Valkyrie Behati
The smell of different canvases filled my nose as I walked around the hotel where our masterpieces were displayed as if we were inside an exhibition.
I was already dressed in my white casual dress while carrying a large brown envelope and observed numerous artists walking around while checking out other’s work.
Everyone seemed so skilled and professional. I could hear them talk about their experiences with other competitions, they have been painting for so long.
I clutched my chest and breathed heavily. I don’t feel like I belong here, I just started to grasp my dream, everything I see or hear right here overwhelms me.
Shaking my head, I decided to sit at the back. I checked the time on my wrist, and the awarding will take place any minute now.
“Alright, everyone! Before we start the awarding, we would like you to meet our special guests today, the chosen four commanders and the Alpha king!” I heard the host speak, just as I expected.
Unfortunately, my heart sank after hearing her statement. The shock was spreading throughout my body because this didn’t happen before.
I read the news about this competition during my second life and the special guests were not them. What is this all about now? Why is everything changing?
All the intimidating presence rose to the stage and waved their hands, the Alpha king, whom everyone was scared about was not there yet.
“They are here because they are going to award the winners for today!” the host added.
I bit my lower lip because Giovanni was there with Laine, I couldn’t believe they were going to attend this, it hadn’t happened before.
My hands kept caressing the envelope that I was holding. I knew what the result of this competition was but seeing them up there made me anxious.
The awarding started from lowest to highest. My eyes kept roaming around upstage, I hoped nothing would change in the result.
“And the champion for this year's painting contest is…Soluna!” The speaker cheered so everyone started clapping their hands while darting their eyes around the room, trying to look for the winner.
I smiled before breathing heavily. I was worried about nothing. Even if I already heard this announcement before, I couldn’t help but feel so good about myself.
While I was busy internally celebrating, all the commanders stood up to check out my masterpiece. Giovanni looked like he was impressed.
“Oh wow, that’s a perfect illustration of the red mountain! And the moonlight shown on it is exactly what I see at the other side of the city!” He stated, which surprised me.
I didn’t know he could manage to praise me like that. Oh, that’s right, he does not know I made that art. This one would be good.
“Whoever made this must be so talented.” One of the commanders commented. He seemed quite pleased.
“Agreed, he/she is too talented,” Laine claimed. She was happily clapping her hands while looking around the crowd.
Talented? Perfect? I didn’t know they could say such words. I almost wanted to laugh and looked at myself.
Back then, I questioned the purpose of my glamorous makeover, but now its significance was crystal clear. I silently thanked myself for splurging on that makeover and luxurious dress.
With determination, I stood up and strode onto the red carpet, basking in the attention of the wild crowd.
The satisfaction of everyone’s eye turning to me made me even more confident, especially now that Giovanni and Laine’s eyes met mine.
The shock was visible in their eyes when they saw me. I couldn’t help but smirk and join them in the center stage.
“Greetings, I didn’t know you two were capable of such genuine praises.” I whispered and smiled towards them and shook their hands. That’s their job today, congratulating whoever won.
Giovanni’s mouth parted; he was looking at me from head to toe. I almost felt his hands tightening on mine, so I moved away from him before he could even hold me longer.
I didn’t want to go near them, but to see those expressions up close is so satisfying!
“Are you Soluna?” the speaker asked happily, catching my attention.
“I am,” I told her before accepting the award she was giving to me.
“Congratulations! You made such a meaningful art!” she almost squealed, which made me chuckle before thanking her.
I received a medal from one of the commanders, who casually placed it around my neck and congratulated me.
All the people around that specific room started cheering and praising me. Everyone was so pleased with my art. I could feel my heart dancing with joy as I raised my award in the air.
“I think there has been a mistake with awarding, it couldn’t be her that has won.” Giovanni raised his tone from behind that shut everyone up.
Murmurs laced with confusion rose in the air, “What do you mean about that, Commander Gio?”
“She must’ve cheated her way in her, I know her in my pack. She doesn’t even draw or color a paper, just a wolf who does house chores.” Giovanni added.
My eyes widened with what he said. Everyone gasped as if they couldn’t believe what they had heard.
“I beg your pardon?” I raised my tone, which surprised everyone, including him. I bet he was not expecting me to talk back.
“Are you saying that I did not paint that piece to get here? How did you know that? Do I even know you?” I added, trying to intimidate him.
He gritted his teeth, he did not like my chosen words, “Stop lying to everyone, you know me, Kyrie!”
“He is right, we know her in the pack. She is not talented enough to make such a masterpiece.” Laine added to support him which made my blood boil.
Everyone went to check out my painting again, they are starting to have doubts now while looking at me. I couldn’t help but feel more disappointed.
I could even hear people saying that they don’t see me often around many competitions, I couldn't win something that big.
“I made this art; I poured my heart and soul into this.” I almost gritted my teeth.
“Why would we believe you? You always knew how to lie. Prove to us that you made this art, or this award is never yours!” Giovanni harshly took the awards from me which shocked everyone.
I was breathing heavily while feeling my cheeks heating up, I held onto the brown envelope that I was carrying a while ago.
Aside from the glamorous preparation of my makeup and dress, I also did a critical preparation.
During my second life, I was accused of not owning my art because I was new and was forced to draw it on the spot. I don’t want that to happen again.
“I do have a proof.” I raised the envelope, which shocked everyone.
Everyone was silent when I spoke. I noticed that everyone was curious about what’s inside of the envelope, so I took them out.
I made sure everyone would see my drafts on different pages of that white paper. Some were highlights of different colors, and I made sure some were sketches.
“This is my art. I sketched all the important details of my art, if you want, I can do this again right in front of you.”
I glared at Giovanni and he seemed surprised. He couldn’t believe that I had proof on hand. I was internally celebrating that I listened to my paranoid self, but it’s not over yet.
“You can easily sketch those by just looking at the art right now,” Giovanni claimed, making Laine agree with him by nodding her head.
“How on earth would I know this art would win and sketch these drafts immediately on time? I don’t even have paint or pencil with me right now.” I raised my eyebrows.
Everyone was starting to realize that I had a point, it’s just not possible that I stole anything right now.
“You could’ve stolen that from someone, we have to investigate about this.” Giovanni firmly insisted. I couldn’t believe this jerk!
“You can easily sketch those by just looking at the art right now,” Giovanni claimed, making Laine agree with him by nodding her head.
“How on earth would I know this art would win and sketch these drafts immediately on time? I don’t even have paint or pencil with me right now.” I raised my eyebrows.
Everyone was starting to realize that I had a point, it’s just not possible that I stole anything right now.
“You could’ve stolen that from someone! Who knows!” Giovanni firmly insisted. I couldn’t believe this jerk!
I was about to open my mouth again when I felt an intimidating presence behind me.
“What is going on here?” I heard his deep tone that made me gulp. Slowly, I turned my head to the side and locked eyes with him. Those silver-grayish eyes made my knees weak, I felt like I had forgotten how to breathe when he got closer to me. I don’t know what is wrong with me right now.
“She lied about winning this contest, Alpha King.” Giovanni confidently said and bowed at his presence.
Alpha King Alexander squinted his eyes before looking at me. He was observing me from head to toe.
“Lied? Can you please elaborate?” I almost gulped after hearing him demand like that. Why do I feel so uneasy around him?
“She didn’t make this art, she stole the sketches she presented—You know what? I will just remake this art again in front of everyone.” I cut Giovanni off, surprising everyone.
I didn’t let anyone say a word and borrowed brushes, and pens, and sat right in front of everyone. I purposely threw the envelope I prepared away.
My hands shakingly faced the canvas, I shook my head and redid the art I made. It took me almost an hour, and it was done, but I was not satisfied because I swiftly did every stroke.
“Here, I made it, okay? It’s a bit messy 'cause I did it fast-paced.” I breathed heavily and faced everyone with my art. They were all silent, none of them could speak a squeak or word.
“Oh my goodness, to make this art in a span of an hour, you must be truly talented.” the speaker was out of words.
“Commander Gio, do you still think that she lied?” Alpha King Alexander was the one who broke the silence.
I stared at Giovanni, he couldn’t mutter any words. “I think it’s confirmed now that she won this truly, right?”
Alpha Alexander gave me my rewards back, we stared at each other’s eyes and for some reason, I felt extremely anxious around him. A good kind of anxiousness.
He offered his hands, which I accepted. The electricity that flowed shocked me the moment our skins touched but I tried my best to hide my expression.
“Congratulations, you made such a fascinating art.” I was stunned when his lips formed into a smile, everyone gasped, they were reacting in my place because I was so overwhelmed.
“The Alpha king is smiling! Did everybody see that?!” I heard someone screaming.
“T-Thank you,” I mumbled, why is it so hard to speak to him normally? I shook my head and noticed that the Commanders were falling back to their seats since their king was there.
Annoyance spread throughout my body. Are they just going to forget the fact that they made this whole thing a nuisance for me?
“Excuse me? I believe you two still owe me an apology for making false accusations.” Giovanni and Laine looked surprised at what I said.
They think I wouldn’t bite back huh? This is my painting, my masterpiece, I will always fight for it.
“What did you say?!” Giovanni almost raised his tone; he looked extremely furious. What the hell is he mad for?
“You do need to apologize to her, Commander Gio, you did make false accusations.” Alpha King Alexander chimed into our conversation.
Giovanni looked calm on the outside, but if only they knew, his hands were probably bleeding underneath the table because he was clenching his fists.
“I apologize. It was not right.” Giovanni stated while biting his lower lip. I felt like I had won the lottery before smiling.
“Alright everyone, let the party begin!” I heard Alpha Alexander say before sitting on his chair.
To be continued…
Valkyrie BehatiAs the crowd swirled into the grand hotel hall, its atmosphere brimmed with the vivacity of a thousand stories. Shades of beige, cream, and gold adorned every corner, painting an elegant tapestry of celebration.I decided to isolate myself from the crowd because I felt my social battery had worn out until I heard someone speaking on the elevated stage.For some reason, hearing that he wanted to dance with someone made me curious. I decided to roam my eyes around, trying to look for his eyes but I didn’t have a hard time.His gaze was already locked onto mine, a magnetic pull drawing him closer with each step. Emotions surged within me, an unexpected torrent in the midst of the grand affair.My breathing hitched when he got closer, his disheveled jet-black hair made my heart thump and his silver-grayish eyes bore into mine as if he was looking into my soul.Something inside of my stomach ached, I was getting butterflies just by standing this close to him. None of us sai
Giovanni MalfordA lot of things have happened lately and behind all that, I still can’t believe that Kyrie accepted my rejection. I am sure she accepted my rejection because it’s probably one of her tricks for getting me to want to notice her. She was always like that before. I am sure she is waiting for me to go to her and take back what I said. She was hurt by what I did, and she should have been.That is how she is so obsessed with me that she doesn’t realize she is starting to bore me, but she looked extremely different a while ago.Damn it. I didn’t know she could look that breathtaking when I saw her be awarded a while ago. Kyrie was always naturally beautiful, her deep blue sets of eyes complimented her makeover, and she looked so fresh.It almost seemed like she wasn’t affected by the fact that I rejected her. I shook my head, she is affected by it, I am sure of it.Strangely enough, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, especially after we arrived at this party. She is probably
Valkyrie Behati“Your mate? That is such a big responsibility to fake.” I was bewildered. Why on earth did he suddenly think about that?“I have my reasons, you have yours, which I will not force out of you unless you want to share it.” he casually told me.I squinted my eyes and massaged my forehead gently because it was slightly aching, “So if I pretend to be your mate, you’ll protect me?”He nodded proudly, which made me sigh deeply before scratching the back of my head. I have to think about this thoroughly.For the record, I don’t know what is happening in my life right now. This doesn’t align with what I experienced back then in my first and second life.I didn’t meet or interact with him, so now, I am confused as to why I am inside his study room and we’re currently having negotiations.“I don’t need your protection, involving with you might make things messy.” I confidently claimed.“Are you sure about that? Why did you turn pale a while ago?” he raised his eyebrows judgingly,
Valkyrie BehatiHe paused, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that seemed to probe the very space between us. “Why did you think I would hit you, Kyrie?”His voice deepened, tension tightening his jaw. “Did someone hurt you before?”I shifted uneasily, my hand clutching my chest. “I-I... I'm not comfortable talking about it right now. Can someone take me to my room?” I asked, lowering my head.The room was silent when Matt gently led me out of the study. A wave of relief swept over me, grateful that the Alpha King chose not to press the issue.A while ago, the atmosphere had been light and easy. Now, it felt oppressively heavy. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all my fault.“Hey, are you okay?” I flinched when Matt decided to speak beside me, which forced me to look before nodding.“Yeah, I kind of feel bad reacting that way, but can he blame me?” I bit my lower lip before sighing deeply, “You’re probably thinking I am weird now.”He amusingly shook his head, “You ar
Valkyrie BehatiI was making my way toward the meeting hall with Matt, he was the one who gave me all of the things I needed to be prepared for that meeting.For some reason, he wanted me to wear a dress. I was not comfortable with it but decided to wear it either way.After all, my main goal was to piss Giovanni off. My presence together with the Alpha King would do that.Matt was whistling an off-tune song before tapping my shoulders, “Can you tell me something about you?”I turned to him, “What would you like to know? You have already researched about me, I am sure you know half of everything.”“Guilty as charged, is it true that you were rejected recently?” Matt asked, “It’s alright if you are not comfortable to answer it.”“Yes, I was rejected three days ago,” I casually told him, but it seemed like he wasn’t surprised before nodding.“You look like…you’re not affected by it,” he stated the obvious.Me being rejected happened three times already, and it would be strange if I woul
Valkyrie BehatiI woke up when I felt that someone was putting blankets around my body. I opened my eyes slowly and saw him.“A-Alpha King?” I raised my tone, but it broke.He stopped moving before sitting at the edge of the bed, “I heard you were extremely tired and were not feeling well, are you alright now, love?”“I-I think I am.” I rose from the bed and forgot that I removed my dress a while ago and was now half-naked right in front of him.I gasped before hugging myself, “Could you please turn around? I need to make myself look decent.”My mind was still in a daze, maybe it was part of the reason why I was taking this whole situation calmly.“Decent? You look decent to me right now.” Alexander firmly said before pulling me to sit on the side of the bed.I hugged the blanket close to my body while he was pulling me, “I-I am serious, I am half naked right now—then I will remove my top too,” Alexander cut me off and unbuttoned his polo shirt. I watched him casually toss that aside
Valkyrie BehatiThe next day came by, we were finally on our way to Hotel Grandia.I was trying to control myself because I kept fixing my skirt even if there was nothing to fix. Alexander just keeps staring at me.He has been that way ever since we left the mansion. I feel like he does not approve of what I am wearing right now.I should’ve chosen silver instead of cream. I mentally scolded myself and tried to pretend that I was not distracted by his heavy stares.“Alpha, you are making her uncomfortable.” Matt finally broke the silence inside of the limousine, which forced me to shift my gaze toward him.Alexander coughed as if he was trying to compose himself, “What? I am not doing anything, Thew.”“You were staring at her for two hours, five minutes, and thirty seconds. I also have a video of my accusation towards you. Don’t deny it.” Matt firmly stated.I laughed out loud at his statement, my reaction seemed like it surprised them since their eyes shifted toward me.“Tss, fine, t
Valkyrie BehatiWhen cameras started flashing before my eyes, I knew that my whole life would change. Those who spend so much time on social media would not take this lightly.It was a good thing I don’t have any social media accounts for them to stalk. My privacy is safe, especially my past.The cloud pack will probably be surprised if they see this on the news, but I couldn’t care less. They can think whatever they want.Everyone started clapping their hands. Most of them looked confused, but some of them were genuinely happy.Matt was nowhere around so anxiety was spreading across my body until the lights went out. Crap, it’s happening!All of my senses heightened and I felt that Alexander held onto my waist tightly, “This isn’t part of the party,”I didn’t mind his statement and observed our surroundings, I stopped when I felt some eerie presence backstage.When that figure slowly approached us and raised its hands, I swiftly pushed Alexander away. I felt my hands burning after th