Chapter Five

Phoebe's pov

The sad truth was that there was no beauty in any of it. Another man had picked me, but that couldn't cancel out the fact that my own mate had rejected me, and it was still taking its toll. Even as I was welcomed and shown hospitality in the Apex Moon pack, I could feel the void inside me. The rejection had done something to me that I wasn't ready to admit yet.

"I'm here, Phoebe. I'll help you overcome it," my wolf said.

"What if there's no overcoming it? What if I have to live with this for the rest of my life?" I asked her. I was bewildered, and I needed answers.

"This won't be the first rejection ever. Rejections happen, and it takes time to heal, but it's not impossible, dear," she said.

"Dear? When did you start calling me dear?" I was shocked by her sense of humour. I hadn't known she had one.

"Leave that, Phoebe. I can tell you for free that Julian is having the most fun with your sister Dahlia right now, which is also contributing to your pain and the void," my wolf said.

"Of course he is. That's what Dahlia always wanted, and now she's got it," I said. My voice cracked at the end.

"Stop acting so pitiful, Phoebe. If you could shift into your wolf now, you would go and bite him hard, deep in the night," my wolf said.

"Why are you being so cruel?" I asked her.

"What is more cruel than rejecting your mate and claiming her sister?"

I had no answer. I let out a long, shaky breath.

"You know what? Let's leave it for now. My world doesn't revolve around Julian," I told my wolf, and we continued having dinner in the dining room of Alpha Hendrick.

"Excuse me, Ms. Phoebe, are you lost?" one of the wolves at the table asked me.

"Lost? No, of course not," I replied.

That was when I realised what it was about. There was a plate of food in front of me, and I hadn't touched it. My cheeks went hot.

"It's just that you haven't touched your food. Or is it that you don't like it? I can get something else for you to eat," an elderly wolf at the table said.

"No, no, please. I'm okay with this. It's really great," I said. Hendrick smiled at me while he ate his own food.

I started eating at once, to avoid embarrassing myself further.

The food was very good, and the smell was truly inviting. Even my wolf was impressed.

"She's fine, guys. She's probably just taking in a few things," Hendrick said.

"Let's cut her some slack, please. She's been through a lot lately. Don't you guys watch the news? The festival? Alpha Julian? Nobody?" a young wolf among them said. Nobody answered him, and my wolf began to grow angry. Some people couldn't keep their mouths shut. I stared down at my plate, and my appetite shrank again.

"Enough. Let's eat in peace and move on to the next agenda," Hendrick said.

We kept on eating, and when we were done, we went outside to a place where we were declared married, Hendrick and I. It was before the elders of their pack, and, wow, those wolves were old.

"She's the one getting married to the Alpha?" one of them asked.

"She's the one, sir," the elderly female wolf replied.

"They may go ahead," he said, and it was approved.

Just like that. I didn't even have time to feel it.

"Now we head to the council, where all the rites and rituals will be performed. But first, you have to be dressed. So, in thirty minutes, yes?" she said to me, and that was how Hendrick and I parted ways for the first time since he claimed me at the Redline pack.

Before he left me, he held my hands. "I'm so happy you're doing this with me."

I smiled. I couldn't lie, so I only pressed his hands gently with mine.

"Thank you for choosing me," I said. I thought that was fair enough.

We went separate ways, and I was taken to a very beautiful room. It was designed and arranged as if they had been waiting for a bride all along. It had all the ornaments needed to make it a proper preparation room.

A young female wolf was inside, waiting for me. "Hello, ma'am. I'm going to be your bridal assistant today," she said as I sat down on a comfy cushion.

Her voice was sweet. She was very hospitable, and I loved her professional touch on my hair. For a moment, I almost forgot why I was there.

"Are you really ready for this?" my wolf asked, starting a conversation again.

"Ready for what?"

"Ready to be married, of course. And to an Alpha."

My wolf could hear my thoughts and feel my deepest pain, so it was nearly impossible to lie to her.

"Why? Do you sense doubt?" I asked her back.

The lady was still working on my hair and makeup so nicely. I could tell she was a professional. This was a pack, after all, and everything was expected to be royal.

"For some reason, it all feels awkward to me. Hendrick comes to claim us, he introduces us to his people, and they agree all of a sudden. Something has to be wrong with that," my wolf said.

I began to flash back, and all I could see was intention. "He claimed me because he saw what others couldn't, and yes, I'm more than ready to marry him."

"Okay, Phoebe. I was just asking," my wolf said, and she went quiet after that. Her silence sat heavy in my head.

My makeup artist was almost done when someone came in with a wedding dress. It was so beautiful that I couldn't breathe for a second.

I tried to focus, but I felt a burning heat in my chest. Were Julian and Dahlia getting intimate?