The moment she had been waiting for

It had been days since Eleanor had last seen Henry, and she badly wanted to seek him out with her eyes. But she knew if she looked at him, she would not be able to hold back her emotions. The last thing she needed right now was to alert Thomas of the connection between her and Henry. So she fought the urge, focusing on chatting with the other Alphas and Lunas. However, she could not fight the feeling that Henry was watching her. She could feel his gaze on her, almost as if it was a physical touch. As the minutes passed, she could feel him getting closer, as if he was intentionally gravitating towards her. She risked a glance. He was only a few yards away, and their eyes met instantly. Her heart sped behind her ribs while her body warmed up. She looked away and gave Thomas a weak smile. “Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom.” “Sure,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She did not dare look at Henry again as she made her exit. She knew how much he must hate any contact between her and Thomas. She hoped that he would be able to hold himself back until the summit was over. She composed herself in the restroom, arranging her demeanour and calming her racing heart. This was the most important day, and she did not want anything ruining it. When she left the restroom, she found that the crowd had started heading into the hall where the summit was taking place. Thomas was waiting for her, and they walked into the hall together. But they separated soon after. The Alphas took their place in the upper section of the hall. The Lunas occupied the lower section. During the summit, the Alphas would introduce their proposed legislations while the Lunas listened. When Eleanor joined the other Lunas, a crowd instantly formed around her, expressing their support for the new legislation. “I’ve discussed this with my husband and he’s going to support your proposal,” one of the Lunas confessed with a smile. “Over the years, we’ve tried putting up some projects for Omegas in our pack, but the council always refused. Since there was no law to force them to do it, it was difficult to take action against them. Now, with this new law, they’ll have no choice but to support our projects.” Another Luna nodded. “We dealt with a similar case. Me and our Beta’s mate started a warrior training school for young she-wolves, but it only lasted a few months before it was closed. The elders claimed it was a misuse of the pack’s funds. We’ve never been able to start it again.” A few other Lunas narrated similar cases where their efforts to improve the status of she-wolves and Omegas were thwarted by high ranking male werewolves. As the start of the summit approached, the group broke up and they went to take their seats. A young Luna accompanied Eleanor to hers, wanting to speak to her privately. “I’m really grateful for this legislation,” she told her, her eyes shining with emotion. “With the new law, I’ll finally be able to leave my abusive mate. I never would have been able to do it with the present law without losing everything and becoming homeless.” “You’ll be fine,” Eleanor told her, reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m positive the law will be approved, and you’ll be able to move on with your life.” The she-wolf nodded, and then with another word of thanks, went to her seat. Eleanor had just taken a seat when the Chief Councilman started the meeting. There were several proposed laws, and they were all introduced to the attendants. The Alpha making the proposal talked about the legislation, and then a few people shared their reasons for supporting the reforms. Henry was the third Alpha to present his proposal. He talked about the threat posed by the vampires and hybrids, and then proposed that the packs unite in dealing with the situation. He mentioned how many packs remained passive about the threat, not really doing anything to fix it. He also noted that it appeared that some of the werewolf packs were collaborating with the vampires and hybrids, putting the whole community in danger. He proposed a law that would require packs to have measures in place to deal with vampires and hybrids. The law would also spell out penalties and punishments for packs that collaborated with the other races in a manner that threatened peace among the packs. However, before discussion could ensue about his proposals, Thomas interrupted. “We’ve been dealing with vampires and hybrids for a long time, and it’s a problem that’ll not go away easily. I think we should shelve this for later and move on to more urgent issues,” he said. “The threat of a vampire and hybrid invasion doesn’t seem urgent enough to you?” Henry asked, his voice scathing. “There’s no doubt it’s important, but at the moment, I don’t think many packs have a big problem with those two races. Perhaps you want to use this summit to benefit your own pack alone, Alpha Henry? Do you have a problem with vampires and hybrids?” The room grew silent, all eyes and everybody’s attention on them as they faced each other. No one dared to intervene even as the atmosphere grew tense. “You said it yourself,” Henry said, “that the community has been dealing with vampire and hybrid threats for a long time. How much longer do you want to wait before we can do something about it? Until they have trespassed into our territories and taken us out one by one?” “If you are worried about them taking over your territory, you can always ask for help,” Thomas told him smugly. “I’ve heard that your pack recently suffered a rogue attack at a major event. Everybody here thinks Darkfall is the best of all of us, but don’t be shy to ask for your neighbour’s help if needed.” The Chief Councilman interrupted them then. “Alpha Thomas, you say there are more urgent issues, do you have a proposal to make?” “Yes, Sir,” he said. Turning to address the gathering, he began, “I’d like to propose a new legislation on Omega and women’s rights. I’ve been working on it for a long time, and I trust most of you have gone through the document. This is a law that if passed, can benefit not just the two groups but the entire community. I believe this is an urgent issue that’s long overdue and cannot wait any longer. I think many of you will agree with me when I say that our packs will grow more prosperous when every member of the community has access to important resources.” Murmurs erupted throughout the hall, and for a second, Eleanor was worried it was a bad eruption. But as she observed the Alphas closely, she realised most of them seemed to be in agreement. A couple of Alphas rose to second the proposal, sharing their thoughts about the legislation. Eleanor had spoken to both of them before, and they had promised to support her proposal. “Well then,” Henry said, “it seems that everyone is excited about the new proposal from Blackstorm. Chief Councilman, shall we take a vote?” The Chief Councilman gave his consent, and the voting process began. Eleanor watched with bated breath as the Alphas cast their votes. At one point, Henry looked towards her and gave her an encouraging smile. “You look so nervous,” he noted through their mindlink. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this. Are you ready to celebrate?” She smiled, but it was impossible to not feel so nervous. She had waited so long for this, and it was only a matter of minutes before she found out her fate. Finally, the voting was done and the Chief Councilman announced the results. “The new legislation for Omega and women’s rights has been passed with an overwhelming majority and will take effect immediately. The council will form a task force to oversee the adoption of the new laws and ensure that all packs adhere.” Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief, her anxiety evaporating. Clapping broke out throughout the hall, with both Alphas and Lunas celebrating the result. The Councilman ordered a short break before moving on to the next session. Thomas, who had made it seem as if he was the primary drafter of the law, was surrounded by Alphas and Lunas praising him. However, those who Eleanor had personally talked to about the law congratulated her and expressed their joy that it had been a success. “Are you ready for the next step?” Henry asked her through their mind link when the break ended and the Chief Councilman called the meeting to order again. “You bet I am,” she replied, a smile taking over her lips. The moment she had worked so hard for was finally here.