The Secrets of the Panther
Chapter 156

IZZY

The office was quiet, but I knew everyone was concerned about our announcement. I have to admit I was, too.

Vampires were the primary source of what happened in the war. Many people died and sacrificed their lives to protect the ones they loved.

Everyone was getting ready as Blake and I were preparing for the pack on where the announcement was being held through the mind link. I stared out the window, knowing the only place I wanted to be was here. But I wanted to see Allie, and I was missing her.

“Penny for those sweet thoughts,” said Blake as he wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his face into my neck. He places a kiss on the side and breathes in my scent.

I closed my eyes as I leaned into him.

“Nothing,” I said. “I want to get this announcement over with as I want to see Allie.”

Blake kisses my neck again, which sends shivers throughout my body. Not the time or place, Izzy, I thought. I could feel Puna stir in my head and smirk at me. But she has been really quiet and even sleeping more than usual.

“You okay?” I asked her.

Puna nods her head and yawns. She rests her head on her front paws, and her eyes flutter shut.

“It’s time,” calls Dale. “All the pack members are outside waiting for us.”

I opened my eyes and sighed.

“Let’s do this,” I say to Blake. He gives my waist a slight squeeze before he lets me go. He places his hand in mine, and we all leave the office.

Alpha Derek and Luna Lauren are the first to go outside and step to one side. Everyone else follows suit. Leaving Blake and me to walk in the middle and be center stage.

All the pack members stared at us, and I felt nervous. I never realized how many people were in the pack; there had to be over three hundred.

“We got this,” says Blake through mind link. I look up at him and nod.

Puna was still lying down, but her eyes were now open.

Everyone was muttering, but Blake cleared his throat, and all the noise went. All eyes were staring at us.

“Welcome,” says Blake. “I would like to make a few announcements; first, I would like to formally introduce you to your new Luna of the pack, Izzy. You all have met her or even seen what she can do since the war, and I was told many of you helped her organize a birthday party, too.”

Many nodded and smiled. Others had blank expressions on their faces, so it was hard to work out what most were genuinely thinking. “In about a month, we will hold our Alpha and Luna ceremony here within the pack grounds,” he says as he places his hand in mine. My hands were sweaty because of the nerves I had. “Luna Lauren and Kat have been organizing everything and will inquire about a few members to help them prepare everything. Luna Lauren will mind linking you all after this meeting to tell you what she needs help with.”

All members nodded.

Blake looks at everyone in the pack and clears his throat. “Now, for the main reason I called you here,” he says. “As you know, I have been with the Red Moon pack for the last few days, helping Alpha Dawson and Drake rebuild what’s left of the pack. The Elder did damage there, and so did the rogues and vampires.”

Low growls erupt at the mention of the Elder, rogues, and vampires.

“What you all may not have heard is the Red Moon pack has taken in some rogues that were a part of the war,” he says. There were a few gasps around the members. Some were muttering to one another. “Many of the rogues we defeated in the war were loyal followers of the witch, Elder, and vampire. But we learned that many of the pack members were forced to join the situation, and if they didn’t want to, they were killed; as a result, others were forced to join, and many were left in fear of what would happen to them.”

“How could they take on the rogues?” a member shouted. “I mean alpha. They were the ones and the vampires that took many of our members.”

Blakes nods. “The pack members were initially uncertain, but when we talked to one of the rogue’s leaders, he explained what it was like for them. He fights instead of his son. Many of them did, but still many were left fearing what would happen to them,” he says. “We want to open the pack up here to help restore some faith that we can forgive, even when we are still in pain. With that being said, all rogues have found secure homes within the Red Moon pack. We want to offer some places to the vampires.”

Shouting erupted throughout the pack members; some screamed, “NO, YOU CAN’t DO THAT.” While others growled, all I could feel were pain and anger flooding the air, which was smothering me harder than my own emotions.

Blake was trying to get everyone to be quiet with the help of Dale and his father. I closed my eyes; Puna was on all fours. “Izzy,” she says. I couldn’t control it as my eyes flew open, and Puna was with me. With our voices and emotions together, we shouted. “ENOUGH.”

Everyone fell silent and stood staring at us.

“We know how you all feel, but the vampires have been through the same as the rogues,” we yelled. “We want to give them a chance.”

“Why should we?” shouts a man.

Puna and I stare at him. “How would you feel if you were not given an option to live your life? I mean, you fight back, which will get your mate killed. Or even worse, tortured to death because you speak your own mind,” we say.

The man goes to open his mouth, but the woman stands next to him and shakes her head. She looks at me.

“As many of you don’t know or do, we were forced on the run because of the witch and vampire in question. We ran for five years, hiding wherever we could, trying not to get anyone I met along the way killed. We had to leave our daughter alone and with family. We had to leave everyone behind to protect them and make sure no one else would suffer at the hands of those who were after us,” we yelled. “We witnessed how cruel the wolves were, especially in the hunt for us. We fought back and even tried to make a life.” Our eyes scanned over every single person before us as we continued. “The issues we had were not from vampires, but mainly wolves. When vampires made more of a scene. They were loyal followers of the cause, but the ones we met at the Red Moon pack were not. They all have their own story to tell, even ones that some of you may know how they feel.”

I stopped, and Puna went back. Everyone stared at me. “I lost someone very close to me. He looked after my daughter while I was on the run. He was more of a father to me, as is my aunt was like a mother,” I said. I glanced over at Kat, who I could tell was holding back tears, and she nodded.

I stare back at the pack members. “Alpha Blake and I want to let other shifters, any form of supernatural beings, be part of the pack,” I said. “I am a panther shifter who was pushed out because I wasn’t either a wolf or a pack member. I want diversity in the pack; everyone here has been through enough to know what the Elder was like. He forced my father to choose another, which ended my mother’s life. I had to watch as she died a painful death. I had to run and hide, even staying in a human town just so I could have some peace, which lasted only a few months, closer to a year. Alpha Blake and I want to help everyone replace their path, whether to replace their mates or just to live a peaceful life. I want pack members to feel safe, and that they can be mated to whoever they want. We won’t stand in anyone’s way.”

I looked at Blake, who had a smile and nodded. He turns to the pack members. “I was nearly forced to mate with someone who was not my mate, but with the help from my mate, family, and friends, we have now become stronger,” he says. “We want everyone to feel free and like equals. We want you to know that if you have concerns, we will help in any way. That being said, the vampires will be here at the end of the evening. We will ensure we hold another meeting, and you can all ask them whatever you want.”

“How will they feed?” someone shouts.

“We will agree with the local blood drive or replace a solution,” says Blake. I looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

“Drake and Alpha Dawson have been sorting that part out for us,” he says through the mind link.

I stared ahead.

“We will end this here,” says Blake. “If anyone has any issues or concerns, I will be here to talk about whatever it is you need to know.”

All the pack members started talking amongst themselves, but the woman who stopped the man from carrying on came up to me. “Luna,” she says. I looked at her and smiled. She held out her hand, and I was happy to take it.

“I am sorry for how my brother acted,” she said. “He lost his mate during the war by a rogue.”

I looked over at the man, who was staring back at us. I glanced back at her. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

The girl glances at her brother but comes back to meet my eyes. “The Elder was the one who persuaded my sister to drug the alpha months ago. Everyone here knew she had a big crush on him, and we all knew she would have done everything to get what she wanted.”

I stared at her, not saying anything. I could feel Blake next to me.

“I never thought she would have done such a thing; I have been in hiding. Well, my brother and I have. We knew nothing of how bad she was,” she says. She glances at Blake and bows. “We are sorry, alpha.”

“There is no need to apologize for that,” he says. The woman gives him a small smile. But she turned to face me, “I am honored to call you our Luna.”

I smiled.

“I am so happy to hear that,” I tell her. “Do you have a mate?”

The woman closes her eyes, but when she opens them. She was holding back tears. “I was mated to another shifter a year ago. The alpha and Elder found out and made us reject each other, even though we wanted to be together. The Elder threatened us with death, as we needed to be with our own kind.”

I could help feel her pain, but what that Elder did was pure hatred. Anger was burning up inside, and the image of Puna and me killing that monster came flooding back.

I shook my head and stared back at the woman. “Do you know where your mate went?” I asked her. She stared at me with wide eyes. “Luna, he left over a year ago, I don’t know. We were both heartbroken. He may have moved on by now,” she says. I looked at her. “What shifter was he?” I asked her. She stares for a moment but sighs. “He’s a bear shifter.”

I nodded.

I looked at Alice, who was talking to a few pack members. “I know a few people around who might know where there are some bear shifters,” I say to her as I look back at the woman. She nodded, and I could see some hope in her eyes. “You would do that for me Luna,” she asks.

I nodded.

“I would, and as Alpha Blake and I said earlier, there will be no rejecting mates because of what shifter they are,” I said. The woman stared at me but suddenly pulled me into a hug. I couldn’t help but hug her back. “Thank you Luna,” she whispers. I pulled back and smiled. “All I need is his full name, and I will start asking around,” I said. She nods and heads over to her brother.

Blake’s arms wrap around my waist, and he holds me tight. “I’m so happy,” he says. I looked up at him as he stared back at me. But before I could say anything, the voice both of us had been waiting to hear shouted for us.

“MUMMY!” yells Allie. “DADDY!”

Blake smiles, “I love hearing that,” he says as we both look to see the little monkey running toward us with her arms open wide.