Chapter 3: Unspoken Rejection

Lilac’s P.O.V:

Who knew ‘being put on a pedestal’ could take on a whole new meaning when it was done in a menacing way?

I thought I could finally get some rest; a few minutes of peace and quiet, some time alone to moan the loss of my parents and my entire pack.

But instead, here I was, being presented to an entire pack like I was some kind of criminal…or a slave, as a man who looked double my age, held me by my forearm roughly and dragged me to the centre of the stage where the Alpha, the man who was my mate, stood tall and strong, in an expensive looking suit and his long hair tied back in a ponytail at his back.

He gave me a bone-chilling look as I came to stand next to him, his instruction looking clear even though he hadn't said a word.

‘Stay quiet.’ His look spoke loud and clear.

It was an unspoken rejection right from the start. The Alpha of this pack…my mate…he didn’t want me here. In fact, he was betting on this vote for me to get thrown out into the forests once again, from where I may never return alive.

I had never seen a person with so much hate in them before in my life. My parents used to love me, adore me…spoil me even. But hate? This was the first time in my life I had experienced hate in all its ugliness.

Weren’t children supposed to be exceptions to hate? Why would an adult hate a child so much as to want them dead? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the answer and the more I looked at the Alpha…the more this fear inside me grew. The more unwelcome I felt.

“Packmates of Red Claw,” he spoke loud and clear without a microphone and every single person in the room immediately became quiet. “Today, I come to you with a dilemma…one that most of you would understand. We have a girl among us…a child who I found abandoned at the edge of our territory and rescued from impending dangers. I had planned to integrate the child into our pack and give her a home…until I found out where she came from.”

The people remained quiet, letting their Alpha explain the situation to them and I was surprised at the amount of power he had over the people.

“She is a survivor from Dawn Wood pack,” the Alpha spoke to a row of gasps. “The same pack who are our worst enemy…and the pack that was mysteriously burned down to the ground last night.”

‘She’s from Dawn Wood?’ “What an ill- omen!’ ‘She must be killed!’ ‘Kick her out!’ ‘Feed her to the dogs!’

The insults kept getting wilder and wilder, the people getting angrier by the minute.

Why? Was my pack that bad? Why were they saying all these things?

A heavy weight settled on top of my heart. Until now…they had only known that I was from Dawn Wood pack…if they knew who my father was? NO! I could never tell them! If I wanted to live…I had to hide it from everyone!

They’d kill me…they’d all rip me to pieces if they found out…no…

I hadn't even realized how badly I was trembling until Beta Luca placed a hand on my shoulder and went up to the Alpha to speak to him privately.

“Please Krimson, stop this madness!” Luca begged in a low voice, for only Alpha Krimson’s ears. “Don’t let your hatred for the pack turn into a hatred for the child. She’s innocent. She’s scared!”

“No one, from that pack, is innocent.” Krimson’s voice dripped in venom and every word was like an arrow to my heart. “You can hear the people speak.”

Why? Why did he hate me and my pack? Why did he hate my parents? I didn’t even know him? I had never seen him before in my life! Then why?

“Now, I want to place the decision on your shoulders,” Alpha Krimson said to the crowd once again. “I will do whatever my pack chooses. So chose wisely.”

I was doomed. There was no way I was going to survive now…

However, by some kind of miracle from the Moon Goddess, his pack seemed to agree with Luca instead.

“Let the child stay,” an elderly man said from the front row, a cane held tightly in his trembling hands. I didn’t know who he was, but people parted to let him through, so he could stand at the very front, facing Krimson. “She’s just a kid. Our pack is big, Alpha Krimson; healthy and thriving. We have enough to help one poor girl. Let her stay until she can be old enough to live on her own. The Moon Goddess always rewards a good deed.”

“Yes, we agree.”

Murmurs spread around the room as one by one, everyone agreed to the old man’s proposal. Let her stay until she’s old enough…it was more than what I could’ve asked for, even imagined when Alpha Krimson had first started his speech.

Whoever this old man was…he seemed to command respect from the pack, and he was definitely someone who even Alpha Krimson didn’t seem to dare go against.

I watched his reaction in secret, looking for signs that didn’t take long to find. His hands were clenched tight and I could see a vein in his forehead, throbbing like it was about to burst. However, when he spoke next, his voice was extremely polite and his lips tilted up in a gentle smile.

“Since our elders have spoken, I think we need not discuss the matter further,” he bowed ever so slightly to his pack…and that surprised me even more. “We shall make this child a part of our pack from today onwards and she will remain here, until she no longer feels the need to.”

Cheers went up as he walked past me and exited the stage, followed closely by Luca, who hurried to keep up with his strides. It wasn’t long before I was escorted down from the stage and back to the hospital room where I had been staying.

I had thought that it might finally be over, the humiliation and the way I was being treated like a traitor by the Alpha and his men, all except for Beta Luca. But I couldn’t have been further from the truth.

As soon as night fell and all the lights in the hospital were dimmed, the curtains to my bed were pulled away hastily and I saw a pair of glowing red eyes looking down at me menacingly.

A scream tore through my lips in fear, but before a sound could escape, his hands clamped down on my nose and my mouth, cutting off my air supply.

I flailed my arms helplessly before reaching up to grab onto his wrists, but I was no match for his Alpha strength. He was here to kill me, wasn’t he? He wanted to humiliate me in front of his entire pack, but he didn’t think they’d ask me to stay…

Just as suddenly as he had begun to cut off my air supply, he let me go and stepped back, watching me quietly as I doubled over in pain, gasping to get air into my lungs.

“You made a mistake by coming here,” his voice was rough, harsh. “And you made a mistake by staying. From now on, you will pay for every breath you take under my care. You’ll be our servant, our maid, if you want to have a bed to sleep in and to eat. Earn your living and I just might consider what to do with you once you turn eighteen.”

“Why?” The words escaped my lips desperately. “Why do you hate me so much? You…you’re my m-”

“Don’t you dare!” The sound was a ferocious growl and it froze me in place. “You pathetic wolf! Never again say that word out loud if you want to live!”

With that, he stormed off, back the way he came and I found out that the bed under me…had become wet.