C23 Proud Rachel

Freya’s Pov

‘Get ready because you’re going to work your ass off,’ Oslo’s voice rang in my head. I really was working my ass off just to be the perfect mate to Artemis.

He better be worth it.

‘He is worth it,’ Jade assured. Of course, leave it to her to always support her mate and come to his defence at anytime.

My heels were throbbing, I could literally feel it breathing. Yet I was still on a pencil high heel, walking like I wasn’t feeling a dime of pain.

“Smile!” Came that voice that had spent hours trying to mould me into the perfect Luna. By the sound of her voice my body straightened and stood high yet my mind was bent like a sickle, sharp and boiling with a fit of rage.

I wanted nothing more than to reach forth for Racheal’s mouth and clip it shut. She was the voice behind my sorrows and emotional turmoil.

“Can I take a rest? I’m tired,” I pleaded.

“Oh please rest, do as you wish,” Racheal beckoned.

I sighed. Racheal must’ve been sweet and the only nice person so far in this pack but she was the meanest when in control. She was like the devil's mistress.

“Do you need a reminder of who’s mate you’re!” She paused, “let me sound it but your biggest opponent is none other than Merona. The smart hot beautiful bitch that gives me a hard on,’ she said.

Yeah she was hot, Merona would make even a girl turn gay for her.

She wasn’t the soft, weak girl, she wasn’t the cliche type. She was a girl with a drive, a mind and any wolf would drag her to be his mate. And that particular she-wolf was interested in my mate.

That sprung me up. Racheal was on the course of teaching how to walk like one of those princesses in movies in hot iron shoes only in my case I was in a pencil mouthed heel, three feet tall and she expected me to keep an eased face. How could anyone possibly do that? I was basically in pain.

But the thought of Merona doing this in a heartbeat got me gingered up. I straightened my legs and put on a poker face and started walking. My hands by my side swinging by slowly.

The whole aim of this was to remain calm and collected even in the face of danger and chaos and disaster.

‘The pack members must never find their Luna sweating or in a state of distress. A strong Luna is a strong pack,’ Racheal had said repeatedly.

She went on to say that if I were to show any atom of fear, even just a fickle, the people would panic—-they would assume that the worse had befallen them for their Luna to be this devastated. So even if I was going down I must go down with a smile. It was an antidote to panicked followers.

With my shoulder squared, my back straightened, my stance with confidence, my face emotionless but calm, soft and welcoming. I walked with ease and calm.

Racheal had placed boxes everywhere, she asked me to weave through them gently with pace but without running into them or colliding with the objects on the ground. As I treaded through the boxes of shoes and other things I didn’t care to decipher—-within me I felt an unusual calm. My nerves weren’t on skywire and I felt my inner Luna self aborning.

When I succeeded at reaching the final destination that Rachel had set, I swung slowly on the high heel and face beaming Racheal. She seemed like a proud mother or rather teacher. Her face was simmering with glee.

She squealed and clapped melodiously. “Oh look at my masterpiece,” she sang, pointing at me like she was showing me off to the world.

Her proud and exultant joy resulted in much mirth from me. Her cheerful and full spirit were contagious. I found myself beaming with gaiety.

In that moment, that split second that she had adorned me and adored me, in those split seconds where she was so proud of my little progress. I felt my heart float. My eyes were damp. No one had ever been this proud of me for such little things. I wanted to cry on her shoulders. How could she be soo—so.

“Okay, that’s enough sulking,” she called off quickly.

“Hey I wasn’t—-“

“Yeah yeah I know. I said be strong in front of pack members, but never in my presence. Sulk all you want and after that I would smack you by the ass and hug you,” she said.

That was supposed to be an emotional speech but somehow it turned out hilarious and I bursted into a fit of laughter. I did not know what was funny but I was both happy and euphoric.

“Hey that speech took time for me to cohere and it’s supposed to be emotional,” Racheal said feigning hurt.

“Okay okay. I’m emotional. Look at me I’m so touched by the words,” I said, holding my heart in my hand, faking emotions when all I really wanted to do was laugh.

“Okay!” She snapped, “enough dilly dallying. It’s time to get to work,” she called out.

I growled in annoyance and stumped my feet to my bed like a child who has been asked to eat vegetables. In my defence, this routine was compared to vege’s.

“Now when you smile, you smile with your lips closed.”

I tried what she said and she made to puke.

“What the hell was that?” She asked in disgust, her hand placed on her chest in disbelief. Well she better believe it.

“I did what you asked,” I answered simply.

“No no no, you did what you think. I said, ‘smile’. Your face was like that of the joker,” she said bemused, “it would scare even your enemies.” She added, shaking her head.

“Then don’t you think it’s the best weapon for war?” I asked raising my brows at her continuously.

Her mouth dropped and so did her eyes, “you’re kidding, right?”

“Here, watch,” she said to me. Her poker face gradually stretched out into a smile and brightened up like the sun, her eyes arched a little.

“There! Now try it and try not to scare me away,” she said tentatively.

I followed what she did, my lips expanded slowly into a smile and she beamed along.

“There, a smile that could melt a frozen heart,” she appraised and immediately I smiled with my teeth bare in the open, she immediately sent me a disapproving stare and clipped my mouth into a thin line.

We trained some more and we had a rest. I wasn’t going to lie, it was a blast and I enjoyed every bit of it. It was fun and I don't remember when last I had fun.

After I took a nap, I showered and went downstairs. There I met a posse of people. They had all started preparing for the event that was about to take place. They were all running around carrying balloons and ribbons and lights. The place was buzzing with people. And then it struck me, was this the amount of crowd that I was going to be introduced to.

While still in my head, I screamed when I felt the weight of my body leaving the ground and being lifted. When his cologne hit my nose like a storm, I calmed like I was put on anaesthesia. The power he had over me. Artemis.

“If it isn’t our very own Luna,” Oslo, Artemis gamma sang.

“Hello,” I greeted.

“Are you ready for the ball? Ready to be shown to the world,” he asked but I didn’t show it, fear creeped inside of me.

I was scared because I was going to accesses and judged base on one ball, one ball that I couldn’t fuck up.

“When you’re officially introduced you’ll start your journey on joining the board members,” Artemis announced, kissing me by the cheek.

Board members? My stomach dropped. Was I ready? Could I ever be?