Chapter 15 Return of the Alpha Daughter
2223 Words
Chapter 15
Return of the Alpha Daughter
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Louise
I grabbed a glass of water and took some painkillers, the chalky texture dragging uncomfortably down my throat. Yuck! Once that was over, I grabbed my black bag from the counter, checked that I had some sanitary pads and my medication, and attempted to prepare myself.
I have to remain calm… And stay away from Joseph! That won’t be hard… I can smell him from far away. I guess that means he’ll smell me. I lifted my arms and sniffed, inhaling my floral deodorant. I smell fine!
I leaned back against the kitchen counter, catching my reflection in a picture on the wall. I paused, posing left then right. I look… healthy.
“Ready?” Mum sang as she flowed into the room in a long-sleeved, ankle-length blue dress.
“You look stunning!” I admitted truthfully.
She curtsied. “Thank you, Sweetheart… Now we should go.”
The night was crisp and chilled against my face, nipping at the skin beneath my jacket. Stones crunched beneath my heels as we merged into the crowd on the main road. More pack members joined, and over a hundred of us, dressed in our best, made our way to the packhouse.
When we reached the packhouse gates, the quarter moon had settled high above us. I had to take a moment to bathe in its beauty. Please, Moon Goddess, let me live through a lifetime of these nights!
“Are you okay?” Mum asked, stopping beside me.
“I will be,” I exhaled deeply.
I paused at the long waiting line that snaked into the enormous marquee and stared at the trees. When I get my wolf, the first thing I plan to do is run through those trees.
One of the boys from my class, Jacob Thom, slipped beside me, and I froze. This never happens...
“Wow, Louise Carpenter, is that you?” He asked, his brilliant blue eyes shimmering in the marquee lights.
“Hi, Jacob,” I replied meekly, dropping my gaze to the ground.
“Wow,” he repeated as we moved up a few steps. “You look so… pretty.”
I peered up at him. His cheeks flushed. I smiled, making his face blush even harder. “Thank you… You look nice too…” I gestured to his stripy silver and white tie. “Those colours suit you.”
“Thanks,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He met my gaze again. “I was wondering… later… would you like to dance… with me?”
I gaped back at him, my heart rattling in my chest. “You want to dance with me?”
“Yes,” he said, chewing on his bottom lip. “If you want to…”
“I mean,” I swallowed nervously, and my stomach tightened. This had never happened before. “S-sure…”
“Great!” He grinned back.
“Thom…” An Omega with spiked brown hair ushered from the white wood podium. He had a purple gardenia pinned to the left breast pocket of his white vest, the Mist clan’s emblem. “Please follow me. I will seat you…”
“I’ll see you soon…” Jacob said as he followed after his parents.
“Okay,” I called after him.
Mum waited for him to leave, then leaned down and whispered, “I told you, you looked beautiful…”
“Mum!” I gasped, my face burning with embarrassment.
“I’m just saying,” with a knowing smirk, she stood back up.
“Louise? Is that you?”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Raine a few paces back, dressed like a storybook cherub in a knee-length cream dress. Her hair was curled and tied back in a white ribbon.
I waved at her. “You look pretty…”
“Thank you,” she curtsied at me. “You look gorgeous! Your hair suits you.”
“I like it…” I ran my fingers through the wig, reminiscing about my lost hair.
“Hi Louise,” her dad, Jack, said, waving curtly at me.
“Hi, Mr Whittle,” I waved back.
It wasn’t hard to see Rain had inherited her dad’s oval jawline and wavy hair. Her mum Alicia was missing, but she was a cook in the packhouse and had most likely been summoned to cook tonight.
“Reece… it’s good to see you,” Mum sang behind me.
I spun on my heels to see Beta Reece standing at the usher’s podium. His eyebrows pinched together gently as he looked at me with soft eyes. He knows about my sickness!
“Look at you, Louise…” He tutted. “So grown up…”
“Thank you,” I replied, swallowing a nervous lump in the back of my throat.
“Well …” Reading my discomfort, he waved a hand towards the thirty long rows of white tables stretching from the podium to the trestle table at the far end, which had enough seats to cover all of the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma families. “Welcome to the party…”
Rows of ivy and purple gardenias lined the centre of each table, surrounding a lit silver candelabra. White plates and silver cutlery were set out evenly. Dusted ivy was wrapped around the support pillars, and each chair was draped in white.
“You made it…”
Pulling my gaze away from the impressive setting, I saw Josie-Anne standing before me, dressed in an elegant, long, pale purple dress with a tiny silver diadem on her head.
“Hi,” I managed to say. “Of course… I couldn’t–”
“Say no…” Grinning like a Cheshire cat, she took my hand.
I blinked at her in disbelief. How does she know that…?
“I saved you a seat…”
“But what about…”
“Your mum?” She chuckled. “She’s coming with us…”
“Umm…” I glanced at Beta Reece for assurance. “Is this allowed?”
He nodded. “It’s already organised...”
“See,” she giggled, towing me close behind her.
I could hear Mum’s hurried footsteps as she kept up with us. We passed hundreds of familiar faces – each one as surprised as the next that the Alpha daughter was escorting an Omega to a seat at the front. I saw Jo seated amongst them. She stood out in an elegant, deep purple bodysuit. Her parents, Adele Lee and Luis Lee eyed me with puzzlement from beside her.
“Hi Jo,” I managed to say as Josie-Anne whisked me past.
“Louise…!” She called after me, waving slowly, trying to understand why I was with the Alpha daughter.
“Your friends are loyal to you…” Josie-Anne commented as she slowed our pace. “You’re lucky…”
“I adore them…” I admitted, honestly. “I wouldn’t be as strong as I am without them.”
We stopped at the end of the table, where two empty seats awaited. Across the table, Doc Anderson smiled up at us welcomingly. Beside him, Beta Reece’s sister, Eloise White, nodded an awkward acknowledgement, then returned to her conversation with her mate Damien. On Mum’s other side were pack members I didn’t recognise, most of them relatives of the Beta and Alpha family. What am I doing here?
“You belong here…” Josie-Anne patted the table.
“Thanks,” I said, releasing her hand. “It’s very kind–”
“But you want to know what the catch is…?”
“Well, yes…”
She peered up at me with large, thoughtful eyes. “There’s no catch… This seat is perfect for someone like you…”
“Like me?” I asked, as my heart sank. People who are sick!
“Don’t think like that…” She pulled me down to my knees, then reached over and cupped my face in her hands. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Your situation does not define the person you are… It makes you stronger.”
“I-I,” I stammered as she allowed me to stand.
“Don’t say anything,” she curtsied at me. “Well, not until later...”
With the aura of someone wise beyond her years, the girl skipped up to the Alpha’s table. She slid into a seat beside two empty chairs, then turned to the man on the other side.
Joseph! He turned to me, and our eyes locked. The buttons on his black vest were undone, revealing an equally undone purple shirt underneath. My gaze unwittingly fell upon the ‘v’ the shirt made on his muscular chest. A flush filled my cheeks. His silver eyes were suddenly wolf-black, causing an instant wave of nausea.
“May, it’s good to see you and Louise made it.” Doc Anderson said, drawing my attention away from Joseph.
“I’m happy we did…” Mum cooed, patting my hand on the table, making me slightly jump. “It’s a lovely night for it…”
I faced the doctor. “Thank you for giving me the night out, Doc–”
“Please,” He waved dismissively, “Call me Levine... I’m off duty.”
“Sorry… Levine…”
The room quietened. Beta Reece stepped up at the podium to the far right of the Alpha’s table. There was a crackle as his deep voice filled the marquee. “Welcome Mist Clan… We are humbled by your presence tonight… Thank you for taking the time to celebrate the return of the beloved Alpha daughter…”
There was a round of applause that I found myself entwined in. Then silence returned.
“Your admiration is astounding,” He beamed. “Now, if you can keep the applause going, I would like to welcome Alpha George and Luna Ruth to the table.” He clapped, making the guest echo him. “I’ll leave you in their hands… Enjoy the feast and festivities!”
I watched in awe as our Alpha and Luna stepped inside the marquee and slipped into their seats between Josie-Anne and Joseph. My gaze fell back on the jerk-in-training. We locked eyes again and something passed between us, tingling my toes and tightening my insides.
Beta Reece leapt from the podium to the Alpha table in one great stride and handed a microphone to Alpha George. The Beta family joined the table, with Kingston sitting beside Joseph. Fluttering her eyes, Madison flaunted her way into her seat, trying to win the crowd’s attention by revealing too much cleavage in her dress. The entire time, Joseph’s focus remained on me.
The Gammas, Archie, Madeline and their three children slid into their seats on the far right. Madeline was as pretty as she was lovely, with charcoal hair, mocha skin, and bright green eyes – eyes that all her children had inherited. As dark as Madeline was, Archie was pale and had an odd shade of tawny brown hair.
Their twin daughters, Renee and Lauren, were a year younger than me. They were the duplicate image of their mother. Their son Tyrone was the perfect mixture of both–as pale as Archie with Madeline’s beautiful dark hair. He was eighteen now and would have his wolf.
I turned my attention to Tyrone and faltered, sucking in a sharp breath. He stared at me, his brilliant green eyes shining bright under the marquee lights. I shuffled uncomfortably, trying to ignore him. Why is he looking at me like that?
Tyrone and I were inseparable when we were kids. But as we grew older and I grew sicker, our friendship fizzled away. It had been months since I had seen him, and he was no longer the little boy I remembered.
My glance fell back on Joseph. He was focused on Tyrone this time. And if his eyes could kill as swiftly as his wolf, Tyrone would be dead.
“Welcome, one and all…” Alpha George said as he stood. His voice boomed, grabbing everyone’s undivided attention. I fiddled nervously with the hem of the dress. “Tonight, we’re celebrating the return of our beloved daughter Josie-Anne…”
Josie-Anne stood, and the entire pack erupted in excitement.
Alpha George continued. “As you know, Josie-Anne has been living with the elders for the past few years, learning their ways… It has been an exciting adventure, but we are grateful to have our daughter home!”
Another round of applause.
“Tonight is a celebration of unity and family. So, I won’t keep you any longer. Let’s begin…”
The entire pack exploded into excited howls that rattled the marquee walls.
Joseph’s eyes were once again on me. Another wave of nausea followed. I closed my eyes and willed it back. Please no… I opened them again to see Joseph still locked on me.
I turned to Mum. “I need the bathroom…”
She eyed me suspiciously and then grabbed my hand. “Do you feel okay?”
“No,” I lied, shaking my head and lowering my voice to a whisper. “I need to attend to private issues…”
“Okay, be careful, Sweetheart…” She let go of my hand.
- Writer
