LUNA ASTERBELLE’S POV
Cornered by two members of their pack, whose strength remains unidentified, I wasn’t able to resist anymore. I went back inside that luxurious territory, where Alpha Holmes was waiting for me to return.
"You should discard that stubborn attitude of yours," he scoffed, maintaining his cold tone. "Follow Butler Zen to your lighting ceremony’s venue. It’s almost time for it to commence," he added before he left.
I glanced at the butler, who shrugged his shoulders after I gave him a meaningful look.
Minutes flew by. I was surrounded by people I wasn’t familiar with. The expression in their eyes clearly states how much they couldn’t wait for me to be one with their alpha.
Even if they don’t really say it, I can tell that they only want to make use of me. Once my purpose here is done, they’ll probably throw me out of their pack as well, or worse, kill me.
"Do you know what to do?" Butler Zen genuinely asked me while he was holding a giant pile of wood.
I nodded my head, then told him how I'd already witnessed our pack having the same type of ceremony during the Asterbelles’ official welcoming of new members.
And so, time wasn’t wasted further, as Zen gave me the wood that was already lit. On the other side of the field was the location where the torch was firmly constructed. I was given a huge space where I was required to run for about three consecutive laps before I could go upstairs to light it up. It wasn’t that much of a difficult task, as I had the agility that I gained from being a half-blooded vampire.
Everyone gave me a round of applause as soon as the torch was ignited by the source of fire that I had.
"All hail Miss Asterbelle for her arrival at the Crimson Moon Pack and for her splendid talent," Beta Holmes announced, which made the crowd cheer my name.
He also explained how the torch was their territories’ sole defense against the virus spreading inside, as it contained chemicals that destroyed half the components of the disease. It was still unclear what the virus could actually do and where it originated.
I refuse to believe that it was one of the reasons why their Alpha chose me to be his Luna. I have the right to reject him as his chosen mate, but the words can’t seem to get out of my mouth.
"Is that all that I need to do here? Can I go now?" I asked the two.
Butler Zen crossed his arms while he glanced at the Beta, as if they were talking through the use of their brains.
"For now, yes. But you should stay the whole night in preparation for tomorrow's event," Beta Holmes replied with a slight change in his facial expression, from a delightful one to someone similar to a person who has an ulterior motive.
Zen nodded his head in agreement. "It would be a total waste of time for you to return to where you belong. It’s not even like you still have a home. Well, you’ll find one tomorrow," he said with a playful smirk.
I didn’t want to stay in this pack for even an hour longer, so I tried my best to decline their offer. However, they didn’t allow me to step out any further after we returned to the main lobby of their house.
"My friends would worry about my sudden disappearance. Can’t I go back for a short while?"
Zen shook his head at the same time he rolled his eyes at me. "There’s no guarantee that you’d go back here. Stop complaining and just have a good night’s rest already," he said.
***
The next morning that I woke up, I was immediately brought to the same dressing room where Beta Holmes was waiting.
While he was still busy looking elsewhere, I couldn’t prevent myself from observing how magnificent he was. The Alpha was indeed more appealing than him, but Beta Holmes was also worthy of being praised for just his appearance.
"What am I supposed to do here again?" I began to question him as soon as the maid that he was talking to moved out of the room.
Beta Holmes turned around to give me a blue silk dress that suited my fashion sense. "Wear this. Tell me right away if there’s something wrong with the measurements."
That was the only order I received from him before he left me all by myself.
Minutes passed by, and I still haven’t seen the beta anywhere. I was already wearing the dress he gave me, which was why I was feeling kind of uncomfortable while I walked through the center aisle of the lobby.
"What… Miss Asterbelle?" A familiar voice stole my attention. "Miss Asterbelle, what are you doing with someone else’s dress?" he asked.
It was Zen, the butler. He wore the same attire as yesterday, just a black shirt paired with his white vest and a necktie.
I tilted my head sideways. "What do you mean? The Beta himself told me to use this today. And speaking of which, have you seen Beta Holmes anywhere?" I responded with a slight confusion in the tone of my voice. Sweat dropped from the corner of my temple, which I instantly removed.
"That dress shouldn’t be touched by anyone other than the owner, Miss Asterbelle," Zen firmly informed me as he slowly approached me with a frown. "You should hurry back to the dressing room and get changed before anything else occurs."
The butler seemed sincerely worried about what might happen if I didn’t do as he said. And just as I was about to head upstairs, someone suddenly aggressively held me by the wrist, then forced me to turn the other way.
"Strip off, b*tch," a woman said with such an authoritative voice. "If you don’t, I’ll be the one to pull that dress away from your filthy body and tear it apart in front of your sluggish face," she added.
The only thing that I could do at that moment was stare at her ferocious eyes. There was something about her aura that told me that she’s no ordinary girl and that she shouldn’t be mistreated or taken lightly.