Chapter Two The Announce of The Alpha

 

Aria’s POV

“I don’t understand. I cleaned it. I made sure it was—”

“Shut the f*ck up, Aria.” Maria yelled.

Her voice cut through me so sharply that the rest of my words died in my throat.

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“No, Luna,” I answered quickly, lowering my gaze.

“Are you saying Selene, my precious daughter, did this?”

“No, Luna,” I answered again, my voice quieter this time.

“We are just three in this house. The other members of the pack are in the next quarter. So, who did this? If it certainly was not me nor my daughter, then automatically, it is you. You are the only one unworthy here and all mistakes can only be done by the incompetent you.”

Each word landed like a blow, but I stood still and took it. That was what I had learned to do.

“Don’t piss me off right now. Get the mopping stick and mop all floors all over again.” Maria rose up. She held Selene by her hand and they both stepped away.

As they walked past me, close enough for me to catch the faint scent of Selene’s perfume,

I saw it.

Selene, she looked at me right in the eyes and smirked.

A slow, deliberate smirk that held no innocence.

From there, I knew it.

I was not a fool. I had cleaned this room, mopped it clean and made sure it was flawless. I had checked every corner before leaving. But somehow, after going to the kitchen to do the dishes, there was a stain here in this room. And right now, she smirked at me?

The answer settled heavily in my chest.

It was obvious. She did it.

But why?

She already had her wolf, she was the loved one and I was the hated one. She already had everything that mattered in this pack. So, what else did she need, making Maria treat me even worse than she had always already done?

“And oh…” Maria’s voice broke through my thoughts suddenly.

I turned towards them immediately, forcing my expression blank.

They were at the door now. “Alpha Thalos is coming today,” she said.

The air shifted. Even the silence felt different.

“You know who that is, right?” she asked.

“Yes, Luna,” I answered.

Who didn’t?

Alpha Thalos was the most powerful alpha in the whole of Cambridge. Aside from being the Alpha, rumors had it that he was a Lycan and others said he was a hybrid. Stories about him were told in whispers, the kind that made even strong wolves uneasy.

Two decades ago, history told us that he wiped out all the other supernaturals such as the vampires and the witches and even demons from Cambridge. And it was more shocking that he was only 7 years old at the time.

A child who could destroy entire bloodlines.

Right now, he was 28 and he was coming to our home?

“Good.” Maria nodded, satisfied.

“Make sure that you go to the luxury closet downtown and get the perfect gown and gold necklace for my daughter.” She smiled and looked at Selene, her hands caressing her jaw with a softness she had never once shown me.

“If Alpha Thalos is coming right here, then he must leave with Selene, the perfect choice for him in the whole wide world.”

Selene smiled broadly, her earlier smirk now replaced with something brighter, more practiced.

Ten years ago, before she saw her wolf and when we still treated each other as sisters, we’d both always wanted to be married to Alpha Thalos. We used to whisper about it at night like it was a dream meant for both of us.

Everyone knew he would be getting a bride one day, and he’d be selecting from all the Lunas’ princesses.

But right now, that dream had shifted.

That desire had been stolen from me, and it only belonged to her.

“What are you still waiting for?” Maria turned at me suddenly, her eyes cold, icy.

The softness she showed Selene vanished completely.

“You are wasting time. And if Alpha Thalos should arrive before you get that gown and jewelry, I swear by the Moon Goddess’s name, I will disown you as a member and personally feed you to the cursed.”

***

Her threat lingered long after she stopped speaking.

Hearing this, it hurt. My heart raced painfully against my chest. I already knew what happened to members without a pack, I had heard the stories, seen the fear in others whenever the cursed were mentioned. But I refused to cry about this.

Not here. Not in front of them.

I rootedly believed it.

The proverbs of the denied.

Many years ago, In the Age of the First Moon, the denied, as they called themselves, were a group of people with no wolf ability. They believed that someday, the Moon Goddess would remember them and give them their own wolves.

So, they continued to offer sacrifices, holding onto faith even when they were mocked and cast aside, until years later, their wish was granted.

They endured, and they were rewarded.

Because of this, I believed I would see my wolf one day as well, and all of these were just temporary.

They had to be.

I grabbed the mopping stick, grounding myself in the task at hand.

If Alpha Thalos was coming, he was coming for peace talks among the Lunas. That was the logical reason for a visit like this. But Maria had other plans, plans that had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with ambition.

Cleaning the room, I moved faster this time. I knew by Maria’s words I was supposed to clean all other rooms as well. But doing that would automatically delay me, and Selene wouldn’t be able to be perfectly dressed before Alpha Thalos came.

And if Selene was not ready, Maria would blame me again.

I left the other rooms untouched since I was sure I had already done them earlier. There was no point repeating work just to satisfy cruelty.

With that decision made, I stepped out of the house and headed to the luxury closet downtown.

****

Fifteen minutes later, I was back, slightly out of breath but careful not to show it.

I had already picked the best gown, one that stood out the moment I saw it. 

It had multiple gemstones carefully embedded into the fabric, catching light from every angle, and an off back and off shoulder design that would reveal Selene’s cleavage even more and make Alpha Thalos continue to steal looks at her without effort.

If Maria wanted perfection, then this was it.

As the strongest Alpha in Cambridge, and an Alpha whom rumors said was a Lycan and a hybrid, it was common knowledge that he was going to have uncontrollable pheromones. That was what people said, what they whispered when his name came up.

According to the divine commandment of the Moon Goddess, when a wolf mates with another, they must be joined together as husband and wife under the bright light of the moon, except only if the right divine mate comes along in the later future must they be separated.

Which meant appearances mattered. Attraction mattered. Timing mattered.

“I selected the best from them all, Luna,” I said with a bow.

Maria looked at me and hissed softly. She snatched the gown from me without her hand touching me, as though I were cursed with a disease.

“Fair enough,” she said.

“Looks like you are not so useless after all.”

“Here, darling, do you like it?” she passed it to Selene immediately.

Selene stretched her hand. Their fingers touched each other as she received the gown, a small gesture filled with warmth I would never receive. She rose to her feet, straightened it over her body as she imagined how the gown would look on her.

“I will manage, since we don’t have much time left.” She washed me with her eyes from head to toe, her gaze lingering just long enough to remind me of my place.

“Alpha Thalos will be here in nothing less than an hour’s time,” Maria sounded.

The pressure in the room tightened again.

“Before then, I want you to leave this building. Go somewhere far enough. Somewhere outside the walls of the pack. Alpha Thalos must only have his eyes Selene. He must not set his sparkling, cute eyes on you at all.”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma,” I bowed, swallowing everything I wanted to say, and stepped out of the room.