Chapter 28: CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Xana couldn't sleep for the entire night. She kept tossing and tossing about in worries over what Adam had told her the evening before. As soon as it was morning, she took her bath, dressed up, and went straight to her mother's place in town. Xana had to knock on the door multiple times before her mother's reluctant voice answered that she was coming.

When her mother saw Xana and her puffy eyes, the woman knew immediately that something was going on with her daughter and she drew Xana into the room without any queries. They sat opposite each other and Xana took a long deep breath in to control her emotions. After trying on three occasions and she ended up failing, she looked at her mother.

"Mother, he said he has no desire to marry me," Xana told her mother.

Ariel was in the middle of yawning when she heard her daughter's words. She tried to stop the yawn but she had no control over it. After she was done with the yawning, she stretched herself to wake up fully. After the older woman was done doing the little exercise she thought could erase the sleep and tiredness from her, she lifted her eyes to her daughter and she let her gaze remain fixed on the young woman in front of her.

"I'm sorry, young lady but what did you say?" Ariel asked her daughter.

Xana felt like dying at the words she heard her mother speak. She had thought that the older woman heard her clearly well but apparently, she hadn't. Xana should have realized that her mother didn't hear her since the woman had not been fully awake before Xana had decided to interrupt the woman's sweet slumber. But there was nothing she could do about that since had no one else you run to except the one woman sitting in the chair in front of her.

"Mother, I said that he told me last night that he wasn't interested in seeing me or dating me or marrying me," Xana repeated the words to her mother.

While it hurt her to the very last bone in her body, Xana knew that all she could do was repeat those words to her mother if she wanted a solution to be presented by the older woman to her. She still couldn't believe in her heart one single bit that Adam had told her what he said. If anyone had asked Xana if it was possible for the relationship between her and Xana to hit the sand even before it began, she would've shook her head in denial vehemently.

"I'm sorry but who said he was not interested?" Ariel asked in a sleepy voice.

"Adam, mother," Xana said.

The drowsiness disappeared from Ariel's eyes instantly and she looked at her daughter with wild eyes as comprehension dawned in them. Adam had rejected her daughter? She thought and exclaimed all of a sudden. She took a deep breath in to control herself as she told herself that the matter in the ground could simply be a lovers' quarrel and Adam might not mean what he said. For all she knows, Xana could have been in the wrong and Adam had just said such a word to teach her lessons.

"What did you do to him?" Ariel asked.

"Nothing, mother. He rejected me because of a woman named Sarah," Xana explained, almost near to tears.

"Who is Sarah?" her mother asked.

"I heard people talk when I was visiting at the pack house that she's his mate," Xana replied to her mother. "He didn't even care about how I would feel, mother. He just said it and left."

The tears she had tried to stop from falling came, running down her face in streams of water. Ariel went to her daughter's side and began to console her. When she saw that consoling her daughter didn't work, she made a promise to her.

"I promise to do something about the matter."

"Will you, mother?" Xana asked her mother in a muffled voice.

"Yes, my daughter," Ariel assured her.

That seemed to placate Xana for the main time and she cleaned her eyes. She looked at her mother with puffy eyes and smiled, knowing that if her mother had promised to do something about the issue, then she would do it until there was a solution.

***

Alisha twisted her body to the rhythm of the music playing in the club. She felt very happy to be in the club that night and it was not because she liked clubbing but because she was finally able to be with the one person who made her feel extremely happy whenever they were together. Being at school had made her miss him so much that she couldn't wait until she saw him.

Although he had come to see her about three times during her stay, they were stolen visits and so the stays were limited. Plus, they had to be wary of the fact that some of the royal werewolves' guards her brother had set after her to protect her secretly might spot them. Alisha had always expressed her fears to her lover and she had made sure that they took extra cautious.

It wasn't that she wasn't brave or she feared easily but with the situation on the ground and the entanglement surrounding their affairs, Alisha knew that being careful and discreet was the only way they could carry on the relationship without alerting anyone that might be watching to know what they were doing.

Sam held her closer to himself and Alisha smiled at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she stood on her tiptoe to kiss him. Sam bent his head to meet her halfway and their lips connected in a passionate kiss. Alisha removed one of her arms from his neck and palmed it on her lover's chest, the pumping of his chest made her palm rise and fall with each breath he took. Sam moved his hands from her tiny waist and laid it on her ass, he grabbed them and gave them a large squeeze before he disconnected their kiss and the hold he had on her.

"I've missed you," Sam said to her in a husky breath.

"Missed you too, love," Alisha told him and kissed his jaw lightly.

"When are we going to run away as we had planned? After all, you're done with your finals now," Sam asked her.

Alisha looked at him with a sigh, thinking about why they had to have such a cruel fate. Sam was from Haiti pack while she was from Colven pack and that was where their problems had stemmed from; their roots. The two packs were sworn enemies even though Haitian were a part of the Colven pack before they had a clash and the Haiti pack had separated from the Colven pack. While Alisha cared next to nothing if the two packs ever reconcile, she knew that the fight between the two packs would never let her be with who she truly wanted to be with.

When Sam had first approached her at the university she attended where he was almost done with school then. Alisha had known instantly that he was her mate which was the same reason he had approached her also. Their love had bloomed like the flowers during the autumn season until they had both found out that they were enemies. At first, they had stayed away from each other because of their family but they had found out quickly that it was an impossible task.

After they had reconciled with each other when they couldn't hold back from themselves again, they had both agreed to keep their affairs a secret from everyone from the two packs regardless of who it was. Even though Alisha would have loved to tell her brother about her mate, she had also agreed with Sam and had kept mute.

When they had both seen that there was no way out for them and it was impossible for them to always sneak out lime they were currently doing, they had both agreed that they would run away and only return after they had a baby together. That way, neither of the two packs would try to separate them or blame them for shay had happened. But the plan would have to halt just because of the trouble at the Colven pack over who the Luna would be. Alisha didn't think she would be able to bear to leave them.

"Sam, I'm sorry but we would have to wait a little bit more," Alisha finally answered her lover.

Sam disengaged with her. When Alisha looked down, he lifted her face to his and smiled at her to show her that he understands how she felt. Even though he has suggested that they eloped, he still has a second misgiving about it also. He didn't think he could bear to stay away from his father, brothers, and the entire pack. But he really wanted to be with his mate, even if it meant staying away from the other people that mattered to him for a while.

"Since we have to wait some more time before we run away, does that mean that I have to wait some more time to have you?"

"Of course not," Alisha replied to him.

"Does that mean that I can have you to myself for the entire night?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

"Good," Sam told her and dragged her out of the club into the stillness of the night.

***

Birds chirped high above the forest. The branches of trees slapped themselves in a challenge of who would be the best at standing tall when the end wind was over playing with them. Rabbits, squirrels, and other wildlife crawled all around the forest. The howling of the air also celebrated the joyousness of the people celebrating in the surroundings. The full moon basked in all its glory, radiating light all around the people who were celebrating in the heart of the Troodos Forest.

Troodos Forest was home to the Haiti pack. Once every year, during the month of the blood moon, everyone in the pack, especially the male is expected to shift into their wolf forms and go hunting. After the hunting session was completed, the entire pack would make merry and enjoy the rest of the night off. The prey they got from their hunting were prepared and the pack would have a great feast to celebrate the blood moon ceremony.

It was a tradition the Haiti pack had inherited from their leader, the Colven pack, which they had separated from due to an unavoidable clash. Earl, the Alpha of the Haiti pack, had wanted to stop the tradition after the separation but he had soon found out how deeply engrossed the tradition had been embedded into them and how they couldn't bear to part ways from it.

Earl sat in the royal seat meant for the Alpha, his three sons sat down on either side of him as they watched the performance of the dancers who entertained them with the beautiful sway of their bodies to the melodious drum sound echoing through the forest. Earl tapped his fingers and left foot simultaneously in joy to follow the beating of the drum.

While he was exceptionally happy for the celebration the pack had going on, his mind was very troubled. He activated his wolf hearing and wolf smelling to see if he could smell or hear any strange things from the outer part of the forest. He wasn't vigilant about their environment because he thought that they might be under siege by unknown forces at any time. No, it wasn't that. The main reason he was so alert was that he expected the arrival of his last son, Sam, at any moment from then.

Even though his son had missed the hunting season, Earl was sure that the twenty-two years old man would arrive at any time for the feast of the blood moon. No matter how rebellious Sam tried to be, Earl knew that his youngest son realized the significance of the celebration and would return home at any given time. So, Earl told himself that panicking won't solve anything. All he just had to do was to await the arrival of the youngest man and he would ask him why he was late, today of all days.

Earl took his mind off the late coming of his last son and refocused on the incredible moments that the pack was having today. Men danced round and round the fire burning, some of the women from the pack were cooking at the open cooking area they had temporarily set up for the feast while the others just merely sat, jingling and gossiping over things Earl was sure revolved around their mates.

"Alpha, it is time to address your subjects," his omega told him.

Earl got up and smiled at his pack members before he addressed them. "I congratulate everyone present here because tonight's hunting and celebration was a success!"

The pack members howled and screamed. Some of them clapped their hands and the drums chatted away with the hit from the drummers. Earl waited until the noise died down before he continued his speech.

"As the alpha of the Haiti pack, I must tell you that I am proud of you all for the bravery you all showed this year again. So, let's all eat and make merry through the night."

"Father, what about Sam? You have to say something about his actions tonight or the other pack members would think that you are being biased," the second son spoke up.

"True, father. Remember how our law says that if anyone misses the ceremony, they would have to be punished," the third son reminded their father about the situation on the ground.

Earl sighed audibly. What he had been trying to avoid for his son was beginning to stare at his face in mockery. His sons were right in all the words they had stated. Earl was not one to tolerate indiscipline in a child and Sam had always been so reckless, going overboard each time. But because he was Earl's favorite, the Alpha had always overlooked most of the offense his youngest son had committed. For this one though, Earl knew that there was no way out for him.

It wasn't that he wasn't angry with Sam for disappearing without a trace at such an important time but Earl just hadn't wanted to express his displeasure in the presence of his subjects. Given how loud his older sons had laid the accusation at his feet and how eager the pack members were looking at their Alpha, he knew that Sam would have to pay for his crime publicly this time.

"Dear Haiti pack members, the son of mine called Sam had gotten a gut and had dared to miss you the most important day and ceremony of the pack. Hence, he must be punished and I assure us all that as soon as he uses back, he will be punished. But for now, let's eat and make merry." The Alpha finally said.

Everyone hailed their Alpha, then they returned to the good times they were having. And as long as the night celebration was, Sam was nowhere to be found.