Chapter Twenty-One.

Leon

A day before the Luna ball was to be held, the Elders showed up at the mansion. There were five of them. Elder Carter, Elder Francis, Elder Edgar, Elder Diaz and Elder Jones. It was a very awkward meeting when they had arrived...

*Flashback*

"No! Xander is faster!" Bella exclaimed and I chuckled.

"Bella, Xander is young. We know you're faster than him, but we can't say if he's faster than me." I said and Bella pouted before jumping up and down in excitement.

"Let's do a race!" She said happily but Xander groaned from where he was sitting beside his mom. But one look from Bella made him give her a sheepish look.

"Bella, it won't be fair on Xander. Leon is a trained wolf, and an Alpha as well." Jennifer said and Bella pouted again.

"Then slow him down." She said and we chuckled.

"Bella, you can't make someone slow down easily. He would need something heavy to hold him down." Nicole said and Bella made a thinking face then pointed at Jennifer.

"He can carry mommy!" Bella exclaimed and Jennifer made a fake offended look.

"I'm heavy?" Jennifer asked and Bella shrugged sheepishly. It made us all laugh.

You're lighter than a feather, sweetheart. Don't worry. I told her and she blushed.

"Then I get to carry Bella as well!" Xander said and pulled Bella with him outside before any of us could protest. I sighed in defeat and faced my back towards my mate.

"Hop on." I said and in a few second, legs wrapped around my waist and arms did the same around my neck. I rested my hands under Jennifer's thighs to keep her supported before walking out of the mansion.

"What's going on?" Andrew asked with a laugh when they saw me walking out of the mansion.

"Bella wants Xander and I to race like this." I told him and he and the warriors laughed slightly. Frank looked like he was trying to hold in his laugh while Casper's lips twitched at the ends.

"I'll say 'Go'." Andrew said and then dragged his foot on the ground, making a temporary starting line. Xander also stepped up beside me with Bella grinning at him over his shoulder. She looked at us and stuck her tongue out, making me and Jennifer laugh along with the others.

"Ready, set, g-"

"What's going on here!?" Voices demanded and we all turned around to see the Elders standing there.

The warriors immediately knelt down in respect while I nodded at them.

"Welcome to the pack." I said but Elder Diaz glared at me.

"We have asked you a question, Wolf." He spat. It made me frown.

"Why, Elder Diaz, it's just a little fun and games with the children. Surely we're allowed to do that." I said and Elder Diaz flushed slightly. Jennifer gasped lightly when I addressed him by his name.

Though the Elders were somewhere in their hundreds in age, they all looked like they were just fifty-year-old men. Out of all of them, only Elder Jones had blonde hair. They all and sharp jawlines like most werewolf's but their eyes ranged from brown to blue and green.

"And whose idea was this... game?" Elder Carter asked, phrasing it more like a question. Bella immediately raised her hand up in the air without hesitation.

"Mine!" She said happily and jumped down from Xander's back. She walked over to them and held her hand out. "Hello! I'm Isabella!" She said and they all looked down at her before Elder Edgar cracked a small smile. He always had a thing for kids.

"Why, hello, little one. I'm Elder Edgar." He said and I placed Jennifer down carefully when she had started unwrapping her legs from my waist. She stepped up beside me and I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Is this your mate and her child?" Elder Francis asked and I nodded.

"This is Jennifer, my mate." I said. They all looked at her as if assessing her, but I growled lowly in warning when Jennifer squirmed, feeling uncomfortable under their stare.

"I see you've marked her." Elder Carter said, ignoring my growl. I nodded.

"Bella." Xander called quietly and Bella looked back at him from the conversation she was having with Elder Edgar. She nodded and then skipped back to Xander's side. All the Elders raised an eyebrow at that, giving me questioning looks.

"This is the son I told you about, Elder Carter." I said and the questioning looks didn't go away.

"We think they might be mates. They act the same way Andrew and Alicia used to." Dad said appearing from the mansion. The Elders looked at dad and nodded in understanding. They knew how protective Andrew was of Alicia. As a kid, he had almost attacked Elder Diaz because he had said something which had made Alicia upset.

"I see." Elder Jones said.

That night, we held the ceremony for Xander and Nicole to join the pack. It had made Bella jump in happiness and then hug Xander tightly when they officially joined the pack. Thankfully, it was a friendly hug so all they got as reactions were the 'Awe's' from everyone.

The Elders hadn't detected anything odd with Bella and Xander's scent so it was easy to say that their wolves were hiding themselves really well.

Bella kept Elder Edgar entertained with stories of her school throughout the dinner and I knew that Bella was easily winning one Elders heart. Sometimes, apart from Elder Diaz, the rest of the Elders asked a question regarding the story Bella was telling and she happily obliged with the answer.

They talked to Jennifer as well as we had our dessert. (Three course meals in honor of the Elders. Though I'd rather just have the main meal and go back to the office.) but I had to keep them entertained, show hospitality.

And obviously, Jennifer didn't disappoint anyone. She answered each question as truthfully as she

could have, kept silent on the questions that pushed her boundaries (which was where I interrupted them) and asked the Elders question in return about what they do.

When everyone had retired to bed, I was pulled into a corner and was told that they approve of my mate and Bella (a little reluctantly from Elder Diaz.) but approval all the same. It made my wolf stand even taller in pride for our mate.

Though the office phone ringing had stopped them from saying anything further after that. They all gave me questioning looks but I excused myself from them, wondering who would be calling me this late.

"Wolf."

"Alpha Blake here." A deep voice said and I stiffened.

"Alpha Blake. What can I do for you?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral. The door to my office opened and the Elders stepped in, giving me curious looks.

"I'm missing two members of my pack. A mother and son." He said.

"What about them, Alpha Blake?" I asked and the Elders stiffened in realisation. Elder Carter walked up to the desk and put the phone on speaker.

"I've felt their bond breaking from my pack tonight. Have they joined yours?" He asked.

"Is it important for you to know?" I asked in return.

"Hell yes! She took my son away from me!" He growled and I stiffened.

"Son? Alpha Blake, we weren't aware that you have found your Luna." I said coldly and was met by silence. "Is he your son?" I asked and heard him grumble.

"Alright, Wolf-" I growled. "Alpha Wolf," He corrected himself and I nodded in approval. "I'll be

honest. He isn't my son but he could be a very strong wolf one day. I need him in my pack." He said.

"Need him? You have strong wolves in your pack, Alpha Blake. Why do you need that boy?" I asked.

"Revenge and hate are powerful things, Alpha Wolf. I simply want to direct the pup to the correct path. He lost his father recently in a rogue attack." He said and I held back a growl. Elder Carter also frowned at that.

"As it happens, Alpha Blake. I have had a mother and son join my pack today." I said nonchalantly.

"Give them back to me! They belong to my pack!" He almost shouted and this time I didn't hold back my growl.

"Watch what you say to me, Blake." I spat angrily. "They are under my protection from now on. They belong to my pack now." I said.

"We shall see that tomorrow at the ball, Alpha Wolf." He said as if trying to scare me. But I merely scoffed.

"It's my Luna's, my mate’s ball. If you ruin it by making a scene, I promise you, I'll destroy you and your pack within minutes. You dare disrespect my mate!? The Elders will decide whose pack the mother and son belong to." I said and hung up on him. I sighed and looked up at the Elders.

"They'll be staying in your pack, Wolf." Elder Edgar said and I nodded at him.

"He seems like planning something big to need the pup for the future. We shall deal with him the day after." Elder Diaz said and I sighed in relief.

"Thank you."