Chapter Five: The need to be recognized by the world

Like I told you before, I hate confrontation. They make me break out in hives. Selene’s sweet expression seconds after she looked like she wanted to murder me roused unsettled feelings in my stomach. 

I felt like I needed to poo badly. 

“You are a servant, aren’t you?” the redhead taunted loudly. 

Looks like she is going for the jugular. The redhead seemed like an intelligent woman, and I know she must have deduced that I am Victor’s mate and not his servant. So, if she emphasizes my place as a servant, she could only be doing it to humiliate me. And if that is the case, then she succeeded. 

   I lost the pride I felt earlier when I landed my first battle blow. My face heated with shame, and my posture deflected a little.  

   I burned with the urge to scream that I am not a servant, but I didn’t want to contradict Victor publicly. It might seem like a challenge to the Alpha, so I held my peace, though it cost me several finger marks on my palms. 

 “And?” I asked forcefully, keeping my tone calm. I didn’t succeed much, because a hint of irritation still managed to pop through.  

  A smug smirk hinted at the brunette’s red-coated thin lips before she carried on sweetly.  “As a servant, you are supposed to answer when called. I don’t know your name and can’t address you by your name.” 

   People seemed to think her words made a reasonable argument, and they immediately turned to look at me with a scowl, as if I were the rude one, even though they all knew I wasn't a servant.

People, right.    

I have to give the redhead this one, and I also learned a bitter lesson: Not to underestimate your opponent. The redhead might be stunning, but she has a good set of brains in that gorgeous head of hers. 

Witty and cunning.

I have to be careful around her. Something tells me that the redhead will cause massive trouble for me and the Pack. 

Do I have the ability to take on someone like her? After all, I am just an omega. When she stood before me earlier with Victor, I sensed she was an Alpha, which begs the question of which Pack she was from. 

She doesn’t look South, which leaves the Northern Packs as the obvious choices. 

I don’t know much about the Northern Packs as I have barely left our small town, but I know how they see us Southern Packs, like we are a bunch of illiterates with backward views. 

I pushed down my shame and made my way to Selene and Victor’s table. I guess I can’t avoid this all night. 

“How can I help you?” I questioned through a pursed lip, a blank expression on my face, while I fought not to look at Victor. He talked animatedly with the Mayor about some city project he is looking to get into next. 

He is home for what? An hour? And he is already diving into another business venture. 

You can say it. I know he is a workaholic. I never minded before, but I wondered if this is one of the things that bred the distance between us and resulted in him seeking another. Victor is bright-minded, and I must honestly admit that his business talks bore me. 

Selene seems like a smart person. Is she also from the business world? Did they bond over their love for business and all things stock? 

I am dying to know how these two met, but unfortunately, my curiosity about this, among other things, would have to wait until I get Victor alone. 

      “Are you listening to me?”       

Damn, does she always have to bellow like I am deaf? She does know I have perfectly working ears. 

“Of course, I am listening to you. Your Highness.” I added sarcastically in my mind.   

The redhead smirked at me and waved her hand to the table. “Alright, go ahead,” she said with a smug look. 

Alright, you got me, I wasn’t listening, and the she-devil knew that and was hoping to make a fool out of me. 

I had to swallow my pride and ask her what she wanted again. 

 “I want you to pour my wine, as you can see my glass is empty,” Selene gestured with her red-coated nails at her empty glass, a haughty expression on her face. 

 I looked at the bottle of wine just a breath away from the redhead, and then at her.

Is she kidding me right now? 

 “Chop chop,” Selene prompted in an annoying tone like I was her bitch and we are playing fetch. 

 I stiffened with irritation, but moved to do as she wanted. If I pounce on her to wriggle her scrawny neck, do you think she would be quick enough to escape before my hands wrap around her neck? 

As an Alpha, she probably would. 

    To pour her wine, I have to stand directly in front of Victor, which gives me an ample view of his handsome face. I couldn’t resist looking. While gawking at Victor and wondering where things went wrong with us, I didn’t know when I overpoured the wine. 

    “Oi!” the redhead snapped her finger at me, and I blinked in her direction. 

  “You are making a mess. Are you stupid or just clumsy?” 

   Her raised voice got everyone’s attention, including Victor’s. I held my breath, hoping he would come to my rescue and set Selene right, but he did the opposite. 

 “I have warned you about your clumsiness. Why are you always incompetent? You can’t even handle a simple task!” 

His scolding shocked me to the system, and to add salt to the injury, he made me sound like I was the worst Luna the Pack has ever had. The control I fought so hard to maintain all evening melted away like ice, and tears fell freely down my face. 

    “Excuse me,” I muttered, my voice breaking. As I hurried away from the table, I heard Selene mutter, “What a cow?” 

SELENE'S POV

She runs off like a mouse—imagine a little mouse roaring at me like a cat. This is just the beginning. When I am done with her, she will know her place. 

On the ground with filts like her. 

I came here knowing she existed, but she was just an obstacle in my path. One, I intend to decimate and ensure she will never stand in my way. 

Victor is too important to my plans to let some fatty brunette risk everything I have planned. 

A few months back, I hadn't believed it would be easy when I set out to ensnare Victor into my trap. 

Rumors of a powerful Pack had reached the North, and when I investigated, I learned that they were not only powerful, with ample warriors at their disposal, but also rich. 

The perfect mark. 

A man like Victor isn’t one to be swayed easily by the charms of a woman, especially if he already has someone in his heart. 

Make no mistake, he does love the fat cow. 

I knew I had to do something drastic to catch his attention. What I did will have to be revealed at a later time. Be patient. Winks. 

So, back to our encounter. 

My spies discovered the infamous Alpha would be coming North for a six-month business retreat. I knew this was my chance to cross paths with him, and if I played my cards right, I would come back as his Luna. 

Smirks. 

As you already know, everything worked out as planned, as if the moon goddess herself was guiding me. 

I had seduced a poor human and came as his date to the event. I am not business inclined, but if you are going to seduce a target and get him to do your bidding, the least you can do is know everything you can about the target. 

And that is what I did. 

I learned everything about Victor, and the one thing that stood out is. 

His ambition. 

The need to be recognized by the world. 

Victor might be rich and powerful in his little world, but he is still a small fish in the mass of things. A small fish I intend to make big enough to fight a whale. 

He was the perfect target because he would not see him coming. 

Every other powerful Alpha he has under his watch, but this one. It is as if he doesn’t expect him to be a threat. 

Perfect for me. 

Smile evilly. 

On the day of the award ceremony, I wore my finest red dress, meant to attract and distract. It was meant to attract the eyes of men who couldn’t keep their eyes off a beautiful woman stunning in red and distract shrewd minds looking to delve into my motives.

The human was only my way in, as soon as we entered the elegant and luxurious room where the event was being hosted, I discarded him and hurried off in search of my real target. 

I didn’t expect him to be here, and even if he was, I wasn’t scared he would recognize me. It had been years, and I am sure I was just a blip in his long years of existence. 

He wasn’t here, but my target was. And he was alone. 

Perfect.