Athena - The Luna Warrior

Chapter 23

Athena's POV

"Then change the convention. Athena can be a Luna and a Warrior, she can be the first Luna Warrior, no?"

My head snapped towards Luca.

I can be a Luna and a Warrior right?

Luca shrugged.

My heart broke. I had never known Lucas to be an old-fashioned Alpha. 

My sad eyes found Lucas's bewildered ones.  

Females in the human and werewolf world were advancing towards better roles in the society and the pack respectively. Was my mate really conservative?  

I deserved a definite answer. 

"Ahem" interrupted Ari, "now Mr. Alpha, I think you should leave us to our girls night."

My mate looked at me. He could sense that I was unhappy.

"We can talk about it later okay?" he said.

That's it? He would dismiss it like this?

I held his gaze. Tears were threatening to fall.

He gave me a quick peck and jumped out of the window leaving me to my thoughts.

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"My brother is just a complicated ass Thena. Like seriously, he is just acting like one, but you need not worry, he will come around" said Ari stuffing her a mouth with a bunch of Skittles.

My mind was confused. Maybe I did not have the patience to wait for later, but did Lucas think that I would be a bad Luna if I was a Warrior?

"Do you think I will be a bad Luna if I stay a Warrior?"

"Oh seriously girl! Stop it will you? Honestly, Lucas is torn between following tradition and embracing new ones. I mean, if I were your mate, I would totally be okay with breaking traditions."

A small smile formed on my lips. I really liked this badass chick.

"But I want him to accept me. I mean, can I not be a Luna and a Warrior at the same time? Or is it just that I am not worthy of being Luna?"

Ari hissed, enveloping me in a hug.

"See Thena, he is your mate. He cannot stay far. He will come around to give you a definite answer. Shall we not give him sometime to process it?"

I nodded my head. Maybe he needed time to wrap around this situation. Maybe I should talk to him tomorrow.

"Anyway, since the movie plan is out, and that it is late in the night, shall we just retire to bed? Training is cancelled for us but the warriors will be training tomorrow"  she said, wrapping her self under the blanket of the queen sized bed.

I sighed, lying on the bed.

A lot of thoughts passed through my head before I drifted off to sleep.

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"WARRIORS, RUN ALONG!" shouted Vincent.

We warriors were running along the pack border. This was my first time seeing the entire west border of the pack which stretched to about 25 miles. Six of us were passing by various border patrol posts which were armed by various bulky men.

Lucas was nowhere to be seen this morning. As I was not a part of the pack yet, I could not mind-link him. 

Anxiousness engulfed me. 

Was he avoiding the talk?

I was determined to find Lucas and talk to him today itself. However, my thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"Hey!"

"Hi Maximilian" I said looking at the scrawny boy running alongside me. He was the odd misfit among the warriors, however, his speed was unmatched for.

"Hi Thena, can I call you Thena?" he said looking at me with hope.

"Yes, only if I can call you Max" I smiled.

"Sure" he said plastering a lopsided grin, "most kids at school call me Max."

"School? Do you go to the werewolf school nearby?" I said remembering what Ari had told me yesterday, "How do you manage studies with training?"

"I go to school in the morning, get to training once back. Or I train at the break of dawn."

"Which grade are you in?"

"I am a freshman in High School" he said with pride, "I had to catch up with a lot of stuff before joining in. I had never gone to a real school before hence Luna Irene had to home-school me for a while."

My head snapped to him in surprise. I did have a vague idea that he was adopted into the pack but I did not expect him to talk about it.

"That is so nice of the Luna, she seems to be a nice lady" I smiled, wondering if I would ever be able to match her abilities.

"Yes she is. She helped me regain my confidence. She is my second mother, better than my first one of course."

I looked at Max. His eyes were glistening.

"I know it is not in my position to ask, but would you want to share what happened? Whatever it is, I am always here to listen, okay Max?"

"Thanks Thena" he sighed. 

After a moment of silence he continued.

"I was adopted into the pack two years back. To keep the story short, I was on the run when all of this happened, and found myself at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was an ambush between the hunters and the Shadow Moon pack. Although I was twelve, my speed was unmatched for. I fought on behalf of the wolves. Unfortunately, the previous Alpha, Alpha Gabrielle was injured; the then-Beta and the surviving fighters brought him back to the pack while I tagged along. Alpha Gabrielle passed away a few days later but owing to my bravery and help, the Luna decided to adopt me and treat me like her own son. And the rest is history."

I looked at him intently. It was as if he wanted to tell it to someone, feel light. Moreover, this was the first time I was hearing about Lucas's father.

"I am sorry Max. But I am glad that you have found refuge here and this is your home.  Thank you for sharing this with me, thank you trusting."

Max gave me a smile.

"I know how it feels to be alone. I have been alone all my life. I mean, it has hardly been less than a week that you are here. But the Luna taught me that I need to feel others welcome, although it may require telling them something that makes you vulnerable. I am glad you are here Thena. And we just want you to consider this as your new home and not feel like you are alone."

I smiled. Even Lucas had not put this effort to make me feel at home.

"Thank you Max, I am really honored and glad. And yes, I like this new home."

Max gave me a grin as he increased his pace. I picked up my pace to match his.

Boy, this man was really good at running.

But that made one question stick like a sore thumb in my head.

"Max" I said cautiously, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"What were you running away from?"

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A/N: I am overwhelmed by the response to this story and glad that many of you are reading and commenting. Thank you for the love <3

For the benefit of all my readers - Update schedule is every Sunday Eastern Time.

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