CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Hailey, who had been frozen in place, resumed her mopping, her ears perking up to catch the impending conversation. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement, knowing that Diana had been less than kind to her in the past.

Alpha Darren, however, responded with a rude bluntness that took everyone by surprise. He scoffed, a taunting expression crossing his face, and turned to face Diana. "Diana, let's not kid ourselves here," he retorted, his tone dripping with condescension. "You and me? That's never gonna happen."

Diana's hopeful expression quickly crumbled into shock and embarrassment. She turned to look at Hailey, her face flushed with humiliation, only to find Hailey suppressing a chuckle.

Darren continued, his words harsh and dismissive. ".We can remain friends if you can handle that, but don't go around thinking you're anything more than that."

Hailey couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. The sheer audacity of the Alpha's rejection, considering Diana's previous mistreatment of Hailey, was too much to bear. Her chuckles echoed through the room, drawing the attention of both Diana and the Alpha, who turned to look at her.

Diana's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she quickly excused herself, retreating from the throne room in haste. Alpha Darren, still wearing a smug expression, turned his attention back to his duties, apparently undisturbed by the awkwardness of the situation.

Hailey, now wiping away tears of laughter, couldn't help but delight in the poetic justice of it all. The room, once charged with tension, slowly returned to its usual routine, though with an added layer of humor at the expense of the Alpha's brash rejection.

"serves her right" Hailey muttered to herself while she continued with her work.

After Diana's humiliating rejection by Alpha Darren, she stormed away from the throne room, her face flushed with a potent mix of anger and embarrassment. She couldn't believe how the Alpha had responded to her confession, and the memory of Hailey's laughter only fueled her fury.

Inside her room, Diana paced back and forth, her thoughts a turbulent storm in her mind. "How dare he!" she seethed, her voice filled with resentment. "I offer him my heart, and he treats me like trash? No one rejects me like that!"

She continued to mutter to herself, her rage intensifying with each passing moment. "I deserve better. I deserve someone who appreciates me, and who sees my worth. Not that arrogant Alpha!"

Diana's anger turned inward as she began to question her actions. "Why did I even bother? I should have known he'd never feel the same way. I let my emotions get the best of me."

As she walked aimlessly around her room, her frustration found its target once again. "And that Hailey! Laughing at me like it's some kind of joke. She's always been a thorn in my side, and I won't forget this."

Diana's anger burned hot, but beneath it all, there was a sense of wounded pride and vulnerability. She had taken a risk, and it had blown up in her face. Hailey's laughter had pierced her ego, and the Alpha's rejection had left her feeling exposed and rejected.

"I need to confront Hailey, I can't stay here and let her think she can mock me and get away with it". Diana said to herself before storming out to go look for Hailey.

While on her way out, she saw a maid walking towards her direction, "do you know where Hailey is?" she inquired. Startled from the look of anger on Diana's face, the maid responded with a shaky voice "I saw her going towards the maids quarters" Diana immediately started walking to the maid's quarters with her heels echoing through the corridor.

Diana cornered Hailey in a dimly lit corridor, her eyes blazing with fury. "You!" she spat out, her voice sharp as a blade. "What did you mean by that laugh when Alpha Logan rejected me?"

Hailey, her back against the wall, tried to maintain her composure, but her voice trembled slightly. "I...I didn't mean anything by it," she stammered, her eyes darting nervously.

Diana's patience was wearing thin, and she took a threatening step closer. "Don't lie to me," she hissed. "You found it amusing, didn't you? Laughing at my pain."

Hailey, defensive and struggling to explain herself, responded with hesitation. "I...I just thought it was...unexpected. That's all."

Diana's anger flared, and she clenched her fists. "Unexpected?" she repeated incredulously. "You're lying!"

Hailey's voice grew more defiant as she realized she had little to lose. "I've had enough of your mistreatment," she retorted. "You can't blame me for finding it ironic that someone like you, who's treated others poorly, would get rejected by the Alpha."

Diana's fury reached its peak, and she lashed out, striking Hailey across the face. The force of the blow sent Hailey stumbling back, her cheek reddened and stinging from the impact.

Hailey, tears welling up in her eyes, tried to maintain her composure despite the pain. "You can't just hit me," she said, her voice shaking. "That won't change anything."

Diana, her anger unabated, leaned in closer, her eyes filled with rage. "You'll learn not to laugh at me, Hailey," she warned, her voice low and menacing. She walked out leaving Hailey still holding her cheek.

A few days later, the sun began to rise over the Red Moon pack's territory, casting a warm glow upon the surroundings. Hailey was in the midst of her morning chores, her slender frame moving with quiet determination as she gathered herbs and tended to the pack's garden.

As she knelt by a fragrant patch of wildflowers, her keen eyes spotted a piece of paper half-buried in the earth. Curiosity piqued, she reached for it, her fingers brushing against the worn edges. She pulled it free and saw that it was a letter, old and crumpled.

Unfolding the letter, her heart quickened as she recognized her mother's name, penned in elegant, familiar handwriting. The contents of the letter tugged at her emotions, and she couldn't help but read it aloud to herself as if her mother were speaking to her.

"Hailey, my dearest," she read, her voice trembling with a mixture of hope and longing, "meet me in the deepest part of the woods. There are answers waiting for you, my love."

Hailey's breath caught in her throat. She had never known her mother, abandoned as a pup and raised by her father like a maid. The possibility of finally meeting the woman who had left her behind filled her with an overwhelming sense of curiosity and desire.