It's been a whole year since the attack. Since I rejected Him...
After his departure, things didn't run as smoothly as I had anticipated. My father was critically injured. The doctors tried their best to get him out of the coma, but they hardly believed he would ever walk again once he regained his consciousness.
The pack was in total chaos. Without the presence of their leader, a pack soon comes on the brink of destruction. My brother took his name out from the alpha contender after he was healed. Still, he blamed himself that he couldn't save our pack. He beat himself till now for it. So, to reestablish the proper conduct, I had to stand as the new alpha.
I had not told a single soul about what kind of deal I had sealed with the devil. My mother tried so many times to ask me about that day, leaving me to drop the conversation immediately. She knew I had not recovered myself from that.
Being the very first female alpha was not an easy task. So many people revolted, some tried to take over us, but strangely it didn't last long, and after some time, things started to get normal.
Our pack was no longer the most feared. Many wolves migrated, some turned rogue, many families were destroyed, and only one person to blame—my mate.
I sighed deeply when I looked at the clock. It was half-past ten. I stood from my chair and stretched my neck. I was working on my pack duty for a straight five hours. After that day, I have turned myself to work; it was only these alpha duties that had kept me sane. I worked days and nights to gain the trust of my own people. I put the last file on the shelf and stood near the window.
It was raining. Yet somehow, the moon was peeking right through the clouds.
"It's been months, and I think of him every day. Sometimes I am enraged at him for what he did, and sometimes I am thankful that at least he came into my life. At least, I knew I had a mate." I looked out the window and stared at the rain that fell in sync with my tears.
A knock on my door brought me back to reality. I quickly wiped off the tears, straightened myself, and allowed the person in that I could sense across a hundred doors.
"Dear, it's too late. You shouldn't be working that much," my mother said, putting a fresh pot of coffee on the desk.
"I was just done, Mom."
Her eyes lingered more than normal on my face, and after some awkward eye contact, she nodded and left me with my coffee and thoughts.
My mother had been my biggest strength since our pack's fall. I secretly admired her power and courage. She had also lost her mate, just like me. But still, she was courageous enough to stand like a wall. And I believed, somehow, I owed her for her sacrifices. And from then, I always tried to do everything in my willpower to make worth her sacrifices.
Tomorrow would be a big day for my pack and me. After a year of me as the alpha, the werewolf council finally invited me to join the alpha summit. They finally saw the worth of me and my pack.
After my father stepped down from the alpha position, the werewolf council started to show its true colors; not only did it abandoned us, but it completely blacklisted our pack. But I was determined to show them who I was. I was in no mood to step down from my title without a fight.
After I brought back my pack from the literal brink of destruction to now my old prosperous pack, they had the audacity to invite me. I was in no mood to tolerate their irrational minds if it was not for my mother, who forced me to comply with them.
My father and their ancestors had been active participants of the werewolf council for ages. I had to see what they had on the plate for us. And if it were not for the Dumeny, I would never have accepted their invitation in the first place. He was hellbent on me attending the meeting.
I looked back at the moon and drank my coffee in silence.
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"Thank you, Ms. Rockwood, for coming at this very short notice. Your room is right on the top floor. Room No. 201. You can leave your bags here," the woman at the reception said professionally. The badge on her chest said Mia. From just looking, she would be in her early thirties.
"Where can I find Mr. Dumeny?"
"I am sorry, ma'am, but it seems that Mr. Dumeny has not checked in yet," Mia said, still typing on the screen.
I nodded and started walking to my room. The invitation said that the meeting would be at 4 o’clock. Still, I had two hours to freshen up.
This was the first meeting I was attending, and it would be an understatement that I was nervous. And at the top of that, I had come alone. All the alphas would either come along with their mates or their betas. But in my condition, I lack both.
This was the first time in the last twelve months that I had left my pack's boundary. The meeting was going to be held in 'no man's land.' I had put my brother in charge; he was the only person who I could trust blindly.
After freshening up, I dressed in a black pencil skirt. With a final look at myself in the mirror, I walked in the direction where the meeting was going to be held.