Heart Broken, Bartered, But Loved

Chapter 8

Alexandra’s POV-

I was in complete awe of the amazing of this pack, Nicholas was pointing out all the communal buildings. Then there was the packhouse. It was far bigger than the one at Blue Moon. It looked very modern but still had that rustic vibe. There were beautifully trimmed red rose bushes along the front. Roses are actually my favorite though; I have never been given any. I noticed all the people waiting outside, there was a lot, and I was just in jeans and a t-shirt, not exactly appropriate for first-time meetings. I tried to adjust my clothing and sort my hair out, so I looked a bit more appropriate. I noticed that Nicholas was watching me, smiling at me.

“What,” I said, blushing a little.

He smiled, “I find it sweet how you are worried about your appearance.”

“I am meeting your pack for the very first time, including your mother and sister. I have to make a good first impression, especially considering who my father is,” I replied.

“Some may not take well at first to knowing who your father is, but once they see who you are, and that you will make the perfect Luna for this pack, they will love you,” he smiled.

I nodded, as the car came to a stop, and he opened the car door, pulling my hand along with him, and helping me out of the car. He closed the door behind us, before taking a few steps towards the crowd of people. I walked with him. Two women approached us, one older than Nicholas and one younger than him. The older woman smiled when she saw me, and said, “I could not believe it when Daniel said that my boy had found his fated mate, for ten long years he has been searching for you. You are so beautiful. I am Grand Luna Cora Carter, Nicholas’ mother. I really can’t wait to get to know you better. What is your name?”

“Goddess, mother, let the poor girl have a chance to stretch her legs after being stuck in that car. I am Brittany Carter, that knucklehead’s sister. I am very glad my brother finally found you,” the younger girl, spoke next.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both, Grand Luna, and Brittany. My name is Alexandra Blake,” I smiled, as whispers erupted throughout the crowds of werewolves around.

Nicholas growled at everyone for whispering, but I placed my hand on his chest, and it instantly calmed him. I took a deep breath and spoke, “Yes, I am the daughter of the scumbag Beta Blake of Blue Moon. Am I proud of it? Hell no. Do I hate him with every ounce of my being? Yes. I grew up without my mother, because he killed her, all because she was trying to run away with me and my brother, to protect me. I hate him, and want nothing to do with him. If I basically hadn’t been put on almost complete lockdown for most of my life, I would have run away years ago.”

Everyone fell silent for a few moments. I looked up at Nicholas, who was smiling at me. I turned to look at his mother and sister. His mother was grinning ear to ear, she had pride in her eyes, “You already have the Luna touch. Calming your mate down that quickly is special. Fight for what is growing between you two, because you are going to be a great Luna for this pack. You have a beautiful name, and I am sorry about your mother. You will have no shortage of family here, now darling. Oh, and call me Cora.”

Cora was incredible, a true motherly figure. I felt at ease with her being her. I am sure she will kick Nicholas in shape if I need him to have a talking too.

“Now, I know everyone wants to meet Alexandra and talk to her. But I am taking the rest of the day off, to show my mate around the packhouse, and to help her unpack. We will join you for breakfast tomorrow morning. As I would like to spend time with my mate, to get to know her. Travis, could you bring her suitcase and boxes up to my room,” I called out.

Nicholas hugged his mother and ruffled his younger sister’s hair, much to her annoyance, making her growl at him, before taking my hand and guiding me into the packhouse. I couldn’t help but stare at the roses, as he pulled me inside. The inside was modern and decorated very lavishly. Nicholas pulled me towards a set of double doors on the right, pushed open the door, and pulled me inside. It was a huge room, with a serving station, and thousands of tables and chairs. He smiled, “This is where the pack usually sits down for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We have meetings in this room, hence why that table is on a stage. It is where the Alpha and Beta families sit. The kitchen is over there, serves this entire pack, pretty much all day. They work really hard. Not every family in the pack will come have their meals. Here, it is mostly those with active roles in the pack, or are unmated. Families tend to have their meals at home in private. We have the option to have food here, or we can use the kitchen and dining area on the Alpha floor. That way we can have privacy. My mum and sister have rooms on the Alpha floor. They usually stay here, but they do have a house, five minutes away that they share, so I can have my privacy, which I think will happen all the more now, because I have found you. Come, I will show you the common room.”

I nodded, and he led me back out into the hall, and we entered through another set of double doors, and he smiled, “This is the common room. We have a bar in the corner where we can make drinks. We have a snooker table and foosball table over there. We have every gaming station connected to that huge flat screen. We also have Netflix, sss Prime, and Disney Plus on the television.”

He led me back out into the hall, and pointed down the corridor, and said, “There is a door that leads out into the gardens and swimming pool. There are also bathrooms down there too. Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

I had noticed that my stuff was heading upstairs, when we arrived at the common room. We headed up the first flight of stairs. As we did, Nicholas explained, “So, there are three more floors. The next two are for the Betas until they have kids, then they can have their own homes. They have ten bedrooms on each floor, each with their own ensuite. The extra bedrooms are usually used by guests, otherwise they are empty. The top floor is for the Alpha and his family. I have ten bedrooms on that floor, including our bedroom. I have an office on that floor. I also have a home movie theater, and a library. The office is big enough for the both of us too, it is a bit like a joint office for the Luna and Alpha, which is us.”

He showed me each room, on the Alpha floor, before taking me to his room. When we got into his room, I noticed the king-size bed, with red silk sheets. So, it looked like we would be sharing a bed. There was a couch on one side of the room, with a television in front of it, on a wall mount that you could pull out and turn the television towards the bed. There was an antique dressing table on the other side of the room, not far from two separate doors. I noticed that all my stuff had been brought upstairs, and placed in the room. I walked over and admired the antique dressing table, which made Nicholas chuckle as he closed the door. I looked at him puzzled, as he smiled, “That dressing table has been handed down from Luna to Luna, for five generations in my family. You are the sixth. My mother must have placed it here when she heard about you.”

“This is such an honor. I should thank her later on,” I smiled.

“I noticed that you were staring at the rose bushes outside. Do you like roses,” he asked?

“Yes, I do love roses, but I have never been given any roses by anyone,” I replied.

He nodded, and we fell silent. I could see the wheels turning in his head, about the roses. I wondered whether he would try to be the first to give me roses.

“Well, we should get to work unpacking your stuff,” he said.

“Yes. I know we are mates, but will we have to share a bed, right now,” I asked, looking down at the floor, wrapping my arms around myself.

I had to ask him about the sleeping arrangements. I am a virgin, and I have never shared a bed with anyone before, so I was really nervous about it. I wanted to go with him, but I was just worried things would go too fast between us.

He tipped his head to the side, and watched me. He stepped closer to me, and placed his hands on my shoulders, “You have had a boyfriend, but you never slept in the same bed as him.”

I shook my head, “I never slept in any bed other than my own, and always on my own.”

“Well, how about we lay in bed later and watch some movies, see how comfortable you are with that. If you fall asleep, I will stay, but if you don’t feel comfortable, quite yet, then I will sleep on the couch. I would like to sleep in the same bed as you,” he suggested.

I nodded, “I agree with that. I am just nervous. Let’s get to work unpacking for now, then we can relax.”

He smiled, “You don’t need to be nervous; these changes are good. Shall I start on your boxes?”

I nodded, he showed me where to unpack my stuff, and where I could put things. It took an hour, but we got all packed away. I pulled out the paperwork and all the information that Eric and I had gathered. I sat on the bed, and he sat next to me. He smiled, “That picture in the frame, the lady holding the baby, with the little boy next to her, I guess that is your mother.”

I nodded my head, “Yes, it is, my mother.”

“She looks very familiar. But I don’t think I have ever met her. But you do look so cute as a baby,” he replied.

“Why do you think she looks familiar,” I asked.

“Truthfully, I don’t know. I am sure it will come to me. Anyway, did you want to get something to eat,” he inquired.

I nodded, as I noticed that the sun was beginning to set, he looked like he was mindlinking someone for a second, before he said, “Food will come up shortly. So, what would you like to do?”

“I would like us to go to the Lycan Council, this information Eric and I have gathered, needs to get to them, so they can decide what to do with Blue Moon. I need to save my best friend,” I told him.

“I can’t let that happen,” he deadpanned.

I wasn’t going to let that happen. I growled, “We have to go. I wasn’t asking if you don’t want to take me, I will go myself.”

“No, you will not go. It is too dangerous,” he growled back.

“I have too. I am going for myself. I am going to save those in that pack, including my brother and best friend. Not to mention my best friend and her whole family, that have been sold out to the vampires. I am their only chance at being free and having a life that matters. A life that is better,” I raised my voice at him, frustrated that he was telling me no.

“You are my mate, my priority. I have to protect you. It is not safe to go to the Lycan Council right now. When it is safe, I will take you. We will call them later,” he growled.

“No, we will go now,” I yelled.

“I said no, and that is final,” he stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.

All was silent in the room. I collapsed back down on the bed, I rested my head in my hands. Zira growled in my head, “You should have listened to him.”

“He wasn’t telling me why it wasn’t safe to go there right now. How can I trust he will get the information to them, if he doesn’t tell me the truth,” I replied to her.

“We should listen to him, he is trying to protect us,” she growled.

“Not unless he tells me the truth,” I hissed.

She laid down and curled up after that, ignoring everything. She wouldn’t even talk to me. I was left alone with my thoughts. Soon, food turned up, and I couldn’t even eat the food. Not because I wasn’t hungry, but because I felt sick. I felt home sick. I missed my brother, my bed, my room. I am here, and I briefly met people, only to be ushered away to get to know my mate, and I pissed him off. I haven’t even had the chance to tell him that I am a virgin. I hope he has figured it out by how I said I never shared a bed with him. I hope he figures it out. He probably hasn’t because he is annoyed that I just got here, and I spoke about leaving already. It is for honorable reasons, but maybe Zira was right. He was trying to protect me.

For a while, I sat staring at the clock, watching it get later and later. Tears spilled out from my eyes. I couldn’t believe I was crying. He was gone, he hadn’t come back. I had no way of contacting him, or knowing where he was. It made me so stressed out. What if he had gone off with that girl? What if he sleeps with her?

I turned to look at the picture of my mother, and asked, “What would you do, mum?”

I could have sworn I heard her voice, “Do the right thing. Save them all.”

It was something strange in me. I can always remember her voice. It was the only thing I could remember about her. It was the last thing I had left of her. Yeah, I had material things, but I don’t have memories of her, like Eric does.

What would be the right thing? If I ran, I could get the information to the Lycan Council myself, and I could save everyone. What other way could I save everyone? I know Nicholas wanted me to stay here, I know he said that the council told him he was in charge, but he would have to run any major decisions by them anyway. So, why shouldn’t I just go to them instead? It was my original plan.

I was exhausted. I decided that I would try to sleep, see if he came back, but if he didn’t, then come dusk tomorrow, I would leave, and try to get to the Lycan council. I need to get this information to them sooner rather than later. Sleep took me all too quickly. Zira spent the rest of the night ignoring me. Nicholas never returned to see me or sleep in what would become our room. That just pissed me off and gave me more of a reason to runaway. If he cared about me, he would have been here, he would have come back to me. But he hasn't.