The Wolf God's Unwanted Luna

Vivian’s POV

"If we keep going like this, I am definitely going to need a wheelchair," I muttered softly under my breath, rolling my sore shoulders and twisting carefully at the waist to ease the deep ache radiating through my lower back. Every single movement reminded me of the wild night before and how thoroughly Zahliver had worn me completely out.

He leaned down smoothly and brushed a sweet kiss against my forehead, his handsome smile all too smug.

"I could easily carry you, love," he offered, already reaching toward my waist with that familiar, dark gleam in his eyes.

I batted his large hand away with a soft groan. "I am fine, thanks. No need to feed your massive ego any more than I already have today."

He pouted a little at my quick rejection, but laced his long fingers tightly with mine as we continued walking down the long, quiet corridor.

We were heading straight to a formal meeting with all the visiting alphas. Zahliver had mentioned earlier that I could attend if I wanted to, and my natural curiosity got the absolute best of me. I was not entirely sure what to expect, but I really wanted to see how these powerful leaders handled being in the exact same room together. Just walking toward the heavy meeting room doors, I could already feel the thick tension building up in the air like static right before a massive lightning strike. The distinct scent of dominance was sharp and heavy, as if it clung to the very walls around us.

"Think someone is actually going to throw the first punch in there?" I asked, glancing up at him as we walked side by side.

"Do you think so?" he replied smoothly with a raised brow.

I shrugged my shoulders, not committing either way. "Honestly, it could go either way with this crowd."

He gave a soft, thoughtful hum in response, then added quietly, "Your parents should be arriving around lunchtime today. Alpha Daniel mentioned they were a little confused about the sudden pack summons."

I froze right in my tracks as the sudden memory slammed into me. Right my parents were actually supposed to meet him today.

I narrowed my eyes up at him, halting the two of us just outside the heavy double doors. "You are not planning to do something completely reckless again, are you? Because strictly from their point of view, this is their very first time meeting you, and I would really like for it not to end in a complete disaster."

He raised his hands in mock surrender and gently tugged me into a warm, protective embrace. I let my soft cheek rest against his solid chest, breathing in the comforting scent of him dark cedar, warm spice, and something purely him.

"Relax, my love. No crazy surprises this time," he murmured against my hair, sounding far too pleased with himself. "Besides, I can be extremely charming when I actually want to be."

I pulled back just enough to look up at his face, one brow raised high in disbelief. "Oh, I totally believe it. But I will only be truly impressed if you can go an entire hour without growling, threatening someone’s life, or shooting total daggers with your eyes."

Grinning up at him, I gave his broad back a playful pat. "Good luck with that, buddy."

He growled low and dangerous under his breath, but I was already turning the bronze door knob and pushing open the heavy door.

Inside the large room, the visiting alphas were scattered around like weak magnets desperately trying to avoid each other, each leader keeping as much physical distance as possible from the next person. Some had brought their mates along with them at least the lunas were pretending to be civil, exchanging polite smiles instead of glare-filled death stares.

Zahliver walked right behind me, and I could instantly feel his natural energy shifting colder, far more guarded, and lethal. I thought he just looked mildly irritated at worst, but judging by the horrified stares he was earning from the crowd, the other wolves seemed to think he was just a few seconds away from absolute bloodshed.

I flashed a bright, cheerful smile at the entire room. "Good morning, everyone. I hope you all slept exceptionally well."

Gods knew I certainly had not.

A few alphas nodded back at me stiffly. Some offered polite, if deeply wary, glances in our direction. The lunas seemed far more relaxed in my presence, a few even returning my warm smile. I recognized some of them from last night’s casual small talk and remembered which ones had been less than pleasant to deal with.

Cough. Grandma squad, my inner wolf muttered in my mind, making me bite my lip to stifle a sudden laugh.

Their eyes darted away awkwardly the moment I looked straight their way. Zahliver moved smoothly to stand right at my side and swept the wide room with a cool, assessing gaze. Every single alpha he looked directly at eventually dropped their eyes to the floor, even if they did so very reluctantly.

"Good morning," he said, his deep voice low, resonant, and completely commanding. "We will begin the meeting in the next room. Go ahead and take your seats."

No extra polite greetings. No meaningless pleasantries. Typical Zahliver.

A few alphas trailed slowly into the adjacent room with their mates in tow, but I noticed a couple of them pause mid-step, exchanging deep, skeptical glances. One older alpha stepped forward, frowning deeply at us.

"Are you actually allowing the females to join the formal meeting?" he asked, his tone dripping with utter incredulity.

A sudden ripple of negative reaction followed his words some muttered voices of disapproval, along with hostile, sharp glares. A few other wolves gave annoyed, heavy sighs, clearly already over the impending drama.

Zahliver did not flinch for a single second. His cold expression gave absolutely nothing away all smooth frost and hard steel. My own inner beast stirred angrily inside me, sending an irritated, hot pulse straight down my spine.

"Oh, come on," I said, stepping forward past the doorway. "It is the twenty-first century. Have you ever heard of simple gender equality? Or maybe just equality in general?"

Zahliver silently pulled a heavy wooden chair out for me at the head table, his dark eyes never once leaving the foolish alpha who had spoken up. I proudly raised my chin and sat down with natural grace, completely ignoring the thick tension settling over the air like a heavy storm cloud.

This was going to be an exceptionally long meeting.

The arrogant alpha did not even bother to acknowledge my existence his wide eyes were fixed solely on Zahliver, as if desperately waiting for some kind of swift male rescue or validation.

Zahliver’s voice dropped low and dangerously sharp, heavily laced with quiet, absolute authority.

"Your Luna just addressed you directly. If you genuinely think she holds less power than you do, then maybe I should just hand your pack over to your mate instead let us see who leads much better, Alpha Stone. But then again... she is not really your true mate anymore, is she?"

His sharp words sliced straight through the silent room like sharp claws tearing through delicate silk. Every pair of eyes turned quickly toward Alpha Stone’s so-called mate, then slowly circled right back to his pale, frozen face.