The New Alpha Stole My Heart

Maggie was still catching up with some friends while Uncle Stan was talking to some elders in our old pack. They seemed to have a great time reconnecting with everybody. While me? I still couldn’t get over what had happened on the dance floor.

Alpha Hunter intentionally shamed me. He intentionally embarrassed me and that was a fact!

“Aria, calm down. Calm down, okay? It’s just a dance. I am sure that not everyone noticed that supposed ki—whatever you want to call that. Just move on, okay?” It was my wolf Bella, trying to console me on the biggest humiliation of my life.

“But hey! You really look stunning tonight. No wonder why Alpha Hunter had started to take an interest in you, kitten,” she continued to explain and joke. She even imitated how Hunter referred to me as a kitten, which really lightened the atmosphere when I muffled a chuckle.

I pouted when Bella kept teasing me through the mention of Hunter's annoying endearment, kitten. Every time I tried to defend myself by explaining my side, Bella would only heartily snicker. Nonetheless, she still made me smile, albeit I was abashed, worried, and annoyed at the same time. With Bella around, I could be the same girl I used to be.

So, as a result, my worries slowly dissipated and focused on arguing with her. But when I caught a glimpse of that arrogant alpha, my blood boiled once again.

For all they knew, their new alpha had a foul character. They thought he wasn’t the usually overbearing type of alpha, but he was the worst. He was even lustful. I felt his wanton need when we bickered and danced, considering we just met today, and he successfully masked the scent of it to not disturb others. Usually, powerful creatures like him could do it. But still, he acted as if I extremely wronged him.

Now, he even put me in a tight spot. I just went back to the pack. Some might welcome me or ignore my presence, but I was sure I would be the main course for the gossip circulating in the pack because he chose me to be his partner for the pack ritual. There were lots of she-wolves to choose from. Why did it have to be me?

“So, who do we have here? Ah! It’s the woman who caught Alpha Hunter’s eyes!”

Just as I was thinking the same thing, a scandalous voice exactly expressed what was on my mind. And yet, the woman who uttered it was not from our previous pack. I am sure she was with the arrogant Alpha Hunter previously.

My eyes glazed over her. The woman was undeniably beautiful, with blonde hair, expressive eyes, and a to-die-for body. I never knew the girl, as this was the first time I went out to socialize with the rest of our pack after coming back here a few days ago.

“Hmmm…Hi…” I uttered. I tried posing a faint but sincere smile while offering my hand for a handshake. “My name is Aria Hemmingwood.”

But instead of taking my hand, her face frowned. She scanned me from head to toe before throwing me a disgusted look. “How dare you offer your dirty hand to me. Don’t you know me? I am Chloe Witchwork, the future Luna of this pack. If I were you, I will stop seducing Hunter. The nerve of you to do that! You are nothing but a lowly, slutty, good-for-nothing she-wolf!

I took back my hands, extremely surprised by the way she acted. I thought she approached me to possibly make friends but I was wrong. How stupid of me to think about that!

I clenched my fists, wanting to clear my side. While it looks like I played with Hunter earlier, it doesn’t mean I was interested in him. Furthermore, I didn’t tell him to pick me to be his partner. And if I was to turn back time, I would rather not choose to be picked by him. And this was exactly the reason why. “Miss Witchwork, let me make things clear. I am not interested in Alpha Hunter and most of all, this pack’s new Luna. You are barking at the wrong tree here.”

Chloe gasped and rolled her eyes. She glared at me while she was rendered speechless.

“Pretending to be the victim, eh? Are you trying to make a fool out of me? Well, let me tell you this, omega. Don’t mess with me if you know what is good for you. SO BACK OFF!”

I sighed. A part of me wanted to equally challenge her to defend myself but I chose not to. I didn’t want to mess with her pack more. I was merely wasting my time if I did.

So instead, I turned my back and intended to leave the gathering this early. Besides, the ritual was done. I didn’t have anything to do here. I better rest and prepare myself to accept the pack duty, and the next time I ran to Hunter in the upcoming days. He would surely call us at his office for dissemination of duties. It was one of my piles of dilemmas, to be honest.

Unfortunately, Chloe’s friends moved towards my front and blocked my path.

I rolled my eyes and bit my lip.

Chloe grabbed my arm from behind, giving me a deathly glare. “No one turned their back on me!”

I sighed before taking back my arm. This girl was really testing my patience. “Please, I don’t want any trouble. If my presence really bothers you, then I would gladly go home.”

I waited for them to get the signal that I was not in the mood for this petty fight. I wanted to go home and rest, but they were making it hard for me to get that simple wish. I kept waiting for them to clear the way, but they still didn’t move. We were starting to gather some attention. I didn’t like it. My blood was starting to boil with irritation.

“You don’t want any trouble? Dear, you were already in trouble when you tried messing with my property. Is this the way your guardians raised you? Ah! Maybe, it’s their idea for you to use your body to climb your status. Did your father teach you how to spread your legs to the alpha to get what they want?”

Chloe’s remark was below the belt. Since I was taken by Uncle Stan from his abusive brother, he became the father that more than I could ask for. I wouldn’t let anyone malign or taint his name. Not now, not ever.

The thin string of patience I had was starting to get thinner. One wrong move, hell would break loose in this pack. I couldn’t care about my image or anything else.

“What did you say, Chloe?” I asked. My voice was laced with killing intent as I took some steps toward her. I felt my eyes blazing, like the color of the gown I was wearing.

But instead of stepping back, Chloe repeated what she said. “I said, your father is a pimp and you’re his prostitute.”

With a fierce dash, I aimed to break her neck. But the bitch dodged my attack and grabbed a handful of my hair. I did the same. I didn’t remember what had happened next. All I knew was that we were now doing a catfight in the middle of this celebration.

The warriors started to appear and stopped us. I also saw Maggie and Uncle Stan. Chloe looked hurt with an obvious scowl on her face while the other she-wolves' who ridiculed me were mortified. They immediately dispersed and left Chloe behind.

Maggie gave me a mind link, asking what had happened but I chose to ignore her. Meanwhile, Uncle Stan looked disappointed and shook his head. With that look, I already knew what he meant.

Today was the pack’s gathering and an important day for all of us. This was for the unity, peace, and strong bond of the entire pack under Alpha Hunter's leadership. I might be punished severely or not for doing this.

I needed to calm myself. I closed my eyes and inhaled a lot of air before I exhaled and opened them again.

The moment my eyes saw the surroundings again, I saw Hunter looking at me from his previous spot with the high-ranking official of the newly merged pack. He drank a glass of wine, calmly put the glass on the table, and stood up as if he planned to approach me. His movements were all in slow-motion in my view as I heard my heart beat with anxiety and excitement for him.

Silence suddenly overtook the gathering as I watched every bit of his movement.

I couldn’t see everyone else and could only hear our breathing and heartbeats like we were one.

This was going to be a mess.

What was Alpha Hunter up to?

Why was he moving towards us?

Our attention abruptly went to Chloe when she wailed, and her crocodile tears flowed. “A-Alpha… Alpha Hunter, that bitch did this to me! I was only talking to her, but she suddenly goes berserk and wanted to kill me. I didn’t do anything wrong. This is all her fault!”

The side of his lips curved up when he glanced at me before he helped Chloe stand up and check her wounds.

Go to the pack clinic to check if you fractured some bones. I’ll deal with this accordingly,” Hunter powerfully said. He eyed a particular pack warrior and ordered him to accompany Chloe, who hurriedly adhered to Hunter's command.

“Continue the celebration!” Hunter yelled, which brought my mind back to my graving situation. Everyone who witnessed the scene dispersed and acted as if nothing had happened. And then, he turned his gaze to me.

“Go straight to my office tomorrow,” Hunter muttered before he vanished at my confused sight.