Chapter 4

Athena's pov

My brain was doing mental gymnastics, trying to figure out who was coming to visit the infamous Alpha; Raphael had very few friends, as one would expect from a man with minimal trust and a temper shorter than a baby's pinky finger.

 It took a load of generosity of the words ‘friends’ to place it on those he had not yet tagged as his enemies.

 Yet the entire Pack House was turned upside down, every corner was swept, decorations were hung and it didn't make any other little changes that made the entire place glow up.

As noon drew closer I found him constantly checking his watch, his head would flick over about 80 times per minute, then he would make a call in a hushed tone repeating the process again.

 Now my curiosity was spiked, who was he so eager to meet?

I met the answer to my question about half an hour later, a car smoothly drove into the packhouse ground through the high still gates that had been thrown wide open and invitingly.

Unlike most guests, I noticed that this was not searched at the gate but allowed free passage.

“What are you doing just standing around?” Raphael said to me with a shove at the door.

“Make yourself useful and help with the luggage!” He snapped, I nearly lost my balance from the sudden shove but carefully regained it to Raphael's displeasure, he always got an extra kick out of embarrassing me in front of important guests.

Instead of standing next to the alpha as my place was properly supposed to be I stood next to the maids ready to take the luggage of the guest.

I guess they were going to stay here for some days if they were bringing luggage, that was really peculiar because Raphael had never housed anyone before.

Imprisoned maybe but never will fully housing anyone.

The car eventually packed and then in a blaze Raphael rushed over to the front door, he made sure to brush pass me and this time applied the right amount of pressure that made me lose my balance and make the maid next to me step away making sure I collided with the floor.

Pain shot through the side of my hand that took the brunt of the fall.

I closed my eyes and grabbed my arm, trying to swim through the pain and humiliation once again when I heard a chuckle that made my skin prickle.

I'd heard it before.

Several times, especially when I was in positions like this; disregarded and suffering.

Until I peeled my eyelids open I wanted to believe that it was just my imagination, my life was already so horrible it couldn't get any worse right?

“Hello, sister, it's been a long time.”

Maybe I'm just destined to suffer.

The sight of Isabella, my step sister who I had been exchanged for to play the role of a breeder grinning from ear to ear as she looked down on me was enough to force me back on my feet in that instant.

“Have you got mute? Won't you respond to her greeting?!” Raphael barked at me, shivers ran through my body and I responded to Isabella's greeting before my brain even registered it.

“That's true. How have you been?”

 “I've been good,” she said sizing me up, “though I can't say the same for you. You should try to take care of yourself more,”

I was burning with rage within myself.

How dare she?!

My life had been ruined to save hers, and that was all she had to say to me? What was she even doing here?

What was even worse was that she was allowing Raphael to rub up against her like a cat.

I always assumed that my mate was the cold type, that even If by some astronomical chance he somehow fell in love with me; I shouldn't expect much.

But, oh boy was I wrong.

He didn't even bother to hide it, his hand had wrapped around Isabella from the moment they made contact.

Isabella saw that my eyes were burning looking at them and took this as encouragement to make the press the hot iron deeper.

“Raphael, I told you that I didn't want you to be so touchy if I came. Here you are breaking your promise!”

He pulled aside a straight strand of her hair and left a kiss on her cheek.

“You'll have to forgive me for that, but it's also your fault too. Why did you have to come around looking so beautiful?”

I flushed with shame and rage at the same time, I wanted to march up to Raphael to demand why he was touching my sister like that? The only time he touched me was when he was raging with lust and unable to help himself.

But here he was holding her like she was a fragile piece of China that would shatter at the slightest extra pressure.

“Let's go in, Isabella…” the shift of his eyes from adoration to pure disgust when it came to me could be studied, in fact it should be.

“Clean yourself up before you pack Isabella's luggage, and make sure you don't drop it too. Gosh! How can you think of being a luna when you are such a pathetic klutz?”

Isabella laughed at his detriment with me and he brushed like a teenager looking at his first crush.

You could literally see the hearts in his eyes as he stared at her as though she was the only person in the entire world and everybody else was just stick figures compared to her.

I felt sick.

More than that, I was justifiably upset.

So I went towards the car, grabbed one of the largest suitcase and allowed it fall and scatter on the floor ‘accidentally’

A wave of satisfaction brushed past me, as the suitcase broke and clothes spilled out, then the next thing I saw was Raphael's palm followed by a complete darkness.