O N E
Elizabeth's P.O.V:
The whole pack was in chaos. No matter which rank they belonged to, everyone was nervous about being perfect tonight. The small shops of the small town where our small pack was situated were packed with customers and the roads were blocked with traffic. Had it been any other normal day, all of these shops would have been empty and so would have been this road. But today is no normal day. It is, without any doubt, going to be marked as the most important day in not only this town's history, but also for the whole werewolf community across the world.
Today is the day when the Alpha King is going to be visiting my pack, the Red Spade pack.
Quite contrary to its cold name, the Red Spade pack was among the most peaceful packs found here and our size was also extremely smaller, especially when compared to the packs which resided nearby. You may ask, 'Well, then why is THE Alpha King even visiting a pack like this?' It is a really long and complicated story, but a short summary of it could be that, since his first mate—our Luna Queen—died, he has to find another mate for him before his mate link fades. No one knows the details of how the Luna Queen actually died and hence, rumors regarding her death spread.
The most famously discussed rumor is about how the Luna Queen was cheating on him and upon finding the truth about her betrayal, our poor King went into a fit of rage and killed her along with her lover.
Another one tells us about how the Luna Queen found out about the Alpha King cheating on her and she tried to kill him, but since the Alpha King is obviously way stronger than her, he ended up killing her in the fight. Oh and let's not forget about the one where the Alpha King is simply a mad man and randomly decides to kill her one day, out of the blue.
I don't know what had actually happened, but all of these stories have convinced me and all of the werewolf population that the person responsible for our Luna Queen's death was no one other than the great, mighty Alpha King.
And now, he had supposedly roamed all of the packs in the world over a span of 2 years in order to find his second chance mate. The Red Spade pack was the last one on the list and, since he had failed to find his mate anywhere else, everyone was sure that he would find the next Luna Queen in my pack. For people under eighteen, attending this party was not obligatory but all others had to attend it. One of those attendees was none other than me.
Elizabeth Walters, 18 years old, freshly out of college and the only child of the Alpha of Red Spade pack, aka the future Alpha.
Unlike everyone else, I wasn't really excited about today's party. Just who in their right minds would want to mate with a suspicious guy like the Alpha King? Why was he even taking so long to find a second chance mate anyway? He could have chosen any strong woman as the Queen, but nope. That man just had to travel around the world, waste his two years and ours and still come up with zero progress.
Right now, I was with my mother, listening to her as she talked grimly about the Alpha King.
"Don't be late for today's ceremony, okay? He wants the event to be over as quickly as possible and it will not be possible for us to end it if an unmated woman from our pack is absent, right?" She advised me while putting on her jewellery.
Her dark brown eyes, similar to mine, held worry as she paused to look back at me. Her face had many wrinkles due to her old age but that did not mean that it made her look ugly. This all just attributed more towards her not just being a warm friendly person but also looking like one. "Darling", she said, "If you end up being chosen as the Luna Queen, please know that we will not be able to help you..."
I knew that pretty well.
I had already decided to arrive a little later than my parents, not wanting to meet all those Alphas from other packs. Remembering their names was such a tedious task and I knew that there was no chance that I would NOT forget someone's name or rank. So it was better for me to arrive a little late but earlier than the Alpha King so that I didn't have to worry about meeting them.
I let out an annoyed breath as I recalled that she had been telling me this yesterday.
"Alright, alright! But can I have his name, at least? 'Alpha King is a mouthful."
Mom paused and scrunched her nose, something she would do whenever she was thinking about something.
"I don't know. I have always referred to him as 'Alpha King'. Maybe your father knows something?" She smiled apologetically.
"Oh no, it's okay. What am I even going to do with his name, anyway?"
Little did I know at that time that I would be proven wrong in a couple of hours.
* * * * * * * * *
I stood in front of my vanity, applying finishing touches to my makeup. I glanced at my wall clock and gave out a little yelp of surprise as I realized that the event was going to start in half an hour.
"Crap, didn't the Alpha King order us to start the event by six? I am going to be late if I don't hurry!" I quickly placed down the makeup brush and looked at my reflection one last time.
My tanned skin contrasted perfectly with the plain royal blue dress that I was wearing. My dark brown hair and eyes stood out more than usual due to the natural makeup that I was wearing. The only accessories that I was wearing were silver colored floral earrings. In the center of the earrings was a dark blue gem which matched my dress. I hated how necklaces felt against my skin, so I never really bought them. And if I ever did, I never wore them.
Satisfied with how I looked, I ran downstairs and quickly sat down in my car.
* * * * * * * * *
Most of my ride to the venue was uneventful, save for the phone call that I had received from my mother when I was right outside the venue's parking lot.
"Liz! When are you coming?" She asked me, panic evident in her voice.
I slowed my car a little and asked her, "Is everything alright, mom?"
Instead of answering my question, she ordered me to arrive quickly and then cut the call. No matter how many times I tried to call her, she would not pick up.
While the roads were empty, the parking lot of the venue was really crowded. It took me at least half an hour to find a spot for me to park my car. Somewhere in the lane I also saw my father's car. My mind once again went back towards the phone call that I had received. Something was not right.
I shivered, trying to suppress the fear that rose in my wolf due to a strong aura that could be detected from within the building, signaling that the Alpha King had already arrived. As I walked towards the door of the room where the ceremony for the choosing of the Luna Queen was being held, I could hear the chatter of people over the piano music that was playing. The person guarding the door suddenly stood straighter as he caught sight of me and bowed his head slightly. I nodded at him as an acknowledgment as he opened the door for me.
The moment I stepped inside the room, silence fell and most of the guests looked at me weirdly and the hall suddenly filled with the chatter of people.
'I know I'm a little late, but isn't their reaction a little too much? Maybe I should have listened to mom and just arrived early.'
My wolf once again noticed that strong aura in the room. Subconsciously, my eyes went over to the person who emitted this strong and dominant presence: the Alpha King.
His dark black eyes were already on me. His hair were of the same shade as his eyes; dark black. His light skin made his hair and eyes stand out more. Even though he was wearing a suit, it was perfectly clear that he had a well-built body. A chiseled jaw and light stubble just added more to his beauty.
I would had shamelessly continued checking out the Alpha King, had it not been for a blonde-haired man who suddenly stepped forward from behind the Alpha King. He too, had a strong aura coming off of him, but it was less than the Alpha King.
'He must be his beta,' I realized, just when the blondie kneeled down on the floor in my direction.
Slowly, others also turned to kneel in my direction. In unison, the whole room spoke: "We present our greetings to our new Luna Queen!"
'Huh?!'