Chapter 4

I was right to avoid the Alpha and anything that concerned him. The life I had was too precious to give up for anything.

“Here, have some more meat,” my grandmother took food off her plate and put it in mine. My plate was heaped past the point I could handle but tears filled my eyes at such a loving gesture.

Not only did I have parents, I also had grandparents! Check that out! My father’s parents heard that I had been unwell so they came the next morning to see me. My grandfather came lugging several bags of designer clothes and my grandmother baked my favorite pie. It was a blessed life.

“My baby, are you hurt?” Tears filled my eyes just from all the love I was experiencing so right there in the dining room with my new family, I burst into tears. My grandparents both rushed to get out their handkerchiefs to wipe my tears. How could a person loved this much be a villain!?

“I – I love you guys!” I exclaimed.

The entire room went silent. Even Ethan who had been ignoring me as he stuffed his face stopped chewing. Apparently, he just got back from college and was eating as though he had never eaten in his life. It was disgusting and he was annoying.

“Oh, baby,” my grandmother was the one who broke the silence. She dropped the handkerchief and pulled me into a tight hug. “We love you, too, honey.”

After that, there was a chorus of ‘I love yous’ from my new family except Ethan who looked at me as if I had grown horns.

“Did you eat something weird or do you have brain damage?” He asked.

“Ethan, don’t be mean to your sister,” my father said.

“I’m being dead serious right now,” he countered. “You are acting like you’ve done something awful and want to hide it. What is it this time? Did you kill someone?”

“No but I had a scary dream and I realize I have taken all that I have for granted. I realize that family is the most important so I must cherish you guys and not act like a spoiled brat,” I answered.

“Spoiled brat? You mean evil –“ He didn’t get to finish his words as my father cut in.

“You’re my princess. You can act however you like and we would still love you.”

As the Beta of this pack, I wasn’t so sure he would continue to love me if I did things that endangered the Alpha but I nodded anyway.

We had a satisfying breakfast and my grandparents sat around as I opened the presents they brought for me. I spent the whole day chatting with my grandparents and mother as my father had to go to work and Ethan had to train.

The next day, three girls came to see me with tears in their eyes. They were the fakest set of friends to ever exist and even I, with no friends in my previous life, could see through their bullshit as they gathered around me.

‘Are these – Are these Selene’s friends?’ I asked my wolf.

‘These are more YOUR followers than friends. Don’t forget you’re Selene now.’ My wolf, Grace said. ‘Of the three of them, only Bella has a brain in her head. The other ones only follow you since they can’t outrightly bully the women involved with the Alpha’s son so you do it for them.’

So an evil fan club with me being the active head. Marvelous.

“Selly,” one of the girls came and plopped herself beside me without care for my personal space. “We heard you were in a car crash. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I responded with a wide smile.

It was a crash I did not remember because it wasn’t me and it happened three days ago. What sort of friends only visited now? Three days after an accident?

“Why are you smiling so much?” She placed a hand on my forehead. “Are you ill?”

“What Alpha wolf falls ill?” Another of the girls came and sat on my other side so that I was boxed in. “Is it because of Xander? I heard he came home with a girl and everyone is saying she’s his mate.”

“Oh em geee, did you get in an accident to get Xander’s attention?” The other girl shrieked into my ear, forcing me to flinch away. “That – that’s genius but did he come to see you?”

“It wasn’t an accident so bad that he needed to come all the way here,” the third and final one, the one Grace called Bella said. “Also, Selly isn’t the kind of person who’d endanger herself for attention.”

“Right?” I answered with a stiff laugh. “It was an accident and as for – what’s his name, yeah, Xander, I am over him so why would I do such a thing for his attention?” There was a brief silence that followed my words before loud guffaws.

The three girls bent over and screamed with laughter so loud and hard that I went from confused to feeling insulted and then amused because the sound of their laughter was all over the place. As I joined in on the fun and started laughing, they all stopped.

“What’s wrong with you?” Bella was the first to speak.

“What do you mean?” I asked and they all shared a secret look that had me feeling left out.

“What do you mean by being over Xaander? You can’t be over him,” the girl seated to my left said as Bella, standing in front of us, crossed her arms.

“You would rather die than lose Xander to another woman so how can you say you are over him?” The one to my right asked. “It’s not funny. It just makes me think you might have a brain concussion.”

“Is it that weird that I would give up on him?” I asked and the girl’s eyes widened.

“Of course, it is ridiculous!” The two beside me exploded.

“You’ve been in love with him your whole life! How can you say you’ve given up on him?”

“You even put in all that effort to get into his uni, staying up into the night every night to prepare for your exams and interview! You are telling me you suddenly gave up on him after getting in?”

“What – he just doesn’t do it for me anymore!” I exclaimed.

It was frustrating that I could not blurt out the fact that this was a book and that the last thing I wanted was to continue on the path of an evil villainess that ends up doomed. No one would believe me because even I found it hard to believe myself!

I had to live, okay? And in a world where everyone was drop dead gorgeous, including my grandparents who should have been old and wrinkly, I knew that without a doubt, I would meet many hot guys so why risk my neck for one?

“How can you say that? Xander is the most perfect man in the world! How can you say he doesn’t cut it for you?” The girl to my left looked at me with accusatory eyes as if I was blasphemous. The eyes were hot to the point they got me scared.

The most perfect man in the world? Yeah, only a book’s male protagonist could be described as such.

“Maybe she found her mate,” Bella rescued me, a curious look in her eyes.

“Mate?” The other two turned to me.

“Yes, my mate!” I exclaimed. I almost forgot this was a world of predestined mates. “I have a feeling I’d find my mate soon and I know it’s not him so – I lost all feelings for him!” I lied through my teeth. It didn’t convince them.

“Was there ever such a thing?” Bella asked with a frown. “Is it possible to sense your mate before meeting them?”

“Maybe? But I can’t explain it. It is just how I feel,” I murmured.

“It makes sense. Your mate bond must be strong. I wish you all the best with your mate when you find them,” Bella said.

The girls beside me bit their lips in deep thought, they brows scrunched together. Whatever they said, I was already determined to detach from the plot of this story and live a good life with my loving family.

“Let’s change the subject. I can’t believe you would ever get over Xander,” the girl to my right said.

“Right, Amy? I can’t believe it either. Anyway, what are you wearing to the party tomorrow? Shall we go shopping?”

There was a party?

I didn’t know about any party but I pretended to so I just shook my head.

“There’s no need to go shopping. My grandparents bought me some great clothes so I’d wear one of them.” They looked at me like I grew another head again.

“You – You want to wear what your granny picked out?” Amy was shocked.

“Why not?” I glared at her and she flinched.

“R – right. If you say so – uh – then tomorrow then, we’ll see you at the party.”

In my past life, I lived so cautiously because of my sickness but now, I was not only healthy, I was also a werewolf! Living recklessly was out of the question but now, I could live a bit more freely than before.

That was what I thought when I decided to go to the party in the pack house. Alas, it ended up being a grand mistake.