THREE

CHAPTER: THREE

ARYA WAYNE

I only had one week to prepare for my 19th birthday party, and I had no idea how I was going to do it. I finally gained enough courage to talk to my friend Emily about my situation; she was connected, and I was sure she would help me organize my birthday party.

“You called me; I thought something happened to you; you know, I heard what happened the other day, and I thought something happened to you; I was worried about you,” Emily said as we had a conversation a few days after the forest ordeal.

“What happened?” I asked obliviously, and she chuckled.

“You are acting like you don’t know what I am talking about; you forget I am a beta wolf and I can sense if you are lying to me, and by the way, I know you have been lying to me all this time; how long have we been friends, Arya?” She asked with a disappointed look, and I sighed.

"I know lying isn’t good but I was doing it to protect myself. With just my father and mother killed by humans and the fact that I had no pack—I was only taken in by the red crescent pack but mine was destroyed—I didn’t have friends—just one friend who was always busy with her other group friends, I had no mate or at least wasn’t hopeful of getting one, what would you have done if you were in my position?"

“Lying to you about what exactly? I don’t understand.” I said it, acting like I didn’t know what she was talking about.

“About who you are, Arya!” She said it almost in a shout, and I sighed.

“Okay, this is new; I thought I told you everything that you needed to know about me; I didn’t know I was hiding something.”

“I know for a fact that you have been lying to me! Your only friend, you thought I wouldn’t find out that you are a half-blood wolf? I asked around and it turns out your mom was human, but all this time you never told me you were an omega, huh?”

“First, I don’t think I owe anyone any explanation about how I handle my business, and second, I already told you that my mom was killed, which is why my dad and I had to move here. I didn’t think mentioning that she was human was that important anyway.”

“I know that is your business, but I am your friend, and you are supposed to talk to me!”

“I am sorry I didn’t find the courage to tell you how unwanted, despised, and alone I was! I am sorry that I never got the chance to tell you that I am a half-blood wolf whose mom was human but was killed by humans; I am sorry that I am always alone and I am turning 19 in a week but I still haven’t found my mate; I am sorry that I find it hard to share my problems and miseries; I am sorry that I always feel left out; I am sorry.” I said, and I didn’t realize that I was crying until she pulled me into a hug.

I know I was overreacting and channeling my anger and frustrations to the wrong person, but it was worth it; I felt at ease like everything I was going through was over, and felt like a new person.

“I am sorry that you are going through all that, but I am your friend, and I am always here, and I am always going to be here.” She said, As you help wipe the tears that are flowing down my cheeks, I have to pull myself together.

“It is okay. I am sorry that I said all that to you. I didn’t have to do that. I am sorry.”

“I understand, there is nothing to be sorry about, and you don’t have to feel alone because you haven’t found your mate yet. I found mine at 19 too, and I wasn’t in a hurry, so don’t worry, everything is going to be fine. Who knows? You might find your mate on your birthday too; speaking of which, I can help you arrange for the party and I will invite everyone; I got you.” She said, and I smiled.

“Thank you; I don’t know, but I will see to that.”

“Yeah, just be hopeful; our Alpha Leo hasn’t found a mate, and who knows? He might be your mate?”

“I doubt that is ever going to happen; Leo doesn’t like me, and he has never shown any interest in me.”

“It is not about showing interest; it is about the moon goddess's choice, and if she says you are his mate, there is no walking away from that.”

“Okay, let's wait and see; I hope I won’t be disappointed on my birthday again,” I said, and she patted my shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t worry; as long as I am around, you shouldn't be worried about anything. How about we go have some dinner?”

I was glad to have her as a friend. We spent the rest of the evening catching up and talking about girly stuff, and when night fell, she took me out to dinner and drove me home.

***During the birthday party***

Surprisingly, there was a huge turnout at my birthday party, not as I had anticipated but still a good sign that my life was finally having meaning. No one showed up for my birthday parties, not even party crashers or the people I had invited myself, but on that day, Emily made my dream come true.

There were a lot of people; I didn’t even know how she made it possible, but for the first time in my life, my birthday was attended by lots of people. There were people all over, music, drinks, and games of all kinds.

“I told you everything would be okay; come on, stop sitting all by yourself, come with me, and let me get you a drink.” She said as she dragged me to the bar, but I spotted Leo on our way.

“Wait, is that Leo?” I asked as I stopped in my tracks to point at him and a group of his friends seated at the far end.

“Wow? I thought he wasn’t coming; I asked him if he would grace us with his presence, and he said he didn’t have time. I guess he made you an exception; you are one lucky girl.” She said so and walked over to the bar, and I followed her.

“Two shots of vodka, please.” She said to the girl serving the drinks, and I shook my head, Oh, come on girl, it is your 19th birthday and you should enjoy it; you know you only live once, right? She urged me, and I shrugged as I chugged down the drink and closed my eyes indistinctively.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned back to come face-to-face with Alpha Leo. He had never spoken to me, and I felt a rush through my body as I turned back to face him, “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if I could have a dance with you.” He said, and I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. Alpha Leo was asking for a dance, and I didn’t know what to say. I was surprised.

“Just go before he changes his mind; he rarely dances with anyone,” Emily whispered in my ears, and I smiled then stood up to follow him.

“I didn’t know the Alpha danced with a nobody like me; I mean, look at me, I don't even fit in your class, yet here we are,” I said as soon as we got to the dance floor. Everyone was surely staring at us and wondering what I had done to win him over.

Not to lie, but I felt safe in his arms, and even though I was shy, I was able to keep up with his moves.

“I just wanted to dance with the birthday girl; is that a bad thing too? You know I am not as bad as people think I am right.” He said as he gently held my waist as we danced to the music.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t say yes to that because I don’t know that, and people are staring at us, especially the girls; they are lusting after you,” I said as I noticed the girls looking at us.

“Just forget about them and focus on us right here, so how are you now?”

“I just turned 19 with no mate,” I said, not realizing I said it loudly.

“Yeah, I know, and you thought I didn’t know about you after all the years you have stayed in my pack? I know a lot about you, Arya. What if I told you that you were my mate?” He said, Stop dancing, and I turned to look at him.

“I don’t think this is a good time to play games,” I said, and he pulled me close to himself and asked me to look at him. When I looked into his eyes, there was an involuntary dilation; his iris glowed red, and I felt my eyes turning to a faint blue before I broke the gauze and looked away surprised.

"No, this can’t be true!" I said to myself.

“Yeah, that is what I thought too.” He said, bringing me back from my reverie. I was confused. “I need to use the bathroom,” I said, but before he could utter a word, Alpha Kai walked in, and everyone turned to look at him.

“This is not good! This is not good!” I said, and Leo rubbed my hands reassuringly.

“Go be with Emily; I will deal with this.” He ordered me, and I had no choice but to walk away. I wanted to get some fresh air from the extreme joy, happiness, and confusion surging through my body. I just could not believe what had just happened.