Jolene
I was wearing a classic A-line long green dress with and some uncomfortable high heels; Alexander had been nice enough to give me a black choker to hide the bruises he made around my neck.
Before walking into the party, he gave me another diluted wolfsbane shot, ‘just to make sure.’ Apparently, two daily shots of that would prevent me from using my abilities without any long-term effect. I do not want to imagine how they tested that theory out.
His arm around my waist made my skin crawl. However, I had to smile. That is what he told me. We were surrounded by pack members and other guests from different packs. Before the party, Alexander had said that I should behave so the guy making company to Aiden does not hurt him. I heard it more like: ‘this is just a friendly reminder that I am a pathetic piece of trash that needs to threaten you to keep you here by my side.’
It should be easy enough. I just have to pretend to be happy. Okay, it was extremely difficult. Just forcing myself to not glare at the bastard latched to my waist was hard enough; Smiling was nearly impossible. But, I had to do it. I needed to get him to put his guard down.
“Love… love?” Alexander was peeking at my face with a small smile and waving his hand.
“Yes?” I said. Put yourself together, Jolene. You cannot afford to be zoning out right now.
“You seem distracted, princess. It is your body. Alpha Wallace here was asking how many pups we are planning to have. So, I am letting you decide that.”
Annoying psycho bastard say what? How about zero kids and I kill you. “Oh, I have not thought about it,” I said.
I looked at Luna Marilyn. She had her head lowered in submission. Alpha Wallace is not completely wicked, but he does not treat his Luna as his equal. So the rumors were true.
I have only met them before once, in my wolf form. Alexander had forbidden me to introduce myself as the Beta of the Silver Moon pack. Curse my habit of avoiding showing myself in my human form to other werewolves.
“We may just end up having several pups as I want, then. Alpha Wallace is leaving soon to go to the birthday party of the future Alpha of the Wild Moon Pack. Isn’t he your student?” Alexander kissed the back of my hand.
A sinking feeling in my stomach suddenly made it difficult to breathe. I felt like I could break down in tears right there. I dug my nails into my palms and bit my lower lip to stop it from quivering.
Alexander kept talking nonchalantly. “Tell the birthday boy that his teacher and future Luna of the Blood River pack Jolene Amores wishes him a happy birthday.”
I stared at Alexander wide-eyed. I am not sure if I was surprised or furious. I knew he is petty, but this is just cruel. Oh, I am outraged. But, this is a chance.
I looked at Alpha Wallace in the eye. “Tell Ca- Mr. King that I wish I could be by his side,” I said.
A sharp pain on my waist almost made me wince. Alexander had dug his fingers into my side. I do not think it was a coincidence that he had not pierced my skin. He probably does not want anyone to smell my blood and realize what he is doing.
He pulled me closer and crashed his lips into mine. I tried to push him away, but he had one hand in the back of my head and the other gripped my hips. He invaded my mouth selfishly. The most he touched me, the dirtier I felt. I wanted to disappear. I need my mate. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Mate, come wipe my tears away and tell me everything is going to be fine. My tears were wiped off when he pulled away, but it was not by my love’s hands. It was the monster standing in front of me. He draped one arm around my shoulders.
Alexander smiled and ruffled my hair. But something was threatening in that smile. “Sorry love. I was a little rough and I know how shy you are.”
Alpha Wallace chuckled and pulled Luna Marilyn in a side hug. “Newly mated couples are always so sweet.”
I lowered my gaze in defeat. Not even the people in front of me realized of my struggle.
“Oh, do not feel embarrassed. Sweetheart. His smell is all over you. What happened is quite obvious.” The Luna winked at me.
“I need to go to the restroom. I cannot do this anymore. Excuse me,” I whispered.
I walked out of the room and into a large hallway. Tears were streaming from my eyes at this point. I covered my mouth trying to muffle my sobs. A hand yanked my arm and I was pulled into a room. I flinched as I heard the door being slammed shut.
Alexander was glaring at me. His jaw was clenched and his nose flared up. I had never seen so much hate directed at me. He was looking at me as if I were his worse enemy and wanted to kill me with his own hands.
“You had one simple job,” he said in a low menacing tone. “So, you want to be by his side now, huh? Do you think I am a fucking joke?”
“You said you would never force me to be your Luna!”
His face contorted in an even more furious expression and his hands curled into fists.I took a step back and put my hands up. If I try to fight him now, there is no way I will win. He is an Alpha for crying out loud, and I do not even have my wolf by my side.
“Xander, no-”
His swift punches kept me in place. A quick punch in my stomach took my breath away from me. The contents of my stomach combined with blood made their way up my throat.
As soon as he stopped, I sunk to the floor, clutching my stomach in pain and crying my eyes out. Do I regret what I said? No. I should have said that I was dying to be with Lancelot.
“You have fifteen minutes to pull yourself together and go back out there. Otherwise, your son will be needing to learn how to write with his left hand,” Alexander said before leaving the room.
Fucking idiot. Aiden is left-handed. I tried to move but the pain made me hiss. The acidic and metallic taste in my mouth made my insides churn. I rolled on my back, hoping I might choke on my own blood and puke.
I covered my eyes with one arm. I do not think I can put a happy facade right now. I tried to think of a reason to justify the pain I am feeling right now. Maybe, this is all my fault for accepting a drink from a stranger. If die here, would I meet Lancelot in my next life?
The door swung open; Trash two and Call-girl rushed to my side. Instinctively, I curled back into a ball in case they wanted to have their own share in torturing the sexy Beta. It seems like I am not ready to give up in life yet.
I waited for the blow with my eyes shut, but instead, I felt warm arms envelop me and lift me up from the floor. He had picked me up and placed me on the bed.
“I am sorry, that idiot did this to you. You do not deserve it,” he said as he wiped my tears off.
“Take this. It will help you cope with the pain,” Call-girl said. She offered me some herbs and a glass of water.
The guy walked into what I assume is the bathroom. I looked at them, unsure if I could trust them. They had not directly hurt me, but they are his pack members. Call-girl noticed my hesitation and spoke. “I understand you do not trust us, but we are not evil. I swear. We are normal, decent people with an Alpha who has lost his mind.” She ate some of the herbs and took a sip of the water. “See, this is not poison.”
I still did not trust them, but the pain only got worse at the second. At that point, I was desperate to relieve the agonizing sensation. She was offering me a way. I held my breath, took the herbs and gulped down the water.
In the back of my mind, I expected to fall in deep slumber like in fairy tales. That would be okay because then my charming prince would have to wake me up with a kiss. If only life was like that.
I took a deep breath and cringed. My lips were still covered with puke and blood. To my surprise, the aching subsided until it felt more like a dull discomfort.
“Take it easy. Do not push yourself,” the girl said. This only helps with the pain but does not fix the problem.
The man came back with some wet towels. He gave them to the girl, who carefully wiped my face and mouth and cleaned my dress. She, then, fixed my makeup.
“Gorgeous!” the girl said, clapping her hands together.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked them.
“We could not stand there and watch. Let me introduce myself. I am Beta Adam. Abigail here is my mate.”
“Hello, again. I work as a nurse and I am also a warrior,” Abigail said.
“You know your Alpha is one crazy bastard, right?”
They both nodded without meeting my eyes.
“It is the first time he acts like this. He is usually a good Alpha and a decent person, besides the girls he used to sleep with,” Adam said.
“So, he only gets all psycho with me. Just my luck. I need to go out there. I have a Grammy to win to save my son’s arm.” I stood up.
“I wish I could help you out more, but I am his Beta,” Adam said before leaving the room.
Abigail walked up to me and whispered something almost inaudible in my ear. “I am technically not his Beta; I will help you.” She left the room.
I took a look at myself in the bathroom mirror. I look the same as before, but why do I feel like something inside of me is breaking little by little? I washed my mouth to get rid of the disgusting taste that was making me nauseous and closed my eyes. I psyched myself up for a lifetime performance.
I had to act as if I was in love with the guy I desperately wanted to kill. No, the guy I will to torture to death. I will cut each of his limbs with a dull knife and cauterize his wounds with red-hot silver so he does not die quickly. Then, I will feed him with his flesh, and I will hang him up by his balls with wolfsbane covered silver chain razor wire.
I walked out of the room and toward the party with my back straight and chin high. This is only another sacrifice I will have to make. At least the mental image of Alexander’s slow death gave me a reason to smile.
I found Alexander talking to the same couple as before. I stood next to him and he looked at me with soft eyes before kissing me on my temple and putting an arm around my waist.
“I missed you, love.” He kissed my cheek.
I smiled as if everything was perfect. “I missed you too.”
I turned my attention to the Alpha couple in front of me. “Pleased to meet you again.”
“So pretty and educated. This one will make a good housewife,” Alpha Wallace said.
“The best one,” said Alexander.
I cringed internally and bit my tongue. The sympathetic look the Luna was giving me seemed more like an older woman trying to advise me against wasting my life away for a man.
“As I told you, my Beta is in the Wild Moon territory and he just told me that something happened to the birthday boy and the party was canceled,” said Alpha Wallace.
As soon as those words reached my ears I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. And I am familiar with the feeling. I noticed Alexander’s intense gaze on me as if challenging me to show that I cared about my mate.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and faked a smile. “Oh, that is too bad.”
“It is not only too bad. It shows how immature that kid is. As expected, that pack will remain a substandard pack. I feel sorry for everyone who will have to be under his command,” said Alpha Wallace.
“Maybe I should just take his lands,” said Alexander with a shit-eating grin.
I lowered my gaze, not to show respect, but because all the fake smiles in the world would not hide my rage. How dare he talk bad about my mate’s pack? About my future pack! Alpha Wallace’s pack is not even that great. They just got lucky there are a lot of resources in their territory. And the Silver Fang Pack would never allow Alexander to expand–; Wait, if I was the Luna, my brother would remain neutral. This sneaky son of a bitch.
Some childish giggles caught my attention and I turned my gaze to see a bunch of kids playing around a table. I could kill two birds with one stone.
“Dear, could I go play with the children?”
He smiled widely and nodded.
As a Luna, one of my responsibilities would be to ensure the pack’s pups are receiving the best care possible. I know all about that since I used to help Elena out with her work in my spare time.
I spent most of the night playing with the children while Alexander talked to the guests. I did notice he pointed at me a few times, probably spreading more lies to ruin my life. I need to get out of here soon. My little Alpha needs me, and I need him.