Chapter Four: The Devil Alpha

CLAIRE

"...Because I love you... All these I did for you..."

Those sweet words from Alpha Enzo reeled in my mind as I put on the red dress he had presented to me on my birthday. He had requested I wore it today, the day of the transformation rite ceremony. 

The long dress shimmered as I twirled, flowing down my scrawny body and hiding away all my years of sufferings. I had to admit I looked beautiful in it. It had been a very long time since I donned something nice.  

"...I want to make you mine..." The confession made me warm inside and I held my chest to tame my thundering heart. 

All my life, no one had made me feel this way. I could recall Blaire taunting me every time I smiled shyly when Alpha Enzo's name was mentioned. I thought she was being silly. But I guessed now, it all made sense. I did feel something for him, even though I was not sure it could be called love. 

I combed my hair, deciding to let the black bangs cascade down my shoulder to complement my exposed neckline.  

"Are you having a pup in there? Come out already," Blaire yelled from the other side of the door. 

She had smuggled me into her room in the pack house to get dressed. She called it her 'welcome to normal life' treat. Like her brother, she believed everything would turn out fine and she could not wait for me to finally move into the pack house. 

"Claire, are you dead? What is keeping you in there?" She banged on the door now. 

I rolled my eyes and dropped the brush, shifting all my hair over my left shoulder. I smiled at my reflection and went to unlock the door. 

"I am fine, mother hen. Gee! You need to learn to calm down," I said but she was not listening. 

Her eyes were round saucers staring back at me in awe. 

"Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked. 

"You. Look. Amazing." She squealed and jumped at me for an embrace. She pulled me at arm’s length to take a good look at me. "I should take my brother to shopping with me more. He has an eye for good things. Damn!" She exclaimed. 

I felt my cheeks heat up and that smile was creeping in again. 

"Come come," she pulled me along and made me sit in front of the vanity. "This is not complete yet."

My eyes narrowed into slits as I her looked at her. "How do you mean?"

"Ummm...have you not heard about jewelries and make up?" She inquired satirically while fumbling with the many jewelry pieces and make up items scattered on the table. 

"I do not want to look overdressed, Blaire..." I was saying when she hushed me. 

"You will not. Let Blaire do her magic, okay?" Then she turned me away from the large mirror and set to work. 

Five minutes had passed when she made me peep my new look in the mirror. 

"Woah!" I breathed out. 

She had applied black kohl lines on my upper lash lines, dabbed nude eye shadow on my lids and mascara on my lashes. My lips spotted a shimmery nude lipstick and my face dabbed in powder. Droopy earrings dangled from my ears and a simple chain laid solitary on my collar bone. 

"You really pulled this off," I teased her and she scowled at me. 

"Come on. We need to leave now or we would be late. Put this on," she kicked a pair of glass heels. 

"Thank you so much, Blaire."

She quickly applied light make up and in no time, we dashed out of her room. Nobody seemed to recognize me as the lowly omega girl anymore. They smiled warmly at me as we all trooped to the ceremony grounds. 

It was almost midnight and the bonfire burned fiercely in the center of the crowd. I found my way to the omega stand, while Blaire went to seat with her brother and Beta Kane, her mate. 

If I thought I was overdressed, then it was an understatement to the glamorous outfits the other omegas pulled off. Everyone was in their best. 

Yet, the air was also tense in a way because earlier this afternoon, the Devil Alpha that had been announced would be making his way to our clan tomorrow had arrived. No one wanted to act out of line and cross him. 

Although he was just a shifter like us, it was rumored that the Devil Alpha had his first transformation at the age of eight, a record that didn’t exist and had yet to be broken by anyone. He had become Alpha at the age of fifteen and now, he ruled the whole shifter clan. 

When Beta Kane stood in the middle of the crowd, all the noise died down. He welcomed us to the ceremony, and thanked the alpha for his benevolence. 

My eyes found Alpha Enzo. He had been watching me and did not shy away when I caught him, instead he gave me a disarming smile. I blushed, ducking my head. 

I felt another pair of eyes on me. They belonged to the hulking man seated beside Alpha Enzo. I had never seen him before. I shivered as his cold, calculating eyes bore into me. I broke the eye contact, feeling shivers all over my body. If my guess was right, then that was definitely the Devil Alpha. 

Another wolf stood in the center of the circle but I paid no attention to what she was saying. I searched the grounds for my father. Just like I had suspected, he sat behind Alpha Enzo's entourage, looking disinterested in the ceremony. I knew he could not wait to see me fail again. The thought doused my mood. 

An elderly wolf had taken the spot in the circle now. His voice rang clear in the dead night. "It is midnight, and the moon goddess smiles on us."

I glanced at the full moon. 

"It is time for the transformation rite to commence. Each omega would have to walk round the fire seven times. On the seventh round, you will howl as loud as you can. If you pass the test, a part of your body will transform." He instructed. 

Soon after, omegas begun to file out, carrying out the instruction. Only three transformed out of the eight wolves that completed the ritual. 

My heart thumped louder as the line thinned. What if I did not pass? But before I could ponder on the thought, it was my turn.

Taking tentative steps to the center of the circle, I plodded round the fire. On the seventh count, I howled with everything in me. A weird sensation coursed through my body and I heard my bones cracking. Pain exploded through my body and I fell. 

There was an outburst of gasps. Wolves talked over each other and I could understand every single word. When I opened my eyes, I could see and decipher every scent clearly. I tried to stand and wobbled, crashing on the floor again. It was then I noticed my transformed right leg. 

Immense joy blossomed within me. I had done it. I had passed the test. 

Suddenly, my wolf whined, pulling me in the direction of Alpha Enzo's stand. Everyone watched in confusion as I approached the stand. 

I could feel it, the mate bond. It however did not pull me to Alpha Enzo. Instead it stopped me right in front of the Devil Alpha, the one with the cold calculating eyes. If he felt the bond too, he did well to hide it. 

"Mate," my wolf growled internally. 

"What is the matter, Claire?" Alpha Enzo inquired, looking on in bewilderment. 

I could not explain my actions to him. This was not right. I wanted Alpha Enzo, bit it seemed the moon goddess had other plans. 

Before I could say a word, the man spoke up. "I want her. As my tribute this year."