Was Mia right?

Mia sat in her seat beside Thomas, jealousy swirling through her as she looked at Eleanor on the podium. When she had first found out that Eleanor would be giving the speech, she had hoped Eleanor would make a fool of herself. Instead, the reception to her speech was quite positive, and everyone seemed to be pleased with her. But that wasn’t even the worst part. It was that Thomas didn’t even seem to realise what was going on. That woman was trying to outshine him, and yet he was looking at her with the same captivated expression everyone else around them was. Mia couldn’t stand it. It would be harder to get rid of her if everyone thought Eleanor was the model Luna. “Is she trying to replace you or something?” she muttered to Thomas. “She looks like she wants more to be recognised as Alpha rather than Luna, does she?” Thomas looked at Mia, a small furrow between his eyes. “What? Why would you say that?” “Look at her, talking about herself and everything she has done for the pack. Now, everyone probably thinks you do nothing and the pack’s success is all because of her. Don’t you find anything suspicious about that?” Thomas looked back to the front, where his Luna was delivering her speech. He had never imagined that Eleanor would try to replace him as Alpha. She had always silently supported him and never sought the limelight. But now… Was Mia right? Why was Eleanor suddenly so eager to take credit? Was this because of the disagreement between them, or did she have an ulterior motive? “Look,” Mia said, leaning forward to show him something on her phone. “Everybody is talking about how Lunas too can lead packs online.” Thomas looked at the comments. Everyone seemed to be loving what Eleanor had said. He had always supported her in taking on leadership roles that were often given to males. The fact that she never gave up despite the obstacles she faced was one of the things about her that had charmed him. He knew she always encouraged she-wolves who were interested in becoming warriors too. So it was no surprise that when she got an opportunity to address such a large gathering, she used it to talk about her experiences. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder whether Mia was right. From working with her, he knew that Eleanor was more than capable of leading the pack. Was that possible that Eleanor was so angry about him bringing Mia home that she wanted to take his Alpha position? Holding Thomas’ fists, Mia looked worried. She apologised, “I’m sorry that I shouldn’t doubt Luna. She did all for the pack. Please forgive me for ruing her reputation.” Hearing the loud applause and cheers around, Thomas squinted and said, “No, maybe you’re right.” *** In the days following the graduation ceremony, Eleanor’s popularity kept soaring within her pack and beyond. More people now acknowledged her contributions and considered her an outstanding Luna. Having improved her reputation within her pack, she moved on to the next step. She reached out to other packs, garnering support for her own Alpha candidacy. It happened that her speech had moved many Alphas, and some of those who’d said they’d think about her request while at the Alpha party now promised to take her side. She knew that to get support, the most important thing was to show the other Alphas that she was capable of leading a pack and getting the people’s support. It didn’t matter that she was female as long as she could prove she could be a strong and useful ally. A few days after the graduation ceremony, Miller delivered the news that Ethan was visiting Blackstorm on behalf of Darkfall. Eleanor was in her office working on some official stuff and was surprised by the news. Ethan hadn’t mentioned his visit beforehand. If he was here on behalf of his pack, that meant his Alpha had sent him. “He is currently meeting Alpha Thomas in his study,” Miller informed her. If he was meeting Thomas, that meant it had nothing to do with her plans with Henry. She wondered what the purpose of the visit was. Was this part of Henry’s plan to help her, or was it normal business between packs? “Okay, thanks for letting me know,” she told Miller. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Miller had just closed the door behind him after leaving the room when someone sneaked up behind Eleanor and wrapped strong arms around her. She had sensed a movement but only at the last second, so it was too late to react. She could tell that it was a man, taller than her and much more muscular. Who had the nerve to attack her in her own office? She's as good a fighter as the best in the pack. Gathering all her strength, she raised her leg and slammed her foot down on the shoe of her assailant. She was wearing heeled boots, and when she made contact with the shoe, the man holding her grunted and his hold relaxed. Before he could recover, she pulled back her arm and jabbed an elbow into his ribs. He released her then and she turned around, ready to kick him between his legs. She paused mid-attack when she saw a familiar, way-too-handsome face.