The Untamed Female Alpha And Her Beta Mate

CHAPTER 6 – Graduation Day

A year later

Aiden

Today has been a special day for all of us. It was the day Ariana and I graduated. Our birthday was approaching, and our parents had taken over planning the traditional dance for the single werewolves on that day to celebrate our birthday with our dear friends. A part of our carefree life would end, and a new process would begin with far more responsibilities for both of us.

Only Ariana was not so excited about today's event. She had not come to terms with the idea that Alan left just like that, taking us all out of his life, not keeping in touch with any of us. Ariana thought that the whole leaving thing was just a whim of his and that he would get over it after a while. The fact that he had not given any signs of life so far had upset her unimaginably. From a carefree and happy teenager, she became grumpy and inaccessible to most of her friends. It had been very strange to all of us not having her fooling around as usual.

Ariana was daddy's little girl. Sometimes, looking at her behaving like this, I felt like my father was in front of me when something bothered him and made him keep his distance from the others. She did have his demeanour, after all. Nevertheless, I was always one of my sister's greatest fans. My love for my sister was unconditional. It pained me to see her like this, but there was nothing I could do to help her.

I headed toward her room and knocked on the door. I got no reply, so I entered the room. Ariana was in the bathroom at the time, brushing her teeth. She approached, and I hugged her, kissing her on the forehead. When she looked at me, she smiled. 

"Are you ready, sis?" I asked her. She did not answer. She just nodded and took her school bag, and headed to her bedroom door, holding me by the hand. 

We went down the stairs and stepped into the kitchen where our parents were waiting for us to have our breakfast, smiling happily.

Our mother had put aside all her disputes with Ariana a long time ago. She had realised how much the whole thing with Alan had affected my sister. Our mother approached Ariana, hugged her and kissed her tenderly on the head. "My little girl has grown up and has become a beautiful and mature woman," she told her tenderly and kissed her once more. Ariana's eyes instantly filled with tears, and she smiled at our mother without answering her.

Our mother then turned to me and gave me one of her sweetest smiles ever. "You, my boy, are as handsome as your dad and even more so!" She then turned toward our dad and smiled at him mischievously. He pretended to be angry with her, and we all laughed at dad's funny face.

It had been too long since we all had such a good time together. My heart filled with happiness seeing my sister smiling and laughing again. I missed the happy, cheeky and untamed Ariana.

After breakfast, we all headed to our school's premises. Dad would be the one to award the prizes to the successful students of the year. He indeed had a surprise waiting for him since both of us were the top students of our school. Mother knew about it, but we kept it a secret from him. We wanted to see how he would react to the news of our double success.

"I'm sure that the parents of the two best students of this year must be very proud of their kids," he told us while driving his SUV to school.

"Indeed!" Our mother replied and looked at us in the mirror, smiling.

Ariana

I was getting ready for school when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I didn't reply because I knew it was Aiden. I could feel him anytime, anywhere. He entered the room and sat on my bed, waiting for me to finish. It was our last day at school. Great surprises awaited our dad today. Our mother already knew that the school would grant us the award for the best students of this year. Our dad was the one to give the honours as the school's sponsor.

I was happy that Aiden and I succeeded in our goals. I just missed Alan badly. I never thought that his loss would give me such pain. If he were here today, he would be the first to hug me and kiss me for my success. He was always proud of my achievements.

Aiden and I headed to the kitchen where our parents were waiting for us. When our mother saw us, the first thing she did was come right next to me, hug me and kiss me on the head. She praised me with nice words, full of love. I was very emotional today, so it didn't take me long for my eyes to fill with tears.  I just smiled at my mum and didn't reply, or else I would burst into tears.

My mum smiled back at me and then turned to Aiden and praised his handsomeness, comparing him to my dad. It was a good thing to see my mum and dad fool around like this. It's been a long time since they did something like that in front of us.  We all burst into laughter. For the first time in a long while, I felt happy. Aiden was looking at me intently, a smile forming on his face.  I knew that my brother was very worried about me. There was nothing I could do to change my mood, though. 

Soon we left the packhouse and headed for the school premises. Dad was driving today. He commented how proud the parents of the straight-A students would be today since their children would take a prize for their achievements. Our mum agreed with him, smiling at us, excited with the surprise we prepared for him when he would be standing at the school's patio, ready to give the awards.

As soon as we entered the school premises, our parents went ahead and sat in the official guest seats. Aiden and I gathered with the rest of the students. We took our places and waited for the principal to announce the graduating students and the awards given to those who succeeded in scoring the highest graduation degree. Sienna and Olivia were sitting in the back rows since they were not graduating yet but could attend the ceremony. They were sneaking peaks at Aiden, whispering to each other and winking at me. My dear brother had no clue, though. He had been sitting in a straight position, grave and composed, as a future Alpha should be. I smiled at the girls and turned my back to them, concentrating on the ceremony.

When the principal started calling the names of the graduating students, Aiden and I were the first in the row. We approached the podium to get our graduation certificates. Our parents and grandparents, who had all come to the ceremony, applauded with joy. We returned to our seats and waited for the principal to announce the awards. My heart ached for a certain someone that wasn't present to congratulate me and hold me in his arms. I felt weird thinking that these last few days, whenever I thought of Alan, I had a pain in my chest as if someone was squeezing my heart. Aiden, who felt my pain intensely, took my hand into his and kissed it in comfort.

Our father stood up and got ready to walk toward the podium and grant the awards. The principal whispered something in his ear, smiling. We knew he would not reveal to our father our secret because he had already agreed with our mother to keep our award a mystery. After announcing the third and the second prize, it was time for the principal to announce the first prize. The principal gave the envelope to our father and stepped back.

Our dad took the envelope containing the card with the two names in his hands and got ready to announce the two best students of the year, as the principal requested him to.

"It's an honour for me today to stand here on the podium and address the two most excellent students of the year. Before I ask the students to come to the stage, let's congratulate their parents on bringing up such exceptional children. It's a blessing for a parent to have children like this. So, this year we have two students that share the same prize. It's impressive how they scored the same graduation degree. And the winners of this year's best student award are, (opening the envelope with the names) Aiden and Ariana Northwood?"

Our mother and grandparents stood up and applauded with pride. Dad was dumbfounded. The moment he saw us approaching the podium holding hands and smiling at him, his eyes filled with tears of pride and joy. It was the first time we witnessed our dad cry, not giving a damn where he was and who was watching him at the time. The almighty Alpha Axel Northwood shed tears of pride for his children in a room full of people.

Axel

Memories of Alison's graduation day came to my mind. I had been sitting next to her, holding her hand and waiting for the award time to come. When the principal announced the graduation students, Aiden and Ariana were the first to go on stage. I was stunned by how much Ariana looked like Alison the day she graduated so many years ago. And Aiden was the spitting image of me.

Overwhelmed with feelings of pride and love for my children, I took Alison's hand in mine and squeezed it slightly. Right then, I was called on stage by the principal. It was award time. The principal requested me as the school's benefactor to announce and then grant the first prize to the two students who achieved the highest score on their graduation degree. He gave me the closed envelope that contained the names and asked me to make a small speech before announcing both names winning the first prize. I took the stand at the podium and made a small speech, addressing the winning students' parents and praising them for bringing up the children. I then opened the envelope and took out the card containing the names of the winners. "And the winners of this year's best student award are Aiden and Ariana Northwood?"

The minute I saw both of my children standing up and coming towards me, holding hands and smiling at me, my eyes filled with tears of pride and joy for them. I was stunned beyond belief. I didn't care where I was or who was watching me at the time. All I cared about was my two children, wife, and family, who kept applauding non-stop.   

When both Aiden and Ariana came close to me, I called Alison on stage and hugged them all at once. "I'm so proud of you. We both are so proud of you," I told my kids, kissing them both. Alison smiled at me and asked, "did you like the surprise we gave you, baby?"

"You mean to tell me you already knew about this?" I asked her, and she winked at me, smiling. "Of course, I did, honey. We just wanted to surprise you. That's why I didn't say anything." I smiled at her and holding her in my arms. I turned to face the audience. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems that I had been praising myself and my wife all along," I told them, smiling, and everybody started to laugh and stood up, applauding.