CHAPTER 3
~GABRIELLA’S POV~It was early in the morning again, and all the high-ranking wolves in the pack slowly filled up the hall. I and the other maids ran about, serving the guests with as much hospitality and efficiency as we could muster. Today, my mother, Luna, was caught up with greeting all the guests that had arrived, meaning that for the entire day, or at least until the party was over, I was free from verbal assaults.I moved from table to table with a forced smile, serving food and drinks to the beta wolves present for the ceremony. From exasperating old men and women to the most disrespectful little brats, I was drained to the bone even before the day began. I walked back to the kitchen to get some more food, dragging my feet on the ground as I groaned in pain.As I opened the door to the kitchen, I felt a strange presence in the area. It was that of an omega, someone I couldn’t recognize. I thought for a moment if it was someone from the pack who sneaked in, but I realized that the heavy security mounted at all the entrances was impenetrable.I slowly pushed the kitchen door further open and stepped in as quietly as I could.“You maids are really good at cooking, aren’t you?” A male’s voice sounded from inside the kitchen, specifically from the area where the food was kept. I rushed into the kitchen and instinctively swung my tray at him, hoping to land a good hit. He casually moved to the side as if sensing my attack, and I fell to the ground, face flat.“You should watch your step; you don’t want to be losing a tooth on a special day such as this one.” He said this as he threw a piece of meat into his mouth.“Who are you and what are you doing here?” I asked as I struggled to get back on my feet.“My name is Steven, and I’m here to get some food. There’s such a huge selection; I don’t know what to pick,” he said, staring at the different bowls that rested on the kitchen counter.“Only the maids are allowed in here, omegas aren’t allowed in the party so go find food elsewhere,” I queried, pointing at the kitchens exit.“Okay, okay. I’ll leave if you give me some more meat and stew to head home with,” he said with a warm smile. He had dark blue marble eyes and black silky hair. He wore a black leather jacket and black leather pants. As I got more and more absorbed into his features, emotions I never knew existed started to well up inside me.“No, I can’t let you have any of these; I would get in serious trouble. Please, you have to leave now."I replied, turning away from him. I couldn’t let myself be absorbed by his charms.As I stared at the ground continuously, tightly gripping my tray, I didn’t realize when he slipped past me with one of the bowls in his hand.“LATER!” His voice sounded loudly from behind me. I turned around as quickly as I could, and to my surprise, he was already through the door.“HEY!” I exclaimed as I rushed after him with my tray. My arm and legs, which were extremely exhausted before, suddenly burst with energy as I ran after him through the passages. After a while, I started to wonder how he knew the building so well. No outsider was allowed to come close to the Alpha building, so no one but the servants and family members knew their way around the building.As I stretched my right arm forward to grab his jacket, I heard my mother’s voice coming from the next corner in the passage. We both stopped running and panicked for a moment.As my mother got closer and closer, I grabbed him by his jacket’s collar, opened a door beside us, and pulled him in.As I shut the door again, he said, breathing heavily, “It’s pretty tight in here, isn’t it?”“Shut up; if my mother finds out I’m out here slacking off with some freeloaders, that would be the end of me. So be quiet and stay still,” I replied. The room we were now in was an extremely tight space where cleaning tools were kept. Both bodies were tightly pressed against each other, and I could feel his warm breath gently glide over my nose. Our gazes locked onto each other, and neither of us could look away, not because of the tight space but because we both didn’t want to ruin the moment.As I stared at him, the glow in my eyes I had lost over the years and the happiness in my heart I thought was gone all returned in an instant, and for the first time in forever, a genuine smile grew on my face.Suddenly, my mother’s presence was gone. I quickly broke the eye contact we had and cleared my throat. I reached for the door behind him and pushed it open. Not realizing the door was already open, he attempted to rest on it and fell to the ground, the bowl of hot stew scattering over his face.“AGHHH! IT BURNS!” He yelled, and I quickly rushed to help him up, urging him to remain quiet. I helped him back to the kitchen and washed off the stew from his face and body. Luckily, there were no bruises or burns on him.I stealthily guided him out of the house as fast as I could, making sure not even the servants saw him. After moving around for a few minutes, we burst out of the exit of a secret passageway in the building.He said good-bye to me with the most charming smile, and as I stood there waving him goodbye, the only thoughts I had in my head were, “I found him; my mate.”CHAPTER 4~GABRIELLA'S POV~The party lasted the whole day, and by the evening, my entire being was now nothing but an empty shell.Although the fact that I had met my mate today was something that kept a smile on my face throughout, I was sure my mother noticed it—my first genuine smile in years.I sat quietly on one of the chairs in the hall after a long evening of cleaning up the mess the guests had made. Her footsteps sounded behind me.I quickly got up from the seat and turned around to face her."Mothe, I mean, Luna,” I said, slightly inclining my torso in a bow. She walked toward me, saying without a moment to spare, “You should start preparing to depart; the warrior wolves from the Darkmoon pack will be coming to pick you up in two days,” she said.“Yes, Luna,” I replied as the joy I had in my heart completely drained out. What exactly was the point of finding my mate now that I was going to get married to someone else? The glow in my eyes faded away again, and I could see my
CHAPTER 5~GABRIELLA’S POV~As I stared at him, my heart beating even more rapidly than it ever did whenever I stood before my mother, tears gathered in my eyes. I tried my best to hold back the sadness, but my efforts were futile. Staring at him filled me with mixed emotions of happiness, anger, and grief. Until this moment, I thought my life was over. I thought my mate would be here waiting for me.I rushed toward him, asking with excitement, as I grabbed his hand, “Where have you been? I thought you would return to my father’s mansion, but you never came. Is this your pack?"Steven stared at me with a piercing gaze, his eyes suddenly filling with contempt. I could feel a dark aura surrounding him, one I never noticed the first time we met. Something about him was different—something I couldn’t put a finger on. The omega aura I sensed around him at the peacekeeping ceremony was completely gone, and something a lot more powerful and ominous filled the air.“Unhand me, woman!” he said
CHAPTER 6~GABRIELLA'S POV~In the blink of an eye, it was morning again—my first morning at the Mortimer’s mansion, at the dark-moon pack. The sounds of birds chirping all the way from the forest that surrounded the mansion were even more disturbing than my alarm back at Montgomery's mansion. I forced my eyes open and got off my bed, not a single second later than I usually did. To my surprise, the other maids were still asleep.“Huh?” I asked as my eyes moved from one maid to the other. I walked around the room for a few seconds, wondering what the time was, as there was no way of telling from this part of the mansion. I rushed to the bathroom to take my shower, and after, I got dressed in a maid uniform that was handed to me by Gregory the day before. I walked out of the room and down the hall, where all the maid rooms were lined up. The entire place was completely empty and quiet; it seemed no one had awakened.I decided to use the opportunity to explore the mansion myself. I went
CHAPTER 7~STEVEN’S POV~I sat silently in one of the many living rooms in the mansion, my legs crossed and my arms folded against my chest. I had a blank expression on my face, moving my eyes to the side frequently to check the time on the ticking pendulum clock that rested on a wall a little distance from my right. The room I was in had a dark brown ambiance and dark brown curtains with golden rose patterns hung over the windows and doors that led outside the living room. Today was a very important day. Today a meeting would be held between me and the council members on the matters of uniting all the packs and reigning over them as the only alpha. This was my goal ever since I was born. While all the other kids made friends and had dreams of being united with their mate, I spent days and nights plotting, looking for a way to merge the packs. After a few minutes of waiting, I heard clicking sounds coming toward one of the entrances. Soon after, the door opened and Gregory stepped i
CHAPTER 8~STEVEN’S POV~“The Dark-Hound Pack has already signed the agreement and is already under my control. I’ll have them help spread the message to all the other packs,” I said, scribbling my signature onto a letter I was going to send to Montgomery's mansion."But why don’t we spread the message ourselves?” Gregory asked, looking a little troubled.“The message will be from an unknown sender, proposing the deal to the alphas and asking those who agree to meet at an undisclosed location. The alphas who refuse to comply might get violent and want to attack the only pack they think the message is coming from. If they lay siege on the dark-fang pack, I can use the opportunity to assess them and know exactly what I’m up against,” I replied with a cold stare.“But… sire. Innocent lives will be lost; the dark-hound pack will be destroyed if they are attacked by more than one opposing pack at the same time,” Gregory argued.I let out a sigh, got up from where I sat, and walked toward a
CHAPTER 9~GABRIELLA'S POV~As my eyes met with Steven's for the second time since I came to the mansion, I felt nothing but admiration and love for the man that stood before me. He had the same expression as the day I arrived; he seemed nothing like Steven from Montgomery's mansion, but for some reason, I felt like they were the same person. But why didn't he recognize me?I had lost all focus on my surroundings and even on my own body as I fell deeper and deeper into his intense gaze.His brows suddenly furrowed, and that sudden movement snapped me out of my reverie. I immediately bowed and greeted him politely, but he completely ignored me, walking past me without uttering a single word.I turned to stare at him as he walked away, wondering where he was heading. I stealthily followed behind him, moving from rose bush to rose bush, trying to avoid his eyes. After a few minutes, he arrived at the gates of the mansion. He stood in front of the gate for a few minutes, and I could see hi
CHAPTER 10~GABRIELLA'S POV~The silence in the air was unbearable. I could hear my own breathing, and with every step, I took crushed dried leaves under my paws, making sounds that echoed through the forest as if informing the other wolves of my location.I moved steadily, my eyes focused on the prey before me—a large, dark brown deer. As I got in close range, I leaped toward it, but before I could reach it, it jumped out of the way and took off. I landed head-first on a rock and yelled in pain.“Hunting is so hard; how am I supposed to survive this?" I thought to myself, using my paw to gently rub my head.“The other girls are gone; there's no way of finding them now, and the bell is going to ring anytime soon. What to do, what to do..."I said this as I sat there with a worried look. It had already been the first hour; I had never gone hunting before in my life, and my wolf wasn't fast or strong enough to run from other wolves.I let out a sigh,got up from where I sat, and walked th
CHAPTER 11~GABRIELLA'S POV~After waiting for a while at the door, other wolves started to show up with their kills hanging below their jaws. Some carry animals as small as rabbits, and some drag in games as large as boars.They all shifted back into their human forms and began walking back through the door. I looked around for the other girls but couldn't find them until I was inside, holding my kill tightly.“How was it?” Christine's voice sounded from behind me.I turned around to face her, and I found all three girls smiling at me.“Whoa! That's amazing, and it's only your first time?” Clarabelle exclaimed, staring at my game.“Well, a lot of things happened, but I don't want to go into detail,” I replied with a smile as sweat rolled down my face."Let's go dump these bad boys and get some rest; tomorrow's a big day!” Christine said, tapping her catch twice on its stomach.We all nodded, then followed her to the area where the kills were submitted. As we walked through the croud,