Chapter 2

Angelica’s POV

                Meeting Joffrey was like a breath of fresh air, as I felt like I had been saved from my own party by him. It was crazy to see that I wasn’t the only one with parents who wished to mate their child off, and that he wanted no part in it, like myself.

                Turns out that Joffrey’s father was old school, and he believed one of the requirements to being an Alpha was to find a mate suited to be a Luna before taking the role, explaining why he was still an Alpha at his age. It was clear that Joffrey was in no hurry to find his mate, or someone to fulfill that position, just so he could take the reign as Alpha.

                The more the two of us talked, the more I was finding solace in our conversation, and I was actually starting to enjoy my evening, even taking the dance floor a few more times between our conversations, for good measures of convincing our parents that it was more than it was. But it was clear that the agreement that we had made between us was turning more into an actual friendship than a verbal contract that would be dismissed by the end of the night.

                Even though neither of us were interested in fulfilling our parents’ wishes with each other, something was forming between us far greater than either of us had anticipated, and that was a friendship built on our desperation to keep our free will.

As we danced on the dance floor to a slower song, Joffrey began to tell me about his ambitious desires to travel the world and see what was out there, before he took his oath to become the Alpha of his father’s pack. He explained to me that he felt like once he took that oath, he was giving up all his own desires in life, and he didn’t want to have any regrets left behind before he took on the responsibilities as Alpha.

His confession of his desires really hit home, as I too felt like I was burdened with my parents’ desires for me. Lately, I had a feeling deep inside of me that I couldn’t shake, that something was outside these walls calling to me. I had chalked it all up to my birthday approaching, but the feeling remained even after that day came, and I now find myself obsessed with finding out what it could be. But unfortunately, I couldn’t share this with Joffrey, as I had to keep my powers a secret, even to my own kind, as my parents still feared what could happen to me if they were revealed to those outside of our small circle of family and friends.

The song came to an end, and I moved to take a step back from Joffrey, giving him a slight bow to his amazing dancing skills, which were making me look like I knew what I was doing on the dance floor, when it had been him leading the whole time. As I raised my head back up to look at him, something caught my eye, and I quickly moved my attention behind him to a shadowy figure, as the unexplained feeling I had inside of me grew. My heart began to race in my chest, as the temperature inside of me rose, and I felt myself taking another step back from Joffrey, as I began to feel lightheaded.

My eyes remained on the shadow figure, as I tried to see its face, hidden behind the shadow of a cloak, while it stood there, unfazed by those around it, making me wonder if I was imagining things. “You are mine.” Now echoed in my head, as if the words were spoken as a claim for only me to hear, while the guests around me felt like they were beginning to disappear from my vision, one by one.

My heart now felt like it was beating out of my chest, as I stood there staring back at the cloaked figure, wondering what the heck was happening to me, while I tried to just do the simplest thing as to breathe. It was as if I could feel the life force inside of me being siphoned from deep within me, as I began to sway on my feet, trying to find the strength within me to remain standing.

“Angelica.” I faintly heard Joffrey say, as he reached for me, taking me in his arms, while I tried to remain standing with my own freewill, but my head now felt like it was going to explode, while I fought to keep my eyes open, still staring at the cloak figure behind him.

The once dim room now became bright, as the music came to a halt, making me wonder if I was making a spectacle of myself, in the middle of the dance floor. But as I tried to keep my eyes open, not wanting to look away from the cloak figure, the light became too bright, and I found myself closing my eyes, as I now heard Joffrey calling out for my father, “Alpha Jaxson!”

Before I knew what was happening, I could feel the exchange of my body into my father’s arms, as he lifted me off my feet and began to carry me from the room, but as I opened my eyes, the bright light remained surrounding us.

“Stay with me, baby girl.” I faintly heard my father say, as a whistling sound began to fill my ears, the further he walked with me in his arms.

My head honestly felt like it was going to explode, as I cried out in pain, not caring now who heard me. Something was clearly happening to me, and something told me that the figure in the cloak had something to do with it, making me wonder if he was a warlock.

The night’s crisp air now fell against my flesh, telling me that my father had removed me from the house. Taking a few more steps with me in his arms, the power of the moon now hit me like a brick, as my back arched and chest rose to the sky in my father’s arms, feeling the pull of its power, while my wolf came alive inside of me with a fury.

“I knew this was too soon.” My mother’s voice now said, telling me she was with me too, before my father stopped, and lowered my body to the cool earth beneath his feet, as my wolf now let out a howl, wanting to be freed to protect me from whatever this was happening to me.

A cool hand now touched my shoulder, and I knew exactly who it was, before I even heard Selena’s voice say, “Shut the party down. She isn’t doing this to herself.”

My father let out a growl, hearing that I was being attacked under his own roof, and I knew that I had to find my voice to warn him about the cloaked figure that I had seen. Pulling the power of the moon into me, giving me the strength I needed, I finally found my will to speak, as I open my eyes and say, “There’s a man in a black cloak.”

As the words came from my lips, the light around me instantly faded, and the feeling of being siphoned disappeared as quickly as it started.