01: Caught

AUTUMN:

My head has been aching for quite some time now which should not be happening right now. I had been constantly having headaches and got dizzy sometimes. I did not know what the heck was wrong with me, but one thing was for sure.  I was not allowed to get sick, especially since Dominic, my mate, would be entrusted with the alpha position.

No one knew about our relationship. 

Asked him why, but he said that we should wait for the proclamation while promising me that he would make known to the pack our relationship. 

I was in the hallway, watching the current alpha pulling his hair in frustration, oblivious that the other slaves were watching him while I was in the corner, making myself as small as possible.

Alpha Leo knew his son had a woman, but he did not know it was me.

“Where the heck is Dominic? He should be overseeing the event by now! Slaves!” he exclaimed. His voice was marred with annoyance as if he wanted to strangle his own son by now for being an irresponsible one.

Alpha Dominic of Valor Pack. It was also his dream to be the alpha next to his father and because I loved him, I wanted to support him and stayed low as possible. 

Our love was hidden from anybody and we would only sneak into the forest, shapeshifting into our wolves, do a little run, and then lay naked in the meadow while looking at the stars.

Though he was already mine, there were different scandals including women and fights involving him. They were not true. Dominic promised not to hurt me. 

He was considered the bad boy among all the young alphas in the country which was something I also believed. The worst rumors surrounding him were that he was involved in illegal drugs. Something which I knew was not true. I vowed they were not true. I could put my life on that. But women? That was another story. 

I vouched for myself that those would stay as rumors and nothing else. 

“You!” Alpha Leo called upon seeing me.

I jumped and pointed my hands at myself.

“Y-Yes, Alpha Leo?”

His eyes narrowed.

I gulped.

“You see him?”

I shook my head.

I was also looking for Dominic earlier, but I could not find him.

Sauntering towards him, I answered, “I haven’t, Alpha Leo.”

He muttered a curse under his breath and yanked his hair in frustration.

Dominic could be immature sometimes, but he was dependable. Being an alpha was his dream and I was certain he would not waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

“The visitors will be coming here any moment from now. And where is he? That young boy! I will punish him if this event fails.”

I flinched at the hostility of the ex-alpha’s voice. The only source of his stress right now was his son and no one else. Just his son. 

Imagine his stress reaching the nth level upon learning Dominic and I were already in a relationship. 

The event that Leo, Alpha Dominic's father was referring to by now was the meeting of all the alpha's which will happen tonight. They would likely bring their unmated daughters and Luna by thinking their daughters would find their mates here.

My other unmated pack mates were also dolling themselves.  In the hope that one of the alphas would be their mate. Good for them.

I was glad that I already found mine. My handsome Dominic. I will be ruling beside him after this one. 

“That's good for nothing son. Was it right that I would be stepping down from my position and giving it to him? He was unmated and kept on fooling around. Damn it.”

I clenched my fist.

Alpha or not, he should not say things like that to Dominic. I did not like it when someone said mean words to him. I wanted to scream that I was his mate, but I chose not to. 

Dominic promised that he would announce to everyone that we were mates. 

"You! Come here this instant!”

I jumped at how his voice sounded like thunder.

My boyfriend's father was scary. I always pointed it out to Dominic, but he just laughed it off saying Alpha Leo was always like that. 

With trembling hands, I pointed my fingers to myself. "Alpha?" I asked, my voice almost a whispered

I shifted my weight from foot to foot while playing with my hands. Not having the courage to meet his eyes.

His eyes narrowed.

“Are you the daughter of my gamma who was cheated by his human wife?”

My heart hammered against my chest.

When Dominic and I will wed, I will not be known as Luna but as someone's daughter who cheated on her husband. 

I hated what Mom did to my Dad. 

I hoped people would understand that I was not making my parent's wrong decisions. I was not them!

“Tsked. Poor Amador. I did tell him humans could not be trusted, but he still insisted on marking Rhodora,” he blurted out loud.

Rhodora. That was my human mother whom I did not have any idea where she was right now. She cheated on her mate while saying it was because Father had fooled her. It was already late when she found out that Father was a werewolf. Mother believed werewolves were the work of the devils and that I was also the devil's spawn. 

Now, she was back in the human world, with her new man and had already forgotten about me. 

Did I have a grudge against her? I did not. Since I was young, all I heard was her calling my father and my demons. 

“I hoped that wench had already died. She was the reason why my gamma left too soon in this world.”

It was Mother running away from us that made Father lose the will to live even if I was still here beside him. 

Locking me with his gaze, Alpha Leo stared down at me with pity.

Father and the alpha had an amazing friendship. Their closeness could pass as friends. However, when Father died, it was a custom in our packs that all orphans would become an omega, the lowest rank in our pack. Or you can say we were slaves of this pack.

Well, I did not want anyone's pity. My mate, Dominic, did not stare at me like that. He would accept me for who I was and I hoped he was the one who would visit this pack tonight.

"Who are you again?"

"Autumn Clark, Alpha Leo. You were right. I was the daughter of the union between Amador Clark and Rhodora Clark."

"You look so much like Amador. You’re a hybrid. How old are you?" he inquired. “How could I forget you if you bear his face?”

Alpha Leo was not making this any easier for me at all. Not only him but all my pack mates as well. If I did not make them remember the sad life of the great Amador, then I made them also remember that humans should not be trusted. 

"I am twenty-three, Alpha Leo," I mumbled. And I am also your son's girlfriend, I wanted to add, but stopped myself. 

"Unmated?" he inquired. “If you found your mate, you could return to her status as a free she-wolf.”

This was what I liked about him. Alpha Leo was tough on the outside, but he was warm on the inside.  

I already found him and I was only waiting until we would complete the mating ceremony and I would now be free as a slave and omega of the pack. When Dominic will take the alpha position, I will rub on their faces how the woman whom they branded as a slut for having a cheater mother would be their Luna with whom they will swear their allegiance. 

‘Yeah. I am looking forward to that. We will have the last laugh, Autumn,’ my wolf said in the background.  Like me, she also did not want to be trampled upon. 

"Y-yes, Alpha Leo." However, I did not love Dominic because of that. It was okay for me to become an omega of the pack, as long as he continued loving me and accepting me as his.

“Why am I concerning myself with you? Amador died and it was his fault for loving a human. He brought it upon himself.”

Alpha Leo had the tendency to spit out what he wanted to say without filtering his words. 

My heart constricted. Poor Father. He was always to blame for what happened to him. It was not my mother. But it was always him.

"Look for my son, Alpha Dominic. Tell him I want him to take charge of everything here. I don't want to have any room for mistakes this evening. You hear that?"

I bit my lower lip. "Y-yes, Alpha Leo. C-Can I go now?"

"Why do you always stammer? It's not like I am trying to hurt you."

My heart skipped a bit.

It was true. Alpha Leo did not hurt any omegas unless we committed some sins that had a corresponding punishment.

He looked at the surroundings and saw there were no more servants.

Shifting his attention back to me, he said, “Tell him he should prepare himself. He will be seeing the woman I want him to marry and his uncle will also be there.”

Uncle? Was he referring to Alpha Percival? One of the most feared alphas in the country? He was Alpha Leo’s sibling and rumored that the two had never had any sweet relationship. Above all, Alpha Percival was also considered an outcast, but the alpha seemed not to mind it.

No. Alpha Percival was not the major concern right now. It was Dominic getting married.

It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

“He’s going to get married?” Why did he not tell me? 

“Don’t tell the others about that. And  also Dominic.” Alpha Leo shook his head. “Why did I even tell you about it? Must be your eyes which reminded me of Amador. You have to vow it, omega.”

I bit my lower lip and said, “I vow that no one will know about the alpha’s marriage,” I vowed while my heart felt like it was being ripped to pieces. 

So…it will be a double celebration. Dominic’s being an alpha and his engagement. 

An arranged marriage was something Dominic would never be happy about.  Dominic promised me that it was only because he would be marrying. No one else. 

Alpha Leo suddenly snapped his fingers right in front of me. "Go!"

Without being told twice, I dusted the dust on my skirt and hurried away without having any idea where I would look for Dominic.

Dominic, where are you?

--------------

Down the hallway of the pack house, I looked for Dominic’s presence. No matter where I looked, everyone was busy, and seeing me wandering in the hall raised their eyebrows.

“What a bitch. Did she think she could relax? Who does she think she is? We are almost losing unconsciousness because of the ”

 Some of the girls were in a group, looking for dresses that would make them stand out from the crowd. There was only a small program after the meeting in the conference hall and a little banquet. After that, everyone was free to go wherever they wanted.

I froze when I heard giggles in one of the guest rooms and sniffed Dominic’s scent inside with another unfamiliar scent of a woman.