2| Mates? Oh, no.

It's been two days since the crowning ceremony, and I haven't seen Harry—I mean Alpha Harry. Though I'm constantly hearing about him.

 

It seems like he has been taking on his Alpha responsibilities very well. Too well, in fact. According to random gossip in the pack, he has been very busy yelling at patrol guards and brutally sparring with fellow pack members. Maybe that's why he hasn't had the time to see me.

 

All is forgiven and forgotten about what happened during his crowning ceremony. Maybe he was just having an off day; that's why he spoke rudely. Harry—Alpha Harry isn't a bad person. Which is why I am standing in front of his office door, about to knock and enter.

 

I just need to gather my thoughts first and rehearse what I'm going to say: "Good day, Alpha Harry. I'm just here to check up on you. It's been a while, and I've heard you've been fitting into your new role perfectly.”

 

Good, good, that was perfect. After that, a conversation will start, and we'll be back to normal.

 

I raise my hand to knock on the door, but I can't bring myself to do it.

 

"Just do it, Isla. It's not that hard." I chastise myself. I bring my hand up to knock on the door, but I can't seem to do anything.

 

"Isla, just—"

 

"What are you doing?" A voice says, and I jerk back in surprise, letting out a yelp. As I turn to see the face of the person, I recognize Beta Oliver, and I let out a sigh of relief.

 

"You scared me!" I say to him, clutching my chest as I try to catch my breath. He smiles in amusement.

 

"You still haven't told me what you're doing in front of Alpha Harry's office," Beta Oliver says, and my mouth forms an 'O.'

 

"I was just about to go in and greet him," I say in a casual tone, and he nods his head.

 

"Me too; let's go." Beta Oliver says as he links our fingers and drags me through the door and into Alpha Harry's office.

 

"Greetings, Alpha." Beta Oliver says to Harry as the man in question just continues to work on the paperwork in front of him, not even bothering to acknowledge the greeting thrown his way.

 

"Knock first before entering my office next time," Alpha Harry says to Beta Oliver, and the latter stiffles a snort.

 

"Sure, well, I came in with a guest." Beta Oliver changes the matter, gesturing to me, and my breath hitches as Alpha Harry slowly looks up from the papers on his desk and to my face.

 

The neutral look on his face contorts into fury in a split second.

 

"What are you doing here?" He growls, slamming the papers in his hands against his desk harshly.

 

"Greetings Alpha, I just came to ask—"

 

"Speak properly!" He snaps, standing up from his desk, and I flinch at his tone.

 

"I just wanted to ask how you were faring in your new position," I say in a whisper, looking down to my toes.

 

"And who are you to dare concern yourself with such things that are above you?" He asks in a demanding tone, and my jaw drops.

 

"Harry—"

 

"It's Alpha Harry to you." He cuts off Beta Oliver's sentence.

 

"Why are you being so mean to her? She just wants to check up on you." Oliver continues, taking my side.

 

"Doesn't she have other duties to attend to?" Alpha Harry snaps at him before turning to face me with a sharp look. "Don't you?" He asks.

 

"I've already done my morning rounds in the children's area; I don't have any other duties again." I say it in a low tone.

 

"Oh, so that's the problem. I'm putting you on laundry duty for the soldiers." He says abruptly before stumbling back down and turning his attention back to his papers.

 

"What?" I am at a loss for words.

 

"Are you deaf? I'm putting you on laundry duty for the soldiers; you will wash their clothes, dry them, and take the clean clothes to them, one by one." He explains, not sparing me a glance, and my jaw drops.

 

"Alpha, but there are already people assigned to that duty." Beta Oliver starts to counter.

 

"Dismiss them," Alpha Harry says dismissively.

 

"Harry, why are you being so—"

 

"This is the last time I will correct you. The next time you think to address me so informally, it shall be considered disrespect to authority, and I will have you hanged for it." Alpha Harry cuts off my sentence harshly with a death threat, and my vision blurs.

 

I choke back a sob, and that's when Oliver turns to me.

 

"Are you okay?" He asks me, and I start to shake my head.

 

"What are you still doing here? You've been dismissed." Alpha Harry says harshly to me, and I bite my lips to restrain myself from making a crying noise.

 

"Don't make me repeat myself," he adds, and I manage to nod as my legs turn of their own accord and start to take me elsewhere, though I don't miss what they say next.

 

"Did she do something to you? Is that why you were being mean to her?" I hear Oliver asking.

 

"She's not even worth pulling an emotion out of me." I hear Alpha Harry reply, and I shatter.

 

What happened? What happened to him? What happened to us?

 

 

***

 

"I heard the rumor, but I chose not to believe it unless I saw it with my own very eyes." A shrill feminine voice says in mock horror.

 

I don't need to look up to know who the woman is. I continue washing the bloodstains off a soldier's uniform passively.

 

It's been three days since Alpha Harry put me on laundry duty. Members of the pack have been coming down to the laundry room more frequently now to mock me. They say that I'm no longer his favorite. They come to rub my predicament in my face. It's been bearable, but I know Lauren is going to change all that.

 

"How the mighty have fallen. Wait a second, you were never even mighty to begin with." Lauren says, laughing loudly at the end, and I press my lips against each other firmly.

 

"Aren't you going to say anything?" She snaps as I don't reply, yanking my ponytail, and I let out a painful hiss.

 

My hands immediately wrapped around hers, trying to pull her away from me, but to no avail. She keeps pulling on my hair viciously, and I scream out in pain.

 

"You're so annoying!" She hisses out, using her hold on me to drag me from my position and through the floor. I'm still screaming, trying to free myself from her hold, but it's of no use since she's physically stronger than me.

 

She releases her hold on me and thrashes me against a wall, triggering coughs from my throat. Thinking she's done, I try to stand up, only for her to kick me hard across my stomach, triggering more furious coughs from me.

 

"Please," I turn to pleading.

 

"You don't get to—"

 

"What's going on here?" A loud voice booms, and Lauren immediately backs away from me.

I'm still wheezing helplessly on the floor, but even I can tell who saved me. A shaky smile forms on my lips as I try to stand up.

 

"Alpha Harry—" I say it breathlessly, and only a look from him silences me.

 

He turns his attention to Lauren, and I can see her visibly trembling under the gaze of her Alpha.

 

"I asked you a question—what is going on here?" He says this to Lauren in a no-nonsense tone.

 

"This weak she-wolf was being disrespectful to me, and I was just showing her her place." Lauren answers, stuttering all the way and still not looking up to the Alpha as she speaks.

 

"Look at me when you're talking." He cautions her, and she nods her head before finding the courage to look up to him.

 

They're caught in freeze-frames as Lauren looks at his face and he does the same to her. I look at both of them, trying to understand what's happening. He reaches for her and caresses her face.

 

"Mate." They both said, their voices in chorus.

 

Oh, no.