Chapter 3

Elara 

Ezra growled loudly, it must be painful because his wolf's yellow eyes flickered, his skin changing into the black furs. He was trying to appall me, perhaps he knew that I couldn't shift. 

'If I wouldn't have vowed to shift when I found our mate, I would have killed him.' Liv sneered in the back of my mind, showing her rage for Ezra's touch. 

'What the heck! Didn't you smell our mate and led me here?' I scowled at her stupid act. 

She hopped causing her furry tail to squirm. 'He was here a second ago, I can still smell him behind that apple tree. This sh-t isn't our mate.' 

'Is he playing hide and seek with us? If so, he'll come here by himself. If you can smell him, his wolf must smell me.' And with this, I put a barrier between my wolf and me so she won't bother me again. 

"You'll pay for this, bi-ch," he grunted, extending his furry hands and trying to dig his claws into my face but I caught his wrist and twisted it. 

For a moment, I was scared when I found out that he was my mate but now since he wasn't, I wasn't afraid of anything, not even him. 

He tried to attack me with his second claw, but before he could accomplish his intentions, I kicked him in the guts and he cried out in pain. 

"And this one for calling me bi-ch. Learn to respect women, you b-stard." I said and kicked his manhood. 

He growled out in anguish. "B-" I crossed my arms, challenged him to finish the word and he chose to shut his mouth and hissed in the pain, holding his d-ck.

"You learned the lesson, boy," I smirked and turned to the mansion to attend my party. 

My mate would chase me if he wanted me, I won't search for him from now on. I decided and entered the main hall where the party was still in full swing. 

The scenario of the hall seemed pretty cool in contrast to my inner surface. I was feeling fidgeted, exhausted from the last strike. Liv felt mournful and unfortunately or fortunately, I had to share the pain of my wolf.

My dad looked at me with curiosity, and when I sighed, he smiled as optimistic as ever. He mind-linked me, "even I didn't like any of these boys. Look at that red shirt one, he is looking like a clown and that blue trouser one seems like a pathetic wolf who just needs food and wine to survive." 

I couldn't help but giggle at his comical remarks about those boys who had a hope of being my mate. No one was ever interested in me, everyone present here was interested in the position that I was going to have among the werewolves- Alpha Queen. 

Sauntering towards my father who now was sitting on a table with a few Alphas, I answered him via mind-link, "I'd agree with you. Moon Goddess must have saved a charming prince for this princess." 

"That's my Elle, my princess. I love you, honey." I peered at those jade green orbs of affection and relief with a slight bit of sadness. 

Mate mattered a lot to the Crimson Blood pack. As a fact, it mattered to all the packs but for us, it was something that we believed in utterly. 

No one in our pack had ever rejected their mate, everyone found the blessing of Moon Goddess in their mates. Being the descendent of the Moon Goddess wasn't easy, one must follow the rules made by the Goddess and accept their mate with respect and love but that didn't mean we were the most simple pack. 

We could sacrifice our lives for our mate, and at a certain time, we could take someone's life for our mate, too. Pretty dangerous to be the mate of Crimson Blood pack. 

"I love you, too, daddy." I pressed my lips to my father's cheeks when the other Alphas took their leave after seeing me. 

He embraced me, patting my shoulder and soothing my hair like he used to do when I lost my target in archery in childhood. 

"Let's cut the cake, raise the toast to my lovely daughter and enjoy the party," he whispered in an enthusiastic tone. 

I looked at him with curiosity like a puppy sees a butterfly. "Is finding a mate like a reward? I must have failed you then." 

"No, my princess. Finding a mate is like finding your own half piece so you can feel the whole and you're the reason for my pride, sweetheart. You never failed me, you never did, you never will. Believe in yourself, Elle. You've something that is making people want to be with you so you better behave like a Queen," he explained gently.

As always his words filled me with confidence and new energy, making me hold my head up and smile like a proud Queen. He dabbed my cheek slightly smilingly, he knew my worth and I deserved someone like my father who could cherish me like him. 

"Thank you so much, dad. I've heard how the other packs treat the lanterns and even their own family-"

He raised his hand to warn me. "Rule number one- never compare your life with the others. You haven't been in their shoes and neither have they been in yours." 

"Um, sorry, I forgot." I pressed my lips, accepting my bad. "I remember all your rules, father, and I'll never break them." 

"Because they aren't some stereotypical rules unlike your mother who stops you from joining in the battles," he remarked and we both chortled.

The waiter offered us some soft drinks and we were about to take them but my mom stood ahead of us, crossing her arms and pouting. 

"Don't tell me that you forgot to cut the cake and all the rituals!" She snapped at us. 

My father and I shared a look of confusion with each other. "Sweetheart, we were coming to you after grabbing this juice," he enunciated, pointing at the tray of juice. 

"Let's start with the dance! You take her hand and walk to the center of the hall, the butler will announce your entry and after your dance, everyone else will join you." She described everything clearly so I won't mess up. Maybe it was her twentieth time explaining to me the same ritual. 

I grabbed her shoulder and relaxed her. "Mom, we know what to do. After this dance, I'll cut the cake, and dad will do the champagne popping and raise a toast to me. Our Alpha King and Luna Queen will savor the champagne first, later, everyone else will sip it." I let out an exasperated sigh. 

"At the end of the day, we'll have dinner with our allies packs," he finished for me and I thanked him for that. 

She finally smiled and we followed our schedule. I danced with my father first and then, with a few of the pack members- elders only. 

He raised a toast to me and thanked the Moon Goddess for giving him the beautiful mate and a lovely daughter like me in one night. That made me emotional, it was heart-touching to see how much my parents loved me though I wasn't their real daughter. 

"I hope that we're invited to the royal dining table," Alpha Ralph stood beside the table with his nasty son, asking for my permission, smugly.

I'd have to ask Klaus for the details of this Alpha Ralph and his pack, for some strange reasons, he seemed despicable to me. 

Since I was the only one standing beside the dinner table to wait for my parents who were busy talking with their guests, I had to answer him. "I'm sorry but this table is reserved for my family. Please, make yourself comfortable on that table." I replied as politely as I could, plastering a polite smile on my face. 

Ezra took a step forward, terrifying me, only if he could figure out that I was the fearless werewolf. "You-"

"Ezra, my son, you don't understand women. They always use twisted words to say what they want, they'll say no but the answer is always yes because they are too proud to accept what they want and as a man, you should fulfill their desires, understanding them." His father interrupted him, giving him a long speech on women. 

He looked at me pawkily before finishing his unnecessary advice, "a woman's real family is her husband and her kids." Alpha Ralph placed his ass on the main chair of the table, cueing his dumbhead son to sit left to him. "Princess, it'd be my honor if you could take this place," he said and smiled before pointing to the chair next to his stupid son. 

"My daughter could give you this honor if she wasn't habituated to sitting right to me," the voice came from behind me and the familiar hands squeezed my shoulder. 

If I wouldn't have blocked Liv, she must have felt proud and smirked. 

"It's alright, Arthur. Habits can be changed after marriage, too. You should cherish and pamper her till she is here with you," Ralph smirked. He was such a manipulative man, his words had another meaning and we got it. 

"Let's start the dinner! I'm sure that you must have been hungry after so much talking," my father grinned before the attendants came and served us the food and wine. 

Gladly, we took our supper in harmony, they talked about the topics here and there, the same topics of rogues' attacks and showing off wealth. 

Alpha Ralph straightened his face and cleared his throat. "Let's talk about the kids now. Ezra and Elara have met, unfortunately, your daughter didn't behave properly and she left no other choice than Ezra to tame her."

I was about to stand up from my chair and scream, "Excuse me?" But my mom sent me a message via mind-link to sit there. 

"It's impracticable, Ralph. They're not the mates and I'm sure that it must be your son's fault. I've taught Elara to fight for respect," my father stood up and so did Ralph. 

I looked at our surroundings and due to the werewolf's high hearing power, I could see wrath on my pack members' faces. 

"We're the Sinclairs, Arthur. We get what we want or we fight to get what we want. The choice is yours, give it willingly or unwillingly." Alpha Ralph uttered with a glint of conceit in his Alpha voice. 

"Harold, we are having a battle tomorrow. Cancel the throne ceremony, Charles." My father growled and announced in his Alpha voice, his claws daring to come out and his jade green orbs turning to the golden-red ones.