Aleena’s POV
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“Noah! Let everyone in the pack know that Eva is fine! I’m sure a lot of pack members would be worried for her.”
“Okay. Alpha.” he nodded his head.
“By the way, you’re here? Is it because to know Eva’s situation?” I asked, arching my brow.
“No, Alpha. I have updated the status of the pack.”, he corrected me. Well, What could I say! I was still new to all these things. “I have done a headcount of the warriors we lost, and we have lost four warriors from this pack and seven warriors of Stone Moon pack.”
“Oh!”, I mumbled. I couldn’t feel that because I hadn’t taken an oath until now. Because as an Alpha, in case of death of any pack member, he or she could feel the pain. “And how many are injured?” I asked.
“Yes! I was coming to that part. Around 12 warriors are injured of this pack and 19 warriors pf Stone Moon pack.”
“Hmm. Prepare for the funeral for the warriors that sacrificed their life and ….” I paused before speaking, “Do whatever you used to do with the family of the warriors in case of their death at the time of dad.” I added because I didn’t know what I should do with those families who had lost their family members. I meant that no amount of wealth could return the happiness that they had lost.
I knew this after dad’s death.
If I had been the former Aleena, I knew I could have thrown money on them, but after losing dad, I knew even if I would give up all the monetary stuff of my life. I won’t be able to bring him back.
“Okay, Alpha.”, he agreed. “Now, I would like to take a leave.”
“Noah! Wait.”, I stopped him. “I have a discussion something with you.”
“Yes! Alpha.”
“Now that I have conquered Fire Cross Pack. I now have two Betas. I don’t know much about the Beta of Fire Cross Pack, but the way each and every pack member listen to him. I can tell that he is a good Beta for them, and you’re also the Beta of this pack. So, after merging the pack, things will get quite complicated for me if I will have to choose any of you as Beta. That’s why I’m talking to you directly about it. Would you mind if I will demote you? Be clear about your answer so that it will be easier for me to decide. You don’t have to act good or listen to my order to build a good image in front of me.”
“I’m glad that you asked my choice, Alpha. And NO, I’m not okay with demotion.”, he said, straight on my face. “And in case you will still think of doing something like that, then I will challenge Beta Hudson for the dual whoever will be the new Beta.”, Adding this, he took a leave from there.
‘What should I do, Leia?’
‘I don’t know. It’s not that I have taken Alpha training.’, She replied. ‘But we need both of them because they have been handling the respective pack for years. Where is our mate? We can ask him.’, She suggested.
‘Stephen? Where you?’ I asked when I couldn’t find him nor sense him near us.
‘Busy with Beta duties, Lina, because both Alpha and Luna need each other at this moment.’, he replied.
‘Okay.’ I closed the mind link, realizing that I wasn’t his first priority, so I should let him come in between him and his duties.
Eva was again surrounded by all the family members, and I felt out of place between them. So, I, too, decided to leave the hospital after checking on all the injured warriors and their condition personally.
‘Dad always used to say that a pack’s strength is not completely dependent on the fact how strong the Alpha is but also on the strength of their warriors and pack members.’
I was about to leave there when Nora and Paige blocked my way, stopping me from leaving.
I narrowed my eyes at their behavior but didn’t say anything at first, but I swore to answer back in case they decided to taunt me or blame me for that attack.
“Did I tell you that from now on, you are my role model?” Paige asked, and immediately a toothy smile appeared on her face.
“Sorry?”
“I was your biggest fan from the day you made Stephen apologize in front of the whole pack.”, Nora commented. “But then I realized how wrong I was for trusting you instead of my brother.”, She added, making me recall what I did with Stephen. “But after today’s incidence, I’m your fan again.”
“So, we both want you to train us just like you.”, Paige said, breaking that news which wasn’t less than a shock for me.
Not. Not a happy one.
“I’m sorry to break this news, but training others is not my thing.”, I said bluntly.
“That’s so rude, sister-in-law.”, Nora commented.
“Oh, trust me, you haven’t seen the rude side of mine yet.” I smiled while saying that. I wasn’t arguing with them; it was just in most of the cases, my tone was like that, and now that I was learning to accept myself. I hate speaking in sugar-coated words.
“Then, show us.”, Paige said with determination. “Because training under our brothers is like learning nothing. They treat us like a doll made up of glass. But with you, we can learn a lot of things.”, She added.
“And, the main reason to train under you is that my mate is a vampire!!” Nora confessed.
Okay! This was new. I didn’t know about it.
“That’s why I want to train myself in a better way to deal with all the vampires before deciding what I have to do next.” Nora paused before continuing, “Everyone’s suggestion is to forget him and let him go. But I want to take risks, but at the same time, not before grabbing all the necessary precautions and training.”
I didn’t answer anything for a while, wondering whether I should help her or not?
I meant when everyone was against her and her mate, then why should I make everyone mad but help her.
‘And since when you started caring about everyone? That too when they are wrong.’, Leia commented. ‘Everyone wants their mates in their life but asking Nora to forget her mate, isn’t that cruel? Moreover, it’s not that you are brainwashing her. Whatever she has to do, she will do on her own, and no one can stop her. All you have to do is train her so that she doesn’t get herself kill, OR our mate will lose his sister.’
“Please say YES. We’re family.”, Paige said, showing her puppy eyes to me.
“Fine. But let me tell you that I won’t be easy on you both in the name of FAMILY or FEMALE. And if you both can survive a week with me, then the training will start.”, I warned. Whatever I was today, I had trained harder for that because of staying in a boarding school full of Alpha pups. It was not easy to survive without getting bullied. I wouldn't get that no one bullied me when I was new there, but each and every day, I had to prepare myself to be better and stronger.
“Thank you! Thank you!", They both jumped on, hugging me tightly. I hesitated at first but eventually hugged them back.
“Great then! Along with Stephen, we two will also join your pack.”, Paige said happily, breaking the hug.
“Yes! In that way, we can finally step out of our comfort zone. Because we can never change our lives until we step out of our comfort zone; change begins at the end of our comfort zone.”, Nora said with determination.
“But before that, do discuss it with your parents without keeping a gun on my shoulder.”, I told them. “Now, I will have to check the situation of the pack.”
“Oh! Okay. At least inform mom and dad by saying that you’re leaving.”, Nora suggested. “Come on!”, Saying this, she started taking me toward Eva’s room, holding my hand. No doubt she was Stephen’s sister. He, too, had held my hand in the same way when he took me in front of his family members when they were mad at me. But at the same time, I didn’t want to face anyone without Stephen by my side. But I didn’t trust my big mouth, and upsetting his family members meant upsetting him.
‘Have you observed?’ Leia asked.
‘Observe what?’
‘That you can’t speak or think a sentence without bringing our mate’s name on your mouth or mind.’, Leia pointed out.
‘So? Is that a bad thing?’
‘And you almost stopped breathing when Eva mentioned that if she wouldn’t step in, then Stephen would have been at her place.’
‘Don’t remind me that part.’
‘And you also bad when he prioritizes work before us.’
‘What do you want to say, Leia? Say it clearly.’
‘That you’re in love.’
‘What rubbish? This is a mate bond. Nothing more than that.’
‘Keep telling that to yourself. I’m just telling the symptoms of love:
One, Your thoughts return to him regularly.
Two, You feel safe with him.
Three, life feels more exciting.
And four, You want to spend a lot of time together. And I know about it because I’m in love! I’m in love!.’
By that time, we had reached Eva’s room, and all of a sudden, everyone stopped speaking whatever they were talking about a moment ago as if they were bad-mouthing me. Everyone looked at me like I was the eighth wonder of the world.
“Why are you standing there? Come here”, It was dad who spoke, and I did the same. “I didn’t tell you before, but you made me proud twice.”, he added, patting my cheek. “Francis would have been so proud of you, seeing your back-to-back excellent and mindblowing fighting skills.”
“I second that.”, Uncle James said. “To be honest, I never gave that freedom to Paige and treated her with extreme care like a glass doll but seeing you and Eva, I think I too should have trained her more like a warrior than just self-defense.”
“Didn’t you hear that James that ‘Behind every independent girl, of course, there is a man called DAD.’?” Aunt Emma said before looking at me. “Paige told me everything that happened over there, and by hearing her voice, I could say that she was highly smitten by your fighting skills.”
“I agree with Aunt Emma.”, That voice surprised me. Widening my eyes, I turned my gaze toward Daniel, “Well, I’m surprised that I’m saying this, but I need to admit that you are too good at your work. I mean, even that sneaking in and out of the pack part. I was pissed earlier when I came to know about you sneaking out of the pack, but when I came to know how you utilize that part of the time, then I must say that I was shocked beyond anything. People need the guts to do what you have done. Also, your last move at the end of the fight to save Eva was something that I didn’t expect from you. But you proved me wrong. And I’m not feeling ashamed that I’m glad that you prove me wrong.”, he said while I looked at him, still in shock.
Why?
Because this was the longest paragraph, he had ever said to me.
“Long story, short! Thank you for saving the life of my mate and my pup. And I know I should not be doing this, but I can’t help myself from telling the truth. That’s true that you’re independent because of your dad. But behind your this success, there is an understanding man called ‘Husband.’”
“To be honest, I will never have to leave Eva to do anything alone. You can name it whatever you want, but Stephen did. I even warned him that you might ditch him after coming into power, but he believed in you and understood your intentions and feelings when no one else did. So, yes! Even my brother needed to get credit.”, he finished.
‘That’s true.’, Leia chirped.
“You should go home and freshen up, Dear.”, Mom said before I would have informed her that I had to leave. I smiled, knowing that even she was not mad at me. I believed that saving Eva and her pup acted like a boon for me, even though it wasn’t a plan. I opened my mouth to say that I would be staying now at Silver Moon Pack when she spoke again.
“I know.”
“You know?” I questioned in surprise.
“Not just me, but everyone knows and understands the amount of workload that landed on your shoulder. On the top, all the people with whom you’re going to work with it all the unknown to you.”, She said the same line which I would have used to explain to everyone. She reached near me and placed her hand on my cheek. “But just remember that we all are here and at the distance of an hour.”
Everyone was there, but the one whom I wanted near me was busy with his duties. I bit my inner cheek from complaining about his younger son.
“Where is Stephen, Daniel?” Mom asked, turning her head toward Daniel.
“Umm … he is busy.”
Busy, my ass!!
“It will be better if you find a new Beta for yourself soon because just like you need your mate near you all the time. His priorities should be his mate, and that would be possible if you keep him busy with pack works all the time.”
“I get it, Mom.”
******
After a while, I left there, and Paige tagged along with me by giving an excuse to her parents that she would make sure that I would feel alone. And Nora, well, even she wanted to join me too, but it seemed like her family knew her reason for coming with me, so they stopped her.
I didn’t say anything about that because it was her fight, and she had to fight on her own if she wanted to stay with her mate.
The more I was reaching near the packhouse, the more I could sense Paige’s wolf getting restless.
What was wrong with her?
In fact, instead of running with me, she started running ahead of me when we finally reached the pack. For a while, I thought it was her excitement, but what could excite a wolf?
I just stayed behind and observed where she was going. She was my responsibility, so I had to keep her safe and protected if required. She ran near my new Beta, Hudson, and purred, looking at him.
Okay! Tell me that this was exactly the same thing that I was thinking.
When her wolf licked Hudson’s face, my doubt was confirmed about Hudson being her mate. But there was no sign of happiness and excitement when Paige’s wolf was looking at him lovingly.
I shifted, and that’s when Hudson’s eyes landed on me. He and the other two warriors bowed their heads before speaking.
“Here!”, He said, forwarding my pendant to me. “I believe it's yours.”, He added, showing the broken pendant. I took it and thought to get it repaired, but this time without a mic inside it. “Also, I came to know about the attack. So, I thought to check on you as you didn’t inform me anything about it.”, he said, ignoring Paige’s wolf as if she was not there at all.
“That’s because it would have taken a lot of time from reaching from one border to the other. And that fight hardly took that much time.”
“Oh, okay!” he nodded his head. “Let me know if there is any work or order for me.”
“Sure! Hudson. I will let you know about it.”
“Now, I would like to leave.”, Saying he turned around to leave, but Paige’s wolf blocked his way. He tried to leave in another way, but she again blocked it. He tried to do this a couple of times, but he kept blocking his way again and again until he sighed before looking toward her. “See, I don’t need a mate. So, when we meet in human form next time, we will reject each other.” Paige’s wolf whimpered when she heard the word ‘REJECT’ from her mate. “It will be better to stay without mate than to stay with a mate who is a jerk, okay?”, Finishing this, he started leaving again, and this time Paige didn’t stop him.
Glad that she had some self-respect.
“Come on, Paige! Let go inside.”, I said, taking her inside in her wolf form because the door was big enough for any wolf to walk in. I didn’t miss observing how Hudson’s step halted for a while when he learned the name of his mate.
“Wait, let me bring a cloth for you.”, I said, and after a while, I brought one of my knee-length dresses for her with an inbuilt bra in it. “Here.”
Once she wore the dress, I looked at her face to see her expression, and as expected, she was sad.
“Hey, It’s fine.”, I said, giving her a side hug. “Just like he said, ‘It will be better to stay without mate than to stay with a mate who is a jerk.’
“It’s easy to say but hard to think about rejecting the mate.”, She muttered. “I hope he would have a good reason to reject me, OR I swear I will kick your Beta’s ass.”
I chuckled and ruffled her hair. “That’s like a strong girl. Feel yourself home. I’m going to take bathe.”
I tried to mind link Stephen, but I couldn’t.
“Great. Thank you for showing me my place, Stephen.” I talked with myself, talking out the clothes that I had packed in the bags that day.
‘You’re missing him, aren’t you?’
“Yes. I’m. This place. This room. Everything reminds me of my dad. And… And his presence would have made me feel better. But it seems like I’m not that important. That’s why he is ignoring me.”, I complained, walking inside the washroom.
I kept cursing him the entire time when I was busy washing my body and sensed Paige’s smell in my room when I walked out.
What was she doing here?
But the answer to that question was soon answered when I saw denim jeans and an off-shoulder top on the bed with a note. I picked the note of those clothes.
‘Please wear this.
-Stephen.’
‘Aww! Someone is smiling.’ I didn’t know about it until Leia pointed it out.
‘Shut up, Leia.’
‘I’m glad that our mate knows how to lighten our mood.’, Leia still continued. ‘We should also do something for him, don’t you think so?’
‘Well, I do think so. And I will do that on the Alpha Ceremony’s night, in front of the pack members of this pack, Stoon Moon Pack, Fire Cross Pack, and all the Alpha or Beta whoever will present that night.’,
‘Please tell me that you’re planning to propose to him.’
‘No. I’m not sure about that part.’ I cleared about that. ‘But yes, I haven’t forgotten the insult that I did to him. I had done that in front of one pack, but I’m thinking of apologies for that in front of everyone. I owe him an apology, Leia. And I owe this life to him.’
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#TBC.
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How was the part?