The Unwanted Luna

-POV Ayame-

Whenever I find myself in my dark place, they are there and my smile comes back again. Edon even let me have more scenes with him after I promised I was in the right headspace. He's still my teddy bear and we still enjoy some nice time together on the vanilla side of things, but now I know, out of the three of them, he was the one that would have been the most threatening if he told me everything up front. For once, I was glad he didn't. Now I trust him without question and it is too easy to let him have his way with me. So far, the summit has gone on without a hitch, and I feel like I am relaxing as the days go on. I think I can say the same for Zelena. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of stares and even some situations that required the triplets, or the cats, or even Vince and Charlie to step in, but in most situations, Emily, Zelena and I were able to carry ourselves, befitting the reputation of our vast territory. I knew my triplets were pretty much the head honchos of shifters, but to what extent still escaped me until this summit.

However, tonight was the night of the ball and after another day with my triplets and chatting with the other alphas, I knew they, along with many of the other alphas read-in on the threat, were on edge, waiting for the attack that was imminent. It was terrifying, to say the least. [wpdiscuz-feedback id="1hr20vah59" question="Please leave a feedback on this" opened="1"]JOBNIB.COM asking for your feedback on this book[/wpdiscuz-feedback]. Thanks to the hosting pack, we already knew where they were at, but we cannot risk any of them scattering, so we chose Ivy's plan and decided to wait until they came to us.

The day after we landed, it was at least okay for us to explore a bit. So just us girls, including Ivy, Amber, and Leyla, decided to get dresses for the occasion. Emily chose a nice lavender gown that flowed right over her tummy, while Zelena chose a lavender knee-length floral piece with sheer tights and black heels. I, however, was forced to choose a strapless ball gown with a lavender floral design around the hem and a deep velvet color for the fabric with a sweetheart neckline. Underneath were layers of tulle and I felt like I was being swallowed, but we were able to find some heels to fix that problem right up.

Instead of doing our own hair and make-up, the guys hired people to help us get ready and it was lovely. The cats opted out and told us we would see them at the party, so we didn't think anything of it. The more we hung around them the more I noticed they were on edge, but it looked like they were working to gain more alliances with surrounding packs. Therefore, I think they were pushing themselves to be here. It took my wolf days to be comfortable around them, so I can only imagine how they feel. Luckily though, our relations with them has served to assist in their diplomatic talks quite well. I stared at myself in the mirror with a robe covering my lacey undergarments. I wanted to please my mates after this...at least...if I could. Who knows what will happen tonight. I pushed myself to be optimistic though. That seemed to be helping me along. Just focusing on the good. I can do this. "So, how would you like your hair today?"

I took in a breath, and I decided that there was something that needed to be done before we made it downstairs tonight. To be honest, this was the better time to do it too. You know....with my friends here and all.

I wiped away a tear, thankful the make-up artist hadn't started yet. I needed to get rid of all this hair. It was something that a horrid man wanted for me, but it is not for me. I looked at the hair stylist and nodded. "I would like you to cut at least eight inches please." I said. "What?!" Zelena and Emily said in absolute shock.

"Wait, why are you cutting your hair?" Zelena asked, mortified. "It's absolutely gorgeous!"

I stretched a bit while the stylist got out her scissors. "I need to do this. I'm still forcing myself to fix my problems and I cannot do that if I'm still holding onto the requirements of my past. I never liked my hair this long. It's unmanageable and...and...he's the reason why I never cut it in the first place. I can't think of a reason to keep all of this length. I used to wear it as a pixie cut until I met him, so...."

Silence engulfed the room before I was wrapped in a hug by my beta and head warrior female. "Okay, Aya. We will be there for you. Let's do this!" Emily said. They pulled away and pulled their chairs up to me. They still didn't know why I had changed so much, but they were always supportive either way and they haven't made me feel uncomfortable with my decisions. They truly were the best friends a girl could ask for. They both held my hands while the woman got to work. She lopped off all the hair I asked to be cut and it fell just in the middle of my shoulder blade instead of past my butt. I think this was a good compromise. I wanted it all chopped, but it's been quite some time since I've gone that far, so maybe in a couple of years or so.

However, the best part was...I felt lighter. I felt the weight dissipate. I felt...free.

"Here you are, Luna." The hairdresser said, resting the ponytail in my lap.

I smiled and turned to her with a big grin on my face. "Thank you!" I hummed happily with the first real smile I'd felt in a long while. Emily and Zelena sighed in relief.

"You are so spontaneous sometimes." Emily groaned. "I was worried you would freak out after she actually cut it."

I giggled lightly and shook my head. "No, I made my decision." I confirmed, earning a smile from the both of them.

The stylist smiled and nodded to the three of us. "Oh, can we frame it a bit? I know you said you used to wear it short. How are you with bangs?"

My eyes beamed and I nodded profusely while my girls laughed at my joy. "Oh, please tell me someone is going to record the triplets' reactions." Zelena squealed happily.

"Oh, trust me, I will!" Emily shouted back and we continued to enjoy getting pampered.

Once the finishing touches were applied, we were helped into our dresses and shoes, then I turned to see myself in the mirror. My hair rested in small waves, slightly passed my collar bone, and the lady put in subtle layers and perfectly curled bangs that just grazed past my eyebrows. She even added some brown lowlights that accentuated my skin tone beautifully. I stared at my face, smiling back brightly. I still had the remanence of the scar Richard gave me, but since I've been going to the doc, it's not as noticeable as before and make-up is even starting to cover it completely. I felt refreshed as the young woman stared back at me, ready to let her shadows disappear just as quickly as the humans who owned them.

"We can do this, Ayame." My wolf cheered as she saw a lift in my spirits. "Keep reminding yourself that you aren't alone. You can do this." She howled and I turned to my besties with the biggest grin on my face.

"I think it's time to shock some men." Emily said deviously, and I blushed at the thoughts of their reactions. Usually, their responses lead to us not enjoying the festivities, but I hope that's not the case tonight. We can save that for later.

"Wait, do we all have our daggers?" Zelena asked and I slipped my hand into the pocket the seamstress had made and nodded. "Good. Oh, and Emily?"

"Ha! Lena, I got five and I will not tell you where they are." She assured Zelena happily.

She furrowed her brow. "Lena?" Zelena asked.

"Yes! Take it or leave it!" Emily shouted before heading out the door with a laughing Lena behind her.

"I'll take it! Way better than the last one!" She called and I walked after them before we heard the guys chatting in the living area of our suite. I don't know how they swung the biggest guest room with two floors and four bedrooms, but let's just say we were all happy not to have to share a room or be split up.

"Em! I can hear you from a mile away. What are you guys talking about now?" Kyle called when we came into view. "Damn." Kyle said, standing rooted to his spot. "Yeah.... I called it." Emily said, snapping pictures of my dumbstruck mates before slipping into Kyle's arms. The minute she was secure, he kissed her immediately.

Lena giggled and skipped up to Charlie who gripped hold of her waist too. "Yeah, you did. Glad we got it on camera. Video and photos."

I took a breath and walked up to the awestruck triplets. "Hi." I said with a smile on my face and looked between the three of them. "Ready to go?" I asked, holding out my hand to whomever would take it tonight. They needed to learn to share again. Since I scared them half to death, they have become possessive again. It was cute and they were...trying.

The minute my hand was close enough, all three of them tried to reach for me, still completely stunned. The bumbling men caused a laugh to fall from my lips. They froze and stared at me in shock, then smiles formed on their lips as well. "That is a sound I have wished to hear for so long." Edon said, looking almost giddy.

Vil smirked. "Yeah.... Her real laugh."

So, they did notice. Who am I kidding? Of course they've noticed. I might have been glued to Edon since we arrived, but Conri and Vil have also pitched in to keep me calm and in the now. "The hair is amazing too, little one." Conri chimed in.

I sighed in relief and dropped my hand. "Yeah...I needed to do this. It was the last thing for me to do." They shared a knowing glance to each other before nodding back at me. They understood and I'm happy for it.

Conri walked up to me, and my breath caught in my throat. When he leaned over and grazed his fingers through my hair, a delicious shiver ran down my spine. "At least I won't have to braid it up tonight." He growled lowly.

I shivered and my arousal skyrocketed. I nodded quickly and decided it would be better to respond through our link. "I'm happy that you like it, daddy."

"We all do, princess." Edon added. Before I could say anything else, I was yanked to the door by Emily.

"Oh goddess! You can hump her later! Let's go." Emily called.

"Em! Slow down!" Kyle called after us.

"Speed up!" Emily called back and we all laughed at that.

Once we made it to the ground floor, the elevator opened and I wrapped my arm around Vil's. We stepped out together and Conri trailed behind me while Edon stuck to my other side. The others piled out after us and, of course, when we walked into the room, the conversations stood still as many bowed our way.

We bowed back and started to mingle. I stayed with my triplets and they didn't complain about my clinginess. They welcomed it. Once we made it towards the middle of the room, Alpha Lucas came up and bowed to us. "Hello Alphas, Luna." "Alpha Lucas." Vil said tersely.

He cleared his throat and turned to look down at me. "Love what you did with your hair." Lucas said, trying to make conversation.

However, it had the opposite effect. All three of them growled lowly and Vil stepped in front of me a bit. Lucas raised his hand about to respond but he froze mid-breath as his eyes glossed over. "Sh*t." He growled instead and the three of them froze as well. "What's wrong?" I called.

Edon sighed and tilted my chin to face me. "Princess, it looks like mom's here."

I bit the inside of my cheek and, unlike last time, the voices didn't start to flood in my mind. The worry and anxiety ceased to overwhelm me. This time, I grinned slowly and nodded. This time I had this feeling. A feeling that it was finally time for me to finish my trial as their Luna. As their mate.

It's time for me to extinguish my past and move forward into my future. Unfortunately for her, she and her daughter are the last shadows standing in my way.