That night a pack bonfire celebration was announced in celebration to their Alpha's full recovery. A fire pit was dug deep with firewood piled on it to a high enough height. The smell of firewood burning danced around the air. Logs were sat around the fire place to create a warm and comforting environment. Little lanterns were lit all around the valley casting a small warm glow against the midnight scenery.
Natalya walked out of the pack house with Yulian walking next to her. He was updating her on everything that has happened while she was gone. There wasn't any activity ever since the last attack. There hasn't been any suspicious activity on the borders that she needed to worry about.
She was a little relieved upon hearing that nothing has happened while she was not available but a little part of her felt something was off.
How can someone just attack for no reason at all? Her guts were telling her there was more to it than could be seen. Yulian mentioned where Misha was staying at the moment. It looks like Natalya's mother has decided to place Misha in one of the guest bedrooms in the pack house.
When they approached closer to the bonfire, she heard soft bonfire music in the air. The pack members were signing in harmony while a few played with instruments. It was a traditional song spun of their heritage.
Some pack members were grilling and the smell of nicely smoked meat can be smelled in the air. However, Natalya's attention was somewhere else. She saw her mate speaking with Misha nearby the fireplace. They weren't standing real close but close enough to know what they were speaking about was quite private.
Natalya knew she shouldn't be jealous. Constantin was hers but she still felt like she was missing the connection that he had with Misha.
It was like those times where your mate as a best friend who knew them more than you knew them. Natalya felt jealous that she wasn't the one there to protect Constantin when he was in pain. She was jealous that Misha nurtured him back to health. She was jealous that Misha was able to share that small bond with Constantin.
She wanted to walk over there and rip Constantin away from Misha. Her heart was too fragile and insecure. She knew she should be reassured but her wolf couldn't help feeling possessive towards him. Tonight was a celebration night. She couldn't exactly confront Misha yet but she will soon.
Constantin must have felt her eyes on him because he looked up halfway through his conversation with Misha to look at her. His emerald irises blended with the reflection of the fire that burned before him. He always seemed to be able to take her breath away each time. His heated gaze travel down her body leisurely and it seemed every part of her body burned with each sweep of his gaze.
She felt naked underneath the dress Octavia had helped chosen for her. It was a white crochet cropped tank top with a deep v-neck line. Octavia paired the top with a deep orange high waist long skirt that split on one side of the dress—just enough to the point of when she walked her right leg was exposed to just close to her upper thigh. Her hair was tied up into a loose bun above her head.
"He is staring at you without blinking." Octavia voice came from her left.
She turned to look at her sister in law with a shy smile. "I am sure it is not like that."
Octavia scoffed. "Anybody can see it, Natalya."
Natalya turned back to look at Constantin but he got distracted when her brother and father pulled Constantin away to join the other men. A table had been set up and drinks have been placed on the table. The men were making bets and throwing games onto the table. Pretty soon they all will be getting drunk.
"When I am with him, I get these butterflies in my stomach. There are these emotions that stir in my chest that has me wanting to run with fear and throw my arms around him all at the same time." Natalya admitted.
Octavia grinned. "It is natural to feel that way. Exposed. Vulnerable. Cared for. Loved."
Love...
She turned back to her mate who was now chugging down a large cup of tonic while her brother and father cheered.
"Men are so stupid." Her mother appeared next to them as she glared at Natalya's father.
"If they continue at this rate, they will surely get drunk even before the bonfire is completed or before we have anything to eat." Octavia giggled.
"I think I am going to have a word with your father." Natalya's mother mumbled before disappearing.
Octavia took hold of Natalya's arm. "C'mon. Let's dance."
She led them towards a small area where many people were dancing to the songs that were being sung by some pack members. The dance was kind of like line dancing. There was a lot of patterned movements and careful swinging. It took a while before Natalya could catch onto the beat but pretty soon she was enjoying it along with Octavia. Her mate and her worries were temporarily forgotten.
~~~~~~
Misha stood on the outside of the party. She felt out of place.
An outcast.
She felt shunned from everybody. She was in love with Constantin. She had always been in love with Constantin; ever since the moment she laid eyes on him in Alpha Viktor's pack. She was a werewolf who was born without a mate. Her job as a healer was only to heal, not to love. She didn't get to experience the bond like everyone else. She doesn't know how it will feel to even have a mate.
She came here with a the sole intention of helping Constantin out and possibly—selfishly stealing Constantin back but the moment she arrived till now, she knew it was too late. Constantin was gone. He still looked at her fondly and with care in his eyes. However, that look wasn't the look he gives his mate. He stared at Alpha Natalya as if she was the last source of water on earth. He looked at Alpha Natalya as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world and nothing could ever compare.
It broke her heart into pieces. She knew that any last hope she had was completely crushed.
Why did she remain if she knew this?
Because she knew she was at fault for offering a medication she knew Alpha Natalya couldn't turn down or test. She knew that Constantin will want to speak and not even think twice about getting it tested. She should have known better. She should have read and learned what she can about this cure before she even handed it over.
She didn't poison Constantin. Alpha Natalya's doctor tested the liquid in the vial after and confirmed it was Nightshade. It was just that the cure was so rare that nobody knew how to work the cure or even the side effects.
She had given the old witch she bought it from a very ancient amulet that belonged to her family. In this current time, the ancient amulet meant a lot. In the amulet was a drop of the very first werewolves' blood—lycans. It was taken for safety measures and if ever their race becomes extinct.
She watched as Constantin chugged down a few drinks and then glanced over at Alpha Natalya. She was extremely pretty. She looked almost fragile but the woman's body radiated so much power that it completely contradicts how small her frame was. Misha had to admit, if she couldn't have Constantin she was glad that Natalya was his mate. He needed someone stronger.
Sighing, she decided to call it a night until she heard a small group of women talk bad about her and even called her horrible names. She made a left turn to a nearby table of nicely mixed tonics. Taking a glass cup, she downed a cup and then went for another after she heard them whisper about her again. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to pretend that nothing they said will hurtful but it did.
They called her horrible names. They think she was evil and came here with bad intentions. She wasn't a bad person. She wanted to cry and to stop that she grabbed another cup and downed the contents down. The burning sensation in throat was numb by now.
She took a couple more shots until she was completely numb and no longer cared for what the women were whispering about. Hobbling, she made her way up the hill towards the pack house. She almost tripped over her dress and fell flat on her face until she felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around her.
"Careful there." His gruff voice grumbled from behind her. "Women who can't keep their tonic intake shouldn't be drinking in the first place."
He sounded irritated. She turned her eyes towards him. Her eyes were blazing with enough anger to split a tree in half.
What was with these people? Where they all just mean and judgmental? She was a person! She didn't deserve these kinds of nasty comments.
"Let me go." She pushed against his chest hard and stumbled back when he let her go carelessly. She fell on her butt and glared up at him.
He smirked. "You told me to let you go."
He was extremely handsome. The damn man was tall as an elephant. Despite how handsome he was, she wanted to pummel his smirk off his face. Huffing, she turned onto her hands and knees and pushed herself back up into a sitting position but stumbled back into his arms. The tonic was really kicking in this time.
"Goddess, why am I always stuck with the incompetent women?" The man growled before her body was completely swept off the ground. She was now staring at the sky before she realized he was now carrying her bridal style.
"Put me down." She demanded.
"So that you can fall again?" He snapped angrily. "I think not. What if you fall and hit your head on a rock? I am not going to be responsible for your death."
She wanted to argue with him and possibly throw a few insults at him but her lips won't move. So, instead, she concentrated on staring at the sky and waited for him to help her walk to the pack house.
She was surprised when he not only walked her up to the pack house but all the way up the stairs and to her room. That must mean he knew who she was.
He sat her down on the ground and she teetered a little before she placed her hand on her door to steady herself.
"Thank you." She mumbled.
He grunted and was about to turn and walk away when she felt tears ran down her cheeks. She sniffled and his back stiffened immediately. He didn't turn back to look at her but he must have heard her because he did not move an inch.
Tears ran down like a waterfall. "Why does everyone hate me?"
Her voice was broken with so much sorrow. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I care for him a lot."
He turned back to look at her. His eyes unreadable but he was still watching her cry. He made no move to touch her. He looked almost scared. Does crying really scare men away?
A sob left her lips and she moved a fisted hand to her lips to stop the sob that left her lips. "I'm sorry. I can't stop crying."
He sighed and took a step towards her. He placed a hand on her shoulder before pulling her into his arms. After pulling her into his arms, he patted her back awkwardly.
"It's okay. Not everybody hates you and if they do then you shouldn't care." He tried to soothe her pain.
"I shouldn't but I am a werewolf too. I have feelings just like everyone. I get hurt just like everyone." She cried into his chest. She was pretty sure his shirt was completely soaked by now.
She heard him sigh again before he lifted her up and carried her inside her bedroom where he sat them both down on the bed. This was too intimate. No men have ever entered into her bedroom or even sit in the same bed as her not even Constantin. Yet she made no move to tell him to go away. She took comfort in his embrace. It was the first she had felt safe and sheltered from everyone's gossip and comments.
She sat cradled in his lap while his hands somehow found its way into her hair where he caressed her calmly.
"Ok, stop crying. I don't know how to handle crying women." He grunted again.
She sniffled and wiped at her tears before trying to remove her head from under his chin but he stopped her—trapping her head under his chin.
"Thank you for not hating me like everyone else." She said to the stranger. He was a total stranger and she should be afraid of him but she felt strangely protected. She hasn't felt the comfort or arms of another until now. It was the first since someone actually didn't hate her.
He grunted his response again.
"You grunt a lot." She replied.
He didn't respond but instead slowly removed her from his lap and adjusted her onto her bed before pulling the blanket over her.
She watched him tuck her in. His hazel eyes glinted with an unreadable emotion before he straightened up to leave.
The next move she did, she couldn't really explain it herself. Her hand shot up and she took hold of his wrist. He turned back to look at her.
"I-I..." Her voice trailed off.
He arched an eyebrow.
"Can you stay with me tonight?" She stammered quickly and a blush ran her cheek. She couldn't believe her ears. She had asked a stranger to stay with her in her room all night.
His eyes widened in surprise. He looked like he was going to say no but after a moment his eyes softened and he nodded.
He pulled up a chair and sat on the side of the bed. His arms crossed and legs stretched. His eyes never leaving her face. She boldly stared right back at him. She took this opportunity to really take a look at his features.
He was a very attractive man but he was also very intimidating. It was almost scary except he had a look in his eyes that had her quivering with not fear but with something else. It was a startling realization. His eyes seemed to penetrate right through her.
He was a strange man that stirred an unknown feeling inside of her. What scared her the most was she didn't even know who he was but she felt entirely safe being next to him.
It didn't take long before her eyes began to flutter close.
Author's Note:
Thank you all for the kind name suggestions. I love each and every one of them. I am planning on reading the list off to my husband. He is the picky one when it comes to baby names. Lol.
So, I got an ultrasound done and my little peanut is growing wonderfully. I am enjoying pregnancy but also feeling all the pregnancy symptoms. I try so hard but I find myself rolling out of bed and going to work looking like a mess. Oh well. It is what it is.
Anyways, I do hope you enjoy this chapter and I don't know when I will be updating again. Honestly, I am so exhausted I have been slacking at school this week. My mama will be so upset with me. Lol
How is everyone doing? I hope you all are doing great and can't wait to see you again next chapter. I will also be replying to comments as soon as I can.
Leila Vy