Maia hadn't truly been introduced to the pack as of yet- though some prying eyes certainly caught whiffs of her scent and seen her from a distance- it was merely momentary.
It wasn't shocking to the White Lily Pack, as a group of lycans certainly understood better than any wolf how possessive they could be during the honeymoon phase with their mates.
An alpha would take it to an even more horrifying degree, like the former Alpha and Luna, Lucien's parents.

Surely everyone knew the story of how the former Alpha locked his mate inside for nearly a decade? Only after she conceived did she actually start her duties as Luna, and began participating in Pack functions and management.
That wasn't the worst of it though- those with inside information knew that the Luna actually destroyed four buildings, tried 38 escape attempts, threatened homicide and likely even attempted that too, before her mate even considered allowing people to visit her.
So their current Alpha, though worse off than the rest of them, was considered a saint.

So when the pack hall, usually filled with a combination of unmated and newly mated wolves, witness their Alpha appear with a shockingly delicate female- it nearly erupted into chaos.

Bryan, a young warrior, was the first to stand from one of the leather sofas set out for comfort and convenience, "Is this the Luna?!"
With a nearly stupid expression on the youth's face, everyone turned their gazes back to Maia.

Who was completely un-minding of the attention due to her focus on the smell of food threatening to turn her into a starving animal.
Normally, this attention would make her green in the face and shake with anxiety, she truly wasn't used to it.
That could be said to be a downside to such a caretaker as her Noona- instead of forcing the interactions which could later help her- she rather let Maia be due to the likelihood of guilt.
Lucien analyzed the expressions of his pack meticulously, which varied from awe, shock, excitement, and fawning to skepticism, disdain, confusion, and envy.
Since none of it was out of his expectations, he was relaxed inwardly.
His mate on the other hand.. glancing at Maia's slightly ravenous expression... he figured she wasn't even in the mind set to bother with anyone in general.

His sharp gaze softened considerably, as he led her gently to the kitchen area where an older female member was making waffles and bacon in bulk for the endlessly hungry wolves.
Her name was Julia, and Maia immediately liked the woman who gave off a warm and gentle demeanor.
When she noticed her Alpha and Luna approaching, she brightened up, feeling quite pleased with herself for switching shifts with Ruby the day before.
Now she gained this unexpected favor.

"Alpha, Luna" with a respectful bow, she was immediately helped up by Maia- understandably since she acted this way commonly with her Noona who was frail now.
Warmth spread throughout Julia at the sweetness which could've made her tooth ache.
No wonder this Luna was swept away like a princess and locked up.

"Oh sweet child, you must be hungry, I'll make anything you like" Julia laughed, and Maia enjoyed the smile lined etched onto Julia's light brown skin, and her hazel eyes with squinted in obvious approval.
Her hunger being acknowledged caused a deep blush to heat up Maia's face, but she smiled nonetheless and simply pointed at the already made food.

"Can I just have this please? It smells delicious" trying not to salivate like a cartoon character, Maia softly giggled.
Lucien- who stood from beginning to end like a hulking shadow- felt his own lips tilt into a small smile as the mischievous glint in his mate's eyes.
Placing an arm around her waist to pull her closer, he nodded at Julia in acknowledgment while the woman beamed even brighter and began preparing a hearty plate.

More food meant more meat on the bones! And more meat on the bones meant an easier birth process!
She'd obviously like to live long enough to possibly hold the future Alpha!

Maia was grateful she got such a helping, and sat near the bar as she began to immediately chow down- quite messily too.
Noticing her hair in the way, Lucien tactically pulled out a hair tie and pulled it out of her face in a ponytail.
When Maia had some syrup on her face, he immediately wet a warm rag and cleaned her up.
When she dropped her fork- he replaced it with a clean one.
When she needed to slow down, he warned her.
When Maia playfully held out a strip of bacon, Lucien didn't even hesitate to take a bite, but his deep eyes stared into her own the entire time.
Maia felt odd when she grew embarrassed by the look he sent her, and couldn't stop herself from looking away first.

The pack members present was not low- nearly 60 wolves filled the hall altogether- and all had to watch this utter bullshit.

Get a damn room! Bryan nearly screamed it out! Why did it look like their alpha was taking advantage of a young school girl? It was nauseating!

A young girl, Alexa, stood off to the side with a few other female members.
Certainly a gorgeous girl, with reddish hair and bright light brown eyes, Alexa was a well known member of the pack. Quite popular, and though young, had even vied for the position of Luna... even Beta Female was fine for her.

Instead, her mate was a mere pack doctor... which pissed her off greatly.

She was fine when her Alpha hadn't had a mate- although she wasn't his, it was fine when no one could get close either. Now she had to watch this horse shit show of the man she fantasized about taking care of the 'Luna' like a baby.
Clicking her tongue, she rolled her eyes and murmured to the girl next to her with a slightly sour undertone, "Luna seems quite capable, having Alpha already trained like her obedient dog"

It was meant to be overheard only in their area, and the surrounding girls chuckled beneath their breath agreeing.

Instead, the air chilled a bit for a moment, before something hard and sharp smashed against Alexa's face.
A sharp scream followed, and before she could focus again, her airway was being cut off.
The pack witnessed in mute horror as the Alpha held Alexa off the ground with his hand wrapped around her throat.
Not as a warning- with complete intent to kill.
When Alexa realized her situation, she felt complete horror wash over her.

How did everyone forget? Was it because the Alpha was acting so gentle and thoughtful towards Luna that the years of his rule were suddenly forgotten?
This was Alpha Lucien- and while the man never lost his temper easily- wasn't he the same Alpha who destroyed three entire packs in a single round because they attempted to invade territory? Didn't they always say the quiet one was the scariest when angered?

The aura of an Alpha was not to be trifled with- and when the pressure pressed down on the pack in an instant, it was enough to feel like their bones were going to shatter as multiple members collapsed to the floor like dead weight.
Groans and gasps echoed, but that was the only sound aside from breathing... except for Alexa who struggled against the impossible grip on her airway. Her wolf wanted to shift, to preserve their life, but the aura of an alpha was impossible for a small female to overcome. She was dying!
Tears pricked her eyes but she couldn't even let them escape when her vision grew dark and her body became weaker.

It was terrifying. The man with a frozen face- as if he wasn't choking out a pack member in front of everyone- was absolutely terrifying.

Until a soft voice finally broke the tension.

"Lucien..." eyes nervously glanced at Maia, as she too struggled slightly under the pressure. No where near as much as everyone else, thanks to the mating mark left by Lucien, but the pressure was still there and somewhat stifling for her.
She could see everyone else too, and felt the fear and anguish rising.
She just wanted to have breakfast- so what even happened? She was just as confused. Only a few knew the reason, and one of those few was currently about to kill.

It was in their nature to dominate the weak, but not to kill of their own members like this.

When Lucien heard his name called, he seemed to suddenly remember the issue it could cause if Maia were to witness him killing like this. He didn't normally deal out punishment like this either- but he nearly shifted in rage when he heard her little sly 'comment'. It was challenge to his authority, to his mate, and to his fucking ego.
He was still a man with blood flowing through his veins, and most certainly a Lycan with a temper which had to be honed like a fine wine to be where it is today.
Who didn't know the tyranny he inflicted when he first became alpha?  Time, aid, and patience, all helped him today.
Yet a little rat snapped him from that work so quickly, he was still furious.

Dropped Alexa before her heart finally stopped, Lucien took a cold glance at everyone in the room before suppressing the alpha command.
It was like instant relief- water after running a marathon.
"Your Luna is here" glancing at Maia before turning back to the frightened youth, "Disrespect her, I'll consider it the same as disrespecting me. Disrespect us both in the same sentence? See whether I'll give you enough time to regret"

It wasn't a damn threat- it was a warning and they got an example.

Lucien was actually planning on taking Alexa out for good- but the wide and watery eyes of his mate made him think again.
She's seen enough death already, hasn't she? Why add to it.

***
A/N: This is just a rant! Ignore for better love for the story, read if you like, I'm not your parent, you live how you want to. (☝︎ ՞ਊ ՞)☝︎

So we get to head into some pack drama, more Lucien and Maia time (CUZ THESE ARE MY DAMN SHIP. MY JACK AND ROSE. MY TITANIC. BE DAMNED IF I LET A LITTLE ICEBERG RECK MY BABIES).
Who is so salty that they also wanna hate on my Micheal and Bambi? (I gave her that name because I met a stripper off her shift named Bambi while I was in Vegas, and the woman was damn beautiful and equally hilarious. We are friends now✌︎, and she actually was mute until she was 9 due to an injury she suffered after birth, and her surgery and story were damn moving)
So when people started off on Bambi and Micheal with "why not just make them the main couple if you're gonna focus all your moves on them"

Excuse me, let me love them please. Of course Lucien and Maia are gonna get a ton more love and care since we've resolved a lot of character conflict involving Bambi and Micheal.
I just wanted to get off my knocks with those two cuz I was a bit lazy and just decided Maia and Lucien had all their time during the breaks to get familiar.
Trust is a hard thing to write, and Maia's character is extremely immature and believe it or not, difficult to portray.
She's a bit oblivious, and her EQ is damn low, but she's not stupid- and shes cautious with strangers entering her heart more so than even Bambi.
Why do you guys think Maia and Lucien haven't tied the knot? Huh? Don't believe in my ability to write some delicious filthy werewolf porn?
THINK AGAIN! Your girl lives for sin in beautiful writing, and my bilingual butt even reads these naughty books from Japan too!
The Japanese have taught me well!

So sit back, enjoy the build up I'm prepping cuz I want some more laughing moments, tense moments, dramatic moments, and certainly more fluffy moments, before I make y'all go red with some *warning, mature content ahead* before the chapter. （╹◡╹）♡

Thank you to everyone supporting my novel! I absolutely adore people adoring my work, it boosts my sad internet ego ('°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀) and makes me happy!
Please vote, share with a friend (˚✧₊⁎❝᷀ົཽ≀ˍ̮ ❝᷀ົཽ⁎⁺˳✧༚), and stay tuned!
じゃ、ビェビェ!