The Alpha's Mystical Mate

Chapter 5 : Duffle Bag

That afternoon, Alpha Denis came back for another meeting. Laurel could guess what they were talking about, but this time Alpha Denis was the one with lines on his forehead as his frown got tighter between the eyebrows.

When Laurel brought coffee, Ana unceremoniously picked up the cup and 'unintentionally' splashed the hot coffee on the back of Laurel's hand. Laurel hissed and withdrew immediately.

Alpha Denis noticed Laurel, and his eyes sparkled. Once she was gone, his tone became enthusiastic as he proposed another idea.

After Alpha Denis left, Laurel was called by Ana in the evening. Ana seemed to be in a happy mood, which scared Laurel to some degree. More often than not, whenever Ana was happy, it meant something was going to go wrong in Laurel's life.

"Yes?" Laurel stood in front of Ana with his hands held in front and his head slightly lowered.

Ana eyed her up and down before speaking, "I have an important job for you. You cannot say no."

Laurel's heart tightened. She was inexplicably scared of what she was going to say next. And as expected, something was really going to go wrong in her life.

"Alpha Denis has recently taken over the Alpha position, and it's extremely important to build relations with other powerful packs around the world," Ana started.

"In order to have a better relationship with Crimson Moon Pack, he wants to send a female as a 'wife' to the Alpha. He first wanted to send Ashley as the potential wife because she has the perfect looks and personality."

"However, as you know, Ashley refused." Ana had a gloating smirk on her lips as she continued, "Fortunately, Alpha Denis has given you the opportunity to carry out this important role."

Laurel's eyes widen in shock.

What?

Important role?

"You will be sent to the Crimson Moon Pack tomorrow itself. You will do everything in your power to get along with the Alpha there and help Alpha Denis build good relations with them. You will do everything he asks you to."

Laurel couldn't believe her ears.

Marry an Alpha?

The same Alpha who was called a beast by everyone?

Laurel felt like she was being thrown around from one hell to another. It wasn't enough to torture her here, so now they wanted to push her towards someone else to do it for them.

But Laurel didn't have a say.

Ana made it clear beforehand that she was being informed, not asked.

Laurel had to agree. No, it didn't matter if she agreed or not. It was fixed. Laurel would be leaving the very next day. They didn't even give her time to prepare.

The role that was going to be Ashley's was pushed into her because she didn't want it.

That one conversation with Alpha Denis flipped her life upside down.

Ana directly ordered her to pack whatever she wanted to take with her. Laurel couldn't say anything. She silently went back to the attic and started to fold the little clothes she had. While doing so, she couldn't come to terms with just how bad her luck was.

Just when Laurel thought nothing could get worse than where she currently was, life had a creative way of proving her wrong.

Her mate rejected her, and it was revealed in front of the entire pack, and as if that wasn't enough, with the next few days of that, she was ready to be shipped off to some unknown place to be a world-renowned big bad Alpha.

It was a sick joke, but an unfortunate reality for Laurel.

Laurel still did her chores as she always did. This time she could hear Ashley's excited screams when Ana told her that she wouldn't have to go to Crimson Moon anymore. She also said that Laurel would be going to her place.

Ashley was surprised; Laurel could tell from the silence that followed the excited screams. Laurel lowered her head and continued to stir the pot of stew. It was probably the last dinner she would be making for this family.

After this, she might be making it for someone else, or if she happened to anger him enough, she wouldn't be left capable of doing anything. In a small corner of Laurel's heart, she wished she was dead.

That night, Laurel did not have the heart to eat. She grabbed a piece of stale bread and laid on her hard bed. The night moon was like a silver coma in the sky.

Is she too shy to face me? Laurel thought while looking at the hiding moon.

That night, Laurel did not get any sleep. One reason was that she was too nervous to sleep, and the second was that she had an unexpected guest in her room. It was none other than Max.

In the middle of the night, the tall young man, who barely ever spoke to Laurel, sneaked into her room.

Laurel was wide awake at that point and didn't even pretend to be asleep. When the door opened, she sat up with vigilance.

It was dark in the room, and Laurel couldn't see who it was. Thinking it could be Ashley or Ana looking to vent their emotions on her again, Laurel's body tightened, and the back of her neck shrank in fright.

However, the door did not open completely. A light thud sound startled Laurel. Immediately after that sound, the door slowly closed.

Laurel carefully crept down the bed and switched on the lights. The lights in the attic were dull and not enough to illuminate everything in the dead of night.

Yet it was enough to show what it was by the door.

It was a medium-size duffle bag. The same one she often saw Max carrying to his basketball practices.

It even had his lingering scent on it.

Why would Max come to her room like a thief in the middle of the night to drop something? What was in the bag? Laurel was curious but also careful.

Max was never directly abusive to her and also sometimes helped her with Ana and Ashley. A little bit of trust was still alive in Laurel when it came to Max.

Kneeling on the floor, she carefully opened the zipper and looked inside. Her chest felt heavy when she found what was inside.

There were dresses and a few hoodies.

Laurel did not have to try on the hoodies to know they were big and that they belonged to Max. As for the dresses? They were extremely familiar, as they were the ones she had seen Ashely wear in the past. Recently, she had not been wearing them because she said they were too old.

As Laurel marveled over the fact that Max had just delivered his and Ashely's old clothes to her in the middle of the night, a piece of paper fluttered out of the pocket of a black hoodie.

A string of numbers was scribbled on it, and under the numbers was a message.

My number. Call if you need anything.

The gesture reached the deepest part of the heart. It felt so warm and comforting that Laurel couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She sat on the floor, holding the hoodie, and sobbed into it.

It was reassuring that someone was still out there who would answer her when she called for help.

Although Max was never an active helper when it came to their daily lives, it was still comforting because now she was going to a strange place where her life and death were uncertain.

At least here, she wouldn't have to worry about her life. At Crimson Pack, she couldn't be certain.

The next morning, Laurel woke up as usual, made breakfast, and then cleaned up like she did every day.

She felt unexpectedly light in the morning compared to last night. Crying really helped keep her emotions in check.

After everyone had their breakfast, Alpha Denis arrived to inform them that the car that was supposed to take Laurel to the Crimson Pack had arrived.

Alpha Denis was generous in that regard, as he arranged for his personal driver to send her to the destination.

Laurel went upstairs and brought a duffle bag with her. She had pitiful amounts of clothes with her, so she transferred everything into the duffle bag itself. Other than others, she also had a single picture of her mother that her grandmother left for her.

The moment Ashley saw the duffle bag, she pointed at Laurel's face and said, "You stole it from Max!"

Max rolled his eyes and said, "I was going to throw it away because it's old. I gave it to her."

"Why give it to her?" Ashley made a disgusted face. "Something that we throw away is still too good for her!"

Ana probably was not in the mood to argue with Ashley, so she simply made an excuse: "She is going to the Crimson Moon Pack."She can't go there with a torn bag, right? The car is here. Come on."