Rejecting the billionaire, or alpha

Chapter 4

Plop

The sound of something heavy dropping to the ground came and Austin’s aura eased off while a heavy scent of earth and pines assaulted Christabel’s senses. She opened one of her eyes a little to peek through before a very rough tongue made contact on her face.

“Ugh, Austin!” she complained instinctively.

When she fully opened her eyes, she saw Austin sitting right beside her, his tail wagging against her legs.

“Austin?”

His face was friendly and his eyes were focused on her while his mouth was open like he was smiling with his tongue out. Christabel’s heart which was hanging all this while, finally fell back to its rightful place. She smiled widely before lifting her hand to seek his permission to pat him. When he lowered his head a little, she patted and stroked his head contently. She took the time to regain her senses and strength.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Austin’s wolf howled in response.

“Shall we go back now?”

Austin’s wolf seemed to understand and nudged her hand so she would hold on his fur. He helped her stand up that way and this was the time she truly noticed her condition. Her dress has small rips and her skirt was slashed so diamonds were scattered all around them while her skirt hung limply around her. She felt heartache when she saw the diamonds around them, knowing that it’ll be difficult to pick them up and the dress Austin bought for her was ruined. Having no choice, she took hold of the skirt and ripped the skirt out entirely with a pained face. Austin’s wet nose nudged her when she was pouting over the ripped skirt but once she saw his brown eyes, she gave a small sigh and patted his head while shaking her head.

“You can’t blame me for this when you wake up, ok?” Austin’s wolf whined but Christabel ignored him and took him towards the mansion instead.

When they exited the side garden, guests who look shabby now compared to earlier were gathered around the main garden where the banquet was. Everyone turned around when they felt Austin’s presence and visibly shrank back. This time, trained bodyguards moved in front of the guests in a line to protect them from Austin.

“Austin!”

Vivian’s shocked voice rang across the garden. She was standing near the stairs leading to the front door with two bodyguards beside her. Sierra and Darric were behind her and there was a medical tent that the guests were apparently lining up for. Austin’s wolf immediately took an offensive posture and growled at her.

“Shh, it’s ok, it’s ok… that’s your mother. Don’t you remember her? It’s okaaayy,” Christabel patted him slowly while coaxing him. Vivian stood stock-still at her original position. Concerned that she was overwhelmed by the problems that happened, Christabel spoke to her softly,

“It’s ok, Aunt Vivian, he’s fine now. I think he’s come back to his senses but as you know, he isn’t able to communicate with us. Let’s give him some space right now. Could you please get the kitchen to bring some raw meat to feed him? I’ll bring him to the corner over there.”

“Are you sure he is alright? He doesn’t seem to recognise me and his aura is getting stronger as we speak,” Vivian said doubtfully.

“Yes he is, he’ll be fine. I’ll just take him over there first,” Christabel said and took Austin to a corner of the house near the front gate leading out of the road.

This was a point farthest from the guests and the front gate is actually reinforced with magic so Austin can’t run out unless they open the gate. Christabel sat down on the ground with Austin and then carefully folded the piece of skirt she ripped out before placing it on her lap. She looked up to the sky and found that the moon was still high and the skies remained cloudless.

“Look Austin, isn’t your birthday so beautiful?” she said, still thinking about keeping him calm and happy. Austin’s wolf licked her hand and howled to the moon.

***

Not long after, the Omegas from the kitchens came with fresh chicken meat to feed Austin. Austin only allowed them to come near him after Christabel soothed him with cooing sounds. He insisted on sitting right beside her and pulled at the meat happily. Once she saw to it that he has settled down, she sat down with him, her back against a tree.

Christabel was bone tired from the emotional rollercoaster and the physical struggle with Austin, not to mention she had to fight against her natural instincts to submit to his Alpha aura. The night was suddenly peaceful, there was a buzzing sound in her ear. It was like coming off a high, suddenly crashing and feeling it all, everything from the way the moonlight curved, the sudden burst of cricket songs from the garden, a kind of darkness befell her, her ears were painful like an immense pressure was building up from within. She heard someone calling her name but she couldn’t move. A man’s silhouette appeared before her eyes but it was too late, the darkness had dragged her down.

***********

The next morning, Christabel went down for breakfast slowly. The night before was intense, the wounds on her body healed quickly but the exhaustion she felt still lingered. The first thing she did when she woke up was to check her phone and saw that there were no messages at all. It means that Laxton didn’t show up at all and he doesn’t even know about what happened. She resisted the overwhelming sense of depression and went down for breakfast with the rest of the Ross family.

When she arrived at the dining table, she was surprised to see a stranger seated at the guest of honour seat of the table, opposite Darric, the Alpha of the family. She walked obediently to her seat at the table and greeted Darric before nodding at the unknown man politely. The unknown man’s eyes never left Christabel since she sat down. He had deep brown hair, classically cut, square strong jawline, and a trimmed moustache.

“Dad, did you recover well from last night?” Christabel asked out of concern.

“I am well, I was caught unaware and got injured. Sorry for frightening you, Bel,” Darric answered genteelly.

Christabel smiled and patted Darric’s hand before turning to the strange man at the other end of the table. Before she could ask, the rest of the family members joined the table.

“Dad! Are you alright?” Sierra smothered Darric with a hug immediately upon arrival, ignoring everyone else.

“I’m ok, Sierra, we have a guest,” Darric choked out from under her hug.

Sierra looked over her shoulders and immediately sprang to the side and put her hands together as she looked at the unknown man. Her eyes were fervent, dazzling as she stared at the unknown man.

Looks like she knows him. Christabel thought.

Vivian quickly pulled Sierra to sit down beside her while she sat beside Darric.

“Where is Austin?” Vivian asked when she noticed that Austin wasn’t with them.

“Sorry Luna, the young master is still unwell, the Healer has recommended a full day’s rest,” Mr. Keys, the butler reported promptly. Vivian nodded and then looked at the unknown man.

“Well, Darric, shouldn’t you introduce us now?” Vivian said while she smiled and nodded at the unknown man. The man returned the smile and nod and turned to Christabel again.

Darric cleared his throat and said, “Christabel dear, as you know, you exhausted all your energy last night when you subdued Austin. Well, this is Mr. Dylan Owain, he was the one who carried you to a safe place last night.”

Christabel vaguely remembered the feeling of being carried after she passed out. She nodded at Dylan and said thank you softly. Dylan smiled and spoke in a friendly tone,

“You’re very much welcomed, Ms. Rhys. We actually met earlier last night, I wonder if you remember?”

Christabel subtly sniffed the air and found a flowery smell around Dylan, a human. Her mind casted back to last night, her frown deepened,

Could it be…

“At the gardens?”

Dylan’s smile widened when Christabel guessed it right.

“Ms. Rhys has a good memory! Yes, that’s me,” Dylan said proudly and leaned on his chair, his gaze on Christabel warmed. But Christabel felt a chill running down her spine. Her wolf senses pricked her, telling her that he is up to no good.

“Oh you didn’t see it, Christabel, Mr. Owain was so manly when he carried you away from Austin!” Sierra cooed as she gazed at Dylan adoringly. But Dylan’s gaze remained fixed on Christabel.

Dylan leaned towards Christabel as Christabel’s uneasiness deepened together with her frown.

“Christabel, can I call you that?” Dylan’s voice deepened, his gaze grew serious. Christabel glanced at Vivian who nodded her head subtly. Of course, in the face of interest, there is nothing better than getting more intimate with the Owain family. Christabel had no choice but to nod. Dylan’s face came incredibly closer, his breath sprayed on her as he spoke,

“Christabel, you’re incredibly beautiful. What are you doing still in this adoptive family? I can see that you’re meant for something better, something bigger, isn’t that why you joined Silverclaw law firm?” Dylan spoke in a low, seductive voice.

Christabel’s eyes widened. Everyone here are werewolves, no matter how soft his voice was, there is no way his words would escape their ears in such a small space. She cast a quick glance around the table, checking if anyone was annoyed. To her surprise, nobody was, everyone was still smiling politely as if they didn’t hear a peep. She turned her attention back to Dylan.

He raised his hand which has 2 rings on his index and pinky finger. He held Christabel’s chin before climbing up to her cheeks. Christabel’s skin crawled at his touch, her big black eyes fixed on his maniacal brown ones. Her stomach clenched while she contemplated on her next move.

“Aren’t you a pretty one…” he muttered to himself, looking intently at Christabel. “Marry me, Christabel, and you shall have everything I have.”

It felt like cold water poured on Christabel. Her senses heightened at that moment, she could smell the offensive smell of his breath, she could feel the wind blowing from the window beside her, more intrusively, she could see the glances Vivian exchanged with Darric and the pout on Sierra’s face. Almost immediately, Vivian mindlinked her.

Say yes, Christabel. What are you waiting for?

There was a ringing in her ears, she could hear her own breathing but yet her vision tunnelled. Her hand on the table touched something. She picked it up and before she knew it, she smashed the glass in her hand on Dylan’s head. Screams and shouts rang around the room as Dylan held his bloodied head, he fell down from the chair and dropped to his knees as his blood flowed freely on the floor.

Darric, Vivian, and Sierra ran forward immediately while the omega maids scrambled to fulfil their directions. Nobody in this werewolf household knew what to do with a human injury and the person who was injured is from a family none other than the Owain family.

Christabel took one look at the scene and at her bloodied hand, turned around and ran out of the Ross mansion.