Chapter 33: Secret Exposed
Chapter 33: Secret Exposed
Serena's POV:
Today, as the future Luna of the pack, I was going to attend the formal banquet of the Westwick family for the first time.It was a tradition before the Mate Ceremony, and it was going to be held in the banquet hall of Maple House.
Elders and high-ranking officials from packs all around the world were invited to attend.
I found the atmosphere during the banquet to be quite relaxing and pleasant actually.
Of course, there had to be someone who was dissatisfied with me, only because I was a she-wolf of unknown origin.
They spoke in a voice dripping with sarcasm, saying that I was undeserving to be Peter's mate, but they were instantly refuted by Peter himself.
Even Peter's parents were also on my side.
I was determined to be a highly respected Luna in the pack, just like Luna Vicky.
One day, I would prove to everyone that family background was not always the most important thing to be considered.
As the party was coming to an end, the desserts had been served.
I happily ate the mango souffle, and it was scrumptious.
All of a sudden, I noticed some dust particles fall onto my plate.
My eyes followed the falling dust to where it was coming from.
As expected, another cloud of dust fell from the ceiling.
With my sharp werewolf hearing ability, I heard a hollow, creaking sound coming from up there.
I watched as cracks began to appear on the ceiling, right where the ornate crystal chandelier was bolted to.
The ceiling collapsed, and the chandelier came crashing down, right above me.
"Serena, watch out!" Peter's voice jolted me out of my daze.
My survival instincts immediately kicked in.
My body reacted quicker than my brain could even think of what to do first.
Without thinking twice, I reached my hands out and willed the big chandelier to fling itself to the other side of the banquet hall.
The chandelier crashed against a wall in the other corner.
A million shattered pieces of crystals scattered everywhere.
Fortunately, I had thrown the chandelier at a place far away from the banquet table, and no one was injured.
"Serena! Are you okay?" Peter rushed over to me as quickly as he could, checking my body for any wounds.
I immediately noticed that it was only Peter who seemed to care about my safety.Everyone else stared at me in what was a mix of astonishment and horror.It was then that I finally came to my senses and realized I had made a mistake.In my panic, I had used my vampire powers in a public event, for everyone to see! "Her power...She's also a vampire!"
One of the elders pointed a trembling finger at me.
"Get her! We must kill her immediately!" The hall erupted into an uproar.
Led by the same people who had expressed disdain for me, many of the werewolves ran in my direction with ferocious looks on their faces.
"Nobody touches my mate!"
Peter transformed and roared.
Before me appeared an enormous black wolf, baring its sharp fangs at the pack members who dared attack me.
He growled in a low, threatening voice.
His fur all over his body stood on its ends, looking like it even emitted electric sparks.
The other werewolves took this as a sign to also transform.
With hatred burning in their eyes, both sides stood in defensive stances.
A fierce battle was on the verge of breaking out.
"Enough!"
A majestic, commanding voice boomed all throughout the hall.It was the Alpha's voice.As soon as he spoke, all growls came to a halt.Alpha, Luna, and Patricia didn't transform and attack me, but they didn't move to protect me either.
Luna and Patricia were standing there and staring at me, dumbfounded.
"Turn back into your human forms right now, all of you," Alpha commanded.
Everyone obeyed reluctantly and transformed out of their wolf forms, but they still refused to drop their guard.
They all eyed me with great suspicion and caution.
"But Alpha, she is clearly a werewolf-vampire hybrid! We need to kill her immediately.It's in the law!" the same elder that pointed his finger at me shouted.
"Peter, did you know she was a hybrid prior to this? Why hadn't you killed her? Why did you even bring her back here and accept her as your mate? Have you forgotten your responsibility to the purity of our bloodline?" another elder asked harshly, as if I wasn't in the room.
"No, I didn't forget.But now, I am doubting the rationalities behind this agreement.Serena may be a hybrid, but she has never done any harm to werewolves in her life.We would be killing an innocent person if we simply did as the law says,"
Peter retorted without hesitation, as if he had thought about this a long time ago.
"Well, even if she has never hurt one of us, who's to say she won't ever do it in the future? Hybrids are too powerful.Killing them is a precautionary measure! History tells us that they were the cause for the many werewolf casualties back when they attacked us.That is why we eliminate them before they even prove to be dangerous!"
"No, Serena is not like those hybrids we were always taught about.You can't blame her for the actions of others just because she is one of their kind.There is no evidence to prove her guilty of doing such a thing.Using your argument, I would throw it back at you.I can simply say that although you might have never betrayed the pack, who's to say you won't do it in the future? Following that reasoning, shouldn't that be enough reason to kill you, too? Now, does that sound reasonable?"
"You..." Peter had the elders at a checkmate.
Mixed feelings swelled in my heart as I silently stood behind Peter.
I knew this day would eventually come, but I didn't expect it to be this soon.
Still, I was touched at how Peter was fiercely defending me.
No matter what was going to happen, I had no regret entrusting him with my life.
"All right, stop arguing!"
Alpha's voice resounded against the walls again, and the quarrel stopped.
"It is true that we have been working hard to maintain the purity of the werewolf bloodline for many years now.We cannot simply break traditions like these." NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
"But, Dad! I can explain..." Peter protested.
But Alpha raised one hand, signaling Peter not to interrupt.
"However, Peter is also right.We must not kill the innocent.I know that Serena is a good girl.It is almost impossible for me to believe that she would ever kill a werewolf, like those hybrids before."
"But, Alpha, that's..."
This time, it was the elders who became restless, but Alpha silenced them with a single glare.
"Whether or not we abide by the agreement this time is not something that can be decided right now.We must be careful with this, and take everything into consideration.Therefore, we will need more time to discuss this matter.But before that, Serena must be detained for the time being.When we come
to an agreement, we will announce how to deal with this situation.Until then, I hope everyone here can keep her identity a secret."
Peter opened his mouth to say something, but I squeezed his hand and looked at him, shaking my head.
What Alpha said made sense.
They couldn't just ignore tradition because of me.
The decision to even consider talking about it felt more than fair to me.
Either way, even if Alpha wanted to protect me, they still wouldn't be able to convince all the conservative elders to simply give up the long- established agreement just like that.
It was better to give in now, and persuade them slowly.
Peter was reluctant, but he agreed anyway.
He personally selected the most spacious cell in the prison for me, and asked for it to be cleaned up.
He was even able to bring some furniture in to make it look like our room, which was sweet.
"Honey, just wait here for a few days, okay? I'll come get you out as soon as possible."
There was an apologetic look in Peter's eyes.
"I trust you, Pet."
I had no problem staying in this cell for a couple of days, especially now that Peter helped to make it more comfortable.
After kissing me on the forehead, Peter rushed to the emergency meeting and left me in the cell.
I sat down on the bed and realized that there was a skylight in the ceiling where I could watch the sky turn a darker shade of blue, waiting for my judgment.
I waited until it was late at night, and then, I heard a commotion from outside.
Peeping out through the cell's window, I saw all the lights of the Maple House turned on, and people outside looked like they were running frantically about.
Several guards ran past my cell in anxiousness, and I stopped one of them.
"What's going on? Why does it sound like chaos outside?"