by Rasi K
Chapter 4
Mate
“Tah! What are you doing?”, I asked pulling out my hand from her grip.
“What am I doing? No Carol, you have got it wrong. It’s the other way around. What are you doing? I have been calling you for about ten times and you ask me what I am doing.”
She didn’t bother to wait for my reply before she spoke again.
“Whatever it was that you were looking for, can wait while I introduce you to someone.”, she dragged me saying so, in the direction where that person she says about is, I believe. The smell hit me once again and seemed to increase with each step. I shall thank Tah enough once I find my mate. Once we came to a halt the smell engulfed me completely.
“Noah, this is Carol, remember her? She is our beta’s daughter and my best friend. Carol, this is Noah, my brother. I thought that you might not recognize each other and decided to reintroduce you to each other.”
Don’t tell me-
One look into his eyes I knew my thoughts were right. He was my mate. His eye color kept changing meaning he was fighting his wolf.
Tah must have seen our clouded eyes because the next thing I know, she was pushing us outside.
“Mate”, he finally said. I looked up to see that his wolf has taken control.
Next moment, he is attacking my lips. I kiss him back only for him to pull back. His eyes held the look of regret in them. It felt like a punch in the gut. Did he regret what his wolf did? I really hope it wasn’t the case.
He straightened himself and made sure that he had his wolf under control before looking at me.
He was also a brunette similar to his sister, with piercing blue eyes similar to mine.
“I, Noah Jones-”
Chapter 5
Rejection
“I, Noah Jones, the future alpha of Red Moon Pack, reject you, Caroline Dunbar, daughter of the beta of Red Moon Pack, as my mate.”
I was so shocked to even fight the piercing pain in my body.
Satisfied with his rendering, he turned around and went back inside without sparing me glance.
This was not the Noah I had imagined of. Even though we never conversed with each other back then, I always believed that he was a sweet guy. But no, he had to reject me just like that, to prove me wrong. How could he do that to me? Why would he reject me?
So my instinct was right, he did regret the kiss. Was someone behind this? But we only found out today, so why?
Liza kept calling out to me since the moment he rejected me but I shut her out. Finally making my mind stable I opened her link.
I talked to Aiden, but when he rejected us, I could no longer reach him. Even though, when he found out that we were his mate he was not happy about it, when he kissed us, Aiden believed that he will change his mind about it. The moment he thought he was going to change, he rejected us.
I felt happy that at least she could talk to her mate.
But why was he unhappy with us being his mate?
I could feel her being hesitant about it. So I asked her again.
Liza, if you know something tell me.
The thing is hewantedapowerfulmateandanalphaatthatsousbeingabetawasnotagoodthingtohim.
She said all this in one breath that I couldn’t comprehend a word as to what she was telling.
Liza, tell it again but slowly. I didn’t understand one word.
He wanted a powerful mate and an alpha at that, so us being a beta was not so good for him.
My heart shattered at that, but I know better than to waste my tears on such a judgmental person.
But we are powerful, so why not accept us?
I asked her because I was confident that she knew the reason.
Uhmm…
Liza…
He is a power hungry scumbag.
What do you mean?
He wants an alpha mate because there is a chance that he might get a pack to rule, which means more power.
Oh…
With that she shut me off. She was hurting too. Knowing the truth first hand did no good to her either.
After making sure that I didn’t look different, I made a beeline to where Tah was.
After searching a bit I found her stuffing her face near the food counter. But on closer inspection I could tell that she was upset. I approached her and asked what happened.
“The ceremony is almost done but I haven’t found my mate yet.”
I didn’t know how to console her considering that I wished that I hadn’t found my mate at all.
All I could do was sit along with her and hug her from the side.
Once the ceremony ended, everyone left home either with their mates or with their friends. I went along with Tah to her place. We changed into comfy clothes and removed our hair-do and makeup.
We were relaxing in a comfortable silence when Tah broke through it.
“Why aren’t you with my brother?”
Because he rejected me for reasons you might not want to know.
“Come on Tah, just because I had a tiny crush on him doesn’t mean that I have to be with him. He has a mate out there.”
I was stalling, I know. But I can’t tell it to her face that her brother was a power hungry scumbag. Liza’s words not mine.
“Oh, cut your bullshit. I know that you guys are mates.”, she said not believing a word I had said.
I had to force myself to blush, to stop myself from crying at her words.
Suddenly the door ripped open and mother came in gushing.
She was around 35, with straight blonde hair. She had bright brown eyes.
“Carol, you found your mate? Who is he?”, she asked.
“Its Noah, mom.”, Tah answered for me.
“I’m sorry but not sorry that I eavesdropped on your conversation. This is so great. I have to tell this to your father. We have to organize the ceremony to introduce you as the future Luna and we have to do this and that. Oh my goddess, there is so much work.”, she said freaking me.
“Mother, relax. I know that you want the best for us but I don’t want anyone other than our family to know about this. Let’s keep it that way for awhile. I want to get to know him first.”
Mother reluctantly accepted to it after some protests. She went down to tell dad and uncle about it.
I lied down on the bed and patted the spot next to me, asking Tah to join me.
“I don’t know what it is, but I know that something is bothering you. You are keeping it away from me, but I also know that you are not doing it wontedly. Tell me when you feel like. I am always there for you, no matter what.”, she said snuggling into me.
“Thanks Tah. I know that you are.”, I said hugging her.
I was really thankful to her for not pressuring me for answers that even I was not ready to believe yet. I hugged her and went to sleep wishing that all this would be a bad dream.
Chapter 6
Harsh Reality
The next day I woke up with someone nudging me. I thought with me being unresponsive they might leave but the person stopped for a moment only to start again.
I opened my eyes expecting Tah rushing me to get ready for the ceremony. But seeing mother, smiling down at me, forced me to accept the harsh reality. I smiled back at her before she retreated back.
I looked around for the clock and was surprised to see it showing one in the noon. One night of crying had drained out all my energy; I definitely can’t develop this as a habit. By this I meant the crying.
I noticed that Tah was not around. Maybe she allowed me to sleep in sensing that I was not myself. I will have to talk to her soon.
I could hear uncle Orion and dad somewhere in the house.
Not wanting them to sense that something was off with me, I decided on a shower immediately.
I cleaned up extra neat and put on some clean clothes before going down to the kitchen.
The little snack I had yesterday couldn’t be called a proper dinner. A skipped breakfast along with it made my stomach
growl in hunger.
Tah was eating at the counter while mother made bacon.
Dad and uncle were in the living room discussing some pack works.
“Hello my sweet old men.”, I said going towards them.
I hugged dad and kissed him on the cheek before doing the same with uncle.
“Hello, babygirl. How was the ceremony? I heard from your mother that you found your mate.”, uncle said wiggling his eyebrows with a knowing smile.
He was around 40, with brown hair. He had amber eyes similar to my dad.
For an alpha, he was one hell of a convivial and outgoing person, a contrast to his son.
“Ceremony was good, uncle. And yeah, I did find my mate.”, I said sitting between them.
Dad was beaming, mostly at the thought that his daughter is his best friend’s son’s mate and that she would be becoming the Luna.
Oh dad, if only you knew what it was like.
“In all seriousness, tell us if he doesn’t treat you right. I will beat him down until he realizes his mistake.”, uncle said turning to me.
How I wish I could tell you the truth?
“Yeah, I will give him a nice beating for mistreating my baby.”, dad added.
“Are you speaking of the same person I think you are?”, uncle asked in fake shock.
Here they go again, childish banter.
“Sweetheart go and have some food while I give this sick man a lesson on how to be good alpha.”, dad said to me and turned to his friend. Uncle smiled and nodded at me like a child before pretending to glare at dad.
I smiled at their craziness before going to the kitchen.
Chapter 7
Date
I sat next to Tah while mother placed a plate of bacon and pancakes in front of me.
As I dug into my food, Tah finished her cup of hot chocolate she was drinking.
“I woke up to my stomach growling for food. I didn’t want to disturb you so I showered and changed before coming down. I told mom that you were sleeping in since you were tired and not to wake you but she wouldn’t listen as usual.”, Tah said eating from my plate.
It wasn’t just her informing me why I was woken up, but alerting me about the excuse she had told so that I don’t slip up.
Mother who was sitting across me smiled nodding, happy at her decision, before slapping away Tah hand.
“You just finished your food, why are you taking hers?”, mother scolded her, slapping away her approaching hand.
“What? I am a growing girl, I need all the food I can get.”, she said, munching on a piece of bacon she had managed to take before mother could protest.
Mother gave up her fight seeing that I slipped her food anyways. She shook her head, smiling at us.
Once we finished eating my food, Tah put the plate in the sink and came back.
“Now that you are done with your food, let’s get you ready.”, mother said.
“Ready for what?”, I asked to no one in particular, because I had a feeling that Tah knew about whatever it was.
“You are going on a date with Noah.” It was mother who answered it.
I went still at the revelation. This can’t be happening to me. I can’t go on a date with my mate who rejected me, much less a ‘power hungry scumbag’, Liza’s words not mine. Noah wouldn’t have bothered to take me on a date.
“Don’t worry, we know where he is taking you. So, I will get you ready.”, Tah said put an arm around my shoulder and smiling.
So it was them who came up with this. Does this mean he never told them about the rejection? Even though I was thankful that he had not hurt them by telling the truth, I didn’t want them to think that I kept it from them. It was his thing to say, not mine. If he doesn’t tell it to them soon, I will have to tell them, which might not be very good.
Back to the whole date thing, this is so going to be awkward, at least for me.
Chapter 8
Chaos
It’s been three weeks since Noah and I went on the so called ‘date’. Nothing happened that day except for his only question as to why I didn’t tell them for which I told him that it was him who has to tell them. He simply nodded before he left somewhere. They did a good job in selecting the spot. It was a secluded area in our land. I wandered around a bit before coming back home. When I reached home I had to make up a story for his absence, hiding his sudden disappearance.
This has been happening since then, minus the part where I make up stories. He would be gone by the time anyone is up and wouldn’t be back for days. Uncle did not appreciate his behavior the least bit. He decided that he will have a talk with him when he returns, which we are waiting for, since his disappearance two days ago. We as in, including me, as I was made to stay at Tah’s since they didn’t want me away from my mate.
There were curious stares and whispers whenever I went out, but they knew better than to question about it.
It hurt a lot to be away from him and there had been a few times when my heart feet like it was being burnt, when he was out. I really hope that he hadn’t gone out to do things. The only times he was at home, we never bothered coming out of our rooms. If anyone noticed, they never asked.
I knew that I was making a mistake by not accepting his rejection, but Liza believed that he will come around regretting what he did. I gave into my wolf instincts for now.
I was sitting in my room flipping through channels when I heard commotion downstairs. My first instinct was to run down to see what was happening until I smelt him. I relaxed back, leaving it to them to sort out their problems. That was when I smelt a new smell. Not able to help my curiosity I shut the TV to go down. I went down the stairs slowly at the same time with a level of urgency.
The moment I stepped inside the living room everyone’s eyes were on me. Dad, mother and uncle along with Tah were looking at me as if hoping that I was not present in the room. What was going on? Why would dad not want me here?
Tah came to my side immediately.
“Carol, why not leave this ass of a brother to be dealt by the elders while we go upstairs?”, Tah asked, though she never waited for my answer.
“Wait -”
Chapter 9
Luna
“Wait -”, he started, but Tah had already rushed me up the stairs and into the room.
Once we got inside, Tah pushed me on the bed, locking the door and took the TV remote before sitting next to me.
“What do we watch now? I am extremely bored.”, Tah said avoiding the big elephant in the room.
“Tah, look at me.”, I said.
“Come on Carol, suggest something.”, she said avoiding my eyes.
If it had been other times I would have joined her by telling I didn’t know any better. But this was different. Tah avoiding my eyes was new, which meant trouble.
“TAHLIYA! LOOK AT ME!”, I shouted at her forcing her to face me.
Her eyes held unshed tears and guilt.
“Tah, tell me what happened. I will make everyone who made you cry pay, even if it’s your brother. Tell me.”, I asked hugging her.
She shook her head as if telling she doesn’t plan on doing any such thing. No, no, this is all wrong. This is not Tah, she doesn’t hide. My instinct says that something bad is going to happen.
I pushed her off me and looked at her in the eye.
“Fine, if you don’t want to tell I will go find it myself.”, I said with the déjà vu feeling increasing each moment.
She held onto my wrist stopping me from moving further, but I shook off her hand and went down ignoring her protests.
I came down to see that the fight hasn’t reduced a tone down.
This time it was him who looked up first. He smirked making me get butterflies which I badly wanted to stop.
“Carol, why did you come down?”
“Ah! You have come at the right time.”
Mother and he said at the same time.
“Noah, don’t you dare!”, uncle warned him.
“This -”
“Noah”
“is”, pointing to the girl, who to my dismay was in his arms, “Kira, the future Luna of this pack.”, he finished looking down at her smiling.
Everyone in there was shouting protest at him, while I was pushed to the back of my mind.
Chapter 10
Rightful Luna
Liza’s POV
I was seeing red. How dare he bring some bitch and say that she was going to be the Luna? We are the rightful Lunas of this pack.
I jumped at her and went for her throat. I would have strangled her if not for a certain someone who threw me across the room.
Carol’s POV
I hit the wall and fell down. Liza already had gone to the corner of my mind, shutting me off. She was hurt that her mate had thrown her off to protect her.
Dad rushed to me and lifted me up. He was shaking with anger.
“Stand down, you brat. How dare you behave as such with your Luna? Apologize and submit to her now.”, he yelled.
Liza was in her dwams to be the least bit bothered by his order. Me? I wasn’t in the least intimidated. Even though he is an alpha blood, he hasn’t got the powers to threaten or order me.
Beside me, dad was about to reproach but I bet him to it.
“Luna? Submit?”, I smirked, “Dream on. I am the rightful Luna of this pack. Why would you think that I would go down on my knees, because you told so? Please. You are no one to me, much less my alpha. I don’t go around doing stuff told by someone who doesn’t know my worth, less likely an order. Also, remember that you are not the alpha yet.”
I don’t know where this headstrong woman came from, but I liked every bit of her. I might be a strong woman, who does everything to protect her loved ones, but I didn’t raise my voice in front of elders.
I had not only retorted back to his alpha tone but I had made a claim to what was rightfully mine, without Liza having done anything in it. I felt accomplished. That was when it struck me.
“You-”
“Ah, right. Now that I remember it, why don’t we ladies spare? Seeing, our elders had chosen that way to fight for a position.”, I said motioning between me and her.