Jayson moved away from me as fast as he could like I had suddenly come down with some kind of contagious disease.
I swallowed down the hurt I felt at his action. I'd thought I had some time before things started to change between us.
Apparently, I'd been wrong.
Mrs Smith walked in, looking at me like I was the annoying gum stuck under her shoe. Deciding she had seen enough of me, she focused her attention on her only son.
"You look good, darling," She complimented, wearing a warm smile on her face.
"Thanks mother," Jayson replied warmly. I felt a little envious as I watched her fuss over Jayson 's jacket, asking if he was comfortable with it.
I had never known what a mother's love felt like. While Mrs. Smith might not be so fond of me, I had to admit she was a wonderful mother to both her children.
And she was a wonderful Luna to the rest of the pack as well.
"I don't know how the pack members would take their new Alpha spending so much time with a woman behind closed doors." She reprimanded. "A woman who was neither mated to him nor his mate."
I should be used to her condescending words by now, but only the goddess knew I wasn't. I didn't know why I longed for this woman's love and affection.
She had shown me time and again how far fetched my dreams were.
"Mother..." Jayson started, before trailing off. There was nothing he could say to change her opinion of me that he hadn't already said. She disliked me because she thought I wasn't worth his kindness. Not when to her, I was a bad influence, getting him in a lot of trouble and fights.
She wasn't wrong though. Jayson just couldn't bear the thought of someone disrespecting me. It was why I tried to keep him away from the complication that was my life as much as possible.
"Don't start now, Jayson ." Mrs Smith stated, brushing invisible dirt off his jacket. "It's good you're finally ready to take your place as Alpha of the pack. Maybe then you would be too occupied to be fooling around with someone who would never be worthy enough to be your mate."
I felt as though I'd been slapped.
"Mother!" Jayson scolded, moving away from her whilst staring at her in shock.
I stared at her in shock as well, but only because it was the first time she was openly insulting me in front of him.
"You're raising your voice, Jayson !" Mrs Smith half yelled. "You're raising your voice at me, all because of her!"
"I should probably go." I said softly, before turning and walking out of the room. I didn't want Jayson to have a fight with his mother because of me.
I walked downstairs, moving my way past the crowd, pausing occasionally to admire the portraits of Jayson on the walls. It was a bittersweet moment for me. I was so proud of him and the man he was becoming, but a part of me still wanted him all to myself.
I, of course, knew that if I truly did love him, I would let him go. It was just as well that he had no idea of my feelings for him.
And he never would.
The tears came then.
***
The party was in full swing hours later, music blasting through the speakers as people made small talk. A group of teen werewolves talked and laughed loudly at one end of the room, while the adults chatted softly at the other.
"I just knew you would be all by yourself," A voice said from behind me.
I turned from my place on a barstool to look at one of my closest female friends who also happened to be Jayson 's younger sister.
"Done being a party butterfly?" I asked Pamella, taking a sip of my drink.
She rolled her big eyes at me, asking the bartender for a cold drink. "For now, anyways. My mom might call me to make a few more introductions."
I laughed at the annoyed expression on her face. Favi, as almost everyone called her, hated it when her mother felt the need to introduce her to almost everyone at almost all the elaborate parties they threw.
I tucked a stray strand of my hair, discreetly scanning the makeshift dance floor for Jayson . "Lemme guess, she's introducing you as the new Beta female of the pack."
"Exactly!" Favi retorted in agreement. "Wait, how did you know that?"
I shrugged my shoulders, fixing my gaze back on her when I realized Jayson wasn't in the room. "It sounds like her."
Pamella nodded in agreement, her eyes moving around the room. "I don't see Belinda anywhere."
"Right here!" My second closest shewolf called, taking a seat between Favi and myself. "No offense Favi, but I seriously think your mom may be after my life."
I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes. It was purely Belinda to exaggerate. I pushed my drink to her so she could have a sip. "She introduced you to everyone too?"
"Yeah," Belinda confirmed, shaking her head. "Makes me a little scared for what might happen on the actual inauguration ceremony."
Although Jayson was turning twenty-five today and was going to take over the pack from his father, he would officially become the Alpha a week after his birthday. A new werewolf council would be selected as well.
Pamella and her mate, Josh were going to be the new Betas of the pack and Belinda and Luke the new Gammas. There would be a new pack doctor, healer, seer, and lead warrior. The former members of the council would then become the new Elders of the pack.
"I might have to come up with some excuse to miss it," Favi stated. "I'm being very serious on that." There was no way Mrs Smith wouldn't know she was faking.
The conversation moved on to what they would wear for their inauguration ceremony and the preparations the pack was coming up with.
"You're going to be there right?" Belinda asked, even though we all knew the question she was asking was if my step mother would let me attend. I had worked so hard to be able to be here for Jayson 's birthday party.
"Of course." I replied with a level of confidence I didn't completely feel. I just knew I would do whatever it took to be there.
Much later, the party came to an end. I said my goodbyes to Favi and Belinda before walking around the house looking for Jayson .
"He took his wolf out on a run." Luke imformed me when he noticed me searching everywhere for him.
I could feel my heart beat harshly against my rib cage. "Is everything okay?" I questioned, aware that Jayson wouldn't just do something like that on a day like this.
"I'm not sure." He answered bluntly and then walked away. That was all the sign I needed from him. Something had definitely upset Jayson , I thought as I made my way home.
But what in the moon goddess's name could it have been?
I didn't see Jayson for about three days after his birthday party. It was almost the longest I had gone without seeing him. He showed up by the lake where we normally met each morning on the fourth day. Neither of us said a word to each other, only shifting into our wolves and taking a long run in the forest, letting our wolves bask in the cool air. When we were exhausted, we shifted back and got dressed separately before sitting side by side by side on the dock in comfortable silence. I stared off into the lake, reflecting on how strong our friendship had gotten over the years. Jayson had been my best friend since the day he'd met me crying by the river bank after my dad had died when I was six. I could still remember that day like it was only yesterday. He'd shared his cookies with me and made a lot of funny expressions until I had forgotten for a spell that I had just lost my father. We'd become inseparable after that even though many, my stepmother an
I got back home a little after dawn to my stepmother waiting outside the house for me. I didn't need a seer to let me know she was already in a bad mood. The deal had been that I could go for my early morning runs as long as I got back home on time. Apparently, I had been a second late. "You do know that you're such an ungrateful child, right?" She sneered at me from where she sat by the porch. I was turning twenty three in a few weeks but sure, let's go with that. She continued when I kept mute. "I asked just one thing of you when you were seeking permission to be going on your stupid runs, " Her voice was getting louder. "Get back home on time, but no, even that is too much to ask." Sometimes I wondered why I put up with all her shit. Then I remembered I had promised my dad I would try as much as possible to be at peace with my stepfamily and keep us all together. Plus an annoying family who ensured everyday of your life was a living hell was bette
I was extremely exhausted. I didn't think I'd ever been this exhausted in all my life. Sweat trickled down my face, my whole body was sore and I had not had a single meal since this morning. Although the last part was solely because my stepmother had warned that she she didn't want to catch me 'lazing around'. The inauguration ceremony was tomorrow and the entire pack was getting ready for it. And I mean The. Entire. Pack. It was definitely going to be a grand event. Blue Moon Pack was known for its high reputation as it was the only pack in the whole of Astoria. About a quarter of the other packs in Aregon where going to be in attendance. Everyone was busy with one job or the other. The base of the pack which was where the main event was taking place had been arranged. The lakes had been cleaned, the bushes had been trimmed, every house in the pack had been put in order. I wasn't even able to go through the whole chaos with my friends since they were wit
It was dark out but times like these, I was thankful for my night vision. I knew this place like the back of my palm given that Jayson and I explored all the secret places to his house and also marked the blind spot of the guards. Maybe it's something he should look into when he becomes Alpha. Another reason why Jayson was fit for the position. We spent our childhood secretly exploring the whole pack and we know all the hiding spots. It was barely 6a.m and here I was, sneaking into my best friend's room. Talk about Twilight love story but I couldn't help it. I had this strong feeling to see Jayson right now. Who knows when I might have the chance again? Belinda and Favi are convinced that we all have eachother but I guess they didn't understand well enough the work they were taking up. It was either that or I didn't believe them when they said we would still be there for each other. I was in my wolf form with my clothes hanging between my teeth. I silently creeped towards Jayso
The rest of the day passed by in a blur. As I expected, I was too busy running errands to attend the inauguration and while a part of me felt sad, I tried to butter it up with Jayson 's promise. Once it was 9a.m, my stepmother and stepsisters were already dressed up. June and Bethany were so extravagantly dressed that if I didn't know better, I'd say they were going there to seduce the royal's son. My stepmother took care of them a lot. "Oh, Ella," June sighed as she ran her hands down her gown feeling like those princesses in movies. Her blonde hair was nearly packed and her make-up was light and beautiful. I wondered how Jayson would look at me if I dressed up like that. "I feel so sorry for you," I rolled my eyes, getting ready to head out to assist in the inauguration but behind the scenes. "If you had that much time to talk, you'd be on your way already," I wasn't going to give her the reaction she expected from me. She probably wanted me to be jealous, sad and maybe even
I could feel uneasiness from within me. My wolf wanted a run. I, on the other hand, wanted to let out some steam. I wanted to scream as loud as I could where no one could hear me. I continued with my chores and finished up quickly after which I made it back home. My stepsisters and Stepmom were out so I had the whole house to myself. Good. I didn't think I could handle seeing any of them anyways. I grabbed an apple on the way to my room and bit into it with enough force that could as well tear into someone's skin. Why did he make me wait for him? Last night I tried to come up with excuses but when I woke up this morning, none of them made any sense to me. I finally got to my room and I closed the door behind me, I inhaled deeply and I caught a whiff of a scent in the air. "What are you doing?" "Ah!" I yelped in fright as my eyes flew open. I held Favi's curious gaze and it took a while for my racing heart to calm down. "Favi! Don't scare me like that." I warned. "What are you
"Ella! Do I have to come drag you out myself or come serve you tea? Get out of bed this instant, these chores won't do themselves!" my stepmother yelled right in front of my door, slapping my door quite hard. I've been awake since 6a.m, staring at my ceiling as my heart sank deeper and deeper into the empty hole that had presented itself ever since Jayson stood me up. It had been two days now and I was yet to set my eyes on him. I placed a hand over my beating heart with my face in a straight but sad look. This heart was just for pumping blood, yet how come it hurt so much when I thought about Jayson ? Scientists say love is a chemical reaction that "Oxytocin" is released in the brain so why didn't it hurt there instead? I rubbed my chest, trying to get to my heart and console me from there. I made up my mind to keep Jayson out of my mind but it was easier to think about it than for it to register in my subconsciousness. I just couldn't carry on like this. The countdown for the
“Back when I was 12, I had a best friend. Her name was Maria. She was kind and she had a beautiful heart and I loved spending time with her. she wasn't like all the other friends that mother had forced on me. she didn't spend hours talking about her manicure, she was a servant’s daughter.’’ Patricia started, sitting down in the bed next to me and rubbing my shoulders. “ I remember her,’’ Aria said. “ Maria was Darren’s little sister.’’ there was an expression behind her face when she spoke Darren’s name. From what I know, Darren was the boy that area was in love with before she met her mate. I was not sure where they were headed with this conversation but I was certainly curious. “Well, as you could guess, my mother disapproved of my friendship with Maria. She said that a noble's daughter can never be friends with the servant's daughter. She spoke of it like it was an abomination. like it would slander and dirty the alphas name. I was stubborn. I was really stubborn and my actions