Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 115

Maggie has just stayed seated at the side listening to the growling and snarling of the two alpha wolves. The sound is nearly crippling to her, but she can only take one thing out of this. This meeting is not about her becoming the luna at all. The meeting couldn't be further away from what she thought. Gabriel is losing his title? Gabriel is her only hope she has left, if he isn't even going to be alpha? That means she will have nothing.

Maggie grips the table which is already shaking with the pressure that Gabriel is putting on it. She is trying to ground herself, she is trying to keep and level and rational head, but today has been too much.

She has woken tied to the punishment pole, she has then proceeded to be insulted, rejected, found out the truth about her parents and then hit a high thinking the luna title was hers, that she would end the day with a title and a mark only to find that Gabriel is becoming nothing, he is losing his title, she has been holding onto him for nine years having to watch him look at other woman, sleeping with other woman, putting up with his insults and it is all going to be for nothing? Eight years of her life, her precious youth to become a mistress of a nothing? A mistress of a disgraced alpha?

Who would be jealous of her now?

She would be the biggest joke in the world. She was fated to become the luna of a powerful pack and now all she is going to end up being the chosen mate of nothing, without the position does she just become a regular pack member? Will she have to work? Will she have to train?

Gabriel will be in no position to protect her from all these things now. Once everyone sees her train and sees her wolf, they will know what she is, they will know her family's disgrace.

Her pathetic mother will have actually got further than her. At least she was pregnant to a pack alpha.

Maggie cannot allow this to happen, she has had twenty-three glorious years of being important, she will never allow herself to fade out into the background.

Maggie jumps out of her seat, screaming like a banshee.

"No you can't take away Gabriel's position"

Lance turns to look at Maggie in disgust, his fury instantly directed to her.

"You think you aren't half the problem? If he chose a weak, pathetic thing like you, now it is known that his fated mate is actually so strong. The whole pack has become a joke, you can't do anything, all you know how to do is spend money and spread your legs, you are good for nothing. You are just weak"

That is exactly the wrong thing to say to Maggie.

"I am not weak, I am exactly what a luna should be, I receive the respect and fear that I should have, I am beautiful and others envy me"

Lance laughs coldly as he looks at the stupid woman.

"Only you would think that any of those things make a good luna"

At first, Gabriel assumed that Maggie was actually defending him and caring about him and his position, but he knows now that it is all for her, she couldn't care less about him and his life, only caring about herself and her own position. "I DESERVE TO BE LUNA, I NEED TO BE LUNA"

Gabriel turns his back on Lance, eyeing the hysterical woman, all the fallout, the embarrassment, the comparison, the matter with Karina, the constant reminder that he can't make a good choice.

She is weak, she is irrational, she is stupid, she is disloyal.

She makes him look like a fool, look like a joke.

She is underhanded.

With all these faults, the thing that stands out the most is her selfishness.

Gabriel's mind moves to Leilani. If Leilani was beside him right now, she would be standing by his side, fighting for him, for his position.

He would have never been in this position to start with.

All his failings, his inability, the mess his life has become all needs a scapegoat.

It is all because of Maggie.

Maggie looks straight back at him, meeting Gabriel's pitch-black eyes as his wolf is pushing the surface.

"You need to fix this, you can't become nothing, you can't fail. That means I become nothing"

"It isn't my problem what you become just go back to Amber pack"

"I can't go back there, I can't ever go back there. In the amber pack I am just an illegitimate daughter of an alpha and an Omega"

All reason crumbles around Gabriel, all these years her blood was her value. She f*cked him over hard this time. Gabriel roars in frustration, his claws are extended, they gleam under the lights as he raises his hand.

Hatred burning hard and fast, she is acting like he has wasted her years. She has been the biggest waste of time and resources and it is all going to end now.

She will embarrass him for the last time, she will throw her power around for the last time, she will tarnish his name no more.

He will do what he should have done a long time ago.

***

The light of day is slowly fading away as more and more cars arrive, vehicles carrying sisters and brothers, parents that couldn't make it as fast, there are grandparents, aunties, uncles.

Each car load brings a new wave of grief and relief.

A new wave of tears.

The chatter is louder, the love is tangible.

Each carload means more happy people to thank Leilani and her brothers and the further Evie sinks into Lani's embrace.

Each new wave of happy family is just a new reminder of how alone she is now. It is like Mother's day, Father's day, thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one, all the events that are usually shared with family. It is easy to feel impossibly alone. Leilani just patiently talks to every family.

'I think I saw Connor's car arrive'

Leilani is surrounded by so many people and she is far from being tall, so unless she pushes people away she has no chance of seeing beyond the wall of the people. The news calms her, this whole experience has taken a toll on her as well.

She is truly tired and wants nothing more than to bury herself in Connor's arms. She wants his mark right now so she can cease being hers and just become Alpha Storm's woman, because feeling all this is hard.

If Leilani has a fault it is that she is too empathetic.

In this situation, that fault is so taxing. Evie feels Lani's shift in mood.

"What is it?"

"Connor is here"

"Do you think he will be okay to take me in?"

"Of course, Connor is the nicest guy I have ever met, aside from my brothers of course"

Lani shoots a big toothy grin at Arlo, who is the closest and can hear every word she says. Arlo walks back toward the others shaking his head but with a large smile on his face.

They are all not used to being the centre of attention in this way for such a long time, neither are they used to this amount of praise. There is not one person in the group that feels like they did anything worth all this, they always dedicate all their time and effort into every job. They are good at what they do and they love what they do.

This one was no different.

The fact that Connor has actually arrived is a relief to all of them, it signals the end. They know he will take one look at Leilani and see her exhaustion and get her out of here, which means they can all leave. No one will argue with Alpha Storm. He has the respect of the werewolf world at the moment.

Terrance needs some peace and quiet, as every piece of praise for the group is just a reminder of how he is tied to the man and every reminder breaks his heart.

Lani just keeps stroking Evie.

"Shh, we will be going home soon and we will work out exactly what is happening. After we know what is happening, then we can work out a game plan"

Evie's head is just filled with images of those photos, thoughts about why her family hasn't come or isn't coming. She is scared to think of the possible reasoning for it all. She is scared to hear that truth as maybe that might be just as bad as she has just been through. "Lani, I am scared to learn why"

"I know, but we can only combat the truth. Lies aren't worth fighting, glossing over things won't make them go away. We can go at your pace, never feel rushed"

"Thank you for everything and I mean that from the bottom of my heart"

"Not at all Evie, it is..."

"No Lani, you don't understand, I don't want to hear all your humble acknowledgment, where you don't really hear the words and just want it over. You and your group saved my life, and even then you go above and beyond, you are a good person and you only deserve good things. I am glad I met you. I now know what I aspire to be"

Lani smiles as she strokes Evie's cheek with her thumb. She feels like Evie is the sister she never had.

"I thought Connor was the King of exaggeration. I have now found the Queen"

"I am serious"

"I know you are, but it is unnecessary. Don't aspire to be me, it is not a bed of roses, there is a lot of darkness behind it all"

"Then that is even more perfect. I know that it is possible to overcome"

"And you will Evie, I know you will"

Evie buries her face in Leilani's shoulder again. She can hear the confidence in Lani's voice and she just wants to feel it at that same level. She is determined to make Lani proud even if the uncertainty is debilitating, the fear is crippling.

Lani strokes her hair. Finally, Leilani can feel Connor's aura through all these powerful wolves. Her whole body relaxes as soon as he is close. She knows that no matter how weak she becomes he will be her strength, that is how much she relies on him already. Leilani doesn't have a single doubt in her head that he is the right man for her.

She catches Connor's eyes over the crowd, she smiles at the face he is making. She has never seen him so excited to see her, she wants to laugh and she would if this was the right situation.

Connor's whole handsome face lights up when he is happy or excited. He moves forward quickly, nearly pushing others out of the way in his hurry to get to her. Connor's face changes slowly, the happy smile slowly dropping off his face replaced by a look of confusion, his eyes darting back and forth.

Lani feels Evie in her arms slowly stiffen and her head starts to turn. Lani suddenly has a really bad feeling.

Connor's expression twists further as his eyes move from Lani's stormy blue to a set of honey-colored eyes.

Two voices sound at exactly the same time, one from within Lani's embrace and one that Lani is looking straight at; her love, her chosen mate, her world, her future.

But there is one single word that can destroy all that.

"Mine"