The Human Alpha

[]=-Chapter 5-=[]

Christian’s POV

When I got out of the shower and dried off a bit, I went straight into the closet to get changed before Averie got into my room. Knowing her, she was going to make sure she was all ready to leave before she came to help me, so I let myself take the time to pick out a nice outfit for the event. You’d think it wouldn’t be too hard, considering all of the different items of clothing that I have, but that is actually what makes it hard to piece together a decent outfit. No wonder women who shop a lot take so long to get ready.

After an embarrassingly long time of trying to pick out a suitable outfit for the party, I finally settled on a light purple button-up shirt with a pair of dark gray slacks. Before exiting the closet, I looked at myself in the mirror that was hung on the back of my door, rolled my sleeves up to just below my elbows, and ran my fingers through my damp hair until I was satisfied with how I looked. It wasn’t the best outfit, but it would do.

“Oh look!” Averie’s voice was full of faux shock when I opened my closet. Apparently, she didn’t take as long as I thought she would to get ready. “Our dearest brother has finally come out of the closet!”

I blushed at the double meaning of her comment, and turned away from Averie, only to see Abbie standing a few feet away from her. In hope of her saving me, I started to walk toward her, but she clearly didn’t catch on as she looked over at Averie. “Wait, you mean you knew?”

It was obvious that my parents filled both of my sisters in on what happened, much to my chagrin. Why couldn’t anyone respect that what happens in my personal life should be kept private? I slumped onto my bed and gave Averie a look to which she just smirked right back at me.

“I’m surprised none of you did.” She looked over her shoulder and shut the door before turning back to Abbie. “He’s been in love with Ethan since, like, middle school. I thought that was obvious.”

My face went scarlet as Abbie looked at me in a mixture of shock and pity, and I quickly turned back to our other sister. “How’d you know that?” I thought I was doing well at hiding my feelings. If Averie knows, then who else does?

“As I said, to me it was obvious.” She shrugged, her smirk now replaced by a slightly sad expression. “I don’t think he does though, if that will make you feel any better?”

It did. I mean, it wouldn’t ever heal the pain in my heart, knowing that Ethan had a mate that wasn’t me, but that ache would be ten times worse if he knew how I felt about him. Just thinking about it made tears begin to build up behind my eyes, so I cleared my throat. “Can we just fix this already?” I motioned to the side of my neck, and Averie quickly unzipped the makeup bag that was sitting on my bed. Not saying a word, she got to work on my neck, and I did whatever I could to not think about Ethan.

After a few awkward moments between the three of us, Abbie came and sat next to me, looking at what Averie was doing. “I still can’t believe that Mom asked you to help him instead of me. I’m the older sister, I’m the one supposed to be taking care of you guys.” She rolled her eyes, clearly trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

Averie motioned to the makeup, not looking away from what she was doing. “Because you know nothing about any of this stuff.” I don’t think she knew what Abbie was trying to do, because her face was still neutral and her tone seemed a little condescending. “Makeup is my thing, not yours.”

“I know some about makeup!” Abbie snapped back, shocking me a little. Abbie was never one to take the bait when it came to arguing. Instead, she usually just walked away when people tried to start stuff. It’s one of the things I admired about her growing up.

“Then go put some on. We have to leave for the party soon anyway.”

Averie finally looked up at Abbie when she grumbled, “I already did... I’m wearing eyeshadow.” She added the last bit when Averie continued to stare at her expectantly.

Averie scoffed a little and looked back at my neck, continuing to cover the hickeys. “That’s all?” She asked, and Abbie just nodded her head a little. “My point exactly.” Averie dropped the makeup brush and lifted a small mirror, turning it toward me. “Besides, I’m already finished.”

I looked at my reflection, searching for any hint of the marks that were on my neck, but there was no telling that there was anything there. It was a pleasant surprise. I knew Averie would get it somewhat covered, but I still expected to be able to see a little bit of the bruises when looking for them, but her makeup covered them flawlessly.

I let out a heavy breath when I realized she was waiting for me to say something. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Averie started putting her stuff together, not looking up at me. Both of my sisters were acting odd today and I couldn’t figure out why. Averie was hiding her feelings better than Abbie, but I could still tell that something was bothering her. Before I could ask either of them what was wrong, there was a slight knock at my open bedroom door, and I looked up, finding Jayce standing at the entrance to my room. Abbie was by his side in an instant.

“I wish you could come with us,” Abbie muttered, her lips showing a small pout. “This is going to suck.” Seems like I found out why one sister is upset, at least.

Jayce slightly smiled at Abbie’s childishness. “You’ll be fine. Just pray to the Moon Goddess that Alpha Kolton finds his mate quickly; that should surely end the party fast.” Jayce’s voice made it seem like he was joking, but Abbie didn’t laugh. In fact, my sister looked like she might be sick at the thought of the situation.

“I don’t see why I have to attend.”

I stood up and met Jayce and Abbie at the door, wrapping an arm around my sister’s back. “It’s about reputation. You know how Dad is, everything has to be perfect since I am a human.” I spoke lightly about the topic even though I hated everything about it myself. “If anything about our family seems flawed, then that is another risk when it comes to my title.”

Averie joined us at the door, using her arms to guide us out of the room. “We should just go, stalling won’t delay the inevitable.” Even Averie, the one of us who always loved parties, seemed to be dreading this event. That doesn’t make any sense.

I noticed the look Abbie gave Averie, probably thinking the same thing I was, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she just waved a reluctant goodbye to Jayce and led me and Averie toward the packhouse elevator.

Our parents were already waiting for us outside the packhouse, where one of the many cars owned by the pack was parked. Both of them gave us a once-over as if trying to decide if they approved of our outfits, before leading us to the car. My dad got in the driver's seat, and I found myself curious. I knew he could drive, but it was very rare for him to do so himself. Usually, Jayce’s stepfather drove him wherever he needed to go.

“Where is Ian?” Averie voiced out my inner thoughts, slightly catching me off guard.

“He and April went on a little trip for the weekend.” My mother looked at us in the mirror, giving us a small smile. “Besides, he doesn’t need to attend this event, so it wouldn’t be fair for him to have to wait for us.”

I wanted to make a comment about how I didn’t really need to attend it either, seeing as there was no possible way that Kolton and I would be mates, but Abbie opened her mouth before I could say anything. “Jayce could always drive us in his father’s place. I don’t mind hanging out with him while everyone else attends the party.”

“Nice try Abbie.” My father grinned over his shoulder at her before putting the key in the ignition and starting the car. “It’s not going to be as bad as you think, don’t worry.”

The ride was very awkward, seeing as three out of the five of us didn’t even want to be in the car, and it seemed to take forever to get to the White Moon packhouse. The entire time we were in the car, my dad seemed to be lecturing me about what I should and shouldn’t do at the party. It wasn’t like this was the first event I would be attending—as an Alpha’s child I had been to hundreds of different events growing up—but he still insisted on making sure I wouldn’t ruin anything. It was frustrating enough that when we finally pulled to a stop in front of the packhouse, I was actually eager to go inside.

“Chrisitan, tuck your shirt in.” My father told me when he walked around the car. I rolled my eyes but did as he said, adjusting my belt so that it wouldn’t look odd now that it was visible.

When I looked up, my father had his arm wrapped around my mother’s shoulders, waiting for us to go into the packhouse. Sighing, I headed toward the front door, knowing that my father wouldn’t go in without us. When I got to the door, I looked at my sisters who were still standing a few feet away.

Abbie started walking toward us, but Averie quickly grabbed onto her wrist. “Can I actually talk to you for a minute?”

Abbie looked at Averie’s face for a moment before turning to look at our father. “We will be inside soon,” she assured him. He nodded his head and walked to where I was standing, my mother still by his side. Oh, so they get to stay outside but I have to go inside with him? I rolled my eyes.

A little frustrated with the whole situation, I pulled open the door and headed toward the dining hall. I had been here enough that I knew exactly how to get there, which was good considering there was nobody to lead us. If we had gotten here earlier, there surely would have been some Omega staff guiding everyone to where we were meant to be, but my father always had us show up fashionably late. Why we had to rush to get here if we were going to be the last ones here anyway, I didn’t know.

“Mingle with people,” my father whispered in my ear before he and my mother headed off toward where Alpha Caleb was standing. I could feel practically everyone’s eyes on me, which didn’t help the nervous feeling I felt deep down inside, but I swallowed down my feelings and headed into the crowd.

I quickly found Kolton and approached him. We were never super close or anything growing up just because we had such different personalities, but he had always been nice to me, so I felt safe talking to him until I got more comfortable in my own skin at this event. Plus, if I was hanging out with him, then I could pass off most of the looks sent our way as people being happy he was back home after so long.

It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought before I was approached by someone who had the intention of upsetting me. I was surprised that he actually approached me when we were still in the middle of the room. Usually, they wait until I leave to go to the bathroom or something and then they corner me.

“Look who we have here; none other than the poor excuse of an Alpha, Christian Brooks.” The glint in his eye showed me how he was itching for a fight.

“Axel Black.” I acknowledged him, fighting the urge to turn around and leave. I didn’t need to show any weakness, but I really didn’t want to deal with this. Axel always made sure to get under my skin, and the only reason he wasn’t trying to physically attack me right now is that he didn’t want to make himself look bad.

“I’m surprised you were even invited to this party, considering it’s for Alphas and their families. You aren’t even a werewolf.” He sighed, turning his attention to Kolton. “You don’t have to pity him, you know. It wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings if he didn’t show up to things like this.”

Kolton looked shocked by Axel’s words. He had never been around when people bullied me like this, so it wasn't a surprise. Unfortunately, something like this happens at almost every event, so for me, it was quite normal. Instead of stooping to his level, I just turned my back on him and looked at Kolton. “Come on, let’s surround ourselves with more pleasant people.”

“Yeah yeah, run away like the little coward you are.” Axel snickered, and I could feel that he had drawn a lot more attention than I would’ve liked. “You can try all you want to act like the better person here, but in reality, you know you will never be one of us. You are nothing but a weak, disgusting, filthy human.”

I turned back around, my fists clenched by my sides, but before I could do or say anything, Abbie was between Axel and me. I noticed Axel’s nose twitch a little before Abbie spat out the words that left me more shocked than I was when Axel showed up. “I, Abbie Brooks, reject you, Axel Black, as my mate and Alpha.”