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 his face contouring with fear.“What could possibly be on the other side?” I thought to myself, then wondered why he hadn't caught my attention yet. Maybe he was too focused on whatever he was doing in front of the gates.He gently placed his palm on the gate and pushed it open, then walked out slowly. As he got to the other side, the gate slowly sprung to a close. Through the gap that slowly narrowed, I could see the figure of a child standing before the alpha. As I stared at the child, she suddenly inclined her head to the left and smiled at me. Her face was shadow black, and her eyes were green as apples. The gap between her lips as she smiled glowed red, and her entire body was enveloped in a demonic aura.The gates finally shut, and the resulting metallic thud sent a sudden shock through my chest. I immediately turned around and headed into the mansion, wondering what the moon goddess's name was. Never in my life had I seen something so terrifying.What was it doing in front of the mansion, though? And what was it doing with Steven? Anyone else would have minded their business and walked away from the memory of ever witnessing it, but for some reason I wanted to know more.I walked back into the mansion with my tray, heading to meet the other girls, when I came across someone I had never met before, a female who was dressed like one of the warrior wolves. She had dark orange hair and bright brown eyes. She had a serious look on her face and stood in one position like a statue.As I walked past her, I waved, saying, “Hi.”She didn't say anything in reply. Her eyes were locked on the mansion's front door, and it seemed nothing could distract her. I waited for a few seconds to see if she would at least turn in my direction, but it was to no avail.I let out a sigh and walked away, thinking about how weird and strange everyone in this mansion was. I finally arrived in my room and found the other girls waiting for me, ready for the next phase of the preparation of the ceremony.They had explained to me that there were a total of three phases: the first phase was a large cookout in the big house, and the next phase after that was a hunt in the forest.“I can see you guys are ready,” I said with a smile, assessing the garments they wore. Each of them wore simple clothing that wouldn't tear apart during shifting and avoided using underwear.“You should out on something different too; you'll ruin these clothes if you wear them during hunting,” Christine said.“Are all the other maids going to hunt too?” I asked as I walked to a closet where I hung my clothes.“No, just like the big house, only a select few are allowed to go hunting. We are given a specific time limit, and when the bell rings, we all return to the mansion or we'll be locked out and made rogues,” Marie replied, pulling the ends of her blindfold to loosen it.As she took off her blind fold, I stared continuously in anticipation, waiting to see what Marie's face truly looked like. she pulled the blind fold off and her hair fell above her eyes and covered it again. my brows furrowed and my lips tightened in dissapointment. I couldn't ask her to show me her eyes because it would be disrespectful, so I had to let it go.“You want to see my eyes don't you?,” Marie said, turning to me. I raised my head in response and she continued, “I don't think you're ready for that yet.” She turned around and tied the rest of her hair in a bun. She had a blank expression on her face. It was at this moment that I realized I had never seen Marie smile since the day we met."Let's hurry and leave before it's too late,” Christine said as she walked toward the door. She placed her right palm on its handle and pulled it open, and all three of us walked out of the room. We went through a series of passageways until we finally got to a door that led directly to the woods.“You'd think there'd be a lot more maids around the door,” I said as the four of us stood in front of the large wooden door.“What are we waiting for?” I asked. Christine turned around and made a shushing sound, then said, “Listen and smell.”I focused my senses on hearing, listening to the wind that blew by and the leaves that rustled and crunched under the footsteps of my fellow wolves in the forest.I keened my sense of smell and could not only perceive the blood of game caught by the wolves but also the blood of the wolves themselves.“Are they fighting?” I asked as my heart rate grew faster.Christine let out a sigh. “Gabriella, in this pack, you have to prove your worth; you have to prove you can contribute greatly to the safety of the people in this mansion, and this is what THE HUNT is for. Wolves you once thought were your friends will turn on you just so they can be on top because the weak ones will be left for dead at the end of the hunt, so brace yourself; it's going to be wild."She turned back to the door, slowly pushed it open, and said softly as we walked out, “You've heard, smelled. Now… see…”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,
CHAPTER 16~STEVENS POV~“I'm really proud of you, Steven. You've come really far on this agenda of yours. Farther than any Mortimer has ever come,” Evelyn said with a bright smile.She stood before me on the balcony of the mansion, wearing a golden dress and holding a glass of red wine.“Yes, it was always my father's dream to see me achieve great things. He wasn't too specific about what it would be, but as I grew up, I learned that there was no greater goal than this. Now that the council has agreed to support me, none of the other packs stand a chance,” I replied.“Once I finally take over all the other packs and gain a position in the council, all the other alphas will be made my subordinates, and any of them who dare to defy me will be punished painfully,” I continued.“You know, you're such a unique man. When you were younger, everyone saw you as strange and delusional; only your father, and of course, me, saw the potential you had. I only wish you you don't… forget me after yo
CHAPTER 17~STEVENS POV~After that conversation with Anaya, I started to notice Gabriella a little more. All this while, it felt like she was never in the mansion, but now I see her almost everywhere. It was almost like the universe was trying to tell me something.She kept on making absurd mistakes every time she was around me. She spilled food, tore clothes, and even accidentally threw water where she wasn't supposed to.Every single mistake she made was enough for me to declare her an enemy to the pack, make her a rogue, and send her packing. But, for some reason, I couldn't, not because the head of the council knew her, but because every time I stood before her, a sudden aura she emanated prevented me from sending her away.I was in my room again, staring through my window at the gates. The last time I tried to go out, I failed. Instead, I fainted at the gates and woke up late at night. Luckily, none of the maids or warriors saw me; that would have been humiliating.Suddenly, a k