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Revised Chapter
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Chapter 3
I would have loved to say hours passed after my heart and expectations were destroyed and I had been mooning around, trying to rebuild myself together. Maybe if I was the heroine in some cheesy book then that's probably what I'd be doing. But I'm not that lucky. As soon as the couple pranced off to their ever after with his friends following suit, Elizabeth came and tore me a new one for taking a long time cooking because she still had a lot of errands for me.
So I trudged off with a heavy heart I tried to ignore and carried the food I made outside. My eyebrows raised in surprise when I saw that there were humans already setting the backyard into a themed soiree. White flowers were placed in the middle of the black velvet covered tables, emphasizing the glossy silverware.
A makeshift stage was set at the far end of the yard, designed with black velvet curtains interlaced thin ribbons of white lace. And in bright silver cutouts were the words Better with Two on a string in the middle of the curtain.
Decorating the center of the yard was a huge statue of two wolves leaning towards each other with closed eyes. Even from far away I could see the finite detail and heart put into shaping art like this. The pure unadulterated love that these two wolves have is so obvious that I couldn't help imagining for a second that one wolf is as dark as the night and the other as bright as daylight. Me and him.
A finger snapped me out of my daydream. "Are you gonna stand there or are you going to help with the setting up?" Elizabeth's green eyes looked disapprovingly at me before glancing a few times at the two huge trays of food I had in my arms.
My head moved in accord to the direction of the people setting up and I said without talking, "Didn't look like you need more help?"
Elizabeth raised her hand, getting ready to slap me silly like she always does when I don't act the way she wants me to, when she stopped and closed her eyes. She took deep breaths for a few seconds before opening it, putting her hand down to her sides, and looking visibly calmer than before. Her following words were vibrating with anger as she bit out, "Be glad I don't have time for this today otherwise you would be begging for mercy now."
I lowered my head, looking and exuding the scent of being afraid for her to think that her threats worked. Years of death threats and intimidation has taught me how to hide and fake my emotions. If I hadn't learned from the first few years of almost being killed because I wasn't afraid of their silly little threats, knowing without fail that I will be able to survive anything they throw at me. Maybe it's false confidence that will harm me in the future, but there's this warm comforting knowledge that I wouldn't die in their hands—no matter how worse the beatings got. I always bounce back.
When Elizabeth nodded her head for me to get away from her sight, I headed towards the banquet tables, comforted by the knowledge that I won't be here forever. These guys will know who I am in the future and they will regret everything they ever did to me, I thought, feeling the subtle shift of my skin to turn into a wolf because of the ice cold fury I was feeling. But I breathe deeper as I set the food and went back to the kitchen to grab the rest. Don't let your fury control you, I thought¸ they're not worth it.
Getting into the rhythm of setting the food, I felt the subtle shift of my skin come to a stop and the fierce fury I felt went back deep into the cave of emotions I keep hidden, to wait until the time is right.
A few more plates of food later and I was done with setting up the party food. The two long tables were filled to the brim with plates of food ranging from the meat variety, vegetarian, fruits, and desserts. Satisfied, I looked over at the makeshift stage to see Elizabeth talking with a human wearing an ear mic.
She didn't look like she needed me anymore so I started walking back to my cottage. The forest at daytime was brighter and more vivid, a different kind of ethereal beauty that makes you want to spend hours with the person you love, frolicking, and talking about nothing and everything at the same time.
The emotional wound Tate left on me earlier felt raw and exposed as I sat under the shade of a massive oak tree. The warmth of the sun felt like it's burning me inside and the soft breeze that moved my jet black hair with its windy throes was a sharp stinging that would never leave me. I couldn't do this. I never expected that losing a mate would feel this way. This is above and beyond my expectations.
Maybe it would have been simple if what I imagined it to be is true. He rejects me and I go about my way, searching for the Rosewood pack that has been haunting my memories ever since I could remember. That's still my goal, and even though it sucks horribly right now, I know in my heart that I would rather find this pack I feel like I belonged in than tie myself to a guy without completely knowing who I am—without achieving my goals first.
This is better, I thought as I hugged my legs and closed my eyes, but it still hurts so damn much to see Tate and Trisha together.
Slowly as minutes passed, the lyrical chirping sounds of birds, the distant gush of the flowing river a few miles from here, and the warmth on my skin, acted like a balm to soothe the wounds in my soul. I could breathe a little easier and the emotional storm I was in earlier felt like a dream.
I leaned back on the tree trunk, eyes closed. With the peace that nature offered me in the past few minutes, came the slow dawning realization that I couldn't stay here in this pack any longer. If I want to chase after the shadows of a familiar pack in my memories but know nothing about, I have to leave soon.
My eyes snapped open as I heard in the distance the quiet deep rumble of Hans' voice, the leader of the Alcatrozz pack. "There's been news of our ally in the south, the Reons pack. They have been attacked."
A flurry of concerned chatter rose in the crowd of voices of wolves. Shit, what's happening? I thought as I ran as quickly as I could to where they were gathered and realized that they were all in the backyard. I slowed down once I was a few miles away from them, treading quietly. I calmed my racing heart and took a deep breath, inhaling my human scent and leaving no discernible smell. It was as easy as breathing, keeping in my human, wolf, or removing my scent completely in order to leave no traces of me anywhere—scent-wise. And with living with wolves whose sense of smell are a thousand times better than humans as they could detect anything, anyone from miles afar, it's a pretty useful thing to be able to do.
At the back of my mind I tried to ignore the feeling of being more out of place. Knowing that even if I'm finally able to truly be who I am, I would still stand out of a crowd of wolves as the odd one out because of the oddities I have. Ignoring that prickling feeling of being different, I quietly climbed up the tallest tree near the edge of the forest and settled onto its highest canopy to get a better vantage point of their meeting. I only pushed apart an inch between the cloister of leaves in front of me so I could see them but they wouldn't be able to see me.
Hans was standing on the platform, facing the twenty werewolves in his pack who are all sitting on the chairs. Elizabeth was on the platform with Hans, sitting on the chair behind him, leaning on her knees with her hands in her head. Her chocolate skin looked pale with a hint of green.
I looked at the rest of the crowd to see that they were also looking too sick for wear. Trisha was near the front, her left hand covering her mouth, looking like she might vomit any second. Her right hand was on a familiar shoulder. My eyes unconsciously followed her arm leading up to the face of a guy I won't ever forget. He was tense, the veins on his arms visible as he gripped his fists hard, eyes dark, and looking like he will snap in any second to murder somebody.
But who? What happened?
I turned back to Hans who spoke in the next second, "The rogues are working together, we don't' know exactly how many they are but their numbers have overwhelmed the Reons pack. Daniel..." he looked to the side, his brows knitting together and his hands knuckling into a fist before looking back at the crowd and saying with a voice strained with anger, "lost a lot of his men in the fight. They were massacred."
"Daniel, his wife Lilian, their son Train, and five more people are left alive because most of his wolves sacrificed themselves for the good of the others."
"Fat lot of good that did them!" yelled a guy whose massive body could compete with WWE fighters and his bushy red beard, garbled his speech a little.
My eyes narrowed in annoyance at Gustav. He was a few months new recruit to Alcatrozz, adopted from a northern pack who kicked him out because of his unruly behavior of picking fights with everybody, trying to prove he was the bigger man, even with the alpha there. He was the paramount of all balls and no brains.
"Are we heading there now?" a quiet but strong voice said. It was my foster father, Samuel Lewis, sitting near the statue, his figure easily recognizable because of his signature sensible shirt, earth-colored pants, and loafers.
"No, we won't help them," Hans' voice was firm, ending the arguments and questions before it began. He looked each wolf in the eyes until they all lowered their heads, and in my point of view, their pride and dignity for not speaking up about the need to help the Reons pack. "We do not know if the rogues are still in their territory, lying in wait to trap anyone who will help them."
Trap my ass, you're just saving your ass in case you come up short against a rogue, I thought, the rumble of a growl starting deep in my throat as I stared hard at the coward. He knows the Reons need all the help they can get right now and he won't get off his ass to save them?
My hands that were holding onto the bark of the tree gripped them hard until my nails digged deep into it, imagining the joy of ripping the coward to shreds.
Suddenly, I felt somebody staring at me. I slowly stopped digging my nails into the bark and turned my head into the crowd like a deer facing headlights. My eyes went wide when I saw who was looking up at me, hidden behind the wall of leaves in a tree.
It was Tate.
He couldn't possibly know I'm here, right?
Sweat trickled down my forehead to my chin as I held my breath and tried not to move. It's not possible if he can see me because I don't even have a scent right now and I'm covered by the lush dense leaves. But I couldn't help the underlying cold fear in my stomach as Tate continued to stare at the part of the tree where I am.
If he knows I'm here, I believe his suspicions about me would raise. No human climb trees this high, hides themselves in the foliage, and watches the pack she's serving from afar for nothing. And doesn't have a scent he could discern. Either he'd question the truth of my ancestry—which is highly doubtful considering these guys have known me since I was young—or it would make him wonder if I have been recruited as an informant for another pack. Hopefully if he thinks it's the latter that I am not working for the rogues. I mean it's such a simple thing, but of all the things to ally me with, I wouldn't want to be connected to rogues especially during this time.
My eyes widened as Tate started walking towards the forest, in the direction of the tree I was on. I started looking around for trees I could jump on to escape this slowly turning into a nightmarish situation. My heart was thudding fast every time I glanced at Tate who was nearing the edge of the backyard, a meter from the group of trees I was on.
A familiar sharp nailed hand grabbed Tate's shoulder. "Where are you going baby?" whispered Trisha in a high tune, glancing at her back to see a red-faced Hans. Tate, seeing his father, slowly went back to his seat, but not before glancing a couple more times at the tree I was on.
I heaved a sigh. Never thought I'd be saved by Trisha, of all people.
Upon checking that my scent was truly nada, I turned back to look at Hans whose red-face was turning pinkish. "After the party tonight, no one will go anywhere alone to make sure we won't be picked off. We don't know how the rogues managed to overwhelm Reons but we're taking no chances. Combative trainings will be scheduled tomorrow. For now, enjoy the party. Dismissed."
The twenty wolves in Hans' pack all scattered like confused and scared ants immediately, heading to their rooms to get ready for the party in an hour. Once I was sure nobody was around, I slowly climbed down the tree and steadfastly walked back to my cottage, with only one thought in my mind: If they won't help the Reons pack, then I will.
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