Chapter 2 The new Alpha

Naya's POV

The place is crowded, everyone is wearing black and holding glasses of champagne in their hands. I'm wearing black jeans and a brown hoodie. I am out of place, but I stand right behind so that no one notices me. The girls from the school almost look my way, but I duck. The last thing I want is for them to cause trouble for me.

As I slowly walk through the crowd of people, I strain my neck to catch a glimpse of what's happening in the middle of the room. Everyone is so quiet, I wonder what they are all staring at. Finally, I see it– or am I supposed to say him?

I see the new Alpha, Erus Bloodton. He is standing right there in the middle with his mother, Mrs. Bloodton. My lips part as soon as I see him, it's him! It's the same rude handsome man I saw! He is easily the tallest person in the room, his mother looks so small beside him. He has a buzz cut and his eyes are a kind of piercing brown. The girls are right, he is so handsome. He is wearing a black suit, hands in pocket and shoulders stiff. He doesn't look like someone whose father just died, he has such an expressionless face.

A woman, who is recognized as a seer, is holding tied incense that is glowing as white smoke dances around– she is blessing him."May your reign be greater than your father's." She mutters. "You will lead this pack to greater heights. May the rogues be far from us.."

He looks nonchalant, slightly annoyed like he doesn't want to be there. Quite a strange boy. Something jerks me and I remember why I am here.

I quickly take out my phone to make a video of him. Sherry owes me one for this. I concentrate on making the video, making sure to zoom in on his face.

Suddenly, the seer stops halfway, closes her eyes, and inhales dramatically. "Oh, the moon goddess, she has a message for you..." she breathes out.

Alpha Erus glances at his mother, I know she is the reason why he is tolerating this. His mother bites down her lips and takes a step closer to the seer.

"What does she say, great seer?" she asks.

The seer opens her eyes so widely that I fear her eyes will fall out.

"His mate. His mate is in the room with us." The seer nods with vigor.

Everyone in the room immediately gasps. Wow, this has just gotten more interesting. I see parents snap their fingers and their daughters run toward them. They adjust their hair and dresses. The young Alpha rolls his eyes and I almost laugh. This is premium gossip, Sherry better buy me lunch after I have shown this to her.

The seer starts to walk around, her lips moving as she speaks words not understood by any of us. She is barefoot, her dress is so medieval, nothing like what any of us are wearing.

Her hand shakes as she moves around the room, she is turning around in a slow circle. I see the way the faces of the girls fall with disappointment as she passes them. Who is she going to be? If it's a girl from our school she will be so popular by tomorrow.

The seer keeps moving, and she comes closer to where I stand. I focus on the video, I want to capture the face of the girl when the seer chooses her.

"Show us, moon goddess! Show us the chosen one!" The seer shakes with spiritual craze.

Suddenly, her shaken finger stops. She doesn't move again. I hear a gasp, like someone bursting with relief. A girl has been picked. She is shaken with uncried tears and excitement, she grabs her mother's hand as her face turns red.

"Is it me?!" She asks in a shaky voice. "It's me!"

"No, child, it's not you." The seer shakes her head. "It's her."

The men standing in front of me give way immediately and boom, the spotlight falls on me. Me. Naya Woods.

I don't know what to do, so I quickly drop the phone into my pocket. I look behind me, but there is no one there. I'm the one who she is pointing at.

"Me– me?" I touch my chest.

"Yes, you, my child." She affirms. "The moon goddess has chosen her, she is the destined mate to the young Alpha!"

Loud murmurs fill. the crowd, it's probably because they don't even know who I am. I'm not an "official" member of the pack, my mother and I.

This has got to be a silly mistake, what's happening to me? I want to run out of here, but my legs won't move! I am standing there, watching everyone looking at me, Erus Bloodton is looking at me.

I see his jaw tighten and his eyes look like they are burning holes through me. He doesn't like me, I can tell immediately. This has got to be a bad dream...wake me up. My anxiety rises in my chest, I feel like I'm about to faint.

"Naya!"

Everyone turns to the door. My mother is holding our cleaning equipment, she looks bloody pissed at me. She's going to kill me.

****

My mum and I are sitting in Mrs Bloodton's office, we've been here for over an hour. My mother has been staring at the wall, she hasn't spoken to me, looked at me, or even touched the mountain of food that was brought to us.

"Mum," I touch her hand, begging her to speak to me.

She doesn't react, she is pretending like I'm not right here.

"Mum, please say something." I croak with built-up tears. "Please, anything."

"I told you to go to the car, Naya." She looks at me with pain. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"

I know she is right. If I had gone straight to the car, this would have never happened. Another girl would have probably been picked, we would have gone home and at least had some steaks for dinner with what we'd earned.

The door suddenly opens and Mrs Bloodton walks in. My mum and I immediately stand up. Mrs. Bloodton is a fucking legend around here, seeing her up close makes me shake. She is very beautiful, she is the Luna of this pack, and she also co-owns the Bloodton empire with her now late husband. She is beautiful, she smiles brightly at us and I melt.

"I'm sorry Luna, my daughter was supposed to go straight to the car, we didn't mean trouble." My mum begs.

"Oh, come on, Miss Woods, I'm sure she is just being a normal teenager." Mrs Bloodton laughs as she touches my mother's arm.

I'm stunned. I would have sworn that this woman would have never touched my mother with a ten-foot pole.

"Please, sit." She gestures to the couches. "I've kept you here too long, let's just go straight to the point."

My mother and I glance at each other as we sit gingerly. The pretty couches aren't worthy of us.

"I'm sorry about what happened, the seer is probably too old. We should appoint a new one." She chuckles and waves off. "So, I guess it's best for all of us to just get over it."

I inhale calmly.

"So, this is my offer." Mrs Bloodton adjusts on her seat. "I will make you both official members of the pack, Naya here gets a scholarship till she is done with school, and I will give you a new house and ten million dollars. All you have to do is to accept the young Alpha's rejection."

I almost smile. All of that just to accept a rejection? Count me in! I saw the way the young Alpha looked at me, he didn't like me even a bit and even though he is good-looking, I would rather eat sand than be his mate.

I'm bubbling with excitement, this is the best day of my life! Me and my mum aren't going to be poor anymore!

"Mum!" I whisper to my mum with a smile on her face, but it quickly goes away.

Why does she look so tense? Why hasn't she accepted this offer already? She sighs as she looks up at the Luna, Mrs Bloodton.

"Why does she have to accept a rejection of it was a mistake?" She asks. "If it's a mistake, that means she isn't his mate, right? Or is she really his mate?"

Mrs Bloodton laughs nervously. "Miss Woods, that's not important. This is a win-win situation. We will all be happy."

"I'm sorry, Luna, but my daughter won't be taking this deal."

"What?" Mrs Bloodton frowns.

"What?" My heart falls.

What's my mother talking about? Is she crazy? "Mum, what are you doing?" I ask her.

"Let me handle this." She tells me.

Mrs Bloodton stands up with her face screwed with anger. She is vexed that my mother is rejecting this offer. "You do realize what you are throwing away?" Mrs Bloodton scoffs.

"Yes, I do. That's why we don't take it. Thank you for everything, I will be back to complete the cleaning job tomorrow. Alone."

My mother grabs my hand roughly and hoists me to my feet. I try to protest, but my mother's stern face makes me shut up.

"We will leave now, Luna." My mother bows slightly. "May your husband rest in peace and may this Alpha's reign be prosperous."

*****

My mother has refused to say a word to me or explain why she rejected the Bloodton family's offer. She knows that we need the money, and she knows that I need the scholarship, so why did she do something as foolish as rejecting it? She has taken my phone and also refused to explain herself to me. She also made me skip school for two days and it's been absolute torture.

Finally, she has agreed for me to go back to school, but not after she has warned me not to speak to anyone about what happened at the Bloodton mansion.

She drops me off at the school and zooms off. I inhale deeply, gathering my strength as I walk into the school.

Everyone is looking at me weirdly, but I push it away. It's normal, they all hate me. I have barely gone to my locker when Sherry grabs my hand and pulls me into the bathroom.

"Ahh, what are you doing, Sherry?" I groan.

"Why haven't you replied to any of my texts or my calls?" She flicks her finger over my forehead.

"Ouch! My mum took my phone!" I hit her shoulder. "What's up with you? Why are you so weird?"

My heart drops as I see the look on Sherry's face. Something isn't right.

"I told you not to come to school in the texts I sent." She sighs. "Don't worry, I will drive you back home."

"Woah, what are you talking about?" I narrow my eyes with confusion.

She sighs as she palms her face. She can't even look at me.

"I heard what happened with Alpha Erus. Now he has placed a bounty on your head. Anyone who can get you to accept his rejection is going to be handsomely rewarded."