We returned to the pack house with the car trunk completely stuffed with new clothes, shoes, bags, panties, bras.
My arms were full with bags as Hazel and I made our way up the staircase.
The smooth paper of one of the largest shopping bags suddenly groaned, the handle snapping under the weight, and the bag ripped wide open, spilling my new clothes across the floor.
The clothes we had just spent hours picking out were now scattered all over the stairs.
Panic instantly seized my throat, an automatic reflex drilled into my mind for being punished for every minor accident.
I froze, my heart hammering violently against my ribs as I stared at the mess, expecting a harsh shout or a blow to my shoulder.
That never happened.
Before I could even bend down to start picking the clothes, Alpha Alexander, who was coming down the stairs with Beta Mikko, bent down to help me with it.
He didn’t look angry; he silently kneeled down on the carpet and helped me pick up the scattered clothes.
While handing me a jacket, his hand brushed against mine.
I felt a strange, electric spark of heat pass between our skin.
It wasn’t just a simple physical contact; it was a sudden, white-hot current that jolted straight up my arm and radiated directly into the center of my chest.
My breath hitched in my throat.
His eyes flashed golden for a second before he quickly masked it, leaving me completely confused by the physical reaction and everything.
The brilliant color burned through his dark irises like a wildfire, a raw display of his wolf pushing to the surface before he clamped down on it, turning his expression back into an unreadable mask.
I didn’t know what happened but didn’t dwell on it for too long.
I swallowed the lump of anxiety in my throat, gently took the grey wool trench coat from his grip, and adjusted my hold on the remaining bags.
“Thank you, Alpha Alexander,” I whispered, keeping my head slightly bowed as I forced my voice to remain steady.
He didn’t answer verbally.
He simply gave a single, firm nod, his dark eyes lingering on my bandaged forehead for a fraction of a second before he stood up to his full height.
Mikko stepped down beside him, offering me a warm smile that did nothing to ease the frantic confusion spinning in my brain.
I turned away, forcing my legs to keep moving up the stairs, my ear tracking the thuds of their boots as they cantered down the staircase toward the front entrance.
Hazel and I did the trip four more times before we had everything in my room.
It was an exhausting process, my ribs giving a dull, warning throb with every single step, but seeing the growing mountain of packages kept me moving forward.
Hazel helped me in sorting it and organizing my closet for me.
The cheerful blonde wolf turned the entire process into a game, humming a light tune as she unzipped garment bags, clipped sweaters onto hangers, and arranged rows of pristine winter boots along the bottom shelves.
By the time we were finished, the once empty rank was now filled with clothes.
The walk-in closet that was void just last night was completely transformed into a vibrant wall of soft wool, thick denim, and elegant silk.
I could literally explode for joy.
A profound, overwhelming sense of validation washed through my chest, making my eyes sting with a fresh wave of happy tears.
I didn’t need my shabby clothes anymore because Hazel had been true to her word of getting me new clothes, shoes, and bags.
Hazel had even bought me heels, and I wondered how I would be able to walk in those.
I picked up one of the sleek, black designer pumps from the display rack, staring at the thin, towering stilt of the heel with bafflement.
Back in Silver Ridge, my footwear consisted of worn-out boots with holes in the soles that let the freezing mud soak through my socks.
“Hazel,” I said, holding the shoe out toward her with a raised eyebrow.
“How am I supposed to move in these without breaking my neck?
I have never owned something like this in my entire life.”
She let out a loud, booming laugh, tossing a silk scarf onto a hanger.
“Practice, little one!
I’ll teach you how to walk like a pro in it from next week.
Trust me, the moment you put those on, your height changes, and you can look down at every idiot who ever tries to make you feel small.
It’s an essential skill for the packhouse.””I think I’ll stick to the flat boots for now,” I murmured, a tiny, genuine smile pulling at my lips as I carefully set the expensive shoe back onto its velvet shelf.
It was night time when we were finally done arranging everything, the mountain shadows completely swallowing the glass windows of my room, and we both went down for dinner.
As we walked down the wide corridors, the distant, lively clinking of silverware and the booming laughter of dozens of people began to echo up from the lower levels.
This time around, the pack members were still actively eating in the dining hall, the delicious aroma of roasted venison, fresh garlic bread, and rich gravies filling the hallways.
I assumed we would be joining them.
I was anxious, scared, but also ready to meet my new pack members.
My fingers tightly gripped the hem of my sweater, my ear straining to decode the murmurs of the crowd downstairs.
I was terrified of how they would look at a wolf-less human sitting at their table, but a stubborn part of me was ready to face them.
I wanted to see my new home.
I just really hoped they would treat me better than the monsters back home.
Then I thought about Celia.
A knot beginning to tighten deep in my stomach, making my steps falter on the landing.
What if she already got them to be against me?
She was a high-ranking Alpha’s daughter with a fated-mate bond linking her directly to the pack’s second-in-command.
What if she had already spent the entire afternoon whispering venomous lies into the ears of the pack members?
What if she had started destroying my new life without me having any clue about it?
Gosh, I just wished Celia would disappear from the face of the earth and never bother me again.
The girl was like a shadow from my past, a permanent curse that refused to let me breathe even when I was hundreds of miles away from Silver Ridge.
“Hey, this way,” Hazel said suddenly, catching my elbow and redirecting me away from the double doors of the dining hall.
She led me down the corridors that leads to the kitchen.
I was confused but went along with her.
“We won’t be joining the rest of the pack in the dining room but would be eating in the kitchen.” She had said.
“Alpha’s order,” she continued, her voice dropping as she pushed open the swing doors to the kitchen.
The room was warm, smelling of fresh bread, but it was entirely empty of the pack members.
A small, intimate table by the window had been neatly set with two plates of hot food just for us.
I wondered why Alpha Alexander didn’t want me to join the rest of the pack.
A wave of disappointment and fear crashed over my chest, making the sweater feel suddenly tight and suffocating.
Had Celia started making her moves already?
Had she already managed to convince the Alpha that having a broken, wolf-less human freak in his dining hall would embarrass him and his pack?
Or had Alpha Alexander realized that I wasn’t worth all this stress in the first place?Were they easing me back into my old life as a hidden servant?
Was the beautiful room and the shopping trip just an illusion before they pushed me back into the shadows where I belonged?
What was happening?
I thought pack members were supposed to eat together to signify their bond, and then bringing me here to the Blood Moon Pack was supposed to mean I was now one of them.
Instead, I was locked behind the kitchen doors once more, hiding from the world while the real pack ate in the light.
I sat down on the chair, staring blankly at the steaming roast chicken on my plate.
The food looked delicious, but my throat felt completely tight, the familiar sink of humiliation settling over my shoulders.
“Ella, you’re doing that thing again where your brain goes to dark places,” Hazel said softly, sitting down across from me and picking up her fork.
“Eat your dinner.
It’s fresh.”
“Why did he order this, Hazel?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
“Is it because I’m human?
Because I don’t have a wolf to match the rest of the dining hall?”
Hazel stopped her fork halfway to her mouth, her big blue eyes widening with shock before softening into sympathy.
“Oh, sweetie, no.
Is that seriously what you think this is about?”
“I don’t know what else to think,” I admitted, looking down at my raw knuckles.
“At Silver Ridge, the kitchen was the only place I was allowed to exist.
Being sent here feels…
it feels exactly like the old rules.”
“Ella, listen to me very carefully,” Hazel said, leaning across the table and placing her warm hand over mine, her grip solid and reassuring.
“Alpha Alexander didn’t banish you to the kitchen to hide you.
He did it to protect you.
The pack house is completely wired with gossip right now because of the Council investigation.
Everyone is curious, and Celia’s arrival with Mikko has made the social lines incredibly volatile.
Alex knew that if you walked into that dining hall tonight, hundreds of eyes would be staring at your bandages, scanning your face, and analyzing your stance.
You are fresh meat, you know that right.”
She squeezed my hand firmly.
“You just spent nine years being a target, Ella.
The Alpha wanted to give you at least some time where you could eat your food in peace without feeling like a specimen under a microscope.
He didn’t lock you out of the pack; he locked the pack out away from you.”
I stared at her, my jaw slightly slack as her words slowly sank through my mind.
To protect me.
The idea felt completely backwards, an alien concept that my brain could barely process.
Alpha Richard had used isolation as a weapon to make me feel invisible; Alpha Alexander was using it as a shield to keep the world from scratching at my fresh wounds.
“Are you sure?” I whispered, a tiny, fragile spark of relief fluttering in my chest.
“I am one hundred percent sure,” Hazel smiled, her catchy expression returning as she gestured grandly to my plate.
“Now, please eat.
If we leave this chicken untouched, the head chef will think I’m slacking on my medical duties, and the Alpha will personally cross-examine me.”
I let out a shaky, quiet breath, the tight knot in my stomach finally loosening just enough to let me pick up my fork.
The smoky, rich flavor of the food melted on my tongue.
I was still terrified of what tomorrow would bring, and I still wished Celia would disappear from the face of the earth, but as I sat in the warm kitchen with Hazel, I realized that under this roof, the old rules truly were beginning to shatter.
Sorry for posting late guys.