Growing up, boys never seemed to interest me. Even at my age, I have yet to see a man that would fit my standards of being handsome. While I know that werewolves are blessed with good genes, I found it hard to be impressed with their looks.

I’ve never thought I would see the day. But tonight, I might have seen the most handsome man I had laid my eyes on.

The relaxed expression on his face changed. He furrowed his eyebrows as he approached me with hasty strides.

With a commanding voice, he asked, “What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the ball for the inauguration?” He was looking down at me. So, I stood proudly after he asked me and composed myself, countering his countenance.

“Why are you asking me? Aren't you too relaxed, yourself, and even tried to run in the woods if you know most of the pack should be there for the ceremony?” I asked daringly.

I knew the man just went out to the woods because he reeked of sweat, and he had no shirt. Noticing it, I couldn't help but run a look at his body.

The man impatiently crossed his arms. His muscles bulged, which caught my attention for a second. He was bold to pry on my business when he wasn't there too.

A smirk formed on his face. He rudely touched my chin and raised it to meet my gaze. I tried to swat it, but his grip was firm enough that I couldn’t move his hands away.

“Do you know who you were asking, kitten? I could snap your neck with your disobedience right here and now,” he whispered. Although his voice seemed calm and deep, it was laced with warning. He was not joking.

“Well, try me then!” I daringly replied. His eyes turned to gold with my answer and in one swift move, he was at my back. His arms were on my neck and ready to twist it. “Are you sure?” he asked.

My heart raced so fast with anxiousness. 'How did he do that within seconds?' I was so taken aback that I couldn't react. I tried to kick his foot to make him off balance, but he dodged it to change our situation.

I only needed a few seconds to change our position, so I did him dirty by biting his arms and escaping from his hold.

However, I didn't expect him to still react fast. He was so swift that I found myself falling flat to the ground as he pushed me. He pinned my hands above my head as he stared at my eyes. We were so intimate, and I could hear each other's wild breathing.

“Do that again, and you'll never see the sunrise again,” he warned, making a chill run down my spine.

He was fucking good that I thought he'd kill me in an instant. My eyes sparkled with both excitement and worry.

“Now, aren't you going to apologize?” he asked.

I answered with a chortle and looked at him despite being underhanded.

“Aria, just apologize! I can feel his murderous intent even though he looked so calm,” Bella advised. I disagreed with her and didn't answer. I even rolled my eyes. I didn’t know, but this man irked me so much.

“Apologize while I could still control myself. If my wolf took over, he wouldn't take a second to wring your neck,” he warned again.

'I couldn't believe him. What did I do wrong in the first place?'

“What do I need to apologize for?! I was just sitting there earlier! But you suddenly came and said nonsensical things. I just answered your query.”

“Pup, I said apologize!” His voice became too loud and authoritative. I could see his veins starting to show, and his eyes turned to gold again. This started to bring fear to me, but I couldn’t just back down. ‘Who is he to even to command me? We are equal. Even though he looked like he had a position in this pack.’

“Damn it! I said, apologies now!” This time his voice had some odd effect on me. It was domineering. I was still hesitant as I glared at him, but when I felt the moonlight cascading its light to us and specifically to him, I felt his words were so powerful that I lost my strength and murmured an apology. It was so faint that he was displeased with it. I didn't even look at him when I said it.

The sound of a bell rang, making us stare at the venue hall. That meant it was already nine o’clock. We were going to be late for the pack ritual. We needed to hurry.

In just seconds, he stood up and immediately vanished from my sight like he didn't embarrass me and threatened my life. I was left there panting and sweating with fright.

I gasped for breath. I seem to forget to breathe with our position earlier.

“What the fuck just happened? Who was that man?!”

***************

“Aria, you also have to be inside now. You don’t want to cause trouble again, girl. Let’s go!” Bella warned me. She even started to reprimand my behavior because she kept warning me through our mind-link, but I ignored her and was only focused on the oppressing man.

I composed myself and fixed my red mermaid ball gown. Some sweat was on my neck, and my hair tied in one big bun was a mess.

I bit my lips. This was not good for giving my first impression to the alpha and the rest in case they noticed us. I had to look presentable in the least.

I rolled my eyes as I calmed myself. That man would pay for this. What he did was unnecessary.

I didn’t have a choice but to let my long hair cast down to my behind. If I could describe myself, I knew I would look like a nymph with this beauty. However, I truly didn't want anybody's attention.

Heaving a deep sigh, I hurried towards our designated spot. But to my surprise, I ran to that man again. I felt so anxious like someone kicked my heart out of my chest. I avoided looking at him, but I was magnetized.

Due to that he caught me staring, and he immediately coldly looked down from my face to my feet and back to my face. I didn’t fail to notice that his gaze stopped at my chest, having a disapproving look. He gritted his teeth and stopped it within a second.

I arched my brows to him and tried to ignore him. However, I didn’t fail to notice the respect he got from the people staring at him as he passed by. She-wolves were also obviously ogling at his good looks.

Well, I couldn't deny that he truly looked scrumptious with his sharp jawlines, cherry red thin lips, manly brown skin, deep-set jet-black eyes, and messy black hair. Not to mention, he was now wearing a suit hugging his physique perfectly. He was eye candy. I could not blame them, but he honestly looked better without his clothes.

Bella laughed and agreed with my thoughts, making me blush. I forgot to shut her down before we went to the venue. I didn't think it was necessary. However, the smile I had as Bella kept teasing me was erased as I saw him catch me staring again and smirked.

I withdrew my gaze and headed to the nearby table to drink one glass of wine. I knew my cheeks looked like they had been slapped because I felt embarrassed and annoyed at the same time with his stare.

So, I drank a glass of wine with one scoop before I shook my head and continued to walk towards my family. They were still chattering loudly, like when I said I would be away for some time.

For the opening of the pack gathering and ritual, music of saxophone suddenly played as only four tables were left before I reached my family’s side. I had to stop in my tracks when the familiar tough looking pack warrior, Oliver to be exact, took over the microphone and announced something.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Without further ado, let's begin the celebration and pack ritual. And please, let’s welcome Alpha Hunter Fauder with a round of applause!”

I clapped my hands with the rest of the pack and expectantly waited to see a tall man, perhaps in his late twenties or something, walk upon the stage. However, I was pretty shocked when the man who was just close to me earlier was the one walking to the stage.

‘The heck! What is he doing there?! Bella, oh shoot! He’s… he’s our new alpha?’ I panicked and asked Bella.

“Aria, what did you just do? You just went against him earlier. I told you to not mess with him. When will you adhere to my advice? My instincts had been telling me, he had a powerful aura reverberating from him. We’re in trouble.”

I frustratingly pinched myself for my foolishness and reasoned, “Well, he’s… he’s too arrogant. My blood boils whenever I see him. I can’t control myself, Bella.” I held my hand firmly. I had to brace myself. I just hoped he wouldn’t embarrass me or punish me in front of everyone. Moreover, I thought the new alpha was kind, but he seemed he wasn’t. Faith didn't have the ability to tell whether a wolf was kind or not.

But from the back of my mind, I wished he was not that merciless, though.

Our new alpha silenced the crowd when he closed his hands. With an intimidating aura, he started his short speech.

My mouth went agape with his straightforwardness, charming, and commanding aura. He didn’t beat around the bush. He only said those few words, but I felt everyone was satisfied with his speech.

But above all this admiration, a question remained on my mind.

Where is his Luna?

This new alpha was really one-of-a-kind. Outside the arrogance he displayed to me earlier at the back of the pack house, I admit that he truly accomplished great things at his age. Alpha Casimir and the rest of his warriors were not that easy to defeat. To defeat him and his leaders is one thing. But merging his old pack with Grey Moon to create a bigger pack was really unexpected. Because normally, the people of the defeated pack would end up being slaves or worst, killed together with their leaders. Grey Moon was lucky to have not fallen into that situation.

No doubt, Alpha Hunter was at the peak of his prime. I wonder where his mate was.

“It is true that you cannot get the best of everything. If only he had a mate, then he would have been a perfect alpha in my eyes.”

My thoughts were interrupted when my ears caught that sound from the side. It was a pair of older-looking women whom I believe were part of the original Silver Arrow Pack.

So he was still unmated? Did he not yet find his mate?

“I’m right there at you. It’s just sad that he had to pay for his father's crimes. I couldn’t imagine you losing the ability to smell your mate, knowing that it was the only thing that could confirm whenever he or she was near. Poor alpha! That evil witch was truly powerful to do that to him.”

Ah, so he was cursed. He was cursed to lose the ability to sense his mate.

While I still didn’t like him for what he had shown me earlier, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. I couldn’t imagine having all of the fame and success in life but still being alone at the end of the day. While I wasn’t too obsessed with finding my mate, I was one of those werewolves who dreamed of being with him. And to live in the reality of never having to meet your mate was really gut-wrenching.

“To begin this feast, let’s race our glasses for a toast as we await the full moon to show and wait for the blessing of the moon goddess. Cheers, everybody!”

From the side, the new beta, Beta Spike, clinked his wine glass with a spoon, signaling everyone to begin drinking.

I looked to the side and caught a glass with strangers behind me and joined others for a drink.

‘This is going to be a long night. So, yeah, cheers to ourselves!'

After we all did that, everyone got back to their own businesses but mainly talked about Alpha Hunter. The latter went to a long table with wolves in high positions. I thought he was going to introduce a Luna before, but no one showed up.

After some time, everyone noticed that the full moon was slowly showing. To complete this celebration and offer respect to the Moon Goddess, Hunter had to do a dance ritual with one of the she-wolves from the pack.

Below the stage, everyone started to gather at the center, and the eerie yet magical music of a piano echoed. Hunter stood in the middle and roamed his eyes around his subjects. I purposely didn’t bother to look at what he was exactly doing.

Hunter needed a partner. He needed one because he hadn’t a Luna yet. Every she-wolves were expectant. However, Maggie and I were different. We were uninterested in this. We didn’t need attention. We blended well in our crowd, but I stood frozen when Hunter said something.

I felt a strong kick on my chest when I felt his gaze on me, although a lot of our pack members were covering me from him. I knew he was looking at me.

“You, the lady in the long red gown….”

‘The fuck! I was wearing a red gown, but I couldn’t be too sure. I won’t look in his direction.’

But I could start to feel some stares at me and the other she-wolves wearing the same color of the gown in my direction.

“The one with the messy bun and wearing a glittering red gown.”

‘Shit! He’s really specifically asking for me, isn’t he?’ I grimaced and panicked. I felt like running away but my feet were glued to the ground.

I didn’t want to perform this ritual with Alpha Hunter. The Moon Goddess might even not bless us because I didn’t like this alpha. He had to choose another she-wolf.

I bit my lip. Hunter surely knew how to get on my nerves and make my heart race with worry.

“Aria, the new alpha was calling you. What are you doing?”

It was Uncle Stan. He looked worried and I couldn’t blame him. Everybody was looking in our direction now.

I heaved a deep sigh. I wouldn’t get out of this trouble now.

I slowly walked towards him while others quickly made way for me. I caught some envious and shocked stares while all the male population's attention was on me.

This was too much for trying to be lowkey.

Hunter flashed a wicked smirk before turning his expression to his usual poker face before he took steps toward me. He laid his hand like a gentleman, and I nervously reached out for it.

With the sound of the new music for the ritual, I closed my eyes and bowed with him for respect as we stood at the center. When I opened my orbs, I intently stared at him. I shook off all the worries and inhibitions in my body. This was just a dance. Since he troubled himself for asking me to this. I could at least get back at him through this, couldn’t I?

I wickedly smiled with the idea and saw his eyes flash with amusement watching my expression.

“Thank you for asking me to do this, Alpha.” I sardonically emphasized the word alpha, which turned his eyes into a gold glint.

He placed his hands on my waist while my hands were on his broad shoulders. I didn’t leave his eyes, and neither was he. Our attention was only on each other, forgetting all the prying eyes fixated on us.

“I can’t find other interesting she-wolves around here, kitten. However, I still haven’t forgiven you for disobeying me,” Hunter lamented. We gracefully danced through the beat of the rhythmic music.

When the music changed, it was my turn to slowly get back to him. He was supposed to stand idle as I danced in a painfully slow manner. I purposely slowly caressed his skin as I walked around him. Then I moved towards him and pressed my delicate body towards him and whispered, “Oh, is that so? Can’t this understanding alpha forget what this bad kitten did earlier?”

Hunter’s eyes darkened. He gritted his teeth as his sharp and hot gaze landed on me. His gaze landed on the tiny space between us, especially on my exposed smooth cleavage.

The side of my lips raised. This man undoubtedly was enjoying this. When the music changed, I stepped away from him and flawlessly danced again, gently doing hand movements. I held the fabric of my gown and carried the side of it, exposing my legs, and threw it gracefully to the other side.

His eyes never left me as I attentively seduced him. After a long minute, I was almost done with the she-wolf part of the ritual and softly clap and stand in place. I looked at him with flirtations and mockery, challenging him. It was now his turn to dance.

Hunter also circled around me with his deep and hot stare fixated on me. He took a step forward and closed our distance, making my heartbeats go wild while his hands were busy worshipping me like I was Moon Goddess. He caressed my skin, and I felt my skin burnt with his touch. I clenched my fist as I muffled my gasps.

Our positions were changed. The temptress was caught like a rabbit under the big wolf's grasp.

“That’s quite a show, kitten. I admit, I enjoyed it,” Hunter said huskily.

‘Moon Goddess, why did you put me in this position?! I’m sorry, but I really can’t respect this man!’ I whispered to myself.

I was about to speak my mind when I felt his hot breath approaching my lips. ‘What he’s planning to do? This is not part of the ritual.’

I shivered with anticipation and breathed nervously. Before Hunter could close our distance, he stopped. He licked his lips with a dark desire apparent in his eyes and held my hands to put them again on his shoulders.

My face turned like a ripped tomato with embarrassment. I expected a damned kiss.

I avoided his gaze, and we did some final waltz again to finish the ritual. After we did that, everyone slowly formed pairs and danced. I didn’t stay to his side and swatted his hands away without others noticing it.

Hunter smirked and gave me a warning glare before I quickly strode to our table.

I tried to look for the rest of my family for support and explained that humiliation, but they were busy dancing in the crowd. Even Maggie was paired with a young boy.

What a night!

Maggie was still catching up with some friends while Uncle Stan was talking to some elders in our old pack. They seemed to have a great time reconnecting with everybody. While me? I still couldn’t get over what had happened on the dance floor.

Alpha Hunter intentionally shamed me. He intentionally embarrassed me and that was a fact!

“Aria, calm down. Calm down, okay? It’s just a dance. I am sure that not everyone noticed that supposed ki—whatever you want to call that. Just move on, okay?” It was my wolf Bella, trying to console me on the biggest humiliation of my life.

“But hey! You really look stunning tonight. No wonder why Alpha Hunter had started to take an interest in you, kitten,” she continued to explain and joke. She even imitated how Hunter referred to me as a kitten, which really lightened the atmosphere when I muffled a chuckle.

I pouted when Bella kept teasing me through the mention of Hunter's annoying endearment, kitten. Every time I tried to defend myself by explaining my side, Bella would only heartily snicker. Nonetheless, she still made me smile, albeit I was abashed, worried, and annoyed at the same time. With Bella around, I could be the same girl I used to be.

So, as a result, my worries slowly dissipated and focused on arguing with her. But when I caught a glimpse of that arrogant alpha, my blood boiled once again.

For all they knew, their new alpha had a foul character. They thought he wasn’t the usually overbearing type of alpha, but he was the worst. He was even lustful. I felt his wanton need when we bickered and danced, considering we just met today, and he successfully masked the scent of it to not disturb others. Usually, powerful creatures like him could do it. But still, he acted as if I extremely wronged him.

Now, he even put me in a tight spot. I just went back to the pack. Some might welcome me or ignore my presence, but I was sure I would be the main course for the gossip circulating in the pack because he chose me to be his partner for the pack ritual. There were lots of she-wolves to choose from. Why did it have to be me?

“So, who do we have here? Ah! It’s the woman who caught Alpha Hunter’s eyes!”

Just as I was thinking the same thing, a scandalous voice exactly expressed what was on my mind. And yet, the woman who uttered it was not from our previous pack. I am sure she was with the arrogant Alpha Hunter previously.

My eyes glazed over her. The woman was undeniably beautiful, with blonde hair, expressive eyes, and a to-die-for body. I never knew the girl, as this was the first time I went out to socialize with the rest of our pack after coming back here a few days ago.

“Hmmm…Hi…” I uttered. I tried posing a faint but sincere smile while offering my hand for a handshake. “My name is Aria Hemmingwood.”

But instead of taking my hand, her face frowned. She scanned me from head to toe before throwing me a disgusted look. “How dare you offer your dirty hand to me. Don’t you know me? I am Chloe Witchwork, the future Luna of this pack. If I were you, I will stop seducing Hunter. The nerve of you to do that! You are nothing but a lowly, slutty, good-for-nothing she-wolf!

I took back my hands, extremely surprised by the way she acted. I thought she approached me to possibly make friends but I was wrong. How stupid of me to think about that!

I clenched my fists, wanting to clear my side. While it looks like I played with Hunter earlier, it doesn’t mean I was interested in him. Furthermore, I didn’t tell him to pick me to be his partner. And if I was to turn back time, I would rather not choose to be picked by him. And this was exactly the reason why. “Miss Witchwork, let me make things clear. I am not interested in Alpha Hunter and most of all, this pack’s new Luna. You are barking at the wrong tree here.”

Chloe gasped and rolled her eyes. She glared at me while she was rendered speechless.

“Pretending to be the victim, eh? Are you trying to make a fool out of me? Well, let me tell you this, omega. Don’t mess with me if you know what is good for you. SO BACK OFF!”

I sighed. A part of me wanted to equally challenge her to defend myself but I chose not to. I didn’t want to mess with her pack more. I was merely wasting my time if I did.

So instead, I turned my back and intended to leave the gathering this early. Besides, the ritual was done. I didn’t have anything to do here. I better rest and prepare myself to accept the pack duty, and the next time I ran to Hunter in the upcoming days. He would surely call us at his office for dissemination of duties. It was one of my piles of dilemmas, to be honest.

Unfortunately, Chloe’s friends moved towards my front and blocked my path.

I rolled my eyes and bit my lip.

Chloe grabbed my arm from behind, giving me a deathly glare. “No one turned their back on me!”

I sighed before taking back my arm. This girl was really testing my patience. “Please, I don’t want any trouble. If my presence really bothers you, then I would gladly go home.”

I waited for them to get the signal that I was not in the mood for this petty fight. I wanted to go home and rest, but they were making it hard for me to get that simple wish. I kept waiting for them to clear the way, but they still didn’t move. We were starting to gather some attention. I didn’t like it. My blood was starting to boil with irritation.

“You don’t want any trouble? Dear, you were already in trouble when you tried messing with my property. Is this the way your guardians raised you? Ah! Maybe, it’s their idea for you to use your body to climb your status. Did your father teach you how to spread your legs to the alpha to get what they want?”

Chloe’s remark was below the belt. Since I was taken by Uncle Stan from his abusive brother, he became the father that more than I could ask for. I wouldn’t let anyone malign or taint his name. Not now, not ever.

The thin string of patience I had was starting to get thinner. One wrong move, hell would break loose in this pack. I couldn’t care about my image or anything else.

“What did you say, Chloe?” I asked. My voice was laced with killing intent as I took some steps toward her. I felt my eyes blazing, like the color of the gown I was wearing.

But instead of stepping back, Chloe repeated what she said. “I said, your father is a pimp and you’re his prostitute.”

With a fierce dash, I aimed to break her neck. But the bitch dodged my attack and grabbed a handful of my hair. I did the same. I didn’t remember what had happened next. All I knew was that we were now doing a catfight in the middle of this celebration.

The warriors started to appear and stopped us. I also saw Maggie and Uncle Stan. Chloe looked hurt with an obvious scowl on her face while the other she-wolves' who ridiculed me were mortified. They immediately dispersed and left Chloe behind.

Maggie gave me a mind link, asking what had happened but I chose to ignore her. Meanwhile, Uncle Stan looked disappointed and shook his head. With that look, I already knew what he meant.

Today was the pack’s gathering and an important day for all of us. This was for the unity, peace, and strong bond of the entire pack under Alpha Hunter's leadership. I might be punished severely or not for doing this.

I needed to calm myself. I closed my eyes and inhaled a lot of air before I exhaled and opened them again.

The moment my eyes saw the surroundings again, I saw Hunter looking at me from his previous spot with the high-ranking official of the newly merged pack. He drank a glass of wine, calmly put the glass on the table, and stood up as if he planned to approach me. His movements were all in slow-motion in my view as I heard my heart beat with anxiety and excitement for him.

Silence suddenly overtook the gathering as I watched every bit of his movement.

I couldn’t see everyone else and could only hear our breathing and heartbeats like we were one.

This was going to be a mess.

What was Alpha Hunter up to?

Why was he moving towards us?

Our attention abruptly went to Chloe when she wailed, and her crocodile tears flowed. “A-Alpha… Alpha Hunter, that bitch did this to me! I was only talking to her, but she suddenly goes berserk and wanted to kill me. I didn’t do anything wrong. This is all her fault!”

The side of his lips curved up when he glanced at me before he helped Chloe stand up and check her wounds.

Go to the pack clinic to check if you fractured some bones. I’ll deal with this accordingly,” Hunter powerfully said. He eyed a particular pack warrior and ordered him to accompany Chloe, who hurriedly adhered to Hunter's command.

“Continue the celebration!” Hunter yelled, which brought my mind back to my graving situation. Everyone who witnessed the scene dispersed and acted as if nothing had happened. And then, he turned his gaze to me.

“Go straight to my office tomorrow,” Hunter muttered before he vanished at my confused sight.