chapter six

“Fifteen against fourteen. I guess you’re staying then,” Lady Victoria said, and a wide grin spread across my face. I turned to the Beta—the man whose vote had just saved me. He smiled at me, and his handsome features, which the tension-filled moment had stopped me from noticing, dawned on me.

Before I could rush over to say thank you, he had already left. One of the elders who voted against my staying walked up to me. He was the same one who had come to inform me that the Alpha wanted to see me.

“I hope my vote does not draw bad blood between both of us,” he said.

“No, not at all,” I replied, lying through my teeth. If I could, at that moment, I would have spat on his face and then proceeded to tear him to pieces.

“Good. You are a fortunate one. I don’t know if it is fate or if the Beta is drawn to you, but he never uses his vote in these meetings. He has only voted once—to save his sister from being removed as one of the healers. And for that, you should consider yourself incredibly—”

“Wait. Is his sister one of the healers? Which one?” I asked, cutting him off.

Before he could reply further, Lady Victoria ordered a guard to drag him away.

“Careful of that one. He is a rather popular paedophile,” she said before leaving the room.

I decided that if the Beta was a brother to one of the healers, Erin should know who I was, and I rushed outside to meet her.

As soon as I stepped outside, I found her in an embrace with the Beta. I felt disappointed—or rather disheartened—and somehow also a heart-wrenching pang of jealousy.

“Hi,” I managed to say to the Beta in a voice that failed to even mask my mini heartbreak.

“You didn’t tell me the Beta was your boyfriend,” I said, trying to sound casual and unaffected.

“What? No!” both of them exclaimed simultaneously, sounding embarrassed.

“This is Gregory, my brother—elder brother,” Erin informed me.

“Oh. I didn’t realize that. I saw you two and just assumed—”

“We were lovers?” he said. “Nah. She’s just my little ugly, annoying sister.”

Erin shot him a glare and said, “And he is my big-for-nothing brother whose ugly face has sentenced him to a lifelong spell of singleness.”

“I am not ugly. I just haven’t found someone that deserves my godly aesthetics, right?” he said, turning to me, and I realized the question was directed at me.

“Yes. Totally. You’re totally hot,” I blurted out, saying the first thing that came to mind. And that was how I truly felt about him. He was hot.

“Ooooh,” Erin mouthed. “Things are getting spicy here, Chelsea. If I didn’t know you were so smitten with my brother, should I give you guys some space?” she teased.

“Shut up,” I blushed, feeling embarrassed.

“Chelsea. Is that your name?” Gregory, the Beta, asked. “I like it. It’s beautiful—just like you.”

“Okay! That’s the height of it. We have to get out of here,” Erin said, dragging me away.

As we walked away, my heartbeat gradually returned to normal after the unusual dance it had been doing since I started talking to Erin's brother.

“What’s the Alpha’s deal? He seems to hate me,” I said.

“How?” Erin asked. I knew she would find it hard to believe her beloved Alpha could hate me for no reason. It showed in the way she spoke about him—the silent reverence in her voice.

“The way he looked at me, talked to me… he even threatened me,” I replied.

“He did?” she asked. “Maybe he’s just wary of you.”

“But you’re not. Neither is your brother. Maybe he’s not as nice as you think,” I said.

“He’s the Alpha. That’s his job—being wary. Because if things go wrong, it would be his fault.”

I was about to respond when someone ran up to us.

“The elders want to introduce you to the pack at the hall,” he said.

We followed him to another medieval-looking house, only this one was huge—really huge. Perhaps the biggest in the pack.