ALDER’S POV.
I stared at the lake in my wolf form and listened to the sound of the crickets. This garden always made me very relaxed
I strode out of the forest after receiving the mindlink that my father was searching for me in the pack.
Immediately I got to the pack, I changed and out on a short before going to see my dad
"Hi Dad" I greeted as I walked into his study
He stared at me through the rim of his glasses before looking back at the documents on the table
" I wanted to inform you that the Alpha title Ritual will commence on the full moon"
" Oh okay" That's three day from now
" I would have loved it if you had found your mate, it's the perfect time to complete the mating ritual as well" I winced " But the moon goddess probably has other plans"
" Yes, she does. I'll take my leave now"
I ran out of the pack house with one thought in my mind, I need to find myself a mate before Dad finds out what I did
Three days later
I stared at myself in the mirror, I was dressed in a white thick suit, decorated with gold ornaments. My silky hair was gelled backwards, making my green eyes more profound. I was ready for the ritual and very ready to lead my pack to many years in abundance and success.
" We're ready" A guard spoke through the door of my room and I nodded.
With one glance at the mirror, I walked out of the room, surrounded by guards as they led me to the field where the ceremony was been held.
The moon was out in all her glory, shining brightly for all to see. The female omegas, sang a soft song to increase the serenity of the atmosphere, the little kids howled softly to the bright moon as fire blazed from two pillars.
All the pack members were dressed in white, hands folded backwards and head slightly bent forward in gesture of respect
The field was designed with rows and rows of white flower, at the end of the trail, was my dad, his chest puffing out as my mom stood beside him with her face beaming with smiles
I stood in front of my dad, face devoid of all emotion
" Wolves of Sky Prowlers Pack, today is the day we have all been waiting for. The day when the Moon goddess dwells among us as another one of her children becomes a leader."
The field was silent as my dad's voice echoed for miles and miles away
" I am happy to tell you that our son, your soon to be Alpha, has now come of age both in wisdom, understanding and also physically to lead us into a better tomorrow"
The pack cheered, hoots and howls echoed in the atmosphere
When they finally calmed down, my mom gestured for me to go on my kneels as my dad commenced with the ritual
"Alder Lewiston, Son of Alpha Brantley Lewiston and Camille Lewiston........... Do you, under the full moon, in the presence of the goddess with the people is Sky Prowlers Pack as your witness, take this oath to always be a truthful and just leader to your people?"
" Yes, I do"
" Do you cow to lead your people right and do all you can to make your pack a home for all?"
" Yes I do"
" Do you promise to protect and care for the people the moon goddess put in your care?"
" Yes, I do"
Dad smiled " Now, with the power bestowed upon me by the-"
A chuckle reverberated through the atmosphere
And everyone attention went to the direction the chuckle came from
It was Jack Bellevue, Cassie's brother and he was dressed in black and striped blue. His lips were stretched into a smile but his eyes were blazing, there was someone with him, a lady, he didn't know her but he had a feeling he was about to
" Jack! What is the meaning of this insolence? How dare you try to disrupt the ceremony?" Dad growled
" Apologies Alpha, but I'm not trying to disrupt the ceremony. I actually want to ruin it" He smirked
I stood up on my knees in anger " What rubbish are you saying? Do you know how important this ritual is"
" Of course I do, that's why I want to stop it so that everyone can know the kind of man they want to make their leader"
Murmurs and whispers rose amidst the crowd
"What is he talking about?"
"Did the future Alpha commit a crime?"
Dad stared at me " Do you have any idea what is going on here, Alder?"
" No dad, I'm just as clueless as you"
" Jack, if you have something to say, then say it before I lose my patience and your head" My mom said calmly but her eyes were saying something else
"As you wish, my dear luna" he glared at me " Future Alpha, I have just two questions to ask from you, can I go on?"
The bastard was planning something and I had no idea what " Go on"
He smirked " Can you tell us, in all honesty, have you or haven't you found your mate?"
There was pin drop silence in the field before my dad growled "What sort of question is that? The whole pack knows that Alder hasn't found his mate yet"
"Of course Alpha. We all know that, but I still need the future Alpha to answer the question"
I was shocked to the deepest core of my bones, why now?
"Answer the question, Alder and let us end this once and for all" My mom said softly
There was no way out anymore, I can't lie to cover up my lie because it was obvious that Jack had enough evidence against me
I sighed, my eyes glued to Jack's " Yes" everyone gasped " Yes, I found my mate"
"What!" My dad exclaimed "Alder, what are you talking about?"
My mom came to my side immediately and held my shoulder "What is he talking about, son? No.....what are you saying? What mate did you find?"
" Hold on for a bit, Luna. This is where it gets interesting. For the last question, future Alpha. Can you please tell us what you did after you found her?"
I clenched my fist and glared at him " I rejected her"
The gasps was definitely louder this time
"What!" My mom shrieked
"Is that all you did, future Alpha?"
" You said two questions!" I gritted through my teeth
"Well, curiosity killed the cat. Do t you think so?" He smirked
"Answer the question Alder" My dad growled
" I forced her into accepting the rejection.........by hitting her" A slap sounded through the air
Everyone was shocked! The Luna slapped Alder.
I slowly looked at my mom, " Mom, you slapped-" She cut me short with another one on the other cheek
"And you deserve much more worse" For the first time, since I can remember, my mom was shaking with so much fury and anger
"How could you Alder? She was your mate for heaven's sake. Your better Half!!" She screamed "How fucking dare you!!"
"But mom-"
"Don't you dare call me that! It's Luna to you!"
I was speechless
" Tell me! Why did you reject her?"
" It's because I didn't want her!" I screamed back
They were all so clueless, they had no idea. Who would have wanted her for a mate anyway?
" What do you mean?" My dad finally spoke and I knew he didn't take kindly to the way I spoke to mom
"She's not what I wanted"
"She's not suppose to be what you want. She's what you need and then you'll finally realize that she's all you've ever wanted your whole life" My dad growled..
" No. I refuse to accept that she's what I need or what I ever wanted. I've been living without her just fine and I'll continue doing so"
"What happened to her then?" My mom asked
"I have no idea, mom. I didn't bother to follow up on her...........and the next time I heard of her......' silence engulfed the air " ..........she was dead"
"No!" My mom whispered softly and collapsed but my father's was quick to catch her
"Why did you do it, Alder? She's your lifeline." She cried into my dad's arms " He has ruined himself, Brantley. What did I do wrong? Did I fail to raise him well"
My heart broke as I heard my mom blame herself for what I did
" It's not your fault my love. Whatever decisions he made were his fault entirely. You had nothing to do with it"
I couldn't look my parents in the eye, it felt wrong. Even Crown wasn't with me at the moment. I was all alone facing the repercussions for my actions.
"Can you at least tell us her name?" My dad asked
" It's Cassandra Bellevue" I responded.
CASSANDRA’S POV.I don't know how long I stood there, just watching the three of them. My brain couldn't register the new information I just heard.Is this a joke or something?"Are you telling the truth?" Alpha Vincenzo asked, almost smiling" Of course your majesties. I re-ran the test all over again just to be sure and it came out positive all three times" Seth affirmedLuna Celine gasped, her hand flew to her mouth as she choked on her tears, Alpha Vincenzo held his mate in his arms and held her tightly as she cried her lungs out. ."We got out little girl back, Celine" He placed his chin on her forehead " We finally found her"." We almost lost her, Vin. She tried to kill herself" ." But she survived right? And she's here, with us. So there is nothing to worry about, okay?" He assured her.Luna Celine nodded her head and the Alpha wiped her tears away before resting his forehead on hers."We'll be fine love. I know we will"." She's on her way here, but how do we break the news
ALDER’S POV." It's Cassandra Bellevue"I wasn't expecting the punch that came next, causing me to stagger.I looked up to see my dad, breathing heavily, his eyes glaring"Cassandra? The girl that took her life? The one I tried to talk to you about? That same Cassandra?!!" He growled" The one and only" I scoffed, and that only made matters worse" She's your mate?" Mom asked me" Was. She was my mate" I corrected" Why the hell did you reject her, future Alpha?" Jack asked" Why? Are you seriously asking me why? Your bitch of a sister-"This time I saw it coming but I couldn't avoid it, even if I wanted to, the huge black wolf coming towards me suddenly slammed into my ribcage, sending me flying into a tree.I groaned as I stood up, my dad sure still does pack up a punch. I wiped away the blood dripping out if my mouth" For the sake of the moon goddess, respect the dead" My dad growled, as he towered over me in just shorts"Respect? What respect? She deserves nothing from me" I star
CASSANDRA’S POV.As I walked out of my parents huge mansion, the guards of the gate bowed to me before looking straightforward.I smiled to myself because it was exactly the same thing the hallway guards did and it made me feel importantI hummed as I walked back to Mrs Smith's home, following the flower trail." Hey! Happy bug, why are you so joyful?" I looked up to see Elia wiggling her brows at meI giggled " Oh, it's nothing."" Are you sure? You look like you got hit with the happy truck" She smiled" I'm just happy. I ate so much food at Mo- Luna's and she treated me so much like my own mother" I smiled, happy that I was able to stop my slip up" Oh, I can believe that. The easiest way into your heart is through your mouth" She laughed" I don't think that's how it's being said you know"" Of course it isn't. Your type just requires a different kind of expression." She said thoughtfully " Wanna go to the lake?"I thought about it for a while, there's nothing bad about taking a d
ALDER’S POV.I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the things that were happening outside. I haven't left my room at all since the incident that took place last night.They keep making it sound like she was the moon goddess gift to me which I know she wasn't.There had to be some mistake somewhere.A knock sounded on my door " Future Alpha, The Alpha has requested your presence in the war room".I continued staring at the ceiling, refusing to answer the guard at the door." Future Alpha!" He called again.I sighed before replying " I'm on my way"." He said I had to accompany you there".I sighed again, I've been doing that a lot lately.I stood up from my bed, opened the door and walked out of my room with the guard behind me. As I walked out, I refused to meet anyone's eye as they bowed to me, the last thing I wanted was to see hatred in the eyes of my people when all I was doing was thinking of their well-being.When I arrived at the war room, a place where we major
CASSANDRA’S POV." Wake up, you lazy lycan pup" I felt someone straddling my waist and jumping on my back" Go away, pest" I mumbled, using my hands to push away the disturbance of my holy sleepThud....... The next sound I heard as she fell to the groundThe next thing I knew, I was rolled off my bed and fell on the floor breaking my buttock" Ow! What the frigging hell?" I screamed" Oh! So it's painful when I do it?" She placed her arms on her waist glaring at me" Of course it is. I heard my butt bone crack, you nitwit" I screamed at her.Elia can be a cruel villain at times. One time, she threw into the lake when I refused to wake up and I was so damn tired that day that I didn't realize when she moved me from my bed into the lake at the forest" Well, that's not half bad. Just get ready, we need to be at the pack house for the announcement"" What announcement?" I raised my brows" Some important shifter is here, so they want to let us know of his presence and all that bullshit
ALPHA KING’S POV.I stared at the young lycan, shielding her from my gaze. Even after knowing I was her mate, she refused to move from there." Cassie" She stared at her mom " You need to move from there. You can't stop him from being with her, you know?"" No mom. I'm not trying to stop him, I've had enough drama with mates that the last thing I want is to interfere with one. But this is my friend we are talking about, and I'm not leaving here until she's ready to see him"She glared at me again and I chuckled" I've waited long enough, I think I can wait a little bit more"" But-"" Don't worry, Alpha. I've stopped my men from coming over here and I don't think your daughter will be ready to move unless my mate is ready herself. So the both of you can just go back and wait for her, and I promise that she'll go back immediately my mate decides to see me" I stared at her " Deal?"She rolled her eyes before shrugging " I'm not a fan of intimate scenes, so the minute she allows you to c
CASSANDRA’S POV." Are you sure he won't harm her at all?" I heard my mom say as I walked into the living room" I know he won't. The Alpha King holds his word in high esteem" My dad hugged her" But why isn't she back yet? I mean, it's been hours already" She whined. I rolled my eyes, she can be so dramatic at times" Calm down love, I'm sure she's on her way."" Your most missed has arrived" I said as I walked in to meet themMy mom left my dad's embrace and ran to hug me " My little lycan" Okay, I need to tell them to stop calling me that" Mom, you just saw me like theory minutes ago. Why are you so huggy?" I asked trying to escape her embrace" Shut up! What the hell were you thinking? Challenging the Alpha King like that?" She held me by my shoulders, frowning" One, I wasn't challenging him" Okay maybe I was........a little " Two, I had no idea who the hell he was.......at least up until some minutes ago" I rolled my eyes" Well that's not an excuse. I still don't understand ho
ALDER’S POV.My eyes opened as I looked around, wondering what woke me up.Then the knock came againI rubbed my face with my palm " Who is it?"The door opened to reveal my should-have-been BetaHe smirked, "You look like crap.""What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised that he came to talk to me." Why? Are you scared that I'm here to kill you?" " No, not really. I'm just curious" I laid back on my bed, crossed my hands behind my head and closed my eyes " But if that's what you are here to do, then go on with it. You won't receive any struggle from me."I heard him walk around the room, and I fell back to slumber. He might as well kill me nowI felt the world turn upside down, and I opened my eyes immediately to see my bed turned over as I fell and rolled away from the bed" I was expecting a knife to my chest or something, not this. Are you trying to leave pieces of evidence? That won't do you any good."" If you'll just shut up. I'm not here to kill you, at least not yet. I'm