Chapter 12
Chapter 12
“Beta Aristo!” The three girls turned to the man taking up a large part of the doorway. Avalon’s tight grip on my hair loosened before she finally let go, taking a step away from me. Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.
“What are you doing here?” It was Felicity that spoke this time. She took a step towards him, pushing out her chest and tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Were you looking for me?” She turned with a small triumphant look to the other girls before she focused her full attention on the Beta.
“Why would I be looking for you?” He turned away from her after a fleeting look of disgust crossed his face. “You –“ He brushed past Felicity who was reaching for him to turn to Avalon. “You have a lot of audacity.” He reached out and wrapped a hand around her throat. “Do you know who you have carelessly put your hands on?” His voice dropped low and I realized then why he was Cahir’s Beta.
Cahir and Aristo looked and acted like polar opposites. While my mate was dark both in looks and temperament, Aristo had bright blue eyes and platinum blonde hair with a cherry temperament. When he growled at Avalon, I flinched. The air around him swirled with danger and all traces of cheerfulness fled.
“I – I am the future Luna of this pack. Who are you, a mere Beta, to put – to put your hands on me!” I admired Avalon’s courage then. The fact that she managed to speak despite the silence that descended around us from Aristo’s anger made her seem brave; foolishly brave.
If she had the empathy of an omega, she would know from the aura around him that this was not the time to assert her position. She should be begging considering such a man had his hand wrapped around her throat. If she was an omega, she would feel the murderous intent wafting off him in waves. But she was an Alpha and an Alpha’s hubris was always their pride.
“Let go of me, you fool! How dare you disrespect me because of a mere servant? A slave!?” Avalon slapped Aristo’s hand away but the only thing that changed was that he tightened his grip on her throat.
“That ‘servant’ is the Luna of Alpha Blood.” He stressed the servant part. I watched in an almost trance-like state as Avalon’s face started to redden as Aristo strangled her.
“This – This –“ Her bulging eyes turned to me and I fidgeted.
“Can you let her go?” I asked Aristo in a small voice. His hands fell from her throat and she heaved out a sigh of relief.
“What do you mean –“ She gathered up all her strength, ready for an explosion but Viviane cut her off with a nervous look at Aristo.
“Let’s just go.” She took Avalon’s hand and tried to pull her away but the other girl planted her feet into the ground.
“What do you mean she is the Luna of Alpha Blood? This filthy thing is a servant of this pack, a lowly omega –“ Her friend pulled her away before she continued her tirade.
“Sorry about that,” Viviane apologized with her head bowed, pulling a furious Avalon away. Felicity followed behind her friends with a sour look on her face and one last longing look at Aristo.
Phew. With the girls gone, I sank back into the bed with my shoulders sagging forward. Avalon didn’t have the faintest clue what was coming for her so she went about still acting high and mighty. How would she feel if she found out her mighty family had been reduced to servants of the Alpha Blood pack?
No other pack in the world would be able to use a family of alphas and betas as their servants, but hierarchy in Alpha Blood, I had heard, was based on merit and not just the status a person was
lucky enough to be born with. Thus, they had omegas heading departments with alphas, which was something that would never happen in any other pack. Alphas were born to lead and omegas were born to serve or to be bred.
“Thank you for that,” I said to Aristo, avoiding his gaze.
I wondered what he thought of me – How could I who’d been told many times that I would amount to nothing in this life – be the Luna of a pack? And not just any pack, Alpha Blood pack! What would this man think of me? Himself, and his pack most likely, would prefer a woman like Avalon to be their Luna – a strong woman to lead beside their Alpha. At least, I knew Silver Moon did.
“It’s no problem.” His sunny attitude returned as he grinned down at me, oozing of boyish charms. “As Cahir’s Beta, it is my duty to protect all that is his.” The offhand comment startled me.
Did I – Had I become a possession of Cahir’s ? What did that mean for me? Should I be relieved or scared?
“Perhaps it would be better for you to rest in the room reserved for him. No one would dare come up there to disturb you.” He stretched out his hand to me but I first looked at it in suspicion.
People like Aristo did not exist in my world. Why would a Beta of his status be so kind and courteous to me? Even if Cahir decided to accept me as his mate rather than reject me like Kade, I won’t delude myself into thinking we would share a relationship built on love or respect. Simply put, I could only be an Alpha’s breeder. My father and Kade let me know I won’t be good for anything more than that.
“Where is he?” I asked Aristo rather than accepting his outstretched hand. “The – The Alpha, I mean.”
“He has to take care of some things.” His words were cryptic and ominous. “He will be back in a few hours but until then, I am to make sure you rest and I think you will rest better in the room prepared for him.” He still held out his hand to me. I didn’t want to leave him hanging awkwardly so I took his hand. He gripped my hand and hauled me out of the bed.
“Oh!” I exclaimed as I almost went flying into the air with the force with which he pulled me.
“Sorry!” He exclaimed, horror on his face. “You are lighter than I thought you would be!” He let me go as he turned red in the face. Was a Beta allowed to be so expressive?
“It’s fine,” I muttered, brushing my hands against my jeans as my cheeks flared.
As we walked out of the hospital and back into the pack house with me leading the way, Aristo following two steps behind me, I could not help the nervousness that clogged my throat. The room reserved for Alpha Cahir was the best room in the pack house. Beta Maria cleaned it herself, not trusting any of the omegas to do a perfect job like she could. I wasn’t even allowed on the floor the room was located but now – now I could walk in and ‘rest.’
‘Isn’t that the Beta Aristo that Naomi kept talking about?’ Two girls and a boy huddled into a corner said as we passed.
‘What’s she doing with him?’ The way they said ‘she’ made it sound as if they were talking about the most unsavory piece of trash in existence.
As we walked, many people stopped to stare. Girls glared at me and men winked at me as if I was leading the Beta up to my room for some depraved deeds. It was no secret that the Beta was a lover of women so any woman seen with him would be tagged as his lover. My skin heated under the scrutiny of so many gases and I felt my steps falter more and more as we walked.
We got to the elevator and I let out a breath. The elevator was empty as people were getting ready for the initiation and night party for the new Alpha. The things happening in the past twenty-four hours were overwhelming me to the point where I forgot that we just got a new Alpha.
“Are you alright?” Aristo asked when I let out a sigh for the second time, this one louder than the first.
“I am fine.” Sighing had become a force of habit of mine when I got too deep in thought. “I am fine.” I repeated to reassure myself.
But the truth was that I was far from fine. The things that happened in the last twenty-four hours were enough to unnerve me. It felt like a new aspect of my life had started yet everything still felt the same.
I was now Sihana, a healer, and the mate of a powerful alpha, but I was still Sihana the rejected omega who was at the mercy of Kade.
“How old are you?” Aristo blurted out then cringed. “I know you aren’t a child considering those tits – I mean –“ He blanched. “Forget I said that. Forget I ever said that,” he rushed out, his face going pale.
“Twenty-one. It’s my birthday today,” I muttered, looking away from his panic-stricken face.
“Oh – uh –“ He stuttered as the elevator came to a stop on the top floor of the pack house “Happy birth –“ He slotted the card to open the door and we walked into the grand room to meet a spectacle.
“Alpha – Oh – “ Beta Maria exclaimed, her whole skin getting bright red. Yes, her whole skin. She was naked.