April
Six hours ago
Scott takes the ring from Alpha Kelvin, which symbolizes the power and title of Alpha, indicating that today, he will officially become the Alpha of our Blue Amber Pack, before he swears in his young but powerful voice.
“I solemnly swear that I will protect and lead this pack with all my might and do everything in my power to assure the members of this pack a safe and comfortable life.”
If he has shifted and is about to take his position as the new Alpha, it means that he would have been able to find his mate.
Finishing his long speech about his duties, the elder turns towards the crowd with spread arms, “Members of the Blue Amber Pack, please bow down to your new Alpha.”
The crowd gasps in unison as the bond snaps into place, Scott clenching his jaw before he flashes the crowd another one of his gorgeous smiles. We all bow deeply, baring our necks in respect.
“Are you ready to tell us who your Luna is?” the elder asks, turning towards Scott and making my heart still in my chest.
Scott nods, his gaze meeting mine. I feel everyone's gaze on me, my heart racing in my chest as my nervousness expands in my chest.
A special connection seems to link Scott and me, which leaves me a little confused, because it is not my birthday today, and there are still months left until I will shift, so I shouldn't be able to feel the mate bond.
An invisible force like a wave brings me closer to Scott's spirit, and I feel happy about the connection, as it can only mean one thing: I am Scott's mate.
He holds our eye contact for a long moment before he lifts it, holding out his hand to someone in the back of the crowd. And not me.
My blood turns cold. Why does he ignore the connection between us?
Am I hallucinating?
“Hailey,” his deep baritone voice rumbles through the air, shattering my heart in a million pieces as I turn around to look at Hailey smiling back happily at him.
I can't believe how everything I just felt crumbles into nothingness.
My thoughts spiral as the crowd cheers in joy, and she lifts her long skirt to join her mate on the stage while my eyes well up with tears.
Hailey is a new member of our pack. She is popular among our male members because of her beauty, and it is not something that should be blamed or discussed.
But I have seen her other female followers treat girls who can't match with their group in a awful way. Hailey never does this with her own hands, but she watches the bullying with a playful expression.
And my disruption of their activities just made them hate me more.
I force down the urge to let emotions overwhelm me in front of everyone, breathing slowly to calm my racing heart.
I act as if nothing happened, forcing up a smile and clapping my hands as Hailey bumps into me.
“Oh, April. Sorry, I’m being so nervous that I get clumsy,” Hailey giggles in her high-pitched voice.
“Don’t worry,” I smile sadly, taking another step out of her way.
She tilts her head at me and I feel the soil tremble as Scott must have jumped down the stage to reach us.
“Don’t you want to congratulate me? I just got proclaimed your Luna!” She smiles mockingly, my heart twisting at the desperation I am feeling at this outrageous situation and his scent enveloping me.
“April, don’t act like this!” Scott reprimands me in an annoyed tone.
“Don’t ruin this special day for everyone.”
“Of course not,” I say, hating how my eyes well up with tears.
“Congratulations, Hailey.”
“Oh, please call me Luna!” she giggles again, making me feel even more humiliated.
“Congratulations, my Luna,” I say through gritted teeth, my voice shaking because of the sobs fighting their way up my throat.
Hailey smiles happily and passes me without even sparing me another glance.
Feeling paralyzed with shock, I watch Hailey reach Scott and greet him with a kiss. He takes her hand, and together they get back up onto the stage.
Under the pitiful looks of the people around me, I excuse myself and walk away.
I know exactly that this is highly disrespectful behavior and that I would have probably been punished for it by the new Alpha and Luna, but at this moment I couldn’t care less.
As soon as I’m far enough from the crowd, I start running, holding up the skirt of my long gown to prevent me from stumbling over it. I feel stupid as I made my mother buy it for this occasion, only to look good for him.
Reaching a small cage, I don’t care about how I would ruin the dress as I crawl into the narrow space.
I sit at the end of the cave, burying my head into my arms as I pull my legs closer and cry my heart out.
My heart hurts so much and I feel so incredibly stupid. I don’t even notice how the hours go by as my tears finally stop falling.
Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I take a deep breath and decide to rot in this small cave forever as I hear a giggle outside.
“Hailey?” I whisper to myself, and groan, really not wanting to find my crush making out with that stupid girl.
It is quite a secluded place out here, and I don’t know many people, besides my pathetic ass, who would come out here.
As soon as I’ve crawled out of the cave, I spot Hailey right away.
But she is alone.
I lift a brow and scurry after her, just to see her walking towards the pack’s borders.
“Hailey!” I shout, wanting to stop her. “Wait, it’s dangerous over there.”
Lifting my gown slightly, I run in her direction, looking around constantly to find someone from the border patrol.
‘Where are they?’ I ask myself as I pick up my speed to reach her.
“Hailey!” I call again, but she doesn’t seem to be able to hear me.
“Hailey, the pack’s territory ends there. Do not cross the border!”
She looks back at me from a distance but doesn't stop.
Just as I’m getting closer to her, I hear a rustling in the trees and I stop to lift my gaze, turning around to spot who it might be.
A scream resounds from the direction in which Hailey went and I turn my head panicky just to see a shadow in the corner of my eyes.
I don’t even get to react in time as I get tackled out of nowhere and hit my head as I fall onto the ground. With a groan, I try to get up, but my body gives out, and I get enveloped in darkness.
Scott“Huh?” Liam looks at me wide-eyed, annoying me even more. “Get the fuck out of my office,” I growl, and his confused face falls, morphing into a disgruntled expression. “Sure… As you wish, Alpha,” he snarls back, and I ball my hand into a fist, ignoring the disrespect with how he sneered my title. Pushing out a deep breath of relieve as he leaves my room, I stare at the closed door for a few heartbeats before I try to concentrate on my documents once again. But it doesn’t take long until I get distracted again by my own thoughts, and soon enough, I call it a day. After putting my files away, I take a bottle of bourbon out of the bottom drawer and pour me a bit of the amber liquid into a crystal glass. With a sigh, I take a slow sip, closing my eyes as I lean back in the seat. I enjoy the alcohol gliding down my throat, triggering a burning sensation and I distort my face as I put the glass onto the desk. ‘So, what are we doing?’ my wolf asks me, slurring his words as his
Scott“Is there something you need to tell me?” Liam asks me. His expression has lost all its smugness as he looks up at me with a void expression. “About April, I mean.” He adds the phrase as if it were nothing. And still he gets my heart to nearly explode. What the fuck is happening with me? I fucking rejected her. The gears turn over and over in my head, my brain calculating the risks of just telling him all. Maybe it would be good to talk it out. Maybe it wouldn’t be that serious anymore. Maybe he could beat some sense back into me… “There is nothing to talk about,” I finally say, redirecting my eyes to the documents and hoping that he will understand and see that the conversation is over. Or at least get that I don’t want to talk about it. Whatever it is.But as the stubborn best friend he is, he gets onto his feet and leans against the desk, lowering his voice. “Scott, if there is something going on with April, I as your Beta need to know about that.” I take up my p
Scott“The omegas were whispering something quite interesting in the hallways.” I can hear the grin in his voice even if I keep my eyes glued to the documents spread before me, avoiding looking at him. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I murmur in an annoyed tone, but he only chuckles before practically jumping into the seat standing in front of my desk. “Did the traitor say something regarding our warriors?” he asks, and I finally lift my gaze to see that he is looking at me with big eyes. His dark irises nearly sparkling in expectation. “She wasn’t able to tell me anything. She is still searching for the cause,” I say with a sigh, hoping he would just go away. But it is to no avail. He has always been the obtrusive kind. “So, she couldn’t tell you why our warriors’ health conditions are deteriorating and why their wolves stopped healing them properly?” His grin grows, and I really can’t see where he wants to get at. “Hm-mhm,” I answer with a hum as I lean my head o
April “Oh, stop it,” I groan as Daisy pushes herself off the seat, gasping. “No! Listen to me!” She screams before lowering her voice dramatically. “I drank that tea too.” “Everybody drank from that tea,” I shake my head, as she lets herself fall back into the chair. “Do you want to go on and be dramatic about it or do you want to talk about what happened in the library?” Daisy pouts, crossing her hands as she bounces in her seat. “Why? What happened in the library?” I chuckle, taking another sip of the tea, and I must admit that it is indeed delicious. “Alpha Scott waited until Beta Daniel had left the room to fetch us something to drink and came in to talk to me,” I hold the cup in front of my face, watching her smugly as she turns her head at me, looking intrigued. Even if she is still pursing her lips, wanting to play it cool. “And what did he say?” she asks. I clear my throat, shifting in my seat. “He wanted to talk about his warriors and the process of the treatme
April ‘I don’t think that we should drink that,’ Beta Daniel warns me via our mindlink, and as if the warrior was able to get it, he flashes us a big smile. “Ana was so kind to bring us all a cup of this delicious tea,” he gushes, and I sigh. Beta Daniel rolls his eyes, accepting one of the cups she is holding under his nose with an uncomfortable smile and takes a small sip with an exaggerated slurp. I giggle lowly, hiding my lips behind the border of the cup as he hums theatrically, “It is indeed one of the best teas I have ever had.”Turning towards me, he broadens his smile, his expression turning nearly grotesque. “Right, April?” Coughing as the sip I took went into the wrong pipe, I nod repeatedly, holding my hand on my chest. “Yes. Yes, definitely one of the most delicious. Thank you so much, Ana.” Ana beams up at us, smiling so brightly that I fear her face is going to disintegrate on itself. “Oh, I am so glad. I am going to tell Scott that you liked it right away.” With
April I stretch as we walk out of the library under the curious gazes of the omegas who are acting as if they are dusting the shelves and the insanely boastful statues. Chuckling to myself, I hug my book closer, walking faster through the long hallways of the dimly lit packhouse. As I have forgotten the time during my research, it’s already dark outside, and it has always been this dark also in the pack house as the Luna loved this mood. So the former Alpha kept it like this even long after her death. And I guess Alpha Scott just waddled along. “Has the pack house always been this depressing?” Beta Daniel asks, making me laugh. I nod as we turn into the hallway that leads to our quarters. “It’s because the late Luna, Alpha Scott’s mother, loved thunderstorms, so this lighting arrangement was made to make her happy.” “Ugh,” he scrunches up his face, his gaze still directed to the hallway in front of us. “I didn’t know that those bastards could be that cute.” I laugh, “Yeah, but