"Are you done?" Bryce scoffed, looking at Elder Scott who didn't give a response.
"I had thought you were one of the smartest elders I had, but clearly, I judged wrong," Bryce sneered, disdain dripping in his voice.
He suddenly felt a soft touch, and he instinctively turned to look at Marissa who smiled at him.
He realized she wanted to speak for herself. Though he hesitated, he figured it might earn her respect.
Marissa stood to her feet, their gazes weighing heavily on her. But nevertheless, a confident look appears on her face, her eyes making contact with each of the elders.
"Elder Scott, I truly understand your fears, I have lived with it as well," she stated, her words were firm, and her voice steady.
"I am aware of the power I possess, as I would not refer to it as a curse, and power without control is dangerous, I have learnt how to control mine to prevent further mishaps."
"By wearing a blindfold? Tsk." Elder Scott interrupted her with a scoff.
"Marissa smiled, already expecting the blindfold to be mentioned."
"I'm putting on a blindfold, so what? It is effective, isn't it? If I wasn't putting on one, each and everyone of you would have become stones," Marissa grinned.
Bryce chuckled seeing the looks of fear on the Elders' faces, and he gave Marissa a look of adoration.
"I am not here to harm your people, they are my kind as well, if I was dangerous, then the Moon Goddess wouldn't have made Bryce and I mates, it all happens for a reason, and I plead with the Elders to give my relationship with Bryce a chance," although Marissa was pleading, there was a soft hint of determination in her voice.
After her speech, she took her seat, leaving the Elders to ponder on her words.
The Elders, apart from Elder Scott held Marissa in great regards after her words. They could see logic in her words, and truly, if she were dangerous, the Moon Goddess wouldn't have made her the mate of their Alpha.
"Alpha, the Moon Goddess has answered our prayers by giving us a Luna who is not afraid of speaking out, I truly hope your union would be blessed, whenever you are ready to perform the mating ceremony, just inform us, and we will plan it," Elder Mason smiled.
He was one of the few Elders Bryce was close with as Mason was his Father's Beta before his Father passed away.
"Thank you Elder Mason, I'll let you know when my mate and I have come to a conclusion," Bryce replied happily.
"If there is nothing else, shall we take our leave?" Bryce asked, and the Elders nodded.
Once Bryce and Marissa were out of the meeting hall, Elder Scott voiced out his displeasure.
"Mason, I have no idea what is going through your head, how can you accept her so easily? What happened to giving her a tough time?" Elder Scott asked, he didn't bother to mask his annoyance.
"Scott, I am not the Moon Goddess, like our future Luna stated, the Moon Goddess knows what she is doing, I do not think it is right for us to interfere with fate," Elder Mason replied with a soft voice, and a few other Elders agreed with him.
"I do not care about what you people say, I am not taking her as my Luna, this isn't over," Elder Scott spat out, before walking out of the hall.
"Scott, do not make any reckless decisions, it isn't worth it," Elder Mason shouted after him, shaking his head at his immaturity.
"I hope he doesn't do something drastic," Elder Mason sighed, before leaving the hall followed by the remaining elders.
__________
"You did very well," Bryce complimented once they got into the room.
"Thank you, I never realized that not everybody accepts me just the way I am," Marissa replied with a heavy tone which hurt Bryce.
"You do not need to worry, they won't repeat their words anymore, especially after you have dealt with them with your words," Bryce stated, and she nodded, hoping his words were true.
"Are you hungry?" Bryce asked, deviating from the sour topic.
"I'm not hungry," Marissa answered, but the grumbling of her stomach which followed next gave her away.
Marissa grinned awkwardly, scolding herself over the mistake her stomach made.
'Why can't you admit that you are hungry? Is there a reason for you to deny it?' Arya scolded.
'This isn't the time for you to scold me, how do I salvage this embarrassing situation?' Marissa snapped.
'Go with the flow,' Arya replied, before disconnecting the communicating link.
While Marissa was conversing with her wolf, there was an awkward silence with both of them staring at each other.
"I guess your stomach had other plans," Bryce teased, aiming to lighten up the atmosphere.
"I guess so as well," Marissa laughed with Bryce leading her out of the room.
__________
"Have a seat," like a gentleman would, Bryce pulled out the chair for Marissa who took her seat.
Marissa looked around, and Bryce noticed.
"What or who are you looking for?" Bryce asked.
"Bethany, I'm not sure she has had lunch," Marissa replied.
"You do not need to worry, leave it to me," Bryce assured her.
'Damien, please bring Lady Bethany to the dining room,' Bryce mindlink Damien.
"What did you just do?" Marissa asked. She noticed that his eyes were unfocused. Although, she had an inkling of what he did.
"I communicated with Damien through a mindlink," Bryce replied, gesturing to the omegas to serve their dishes.
"Ohh," Marissa let out a sound of acknowledgement.
As though recalling something, she asked, "I heard that mates could also communicate through a mindlink, would it be possible for us?"
"Of course, but it can only occur when I have mated with you, and also marked you," Bryce explained to her.
"Then when do we have the mating ceremony?" Marissa asked eagerly.
"Easy there Ris, we would look for an auspicious day to have the ceremony, is that fine with you?" Bryce replied.
Marissa nodded happily, feeling pleased with the development.
"You are so cute," Bryce muttered unknowingly, causing laughter to erupt from Marissa.
"I thought they were lying when they said the Alpha had found his mate, and it turned out to be the cursed werewolf, who would have expected that it would be true?"
The happy laughter faded into silence, replaced by a tense atmosphere. Marissa looked at the woman who had just arrived, her fists clenched by her side.
Bryce's jaw tensed, his glare sharp enough to cut, but the woman only smirked back, her eyes gleaming wth a seductive look.