Chapter 83: Exposed.

Bella’s POV.

Elder Elian walked towards me first, pulling my hand out towards him before dragging the small, silver blade across my palm.

I wanted to wince but kept it held back.

My jaw was tight while my teeth grinded against each other.

I felt John touch the small of my back and instantly relief flooded my body.

With him beside me, I could do anything…

Elder Elian stepped away from me after gathering a small glass of my blood, pulling John's hand toward him to do the same.

John's blood pooled into a separate glass, the exact same amount.

Elder Elian cleared his throat before he slowly poured both of our blood into the chalice at the same time.

I watched it mix together, the dark red liquid making me unable to look away.

“Now, we pour the blood over your wounded hands,” elder Elian said loudly, snapping me out of the haze I was falling into.

My head looked towards John, noticing he had put his hand out towards Elian already.

Swallowing the lump in my throat I put my hand out too, watching as he poured our blood onto our hands.

The small cuts that were once there vanished instantly, our hands glowing brightly…

I gasped as John pulled me into him, his eyes wild with fear.

My head turned around, looking at all of the frantic faces, their eyes wide and mouths opened in shock.

“John! What’s happening? What’s wrong?” I fired out at him, my own face turning into fear and confusion.

What the hell is happening right now?!

Before John could even answer me, Tundra spoke.

‘They know. They know we are chosen, that we are the white wolf.’

My hands flew to my mouth. My eyes darted towards Johns.

He looked down at me. A sad smile on his face.

“I should’ve known this was going to happen. I’m sorry, Bella. They know now, you’ve found your true mate… your powers have changed. You’ll be more powerful than ever…” he whispered, brushing my hair behind my ears before he picked me up into his arms, rushing off of the stage.

“Where do you think you are going!!?” Elder Mildred shrieked, jumping out in front of us from out of nowhere.

“Get out of my way, now,” John said through clenched teeth, his heartbeat picking up with his anger.

I clutched onto his shirt, not sure what I should do right now…

“No! I won’t get out of the way! She’s a white wolf! She must be contained!” Elder Mildred shouted angrily, the higher elders' faces turning questionably, making my chest tighten with unease.

What will they do… what will they decide my fate is…

“Stop!” Elder Elian shouted so loudly my ears started ringing, I’ve never heard him so angry, so assertive… “nothing will be happening, no one will be contained! She’s our alpha! So what if she’s the chosen wolf? Doesn’t that make her even more important to us? Shouldn’t we protect her with our lives to ensure the wolf chosen by the goddess herself is protected? Do you know what kind of creatures are out there that would take one look at Bella and do unimaginable things to her? Do you realize she’s a mother? A daughter? A mate? Who are you to decide she gets to be ‘locked’ up? I can’t believe this behaviour. You are better than this! We love our alpha. Bella has been better to you all than any other alpha has ever been… this is her mating ceremony for goddess sake! The goddess had even been here with us, witnessing, blessing them with love and hope…”

He paused, looking over towards me, walking over slowly.

He took my hand in his, searching my scared face.

“Our alpha, the one woman who took it upon herself to do the unimaginable, something no other woman had the guts to do. This is her mating ceremony, with a man who truly deserved to have her, and you all are ruining it with your hushed voices and fearful faces. Just calm down, look at her, she’s scared. She’s scared of what you are going to do to her. She’s a person, with a soul. Think about how she feels right now,” he said calmly, squeezing my hand before giving me a small hug while I was still wrapped in John's arms.

“I’m just like any of you…” I started to say, my voice sounding smaller than I had hoped it would… I cleared my throat, patting John to place me back on my feet, “I have emotions, thoughts that run wild through my head. I know you may be wondering why… why I kept it to myself. And the answer is harder than you’d think. One, maybe because I was scared how everyone would react around me. My mother was a white wolf. Hunted to the day she died… I was scared that I would die the day someone found out who I was. It’s hard to trust anyone with a secret so big, so important. I am a white wolf, yes… and she has a voice, her own emotions. I love her with my whole heart, and I’ll do anything to protect her. I’m sorry I let it to myself, I truly am. But you have to understand I was only protecting my wolf's life. I’d be nothing without her.”

John placed his hand on my shoulder, being my invisible shield, my anchor.

More whispers rang through the crowd, my heartbeat raging inside my chest as I looked around at all of the pack members' faces, praying to the goddess they didn’t freak out or agree with Mildred…

“Don’t listen to her! We can’t trust her! She kept it a secret all of this time, even from her own mate, Garrett. He didn’t even know she had a wolf let alone a white wolf. Why should we listen to her, why should we believe anything she say-," elder Mildred went to ramble on but the sounds of explosions all around the pack cut her off, making silence fill the field before all that could be heard was screams.