Luna Lena

Chapter 29 - Forbidden

A deadly silence filled the room. Everyone knew, but no one knew how to react. Of course, we'd prepared to keep Alpha Trey and Beta Derek away from the rest of the pack in case of a situation like this, but what were the odds that Daphne would be Beta Derek's mate?

We'd let our guard down. We hadn't prepared enough or took the extent of the situation seriously enough, and now a young woman who was practically my sister was about to endure one of the most terrible heartbreaks that our species could experience.

"Get Daphne out of here," Elijah mind-linked me, as everyone remained quiet and frozen.

Slowly, I looked over at him and nodded. Then, with a few quick, but careful steps, I crossed the room towards the doorway where Daphne was still standing. Her expression had changed slightly. The shock remained, but the reality of the situation was beginning to set in. Little by little, anguish took over her features.

I gently placed a hand on Daphne's shoulder, ready to escort her out of the room, but before I could open my mouth to speak, Daphne lost it.

"No!" she yelled, tears now beginning to fill her eyes. "That's my mate! He's my rightful mate! I have every right to be in here!"

Her voice got higher and higher with every work she yelled, until it finally started breaking and the tears poured. Before she had the chance to make things worse, I tightened my grip on her shoulder and pushed her out into the hallway.

Once in the hallway, I realized Elijah must have mind-linked his mother for back-up. Diana came running down the hallway with evidence of extreme worry written all over her face. Just as Elijah shut his office door behind us, Diana tore Daphne from my grip and pulled her into her arms.

"My poor baby!" Diana cooed, her voice changing as well as motherly instincts and emotions overwhelmed her. No parent would want to witness their child enduring such a heartbreak.

"He's my mate, mom! My mate! I just need to go to him!" she wailed as Diana attempted to lead her daughter down the hallway towards a more private area and as far away from Beta Derek as possible.

"You know you can't do that honey," Diana replied calmly. It was then that I realized Diana was leading us down the hallway to mine and Elijah's quarters. It was the most private and heavily guarded area of the pack house closest to Elijah's office, so it made sense. I then rushed ahead of them so I could get the door open and hopefully come up with a plan to help calm Daphne down.

Once I got the door open, Diana led Daphne straight to the couch and wrapped her in a plush throw blanket that was draped over the arm of a nearby chair. Daphne gripped the ends of the blanket and pulled it tighter around her body, seeking comfort in the inanimate object.

While Daphne stared ahead at the fireplace, obviously losing herself to her thoughts, Diana quietly pulled me towards the kitchen.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered, making my eyes widen. She was the mother! Wasn't she supposed to have all of the answers?

"I don't have a clue," I whispered back, shaking my head. "Any idea that pops into my head won't align well with Daphne's personality. She's much more sensitive than I am."

"True," Diana replied with a small nod.

"We need to find out what was said after we got her out of the room. I doubt it'll be anything helpful to Daphne, but we need some indication of where to go from here."

Diana nodded again, agreeing with my thoughts, "I feel her best option is for him to reject her, but I don't know what their pack rules are when it comes to these kinds of situations. A rejection would be agonizing for Daphne, but without it she could very well be driven to insanity."