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.

“How about you let me run loose to the woods for a bit because you promised me last night, Aria?” Bella excitedly chirped, interrupting my thoughts.

I thought Bella wasn’t around since she was silent since I woke up this morning.

“Are you sure? I thought you don’t want me to be on Alpha Hunter’s bad side again. What if we came in late? He didn’t set a specific time to meet me in his office.”

Bella scoffed and became silent again. I looked at how the sun was positioned and spread its rays of light towards our surroundings, including at the plants we passed by as I kept walking now to Hunter’s house. Based on the condition of the surroundings, I could estimate or tell what time it was.

Depending on how plants followed the path of the sunlight, and what animals were doing, it was now easier because I was now back living in a civilized area. It was one of the key takeaways I learned from living on the mountaintop for almost a year. This knowledge came in handy, especially since we didn’t have a way to determine the time before. Maggie taught me how to know it through observing nature.

“I think we can spare several minutes to take a run. I think it’s not even 7 o’clock in the morning yet. Besides, he wasn't around. He should be anywhere near his house since he asked us.”

Bella was still silent, but I felt the gush of her excitement surging in our interconnected souls.

I smiled and went to a nearby huge old tree. I hid behind it and quickly removed all my clothes and swiftly went up to leave all my clothes at the closest tree branch.

Moreover, deep inside, I was ecstatic that Bella wanted to run in the woods for a while. Then I didn’t have to make up a reason to not go to Hunter’s office this soon.

I prepared myself for shifting into my wolf form while I felt the cold breeze of the morning as I went down the tree with all my nakedness. The sounds of my bones cracking echoed and later, My wolf surfaced, flaunting her mystifying and wonderful beauty.

One thing, I could thank Moon Goddess for was my wolf’s magnificence. She was beautifully white, a rare color for she-wolves. Moreover, there was an old legend saying that there was something special with white werewolves because it had been decades before they showed up in werewolf history. But I didn’t know the other stories about it. Besides, Bella wasn’t born with white fur, I had shared before that from grey color, she suddenly shed the color of her fur to this white when I turned seventeen and six months old. Did this have anything to do with us meeting our mate 6 months from now?

It was too early to tell.

I felt flying and refreshed when we ran into the woods. Upon her carefree sprinting from the edge of the woods, Bella suddenly censored another wolf with mixed colors of brown and cream-colored fur not far away than twelve meters away from us. Based on his appearance and smell, he was not one with the assigned pack warriors we got used to seeing around.

Bella made sure to mind-link the other wolf before nearing our distance, saying we weren’t rouges or from the other packs because we were both unfamiliar with each other. The other wolf confirmed he wasn’t alone or a wandering wolf when his orbs glinted a bit, indicating he checked our scent while he was still away from us. We also did the same again because we couldn’t be too sure too if they weren’t from other packs even, they could strongly mind-link us.

Reaching out to the human soul deep inside the wolf, I introduced myself. Maybe it wasn’t bad to have a friend now we were staying in the pack.

“Hi, I am Aria Hemmingwood. Nice meeting you! You and your wolf seem nice. Are you on patrol?”

I greeted through our mind-link, while we were both still in each other’s wolf form.

“Oh, I know you! You were the she-wolf Alpha Hunter performed the pack ritual with, right? Your name is quite popular. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hemmingwood. I’m Clark Nicholas, and yes, I am actually on patrol,” Clark chattered.

“You can call me, Aria. It’s nice—”

I stopped midways when a loud cry of a child from the restricted area of the woods echoed. It wasn’t restricted for nothing. That place was full of stones, and marshes, and too dangerous for those who haven’t shifted to their wolves.

Bella and Clark’s wolf rushed to the area and were careful not to walk into some of the marshes. “Help me! Mommy! Daddy! I’ll follow you now. I won’t stray away from home and run to the woods! Please, help me!”

As we near the source of the cry, we heard the pup’s voice clearer. He sounded adorable and pitiful at the same time. Through Bella’s eyes, I saw that he was stuck in a marsh, and the boy kept sinking because he kept struggling within it.

Clark’s wolf roared to tell the kid that we were here to save him, but the kid cried louder instead.

“I’ll change into my human form Clark. Spare me a minute. We can’t help him if we are in our wolves’ form,” I mind-linked him.

It didn’t take us minutes before we were back in our human forms, but Clark was still half-naked. He was also good-looking, but he had a softer feature for a guy.

“We’ll save you, pup. I promise. Stop moving or you’ll sink yourself deeper.” I tried to encourage the boy who seemed really scared right now.

“Mommy?” the pup asked. I chuckled and shook my head. Clark stared at me with adoration before I cut his look and asked what our plan was.

“I had an idea, wait.” Clark deliberately made a rope from the materials that could be found in the forest and after some quick two minutes, he finished it before he tied it to a tree. He pulled it to test if it was strong enough to hold his weight and it seemed it could.

He told me his plan and we tried to execute it.

“Little one, please reach for my hands. We’ll get you out of that. Trust me,” I cooed to the boy. Hesitant he still reached for me while I reached for Clark’s hands. He pulled us with his strength, but it wasn’t enough.

“In the count of three. Pulled the kid stronger too.”

“Roger that.”

“One… two… three, pull!”

I felt we successfully pulled the boy out of the marsh and due to inertia, we didn’t estimate where we would land. The pup safely landed on the muddled part, but I fell into a hard and warm thing. I smelled a manly scent and my face immediately flushed with embarrassment.

“I-I’m… I’m sorry, Clark!” I said and was about to get away from his chest. However, a familiar voice boomed and made my body quicker with fright.

“What do you think you are doing here? Isn’t this place restricted? And you even brought a kid here?!”

“Shit! We seemed we had forgotten something, Bella!” I complained and scrunched my nose. I only wanted to come late, but not totally forgot about him. I hurriedly stood up and help the kid get up like Alpha Hunter didn’t catch us in an embarrassing position.

While helping the kid get up, he cried. “I’m sorry, Mommy! Daddy! I’ll not do it again!”

I reached for his face and dried off his tears while Clark got up and report to Alpha Hunter. “Sorry, Alpha we heard someone asking for help and the sound led us to hear. We didn’t mean to break the law.”

Hunter’s face was still dimmed, his face twitched before he furrowed his brows and commanded, “Take the kid to the pack clinic before you bring him to his family.’’

Then he stared at the kid and gave him a warning glare, saying, “Pup, remember to obey your parents and never wander to the forest again. Are we clear?”

The child muffled his cry and nodded. He might have an idea who was speaking to him. Well, he made the right judgment, and I couldn’t blame him because Hunter was giving off a terrifying aura.

“And you, Ms. Hemmingwood. Come with me!” I felt thunder hit me with nervousness when he said that. He was still furious.

“Won’t you explain yourself?” I was about to speak, but he didn’t let me and send some words that left me shaking with irritation. “Let’s talk about that great flirting skill of yours later. Follow me to the office after five minutes, I will check some things first.”

Hunter immediately dashed away, leaving me clenching my fist.

For a man, he had such a tactless mouth. I bridged my brows together and hurriedly retrieved my clothes before I came in late again and received another hurtful remark.

Hope I can stay calm in his office.

“I'm sorry for being late, Alpha Hunter. You saw what happened. What will we talk about?”

Those were the first words that came out of my mouth when I twisted the doorknob. I felt so nervous like my heart was going to pump out of my chest. Either way, I still didn't forget how he insulted me a few moments ago. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

Hunter raised the side of his cherry-red lips before he mockingly smiled at me. He was near his office desk and was wiping off the sweat on his upper body.

It seemed he also took a run in the woods. His sleeveless shirt let me see the protruding biceps he had in his arms. It was a good sight to look at, especially how some of his sweats escaped his towel and alluringly fell to his neck, making me gulp.

I shook my head. It wasn’t the time to appreciate his good looks and sexiness.

Alpha Hunter must have caught the kind of stare I bestowed on him and coughed. “What do you think, Ms. Hemmingwood? Didn’t I tell you we still had unfinished business?” he asked.

I took a seat in the receiving area even though he didn't invite me, and faked looking bored as I watched him almost done wiping off his sweats. When he was almost done, I roamed my gaze again in this once familiar room. But I got distracted when something slumped on the same couch.

With the speed of lightning, I found Alpha Hunter a meter apart from me, using his wolf abilities.

Wow, he was quick!

I met his serious gaze. My eyes wandered to his plump kissable lips, making me awkwardly avoid his gaze.

I found my voice and said, “Again, I am sorry for what happened. I—”

I couldn't finish my request when Hunter suddenly moved closer to me, leaving only a ruler apart in our distance. I could vividly hear my strong heartbeats. What was wrong with me?

“You have to understand how important it is to follow your alpha, Ms. Hemmingwood. Follow his command first, before jumping into someone’s arms. There’s a time for that.” When he said that, Hunter's eyebrows were bridged together, giving him a strict and hot look.

But my head was starting to boil and heat too. He was not the only hot thing here in this room.

I moved to the farthest space of the settee to keep a distance and expressed my thoughts.

“What are you talking about, Alpha Hunter? I made it to your office after you said I would follow you after five minutes. I abide by your rules.”

Without hesitation and retaining the stern expression on his face, Hunter answered, “But you’re still late. That’s not the time we are supposed to meet. I asked you to come to my office first thing in the morning. Are you dense? I even caught you playing around with a pack warrior, using saving a pup as an excuse to do what you want. Does flirting around count as following your alpha?”

He shook his head before he comfortably leaned on the couch, waiting for me to answer. Even though he looked like that, I could hear him gritting his teeth.

Is he jealous? A man only acts like this if he is? He’s stepping beyond his boundaries.

I heaved a deep sigh and closed my eyes. I couldn't understand why he was treating me like this. My first idea wasn’t acceptable.

“Well, Alpha Hunter, for clarity, you didn’t say at what exact time should I show up today.” I tried to calm myself as I didn’t want to aggravate him more.

I saw amusement flickering in Hunter's eyes before they gradually darkened.

With a voice like it came from the depths of hell, Hunter spoke, almost sounding like his powerful wolf. “If I didn’t have good self-restraint, my wolf, Thunder, had already taken over and slit your throat.”

All the hair on my body was raised with terror. His voice sent a shiver down my spine.

Hunter was not joking because his wolf seemed to be so powerful and dominating as he tried to take over Hunter's body. Maybe he was the reason why this man was a bit obnoxious and overbearing. Or perhaps they were just alike, cut in the same tree because the Moon Goddess partnered them.

Moreover, I knew I couldn’t hold a candle to Hunter's fighting ability right now even though he was in his human form, but I was also aware that I was the only one who could clash with him like this. I never heard anyone disobey him. I was the first to do it. But it wasn't intentional. It was just that…there were things that I find it hard to ignore especially when it came to him and his old pack.

I placed a safe distance from him and sat on his desk's receiving chair.

I shouldn't take chance. I also knew the infamous reputation of alphas. I could be alive now, but I could never tell what would happen in the next seconds. I learned it the hard way thanks to our previous alpha.

Yes, violence was common among werewolves, but that death was too horrendous. I could kill rogues, but I didn’t kill them without any purpose as I knew, once in their life, they were also sane werewolves that were loved by their pack. But due to some circumstances, they became packless or mateless, pushing them to turn insane.

“Aren’t you going to say something smart like yesterday? Did that already scare you?” Hunter ridiculed.

I bit my lip and tasted rust on my tongue, my blood. I clenched my fist and covered my face. I wanted to shout or insist on my point. But I didn't want to die yet or be soaked with my own blood.

Enveloped by a tense silence, Hunter walked to his desk and handed me a file. He took my silence as submission, making me grit my teeth.

“This is Ms. Witchworks' pack bill. You are responsible for breaking her ribs.”

Perplexed, I widened my eyes. Did I truly break Chloe's ribs? That was ridiculous! Am I that strong to do that to her?

“I... I, well, that woman deserved that.” I struggled to form a sound reason. In the first place, it wasn't my fault that happened. “She insulted Uncle Stan and I could never let it pass.”

“Deserved or not, you are responsible for your own actions, Ms. Hemmingwood. So, for punishment, I am still thinking of what to do to you,” Hunter said with finality.

“Another punishment for me? But that’s unfair!” My blood boiled after hearing it. Why are they putting all the blame on me?

As I watched his anger start to show, I felt like I wanted to shrink and hide in the farthest place I could find with Hunter's deadly gaze.

“Woman! Did you just raise your voice on me again?” He said loudly. The voice which seemed to come from hell boomed again.

I slowly took a step back but stopped immediately when I realized I shouldn't show him I feared him. If I were to die now, I might better die fighting back, holding my ground. I was not at fault here.

“Yes, I am, Alpha.” I indignantly said.

Hunter immediately attacked me and choked me to death seconds after I answered yes. I struggled to breathe as I bravely looked at his glinting gold eyes.

“Do you know what this pack's new rules are?” He kept his hold on my neck and abruptly pushed me to his office's door. I felt my eyes tearing up because of suffocation.

“First is to never disrespect or disobey your alpha!”

“Second, never speak back to your alpha.”

“Third, follow your alpha!”

“All the pack rules were about following 'me,' as your alpha. Are we clear, Ms. Aria Hemmingwood?!”

Gasping for breath after he freed me, I managed to nod as I held my neck. I kept coughing until I cleared my throat.

“Ms. Hemmingwood, you can now get out! We're done talking!” Hunter yelled, but he avoided looking at me and went to take a seat in front of his desk.

Before I weakly went out, I saw him run a hand on his hair frustratedly.