Author's Note: Thanks to all those people who commented on the last chapter. I really loved your reactions. :D
I regret Alarick's room and Charles' room being close to each other.
"You can't get me so you're trying to get my Beta?" he asks cruelly. I am left disgusted at his words.
"I am not trying to get your Beta," I say as I bite down my anger. I pass him to go to my room.
"Then why do I find you getting out of his room early in the morning? Did you have sex with him?" he asks me harshly. How could he! Even he knows that I didn't have sex with his Beta because if I had, then, I would've smelt differently. And I smell the same. When a werewolf mates with another werewolf then their scent changes.
"I didn't have sex with your Beta and you clearly know that!" I say as I point my finger at him. If he remains to be in front of me then I will totally lose it! I quickly get inside my room and slam the door behind me. I think I'm going to explode with anger.
●●●●●
Mrs. West, Beta Charles, Gamma Daniel and I are in the kitchen, having breakfast. I quietly eat my cornflakes while they all are looking at me. "What happened?" Mrs. West asks me, concern laced in her voice. She senses that something is wrong with me. She is right.
"Alarick accused me of having sex with Charles," I answer.
"What!" Mrs. West and Charles both exclaim in shock.
Mrs. West proceeds to ask me, "Why would Alarick do that?"
"Because he saw me exiting Charles room early in the morning," I say while I continue to eat my breakfast.
"What were you doing in Charles' room early in the morning?"
I tell her everything, about not being able to sleep last night, about what I talked with Charles and about what Alarick said to me this morning. "I hadn't intended to sleep in Charles' room," I say. "I don't know when I fell asleep."
"Alarick is jealous," Mrs. West states as a small smile creeps onto her face.
"And he's going to kill me," Charles comments.
"Charles, Alarick is not going to kill you," Mrs. West assures Beta Lewis. Then she tells me happily, "Alarick is jealous which means that he has feelings for you."
"He wasn't jealous. He was rude," I say. Just then, Alarick enters the kitchen. He glances in my direction for a few seconds then proceeds to go to the refrigerator. He opens it and takes out yesterday's leftover and then dumps the contents on the plate which he has taken out from the cabinet. Then, he leaves the kitchen with his food. Obviously, he doesn't want to have breakfast when I'm present in the kitchen.
Soon, Mr. West enters the kitchen. "Why is Alarick eating in the living room?" he asks all of us.
"Well, because of me," I answer quietly. I hear Mr. West giving out a frustrated sigh. I can feel him getting angry and somehow I know that he and Alarick will soon end up arguing with each other. Before Mr. West can leave the kitchen, I stop him. "Please have breakfast with us." I kindly request him. He knows that I'm trying to stop him from arguing with his son. I'm relieved when he doesn't leave the kitchen and decide to have breakfast with us.
●●●●●
When we are all done with our meal, we assemble in the living room because Mr. West has something important to discuss with us. We all stand in a semi-circle while Mr. West is standing facing us. He starts saying, "As you all know Chriselda is Alarick's mate..."
"Oh please," Alarick sarcastically says. Mr. West shots him a look which silences him.
Mr. West continues, "Chriselda will be staying with our pack for a while. Everyone in our pack will be wondering why the Beta of our neighboring pack is staying here. We'll tell them that she is here to learn some of our defense techniques and skills."
"Why can't we tell our pack that she's our Luna?" Charles asks.
"That's because my ignorant son is not ready to accept the fact that Chriselda is his mate," Mr. West answers.
"She is not my mate!" Alarick says angrily as he leaves the pack house, slamming the door behind him. The door comes off its hinges and falls on the ground. I think we need a new door.
"Everyone, proceed to Alarick's study," Mr. West says in his voice laced with authority. He is really angry with his son's behavior. We are quick to obey him. We all go to Alarick's study and wait for Mr. West. When he enters the study, he closes the door behind him. His anger is gone and he looks composed for which I'm grateful. "If we tell the pack that Chriselda is Alarick's mate then he will be quick to deny it. And I'm afraid that our pack will believe him and think of Chriselda as someone who is claiming to be his mate..."
"And people will think of me as another Angelina," I finish for him.
"You know about Angelina?" he asks.
"Yeah, she does," Mrs. West answers for me.
"So, we can't tell our pack that Chriselda is our Luna. We'll have to keep it a secret for now," Mr. West concludes. We all agree with him. He turns to Charles and Daniel and tells them, "Inform everyone in the pack to gather in front of the pack house in about an hour. I have an announcement to make."
Charles and Daniel nod. They both leave the study.
●●●●●
After an hour, I find myself standing beside Mr. West at the pack house's doorsteps facing his pack members who look clueless as to why they have been told to assemble here. Mr. West gestures towards me and says, "This is Chriselda Turner, the Beta of our neighboring pack, The Night Guardians..." Everyone is shocked after learning that I'm Beta of a pack. I guess it's the first time that that they're seeing a female Beta. "...She's here to learn some of our defense techniques. I hope you all will be welcoming to her. Treat her like family." I can't escape all the curious looks that are thrown in my direction. "Disperse," he commands his audience. The pack members scatter towards the direction of their houses.
Now, it's just me, Charles, Daniel, Alarick's parents and Alarick himself left standing. Alarick looks annoyed because he was forced to attend this gathering by his father. Mr. West and Mrs. West are standing side-by-side facing us now. "It's time for us to go," Mr. West says to us. We all slightly nod at him. Mrs. West approaches me and takes my hands in her's. "It was really nice meeting you," she says with a smile.
"Same here," I say, smiling back at her.
She pulls me in a hug and whispers, "You are perfect for my son." I refrain myself from rolling my eyes. "Perfect" is not the key word when it comes to me and Alarick. If Alarick would've heard his mother's words then he too would've rolled his eyes. Mrs. West and I pull away from the hug. We say our "goodbyes" and Alarick's parents leave and go to their house.
We get back inside the pack house. I'm the last one to enter. I closed the newly fixed door behind me and join Charles and Daniel on the couch, sitting between them. Alarick has gone to his study. Obviously, he doesn't want me anywhere near him.
"We're having fighting practice in the noon. You'll be joining us, right?" Charles asks me.
"I'll have to," I reply.
For a few minutes, silence falls in the room. But soon that silence is broken by Charles as he asks me randomly, "What's your age?"
"Nineteen," I reply.
"So, what's your story and how did you become a Beta?"
I start telling them, "My Dad died in the Silver Moonstone Battle which your Alpha interrupted..." Realization crosses on the Beta and the Gamma's face. They now know which battle I'm talking about. I continue, "My Dad died and there was no male member in my family to take over the position. So, I had to step up and take responsibility."
When I finish telling them, Charles asks me, "Weren't people against you becoming the Beta of your pack?"
"They were and they still are," I say as I give out a humorless chuckle.
"I think you're the first Beta who is a female," he says. "Usually, the pack doesn't allow a female to become a Beta. It makes the pack look weak. Not that I mean that your pack is weak," he corrects himself quickly.
I smile to myself after hearing his words. "I don't know why people think that she-wolves are not capable of taking up positions. People just think of us as breeding machines," I say.
"I don't think of you as a breeding machine. You're much more than that. You are brave. You are courageous," Charles says with seriousness.
"You're being too kind," I say with a smile as I look at him. For a few seconds, I continue to do so.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asks awkwardly. He's feeling uncomfortable under my gaze.
"I wish you were my mate," I say. Charles and Daniel are both surprised after hearing my words. "You are so good to me. Why did I have to get Alarick as my mate?" I ask to no one in particular as I bury my face in my hands, cursing my fate.
"Chriselda, Alarick is a good person," Charles says.
"He doesn't seem like a good person to me," I honestly say as I remove my hands from my face. "I just wanted a loving mate but all I get is a mate who doesn't even respect me, who is rude to me and most importantly, who does not even acknowledge me as his mate."
"Chris, some things happened in his childhood that made him what he is today. He was not born as a cold-hearted person. He-"
A sudden knock at the front door interrupts Charles.
"I'll get it." I get up from the couch. I don't want to hear anymore about Alarick. I answer the door. I find a girl standing in front of me who is smiling at me. She has a backpack with her. When I look at her face carefully, she looks familiar. She looks like Alarick... Is she who I think she is?
"Hi!" She says cheerfully. "I'm Anne, Alarick's sister."
I was right.