Reborn As Cursed Alpha's Mate-Chapter 55: Fruitless Talk With Elders

Siroos was followed by Faris and Ranon when he arrived at the stone house used for elder meetings.

Fuming he entered the place, his chest heaving while he wrestled with all the animal spirits that wished to break loose. Usually, they remained dormant inside him, waking up only when he needed them so there wasn’t too much hassle for him. But recently, whenever Cassandra was around, they gave him ample trouble, especially his dragon.

All the Elders were sitting around the half-moon wooden table, deep in discussion. Seeing Siroos enter, their mouths closed and they straightened up their spines.

At the end of the table, Haylia sat poised, not at all seeming pleased with how the ceremony had proceeded. She was all about following traditions but she didn’t wish to enrage her son.

Siroos banged both his hands on the table that feebly trembled on its eight legs. If he wished, he could squash it like a fly, but this was not the cause of his ire; men sitting around it were.

His golden eyes were murking carmine, which put them on edge. They feared the dragon, the terror so visible on their faces.

"We discussed not to follow that ritual. Why was it brought up?" Siroos demanded as his eyes darted from one man to the other. Ranon and Faris stood behind him like two stoic pillars.

Walan gulped visibly and made the effort to speak so Siroos’s furious eyes settled on him.

"It would have sent a negative impression of Luna to the pack. Like we were favouring her by not going through this ritual."

"She is human, she can’t heal like us. She is not a shifter, so not all rules are supposed to apply to her. Is it that difficult to understand?" Siroos raged, his hands clawed out and scratched the table.

’Thick-headed cunts,’ Faris muttered under his breath, which only Ranon heard and tried not to snicker.

"She is your mate and now Luna. All rules are for her too," another elder added, slightly annoyed.

Siroos fixed him with his gaze and let out his aura just enough to take their breaths away, literally. Their heads lowered in submission as Siroos asked but didn’t loosen the noose of his aura on them, sparing his mother.

"Right, all of us shift so I guess that rule should apply to her too. How do you recommend we make her follow this one?"

"Siroos!" Haylia said a slight panic he sensed and let go of the invisible noose he was using on them. They breathed heavily, and some even clutched their throats. If they hurt his mate, he would make their lives miserable.

"Alpha Siroos, try to understand what we are trying to do here. Your Luna won’t be well-liked because she is not a shifter, and if you give her such lenience, you will make her appear weak. How will she participate in the Luna Trials?"

Another elder spoke up, mustering up the courage.

"I will train her for that, she is already quite adept in handling weapons. Rest I will teach her. But carrying out rituals that will physically hurt her, I won’t allow that," Siroos answered, with a pang of guilt forming in his heart.

"Don’t forget what’s at stake, Alpha Siroos. You might be our Alpha but you can’t play god. Your decisions affect all of us. Don’t forget that. Your obsession with her can lead to both of you mating..." Walan cryptically said and Siroos’s eyes dangerously glinted.

’Bad move,’ Faris muttered again, wishing his brother would just punch the old weasel.

Just once.

"I am fully aware, Elder Walan. That doesn’t mean I will let any of you treat her differently or forget my duties as her mate. Stop trying to dictate to me what I can or can’t do. Focus on your duties and let me carry out mine. The pack will always come first for me, but remember, she is as essential for the Pack’s survival as I am," Siroos answered, the glare in his eyes wouldn’t wane.

"No one will hurt your mate or take her away. But you can’t spend the nights with her, Siroos. What if she goes into heat suddenly? How will you be able to resist her? Be rational," it was Haylia’s turn to speak up, making Siroos turn his hurtful eyes towards his mother.

They were tearing him apart by stating these rules so bluntly. Not that there was an easier way but to remain separated from her. To spend the long, excruciating nights alone would be torture for him as well as her. She would feel the pull of the mate bond after their ceremony.

Siroos was unaware, she already did.

"True, the rules are for you as well. No one in the pack is above them. Your chambers will remain separated and we will appoint someone to oversee and ensure that these are followed."

"No one will touch my mate and I will follow these fucking insane rules. But one more mishap and I will hold all of you responsible. Rules be damned." Siroos pointed at them with his index finger, his dragon was fiercely growling inside him. Even the lion had awakened.

"We can’t safeguard what can happen in Luna Trials but no harm will come to Nissa. She is the key to the fertility of the pack. But she must complete all the Luna tasks and learn the ways of our land. As soon as her arm heals, I will start her training," Haylia answered with a slow sigh. Dealing with all these males was exhausting.

Her title of Luna was gone and now she had to prepare the next Luna for her proper succession.

"Teach her mother. I am not against that but the traditions which serve no purpose. Branding the arm is pointless and unproductive. It should end," Siroos laid forward the suggestion once again.

"It’s not; it represents that the pack should always come first. In case of getting captured, one won’t let any harm come to the pack even if the enemy tortures and burns you. These traditions have been followed for centuries, can’t end them because of one human Luna." Walan’s words made Siroos shake his head. He and his insistence on sticking to old traditions. People like him dragged the whole pack down because they couldn’t let go of the old ways.

"Has our pack always been this rigid, or was I blind?" Faris tittered, making Elders give him a harsh stare but lighten the mood.

Talking to them was like banging his head against a stone wall. If they hadn’t been close comrades of his father and knew all the secrets of the pack he would strip all of them of their rank and make another committee. But Siroos knew this wouldn’t sit well with the pack.

A little of Siroos’s anger disappeared at Faris’s quip, as he mumbled and turned to leave the stony hut.

"It was always like that, I need to visit my mate."

"You need to attend the feast. If none of you is present it will leave a negative effect with pack members," Haylia instructed, making Siroos pause.

"Fine, let’s do that first."

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com