Max POV

Conor and Ger walked us to the war room, and the fear never left her. She must be terrified of Michael, and I hated him for that. Next time I set my eyes on him, he will die, and Ares would not even have to ask for it.

She squeezed my hand, and I felt panic coming from her. I looked down at her face. "I cannot feel Aphrodite. It is like she is not here anymore." I held the sides of her face comforting her.

"Calm down. They will know you are a werewolf, don't worry about it. She said she was going to be numb." I kissed her forehead and tried to take away her panic and fear. I nodded at Conor, and he opened the door for us. As I had expected, a witch had accompanied them.

They all looked at Julie, and I concentrated on the mate bond, accepting it more and more. I wanted to see if they represented any threat before they could make a move. And it was just like the night before when Karl and Terry asked me to try it as if it was a game.

I took a deep breath and composed myself. Everything rushed inside me too fast, like when I saw Julie at my parent's cabin. I called for Ares. "Ares. Can you feel it?" He growled low. "Yes!" And I knew exactly what he meant. Jordan was lusting for our little wolf. "Stay cool, buddy. He won't have her."

Jordan stood up from his chair and smiled. "The Moon Goddess has gifted you over and over, Maximus. First with your powerful wolf and now with a stunning mate." They all sniffed the air inhaling more of her scent, and just like me, they could only sense the wolf scent coming from her.

I snarled at him, warning Jordan. "I thought I was clear before. A she-wolf will interview my mate. She is not here to be judged by an audience. Or talk about what happened at the Woodland Pack to you all. I will not put her through it."

Ferdinand stood up and smiled. I was sick of his soft diplomatic talk. "Yes, of course. But you did not expect we would not want to meet the future Luna of the Blue Moon Pack, did you?" I could see Robbie staring at her and felt he was ready to attack if needed. He was the strongest in the council but nothing close to the old Ares. I can imagine now that Ares could take him down without sweat.

Kell waved a hand, and the witch came forward. She must be their new acquisition, as this is the first time I have seen her. She was young like Julie. Kell looked at me and said. "First, we will get the witch claimed waved. After that, we will start with your alleged claims after the Woodland Pack, Maximus."

The witch came near Julie, and I stepped in front of Julie, shielding her. I let Ares out, and he delivered his message with glowing gold eyes. "Make her feel pain, and you will not leave my territory alive. I will also destroy your coven to ensure your species won't see the light of day."

Julie's heart was going too fast with all those people staring at her like she was an animal in the Zoo, and I mindlinked her. "Stay calm, Julie. I will never let her hurt you." I sensed Karl and Terry just on our left side. The witch's orange eyes looked at me and nodded. "It will not hurt." The witch held Julie's arms and chanted something lower.

Aphrodite had said she would go numb. Now I knew the reason. She had sensed the danger already here. It would not be enough to conceal anything only if she stayed inside Julie. The chant got louder than before, and everybody was looking at them. After a few minutes, the witch stopped, and Kell asked, confused. "Is there a problem?"

"The wolf, I cannot reach it." I felt suspicious coming from Jordan when he spoke. "Is she a witch, masking it?" I growled low, telling him to back off. "I don't think so!" Kell asked louder than before. "You don't think so, or is she not?"

She shook her head. "No, she is not. I would have sensed it even if she had masked it." She looked at Julie and moved her head slightly to the left. I could feel she was intrigued, and in seconds I felt the feelings change towards Julie. She wanted to inflict pain on Julie's body to make her wolf out. I moved quickly and grabbed her neck. "Do not even think about it. Before you do it, you will be dead on the floor."

Karl moved closer to Julie, his eyes shining blue with Pluto out. And Robbie got up from his chair, ready to get Julie. "I would not do that if I were you, Robbie. I will kill you and her without help." Everything was clear to me in the room, as if in black and white. I did not even have to look at where it was coming from. A smirk formed on my face when I felt everybody standing down.

I could feel the hate vibrating in waves from Jordan. He was used to people bowing to them. But it was all thanks to my pack that had enforced everything they wanted for centuries. Now they were on the other side and knew they could lose us. Ferdinand tried to make things go back in their favour and said. "There is no need for fighting, Maximus. Please get your wolf to stand down. We can take it outside, and the young she-wolf can show us she can shift."

"Max! Let's go outside. Julie only has to shift, and they will move on to the Woodland claim." Terry came into the mindlink, trying to reason with me, and I released the bleeding witch's neck. She chanted something to heal herself. I held Julie's hand and walked us to the back entrance.

"You will only have to shift, Julie. They will see you in wolf form, and it will all be over soon." I mindlinked her, trying to ease her worries. She was terrified.

"Ares, we need to help her." I wanted to know how it would work. Julie was never in control. It was always Aphrodite. "We cannot, buddy. Aphrodite said Julie could not shift alone without her. She had never done that before, and she won't be able to handle it yet. But as always, our amazing mate has a plan."

I smiled at Julie, showing everything would be fine. "I am sure you will not be comfortable with them looking at you." Holding her hand, I walked her to the woods, concealing us behind the trees. "Aphrodite will help you. You don't need to be scared. And when all of this is over, I will teach you how to shift without her if you like."

I stepped aside to give her privacy, and a voice came into my head before I could turn. "This better work or you will regret it, Max." The voice on the mindlink had power and authority, and without looking into her eyes, I knew it was Aphrodite. Without ceremony, she took her clothes off before me and shifted as quickly as I always do.

She sprinted back to the open where they were. Aphrodite walked around them in a perfect wolf form. I stayed in human form as I was still learning how people's feelings towards her worked.

Jordan was the first to speak, and I could feel how impressed he was with Aphrodite's beauty. "Not only a stunning human but also a magnificent white wolf, Maximus. And those eyes, I have never seen anything like in a wolf before."

He moved to pet her, and I growled loudly at him, making his hand stop midway. He looked at me. "I wonder what you have done to the Moon Goddess for her to only gives you the best, Maximus." Aphrodite moved behind me, and before the witch could make a move, she leapt back to the woods to shift.

I narrowed my eyes. "You have seen my mate has a wolf, and the witch has confirmed she is not a hybrid or a witch. She is not in a zoo where people get to pet animals or stare at them. My wolf is starting to get impatient, then, for your sake. I advise you to go inside and begin my claim against Alpha Michael."

They looked at each other and nodded. I mindlinked Terry and Karl. "Stay with her. I will get things straight with them."

                                                                               *****

Julie POV

Karl and Terry walked me back to the pack house, and I was not feeling well with all those people there. I was afraid they would take me back to uncle Michael if I did something wrong. The witch searching inside me was terrifying. I have never met a witch before. I heard stories when I was a pup that they were not to be trusted and they helped hurt werewolves.

The way Max grabbed her, I did not think that was Terry's friend Sarah the witch, as he had mentioned. Max was too angry with her for them to be friends. And I had never seen this side of Max before. Will he hurt me as uncle Michael did? He had said he would not hurt me, but I did not know he was like a beast.

I had many questions in my head, and I could not feel Aphrodite in my mind to ask all of them. I hate having been locked in that shed for so long. I knew nothing that everybody here seemed to know. Max was right to want someone else with more knowledge than me. How am I to lead them if I don't know anything?

Terry stopped before opening the door and raised his concerns. "Julie? I can sense your worries. You do not need to be concerned. Max would never let anyone hurt or take you against his will."

Karl smiled with his messy black hair and piercing blue eyes. "Yes, Luna. Ares is too strong, and after the mating will be even more. Everybody already loves you, and we will if we need to go to war against the wolf council." I liked both already. Karl was friendly, just like Terry.

Terry escorted me to Max's office, and he was there with an older she-wolf. She looked kind, and I was glad all the other people were not in the room. Max smiled at me, and the lady told him he needed to wait outside as we were not mated yet.

She was straight to the point and asked questions about the Woodland Pack, uncle Michael and how he behaved as an Alpha. Then she asked about my parents and my duties there. I told her everything that had happened. I felt embarrassed when she asked me if I had fought or angered him in any way, and the answer was no. I had never fought him because I was weak and scared.

Would they think I was not suitable to be Luna? I took deep breaths and bit inside my mouth several times to fight the tears. I did not want to break down in front of a council member. I could not feel what she thought about me and how I was doing in the testimony, which was exhausting.

After a long time in the room talking to the lady, it was finally time to leave. And when she opened the door. Max's face was red, and his breath was ragged. He managed a smile and held my hand. He looked at the lady and just nodded.

"Let's go to our room, Julie. I will prepare a bath for you." We walked side by side upstairs, but he did not say anything. He went straight to the bathroom, and I heard the water running, and after a few minutes, I heard him closing the tap, and he returned to the room. "It is ready. If you like to get in now to relax."

I sat in the bath, and the warm water was soothing. I heard a knock on the door and his calm voice on the other side. "Julie, please, may I come in?" I was not sure if I wanted him to come in. For sure, he heard everything that I talked to the she-wolf. He is an Alpha and has good hearing. He was acting strange, and I think it was because he thought of accepting me, and now he realised he was right before thinking of rejecting me. Would he do it now? Has he changed his mind and will send me away?

Aphrodite's sassy voice came to my mind interrupting my thoughts. "Oh, Jules! I bet the tough Alpha has never asked this question before."

"What do you mean, A?"

She laughed. "I forgot you are so innocent, Jules. I meant he is not used to working for things. Everything is given to him. Look at us. What an amazing gift Selene give to him. See, we are living proof of that. Let him in, Jules. And I don't like the feelings I am getting from you."

I took a deep breath and called out. "Yes, you may." He opened the door, and his face seemed normal again. He walked inside and kneeled near the bath, getting a bottle. "May I wash your hair? It is very soft." I nodded and looked outside the window. The view from the mountains was breathtaking. He started to wash my hair, massaging my scalp and the feeling was good. The last time someone washed my hair was my mother.

"Julie." He called for me when he finished, but I kept watching the beautiful view. I knew he would reject me. He was being kind like he was before healing me. After that, I would be on my way out with the council. "I want you to know you are the bravest person I have met." I moved my face to look at him.

"You are stronger than me. I would not be alive if I endured what you had since you were a pup. I was wrong about you, and I had no right to judge you as I did. I am sorry for what happened to you and your family. I will kill Michael, and your thoughts and feelings will never be like the ones you are having now again. I promise to work every day to make you feel loved."

He looked into my eyes. "I will never reject you. I told you, you are my mate. I am sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to cause you concerns. I was having difficulties controlling myself and Ares' anger towards Michael."

His thumb caressed my cheek, and his green eyes got darker. He gave me a small smile, got a towel on the left and put it near the bath. "The food just arrived. Come out when you are ready. I will be waiting for you in the dining room."

Max will have to work towards Julie's forgiveness for the rest of his life. Do you think the council will leave now? Jordan is acting stranger than the other members of the council. He has a different agenda, can you guess what it is? Please leave your comments below.