Mated in the shadow of my sister by lady gwen

Chapter 0258

(Luna Jane POV)

I arrived at the party a few minutes late. Normally I would arrive at these kinds of events with Randall, but

he was meeting with James before the party, so I came by myself. I almost did not show up, but I came

because I knew that as the luna of this pack- I had to.

The space was beautifully decorated and completely filled with wolves. There were very obviously more

than 500 wolves in attendance.

It made me want to throw up. Yes, really.

It was no secret to anyone that I was against having this party. Even though Margie paid for the food and

decorations, at least two dozen omegas and three dozen security guards had to work overtime for the

event, and those overtime costs would be solely borne by the pack. The pack simply did not have the

money to be incurring those kinds of unnecessary expenses anymore.

In the last few months, more and more of our allies had ended or “paused” trade contracts with us, and

we had also had a variety of accounting irregularities that we were trying to sort through. If things

continued this way, the pack was projected to run out of money within the next two to three years.

And yet -despite all of that, the money was not even what bothered me most about the party. What

bothered me the most was that the party was to celebrate Stephanie’s return and her (forced) marriage to

James. That did not sit right with me.

Randall and I had had several fights about the party and James’ marriage over the past several days, especially after I overheard him talking to Margie about the plan to alpha-order James to marry and mark Stephanie if he showed any resistance tonight. I kept begging him to reconsider, to let me turn myself

into the werewolf council and be done with our debt to Margie.

Unfortunately, he would not hear of it. He said that disclosing my bad acts could jeopardize our remaining trade contracts; that he could not function without me if the council had me executed or

Imprisoned for what I did; and that James was not stable, responsible, or strong enough yet to take over in his stead. Randall insisted that it was my duty to him and to the pack to stay the course. He also reminded me that James used to love Stephanie, and he reassured me that James would eventually

thank us for forcing his hand.

Although I eventually (and reluctantly) agreed with him, as the days passed, I found myself starting to care less and less about my so-called duties and obligations. I was tired of my every decision being clouded by fear, guilt, and obligation. For once, I wanted to do what was right. For once, I felt OBLIGATED to do what was

right.

Unfortunately, though, I did not know what “right” was anymore. No matter what decision I made, someone would get hurt. The situation felt helpless.

Almost as soon as I walked into the ballroom, two guards approached me and kindly requested that I

follow them. I did not think twice about it; I knew the guards well, and I trusted them.

The guards took me to one of our security rooms, where I found Robert and Randall waiting for me. The

guards then left the room and locked the door. That was my first clue that something strange was going

оп.

I asked Randall how his meeting went with James, but he did not say anything. Instead, he hugged me

tightly, as though he was afraid of something. Randall was not afraid of anything except Margie and the

werewolf council. I raised my eyebrows at Robert, silently asking him what was going on, but he only

shook his head in confusion. That was clue #2.

The next significant thing that happened was that I saw Joey and Jessica walk in with Lily. Lily looked

beautiful and radiant. I was shocked but relieved to see that she was alive. I wondered when she got

here and where she had been. I also wondered if James had seen her yet. I asked Randall and Robert all

these questions, but they did not have any answers for me.

of th

Wolves of all ranks began to wait in line to greet Lily. That was Clue # 3 that something strange was

going on.

Lily was graceful and friendly to everyone who greeted her. There was no sign of the bullied little girl that

left the pack several months ago, and it occurred to me that I had not seen her smile, at least not

genuinely, in over six years.

Then Stephanie arrived. I figured out that James and Lily had reunited much faster than Stephanie did, and I smiled. A part of me wanted to shout “I told you so” to Randall, but I bit my tongue.

We next saw James walk in and make a beeline for Lily. The cameras were positioned such that we could see the look in James’ eyes as he approached and kissed her, and we could also hear their conversation. For the first time in a very long time, I felt hopeful. I had never seen my son look so happy. I did not know how he had managed to find Lily, much less how he had convinced her to forgive him, but I was grateful that he had.

James took the stage with Lily. Together, they projected strength and confidence. I had not seen this side of James before, and I was impressed. Was this side of him always there and we ignored it, or had Lily somehow brought out this side of him?

I smiled a little when James thanked the staff for all their hard work. I was ashamed that doing so had

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