3: A sacrifice

There were gasps from everyone around. I stood still with wide eyes, throwing my hands over my mouth as blood oozed from the marks on Hilton's face while Ryan stood with clenched fists, panting hard. His eyes were a bright red and that meant his wolf was near.

Hilton immediately bowed his head, "I'm sorry sir, I won't let that happen again." Ryan was still breathing heavily, his claws still out when he turned to leave, exiting the arena and leaving everyone to wonder what had just happened, especially me.

"You fools, back to work!" Hilton barked orders, standing to his feet. 

I couldn't meet his gaze as he approached me, "and you, clean that mess up."

"Yes Hilton." I nodded fast. 

Stacey came to my side to assist me in cleaning up the pieces of stone that were once a statue. "What the fuck was that about?" 

"I don't know." I shook my head, still trying to recover from the shock.

Casper came to join us, "are you okay? You almost got yourself killed, what were you doing?" He asked as he heaped the stones into a huge bucket.

"I don't know,  the statue just lost its balance and..."

"And Ryan fucking Powers was there to save you out of nowhere! Did you see his claws? He was being protective of you, oh my God, what if you're his mate?" She gasped.

"That's stupid and impossible. He did the bare minimum, any sensible man would have stopped Hilton from hitting Nadeline." Casper frowned, correcting her.

"Casper is right, I didn't even know when he walked in here." We had a bucket filled with stones and all three of us lifted our buckets and headed out of the arena to dump the stones in the yard.

"Uh, I don't think you guys realise who we're talking about here, Ryan doesn't do the bare minimum, he does what he fucking wants and what he wants is Nadeline." Stacey continued with her fantasy, "fuck, I'd be the best friend to the alpha's Luna." She squealed.

"I think you're forgetting omegas cannot find their mates." I rolled my eyes.

"But alphas can! And just because omegas can't know their mates, doesn't mean they don't have one." She continued to blabber. 

"You know what, enough of this. Let's just clean up before I anger Hilton even more than he already is." We returned to the arena to fill our buckets once more.

"How do you feel about turning nineteen on the very day of the bloodmoon festival?" Stacey asked me when we were done for the day and heading home.

"That's not until next month, I'll let you know by then." I chuckled. 

"Um, need I remind you that next month is tomorrow, and your birthday is literally just three days away." 

"Good job calendar." I teased, "Listen, I don't know yet, I'm just glad we'll get to see the festival this year, I want to know everything that happens in there." 

"Me too! It's also the night when Alpha Park hands over to Ryan." She hugged herself, "damn, it's going to be one long reign but hey as long as he protects us, no big deal."

"I'm going to miss Alpha Park so much." I sighed.

"But you're going to have the alpha as your mate." She nudged her shoulder against mine.

"He's not my fucking mate for the last time, ugh." I said, "we already got off to a weird start, me blurting I was a virgin when he only wanted me to help with some dumb lilies and-"

"Wait, you told him you were a virgin?" Casper chipped in from behind us. Both Stacey and I screamed and hugged each other from being startled.

"Don't sneak up on us like that!" Stacey scolded.

"Sorry but Nadeline, did you really tell him that?" He asked with a frown and I nodded in response. "I knew it. It's no wonder he was being that way with you. That bastard, he thinks he can get everything he wants. Stay away from him Nadeline, he is only trying to get you for what you might be able to give him, I know him." Casper warned.

"Wait, so all I have to do to get with him is lie that I'm a virgin?" Stacey chipped in, "sign me up."

"Shut up." Casper and I said simultaneously. 

I thought about Caspers words and wondered if I should tell them about the way he had touched my face. 

'Why don't you tell them how turned on that made you instead?' Aela mocked me and I just ignored her.

"Hey, should we go on a run?" Casper suggested, "I haven't let my wolf out all week, he's dying to come out." 

"I'm in!" Stacey jumped in excitement.

"Uh-oh better be careful." I warned Casper, "I think she's on heat. You don't want your wolf mating with hers and having the most talkative pups." 

"I'm not in heat!" Stacey frowned, slapping my back playfully.

"Come on." Casper urged.

"But it's so dark outside, aren't you guys tired after today's hard work?" I groaned.

"We are wolves, a.k.a predators, we will be fine. Come on, don't be such a loser." Casper smiled at me and lifted me off my feet, hurling me around his neck and running out of the omega quarters with Stacey while I screamed to be put down. 

We wandered up the hill and stood there. "We will race into the woods and back, and call it a night." Casper called and Stacey and I nodded.

We all shifted into our wolves and howled at the full moon for a good minute. Naturally, all omegas had gray fur and were smaller than normal wolves but that was not the case for Stacey or Casper. Stacey's wolf was dark brown like all the wolves from her original pack and Casper's was black like all warrior wolves in our pack. 

"Ready?" Casper asked through our mind link and we were eager to go.

Aela was happy to be free again and ran faster than Casper and Stacey's wolf. She howled all the way through the forest and into the woods while Casper and Stacey caught up. It felt like freedom.

As we drew further into the woods, I asked through the link, "wait, do you guys hear something?"

"What?" Stacey wondered.

"Lower your heads." I ordered, "don't make any sounds."

They did as I said and the voices became clearer. Our wolves could hear much better than we could and so even though the voices were speaking in hushed tones, we could clearly make their words out. 

"Ryan, we really should just move the festival or skip it this year." An unidentifiable male voice pleaded.

"Never!" Ryan growled, "not the year when I'm to be made Alpha." 

"But the pack could be in danger." The other person said.

"The warriors will protect everyone, I'll be alpha and I won't let anything happen to my pack. The festival will hold." Ryan argued.

"But people will die." 

"After all, sacrifices should be made every once in a while, they will be the sacrifice to my reign, the festival will hold regardless." Ryan said in conclusion.