The next day, a meeting was called at the pack hall, made mandatory for all the pack members to attend, and even though I had just lost my partner, I knew that Alpha Liam deserved the title, and the respect. I made the deliberate effort to arrive there early, avoiding the glances of everyone by wearing a black dress and a black hoodie.
A few people saw me, but they understood that I needed time to myself, and they let me be, going ahead to get seats in front. I sat at the back and kept my head down, feeling it in my heart the moment that Liam walked up the aisle with Anne trailing behind him.
I bit my tongue to avoid a sob choking out of my throat, and I slid down even lower in the seat when they arrived at the front. This was his first official address as the Alpha, so I got up and applauded with everyone else when he arrived at his place on the podium.
I sat down as quickly as I could, and he walked forward to address all of us. I looked at his face, the man that had become my whole world in the last years, and I felt an ache I could not describe.
“Good morning, White Water pack! I want to thank you all for your love and support since the great tragedy last year. I'm more than honored to be standing in front of you right now. I'm so thankful for this nomination, and I'm glad that I stand before you all now.
I am more than thankful for the home you have given me, and all the gifts. My first order of business is to inform you all of my Luna. A man is only as great as the woman on his team, and I have decided to make Anne, my true mate, the Luna of this pack. ”
He paused for a second, letting the rumors grow. Many people were aware of his history with me, and they looked around, searching for me. I slid down even further in my seat to avoid being seen.
“I know that all of you are used to seeing me with Olivia, and I still hold her in high regard. But she is not my true mate, and I didn't even understand that until yesterday at the party. Anne has nothing to do with it, and she is just as important. She is skilled with weapons and war tactics, and she will train us all on how to survive the attacks against our enemies if ever they return. ”
Shrugging, the pack members got up and delivered a round of applause, and I got up and quietly left the hall amidst the noise.
In all honesty, I hadn't really thought about becoming the Luna, or assumed that I would be in a position of power, so that was not what stung me.What hurt me was the fact that Liam had quickly found a replacement for me. I had thought I was important enough, essential enough for him to keep by his side, but apparently not.
I returned to the home I used to share with him and slipped into the bed, crying my eyes out as I snuggled in.
I would find a solution to my problems when I woke up from the nap. Sleep had never not made anything better. When I opened my eyes, it was dusk, and the sun was setting. I looked around and saw traces of Liam everywhere I turned. I could see him in the sheets I chose, in the bathroom where there were two towels, and I just knew that I couldn't keep living here in this pack anymore.I picked up my clothes and folded them into a knapsack I had made by myself, rolling each article up so they took a little space. After which I packed along some food to take along with me.
I shut the door of what used to be our home and took a walk into the forest, bidding my old home goodbye.
When my mother had lived, she had taught me a song that was to be sung at departures and painful goodbyes, and this happened to be both, so I hummed the rhythm of the song, taking stead to leave.
I had walked for a few hours, and the day had given way to night. Luckily for me, we were very close to a lunar full moon, so I could save the light from my torchlight until I desperately needed it.
I heard voices coming from a clearing in the trees, and I walked towards them, holding a stick in front of me so I could defend myself if I so needed it.Instead, I met two men I had never seen before, bickering over a map. They had horses behind them, and I wondered if they were new. They didn't know me, so I turned to leave, unintentionally stepping on a twig as I left them.
Their ears immediately perked up, and they came towards me, with shouts of “Hello? Is anyone there?”
I stood still and didn't say anything when one brushed really close past me.
“Look, we just need your help. We don't know the way to where we are headed, and we just want to ask you questions. We don't want to attack you.”I watched him as he headed back to camp and the other person, watching as he informed him that he didn't see anyone. The other one signed deeply, and muttered, “I do wish there was someone. We need directions back to base. ”
“Exactly,” responded the other one. “I just hope we don't get attacked by whoever it is, because we don't have enough weapons for a drawn out fight. And we might be in that evil Alpha’s territory, who knows?”
“You're not,” I blurted, biting my tongue.
“Who said that?!” they yelled in unison, taking a fighting stance.Apologetic, I stepped out of my place in the shadows and walked up to them. “Hi!” I paused to see their nervous reaction, yet handsome faces.
“My name is Olivia. I'm sorry I didn't come forward earlier; I'm the one you heard.”
They visibly relaxed after the introduction, and I quickly took the opportunity to ask them a question. “Where are you two headed? I heard you say you needed directions, I may be able to help you if you two don’t mind”
“Okay, I think introductions are in order first,” said the taller one, pushing back a lock of his jet black hair. “My name is Dante, and I am one of the Alphas of the Blue Blood pack.”
I looked at him with a cocked brow, marveling at how lovely his name was. “Nice to me-”“And my name, ” interrupted the other brother with a cocked brow, “Is Asher, and we are the Alphas of the Blue Blood pack.”“Nice to meet you,” I smiled, beaming at them. “You guys have really cool names!”“Well, thank you,” continued Dante, getting up to move closer to me. “So, about those directions you were going to give us… ”“We are heading back to the Blue Blood pack after a long trip down south. Our compass broke, and now neither of us knows the way to get back home.”“Oh.. I've never heard of the Blue Blood pack,” I explained, “but if you remember any landmarks, I should be able to direct you to them.”“Give us a minute to think,” they said, so I turned away from them and piled rocks to form a circle, picking up some lint so I could start a fire. It couldn't be safe to keep moving the dark, especially since I had no true destination and was simply heading north, in the direction of the sun.
It had been thirty minutes more on the road, and I was already tired. The trails were bushy because they had not been walked through in quite some time, and to make matters worse, it had been rainy a few weeks prior, and coupled with the current sunlight, they were growing quite well. Dante had fallen back, tending to the horse, but Asher stuck to me like glue, getting so close that I could feel his breath down my neck. I shut my eyes to it and refused to feel the sensation, but at a point, I got exasperated and turned to face him, smirking in satisfaction as my braided hair whipped around with me and slapped his face. “Look, what is it? You already said we're going the same way. We agreed that I would lead the way. We're already in so much agreement, so why the hell are you breathing down my neck?”“No, I-”“Listen to me,” I continued, holding up my hand, “there is such a thing as personal space, and you are going to have to respect mine. I want to be able to turn around with my br
Chapter 7They continued the journey on their feet, worried about the horses and how they would deal with the stress of a gallop after the wild one they had just been on. Dante immediately agreed, his affection for his horse trumping anything else. Asher on the other hand did not want to walk, and he told me as much. “Look, our pack is still at least two hours away, and it's an even longer journey when we are walking. I really don't want to do this.”He had stopped in the middle of the path, and instead of dignifying his outburst with an answer, I walked past him, noting that Dante and the two horses had done the exact same thing. Sighing, he turned around to walk with us, pausing at the trunk of a very wide tree. It had some mangoes on it, ripe and heavy, and I stopped abruptly too. As though my stomach recognized the fruit, it growled, and I blushed. “So you're hungry too? I thought we were just going to keep walking for hours on end and then hope for the best?”“In what world do
More of the guards trooped out, six of them in number, advancing towards me. Afraid, I went to stand behind the horses, moving away from the tips of the spears. Instead of moving away like I had hoped, the guards came after me, pushing Dante and Asher away from me.“Alpha Dante. Alpha Asher, please move away from the intruder. We will keep you safe.”Dante turned around to try to explain, and instead fell on his injured foot, which had now swollen up to almost twice its size. Asher looked between me and Dante who was on the floor and decided to help Dante, taking so much time that the guards have the time to grab me and push me into an uncomfortable position. It hurts, but I bite my tongue to keep myself from yelling.It is not the right time to play hero, not the right time to fight, so I do as I am told, folding my knees up under me and spreading my arms wide out. One guard walks over to me, a woman, and she begins to pat me down, pulling my knapsack off my back.A few minutes that
As he shut the door behind him, I set my bag onto the bed, a queen sized one with tall bedposts. The room also had a few chairs and furniture, with green notes. Two lamps sat on either one of my bedside tables, and excited, I ran over to the wall to turn on the lights, enthralled to see that there was a chandelier in the room. I quickly turned it off and walked over to the verandah, which was covered by a wall sized window, which was perfect for looking out. I wondered if there was a curtain I could draw up to shield me from the sub jr it eventually shone through.On further exploration, I found that there was a hidden closet, painted to look just like the green walls of the room. I opened it to find clothes hangers, and I decided that when I was truly settled in and had a job to help me to pay for them, I would be getting myself enough clothes to fill them up. I came out and noticed the little nook to the corner, perfect, even down to the selection of books. I was worried about Dan
P.S; Dear readers please do not forget to rate and vote for this book in the app, and your comment are sincerely needed. Thank you.*****Exhausted from the day's activities, it took a while for me to fall asleep, but having relaxed my muscles, getting my mind to comply did not take too long. Mere moments after pulling up the covers around my shoulder, I fell into a nice, long sleep. “Miss Olivia? Miss Olivia!” I swatted away the voice that was speaking to me, ignoring it. I figured that if I ignored it long enough, it would leave. I was having a good dream, and I didn't want it to end. Yet there they were, an incessant knocking. For a second, the voices seemed to have swelled, and my eyes snapped open. I had forgotten about dinner, I realized, and I hopped off the bed, Landon on the floor with a yell. “I'm coming! Please hold on!”I pushed the covers off my body and tossed them on to the bed, pulling open the door. It didn't open, and I froze for a second before remembering that I
P.S; Dear readers it will delight me if you comment and leave a rating in the app for me, as it will boost my morale to write for you😘****Mere seconds after landing on my bed, I fell asleep, the softness of the sheets wrapping me in their embrace once more. It had been a while, even with the complete renovation of the White Water pack. It had been a very long while since I had a meal that good. It reminded me of my mother, which was probably why I dreamed of her that night.Unlike the usual dreams I had of her before, in this one, it was sunny out, and we were at the lake. Dad was not there, probably fishing, and Liam was sitting in the background, eating something. Perplexed, I walked over to Liam, placing a hand on his shoulder. I wanted to ask why he was there, but my mouth was heavy, and I could not get the words to come out. Eventually, I gave up, and he morphed into a wolf, running after me and chasing me until he caught up to me and ripped me to shreds. Startled, I sat up
In the morning, all seemed better - the birds were chirping with joy, and sunlight was streaming in through the window, as I expected. I had fallen asleep with my feet tucked under my frame, and now my feet hurt, so I stretched them out in front of me while I looked around. According to the clock, it was 10:00 AM, which meant that I had been allowed to sleep in. Startled, I jumped up to my feet and went to take a shower. I had probably missed breakfast, but if I hurried, I could find Bella, get a tour of the grounds and be done in time for lunch. I slipped off my nightdress and hopped into the shower, marveling at the selection of shampoo and conditioner that was available to me. I selected one with oranges in the label, hoping for the best and poured it into my hair. Letting the water do its thing with the soap, I massaged my scalp, enjoying the feel of the lather against my fingers. After a few minutes, I rinsed it off and continued to wash my body, using the washcloth made availa