The Alpha's Blessing [On Hold]

3

AURELIA

I didn't really know what went through my mind, but from the moment I saw him, I was hooked. He was gentle with me as we danced, and I knew the stories of the terrible things he's done, and I knew that they were told as cautionary tales to get children to stay inside at night, but the way I felt with him right now made me believe that all those stories were false. Otherwise, there was no way I could feel this safe and comfortable in his arms.

The song ended, and he just held me in his arms for a few moments before we were interrupted, startling me into jumping out of his very well sculpted arms, "Aurelia."

Turning to face me father with an angry expression on his face, I smiled sweetly, "Hello father. Have you met Kai, yet?"

"Alpha Kai Alistair," my mate offered his hand to my father, and I could tell he was pushing forward a little of his Alpha power, proving his strength.

My father responded and shook his hand, "Alpha Levi Bennet."

They continued shaking hands, and I could tell by their white knuckles that they were gripping each other's hands tightly as they never broke eye contact. I could tell that we were gaining a lot of attention and, not wanting to cause a scene, I grabbed each of their wrists and separated their handshake.

"As lovely as this is, I think we should sit down. I believe dinner is being served soon," I said, though I really had no clue about the food part, a girl could hope. We sat down at our table, Kai directly across from me as he sat down between who I was assuming to be his Beta and my father. Great.

Mother offered me a knowing look and squeezed my hand under the table.

The man next to Kai spoke up, looking at me, "I don't believe we've ever met. I'm Asher, Beta of the White Stone Pack, and this is my mate Lyla."

I smiled at them both, "Nice to meet you both. I'm Aurelia Bennet of the Golden Crescent Pack."

"So you're Alpha Bennet's daughter," Lyla spoke up, smiling. "He always goes on and on about you at these things, and I can see why. You're beautiful."

"Thank you," I responded, looking at her. She was thin, but I could tell she was strong, and her dark brown hair was pulled into a tight bun, her blue eyes fixed on me, "So are you. Your eyes are stunning."

She was young, though probably a little older than me, and she truly was gorgeous.

She smiled and thanked me in return. Feeling eyes on me, I looked up to see Kai staring at me, his face unreadable and his eyes inquisitive. My father snapped him out of his thoughts, though, as he spoke, "So, Kai, what made you decide to finally show up to the Alpha's Ball?"

I didn't miss the blatant disrespect my father was giving him and my wolf growled a little, shocking me. My wolf is and always had been a pacifist, so her growling at father is something that I wasn't quite expecting.

Kai remained composed, though, and smiled, though I could tell it was strained, "My Beta here decided that I'd been ditching for too long. I guess he was right."

He directed the last part to me as he looked over and I could feel my cheeks and neck heating up in a blush.

"I see," my father said. "And what news about the Gray Moon Pack? Have you slaughtered all of them, or did you at least leave a few survivors this time?"

My mother gasped at my father's words and I looked on in horror as Kai's face hardened. Gone was the gentle Kai I had danced with, replaced by Alpha Alistair, the name to instill terror into children at bedtime. He spoke lowly to my father, "I don't believe it is any of your concern. You do not hold an alliance with neither myself nor the Gray Moon Pack."

"I think it is my concern, if you're even thinking about my daughter accepting you as her mate," he retaliated, his voice raising slightly. 

A low growl sounded and I realized with a shock that it came from me. The entire table was staring at me in shock. Apologizing and excusing myself, I stood from the table and swiftly left the ballroom, going out the same doors we had came through until I was outside, the fresh air soothing my nerves. Looking up at the moon, I thought of the goddess and how she must be looking down at me right now, a smug smile on her face. When I was younger, I'd tried everything to rid myself of the blessing she had given me, as I had only seen it as a curse. I was sure that this ball, that dinner table conversation, was her own little form of revenge of me not being grateful for her gift. 

A hand was placed on my shoulder and I found Kai standing there, a conflicted expression on his face. I wondered what else my father had said to him since I'd left the table. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to growl and make a scene," I apologized, shaking my head as I continued to ramble, "I don't know what came over me, really, I was just so upset with my father and--"

"Your father has a point, Aurelia," he cut me off, his deep voice earning a small shudder from my body, and I can see that even though he's saying it, he doesn't want to be. He can't really mean it. "I've done terrible things to people— good, innocent people. Not all of the rumors about me are true, but enough of them are. Enough of them are true for me to be the bad guy that everyone thinks I am."

"I don't believe it," I stated, ornery as ever.

He snapped his crystal blue eyes up to me. There was so much hurt and anguish in them, and I wondered what exactly it was that drove him to be the dangerous man that everyone was so afraid of.

"My father had no right to say those things to you," I told him, shaking my head. "He doesn't know you, and therefore shouldn't judge you on the account of what others have whispered behind your back."

"I think the Moon Goddess might've messed up," he said suddenly, a look of sadness crossing his face as he spared a glance up at the white rock in the sky before looking back at me. 

I looked at him in confusion, "What makes you say that?"

Stepping forward, he tucked my hair behind my ear before cupping my cheek with his bear-like hand, sending shockwaves through my entire body, "You refuse to see the worst in people, even when everyone else sees only the bad. You're much too good for this world, and you're much too good for me." 

Placing my hand over top of the one that held my cheek, I offered a genuine look and shook my head, "The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes."

Funny, I hadn't really believed that until right now. I had always thought that it was a mistake that I was the one to receive the blessing. I had thought it a mistake when I turned nineteen and I was without a mate. But as I stood in Kai's arms, not even an hour after meeting him, I felt safe. I felt safe in the arms of the most dangerous man alive, and I knew then and there than the moon goddess does not make mistakes; she never has, and she never will.