Chapter Five

Aurora’s POV

It has been several days since my last encounter with Michael and even after all these while, I still haven’t been able to shake out the embarrassment… and even the fear I felt whenever I thought about it.

On several occasions, I tried to scream in anger the same way I did that caused Michael and his missus to fall to the floor, but no matter how many times I tried to recreate that event, it just never happened.

“Breathe in, breathe out… it’ll soon be over.” I tried to reassure myself as I hurriedly wore my attire, whilst getting myself prepared for Michael’s coronation.

My hair was styled into a high ponytail and my face was bare of any makeup. I couldn’t even bring myself to dress up the way I wanted because I was afraid and intended to dress down to ensure that no one noticed me, but I was wrong!

The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the hall was how every young member of my pack watched me with nothing but loathing in their eyes.

For a moment, I was shocked at their change in character when only a few days ago, they were a little too willing to please me, but then I shrugged it off, deciding not to allow them to get under my skin.

Their stares, accompanied by the thoughts swirling in my head caused me to quickly bow my head, and in haste, I went over to sit with Jasmine who luckily for me was sitting far away from the rest.

A smile formed on her face when she saw me, and in a hushed whisper she exclaimed; “finally! I thought you wouldn't show up,”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I sassed back, smiling.

“Well, first off, there are tons of rumors flying around about you and so it’s possible that you heard and decided not to come around,” she replied, causing my heartbeat to accelerate.

“What’s the rumor about?” I whispered in fear.

Jasmine gulped. From the look on her face, it was evident that she didn’t want to tell me about it but I pressed on, urging her to talk to me as I couldn’t help but worry about my last encounter with Michael.

“They say you’re an omega,” She blurted without looking at me, “…and that it’s the reason you’ve not gotten your wolf at age eighteen… and why Michael rejected you.”

“But Michael got his wolf at age twenty!” I exclaimed, snapping my mouth shut when a few people turned to look at me.

“Yeah true, but he’s an Alpha’s son! Royals Alphas get their wolves later than everyone else and you know that!” She responded indignantly and with a sigh, dropped her voice a few notches before adding;

“You may be an omega but that doesn’t change you, don’t let their words get to you!”

Again, tears sprung into my eyes but I blinked them back. I couldn’t believe all this, couldn’t believe that these people had even begun to dissect my person. Luckily, there were no rumors about what happened with Michael and his sneaky link, so I kept my mouth sealed, not wanting to start a conversation I couldn’t finish.

The thoughts swirling around my head came to a stop when we heard loud cheering. I wasn’t surprised to see that the performers had begun to entertain the crowd, but was glad because from here, I could see everything happening.

Michael arrived shortly afterward wearing a royal cloak. As soon as everyone saw him they bowed, forcing me to bow as well.

His eyes met mine and I gulped because even from here, I could still feel the hate, the anger… and most especially, the fear emanating from him. He looked away to bow to his father and then walked off only to sit on a high chair that happened to be quite adjacent to mine. He still watched me even as he sat and this made me even more uncomfortable than I already was.

I tried to distract myself with the music, the colors, and even the happy dancing but still, I couldn’t help but notice how Michael’s eyes continued to burn holes into my skin. I was so focused on ignoring him that at first, I didn’t notice when everybody rose to their feet and began to clap.

Apparently, a well known Alpha had just come in and I was slow to realize this, causing a few eyes to turn and look at me, some stared at me in worry while most were in disdain.

Their claps were what snapped me out of my reverie and when I raised my head, I found Jasmine watching me with worrisome eyes. I hurriedly rose to my feet and began to clap my hands as well in embarrassment.

“Welcome Alpha Gerald of Crescent Moon pack!” The orator exclaimed, sounding more scared than excited.

The name made a tremor run down my spine and just as I raised my head to see what he looked like, I was shocked to discover that he was already staring at me.

Something about the way he watched me made me quite uncomfortable, but I couldn’t place if it was due to his scary reputation or the fact that I felt connected to him in ways I couldn’t explain.

The middle aged red haired Alpha stepped away from the podium to walk towards me, and as soon as I saw this, I dropped my head again in fear, hoping that he would walk past me.

“What did you do?” I heard Jasmine ask me quietly and I shook my head in confusion because even I had no idea.

I could hear the mumbled whisperings in the crowd, could even notice Michael’s hot stares as he glared at me as if I had just crashed his party. I closed my eyes as I prayed for the floor to open up and swallow me but before my prayers could be answered, I felt someone tap me lightly on my shoulder.

“What’s your name, child?” The person asked, causing me to raise my head. To my utmost surprise, it was Alpha Gerald himself; I gulped.

“Aurora sir… Aurora,” I stuttered, looking everywhere but his eyes.

From up close, I could clearly see his face, and somehow, I couldn’t cannot help but notice how we shared some sort of resemblance. I frowned, wondering if it was just my mind playing pranks on me or if it was indeed real.

“Where are your parents, Aurora?” He asked, causing me to use my eyes to search through the crowd for my mother. I gasped in shock because as soon as my eyes met with my mother’s, I saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

“What is happening? Who is this man?” These questions and lots more swirled through my head but then there was no answer.

The entire hall went silent. I could notice how everyone stared at us with curiosity; I could also notice the way Alpha Gerald froze when he saw my mother, and all these made me even more confused.

Michael was still glaring at me, and this time, he looked like he hated me for causing a disruption in his party. I was just about to send him a stink eye when I heard Alpha Gerald speak;

“Daughter,” He said, and I bowed, thinking he was merely referring to me that way because I was way younger than he was.

I still deluded myself with these thoughts until he pulled me into a hug, thus making me realize that there was something absolutely wrong.

Again, I looked back at my crying mother… and then at the man who looked too much like me, and who was presently staring at me as if I had just risen from the dead.

Realization hit me that this could be my father, and when he called me “daughter” for the second time, my heart broke.

“What I think… it isn’t true right?” I stuttered, pushing myself out of his hold.

Alpha Gerald sighed. He stared at me for a few minutes as if he couldn’t decide what to say to me, and after a few long minutes of awkward silence, he said;

“I don’t know what you think, I do know that you’re my daughter and that I have been searching for your mother for so long.”

The crowd gasped as soon as he said this. I looked up at Michael again to see the surprise on his face. His response, accompanied by the fact that my mother was still crying gave me all the answers I needed.

Tears streamed down my face as I fell limply to the floor. I couldn’t believe it, the news was too much for me to handle. I could hear shouts but none of it mattered as all I saw was black…