“It isn’t our battle Clover. This is between them. And no matter what we will be there for Denny. They are family. They will work it out.”
“I hope so Joey… I hope so.” I was worried about what was to come. Tomorrow was supposed to be a day of celebration. Not only was it Denny’s birthday but he was getting the official Alpha title. But I couldn’t shake the feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was like foreshadowing something big and I felt uneasy.
Later that evening we were all at the packhouse. I moved into the packhouse after I was picked as a Delta. And let me tell you how much better I have it now at the packhouse. I am eating 3 full-course meals and someone else does my laundry. I also don’t have to clean anymore. I used to work as a maid here in order to get by. And I also worked in the kitchen. Basically, I took as many jobs as I could, and I still struggled.
I walked out of my room to grab a snack before bed. This was another novelty I picked up after living here. As I crept into the kitchen Denny came in from the back kitchen door. He looked startled at first but immediately relaxed seeing me.
“Geez again?” I rolled my eyes as I grabbed some juice and chips.
He only shrugged and gave me a cheesy grin. “You are eating again too. I just have another appetite that needs to be filled.”
“Too much information. Gross. Especially after today…” I already had the vision fresh in my head, so it popped in there all too easily. On second thought I don’t think I am hungry anymore. I sat the chips back on the counter with a small frown.
“Everything will be better after tomorrow.” His voice sounded a bit uncertain though and I could tell he was worried about it.
“Everything will be better. And you will have access to bedrooms. With closed doors and locks. Which means I won’t have to burn my eyes with some sort of chemical in the future.” I tried to lighten the mood and I could see by his smile it worked.
“Now where are you going to get your substance for self-loving?” He said with a smirk.
“I guess I’m going to have to find a mate out there somewhere. But no one from this pack. I don’t think anyone here even likes me.” I chuckled but stopped seeing his serious expression.
“If anyone is still bothering you…”
“No, no one is. But that doesn’t mean I am their favorite person. And obviously, my mate isn’t here. I don’t know my official birthday, but I have to be at least twenty now too, right?” I shrugged slightly. “Not that my mate would want me if he was here. Who wants a wolf of unknown origins?” He was looking at me with sympathetic eyes. I didn’t want him to look at me like that. I wasn’t having a pity party. That isn’t what this was about. “Not that I am interested in anyone here anyways. It is what it is. It’s fine. So don’t look at me like that.”
“I’m sorry for how you have been treated. We were blind to it for so long. I won’t tolerate it at all. I will be the Alpha after tomorrow and if I ever hear of anyone mistreating you… heaven help them. You aren’t just one of my officers. You are like a sister to me. And no one mistreats my family.”
I smiled at him appreciatively. “I think of you as an annoying brother too.”
“Oh, annoying? Should you be saying that to your Alpha?”
“No, but I can with my brother.”
There was a nice comfortable atmosphere between us. One that I hoped we would always have. I have always wanted to feel accepted. And growing up not having a family I had a strong desire for one. I often begged to be accepted. I wanted to feel loved so badly. Finally, I had it. The future Alpha, Beta, and Gamma were my family. I am sure that once Denny takes Andrea as his Luna she will feel better too. She was a bit anxious with me so close to Denny. She fought with Denny when he chose me as his Delta. Surprisingly, Denny stuck up for me fiercely. She was the one to back down and since then has tried to at least acknowledge me to some degree. It wasn’t her fault. The whole pack treated me like I was the plague. But she loved Denny enough that she was trying to work on a relationship with me. And if she was going to be the Luna it would be nice to have a friendship with her.
“Get some sleep, Clover. Tomorrow is my special day. You better have gotten me an awesome gift. I want something heartfelt. Actually… I want you to make me chocolate chip pancakes tomorrow. That’s an order from the birthday boy.”
I chuckled and shook my head. He could be exasperating at times. “Fine, I’ll make breakfast tomorrow. But I also got you something little for your birthday.”
“What is it?!”
“You have to wait until tomorrow.” I grinned as we walked up the stairs together. We all stayed on the same floor. Joey and Jude stayed on this floor too. It was also expected that we would raise our families here as well. The Alpha needed to have quick access to his officers so naturally, we all lived in the packhouse.
“Good night, Clover.” Denny patted my head and walked past me leaving me at my door. I went inside and crawled into my luscious soft bed. Yes, life here was good. Little did I know that after today everything in my life would slowly begin to change.
I woke up early and got ready for the big day. I landed myself in the kitchen where I took over a section to whip up a batch of chocolate chip pancakes. I stacked them up high and then topped them up with whipped cream sprinkled with mini chocolate chips. It was a masterpiece if I do say so myself. I picked up the heavy plate and made my way into the dining room.
They smelled amazing. So amazing. I furrowed my eyebrows as I breathed in their scent. A strong chocolate pine scent was hitting me hard. It was intoxicating. Damn, I really outdid myself with these pancakes. They were driving me crazy. I sat the plate down on the table staring at the plate. No one else was in the room yet. It was early. I was trying to contemplate where the pine smell was coming from. It didn’t make sense to come from the pancakes.
Suddenly, a frantic sound of footsteps was heard. And then the doors whipped open. Denny was looking around in a frenzy and then our eyes met.
MATE! My wolf Sheena cried out in excitement. She was bouncing around in my head and almost prancing in delight. Oh. My. Gods. I gasped and flung my hand up over my mouth. Denny was my mate. I watched his eyes flickering between green and black as he fought with his wolf. His shoulders were heaving up and down as his eyes remained fixated on me.
Now what? He plans to take Andrea as his luna. Not to mention his mate is me. What a disappointment that must be for him. I’m nobody. An orphan with no lineage. I’m practically considered the trash of the pack. And that was who he was mated with. It couldn’t work. I already knew it. Even if we both wanted it the pack would NEVER accept me as their luna. They barely tolerated me as their delta. He really couldn’t claim me because he would lose half of his pack over it.
I shook my head slightly as I felt the evil water building up in my eyes. I couldn’t stand here any longer. I needed some air. I felt so horrible that on his special day it was being ruined with him finding me as his mate.
“I’m sorry.” I whimpered out and tore backwards and out the sliding door.
“Clover, wait!”
I hear him call out but didn’t stop running. I felt the disgusting weak liquid trickle down my face as I ran through the brush. I kept running deeper into the forest letting the cool morning wind hit my face. How could fate have been so cruel to both of us? I hurt for him, and I hurt for me. I dreamed of finding my fated mate. Someone who would be there to love me unconditionally. And this is how I was played? Damn this life. It hates me. Not only did my parents hate me by abandoning me in the middle of nowhere. But life hated me by kicking me in the face with this s**t.
When I reached the lake deep in the woods I stopped running. I made my way over towards a fallen log and sat down catching my breath. I smelled him before I heard his footsteps. I knew this part needed to happen and that’s why I chose this remote location. We would need to reject one another and feel the pain. I heard the pain was immeasurable… well I guess I would find out soon.
He came over and sat beside me. His shoulder lightly brushed mine and a warm tingling sensation washed over me. Wow, the mate pull was really something. It felt like his scent was wrapping me in an embrace that I desperately wanted.
“Clover.”
I turned and looked at him giving him a weak smile. “What a way to start off your special day. I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
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