♡︎ 𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ♡
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/ edited /
"There you are," Zander sighed in relief while walking towards me, as I was already out the gardens for a few minutes, and smiled at his figure approaching me.
"I wondered where'd you run off to." He teased playfully while embracing me again, and I tightly hugged him back while burying my face into his warm chest.
"I was talking to my brothers." I explained while breathing in his addicting strong scent.
"Seems like it went well?"
"Better than anything." I grinned sheepishly, making his mood brighten at my content aura, and he pulled back before shaking his arms to my back to push me in a particular direction.
"Where are they now?" He asked curiously.
"They had to get something from their room?" I shrugged.
"Okay, let's go then." He announced.
"Wait, where are we going?" I questioned.
"I just have one job left, then we can go home. And also, we'll be having a meeting tomorrow regarding your brothers." He explained, making me frown after the mentioning of this so called meeting.
"Oh. I-Is something wrong?" I stuttered worriedly.
"Everything is fine baby, you don't have to stress. It's just that I have some surprises for them." He snickered while smirking.
"Are they...good surprises?"
"You'll love them." He promised, while giving my arms a reassuring squeeze, continuing to lead me somewhere.
I've heard many stories about Zander in the past, how the Knight god is esteemed as the most powerful god of all, not knowing how, as he's thought to kill a pack in his past with his bare claws and wolf alone, with no pack warriors to help him during his bloodthirsty rage.
I don't know if it's true or not, heck, I don't know whether I should be scared from this. No wonder so many people feared him in a way, he, or specifically his wolf Atlas, was known for his character and measures of disrespected, but after seeing him like this, it was difficult to believe that he was the same oh so scary Alpha who can beat you with a flick of his finger. After watching him smile like a small kid after leading me somewhere, he looked like a real teddy bear.
We came to a populous area of this entire place, that looked like the hanging out area of the pack house. Many members were enjoying themselves within these walls, because there was playhouse for the kids to play in, there were massaging chairs for the elders, there was even a cafeteria which functioned 24/7.
This did not look like a normal pack.
But everyone looked happy, so I was happy.
As soon as Zander entered with his strong presence, all the pack members looked at him and bowed after stopping at the things that they were doing. Once they saw both of our hands intertwined together, some people gasped in surprise and then cheered shortly afterwards.
"Looks like they are happy to see their future Luna." He chuckled in a soft coo.
"No pressure at all." I shrieked with a sarcastic smile.
"Hey, remember when I told you about not bringing yourself down? You'll do amazing." He looked down at me, giving me that look like he did yesterday in our room, making me huff and nod.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm trying." I whined.
"Good girl." He praised and gave me a quick peck.
"Enjoy yourself, I'll just need a few minutes." He quickly mentioned after pulling his arm away, and I scanned the room while assuringly nodding at him.
"Take your time." I chirped brightly, before seeing him ruffle my hair again and go in a different direction.
There were so many places to go at, it was astounding in a sense. You wouldn't ever be bored in a place like this if you stay here forever. There was a gaming area, a dancing floor, small theatre, and even a library.
The library, perfect.
Books here I come.
Zander sure made the lives of the pack members very enjoyable, unlike in the previous pack where everyone would greet you with a glare and a slap to the face, having a completely different atmosphere over here, and evidently in a better way.
Even though there were many cheers among the crowd, it wasn't difficult to find some unappealing faces in a few corners, who gave out disgruntled looks towards the closeness between me and Zander, and you can guess which population I'm talking about.
If not, I'm talking about the girls who were probably around my age, completely mateless, and hormonal just like me. Although, it was pretty clear that Evie can be more hormonal than Atlas in a way, it still bothered me that they shamelessly eyed him up and down after he left me to explore this place, but I shrugged off the looks and carried on with my business, not wanting anything to ruin my day.
If I was going to have a fresh start in life, I have to try, at least one last time in order to be more optimistic when it came to people, for the sake of my mental health and confidence level. Even if I'm not the best trained person around here, I still can achieve something right? Maybe help in the emotional department of the wolves? I have no idea.
Through experiences, it was pretty clear that I hated the idea of violence. Getting enough of that in my life was a great lesson to know that I don't want to ever even touch that sphere of life. Werewolves are obviously aggressive in nature, having instincts that nature can't deny, but I wasn't at all like that. Evie was very aggressive, and even impulsive like a normal strong she-wolf who would be independent and deadly while being silent, but now with the pressure of having to be a Luna, I don't know what they do and how they act.
Red Moon's Luna didn't really do anything, she was trained, but she never fought in important matters. Heck, I've heard about many packs with Lunas who don't even engage in the fist department, rather they take care of the pack willingly, while the Alpha looks after the security element.
Of course there were also packs where the rolls were reversed, it wasn't necessary for the Lunas to take care of the pack like an actual mom, there were many badass female idols out there to protect their people, while the Alphas can be feeble.
But Chase did explain one thing to me before he left with the other two brothers. He elaborated on how I'm naturally more peaceful than normal wolves, even if I'm Luna, it didn't bring out any anger in me, because I'm the exact opposite of Zander, who was naturally more dangerous than most of the werewolf population existing.
He on the other hand, was brutal when he needed to be, but also subtle most of the time. It was like ying and yang between both of us, he was the part of having all the anger and fury, while I was the peacemaker and 'medicine' to his rage. It was like I was balancing things out when it came to calming his wolf down, being a god can have deadly consequences if you piss them off, that's why even Aiden encouraged me to never be ashamed of my submissive personality.
As I was on my way to the library while walking with no thought, I accidentally bumped into a 6 or 7 year old kid with an 'oof', to which he fell down on his bum, and I bit my lip anxiously.
"Ow!"
"I'm so sorry! Let me help you!" I rushed, quickly kneeling down and picking him up so that he was standing properly, and he dusted himself off before looking up at me.
"Are you hurt?" I consulted warily.
"No, I'm fine! Thank you!" He said while grinning, making me sigh in relief, seeing his natural happy nature to be appealing than normal kids.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Gabriel." He stated proudly.
"That's such a wonderful name you have there." I praised.
"Thank you, my nana gave me that name."
"That's great, but why are you playing alone?" I frowned.
"I'm not allowed to play with the cool kids." He argued with a minor sad pout.
"Why not?"
"I've seen the cool kids wanting to play with me, but those mean babysitters don't let me play, they say I make a big mess and they don't want to clean it." He confided sadly.
"Aww, let me help you. Can you show me where the other kids are?"
"You want to help me? Yay!" He cheered while jumping up and down.
Precious.
"Here! This way!" He declared openly while grabbing my arm, and dragging me to the playhouse in the nearby vicinity with excited eyes.
I eventually saw Zuri trying to shush a baby in her hands at the corner of my eye, and she looked very tired and sweaty, not being able to calm down the infant in her arms.
"Hey Zu," I greeted softly, not trying to disturb the scene, to which she gave me a expression which screamed 'I need help', immediately sighing in relief after seeing me available.
"Gabriel, can you give me a second?" I asked hesitantly, to which he nodded in understanding, and stood there patiently with limp arms.
Someone is a gentleman I see.
"Here," I instructed Zuri, gesturing my open arms for her to give me the crying baby. I immediately held her head correctly, reciting a tune like rhyme to her while rocking her.
She stop crying in the next few seconds and looked at my face with curiosity, with her googly orbs probably not being able to see me properly thanks to baby vision, and I flashed a toothy grin at her. I began to make happy faces and cheery noises to make her know that her environment is safe, enlightening her other senses that she depended on, and she smiled.
"That's such a good girl, you're so beautiful, you know that?" I cooed her endless compliments and she even laughed, having a natural want to be pampered.
Hearing a baby's laugh was so satisfying, I swear.
Maybe she just wanted to be treated like a princess instead of a baby.
Who would've thought.
"How the heck did you do that?" Zuri groaned frustratedly while massaging her temples.
"It's easy," I simply admitted, and the baby grabbed a piece of my hair to tug on it.
"Okay, sometimes it can be hard to handle babies, I know you look tired. Why don't you go and rest?" I suggested, letting the baby play with a strand of my hair, making sure she doesn't pull it roughly.
"I can't, I don't want to leave these poor kids to those pathetic girls." She hissed in discomfort, looking at the direction of the playhouse, making me scrunch my nose.
"Hmm, can you put her to bed the ?" I asked her while following her gaze, and she happily agreed. I waved at the baby goodbye and she raised her hand as a response while smiling.
I'll take it as a sign that she also said bye.
"Let's go Gabriel."
"I wish the other babysitters were like you. All they do is yell at babies like the one you held right now." He hoped.
"That's brutal." I whispered to myself.
"Minsey! I told you to not use the pink one! Listen to me for once! Ugh!" One babysitter yelled at a poor kid who was almost on the verge of crying, making me part my lips in shock.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" I asked her after kneeling beside her level, while she sniffed and looked at me with teary eyes.
"I-I wanted the pink unicorn, b-but she didn't allow me." She whined angrily while hiccuping.
"That's because it's supposed to be there in display! I can't clean up everything everyday!"
Why are you a babysitter in the first place then?
"Aren't the toys meant for them to play with?"
"There is a thing called 'looking good' noob. Leave us alone, you fake snake." She growled.
Well then.
Remember Sofia, new start, new mindset. Right? Don't take it seriously.
"You can have the pink unicorn, now go." I prompted her while giving her the unicorn back after grabbing it, and she smiled and ran away playing with it, giggling her way out of the scene and waving bye at me, and I sighed.
So much cuteness.
"Hey! She can't play with that! Minsey, come bac—"
"Let her have her fun, she's happy now." I gushed while smiling at Minsey, who was already on her way to play with the unicorn with her friends.
"Don't tell me what to do bitch." She sneered.
"Shh! There are kids around us! You can't curse."
"I don't give a fuck. Why are you here in the first place? Oh, so you can act kind front of everyone like before?"
"Fu-u..?" Gabriel mumbled. Oh no.
"Hey Gabe, you can play with the cool kids okay? Don't let anyone stop you. Go!" I encouraged quickly in a rush, and he immediately ran towards the house before more curse words could be heard, making my heart calm down.
Thank God.
"What the fuck is your problem!?"
"What's your problem? Can't you let the kids enjoy themselves?" I complained calmly.
"Who the hell are you tell me how to do my job? The Future Luna? Hah, as if."
"What does that have to do with your job? I'm just asking you why are you treating them badly."
"Don't try to act all innocent," Said another girl from behind me, making me grimace after seeing a new toxic looking bundle of fake personality, and I scratched my head in confusion.
"We know you're manipulating the Alpha into thinking you're his mate. You should be ashamed of yourself, you slut."
Slut.
'Shh! Don't go near her, she's said to be sleeping with other males in the pack.'
'Good God, does she have no shame? She doesn't even look old enough to have sex!'
'What do you expect from a slut like her? She's purely fake while trying to act stupid and meek all the time, she's the worse whore I've ever met in my life.'
I didn't even know what these words meant, until I had to ask from an older person, making my heart crush in the end and have two days with of breakdowns.
That's what people thought I did.
"I'm n-not manipulating anyone here. And I'd appreciate it if you don't be so harsh on the kids." I implored, trying to hide my triggered expression with a supposed glare.
"Who needs your opinion? I don't see anyone listening. Can you hear that Cindy?"
"Nope." The second girl spoke while pretending to what something, making me roll my eyes at their comeback.
So her name is Cindy.
Well maybe you're correct on that. No one really listens to my opinions anyways..
Why the hell is she right in one thing—positive thoughts boo. Evie would be proud, Zander would be proud. Breathe.
"It's not an opinion, it's necessary! How can you babysit them if you act like this?"
"Watch me." The first girl spat in a challenging way.
"And also, don't get your hopes up with the Alpha, we know Brooke is his true mate." Cindy huffed, making me want to snap my fingers in front of her face to make her realise that she's probably day dreaming.
"Brooke who?"
"Brooke me." The first girl grumbled.
"We have a history together, and you should know that he only wants me. So just leave already, no one wants you here anyways." Brooke complained.
I did not give her any satisfaction by not saying anything.
"What? Don't have anything to say? What a shame, lil baby is hurt." She said in a pretty annoying voice which made me loose brain cells.
"So let me give you friendly warning, Zander is mine. Back the fuck off, or I will have you banished from this pack. Got it snake?"
"You can try.." I trailed off.
"I can try? TRY?! Ill show you that I CAN do it."
"Okay." I shrugged in a bored tone, before leaving the scene, not wanting to endure another insult that might trigger my heart and make it drop down a hundred miles.
Don't believe them, you're not a slut. Shh Sof, you're fine. Don't become upset. They are wrong.
They are wrong they are wrong they are wrong. T-They...mean nothing to you. Absolutely. Nothing..to you. It's...not your words...no.
I sat near the window in an attempt to distract myself from the targeting words, looking outside as people were training.
Did she really have a history with Zander? What kind of history though..
No.
Stop thinking. Zander said he didn't have anything with any girl in his life, don't trust her over him.
You're better than that Sofia, get a grip.
"Oh my God! He's so hot Brooke, ever since he came here, I can't take my eyes off of him!" Cindy squealed way too loudly for me to also hear her words while pointing at the door.
"Why don't you talk to him?" Brooke asked with a smirk.
Okay, guilty pleasure, eavesdropping is not great, but whatever.
"You think Aiden will like me? He just came here.."
Aiden? Like my brother Aiden?
"Maybe you can show him around the pack!"
"That's a great idea!"
I looked at the entrance to see all my brothers walking in together, discussing something about pickles and peanut butter, you know, first world problems, making me giggle softly.
"Go up to him now!" Brooke exclaimed in inducement, causing Cindy to walk up to him with a nervous smile, interrupting their conversation for a brief second, making all my brothers frown.
They spoke for a few seconds, making me gasp at how different they looked in front of strangers than how they were compared to me, Chase was serious, Xavier didn't even bother, and not to mention Aiden's face, but I did see him cringe for a seconds, before I distinctly heard him saying something in a cold expression.
"Excuse me, I have a mate. If you're here to get a chance with me, I'm sorry. Have a nice day." And they left her.
Woah.
Wooow.
They instantly spotted me and smiled, leaving the rejected girl in the middle of the arena while she stared at the floor, and started walking towards me. Cindy looked hurt and frowned a lot. She saw my brothers approach me, and she got irritated in a second.
I greeted all my brothers, but Aiden hugged me, making me hug him back.
"You're okay after what happened?" He asked carefully.
"Yes, much better. Thanks to all of you." I thanked gratefully.
"Hey! We should go out together, as like a sibling day." Chase suggested excitedly.
"Not this week, I have many tournaments." Xavier grumbled.
"Why don't you marry your console?" Chase pointed.
"Said every girl ever." Aiden mumbled, breaking the hug, which made me giggle.
"YOU." Cindy growled, stomping over here dramatically with clenching fists.
"You fucking witch!" She sneered into my face, making me step back a little to avoid getting her spit on me.
Is that supposed to be an insult or...? I thought witches were awesome.
"Is it fun to steal everyone's man? HE HAS A MATE. And you're going to do this to Zander? Just you wait till Brooke tells him this. Then maybe finally you can be gone. I knew you were faking it." Cindy growled, making me want to laugh then and there at her face, but restrained myself and instead just blinked.
All of my brothers were about to say something, especially Aiden, but I stopped them and continued to listen to her.
"You're such a whore."
Crack—
Don't. No no no no no.
Don't Sofia.
Just don't.
"All you do is fake relationships and hang out with different guys. How can you be such a slut?"
Fucking.
"What's new? Do you open your legs for every wolf in sight? Mated or not?"
Cry.
I glanced at all my brothers momentarily, having a constipated expression plastered on my face, and all of them had different coloured eyes, making me gulp visibly.
Oh boy.
Their wolves are surfacing.
"Who the fuck do you think you are for saying shit like this about her!?" Xavier boomed with a snarl to his voice, and Cindy gasped.
"Can't you guys see!? She's manipulating you! I'm trying to help you before you get seduced by her black magic." She defended while glaring at me.
"She's my—"
"Shh." I shook my head Xavier, putting a hand on his chest to stop him. He looked confused for why I did that, but he didn't say anything.
"Your what? Your booty call?" Brooke interjected, scowling at me.
"What the hell is going on here?"
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