My Mate's Betrayal

Chapter- 3 Party n Past

Alkira's pov-

"Will you relax a bit, Kira? It is just a party. It would help if you let loose a little," Ana said for the umpteenth time after being exasperated with my antics.

We were wholly dressed for the party. But I was afraid and nervous. I have learned to mask my emotions from others, but not with Ana. She can easily tell what is going on inside my mind. And right now, it is also no different.

"I am trying. See. I am even smiling".

"Well, that is not a happy smile, more like a constipated one. People will think that their Alpha didn't get to relieve her before coming to the party". She said with a straight face, and soon enough, we both burst into laughter.

"Thank you," I said while gasping. I was laughing that hard. "I needed that."

"Now, that is like a real smile. And please, darling, I know you like the back of my hand. Making you smile is a piece of cake for me." She said smugly. "Now, let's go. People are waiting for their Alpha to arrive."

"Wait a minute. I only told Samuel, Helen, and you. I know for a fact that they won't tell a soul, so the only person left is you. You told everyone that I would start today's ceremony? Couldn't you keep it within folds even for a few hours?" I squeaked, my nerves getting the better of me.

"Of course not. I only told Daimen, who is our pack's biggest gossiper, and he told everyone that today our new Alpha will be addressing us." She said, smiling.

I wanted to go and hide. Now I have to go. I was thinking of backing out, but now I was cornered. After brooding for a while, I exhaled heavily and looked at her.

"You did this on purpose. Why?" I asked, a bit annoyed seeing that she was still smiling.

She got up from the bed and stood before me, never breaking eye contact. She took my hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"I knew you would back out otherwise. I know it is hard for you to do this, but it needs to be done. Now you know that our people are waiting for you to come outside. You know that they are expecting you and anticipating what will happen next. I know that you won't let them down. So I told him, it's for your good." She explained calmly. After hearing her explanation, it was impossible for me to stay mad at her.

Seeing that tears brimmed in my eyes and were threatening to fall, Ana continued in an animated voice.

"Besides, his face was priceless. I had to repeat the same sentence five times to get a reaction out of him. But the only response I got was the blinking of his eyes. So... I took advantage of his dazed state and slapped him hard on his face and ran away quickly out of the corridor before he could realize what I had just done."

We both burst out laughing, clutching our stomachs. After a while, we sobered up from our laughing marathon. She again took my hand and continued in a soft tone.

"You know he worries about you as much as he worries about me. You are like a sister to me, to us, and seeing you in pain hurts us too. We can't undo what has happened. But we can always replace a bad memory with a good one."

I know that they understand.

They understood me even in the past when I barely spoke to them.

*Flashback*

It happened after a month when I woke up from my six-month deep slumber. I was in the Redwood Pack. This was far away from my original pack, my home.

I was a rogue here because that dreadful night had taken away everything from me. I had no one. I was no threat to them because I was weak. I was in a coma and gaining my muscle strength little by little. In fact, this evening's walk was a part of my medical treatment.

They allowed me to take refuge here until I gained my lost health, or if I wanted to, I could join this pack. They were good people. But I haven't gathered the courage to tell them what happened to my old pack or how I got so severely injured that even after being a werewolf, I was still unable to recover sooner. I haven't spoken anything to them. Only some yes and no...

I broke out of my stupor when I felt my wolf getting tense. I heard some rustling of leaves and moved my head in that direction. I squinted my eyes to see. It was getting darker with each passing second. Without my consent, my legs started moving, and the sight in front of me made me lose control.

My wolf took over, and without thinking twice, I shifted. Shifting for the first time hurt like hell. But I stuffed the pain at the back of my head and pounced upon the brown wolf. Grabbing his neck, I ripped out a massive chunk of flesh. He died within seconds. My first kill and I don't regret it.

He was torturing a pup in front of me. Any sane person would have done the same.

When my wolf Sira felt that the threat was over, I relaxed and saw the grey-colored body that was stained red. I took cautious small steps towards the pup. He made some sounds that showed me his denial of coming near him.

He was afraid that I might kill him too.

I shifted back and grabbed the shredded shirt. It reached my mid-thigh. I approached him slowly, taking my time to concentrate on his body and note all the injuries.

But I couldn't count the pain in his eyes. It seemed endless.

Poor soul, God knows what he had to endure.

I approached him at snail's speed, giving him ample time to run away. I put my hand on his forehead and started massaging it. My fingers glided through his fur, gently stroking it. He relaxed under the spell of my touch and then shifted. I looked around to check if I could find anything else that would give away his identity, and it was then that I locked gazes with Ana & Daimen.

Both were shocked to see me shift and save someone because I could hardly stand by myself for not more than half an hour. But I know it was the color of my wolf that rendered them speechless. My wolf was red with some golden swirling on both sides. It was rare.

Red and golden-colored wolves are extinct. My wolf had shared that piece of information with me after the first week of my awakening.

I knew I was different. Even in my family, I was still different from my mother. She always told me to wait, that when the time came, she would tell me why some females of our lineage were unique. Why, only females were late bloomers, but now I won't get my answer.

Not now. Not ever.

My eyes watered, but I held onto the tears. I had vowed not to cry. I shook my head. A look of understanding crossed their faces as they listened to my unspoken plea not to tell what they saw. I put the boy, who seemed only ten years old, in my arms and started walking in the direction of the pack's hospital. I was in pain because I was not healed completely and had just shifted for the first time. But still, I carried him, and they followed me silently without asking another question, simply understanding.

And it was then that I knew that I could trust them.

They understood me.

*Flashback ends*

I was taken from my memories when Ana gently pried me away, breaking our hug. I didn't know when I hugged her.

She smiled and wiped away the tears that fell. Then her smile turned wicked, and I immediately knew what would happen.

"You ruined your makeup. Now we have to start again." I groaned, thinking about what I had gotten myself into. Gosh, I hated makeup. But Ana loved to doll me up whenever she could.

After an hour, I was ready and made our way to the backyard. Samuel, Helen, Daimen, and Xavier were waiting for me. I took a deep breath and nodded. Xavier opened the door, and we all stepped out with me in the end.

'Let's rock this ceremony.'

I agreed with my wolf. Let's rock it.