The Cursed Alpha’s Mate by Moon Flood
Chapter 21
I am not good at a lot of things but I’m especially bad at lying to myself. I hated to admit it but my disposition left me no choice. I was nervous and scared at Clover’s arrival.
Her beauty was well known all over the world. She had the mannerism of a princess and the hidden strength of a hundred seasoned warriors. In comparison to her, I was nothing but chicken shit. She was the perfect person to be his mate and I feared that with her arrival, my deficiency would be even more pronounced.
I was so distracted throughout that morning that I stepped on Astrid’s toe as I took a tray of food meant for ‘her men’ from her. The slap I received made my ears ring for a full hour.
“Where have you left your mind!?” She exclaimed. Claudia chuckled from behind her but she didn’t say anything.
If anyone else said something or laughed while she spoke or b*it*ched, the person would have been in equal trouble with her but she liked Claudia. Claudia liked to gossip and although Astrid acted all high and mighty, she also liked to gossip. She made the perfect pair with Claudia.
She had treated me like she did with everyone else until recently and I knew Claudia must have told her about the story of my parents. Everyone would find me repugnant after that. Valens may hate me more if he knew. It was something similar to what my parents did that cost his parents their lives and ruined his.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized but she wasn’t having any of my apologies. She screamed and screamed some more, pushing me so that the tray she gave me went flying out of my hand and then she had a reason to really have a go at me.
“Sorry for what? Can you apologize for your blood? Get out of my sight, shameless thing.” It was then she pushed me and the tray fell from my hand. No one had the guts to laugh after that.
Astrid came with fancy china sets that she used in serving the top men from the Alpha Pack and I’d just broken some of them.
“My mother gave me those plates!” She screamed, charging at me like an angry bull. My wolf pulled me out of the way before she collided with me. “You nasty b*it*ch! I will ruin you today!”
The kitchen door opened just then and Beta Jabari walked in with Clover glowing radiantly at his side. Astrid paused in a moment from chasing me.
“Jabari, Clover!” Her mood changed in an instant and she flew at the goddess standing beside the beta.
Jabari cut me a look to assess if I was fine but he didn’t take a step forward. He must know that the alpha claimed me already but he must be keeping it a secret as I was because he didn’t come forward to talk to me in order to avoid suspicion.
The beta had a lot of work but his duty first and foremost was to protect his Luna, even before the alpha. If anything happened to the Luna, the alpha took out his frustration on the beta after he dealt with the culprit.
The minute Valens and I went public with our mating, preparations would start to make me the Luna of the Alpha Pack and all other packs that he headed. On the day of my appointment as the Luna, beta Jabari would give me his blood in form of a blood oath to protect and serve me till the day he died.
“What are you doing here, Clover?” Astrid asked, clinging to the goddess.
“I missed you guys so much that I had to visit.”
“Oh, please, just say you missed the prince. What use do you have for an old cargo like me?” Astrid laughed, the sound loud and boisterous. “Have you seen the prince?”
“I have. It is as if this pack agrees with him.” I still stood to the side but I felt Clover’s eyes pass across me.
People close to prince Valens must notice that our scents were now similar. People from my pack may notice my scent changed but they wouldn’t know it had anything to do with the prince since most still didn’t know him or his scent.
Did Clover notice?
“Who is she?” Clover gestured to me with a nod of her head in my direction.
“Nobody. Just a stupid girl that broke my antiques.”
“Oh dear. You’re a little clumsy. Astrid has had those sets for as long as I’ve known her.” She smiled at me but Astrid came to block me from her sight before I could say anything.
“My mother gave them to me for my wedding.” She gave me a harsh glare. “Although they were worth more than the man I was marrying. Clean that up and serve another batch for the men.” She led Clover away after one last evil look at me.
“She’s so pretty.” One girl sighed once the door closed behind Astrid, Jabari and Clover.
“I’ve never seen someone prettier. She has such a perfect bow lips and her eyes, goddess, they are heavenly.” I bent down to gather up the broke pieces of plates when I heard something that made me stiffen.
“How can she not be the prince’s mate? They are perfect for each other and I’m sure they must have boned a couple of times.”
“I think I’m prettier.” Claudia piped in. The girls didn’t notice I’d gone stiffer than a board at their words. “If the prince wanted looks, I’d be a better fit for him. Clover looks like she’d break if someone with the king’s size took her but look at me.” She twirled as she spoke. “I have all the right curves for a man like him. I can accommodate him.” Glass crunched in my hand. The girls stopped talking at the sound of the glass breaking.
“Be careful.” One girl said as Claudia exclaimed.
“Use your sense and find a broom!” The way she spoke to me – the way she spoke to me angered my wolf. I wanted to hit her.
Blood dripped out of my injury as I stared at my hands in wonder. I wanted to hit someone and my hands actually itched to do that.
Everything else went by in a blur. I packed the broken dishes and threw them into the trashcan before serving up another tray and taking it into the dining room to serve. After than, I ran into Lucien who was the last person I wanted to see in this lifetime.
“What – don’t tell me you did that.” He growled into my face, yanking me into an abandoned corridor.
His left eye was swollen shut and his lips were cracked. His face looked all shades of bruised and battered but his half open eyes held immerse anger.
“Why is your scent different?” He demanded, making me squirm.
“What is it to you?” I pushed away from him but he didn’t let me be.
“How could you do that to me? Who am I supposed to mate with now?” He almost screamed in my face, spittle flying out of his mouth.
“You rejected me. What is all this nonsense you like to spout, Lucien!?” I too shouted at him, annoyed and frustrated. “You rejected me and I accepted your rejection. I’m no longer your mate!”
“Shut up! Just keep quiet let me think.” His strong grip on my hand ensured I couldn’t get out of his grip no matter how much I tried. “I can’t let you be with someone else.”
“You don’t have a choice in this.” I pulled my hand but the more I pulled it, the tighter he held on.
“There’s no way I’m letting you be with that man. Have you no shame, Aysel? He banished our alpha and took over our pack. He is an invader. How can you choose him over me?”
“Don’t speak ill of my mate, assh*le! There’s nothing about you that would interest me. You’re not and will never be half the man he is. You put me through H*ell and you still think I would want to be with you? Stop deluding yourself!”
“I told you I loved you. I’m your best friend, your first mate and you chose a cursed prince over me!?”
“You seem to be living in the past. You’re not my mate. You’re not my best friend and you certainly do not love me. You just hate that you have nothing against me anymore. You lost me. I mated with someone else. Accept it and let me be, you piece of shit.” I felt my eyes sting as he hit me hard across the face.
“You should not have done that.” Jabari came upon him like an evil conjuring and shoved him to the ground.
I watched in savage satisfaction as he pummeled him over and over again. He beat the H*ell out of him while I watched and it didn’t occur to me to ask him to stop.
“I misjudged you. I’m sorry.” Jabari gave a small bow after he wiped his knuckles on Lucien’s shirt.
“It’s okay. I’m misjudged a lot.” I gave him a small smile. I wished that apology was coming from my mate.