Chapter 16 - A MOTHER'S HUNCH

The pack meeting had already gone more than a half-way when Derek and his companions stepped into the large hall, the biggest hall in their pack house, where important meetings were held; meetings which included the entire members of the pack. The confidential meetings between the Alpha and his subordinates were held in a smaller room at the western wing of the house.

The pack house was a gigantic mansion actually with several outlets, which comprises of the Alpha's residence, meeting grounds and a hospital. It had been built by Derek's father after they had escaped from the wicked terror innated by the fallen vampires; which had plagued their pack, and the other packs-for centuries they say.

Nobody had heard a word about them(the fallen vampires) since they(Black moon pack) relocated to this part of the savannah; perhaps they were gone finally, nobody knew. But for now, the main issue of the black moon pack was defeating the white-sted pack which seemed to want a war with them.

"Why are you late?"

Derek turned, as he heard the voice of his mom. How had she seen him, He thought.

He and the guys had decided to stay at the back; not wanting to shuffle their way forward and cause distractions in the meeting or to drag the attention of the elders to them. So they watched the meeting from afar, standing close to the entrance door, since their hearing skills were good.

Looking at his mom now, Derek remembered Emma's tale, and smiled. He was proud of his mom, always has been. He had always perceived that it was her optimism, her lively spirit that had kept his father from going down the scary road of depression, thereby keeping him in a sustenable position to lead the pack; at least until his own coronation next month.

"Derek, answer my question and quit zoning out." Melvina said impatiently. She couldn't understand why her son acted so indifferently to pack meetings. For God's sake, he would be crowned the alpha next month, after his birthday.

"Mum, I finished up my cleaning work late." Derek replied, looking sideways to his companions for help. His mother could be so pressing, and he knew that she won't let him go until she was satisfied with his answers. Not that she was hard on him though, just that she had always wanted him to be disciplined. But sometimes he wished she could stop seeing him as her little boy, like she always do call him even till date. He could make some decisions on his own.

"Puhlessse, you can make decisions on your own??..You couldn't even make a concrete decision about our mate" he heard his wolf say. He knew that Maru was still angry with him about his decision of rejecting Emma. He had been calling him a coward since they left her house, after she had shut them out. But how am I a coward, Derek thought. I'm actually trying to protect her.

"..And you think you would do that better when she is far away from you?" Maru continued.

"Yeaah." Derek muttered. It was better this way.

"Okay, we will see how that will work out. But if anything bad happen to our mate, I won't forgive you." Maru fussed, whining as a human kid.

Derek soughed, then looked up to see Clem talking to his mom. He knew that he had zoned out again, and that Clem was covering up for him.

"....there was a hitch in our movement. Our car had broken down so we had to carry the whole house equipments to the house one by one…" He heard Clem saying.

But he could also hear his father addressing the pack….

"….you all already know that my son, Derek, would be crowned as the alpha in a month time. So let the necessary preparations begin, even as we stay vigilant of any suspicious movements in or around the pack. The white sted pack can attack at any time….."

Derek tuned off again. He would be the alpha of his pack in a month time. It was getting realer day by day, but he was getting nervous and scared as the time clicked by. He knew he wasn't ready for it, even though the pack members thought him as the most gifted; more gifted than his father.

"Alpha Lorenzo was 14 when he became a pack leader. You can do it. Besides you have me and your friends. Your parents and Agrip is also there." Maru cited.

Derek signed. His wolf was right. He had Agrip too. Agrip, his mentor and teacher has always been another fatherly figure in his life. He always seemed to have the answers to all questions. But then his father had his mate with him; he thought in grief.

" Don't worry, You will have your own mate on your coronation day, perhaps Claire.. since you have decided to reject Emma. Clem can have her then, at least till he finds his own mate." Maru said sarcastically, taunting him.

Derek growled unknowingly to him, at the thought of Emma with Clem, attracting the attention of people around him.

Shane cussed as he heard Derek's growl. Looking at his face, he knew that his soon-to-be alpha was thinking about the human girl again. Was she his mate? He thought, rubbing his chin.

Melvina studied her son's face acutely. She had heard him growl, and she couldn't help but wonder what could bother him that much; to the extent of letting out a growl in public.

"….the house at 13moonway street.." Clem's voice interrupted her thoughts.

13 moonwa…. That was the house of Emma! She thought loudly. Her hunch had been right. Her son and his friends did the clean up at the human's place. Could something have happened? She thought, looking at her son who looked disturbed.

"Did something happen?" She asked Clem, interrupting his talk.

"Something?" Clem asked, bewildered already as he tried to understand his Luna's question.

"At the house, did something happen?" She asked, sure that the hitch Clem had mentioned earlier had something to do with the human girl. Emma was the only human in a wolf's territory, so a confrontation might have happened between the duo. She hoped fervently that her son didn't do anything bad to Emma. She knew of his aversions to humans.

Clem was aghast. He had always known that his Luna was very intuitive, but this was way out of it. He was speechless.

"Not really ma. Nothing happened.." Leo replied quickly, casting a furtive glance at Clem who was still shocked.