Chapter 39: Alpha's Announcement

Aurora

The next day, I woke up feeling like shit.

After my conversation with Wolfgang last night, I’d marched up to my room. A while later, I’d heard the front door close, and had supposed he’d left.

My stomach growled, and I remembered that I hadn’t eaten anything the night before, thanks to Wolfgang’s sudden visit.

~“Ugh. It can’t be helped.”~ No matter what I did, I couldn’t stop the feelings I had for Wolfgang.

~“Of course you can’t. He’s our mate, after all,”~ Rhea said casually, sitting there and wagging her tail.

~“Whatever.”~ I rolled my eyes, then got up and took a quick shower before going downstairs to the kitchen to get something to eat.

I was surprised to find that the dishes from last night were washed, and the pizza had been stowed in the fridge.

~“Wolfgang must have done it! He’s so sweet!”~ Rhea cooed in my mind.

~“No, he is not. Remember the hell he put us through.”~ I scowled at my wolf, but she was too busy fangirling over our mate to notice.

I went over to the fridge, then realized that I didn’t have any groceries. All I had to eat was the cold pizza from last night.

I decided to warm a slice in the microwave, then head to town to do some shopping.

Afterward, I stepped out of the house and made my way into town.

It was a little before noon, so the sun was already shining high, but because it was Alaska, clouds shielded me from the scorching rays.

Once I got there, I couldn’t help but think that everyone at the market was watching me.

But it must have been my imagination, so I decided to concentrate on the task at hand, which was to restock my fridge and pantry back at home.

While I was busy picking some carrots, a girl a few years younger came up to me.

“Um…are you Aurora Craton?” she asked me, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Yes,” I answered. I tried to remember if I knew her, but couldn’t seem to recall her face.

She suddenly beamed at me, before bowing her head. “Lady Aurora, it is an honor and a pleasure to meet you. You were so brave facing that rogue on your own. Thank you for dispelling the rogue army.”

Her words came in a sudden rush.

“No, there’s no need for that. And please don’t call me ‘lady’. I am not the luna.” I said to the young girl. “How did you even know about…?

“We all know about it. How you courageously went on your own with the rogues, so they wouldn’t harm anyone at the village.”

Her eyes shone with admiration. “How you fought him on your own, almost to the verge of death, and defeated the leader of the rogue army. Alpha Wolfgang announced it the other day.”

I could feel my blood boiling. I had not accepted that title, and he was already announcing it to the entire village.

I looked around and saw that everyone in the market was bowing to me.

~This is not happening right now.~

I dropped the shopping basket with the few items I had picked up, and ran out of the place. I marched all the way to the pack’s mansion, fury running through my body.

The guards at the front door rapidly bowed their heads as they saw me approach, but I didn’t even bother saying hello to them.

Right now I was on a mission, and that was to chew Wolfgang’s ears off.

I stomped all the way to the second floor and went straight to his office, not bothering to knock.

There, I found my so-called mate, along with the three elders, and his gamma, Remus.

“What part of I don’t want to be your fucking luna didn’t you understand?! Who gave you the right to tell the village that I was your mate?” I growled.

I didn’t care about the others, who stood there looking astonished at my outburst.

“Lady Aur—” Elder Asher started to say, but I gave him a glare that shut the hell up right away.

“Gentlemen, you may leave. We’ll discuss this matter further tomorrow.” Wolfgang addressed the elders and the gamma nonchalantly while I stood there, fuming.

“Yes, sir.” They filed out of the office, leaving me alone with the devil himself. We stood there, facing each other in a silent battle.

“Good morning to you, Aurora. I hope you slept well,” he said casually.

“Good morning, my ass. Why did you tell the village I was your mate?” I said, exasperated.

He stood from his desk and walked around it, coming to stand right before me.

“I am the alpha. It had to be me who told the village, before they heard it elsewhere. How do you think they’d take hearing the news from another pack?”

He spoke nonchalantly, wearing his most stoic face.

Where was the gentle alpha who had asked for my forgiveness last night? I knew it was all an act to get me to budge.

“I don’t care if you’re the king of the werewolves, Wolfgang. I told you I did not want to be your mate. Why don’t you just reject me, so we can both carry on with our lives?”

I shook my head in distress, then suddenly, I felt a warm, gentle hand caress my cheek, forcing me to look up.

“Aurora, I don’t want us to fight anymore. Please don’t push me away. Allow me to make it up to you.”

He spoke so sweetly that I felt like I would melt into his arms, but I had to stand my ground.

I couldn’t allow him to sweep me off my feet with sweet talk after all he’d put me through. I stepped out of his caress as I backed away.

“Like I said last night, Alpha Wolfgang. Sorry isn’t going to cut it,” I said before walking out of the office and heading down the stairs.

Just when I was about to head out the door, I heard Beta Max calling my name. I turned to find him coming out of the living room.

“Hey, Rory. I was just about to stop by your place. How’re you doing?” he asked.

Then he realized that I was not in a good mood. “What happened? Did the alpha do something to you?”

Ever since I’d come back from death’s grip, Beta Max had been very protective of me. He’d come every day to the hospital, and kept me company until I was recovered.

He hadn’t been pleased when I didn’t agree to go back to the mansion, but in the end, he understood my discomfort at being around Wolfgang.

Somehow, he’d become the older brother I’d never had. And for that, I was grateful.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. How have you been?” I asked him, hoping he’d drop the topic.

“I’ve been okay. Worried about you since yesterday. I meant to stop by last night, but the alpha had me doing patrols at the border until early this morning. I just woke up from my power nap.”

He chuckled, causing me to giggle as well. That was what I liked about Max. He always had a smile on his face. It was contagious.

Many times, I’d found myself comparing him to Wolfgang, wishing that he could have been the one I was mated to, and not the arrogant alpha.

“So what are you doing at the mansion? Planning to come back?” he asked. I could feel the hopefulness in his tone.

“No, sorry.” I giggled again as I saw his shoulders slump.

“So then why are you here?” he asked again. I was about to answer, but someone else beat me to it.

“She was here to see her mate.” Wolfgang’s voice boomed from the top stairs.

Both Max and I glared at him as he came down and stood before us. “The real question is, why is my mate chatting here alone with you, ~beta~?” He spat the last word.

I felt Max growl beside me, and I stepped in before they started to fight.

“It’s none of your business who I speak with, alpha. Come on, Max. Let’s go.” I took hold of Max’s arm and practically dragged him out of the mansion.

“Aurora! Aurora!” I could hear Wolfgang shouting for me to come back, but I couldn’t care less.

I dragged Max all the way to the park. I didn’t know why I always chose that spot as my escape place.

“So are you gonna tell me what happened?” Max asked as he sat on one of the swings. I sighed and sat next to him.

“I went to the market, and found out that everyone there already knew that I was Wolfgang’s mate.” I looked up at Max.

“When did he announce it anyway?” I asked.

“The day after he said he wouldn’t reject you. He made an official announcement to the pack, and told them that you were the rightful luna.

He gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Why do I have to be mated to someone so inconsiderate, like him,” I said. I looked down at my feet as I swung back and forth.

Max got up from his swing and stood before me, taking hold of the chains of the swing I sat on.

“I don’t know, Rory. It is the Moon Goddess’ decision. But…”

He leaned down. Now our faces were mere inches apart. “If it was my decision, I…”

“Aurora!” We both turned to see Aspen and Gamma Remus running up to us.

“Get out of the way,” Aspen pushed Max aside and pulled me up into a tight embrace. “How have you been?!” She had me at arm’s length. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Aspen, don’t be too rough with our luna,” Gamma Remus spoke as he stood next to his mate. “Are you better now, Lady Aurora?”

I couldn’t help but glare at the gamma, before sighing in defeat. It was useless to argue with him about the stupid title.

“I’m much better now,” I answered them.

“Why didn’t you come back to the mansion? I’ve missed you!” Aspen said. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

“I needed to go back to my parents’ home. With Montana gone, there’s no one to take care of it.” It was only partly the truth, but I didn’t want to explain everything to them.

They both gave me knowing looks, but didn’t say anything else.

“Well, as long as you’re happy. But I’m gonna miss having you there,” Aspen pouted.

“You’re always free to stop by and see me. We can even have sleepovers,” I told her, hoping to cheer her up.

“Hey! How come Aspen gets to sleep over and I don’t!” Max complained.

I giggled. “Fine. You all can stay over for a sleepover. Even Gamma Remus is welcome to come,” I said.

I looked at the guy in the glasses, who just shook his head and he gave me a little smirk.

Aspen and Max were cheering at my side.

These people had slowly become my new family.