Chapter 10 – Jealous
It's been over a week since the night of the power outage, I haven't seen Ranger around much. He's been busy meeting with other Alpha's about the recent rogue problems. Several packs have had similar attacks and it seems as though the attacks are all related. Unfortunately, since Max is the Beta, he's been pretty busy with Ranger too, but he still finds the time to leave me food.
This morning he left me a zip lock bag against the window that had two hard boiled eggs, four slices of bacon and a banana.
"Mmmmmmm bacon, I love bacon." Lia said practically drooling.
I opened the bag and wolfed down the bacon. It was delicious. I cracked one of the hard boiled eggs, took a bite of it, and instantly felt nauseous. I spit out the egg in my mouth and couldn't even swallow it. Normally I loved eggs, but yesterday Ursa dumped some scrambled eggs and leftover French toast in my dog bowl, after I ate it, I threw up. I assumed it was probably the scrambled eggs that didn't agree with me or maybe I had eaten too fast.
Last night Max brought me fried chicken and potato wedges, I could hardly eat. I mean, who doesn't like fried chicken. Maybe I was coming down with a stomach bug? I set the eggs aside for now and hoped the bacon stayed down.
I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth again. I stared in the mirror and noticed I was healthier and curvier looking thanks to Max. I was eating so much more and had gained a few pounds.
I clipped the front of my hair out of my face but left the rest down. During the fall and winter, I usually wore my long thick hair down because it helped to keep me warm. I put on black yoga pants with a dark blue, long sleeved, shirt.
I loaded all four washing machines with laundry and went upstairs to start cleaning rooms, making beds and swapping towels. Today was Saturday, lots of pack members went to town on Saturday, which means today would be a good day to try and slip into the library on the second floor. I wanted to look for anything about wolf myths, legends or curses to explain my new fire talent.
I was done with the second floor rooms and slipped into the big library at the end of the hallway. I moved fast looking for anything that could explain my ability to control fire and my golden wolf. After a half hour, I was still empty handed and needed to get to the third floor to start on those rooms.
It was nearly noon now and I had to move the laundry from the washers to the dryers so I could start four more loads. I headed downstairs but had to walk through the living room, dining room and kitchen to get to the basement door. When I walked through the dining room, I looked up to find six men I didn't recognize seated at the dining table with Ranger and Max. They were all staring at me. There was a lot of power and testosterone radiating off these men. Alpha's and Beta's from other packs no doubt.
I froze for a moment wishing I could crawl into a hole. I nodded my head down to Ranger "Alpha," I said and turned to Max and nodded my head down again. "Beta."
"Please excuse my interruption." I moved to leave and the Alpha closest to me reached out and grabbed my arm.
"Who is this stunning little creature Alpha Ranger?" He asked. All eyes were on me and my eyes were on Ranger. I could see anger flash in his eyes.
"She is no one, Alpha Jordan. A mere servant in this house." Ranger told them and I looked down to the ground, feeling the sting in my heart and Lia's outrage at his words.
Alpha Jordan stood from his chair and lifted my chin up to look into my eyes. He was about thirty years old with light brown hair, green eyes and a beard. He wore a fitted suit without a tie and was very handsome.
"Do you mind if she joins us for lunch?" Alpha Jordan asked.
"My house manager runs a tight ship Alpha Jordan; Lucy needs to complete her work for the day."
"Surely you don't starve your servants, everyone needs to eat lunch Alpha. Indulge me, for it's not every day you meet such a beautiful she wolf." Alpha Jordan said with a grin on his face.
With irritation in his voice, Alpha Ranger caved into his guest's request. "Lucy, join us for lunch." Ranger reluctantly said.
In one swift motion, Alpha Jordan pulled me onto his lap, and I could feel Ranger's fury as he struggled to control his wolf. I looked over at Max, who seemed to be amused and grinned at me.
Alpha Jordan brought a fork to my mouth with chicken on it.
"Please Lucy, eat." He fed me from his plate of chicken fettuccine alfredo. It was delicious.
"Alpha Ranger, please continue, you were telling us about your future Luna and the upcoming mating ceremony." Alpha Jordan said. Ranger's eyes shot to me for a moment and I felt my chest tighten up as Lia let out a low howl in my head.
"Yes, the next full moon in about three weeks. You may expect an invitation." Ranger said.
Alpha Jordan continued to feed me and himself with the same fork. "Lucy, you are unmarked, have you found your mate yet?" He asked me and my heart skipped a few beats. I couldn't bring myself to look at Ranger, I could feel his anger and frustration through the mate bond.
"I turned eighteen recently." I hesitated. "I-I do not have a mate... yet." I added.
He lifted his glass of water to my lips and I took a drink. Alpha Jordan was very attentive to me, kind and respectful throughout the entire lunch. He reminded me exactly of how our mate should have treated us and my heart ached.
The other Alpha was Alpha Liam, from our neighboring pack and his Beta and Gamma. Alpha Liam spoke, "perhaps Lucy would like to visit us next door to see if her mate is at our pack?" He smiled.
"Lucy isn't going anywhere!" Ranger growled. "She's loyal and dedicated to her pack."
"My Beta, Kline, found his mate at Alpha Jordan's pack last year when we visited his territory." Alpha Liam told us.
"Stephanie was the best cook at our pack house and so good with the pups." Alpha Jordan said as he brought another forkful to my mouth. "How is she doing Beta Kline?" He asked.
"Wonderful Alpha, thank you for asking. We're expecting our first pup next month, a boy." Beta Kline said with pride.
"Congratulations!" Alpha Jordan smiled. "I know just the gift to send to Stephanie for the baby."
"She's a wonderful addition to our pack and a great Beta female." Alpha Liam said.
"A mate is a blessing from the Moon Goddess, very few who truly deserve it are blessed a second time with a second chance mate. Only a fool would reject a true mate." Max said as the others agreed.
I was stunned, a pack cook that is now a Beta female, I thought to myself. Her mate is glowing with the mention of her name. He loved her, no matter what her status was. Had accepted her and wasn't ashamed. My mate didn't want me. He wanted someone else. He used me and rejected me.
Why was I cursed by the Moon Goddess, I wondered? What exactly had I done to deserve such a miserable fate? I looked at Ranger and his eyes locked with mine. I realized he was reading my thoughts and I had forgotten to put my wall up.
When lunch was over, the Alpha's and Beta's stood up to return to their meeting. Alpha Jordan clasped my hand and kissed the top of it. "Lucy, it was an absolute pleasure, I look forward to seeing you at the mating ceremony in three weeks and dancing with you." He winked at me.
"Thank you, Alpha." I nodded and excused myself. I walked through the kitchen to the basement door and continued with the laundry. I moved the clothes into the dryer and started four more loads of towels in the wash.
I returned to the third and fourth floors to finish cleaning rooms. I was thinking about what had happened at lunch and replaying everything over and over in my head. Ranger was having his mating ceremony in three weeks; Miranda would become Luna.
"It doesn't look like Ranger will change his mind," I told Lia. "I think we need to accept the rejection and plan our escape."
"Any idea where you want to go?" Lia asked.
"Somewhere far away from Ranger and Miranda." I felt tears fill my eyes.
"I'm going to miss Max." She said.
"Me too." I told her and finished up the last room.
Ranger mind linked me, "Lucy, I want to see you in my office NOW!"
"Yes Alpha." I headed down to the first floor to his office. Before I could knock on the office door, Ranger yanked the door open and his eyes were livid. He grabbed a fist full of my hair, dragging me inside the office and locked the door.
He slammed my back to the wall and pinned me there with his hip. "HOW DARE YOU FLIRT WITH ALPHA JORDAN LIKE THAT YOU WHORE!" He slapped me so hard across the face my head whipped to the side.
"DO YOU WANT TO BE HIS WHORE LUCY? HE OFFERED TO TRADE THREE SERVANTS FOR YOU!" He roared.
"N-No." I shook my head, "p-p-please Alpha, you told m-me to stay for lunch." My face still stinging from his slap and the tears running down my face.
"YOU WILLINGLY SAT IN HIS FUCKING LAP, LUCY!" He struck my face hard again. "DID YOU ENJOY FEELING HIS DICK RUBBING AGAINST YOUR ASS!" I felt the warm blood running from my nose and my head was spinning.
"DID YOUR PUSSY GET WET FOR HIM LUCY?" He reached down and grabbed hard between my legs.
"P-please, you're hurting me." I cried.
Ranger buried his face in my neck, trying to regain control, breathing my scent deep. "FUCK! YOUR SCENT IS EVEN DIFFERENT. YOU SMELL LIKE THAT BASTARD." He growled as he flung me across the office. I lost my footing and crashed into the coffee table, headfirst. My world went dark.