Star were around her.

“Thank you so much, everyone!” she said emotionally.

“You did a great job, Lina,” said Rolandro with elation on his face.

“Thank you,” Recalling something, she quickly added, “Um… I would like you to be my official Beta and for Mel to be…”

“Lina, it’s too early for that. When we get back home, and after you’ve thought clearly, you can then make a decision at the party. Alright?” Mel advised and she nodded.

“Before you commence Alpha duties, you will be instructed by those sent by the werewolf council. That is the norm,” Dante said with a beam. Alpha training was very challenging!

Nonetheless, Zehelina wasn’t phased by it. She considered it an honour, “I’m ready to take on anything,” she said with a staunch expression.

“You must remember this, don’t overwork yourself in the name of taking Blood Star to new peaks. It’s not your job alone. It’s the job of everyone in the pack coz we are a family.” Phoenix counselled and she nodded her concord.

“I guess it’s time for us to depart. You have a lot to do over here. We will be on our way back home to announce the news and make preparations for your arrival.” said Oliver as he adjusted his glasses.

“Ok. See you soon. And Lavana, recall to update me on how you dealt with Ralton.” Zehelina sighed, “A pity I can’t watch,”

“It’s alright. I’ll gist you,” Lavana promised.

Zehelina added, “I want to see Beatrix too,”

Lavana nodded, “She’s my sister and she’s somewhere safe and trusted. But don’t worry, Beatrix will definitely be present for your welcome party,”

“And I bet Pedro’s heart will be much comforted,” Mel said in a dramatic way.

“You…” Rolandro decided to speak no further, just bobbing.

“Yikes! I think I’m going to suffer back home.” Mel’s face turned pitiful but every one of the 7 ignored him.

“Acting like a baby when you weigh a hundred times more than one.” Zyair rolled his eyes.

“Time to leave! Bye, Alpha Lina!” Rolandro said before turning to leave. The others followed him after bidding her farewell.

This was the norm. The other surviving members of the winning pack who are present must leave way ahead of the others in the venue and no one was to interrupt their happy mood. They would be the newsbearers to their members back home in today’s case since all screens were cracked.

After the 7 had left the venue, heading to the parking lot, Alpha Francis took Zehelina to accomplish a daunting task, which was to greet all Alpha Kings present in the venue. They were all seated in the VIP sections according to pack rank.