Chapter 5

Danica

He wouldn't bulge, and he allowed the fake bitch to caress his body. I tried to hold my anger in, but it was more difficult than I could imagine.

I picked up a fork and dragged it on a plate before me on the table. The scratch made a terrible screech that vibrated in the room. They closed their ears with their fingers, frowning at me.

They probably thought I was crazy, hell yeah, I was. As bad as I hated the sound, I did it till my heart was content. I crossed my arm and leaned my elbows on the table, staring at the bitch and motherfucker.

“Why did you do that?” The pink-haired girl glared. Pinkie, it sounded too cute to call a whore like her, but I'll just go with that. She walked toward me. Oh goodness, she'd better not come close to me. Her glare didn’t move me, so I ignored her. 

“Joey, where did you get this psycho? Who the fuck is she?” She asked Joey, who was gulping down orange juice.

“She's my mate,” said Logan, sitting opposite me at the table. A load of silence fell into the room. They murmur among each other. I stared at them, wondering why it was unbelievable.

I for a moment forgot I was the latent omega who wasn't good enough for him or anyone else. The Phoenix Pack members hated me. What made me think the people in the mighty Blood Moon Pack of the north would accept me? I was in the north now, and I was supposed to be cautious and not act recklessly, but I couldn't help it.

I couldn't watch another woman touch my mate like I wasn't there. I didn't care about him, not to mention who he touched or who touched him; all I wanted was to stay alive and have a roof over my head. What was going wrong with me? Why was I getting jealous?

“He's kidding.” The lady with the thin red lips murmured. They roared in laughter, and I was embarrassed. Logan dug into his breakfast without saying a word. I scowled at them, and they went shut. Something unexplainable about my angry face scared people, even at the Phoenix Pack.

“It is true.” Joey said, passing me a mug of coffee.

Thay gasped and exchanged another episode of stares. Joey poured me some coffee. He was nicer to me than my so-called mate. 

“Why would you think I’m joking?” Logan looked at them over his coffee mug.

They murmured again.

“We all know you. You don’t give a shit about females.” Joey’s lookalike stared at Logan, sitting up on his seat.

“I didn’t say I was strolling on the street and walked up to a girl, saying, ‘Hey, will you be my mate?’ She’s my fated, and the council is supporting it.” Logan diverted his attention back to his breakfast.

“What?” Pinkie scrunched her nose. I could feel the disappointment and fear in her eyes and her shrill voice. 

“Yay! Yay!! Yay!!!!” The lady with the thin red lips—I wish I knew her name—danced joyfully. 

She rushed to me and said, “Hi, I'm Hawaii, the Beta’s mate.” She was Niel’s mate! “God knows I'm so tired of playing mini-Luna all these years. I'll be more than happy to put you through.” Her green eyes sparkled. 

“Thanks. I'd appreciate that.” The smile on her symmetrical oval face seemed genuine. I didn’t completely trust her or anyone else, but to an extent, I felt relieved that I had another person on my side aside from Joey. 

“You're fake, ain't you? We all know his mate is dead.” The damn pinkie won't let it go.

Logan banged his fist on the table. The sound vibrated in the room, and I could swear that my heart stopped for a second. “She’s my mate. Take it or leave it. She's your Luna as far as you're in this pack. If you aren't fine with it, you can leave.” Logan snarled. 

“What? Logan, you are disposing me off.” She chuckled, “I'm too valuable to this pack, and everyone in this room knows it.”

“Don't get cocky, Lily. Someone was doing it before you were here.” Logan glunched.

Lily. She was the girl Joey was talking about. She looked and sounded so desperate that he should truly be worried about her.

Lily scoffed and turned to the door.

“If you leave this room, then you're leaving the pack in five minutes. I'll assume you're being rebellious, and I won't tolerate it in my pack.” Logan dropped his coffee mug on the table.

Lily’s feet froze in a spot. I thought she'd leave, but the bitch turned back sluggishly. Dammit, she had no self-respect. She glared at Logan, then pulled a seat back and sat down. 

Logan stood up and left the dining room, angry, for sure. He hadn’t even finished half of his meal. I wanted to follow him, but I better keep my distance.

“I guess we are all good now.” Hawaii smiled, picking up a plate. She placed sandwishes on it and served it to me. “What is your name?”

“I'm Danica from the Phoenix Pack.”

Lily scoffed. She was really going to run out of breath if she kept it on.

“I'm Kiara, the head cook. I am willing to serve you anytime.” 

“Bobby, head enforcer. You're welcome, Luna.” The shifters took turns introducing themselves, and Niel walked in. 

“Isn't this interesting? We now have a Luna.” Hawaii hugged him.

“I haven't seen you in days, and that is what you’ll first say to me.” Niel smiled. It was weird; I'd never seen him smile before. But it was what people say; no matter how stony a man's heart was, there was always a special someone it would loosen up for.

“Sorry goody.” Hawaii showered him with kisses. He kissed her back, and I should confess, I was jealous. Logan's heart got unbreakable and unmeltable stones; he even deceived everyone at the Phoenix Pack to care about me when he didn’t.

“Get a room.” Joey smirked.

“It's not my fault you haven't found your mate.” Neil blurted it out to Joey, who grimaced in return.

“How's your morning going?” Niel said to me. Shocked that he could ask me such a question, I stared at him. “Luna.” He continued.

My heart skipped. Luna? Didn't he say I'd have to pass through him if I wanted to be Luna? I didn't even do anything, and he was calling me Luna. Why are they all chameleons? 

***

After breakfast, Hawaii showed me around the pack house. We started on the first floor, where the dining room was. I had seen the kitchen, which was five times bigger than that of the Phoenix Pack, with huge refrigerators, ovens, cookers, and more kitchen equipment present in their numbers.

On the ground floor were the pack clinic, an indoor game and gaming room, and a training center. I had started to pant due to the long walk without realizing it. The place was huge, and I haven’t even seen all the rooms on the ground floor. I saw a tilted door.

“What is in there?” I pointed at the room.

Hawaii frowned. “It’s a home art studio. It’s always closed; who is inside?” She approached the door, and I followed her to have a look.

“Is there an artist in the packhouse?” I remembered the artworks that I saw in the hallway.

“There used to be, but not anymore.” Hawaii stopped and looked into my eyes before proceeding to the room.

She opened the door and took a glance inside. The room was dark, with no source of light in the room. She entered, but I couldn’t. It was broad daylight, but who knew what could be in there with the horrible stories I have heard about the north?

“Maybe we should just leave Hawaii.” I took a few steps back, ready to run if anything went wrong. Something fell to the floor, and the sound of glass shattering echoed. My heart pounded in my chest. I rushed backward. Hawaii turned on the light in the room. 

“Alpha!” 

What? I moved closer, and there Logan stood staring at us. The conservation glass of an artwork was scattered on the ground at his front. The artwork lay helplessly on the floor. Logan stooped to pick up the artwork, but I rushed to him. “You’d hurt yourself.”

“I’ll send the maids in for cleanup.” Hawaii left the studio, and Logan picked up the artwork anyway. It wasn't as if he’d listen to anyone.

His eyes were damp as he stared at the piece. He left it on a wooden table. 

“Sorry, we startled you.” At the top of my head, I wondered if the mighty and heartless Alpha of the north would be close to breaking down in tears because of an artwork with shattered glass. What was with him?

He left the room without saying a word. A few minutes later, Lily passed by the door of the studio while I waited for Hawaii. There was no way I could make it back to the room by myself; I would get completely lost.

Lily saw me and scurried inside, hitting my face. I whimpered and held my face as my ear rang as if church bells were planted in my head. I glared at her. Did she know who she was messing with?