Chapter 20: Part 20

My mouth set in a thin line at the person in front of me, the hair on the back of my neck immediately standing up. What was he doing here? From the corner of my eyes, I saw my friend Avon tense, probably wondering about the same thing.

Leon shifted his eyes between us, clicking his tongue while the beta next to him let out a sigh. It must be exhausting for her to have a mate like that.

“Why the gloomy faces? Are you not excited to see me, guys?”

Avon’s nose flared, jaw tightening as if he was holding back all the curses. “Leon…What are you doing here?”

“Last time I checked, my family still owns a part of this university. Of course, I would be here.”

The two men behind him snickered as if it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. My mouth parted at that, disbelief settling in the pit of my stomach. Leon’s family owned a college? How rich were they?

“I meant here.” Avon motioned to the football ground, his stance still rigid. He did not care that Leon's family owned the place, huh. Not that it should matter anyway.

“Oh, I just wanted to check on my favourite pack member.” The Alpha curved his lips in a smirk, his hand coming to rest on Avon's shoulder.

I winced as Avon balled his fingers into fists by his side, face set to blank. As Leon set his eyes on me, I could feel my knees go weak. He smelled rancid, like an old breath blowing onto my face. “And, of course, check on your girl! I am sure you must be excited to bring her for the pack gathering tomorrow evening.”

My body froze as those words washed over me, eyes turning to Avon, who remained quiet. A pack gathering? I know what it entailed having attended multiple of those, but we were not mates. Moons! This lie has gone way too far.

“Leon….” I opened my mouth, confident to tell him the truth and ask for his forgiveness, when Avon gripped my hand. He motioned with his eyes, shaking his head.

“Of course! I was just about to ask Emma about it.” Avon pressed me closer to his side, my breath hitching in my throat.

Leon tsked. “Sorry for failing your grand plan, bro.”

He did not look apologetic at all, instead of flashing me a cunning smile. The beta next to him twisted her lips while tugging on his hand.

“Babe, we should go find our seats. The match is about to start.”

The Alpha made a sound in the back of his throat before turning to me. I gulped at the intensity of his stare, trying to hold onto my ground, biting the insides of my cheek.

“See you tomorrow then, Emma.”

***

As soon as he was gone, I turned to Avon, breathing ragged and eyes narrowed into slits. “What did you do that for? I could have told him the truth!”

“And risk getting expelled?!” He hissed at me, trying to lower his voice as soon as he found several eyes on us.

My cheeks turned red, the flush spreading to my neck as I met his eyes. “I-I don’t think he would go to that extreme.”

“You don’t know Leon as I do. We upped him that day, and he won’t rest until he gets back to us. I know it’s difficult but play along for a while.”

The honesty in his eyes almost took me back, my arms falling by my side. I let out a sigh, lips twisting as I thought about it. Maybe a dinner with his pack won’t be that bad. It’s only a matter of a few hours.

“Fine! But no more pretending after this. I don’t want to lie anymore.”

Avon exhaled. “Okay. I’ll think of something.”

Silence lingered for a few seconds before the Alpha cleared his throat, “So…I will pick you up tomorrow around six. Is that okay?”

“My shift ends at six!”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll talk to my cousin. He will be locking up the cafe soon anyway.”

“Alright.”

***

The next day I found himself jumping and tumbling over large, broken trees and protruding roots. Small, spiky burs were sticking to my pants and shoes. After deciding on an outfit for almost an hour, Allie finally helped me choose one--a lavender low cut blouse and blue jeans with my hair curled down the edges.

Allie wouldn’t stop teasing me about it being a meeting with parents' date. As if! Avon was just a friend.

"Why must there be so many of you?" I murmured to myself as I bent down, picking off a tiny bur from my pant leg.

My balance was certainly off as I stumbled from the lack of fatigue—and because of the constant poking of the small burs against my ankles. When Avon said we had to walk through the narrow road, I had no complaints. But we have been in the woods for almost an hour now. My heightened senses made me more aware and energised, quickly eating at my high energy level to tire me.

The Alpha did not bring his car today because it’s in the garage. Talk about having an unfortunate day. Avon walked beside me, a blank look on his face. Why was he so quiet? Did he not like his pack?

“How much longer?” I grumbled, wrapping a hand around my upper body. Why did I not bring a jacket along?

“We are almost there.”

***

We arrived at the Palace building, situated at the city's edge and flanked on either side with the greenery. The property was separated from the road by a tall, sprawling fence. In front of which, I could see more guards on watch. It's not as noisy here as it was in the city; the bombardment of smells both pleasant and not, which had rapidly been giving me a headache, have dissipated in favour of the clean and sweet smells of the fruits, flowers, and vegetation.

It helped to settle my nerves a little—it's a familiar smell, and it reminded me of home.

As we approached the gates, I tried to take in its appearance, but it was difficult because it's easily the most significant building I had ever seen. The exterior of the building was made of white stone, tall pillars on either side, a large water fountain in front and its walls were decorated in gold linings and intricate designs.

For the first time since we stepped inside the property, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. This was not some packhouse but an entire-fledged luxurious building.

“Welcome to Moonshine Pack.” A guard smiled at us, his eyes brightening upon seeing Avon.

“Hey!” The Alpha next to me gave him a side hug.

“Avon? Didn’t think you would come home tonight.”

Avon tensed next to me but shrugged just as quick, putting on a smile. “Leon insisted.”

“Ah.” The guard hummed, his eyes shifted towards me. “Girlfriend?”

“Mhm.”

“Wow! How am I finding of this now?”

“Richard, I’ll catch up with you later.” Avon cut him off, his grip on my hand tightening. He twisted his head in my direction, signalling me to follow him.

“Sure! Bye!”

The guard waved behind us as he dragged me inside, our hands still clasped together. The large, open window in the living hall allowed a breeze to drift through and run along with my hair. My face was hot, and the cold draft felt nice.

“Uhh…this is it!” He cleared his throat, using his other hand to move around the room. “Our packhouse. Come on. I’ll take you to the Pack Alpha.”

“O-Okay.” I dumbly nodded and let myself be dragged towards another room.

My breath caught up in my throat as I realised we were walking to the study room. The man on the chair, in his late fifties, looked up at us, eyes widening at our joined hands.

“Avon!”

“Pack Alpha.” He bowed down, and I followed his lead.

“This is my…Emma. We are in the same class.”

“Hello, I'm Pack Alpha Thomas of Moonshine Pack.” The older man beamed at me, “Welcome to our pack.”

It took me a moment to realise I should reply, too busy caught up in staring at his appearance, and managed to stammer out a response, “Umm, hello. Thank you for letting me come.”

He waved his hand. “Avon’s friends are welcome here anytime.”

“Thank you, Alpha.” Avon smiled, a real one, crinkles forming by his side.

“Wait for Abel! He will be back, and all of you can set up the tables together.”

I froze at the name. Before I could open my mouth, a familiar smell hit me like a wall; my knees felt weak. I gripped at the sides of my pants, dreading to turn around. The footsteps echoed louder, my eyes zoning into his figure as he made his way towards the sitting man.

“Emma met my elder son, Abel.”

***