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A warrior lifts her hand. “That's easier when a mate isn't involved.”

Luna Selena laughs. “Apparently mates are causing half my problems today.”

“They cause half everyone's problems,” an Elder mutters, sending another wave of laughter through us.

Luna Selena shakes her head. “I'm not telling anyone who she can or can't date. But destroying friendships, humiliating another woman, or tearing each other apart over a mate who hasn't committed himself to either of you isn't helping anyone. Especially when your true mate may still be somewhere out there.”

A shewolf near the back crosses her arms. “And what if you wait for your true mate and he's worse?”

The laughter disappears.

Luna Selena turns toward her. “Worse how?”

“What if the Goddess gives you a mate who hurts you? Everybody says the mate bond is sacred. So what are you supposed to do if being with him makes your life miserable?”

Luna Selena's expression changes. “The Moon Goddess told me the mate bond was never meant to be a prison, a chain, or a curse. It was meant to help us find love and find someone who could love us for who we are.”

“And if he doesn't?”

“Reject him.”

A few shewolves shift in their seats.

“What if he refuses to accept it?” another asks.

“Come to me.”

“And if he keeps hurting us?”

Luna Selena's expression hardens. “Come to me. Don't hide it because you're ashamed. Don't convince yourself you deserve it because he's your mate. Don't suffer alone because you're afraid somebody will tell you the bond matters more than you do. Come to me.”

The silence that follows feels different. A woman reaches for the hand of the shewolf sitting beside her. Another stares at the ground while an older woman quietly rubs her back. No one cheers. No one needs to.

One of the Elders finally speaks. “You keep talking about women coming together, but we're never going to agree on everything. We have different beliefs, different traditions, different expectations for our mates and our families.”

“I don't expect us to agree, always.”

The Elder looks surprised.

Luna Selena smiles. “I don't even expect all of you to agree with me. We can disagree without tearing each other apart. We can believe different things without deciding the person sitting beside us is worthless because she doesn't see the world exactly the way we do.”

“What do you expect, then?” the Elder asks.

“Respect.” Luna Selena glances around at us. “Kindness when we can give it. Self control when kindness is difficult. And enough love for the people around us that disagreement doesn't become an excuse to hurt them.”

A mother holding an infant adjusts the blanket over her sleeping pup. “You really think that's possible with this many people?”

“I think it has to be.” Luna Selena's eyes travel over the gathering. “There's too much division already. Too much jealousy, anger, selfish ambition, envy, fighting. Somewhere along the way, we've lost balance, and if we're not careful, our pups are going to inherit every ugly thing we refuse to fix.”

I look down at Darlene again. Luna Selena does too.

“Our faith teaches me to love my neighbor as myself. It teaches me that freedom isn't supposed to become an excuse to hurt people, but an opportunity to serve them with love. And it warns what happens when we spend our lives biting and tearing at each other. Eventually, we destroy each other.”

The gathering grows quiet.

“So what do we replace it with?” a teenager asks.

Luna Selena smiles. “Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self control.” She laughs softly. “And before anyone asks, no, I am not claiming I'm good at all of those every day.”