Alisson's Escape

The beginning, Part 2

Separating from her mate felt like having her skin ripped off. The euphoria of their meeting was finally wearing off and her attention was drawn to the crowd watching them with interest.

She blushed in embarrassment and tucked her face shyly into his chest, she couldn't believe she had just done that in front of the whole pack. She felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled and rubbed comforting circles into her back.

"It is alright dear," she heard a soft voice say from beside her and felt the person lightly touch her back. She turned around and came face to face with the Alpha and luna, she realised it was the Luna that had spoken.

Penelope noticing the shocked and embarrassed look on the face of her son's mate, slowly rubbed circles on her back in the hopes of calming her, "this is a wonderful occasion that has just been blessed by a beautiful discovery. Finding your mate and the actions that come after is nothing to be ashamed of. I believe I speak for everyone when I say, we have seen far more graphic meetings than this," her statement brought on an explosion of laughter from the pack and embarrassed looks from the culprits.

"See, nothing to be ashamed of," she said gently as Alisson slowly pulled away from Henry and turned towards his parents. Alpha Duncan walked towards the both of them and placed each of his large hands on their shoulders in a gentle hold, he announced in a loud and clear voice, "members of the Moon Shadow pack, may I present to you, your future Alpha and his Luna."

The pack roared in excitement and began howling in unison, today was a blessed day and the celebration that took place made sure to commemorate it.

For the first time in their lives, Alisson's parents found themself among the people they envied so much. They were treated with respect by wolves who would not on a normal day, spare them a second glance. They were becoming high off the feeling and thanked the Moon Goddess for gifting them a daughter like Alisson.

Alisson was completely mesmerised by her mate, they spent most of the celebration getting to know each other and ignored everything that was going on around them;

"So you have never left the pack before?" Henry asked with a surprised look on his face.

Alisson laughed in embarrassment, "no, I never had a reason to," she explained with a small shrug.

"There Is nothing wrong with that," he assured her when he saw the look on her face. "My first time leaving was when I left for training," he picked up a fork and closely examined the intricate pattern etched on the handle of it.

"There Is a big and wide world out there," he continued with a far-off look in his eyes."Different places and people to see, it will be a terrible shame to never get to explore it."

Alisson could smell the sadness wafting off of him, it was in subtle tones and you would not sense it if you were not as close to him as she was.

"Is that what you want? To explore the world?" She asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder. She hoped to be a supportive mate and wanted him to know that his dreams and hopes were safe with her.

Henry's face suddenly went blank before twisting in anger and annoyance, he turned to her with a scowl that startled her and caused her to pull her hand away from his shoulder.

"I AM ALPHA OF THE MOON SHADOW PACK, MY RESPONSIBILITY IS HERE." He forced out between clenched teeth, looking more upset as each word was spat out.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to..."

"Enough!" He interrupted with a deepening frown.

He grabbed her arm in a tight grip and pulled her towards him, to anyone else it would look like two lovers basking in the warmth of each other, but to Alisson, it felt more like Henry was going to crush her arm.

"You are the future Luna of this pack, your responsibility is to me and then the pack. Do not get any funny ideas about leaving." He warned and his face finally returned to normal as he let go of her with a disgusted sneer.

She pulled up the short sleeve of her top and watched as the red handprint slowly faded. She looked up at him expecting an apology but was met with a daring look.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," she apologized with a subdued tone.

Henry looked away from her and turned towards Hunter who was seated at his other side, they fell into a conversation that Alisson was too rattled to follow and ignored her.

She glanced around wondering if anyone had seen the exchange but saw no sign of such. The hall was loud and buzzing with noise. Everyone was having fun and enjoying the delicious food prepared by the pack's cooks and were absorbed in the conversations going on around them.

Alisson thought about what had just happened and blamed herself for making such a careless comment. They couldn't leave and they had a responsibility to the pack so it was foolish of her to assume otherwise.

She felt tears gather in her eyes as she recalled the look on her mate's face. He looked at her like she was the most horrid thing he has ever seen and it made her wolf whimper in pain.

She wanted to be a good mate, but it seemed like she was terrible at it. The brunette promised herself that from now on she will be supportive and obedient to Henry. Everything will be easier that way and maybe some years in the future they will be just like Henry's parents.

The rest of the celebration went by smoothly and ended sometime after midnight. Alisson and her parents stayed back alongside the Alpha family, to decide on Alisson's new living situation.

After much discussion, it was decided that Alisson would spend the night at her parent's house and move in with Henry tomorrow.

She glanced in his direction, hoping to see any sign of acknowledgement towards her, but he did not seem to care.

She walked back home sadly with her excited parents, who did notice their daughter's depressed mood. When they arrived at their small home, her parents began to discuss everything that occurred.

She listened patiently as her parents told her about all the people that came to congratulate them on their newfound position, and she even managed to force a smile when her mother told her Luna Penelope asked her to join her sewing circle; a group she had desperately wanted to join for as long as she could remember.

She managed to get away from their unending conversation, convincing them tomorrow morning was the best time to pack her things when they insisted she started immediately.

She changed into her pyjamas and sat on the wide windowsill in her bedroom. She felt guilty about her disappointment towards her mate, she always expected that when she found him he would be madly in love with her, not indifferent and mean to her.

She glanced at the bright moon that was slowly being swallowed by a dark cloud and let out a long sigh. She knew in her heart that the Moon Goddess did not make mistakes, but she could not help but question her choice of mate.

She wondered why he was chosen as her mate and after much deliberation decided the ways of the Moon Goddess were not hers to question.

She tucked herself into bed and after a while of tossing and turning, slipped into a fitful sleep.

Morning came and Alisson had never been more reluctant to get out of bed. Breakfast with her parents consisted of them telling her how lucky she is and how grateful she should be that the Moon Goddess had blessed her with such an important mate.

They drummed it into her head that she had to be a good and obedient mate to Henry, which made her feel even more guilty about last night.

When her father left for work, her mother joined her in her room and helped her with her packing.

She sent her mother away, with the excuse of needing some privacy. Her mother, who left reluctantly, reminded her that she had to leave today so it was best she packed everything quickly, she reassured her that she won't forget while feeling slightly bitter that her parents were in such a hurry to get rid of her.

She sat on her bed and observed her childhood bedroom, she was going to miss her home. Sure, she had always known she would leave, but the act of doing it caused her to feel down. She could see the marks left by posters and the little dolls she was obsessed with collecting a while back, all those little things and more made her the woman she was and she was going to have to leave them behind.

She continued with her packing and refused to let her thoughts drift to sad ones. Finding your mate was many things but it was also a way to reinvent yourself. This was just a new chapter in her life that she was going to make the best out of.