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THIRTY NINE
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The Beta's Rebound FORTY
DECLAN What were the odds of meeting him again? I had smelled him from miles afar before our paths even crossed. A part of me was dead sure I should have taken another route because I knew what was bound to happen if I saw him. Yet, I had ignored that subtle warning in my head and continued on my way. Pack meetings were usually uneventful. My wolf seemed to want some smoke. I found him a few seconds later, his vehicle parked not too far away. His hood was up and his face was buried in the engine as he cursed away. Car troubles, I supposed. I knew not to get too close especially not with Alice on my back but I couldn't stop myself. He was cute. I stopped my vehicle right in front of him. His entire body paused for a moment and from the corner of his eyes, I noticed his eyes went my way only for him to pretend to busy himself with something under the hood so it would look like he wasn't paying me attention. It awakened something inside me. The hunter buried within. I remained inside
The Beta's Rebound FORTY ONE
ELOISE Shortly after the ceremony came to a close, Orla found me sitting outside with Matthan. The look on her face was pure gold. I figured I would explain things to her when we were alone. The urgency in her face alone showed she was not concerned with whatever epileptic relationship Matthan and I shared."Eloise, we need to talk."I looked at her, then at Matthan who was staring intently at empty space, content with just holding my hand. He didn't want to be involved with my problems but he didn't want to let me go either. His grasp tightened at my attempt to stand up. It was as if he was afraid that after tonight, things would change and I would go back to hating him and in all honesty, I couldn't promise him that it wouldn't happen. I could promise him tonight though."About what?""I suggest you give the Beta your goodbyes. The car is waiting. We'll talk there." Orla spared Matthan a dismissive look before returning her focus to me."Yeah... Sure..." I said, attempting to ignore
The Beta's Rebound FORTY TWO
ALICE Things were getting better. Declan had been very cooperative and as the days passed, he had even become bearable. Enough to get myself to believe that this could actually work. Next week was going to be big because he would be announcing in the next pack meeting that we were officially a thing and the ritual would commence. I danced around the room just thinking about it. The title of Luna would be mine soon and the sweetener was I had the Alpha of the Gardenia pack wrapped around my fingers. It was dark and Declan would be back from his pack meeting. I sat in front of the mirror and got to work. I fixed my hair, cleaned my face, and applied lipgloss, I put on some perfume and slipped into my dress. A black lacy gown that barely reached my knees. I looked at my outfit one last time and nodded in approval. This was going to be a night for celebration. I grabbed some chocolate biscuits, opened a bottle of champagne, popped open two glasses, and went out onto the terrace to wait f
The Beta's Rebound FORTY THREE
ELOISE The ride back to Orla's mansion lacked the luster and the peace of mind I was hoping to have finally achieved after braving through my fear of leaving a life of normalcy. I wished I had actually listened to Fergus. Knowing did make things worse. I just couldn't escape it. The floating thoughts. I barely remembered what happened that night. I didn't see or know how my mother died. But with Fergus' theory floating in my head, I could now picture a scenario and it sickened me even more now that there was a face to accompany it. What if Fadia had actually put up a fight to protect me and failed? I couldn't imagine the horrors that might have been going on in her heart when life began to leave her. Chill seeped beneath my skin as I pictured the despair of failure that would have been on her face. It was unbearable."We were home Eloise." Orla's voice pulled me out of my dark thoughts. She looked at me, concern written all over her features. "You okay?"I nodded but she wasn't convin
The Beta's Rebound FORTY FOUR
DECLAN I was woken up the following morning by the sound of trumpets. The ones that were only sung when someone of great importance arrived at the pack grounds. I slumped to my left expecting to see Alice but she was nowhere to be found. I immediately jumped to my feet and surveyed my surroundings. The clothes I had tossed around were nowhere to be found, implying that Alice had taken care of them. Had she been expecting someone? I wondered. My curiosity did not have to wait though. Servants came knocking soon after. I opened up my front door for them to enter my bedroom. They began cleaning up in haste. The main objective was looking pretty much like they didn't want anyone to notice that I had just spent the last few hours snoring."What is happening?"They ignored me and proceeded to go through my drawers, I watched carefully as they picked out clothing that had the Gardenia crest. Formal wear. That prompted the first question."Who was the trumpet for?""Your parents." They answ
The Beta's Rebound FORTY FIVE
ALICE"Did your son just threaten our daughter?" My mother scoffed at Declan's father. The mood in the room seemed to shift from what I had wanted it to be. I also seemed to vanish from the room because they all faced themselves, bickering almost immediately. Declan's father assured my parents that Declan wasn't going to do anything rash or stupid because he would soil his good name. In all honesty, that was all my parents wanted to hear. Assurance. But suddenly, it wasn't enough for me. Declan's wings were flourishing and escaping the cage I believed I had constructed for him. It made me wonder how long I could keep him in that cage. Without much of a thought, I excused myself from the room and raced after Declan"What was that?" I yelled at him before I even reached him. I half expected him to ignore me and continue walking but Declan stopped and waited for me to catch up to him."I should be the one asking that question but you know what. Just do what you want to do and leave me the
The Beta's Rebound FORTY SIX
ELOISEMy decision to still spend a few days with Orla turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I got to see Matthan every passing day. We went on dates and even on walks. It made it seem like a normal relationship. I did notice a difference. Unlike how it had been with John, I didn't feel fake. John had been great and I had loved him. He made life better. He was one of those people that actually made me enjoy life but the whole time we were together, there was just this voice at the back of my head, telling me it was all make-believe. Reminding me that no matter how hard I tried to be normal. I wasn't normal and I would never be. With Matthan, I really didn't have to hide some parts of myself. He knew it all. But that didn't also mean my relationship with Matthan was perfect. There were still cracks here and there. One thing that still bothered me was Matthan's dynamic when it came to relationships. It wasn't just the words Declan had whispered into my ears. I knew how he had been t
The Beta's Rebound FORTY SEVEN
ALICE As the days progressed, it became increasingly clear that happiness would be a rarity if I stayed with Declan. If we even survived heat season. The worry took away my sleep and my mother's words started to get to me. I wasn't going to end up with absolutely nothing. I refused to succumb to such a fate. Staying with Declan was only going to give him a title and with the way things were progressing between us, I doubted that was even an advantage to me anymore. So I did as my mom has advised. Whatever it took to secure my happily ever after. Except, I added a twist of my own. I wasn't going to just do everything in my power to end up as some miserable Luna to some gay Alpha. I was going to do everything in my power to get the better man. I made an order while the preparations for the next pack meeting were going on. It was a hectic time for the servants around. If the Gardenia was doing pack meetings in the confines of the Gardenia mansion, it meant something important was going t
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