Anxieties

Later that night, Noelle curled up on her bed with mixed feelings. She had agreed to go with the prince. Although she had intended to decline the marriage offer, something changed when she glanced up at him.

His slightly squinted eyes seemed to urge her to agree, as if there was a reason beyond her understanding. There was something about his gaze that felt like safety.

Noelle believed that the Lycan Prince only wanted to save her from her pack; there was no way he desired to marry her. Still, she had agreed even though she couldn’t wrap her mind around why he felt pity for an omega like her. Her easy submission had surprised the Alphas in the room, contrasting sharply with her earlier defiance.

But Prince Silas had looked amused. Noelle hadn’t expected the night to turn out this way, but if she was being honest with herself, being anywhere else was better than staying in her pack. Ever since her father had died of a strange illness, her mother had remarried without caring about Noelle's well-being, and the rest of the pack treated her with contempt.

Mainly because she had appeared to be the weakest of all Omegas. Her wolf even barely stir. Which was a heavy contrast to who her late father was.

So many tagged her as a bastard, and this also fueled her mother’s resentment for her because the pack hardly believed she bore Noelle for her late husband.

“Your mother just left. I told her you weren’t here,” Diana, Noelle’s only friend in the pack, informed her.

“Good,” Noelle replied, relieved. She knew what awaited her at home, and she wasn’t ready to face her mother and stepfather’s torments. She had ruined Kira’s mating ceremony the night before, and she knew they wouldn’t react kindly to the news.

Noelle didn’t mind the hate she was going to get; she was satisfied with the act she had pulled off. Of course, she expected a penalty. Kole had feigned interest in her when everyone else had hated her, and she had naively believed him when he confessed his love. That was until she caught him with her stepsister, Kira.

Even though Kole had kept his relationship with Noelle a secret from the other pack members, with the excuse that he wanted it to be a surprise when he revealed it to them, she had blindly believed him. As if catching him with her stepsister wasn’t painful enough, he told her that Kira fit his Alpha image better than Noelle, and that was the only reason he wanted to be with her, while Noelle would always be the one he had feelings for.

And like a shameful secret, he would keep Noelle in the dark while showing off Kira as his mate. It hurt Noelle so much that she couldn’t even cry. She only wanted to hurt him back. There was nothing that would hurt an Alpha more than an omega wounding his pride publicly. And that’s how she came up with the plan to reject him at his mating ceremony.

“Your mother would think you’re with the Lycan prince. The news has traveled fast around the pack that the prince has sought your hand in marriage. You don’t want to hear what they’re saying about you,” Diana said, sitting beside Noelle on her small bed.

“I really don’t want to know. Please, don’t spare me the details.” Diana nodded.

“When are you leaving with the Lycans?”

“Tomorrow.”

______

The sound of noises from outside woke Noelle up the following morning. She hadn’t gotten much sleep, as she had stayed awake most of the night thinking.

“I know she’s here! Call the failure out,” she heard a feminine voice say from outside. It was her stepsister. Noelle slowly stepped outside, her eyes expressionless. If anything, she looked intimidating. Sasha was asking Kira to leave when they spotted Noelle.

Kira was stunned for a moment, perhaps because of the unusual cold gaze that contrasted with the fear Noelle’s eyes had always held. Kira recovered quickly, though.

“And there she is. Do you actually think you can stop Kole and me from getting mated?” Kira let out a dark chuckle and continued, “Well, I would be damned to allow someone like you to cause a rift between me and my mate. You were only jealous that he didn’t pick you, but he picked me instead.” Kira sneered. Noelle, on the other hand, didn’t look fazed.

She was numbed to Kira’s troubles now.

“Kira, why are you here?” Noelle asked as if she hadn’t been listening to her all along. That earned her a dazed expression from Kira.

“I never knew you lack hearing abilities…” She trailed off then recovered.

 “Oh, I’m not even surprised. You’re going to be given away as a whore to the Lycan prince.” She made a distasteful expression. “So I can understand why you have the audacity to speak to me like we are equals.”

Noelle folded her arms and sighed, her expression almost bored.

“I’m only here to inform you about me and Kole’s marriage.” Kira bragged, her shoulder-length blonde hair flying lightly as the morning breeze blew around them. “Whatever you had planned to happen last night didn’t work out. Guess what? The future Alpha’s love for me outweighs that.”

Noelle finally spoke. “Sadly, I’m not interested in whatever you just said, Sis. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t even listening.”

Satisfied with the shocked look on Kira’s face, Noelle gently hauled Diana inside and locked the door. She could hear Kira making annoying remarks from outside, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Kira had always been like that, but Noelle was leaving anyway; she wouldn’t have to deal with her anymore.

Sasha turned to he immediately they were alone. “Wait…this isn’t the same Noelle I was used to.” She blinked dramatically. “Where did you get that boldness from? Did you see the look on Kira’s face just now? She looked like she could wet her panties any minute,”

Diana mocked as she laughed out loud. Noelle could manage a small smile, even though she still felt unsettled inside. She was leaving her pack…

Diana had always been her go-to therapist whenever her family gave her a hard time. She was the only one in the Nightshade Pack who truly cared about her.

“I think I’ve just had enough,” Noelle confessed as she thought about the journey ahead. she had to get ready for the journey with the Lycans. The thought of it made her insides twist with intense fear. What was she to expect from the Lycan kingdom?

She finally left for her mother’s part of the house in the pack, after much convincing from Diana.

She knocked and her mother opened. Noelle swallowed. Her mother’s face was always a traumatic sight for her.

Her expression hardened as soon as she spotted Noelle. “Where did you sleep?” she asked as Noelle made her way inside the house.

“Diana’s apartment,” she replied.

“Liar. I went to look for you, but she said you weren’t there. Is it true that the Lycan…” Her voice trailed off as Noelle cut her off.

“Yes, it’s whatever you’ve heard, Mother. Whatever you heard is right,” Noelle spat, frustration clear in her voice. Her mother’s mouth hung open, but Noelle didn’t wait to hear any cruel words she might have left to say.

She heard some though. “Your stepfather will be so furious with you when he’s back. You useless child!”

Noelle dashed to her room to freshen up, then started packing her few belongings. She heard the living room entrance door creak open, followed by a voice. “Prince Silas sent for Noelle.” The words made Noelle’s body go rigid.

Prince Silas. The Lycan prince. The thought of him alone suddenly unsettled her whole mind.