Three years later –
Chris Reynolds, the 22-year-old Alpha of the silver moon pack, stood in front of the council, his gaze fixed on them. In the beginning, there were multiple werewolf packs in North America. However, after the horrific conflict, only 10 packs survived and came to an agreement. In order to bring about peace, they formed a council, which devised a peace accord and oversaw its implementation. It also had control over the mating of the Alphas in order to ensure that the packs received the most advantage from the mating.
"Alpha Chris. Do you accept Grace Anderson of the Blue moon? Daughter of Alpha Frank Anderson, as your mate?" The grey council member asked.
Chris bowed his head for a second, his wolf was still not ready, but he had little choice because the blue moon pack was an immensely powerful one. Aside from that, the land and business contracts that Frank had pledged in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage would bring riches to the pack. Being made an Alpha at a tender age of 18 had messed up the pack's finances. He wasn't very good at managing the money and their restaurents and businesses in the city weren't doing very well. When Alpha Frank approached him to mate with his daughter, he agreed to it.
" What about our mate?" His wolf inquired. Rosalie had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday. He'd been seeing her in secret for the previous three years. As promised, they were not mated, but Chris's wolf was eager to claim her when he was unexpectedly summoned by the council and offered to mate with Grace Anderson, who graciously accepted the offer.
"I accept," Chris stated aloud, indicating his agreement.
The members of the council nodded in agreement.
"Your marriage will be consummated with Grace Anderson in a week's time. On the night of a full moon. May the goddess Luna bless this union."
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"What! Are you planning on mating with Grace Anderson? What about us?" They were standing near the waterfall when Rosalie yelled. They used to meet at this location, swim in the brook and go rabbit hunting. Chris had promised that he would claim her as his mate, and she had been waiting for that day. It never arrived.
"I'm sorry, Rosalie, but I can't overrule the council's decision," he remarked sadly.
"So you're rejecting me?" Rosalie enragedly inquired.
" It's not like that, Rosalie; I am the Alpha. I must take care of my pack and make the best possible decision. Grace Anderson would be a good Luna." Without glancing at her, he said softly.
"So, that is your opinion of me? I'm not good enough? Only an Omega." She screamed.
"Rosalie, it's not like that... I have to think about the pack...Listen, I will fix everything."
"Just stop it! Just put an end to it... You're no longer mine," she mumbled, "you're no longer mine......you have insulted our mate bond. I reject you, Chris Raynolds."
Rosalie dashed into the woods as quickly as her legs would allow. She had heard that her mate's rejection was painful. But the sting of rejection stabbed her so deeply that all she could think about was getting away before collapsing in pain and crying herself into a mess. She dashed through the dimly illuminated expanse in the dark, only to realise too late that she had strayed too far into the woods.
"Goddammit," she cursed in frustration, unable to even think of the anguish and humiliation that would involve her going back. A few more tear drops slid down her face and she struggled with her beast as it tried to exert control and take over her form. Various thoughts were rushing through her head, and she could barely think. But she knew she could not just walk away from the pack, her family. This was all she had.
Rosalie slammed her fist into a tree, barely seeing how it bowed as a result of her assault. She finally relinquished control to the animal that had been clawing at her in misery, attempting to take over and ripping her body apart. Her white wolf had emerged from the woods, howling a forlorn howl into the air. When the animal approached the Pack's woods, her immediate inclination was to flee. She had assumed that allowing the wolf to take control would ease the pain that had tortured her body, but she was mistaken. With every snarl and subsequent whimper her wolf cried, she felt all the pain and rage of a wounded beast.
'He isn't interested in us!'
The realisation that the one man who was destined to love her, the one man who was chosen for her, did not want her tore through her. She remembered the grief distorting the brilliance of his eyes. It was too much for her, and she tried to flee from the pain, but it swamped her, impaling her from every angle until she screamed in agony and the wolf stopped running to let out a heart-breaking pain-filled howl.
Was the animal feeling the same loss she felt at Chris rejecting her so harshly? Did the wolf understand what it all meant? or was it the loss of the chance to mate that hurt the beast?
'We are his, but he has abandoned us,' she reflected.
'No, no, perhaps he doesn't realise what it really means...possibly he....' whispered her wolf.
'He considers us to be beneath him! He's turned us down!' the thought cut her off.
She tried to reason her way through the fog of anguish in her head, but additional emotions pierced her; anger, despair, and loneliness all battled in her mind as she struggled to combat them.
'We should force him to mate! He's ours!' exclaimed her wolf.
'What?! No! That's not right...you can't do it, you can't do it!'
She fought through the haze of emotions even as she felt her consciousness start to slip. Her control over the wolf diminished and it seemed to want to violate their pact, considering doing something as impractical as forcing a mating with the Alpha. Rosalie panicked as she felt the vestiges of insanity begin to crawl into her thoughts and she tried to wrest control back from the wolf in futility. She could not shift back to her human form and the wolf walked in circles, growling and snarling as it completely overwhelmed her senses. Something dark and empty started to engulf her, slowly corrupting her, and overwhelming every emotion she felt now.
'No, NO!' she tried to scream, still trying to take back control of her form, but she did not shift back. 'Please, please don't!' she sobbed in desperation before she lost all awareness.
Rosalie Murdoch stared at the sacred circle. The circle was a patch of land on a hill that was surrounded by a ring of stones. It was the sacred ground of the pack. This is where Christopher Reynolds would mate with 19-year-old Grace Anderson. Under the blessing of the moon goddess, the Council, and the pack's watchful eyes. Grace was another insufferable bitch! Rosalie had met her on a few occasions. She was a typical Alpha princess, with her head stuck in the clouds. "Rosalie, there you are. I looked for you all over." a curious voice startled her from behind. Melissa approached her carrying a bunch of white and red flowers. A few girls of the pack, including Rosalie, were assigned by the beta Roger, the second in command, to put fresh beautiful flowers on the stone pillars surrounding the circle. Grace Anderson, the bride to be, had requested to have a "flowery" union. Ugh. Everyone was busy preparing for the ceremony and decorating different areas of the pack. Several distinguish
Rosalie walked into her living room. The manor was divided into several sections. Each suite was like a flat. Based on their ranking, each wolf family got their living quarters. Like the second-ranking Betas, Rosalie's father had a luxuriously furnished suite. Though it was not as opulent as the Alpha's quarter, it was still better than most others. Amelia Murdoch, smiled at her daughter, as Rosalie squirmed in her figure-hugging red bodycon dress. It was sleeveless with a deep V at the back. "You look beautiful," Amelia whispered, with misty eyes. Rosalie rolled her eyes, "are you done now? Is this why you were looking for me? Just to try this stupid dress?" "Rosie, it's a very expensive limited-edition dress, thankfully I managed to find it online." She beamed. "Dad needs to put a stop to your online shopping!" Rosalie grumbled. "One day you will thank me, young lady," Amelia said sternly, wagging her finger. She took out another shimmering blue gown and waved it in front of Ro
"Now why is a girl as lovely as you are crying?" a deep male voice said. Rosalie hiccupped in surprise and quickly wiped her face, trying to locate the speaker. He was standing in the doorway in a white tee and jeans. A black leather jacket adorned his broad frame. He was tall and incredibly masculine, well-built, and powerful looking. He had thick black hair. Dark, expressive eyebrows sat atop deep-set, steel-grey eyes. His jaw and chin were broad and hard. To Rosalie, he looked dangerously handsome and familiar. Chris was handsome like a pretty boy, but this man was all hard muscles and he oozed power. "I'm so sorry sir, I was just...preparing the rooms for the guests. I did not know you would be here so early," she stammered. He slowly stepped closer to her, and Rosalie began feeling incredibly tiny in comparison to him. "It's no problem, Rosalie," he said. His steely eyes seemed to see right through her, and she looked at him in surprise. "How....how do you know my name?" she
Rosalie rushed out of the Alpha's suite with a hammering heart. She looked down at her feet, tears were starting to pool in her eyes. She shook her head to dispel the treacherous tears and hurried towards the circle. The crowd and the excitement would make her feel better. It was midnight, and the ceremony was about to start. Rosalie ran towards the circle to claim her position. The mating ceremony was usually not conducted for lower-rank wolves. It was done only for Alphas and a few other high-ranking wolves. When we say mating, it means mating. The couple would mate and bite each other in the presence of witnesses, the pack, the elders, and the Holy Moon. Nudity or public sex was not a problem for them. They were part animals. However, they did not go around prancing naked all the time. It is just that wolves had a higher tolerance for these things compared to humans. By midnight, the atmosphere grew more intense and heated. Rosalie reached the group of unmated betas and found Meliss
Rosalie watched as the last of the wolves left for the run. She was left alone along with several unmated wolves and those who had duties to perform. She saw Alex approaching them and her eyes widened in surprise. "Hello there, I see you didn't join the run," he said in his deep baritone. "You didn't join them either," Rosalie retorted. He smirked," I was planning to, but something else caught my attention." His eyes rolled over her, taking in her figure-hugging dress, the deep V in her back and her narrow waist. He would have loved to chase and conquer her. His wolf nodded its approval. Melissa looked at both, then said. "I think my mom called me," she smirked. "I should be going," she started to walk, "See you later." "Melissa!" Rosalie snapped at her. What was she doing? Why was she leaving her alone with him? To her annoyance, Melissa continued to walk, pretending not to hear Rosalie's mental messages. Rosalie scratched her head, feeling a mixture of annoyance and awkwardnes
She began by introducing herself by saying, "My name is Grace." It was nothing out of the ordinary for the Lunas to become acquainted with the progeny of those in power. She gave a light and airy laugh while twirling her long hair. "Although I am now the Luna. I would ask that we avoid getting too formal. I am like a sister to every one of you. I want all of us to become good friends!" Her voice was as sweet as candy, and she chirped like 10 years old. Rosalie wanted to roll her eyes at Grace. Was she being genuine, or was this only a ruse for her to exert her authority over them? She hid her face from view for a little while. As Luna Grace could see into people's minds if she wasn't careful, so Rosalie was carefully guarding her thoughts. "Hey, what say we get some fresh air and then meet up with the rest of the folks in the Common Room?" Grace said. When they entered the communal room, they gathered in a circle. While the other two betas watched, Melissa lazily stretched out on t
"I've got a suggestion!" Melissa remarked, with a twinkle in her brown eyes. She chortled and said, "Why don't you hook up with Alex? In case you haven't noticed, he does have a body worth dying for," she said. "Now, I have not yet had the opportunity to view him in his natural state, but I am confident that he will be......big." She gave a wink. "Shh!" Rosalie put her palm over Melissa's mouth to prevent her from speaking. "Everyone will be able to hear you!" She became red in the face for no apparent cause at all. "Admit it! You like him, I noticed the way you were looking at each other." Melissa teased. "Melissa, it has nothing to do with it at all. We're just friends!" Rosalie said, irritated. Melissa's chuckling made her sigh. "Friends? Uh? When did you become friends with Alpha Alex?" Melissa teased her. "It's a long story, let us say that we do hook up, and I can muster up even the smallest amount of feelings for him. It would be pointless because there is no way that it
Amelia replied to Rosalie as she dusted off imaginary lint from her shoulder, "There's no need to thank me, I want the best for my daughter." She gave a sly smile, "But if you could bring a man back..., that would be great. I do not doubt that certain wolves will be drawn to you the moment they lay eyes on you." Rosalie shook her head in disbelief. Her mother had resumed her role as the matchmaker for her. She cocked an eyebrow and gently brushed a strand of Rosalie's hair as she asked, "Wasn't it Alpha Alex who was being pretty friendly with you during the mating ceremony? Honey, he's got a lot going for him: he's young, powerful, and tremendously wealthy all at the same time." "Oh, no, Mom!" Rosalie rolled her eyes. "He is not interested in me, we are just friends, and I can't even claim that we are close friends because we have only met like...3 times in my entire life!" She let out a groan. Her mum looked crestfallen. She bit her lower lip and asked, "Is that so? Perhaps I wa