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 in. “Alpha Steven, they have arrived, they await you in the dining hall,” he said, inclining his torso in simple bow. I waved my right hand at him, signifying that I was on my way, and he turned around and walked out of the room.I got up from the couch I sat on and pulled on the collars of my suit to straighten it, then walked toward the door Gregory used. After a few minutes, I arrived in the dining hall. All the members of the council were present, including the head, lady Anaya. She wore a large white hat and had a small transparent silk cloth, hanging over her face. She had white translucent gloves on and a white dress with a lower half that looked like a large rose.“Finally, you decide to grace us with your presence,” one of the members said, turning in my direction. They all wore white clothes, each carrying a golden badge that signified their level of status in the council.“I’m deeply sorry for making you wait. Shall we begin?” I replied, as Gregory pulled out my seat.“This meeting is solely on the topic of you wanting to merge all the packs. We as the council think the idea is marvelous as it would promote peace and unity in werewolf society. But, do you realize that convincing the other alphas to give up their positions will be quite the hassle?” Lady Anaya spoke.The room remained quiet for a moment. I cleared my throat and answered, “well, my lady, I plan on sending letters to each of the alphas, proposing they become cabinet members under my rulership, together we will make the world a peaceful place for werewolf kind. My only quandary is that they may fail to see reason and would most likely fight against me, this is where I would like you to step in. You can help me convince them into acknowledging that I am more than capable of ruling over them. I would hate a situation where I would have to resort to war to achieve my goals,”“And if they refuse to listen to us?” Lady Anaya asked.“Well, I think we all already know the answer to that,” I replied, placing my back on my seats backrest.“Very well, Alpha Steven. We as the council of packs frankly agree with your idea and will try our very best to see that it comes to pass,” lady Anaya said with a smile.“Thank you very much,” I replied, smiling back at her.*****“If you try to start a war with one of the packs that refuse your proposal, isn’t the council obligated to intervein?” Gregory asked, both of us walking down a hall way toward my room.“No, they aren’t, Gregory. Warfare is only a normality in the werewolf world. It is how we claim dominance over one another and maintain our position at the top, leaving the weak at the bottom where they’d rot and die. Besides, my idea of merging the packs is aimed at changing that. I plan to stop warfare completely. Any alpha who goes against it, is an enemy of peace and progress in the world of wolves,” I replied.“I guess that’s correct, alpha Steven,” Gregory agreed, his lips curving into a smile.We both remained silent for the rest of the walk and as we got in front of my room, Gregory asked, “It felt a bit strange that the newcomer was bold enough to go at you like that, didn’t it?”“I turned around to face him. “What newcomer?” I asked.“The girl who I recently accompanied here from the Montgomery’s mansion at the dark-hound pack, Gabriella,” he said.“Oh, her. She probably must have mistaken me for someone else,” I answered, then continued, “you really have to do a better job of teaching these young girls their place in this mansion, or have you gone soft because you have some sort of romantic feelings toward her?”“Never my lord, I have sworn to stand by your side and serve you till the day I perish,” Gregory said.I stared at him for a moment, then let out a sigh, “You know I’m not stopping you from leaving once you find your mate, right?” I asked.“Well, sire…” he was about to speak when I suddenly shut the door to my room. I gently placed my back on the wooden surface and let out another sigh. As I shut my eyes, strange images began filling my head. I could feel someone’s cold breath softly brushing over my throat, from the way the person breathed I could tell it was a female. Her black marble eyes sparkled in the dark tight room as she stared at me without uttering a word.My eyes opened again and I was back in my room. As I stared at my window with a confused expression on my face, I asked myself, “Who’s memories are these?”“Who was she?”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,
CHAPTER 12~GABRIELLA'S POV~I ran after the bright orange light through the passages, and each time I came to a corner, the light was already at the other end of the hall. It would remain shining for a moment, then vanish, fading out with the giggle of a little girl.I wasn't the least bit comfortable with what was going on, but for some reason I kept on following the light until it came to a halt in front of a large door.The lantern sat there, shining brightly on the carvings on the wooden door. I walked slowly toward it, and when I reached it, I picked it up and let out a sigh.“What place is this now? I'm completely lost,” I said as I exhaled. I stared at the large door for a moment, then turned to a small knob that hung from it.I wrapped my fingers around the knob and was about to turn it when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder.“What are you doing?” Marie's voice sounded behind me.I felt a chill go down my spine, and I instinctively sprung up from the ground in fear. I fell b
CHAPTER 13~GABRIELLA'S POV~“What do you want?” She asked, her voice sounding very stern.“Well, I just wanted to ask you some questions,” I answered as she tightened her grip on my arm.“Snapping your bone in two would be much too easy of a task if you get on my nerves. Do not disturb me while I'm working, or I will end your life. Do you understand?” She said this as she continued to tighten her grip.I groaned in pain and replied, “Yeah, yeah. Understood. Please let go!”She twisted my arm in the wrong direction and pushed me to the ground.“Owww!” I whimpered as I held onto my arm.“Hey, can I come see you after your work?” I asked, but she refused to reply. She resumed her position as the brick wall that she was, and nothing I said could get through to her.My brows furrowed, and I squinted my eyes at her. Hurting me like that wouldn't go unpunished; I was going to get revenge.I picked up my tray of hot cakes and snuck behind her to dump it on her head. I raised the tray up, and
CHAPTER 14~GABRIELLA'S POV~~EARLIER~“My lord, I was asked to come collect your clothes for dry cleaning." A maid I stood beside said as we both bowed to Alpha Steven at his door.“Please, come in,” Steven replied, opening his door a little wider for us to enter.We walked into the room, and he directed us to the area where he kept his unclean clothes. I and the maid started to pick them up one by one, and as we did, I noticed one was missing.“My lord…” I said it nervously.“Yes?” Steven replied. “How about the clothes you wore yesterday? The ones you went out with. I can't seem to find them here,” I said.“What do you mean? I never went out; you must have seen somebody else, perhaps one of the other warrior wolves,” Steven replied, then turned away from me to continue his work at his desk.“A warrior wolf, wearing royal garments? I highly doubt that. What in the hell is going on?” I thought to myself as I stared at him.~PRESENT~I made my way into the hall where the human statue
CHAPTER 15~GABRIELLA'S POV~The rays from the sun shot through the multiple windows on the external wall.My eyes felt heavy, and the lower lids had turned gray from tiredness. I wondered how Cortana survived without sleep; she was definitely not your average werewolf.I continued to stare at the wooden door, waiting for Cortana to awaken. As the rays from the sun reached her face, she let out a soft groan and then yawned, rubbing her eyes.She suddenly stopped, opened her eyes, and immediately sat up. “What tha! I fell asleep. How did that happen?" she questioned with shock on her face. I could tell she was definitely not a fan of the idea of sleeping.“I might be able to answer that question,” I said from behind her. She turned to face me, and before I knew it, tears started to seep out of her eyes.“Hey, what's wrong?” I asked, placing my palms on her shoulder.“I've failed; watching this door is the only reason I've stayed alive all my life; it's the only thing I know how to do,