The Alpha's Mystical Mate

Chapter 3 : Celebration

"I still can't believe that slut is your mate!" Ashley hissed angrily.

Justin huffed, "I rejected her already. She is not my mate anymore. Anyone will do but not her!"

"I get it. But I'm still upset. I was hoping it would be me, but I have lost hope of having a bond with you after waiting for a year."

Ashley touched the button of his shirt, swirling the tip of her finger through the ridges of the thread. Her pouty face made Justin laugh. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

Ana was watching TV in the living room when Laurel came in. Her sharp eyes landed on laurel and froze her on the spot with a single word.

"Wait." Ana seized her up and down with a frown. She stood up and walked over to take a good look at Laurel.

Her face was busted pretty badly and her clothes were too dirty. Although she had a change of clothes, she did not have the chance to change into them.

Also, she was not in the state to think about her dirty clothes. She was freshly rejected and being presentable was the last thing on her mind.

Ana did not know all that, so seeing Laurel in that state and Ashley nowhere around, she assumed the worst.

"Where is Ashley?!" Ana exclaimed, pulling a bunch of hair from Laurel's head.

Laurel's eyes widened at the sudden attack. She was not expecting Ana to jump to conclusions so fast! With a single look at Ana's red-rimmed eyes, Laurel could tell what she was thinking.

Laurel quickly said, "She is outside with her friend. They are talking."

Ana's grip loosened a little. Knowing that Ashley was safe and sound, she had no more reason to deal with Laurel. Even the wounds on her face were not inquired about. It didn't matter because Laurel had new wounds every other day.

"You can't stop being your pathetic self even outside. Look how badly you ended up." Ana cast a disgusted look at her that was very similar to the one Ashley often did.

Laurel had nothing to say in response. She stood in the same spot for a while. When Ana did not say anything else, she swiftly ran into the attic.

It was when the door of the attic closed and Laurel was alone in the small room of hers, she slowly slid down on the floor and broke down into a quiet sob.

All the physical, mental and emotional tension was released through tears. With knees-up and wrapped in a ball, Laurel sat on the floor for a long time.

Even when she was in the mood to cry, Laurel did not have the luxury of crying as long as she wanted. She had to get up quickly, fix herself and be back on track in her daily life.

The matter of meeting her mate and him rejecting her was not brought up. Laurel was not going to talk about it and Ashley didn't say anything else. Laurel was actually relieved that Ashley did not say it or else Ana would once again unleash her fury on Laurel.

------------------------

CRIMSON MOON PACK.

In a study with drawn curtains and dim golden lamps, Alpha Darius was having a rare moment of peace.

With no one around to talk his ear off about work, he had just closed his eyes when his hopes were crushed by a series of knocks.

"Come in."

Although his voice was calm and restrained, the dangerous red ring around his dark pupils made his beta gulp down a lot of things he had planned to say.

"Alpha…" Kit's tone was squeaker than he would have liked it to be.

Clearing his throat, he took on a proper stance under the watchful eyes of his Alpha.

Darius straightened up on his chair and gestured for Kit to take a seat. Under the rolled up sleeve, his bulging muscles ticked with every movement. A tilt of his jaw creates shadows over his face which enhances the contours of his face.

Alpha Darius was a man that women dream of. Too bad that the Alpha was not interested in those types of things.

"What is it?" Darius asked. His voice sounded rougher than usual.

It could be seen that he was exhausted after three days of no proper rest.

Kit did not sit.

He was already feeling guilty about disturbing his Alpha's rest, so he decided to make it brief and leave as soon as possible.

"Silver Moon's new Alpha has taken seat and wanted to invite you to his celebration. The invitation was rejected."

Darius looked up at Kit, who was still standing, "If it was rejected, is there a need to bring up the topic again?"

He ran a hand through his slightly long hair that brushed his earlobes and eluded the scent of musk. Kit's eyes widened at the gesture.

As the beta who worked alongside Alpha Darius, he had a good grasp of everything related to him.

For the past few days, the Alpha had been too busy with the pack work as well as personally training the new recruits of the soldiers.

Not only was he working past his limits during the day, but his nights were plagued with mild insomnia as well. The best way to tell if Alpha Darius was in a bad mood was when he started to touch his hair very often and his pheromones leak without his knowledge.

Currently, Kit had a feeling that he shouldn't be around the Alpha when he was in such a state.

However, Alpha Darius was good at controlling himself. Within a few seconds of silence, he retracted his hands from his long hair and took back his pheromone that was slowly pressing down on Kit.

"That was rude of me," Darius breathed heavily. "Continue."

Kit's talking speed increased, "Alpha Denis of Silver moon wants to send a woman here to accompany you."

Darius scoffed as if he had heard a ridiculous joke. He leaned back on the leather chair and spun it to the left to face the window. His black eyes reflected the moon in the sky through the window, the redness around his pupils slowly grew until the original color barely remained.

"Reject it."

Kit nodded, "Yes, Alpha."

After receiving the orders, Kit couldn't wait to get out of the study room. In his years of experience, it was best to leave Alpha Darius alone when he was in a bad state. Everyone around him was subjected to danger and even Alpha Darius advised to stay away as he wouldn't want anyone to get hurt while he was barely conscious.

Kit had only taken a few steps towards the door when he heard the chair creek. He took a glance behind him and found Alpha Darius not on the chair anymore.

The window facing the chair was wide open. He remembered it had been tightly closed just a moment ago. With a sigh, he went back to the desk, placed all the important papers in the desk drawers and locked them up before leaving the study.

The old habit of disappearing was unique to their Alpha. Instead of being a danger to his people, he would rather spend the night in the abandoned forest nearby or anywhere without many people. It was him abandoning himself for the sake of others.

Kit thought his Alpha was also a bit pitiful. Alpha's all around the world have work and stressing over working is extremely common, but they also have their mates to accompany them through the hard times. The presence of someone special was magical when it came to elevating negativity.

However, Alpha Darius had not met his mate even at the age of twenty-six. Not only did he not find his mate, he did not even take a fancy to anyone to be his wife.

Occasionally, other packs would propose send someone over to help Alpha Darius alleviate his loneliness. It was all a pretense just to build a relationship with the crimson moon. It was easy to see through those tricks.

In the end, they were either rejected before being sent over or sent back after a single look. Kit had not seen a single of those 'offerings' with a backbone that didn't shiver at th sight of the Alpha.

Kit couldn't help but think that if Alpha Darius had someone to calm him down, he wouldn't have to run out to calm his beastly instincts.

----------------------------------------

For the next few days Laurel busied herself with household work more than ever. Mainly because now she had nothing else to hope for. Since this was her life now, the least she could do was make sure not to anger Ana and be safe.

However, peace had a personal feud with Laurel. She was not able to keep the relatively peaceful life in her grasp for more than a week.

Her father had returned.

Laurel was not informed about his return beforehand or else she would have made preparations.

Those preparations included not appearing before him as he despised her no less than Ana and Ashley. It was just that he was good at hiding it and did not act on his emotions.

Still, the blatant repulse in his eyes whenever he looked at her was not hidden from her.

That particular morning, Laurel woke up to go about the day as she did every day. This time she did not see an empty living room or just Ana. The living room has one additional person who has returned after almost a year.

Laurel quickly made a detour straight to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast. Her heart was beating fast due to nervousness. Her forehead started to sweat as well. It was not every day that Laurel got to see her father.

From the looks of the two, no one would be able to guess they were father and daughter. Laurel had entirely taken after her mother. Ana used to say that her father hated her before she looked like her mother and she always reminded him of her.

That was why he did not like to see her, and it was difficult to stay around her. Because of Laurel, even Ashley and Max were deprived of their father's love.

It was unfair, and it was all Laurel's fault.

Laurel accidentally cut her finger while cutting the vegetable. Sucking at the bleeding finger, she washed the knife and continued the work without hesitation. Her pain was not important.

The purpose of his visit was not known to Laurel, because no one thought it was important to tell her.

Usually there was a reason for this return, and he wouldn't stay for more than three days at a time. It was like something was wrapped around his neck and choking him. The more he stayed with them, the more lifeless he appeared to be.

Laurel snuck a glance at her father. With his light brown hair and dark brown eyes, Ashley resembled him more than her.

Since her father's return, Laurel stayed in her room almost all day except for when it was time to get chores done or meals made. Her father never asked for her either.

It wasn't until evening arrived that Laurel found out the real reason behind her father's visit.

It turned out that the new Alpha was being appointed to the position and a celebration was going to be held. Hence, as a part of the pack, her father had to be present.

The celebration was going to be held at a later time in the night and Laurel was informed a few hours before that. Ashley's old clothes were given to her for the occasion. After all, she was still a part of the Hopewell family, and they couldn't blatantly show the world that she was treated badly.

As Laurel dressed into the slightly loose dress, she thought it was no use showing the world if she was treated right or not. Almost everyone in the pack thought she was as bad as a villain who took her mother's life as soon as she was born.

Laurel heard rumors about herself whenever she left the house. There was always someone in the neighborhood who pointed at her and talked like she was not right in front of them. Laurel did not even have to think who was behind it all.

The celebration was divided into two parts. The first would be the actual ceremony and the second half was to celebrate the new Alpha.

The new Alpha was already in his late thirties. The late Alpha died three months ago and, after a long journey of getting used to Alpha's work, the eldest son was given the position.

Laurel sat in the back again as they drove to the location. Her hair was pulled on both sides of her shoulders to hide her face as much as possible. The wound on her cheek had healed by now, but the scabs were still there.

The long dress did a good job at hiding the bruises on her body that had accumulated over the week. Still, it was not as bad as it used to be now that Laurel was dedicated more than ever.

After all, her only hope of changing her life was taken away. There was no point in making things difficult for herself.

The ceremony passed quickly and the time for the celebration arrived. Everyone in their colorful dresses and handsome suits gathered around each other to talk and socialize. Some were lined by the buffet to eat.

Laurel was left alone on the table as soon as they were able to leave. Her father and Ana were socializing with people they rarely got to see. Max was with his group of friends and Ashley had disappeared somewhere.

Thinking it was a good thing to be left alone, Laurel decided to make the most of it and experience some peace by herself. The first thing she wanted to do was eat some good food. Every day she was the one who cooked and there was barely enough food leftover for her to eat.

Three full meals a day was a luxury.

Laurel was about to get a plate for herself when her bladder started acting up. Lost, she wandered around to look for a toilet.

However, Laurel already had a bad reputation and had no friends. She did not want to approach anyone to ask for directions and neither was anyone willing to show her the way.

As Laurel set out to look for the toilet, she accidentally came across a scene she shouldn't have.

It was an abandoned corner behind the venue near the utilities room.

Two figures were entangled with each other in the semi-dark corner. Laurel wouldn't be able to make out what they were doing if it wasn't for the lewd sounds they were making.

They were against the wall and quiet enthusiastic.

Laurel was about to leave them alone when the girl quietly moaned, "Umm Justin..."

Her retreating figure froze on the spot and her relaxed eyebrows immediately furrowed. Laurel bit her lip as her heart tightened. Her body reacted before her brain did.

Laurel turned around, accidentally knocking down a decorative piece on a short pillar.

Despite being in a corner, they were not really out of everyone's sights. At least Laurel wasn't. The moment the vase fell, it broke into many small pieces and made a sharp sound that attracted the attention of a lot of people in the venue.

In the dark, Ashley and Justin sprang apart from each other. Their heavy breaths and fast heartbeats could be heard clearly by Laurel.

"I-I am sorry.... I didn't mean to intrude…" Laurel tried to explain.

Ashley panicked when she heard the sound of something breaking. She thought someone had caught them. But the moment she heard Laurel's voice, her anger flared like it had never before. For some reason she did not want to let her go tonight.

Before Laurel could explain herself properly and leave, she was pushed back by hard force.