Chapter 10

Stretching my legs, I heard a low rumbling sound from my stomach, like a bad engine trying to gear up. Instinctively, my hands stretched to my stomach and I rubbed it lovingly, the thought of a new life inside me bringing a smile to my face.

A few months ago, I would have thought it was hunger, but now I was sure it was my baby. My precious baby.

"How are you feeling this morning? Don't worry, you'll be out soon," I said in a soothing voice to my stomach. I did that every day since I read that babies could respond to their mothers' voices even in the womb.

"You'll have your great-grandmother and me to take care of you." The thought of his father not being in the picture sounded a bit sad, but what could I do?

"I'll take care of you to my fullest, even if it costs me my life," I added, remembering my grandmother's words about Mason. The thought of him ripping my baby away from me made me wrap my hands around my slightly swollen stomach, my protective instincts kicking in.

"I love you, little one," a tender smile crept on my face before the sound of feet shuffling distracted me. It was Grandma Charlotte.

"Look who decided to travel down memory lane," she said, dropping a saucer of tea before me and settling herself on the chair beside me.

"I'm not going down any lane. I was just having a mother-to-child moment with your great-grandchild," I said in my defense, wrapping my fingers around the handle of the mug.

"Tell my great-grandchild I said hello, and that its mother is going to run late if she doesn't get ready soon enough," Grandma Charlotte scoffed, watching me closely as my eyes widened.

"I almost forgot. Oh my god, I'm going to be late!" I said aloud, rising to my feet quickly. I lied. I didn't almost forget; I totally forgot about that.

"Sit down for a moment, child. We have rules in this pack, and I don't want you making yourself more obvious than you already have," Grandma Charlotte said tiredly, and I sank back to my bed.

"I don't think I laid enough clarity on why you should avoid Mason, but I'll be very honest with you: Mason is charming, but underneath his charm is a whole new layer of ruthlessness," Grandma Charlotte shook her head, a sad look in her eyes.

Sure that she had more to say, I inched closer. In an almost whisper, she said slowly, "You see, Mason wasn't supposed to be Alpha, at least not at this point in his life. He killed his father; that's why he's the Alpha."

Letting out a gasp, I placed my hands around my mouth, my eyes unblinking as I stared blankly at the floor.

"Mason can be a charmer, but..." Her words drifted off and she took another sip of coffee.

"But he seems so..." I found myself lost for words as I frowned, shallow lines etching into my forehead.

"Nice? Charming? Gentlemanly? He is, but he's feral too, and that's why they all respect him." I nodded to her words in agreement. Yes, he had dark eyes that told me there was more to him than I would ever know, and his smile was welcoming and dangerous at the same time, but a murderer? It didn't seem right, I thought.

"But why did he do it?" I found myself wondering aloud after my grandmother left my room.

*****

It took us about twenty minutes to arrive at the pack house since Grandma Charlotte insisted we walk, something about stretching her limbs, she said. As soon as we got in, I spotted Mason in the large hallway, dressed in a loose grey sweater that hung against his broad shoulders, his hands dug into the pockets of his black sweats. He seemed to be calmly observing his environment, a satisfactory nod as he looked around, and then our eyes locked...

Then it dawned on me, it looked like he was actually waiting for me. Giving my grandmother, who was somewhat behind me, a side glance, I watched her lips purse, her eyes giving me a warning sign that said, "Remember what I told you."

Nodding at him courteously, I was about to take my next step when a female voice announced, "Stop." The voice commanded, placing my feet fully on the floor. My head snapped towards the direction of the voice, and my eyes fell on the figure: a dark-haired lady with olive skin and upturned eyes emphasized with her thick lashes that swept up as she gave me a swift glance. She was beautiful and vicious; her looks said it all.

Her full lips tilted upwards and she said with utmost authority, "You cannot walk past your Alpha, lady. You are to bow to your Alpha."

A bit embarrassed, I was yet to respond when my grandmother chirped in.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what she said?" she hissed, her voice losing its familiar cool and patience.

I could feel my cheeks begin to burn, fast, so that they went from light pink to crimson red in a matter of a few seconds. I'd never been humiliated by anyone lower than me in my life until now.

"Good morning, Alpha," I muttered to Mason, slightly bowing my head. Turning to face the angry lady, I was left dumbfounded and I mentally scolded myself.

What have you done? I asked myself in annoyance. The lady was clearly very upset with my gesture. So upset that her eyes were slowly changing and her canines growing longer and taking the shape of fangs... she was slowly turning into her wolf form.

Shit! I cursed. I could feel my heart thumping heavily in my chest and I gulped. My palms were already getting sweaty. This was exactly the type of scenario I was warned about, and yet somehow I had ended up in one a few hours after getting warned.

"Put yourself together, Rhoda," Mason finally said, a slightly amused look in his eyes as he looked at me before turning back to face her.

Heaving a sigh of relief, I decided to let courtesy slide and so I didn't apologize, neither did I say thank you.

As if she was programmed by him, I watched, still in fear, as she reverted to her normal form, the anger still in her eyes.

I looked away.