Forbidden Mate: Awakening

My hands on the wall beside the door slid down slowly as I reclined back. I looked at everyone else, and the cluelessness showed on their faces.

I didn’t know how to take in that information. Really, I didn’t want to believe it. It had always been my dream to be the Luna of this pack – I had fantasized about it and spent my idle time speculating on how exactly the kingdom would be with me and Ty-

He walked out of the room he was in with Audrey and closed the door behind him. With his back against the wall, he shifted his gaze to me. I could see regret and self-denial in his eyes, as if he was trying to tell me something but he didn’t want anyone else to hear.

My father’s voice brought back my attention, “Oh, that’s splendid, Alpha. Em…when will the preparations begin?”

“As soon as my son proposes to the girl.”

“He hasn’t proposed yet?”

“No, but he’s told me he wishes to marry her and I have come to tell you so you can talk to the girl’s father.”

I turned to look back at Tyler and he did the same too. Why was I feeling hurt by hearing this conversation about this news?

“Okay, Alpha. It will be done.”

“Good, now… on to the main reason I came here. I heard… your warriors captured a werewolf hunter.”

My father paused then replied, “And who told you of this, Alpha?”

“My son.”

I was too annoyed and emotionally conflicted to look at Tyler one more time.

Rex’s words cut through the door like a sharp blade, “That hunter’s presence in the pack is a big threat to everyone else. Don’t you know the origin of those people?”

“Werewolf hunters?”

“Yes. They are scallywags and untamed savages. They say they kill threats to our kind but they are the threats themselves.”

How can something Adrian and I just made up to protect him have so much impact on the Alpha?

“I am aware of that, Alpha, and that’s why I have taken precautionary measures and subdued his powers.”

“And how did you do that?”

“I turned him into a Limean.”

The silence amplified my anticipation.

Rex finally broke it, “You turned him…into…. a Limean? Is that the solution to curtailing the fiery passions of your daughter and her involvement with that brute?”

My eyes widened. How did the Alpha know of that too?

“Alpha, I have cautioned my daughter and-”

“Well, it seems you haven’t cautioned her enough. Maybe it’s the loose character my son saw in her that made him rethink her being his mate…”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

I felt insulted. Loose character? I had a loose character? What had Tyler been telling his father about me and the grove?

“I don’t believe I raised my daughter that way, Alpha.” My mom finally spoke.

“You know very well this grove is a pillar to the pack. Whatever happens here, affects what happens there. If you don’t ensure the smooth running of things here, the pack will be gravely affected.”

“I’m aware, Alpha.” My dad replied solemnly, too solemn for my liking.

“So, why have you been negligent? To allow an elder come back to me to complain of the utter disrespect he had to face in this grove? Such has never happened, until you decided to let a hoodlum into our home!”

The weight of his words hung heavily in the room. I glanced at Tyler, searching for a familiar gaze that could give me understanding, but all I saw was blankness.

It pained me to think that my actions had caused my father to be reprimanded in the ears of everyone.

Rex’s tirade continued, “I will lay emphasis on this and this alone. You need to be vigilant of your daughter, that man and your warriors. If anyone makes a slip up, and it gets to my ears, I’ll hold you accountable for it.”

The implications were clear – I was seen as a vulnerable liability that needed constant protection. Nothing else from that.

Their meeting concluded with a sense of tension hanging in the air, my father unable to say anything afterwards. What had started off on a pleasant note for them, ended with a sour reckoning.

Rex’s departure was as swift as his arrival. He had left us to process the weight of his words. Tyler and Audrey left with them and I barely brought myself to look at Tyler’s face after what his father had said. I couldn’t help but feel angry and frustrated.

The room emptied, everyone dispersed, and the silence that followed was suffocating. My father’s weary gaze met mine, and I could see the inner battle he was facing. He also made it clear to me I had embarrassed him when I tried to speak to him on his way to his room and he blatantly ignored me. It was clear that Rex’s visit had shaken him, forcing him to confront his own shortcomings as a father and leader.

I took a deep breath and made my way to my own room. One couldn’t process one news before another came hitting in. Tyler and Audrey were getting married. I shouldn’t care but I did.

Then also, my father had grown more suspicious of Adrian. I didn’t even see him after the meeting, neither did I, Jax. It was one heap of concern over another and I wandered how I’d mentally and emotionally cope for what would come next.

••••••••••

I was struggling with my feelings for Adrian and the complicated relationship I had with Tyler. I needed someone to talk to, and Sarah, my closest friend, seemed like the right person. We had been through a lot together, and I trusted her.

One sunny afternoon, I found comfort under a big oak tree where Sarah and I often shared our secrets. She had come to visit that day and I told her about everything that happened lately, everything except I and Adrian’s secret.

“Shit’s been tough, babes. Geez, why didn’t you tell me about all this?”

“You had your own problems and duties to think of.” I sighed and rested my chin on my knees.

She rubbed my back, “Doesn’t mean you’d keep things from me, babes. My mom’s been having it tough cus of her sickness but it’s not been compared to what you’ve been through…Hey, but you’re daring…”

She smirked at me and I asked, “How?”

“You fucking made out with a stranger in the library, in front of your dad and an elder! That’s mad! You got more balls than me.”

I rolled my eyes at her, “I told you it wasn’t like that. It was a mess…”

“A mess that you loved every moment of…”

“Sarah, fuck off.”

We both giggled.

“But your dad shouldn’t have called you that. He still loves you, don’t mind it when he pretends to be harsh cus of Rex. When my dad was alive, he did that too anytime I made the smallest mistake.”

“I really felt bad…”

“Don’t go over your head for it. It’s done, it’s done. Life goes on.”

It was less stressful letting off steam with Sarah. She always knew the right words to say and I appreciated that.

There was another thing which really troubled my heart and I decided to tell her. I took a deep breath and started telling her about my confusion and inner conflict.

“Sarah, am I crazy?”

“When aren’t you ever?” She said sarcastically.

“No like, on a serious note… I feel torn.”

“Between…”

“Two guys.”