Broken Luna

Chapter 19

Onyx smiles at me softly before beginning to walk towards us. Zack growls lowly but just glares at him as he reaches us. His top two guards follow close behind him in a protective manner. He extends his arms to me and pulls me into a hug which I hesitantly release Zach's hand and accept. I pull away after a few seconds and give him a slight smile, reminding myself I have to be professional despite the awkward situation between us. 

"Onyx, it's a pleasure seeing you here. I was unsure if you'd actually come", I say smoothly as I reconnect my hand with Zach's. 

He squeezes my hand lightly and mind links me, "I swear if he touches you any more, I may lose my shit".

I nudge him with my shoulder roughly so he knows my disapproval on his statement. Onyx sees this and chuckles before smiling and looking back at me. 

"I was quite intrigued when I received the invite as I was unsure if I'd be welcome given the recent events. I'm thankful you thought to invite me despite my past intemperance.. of your rules", he says cautiously as his eyes drift to Zach. 

Zach finally speaks up as he tries to remain professional and formal, "Nonetheless, we still have a treaty and you are considered an alliance to my people so you were to be invited anyways". 

Onyx nods slightly before turning back to me, "I suppose that is true. Well, I'm sure you have lots to do so I will get out of your hair and loiter among the other guests". 

I thank him as Zach drags me away, into the crowd of people. We greet and meet nearly everyone along the way to the stage. Once we finally arrive at the stage, Zach pulls me up onto it as I keep his fingers entangled with mine. We walk up to the microphone and everyone immediately notices while quieting down, ending their conversations to stare up at us. My tics start acting up as I notice the hundreds of eyes on me instead of Zach, probably still questioning my authority here. My head cocks to the side aggressively, causing me to wince in pain. I advert my eyes from the crowd and look up to Zach as he squeezes my hand and stares at me sadly. I smile at him reassuringly so he switches his focus back to the crowd. 

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Night Fall Pack's annual ball!", he exclaims before the crowd cheers loudly. 

After they quiet down he begins speaking again, "As you all know, Lucy has become your new Luna and has been doing an amazing job. We've been very busy lately but we got everything situated and we hope everyone enjoys themselves tonight, thank you all for coming!". 

The crowd cheers once more and begins resuming their conversation but it feels.. off. My eyes drift across the crowd to a large man glaring daggers at me. To my surprise and displeasure, he begins walking through the crowd towards me angrily. Zach must notice it too as I feel him stiffen beside me. The man reaches the front of the stage and look up at us angrily, eyes practically black with rage. 

Zach mind links me, "That's Alpha Ian Johnson. He's the Alpha to one of the strongest packs in the country". 

The man speaks as his voice booms through the room, "Yeah sure, everyone enjoy themselves and forget how weak this pack is? With such a weak and pathetic Luna, it'd be a damn shame if someone were to challenge your pack and destroy you huh?". 

The crowd gasps and backs away from him, except for Onyx and his guards as they immediately appear in front of him. Ian just stares at them and smirks wildly before returning his glare at Zach and I. 

"Watch your mouth Ian, may I remind you who's pack territory you're in? Lucy is beyond strong enough to be a Luna and IS my Luna, if you like it or not. No one would dare challenge my pack with how well our security is, let alone the bond between their Luna and I", Zach states sternly with a deep growl. 

They glare at each other for a few moments, both of their eyes black with seething rage. 

"Yeah, right! Just look at her, twitching around like a possessed little girl at just a slight confrontation!", he yells back as he looks at me in disgust. 

I realize he's right as my tics get more aggressive, causing me to shake lightly. I take a deep breath and focus on the sparks that spread through my flesh where Zach's skin meets mine and the shaking halts almost instantly. I feel Tanner and Lucian walk up behind us as they snarl lowly, directed towards Alpha Ian. They're presence alone helps me calm down as my tics go back to normal and it's my turn to stare at him in disgust. I will NOT let someone talk badly about me for something I can't control. Besides, I am not as weak as he thinks. 

"My condition doesn't change my strength, if anything it makes me stronger. The fact that you're questioning my authority and disrespecting someone with just as much power as you, shows who's really the pathetic one here Johnson", I say as I scoff at him. 

His eyes flash back to brown for a second in surprise, before returning to black. I just know the guys at my sides are smirking and I notice Onyx is as well as he looks up at me. A few people in the crowd smile at my statement and some chuckle lowly. This just seems to infuriate him more as he practically huffs in frustration. He begins to step closer to us but Onyx is in front of him in a flash, holding his shoulder defensively. Ian growls out loudly and throws Onyx to the side, his body sliding across the ballroom floor a few feet away.