I kept sitting in the room wondering about what had happened.
Alpha Orion talked to me.
But why? Did he notice my absence?
The thought brought a small smile to my lips. Was there finally some hope?
The dinner was sent to the room by Alpha Orion. I finished everything without thinking about anything else for the first time in days.
The dinner had everything, it was organized unlike the plate Bernadette had prepared for me earlier.
I started chewing the brownie slowly, my thoughts wandered around the place I went to earlier. There was something about the place which I could not explain, there was a unique feeling. I felt drawn to that forest...and the girl.
Flora.
Who was she?
I never got the chance to ask her anything else, what was she doing there all by herself? She was not scared of being there alone.
Wolves were known to live in the lap of nature but the forest was not for everyone.
I drank some water and inhaled a deep breath.
A knock on the door startled me, I glanced at the large clock......9 pm.
Clearing my throat, I went ahead to greet the visitor.
"Where were you?" Bernadette threw the words in my direction as she invited herself inside the room.
I did not answer.
She turned around with her hands folded in front of her chest. She was staring at me with a stern look, the look which reminded me she was the beta....not any normal wolf. I kept trying not to look away even though I wanted to run away from her gaze. Her aura was strong...almost too strong.
She was already tall and I felt like a kid who got caught doing something wrong in front of her.
She finally sighed, "What were you thinking?"
I did not answer.
"We all were so worried about you. If you wanted to go somewhere you could have told me. Orion almost went crazy when he got the news about you."
The last part caught my attention.
"He was?"
Bernadette scrunched her brows in confusion, "Ruhee, he is your soulmate, Of course, he was worried about you. I came here to check up on you and you were not here. He made everyone search all the corners of the entire pack for you. People did not know who they were looking for."
The words felt foreign. Why was he worried? He did not talk to me before this day. Why was he suddenly behaving as though my disappearance affected him in any way?
I wanted to ask the question but I decided to stay silent.
"Where did you go?" she asked again.
I bit my tongue not knowing if I should tell her about the forest.
"I was just wandering outside, I needed some fresh air."
There was a brief pause before a small smile appeared on Bernadette's face. I knew the look very well, those eyes were filled with sympathy. "I am sorry you have to stay inside all the time but it is just for a while once everything becomes sorted you'll be free to go anywhere you want."
Sorted?
"You mean I can not leave this place?"
She pressed her lips together keeping the same sympathetic look in her eyes.
"Whenever you want to go anywhere just tell me, I will join you and you will not be bored."
I could not leave this mansion without a babysitter, because I was not strong enough to defend myself. I was not good enough....why was I in his mansion?
"How about this, I will show you the pack whenever you want?"
I lifted the corners of my lips, "Thank you."
I knew what Bernadette was trying to do. She was sugarcoating Alpha Orion's words like a good beta. I knew what was the meaning behind these words....I was not allowed to step outside. Eleanor was not allowed to go anywhere alone because she was a human. But these people did not know the truth about me and yet they were sure I could not defend myself.
Alpha Orion did not want me to be seen by anyone. He did not want to answer the unwanted questions.
"Do not get any wrong ideas in your head," Bernadette started, "things are rocky right now but soon Orion will make everything right just have some patience. He does care about you even though it is hard for you to believe right now."
I gave her a slight nod with a small smile.
"Good night, Ruhee."
"Good night, Bernadette," I replied in a small voice as she left the room.
Was she right?
.
.
.
The constant train of thoughts kept running inside my head. I kept staring at the large clock, the hands were moving but the time was still the same.
I could not get the place out of my head, no matter how much I tried.
After trying to call Eleanor four times, I gave up and sat on the bed silently. The loud silence was killing me, it was becoming unbearable with every passing minute.
The ticking sound of the clock was not helping at all.
I could not sit there any longer.
I opened the bedroom door and kept walking. I was about to take a step outside the mansion but paused.
What was I doing?
What if I got caught?
I licked my lips and ran my eyes to scan the area. No one was around.
I already met Bernadette and knew she would not return for another three hours.
Inhaling a deep breath, I took a step outside carefully.
To my surprise, no one was outside to stop me.
I continued walking, this time I did not have to create crosses or any other marks on the soil. My feet seemed to remember the path very well. Before I knew it the same sound of waterfall fell into my ears bringing a wide smile to my face.
I was finally there, away from everyone, away from my thoughts.
But I was wrong.
"You are late."
"How did you know I was standing there?" I went ahead still confused and took a seat next to the strange girl.I was surprised, she did not turn around and yet noticed my presence. She could not have listened to my footsteps with all this noise around her. Werewolves had a super hearing but something was not adding up. She gave me a side look, there was a smirk playing on her lips, "You don't need eyes to see everything."I frowned at hearing this."What do you mean?"She laughed in response."It is a good day to be outside."I smiled while looking around, letting my eyes wander around the serene scenery. Flora was right, water, birds, trees, everything was perfect here. All the doubts left my head. It was the right decision to be here. But what about Alpha Orion? What was happening with him and Chelsea? Was Bernadette right about them?"What are you thinking about?" I did not turn towards Flora but knew she was looking at me. "My life."There was a pause, she was still starin
"Hey, where were you?"I stretched my lips to give a wide smile. I did not bother trying to make it look real this time, "Just looking at the wedding preparations of Alpha Orion."Bernadette opened her mouth but closed it shut again instantly."So, when is the big day? Am I invited?" I did not hide the sour tone."Ruhee.." it was the first time I had seen Bernadette speechless. Maybe it was the first time as well when she saw me say something like this. "This is not what you think."I shook my head and moved away from her. All I wanted was to grab my phone and call Eleanor... to tell her everything, I just wanted to get away from the place where I was nothing but a burden...where I was nothing for my soulmate. "I think I know everything now, you are just trying to cover up everything your alpha is doing. I understand this is your duty...I accepted my fate a long time ago, I know Alpha Orion does not want me.""Are you crazy?" Bernadette's eyes grew wide hearing this, "this was decid
There was a thick mat of silence covering the room that looked as cold as the man who lived in it. He was sitting on the couch looking at me continuously. His hand rested on the side of the couch, he started tapping his fingers on the wooden surface. He was not urging me to say anything. It appeared like he had all the time in the world. "Pardon me, Alpha but I have a few questions on my mind," I knew I had to be careful with my words. He was an Alpha, the man whose pride meant so much to him that he could slit someone's throat if he felt disrespected. He raised his thick brows slightly while gesturing with his other hand to continue. "I heard you are about to get married."There was no response.I started thinking if I should continue or wait just when he opened his mouth."Is that your question?""Yes, Alpha.""Not that this is any of your concern, princess but what you heard is not right," he replied in his calm and deep voice. The same voice that could send shivers down my s
My heart was still racing inside my chest. I did not know why maybe because Alpha Orion admitted he would never accept a wolfless girl as his Luna or maybe because it was the first time I talked back without looking at the floor...to an Alpha. Inhaling a sharp breath I stopped to think about what I was doing here. It was clear I would never become a part of this pack...no one wanted me here. But what else was I supposed to do? Run away from this place? I shook away the thought...it would not work. I had to use my head...this was just a game for Alpha. If I ran away he would find me and probably make my life more miserable or maybe he would do something to make things more difficult for Eleanor and the King. I could not do this...they did not deserve more trouble in their lives especially because of me.Even though I hated everything about this place...I could not ignore Alpha Orion was powerful. The news about him taking over packs was spreading everywhere like a fire. There was
**I was alone. The darkness hugged everything around me like a warm blanket. I knew there was no one here. Only the sound of my raspy breaths echoed in the darkness, I had no clue about where I was. Beads of sweat started rolling down my neck. I gulped and threw my arms around to feel my surroundings, I felt a rough surface underneath my fingertips. I kept on following it. I was in a room. Still keeping my hands on the wall I let it guide me to what I hoped was a door. I licked my dry lips, to provide some moisture to them. I gulped and did not make a sound. What if the wrong person heard my sound? The fear was making me move like a mouse in that dark room. I was already scared and the thought that someone else could be present in the room was not providing any comfort to me. I had to use my head if I wanted to survive. The room was not big just after six steps I could feel another wall. I started following it immediately, trying to find the door. But luck was not on m
Dreams.They were not meaningless, we just had to find the hidden meaning behind them, that's what my mother used to say. My mother had given up hope of ever having children but then she started seeing a baby in her dreams. It was a hope she needed, she was sure she would have a child and then I came into the picture. She used to call me her miracle baby...I wanted to laugh at it now. But unlike her dreams, my dreams were not happy. They were not filled with rainbows and butterflies they were filled with dead people and blood. A sigh escaped from my lips, I could not get the nightmare out of my head. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could still see the dead bodies lying on the ground...those children. "Are you okay?" Bernadette was staring at me with a worried look. I gave her a smile, "I am fine.""Are you sure? You look...tired?."I observed her, she was sitting in front of me wearing sweatpants and a tank top with popcorn between her arms. She was taking a break from her duties,
The ticking sound of the clock filled the emptiness of my room. It was mocking me..it was mocking my inability to leave the place.I still had no idea about the red moon or what Alpha Orion was planning. For some reason, my mind went straight to one person...Flora. The girl I found near the river, I did not know why but there was something about her that made me want to spill everything to her...all the things I could never imagine telling a soul. Those were her words that gave me the strength to talk to Alpha Orion for the first time. It was her because of whom I was able to speak in front of Alpha Orion. I could not leave the mansion but it did not mean I had to stay in the room. With all the thoughts inside my head, I started walking aimlessly out of the room. The walls, the hallways everything was a reminder that I did not belong there. People were not bothered by my presence anymore, at first they were curious...but with time I became someone who just lived in the mansi
Time was running out. Red moon was approaching fast....just two months and I had no idea about it. I knew nothing about the stories except for the one told by Bernadette. The story she told me...had many flaws. Werewolves were not weak, they could defend themselves. A pack no matter how peaceful they were... could have protected themselves. Someone should have survived. I glanced at the clock...it was 10 am. I had to wait for another hour. I knew Bernadette's routine by heart...she would leave in almost an hour for the pack visit. The more days I spent in the pack..the better I understood why this pack was strong and working so smoothly. Everything was planned.......planned by Alpha Orion. He had his eyes and ears everywhere. He had given the duty of keeping an eye on me to Bernadette, they both were sure I would not leave the mansion without asking the Alpha. Especially after what happened yesterday...I knew Alpha was looking at me, he was checking if I would leave the mansio