Syair Singgasana 1 : Prahara Di Balik Kabut

Some people can travel the depths of the ocean for their loved ones, I was standing in a foreign land surrounded by people I knew nothing about. 

Taking a sharp breath in, I tried to find the man I was destined to love and spend my entire life with, but all I could see was the back of his head. His chocolate brown hair had some dark streaks between them, they were shorter than the last time I had seen him which was three days ago. The day he found out I was his destined soul mate. The day which would normally be the happiest day in the life of any werewolf.....except mine.

Three days...it was the time I spent laying wide awake at night just thinking about him. Dreaming with my eyes wide open about his deep grey eyes guarded by thick long eyelashes, the angular scar running down from the top of his left bushy brow. Werewolves heal faster than humans, especially alphas....the scar must had a wild story behind it...a story I might never be able to hear from him.

I stood at my place not daring to move, working in the palace I was taught from a young age not to do anything that might anger the werewolf king or the prince. The Alphas were no different, they demanded respect, and every wolf knew not to mess with an alpha. For someone like me, it was best to always be extra careful when near an alpha or any other wolf with a high rank.

The alpha was saying something to a man, I was trying to hear what was happening but no words were falling into my ears. Werewolves had supernatural hearing which meant they could hear even the faintest sound but I was not lucky enough to fall into that category. I was born normal....or that's what we initially thought but I was an embarrassment to my parents who were no ordinary wolves but the alpha and luna of the pack. 

"Did you hear me?" 

I stared at the man in front of me like an idiot, not knowing what he was talking about.

He squinted his eyes for a brief moment probably getting the answer, "Follow me."

I looked around one more time to find one particular man who did not utter a word to me on the four-hour journey but my eyes could only see the strange man Alpha was talking to.

"Can you hurry up a little, I have some work to do," the man said brushing the back of his hair with his hand awkwardly. I felt bad making him stand there because of me and started following him with a nod.

The tapping sound of my heels echoed as I walked behind the man inside the pristine mansion. It was not as enormous as the palace but it was nothing ordinary either. Everything looked expensive and was designed by a professional to match and compliment the things in the room. The vases were not traditional and large like the ones in the palace but had a modern touch to them. We crossed a vase with a silver-colored palm in it.  The same thing was about the walls, they were icy white which complimented the blue curtains well. 

"This is your room."

The man opened a random door. Before I could enter a feminine voice called me from behind. A tall woman strode my way taking long steps, she had bright sea green eyes, sharp as a knife, nothing could escape from those eyes and waves of sandy blonde hair that danced above her shoulders, the lady in the sweatpants and a loose pink t-shirt emitted strong rays of energy. 

My hands immediately got clasped together in front of me, I suppressed the urge to move my eyes towards the ground in order to avoid staring directly at her. Werewolves with high authority saw it as a challenge and a fight was something I wanted to avoid at all costs, especially with a werewolf like her. 

"You may leave now," she said the words in a commanding tone. The man walked away with his head slightly down to avoid looking into her eyes. My doubt was right, she was someone with a high rank. 

Her sharp gaze stopped to analyze me, I felt her reading me from head to toe, just when I was expecting some brutal words to show me my true place she surprised me with a wide smile. 

"I am Bernadette," I stared blankly at her hand in front of me but then went ahead to shake it with some force, "I am the beta of this pack. You must be Ruhee, welcome to your new home."

I was at a lack of words, she was the beta of Alpha Orion's pack. It was not usual for packs to have a female beta, because the chances of them having an alpha as their mate were high and it would mean leaving the pack without a beta once they find their alpha soul mate. It was a risk no alpha wanted to take. 

Beta...the highest rank after the alpha. It meant she must be strong. I looked at the grinning lady in front of me skeptically, she appeared pretty harmless but so did Queen Lilith. 

I shook away the thoughts of the evil Queen who tried to murder the entire royal family and killed so many people due to her hunger for power. She was the main reason for initiating the war between hunters and the werewolves. 

"Thank you," I said in a soft voice after realizing she must be waiting for a response.

"Let me show you your room, you must be pretty tired."

Without waiting for any reaction she grabbed my hand and started dragging me behind her, I tried my best to keep up with her which was not easy in my floral dress that reached just above my knees. I did not get the chance to look around as she kept walking and I focused on not getting my feet tangled with each other.

"This is your room," she opened the door with the same broad smile on her face. I did not fail to notice the look in her eyes, even though there was a smile on her face the careful look in those eyes made me keep the walls up around myself. 

I was not sure if she knew who I was but I knew she was being friendly due to her lack of knowledge about my abnormality.

It was always the same, people would befriend me but after finding out my truth they would start avoiding me like a plague. When I was a kid I had many friends but a while later those 'friends' turned into my bullies knowing well that I could not do much to defend myself.

I learned to live inside a protective wall, no one was allowed to enter and no one did.....except for one person...Eleanor. The Queen of werewolves who did not see me as an abomination or a pathetic excuse for a werewolf.

There was another person who despite being a member of the royal family tried his best to help me...Luca. The mere thought of his name stirred uneasy feelings inside my heart. 

"What do you think?"

I realized the beta girl was talking to me. She was watching me with a questioning look on her face. 

"This is great, thank you so much," I lied without thinking. It was just a guess, I hoped she was talking about the room and the smile on her face proved me right once again.

"If you need anything just find me or you can ask Orion," she laughed a little in the end.

My body tensed hearing his name. People were not allowed to say the name of wolves with higher rank without their titles. It meant the beta girl must be close to Alpha Orion. Something stirred inside my heart. 

I gave her a nod.

Bernadette did not let the smile disappear from her face. The smile looked real not the fake formal one I always gave to people while welcoming them into the palace.

Why was she being so kind towards a nobody like me? Maybe my guess was right, she had no clue about my lack of wolf but as a beta, she knew about me being her alpha's soulmate.

I was dying to ask her more questions about alpha Orion but knew it was best if I stayed silent. I grew up watching my parents, they were the reason I always dreamed of finding my soul mate. The love they had was pure and true. But it was a dream that was shattered when I failed to turn into a werewolf. The hope of finding my soulmate did not die even after I was bullied continuously. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and years until one day when I finally accepted the truth of never finding my soul mate. I could still hear the mocking voice of the girl, 'werewolves have soul mate, you are an abomination even the moon goddess knows this. There is a reason you have no wolf, you do not belong here, even your mother hates you, do us a favor and die.'

I quickly came out of my thoughts and gave the same formal smile I had practiced for many years in the palace, "Thank you for welcoming me here Beta Bernadette."

Her smile widened further...something I did not know was even possible, "You can call me Bernie."

I nodded keeping the same smile on my face. 

"It was really nice to meet you but I have to be at the training grounds in ten minutes."

Bernadette rushed out of the door without waiting for me to say anything else. I quietly closed the door and turned around to finally analyze the room. The room had the same icy walls, the wall behind the bed had some rough grey patterns on it. There was a door in front of me that led to the balcony, there was another door that probably led to the bathroom. The room was exactly what I expected it to be. 

I went ahead to take a seat on the soft bed, there was no use in making myself comfortable in the room. Just in a few hours, the alpha would throw me out of his house. 

I removed the phone from my pocket.

'Did you reach there?'

'How is everything?'

'You do not have to stay there if you don't want to.'

With a smile, I read the message from Eleanor. 

'Everything is good here.' I texted her back.

She tried her best to stop me from leaving the palace, but everyone knew it was of no use. I was alpha Orion's soulmate and it was something even the king could not change. I put the phone back into my pocket. Eleanor gave me instructions to always hide my phone and call her in case I decided to run away from my soulmate, something she did. It happened because of a misunderstanding but it proved how strong she was, she managed to survive alone between werewolves despite being a human.

I kept taking deep breaths watching the door, waiting for it to open and reveal alpha Orion even though I knew it would not happen. He barely looked at me throughout the journey. 

My stomach grumbled and I realized it had been hours since I had my last meal. 

After debating inside my head for the next fifteen minutes I decided to go out and find something to eat myself. 

I opened the door and started taking light steps to avoid the tapping sound of my heels. I started walking on a random path trusting my gut but also remembering the paintings and vases on the way in case I failed to find the kitchen and had to return. 

After walking for almost ten minutes, I found the stairs. 

"You are new."

I froze.

"I...uh..."

The girl let out a laugh, showing her slightly chipped front tooth, "Relax, I am not gonna call the alpha."

I could not smile after hearing the mention of alpha. 

"I am Aria. What are you doing here anyway?"

The girl looked young with her lavender hair in a side braid. She had big curious grey eyes and a grin on her lips. She was a werewolf, her hands were folded in front of her as she observed me. 

"I am Ruhee. I was searching for the kitchen," my voice was soft and not too loud.

"It's that way," she pointed towards my right, she smacked her lips together, "come one I'll show you."

"Did you come here with alpha? You must be his guest, that can't be right, alpha does not invite guests into his personal house. You must be Chelsea's guest."

The girl seems to be having a discussion with herself. The last name grabbed my interest.

"Chelsea?"

"Yes," she scrunched her dark thin brows together, "don't you know her?"

I shook my head. 

"She is our future Luna."