Born An Alpha

Chapter 13

*CELESTE’s P.O.V*

The day of the debutante ball has arrived. Yet things at home haven’t been so great. Breakfast this morning was even more intense than yesterday. My dad wasn’t speaking to me, and my mom barely said two words to me. The only ones that sided with me were my sister Andrea, my brother Max and his mate Sophia.

“What time does the ball start?” Sophia says trying to lighten the mood.

“Around 6pm” I tell her. I glance over at my dad, who was just casually eating. He didn’t bother to look up from his plate.

“From what mom’s told me, the dress is very beautiful” Andrea adds.

I nod as I think about the dress my mother and I picked out. The beautiful lilac dress that my mother used her savings on. It was now in pieces and ruined. No one but Carla knew what happened yet. Unfortunately for me, tonight they’ll see me in a different dress. A one of a kind Carla-made dress. It was truly a wonderful gown from her, which she tailored to fit me perfectly.

“We should finish up here and get you ready” Sophia gleefully tells me.

“Mom, will you help us get Celeste ready?” Andrea asks Mom who’s avoiding all of us. Like dad, she’s choosing to focus on her breakfast.

“Yeah, I think Celeste could really use your help” Sophia adds. She smiles broadly and nudges Max to talk.

“I’ll clean the living room, so we can take pictures” Max says trying to get her to talk. She, however, continues eating while not saying anything. I look at all three of them while they in return give me sympathetic smiles.

Not only was I tired of this but I was done with this too! Her silence was the response I needed. Feeling the lump in my throat, I quickly rise from the table. No one says anything as I stand, so I put my dishes in the sink. Once upstairs, I lock my bedroom door and put a chair up against the door. Quickly dialing the only person I can think of, I start to pack a bag. I take the garment bag with the dress inside and the duffel bag of clothes. I know I was being irrational but I couldn’t stand being in this house. This hostile environment was slowly draining me. Opening my bedroom window, I throw my stuff outside and start to climb down. I hear my cellphone ringing in my pocket once I start walking away from my house.

“I’m by the car!”

“Coming now!”

I run into the woods as I’m careful to not step on the alarms. After ten minutes of walking I see him standing by the car. He waves at me and I feel my stomach do a flip. Running to him, he instantly wraps his arms around me. After my talk with Carla, I’ve realized that he is what truly matters. My mind relaxes as I feel the warmth that’s surrounding me. After everything that’s happened, I needed him. Being with him was the only thing I needed right now.

“Noah, thank you” I whisper as I rest my head on his chest.

“I’ll always be here” He says back. I feel him giving me a small kiss on my head as my body relaxes.

“Come on lovebirds” Carla interrupts us from inside the car. I let go of Noah as she starts to hysterically laugh.

“Really Carla?” Noah says annoyed, “You couldn’t give us a moment?”

“Sorry but the point of running away” She says with a chuckle, “Is to actually leave”.

He groans and opens the passenger door for me. I hand him my stuff and get inside the car.

“Cel, I can’t believe how rebellious you are” Carla says with a smile.

“I’m not” I tell her, “I just needed a break”.

Noah gets into the driver seat and looks over at me, “At least we’re together now”.

I smile at him and he starts to lean in, when I hear a fake cough from the backseat.

“The car is neutral grounds” Carla says laughing, “Wait till we get to where we’re going”.

“Carla” Noah says annoyed.

He drives off and I look out the window. Slowly closing my eyes, I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. Andrea. Letting it vibrate, I can feel Noah looking at me. I can’t imagine what he’s thinking of me. The phone stops and starts again. Andrea, again. I guess they know I left. Thankfully, my room was clean and no traces of what Cynthia did was left.

“We should be arriving in ten minutes” Carla says trying to cheer me up.

“Where are we going, by the way?” I ask slightly worried as my phone continues to vibrate.

“A condo in the city” Carla tells me, “It’s Katia’s new place”.

“I thought she would move back-“

“She found her mate” Noah interrupts me.

I gasp and stare at him with wide eyes, “Really?!”.

“Yeah, it was during her last visit” Noah says, “She went shopping with Mom in the city-“

“He’s the Alpha of the Eastern City Wolves” Carla says interrupting him, “He’s almost thirty”.

“That’s great” I say gleefully, “Katia is truly amazing!”.

“Yeah, she’s over the moon” Carla continues, “She just needs to finish whatever she’s doing in England before she moves back”.

“How do city wolves roam around?” I ask curiously, “It’s not like they can roam while in the city?”.

“They have an alliance with Alpha Damon-“

“More like extortion” Noah snorts.

“Anyways” Carla continues, “They use the lands surrounding the city which technically belong to Alpha Damon”.

“Sounds like a lot of work” I blurt out.

I look back at Carla and she laughs. Noah starts pulling into a condo parking garage where I see rows of different cars.

“This is technically the pack house” Carla tells me, “They know we’re coming”.

Once we exit the vehicle with all of our belongings, we hear the clicks of someone’s heels. A tall squared-face brunette comes from around the corner to greet us.

“Alpha Gabriel told us his mate’s family would come” She says plainly. I can’t tell if she’s annoyed by us or the conversation she’s having. Either way, she doesn’t emit good vibes.

“Yes, thank you” Carla says first, “It’s just for tonight”.

The brunette says nothing but ushers for us to follow her. We walk behind her as another man follows besides her. I look at Noah, who looks at Carla, as we all give each other puzzled looks. I guess I wasn’t the only one that didn’t feel comfortable with the brunette. We walk into the lobby, as I’m amazed by the beautiful art hanging on the wall.

“Welcome everyone” A tall man greets us warmly, “It’s nice to meet my brother and sister-in-law”

He affectionately hugs both Carla and Noah before his eyes land on me.

“Celeste, right?” He asks me. I nod and we shake hands, “Katia told me about you”.

“She did?” I ask surprised.

He nods, “Of course. You’re an important person to her-“

“Brother, are they here yet?!” A loud voice coming the elevator shouts. We snap our heads in that direction when see a girl our age walking towards us. Her curly hair bouncing off her shoulders with every stride. Heels clicking against the ground as her long legs reach us. This girl could seriously be a model.

“I told you I would come get you-“

She pushes past the brunette and the guards to stand beside Alpha Gabriel.

“My sister Juliette” Alpha Gabriel says annoyed, “She will also be at the ball”.

“Nice to meet you” She says while batting her eyelashes at Noah. She tries to give him a seductive smile but he stares at Alpha Gabriel.

“Likewise” I say with a fake smile, trying to divert her attention away from Noah. A spark of jealousy arises within me as I see her twirling a piece of her hair. Only it doesn’t work as she continues to catch Noah’s attention.

“We should get going” Noah tells Alpha Gabriel.

“Indeed, let me show you to the room” He says while walking ahead of us.

“How long are you-“

“Juliette” Alpha Gabriel says in a stern voice, “Go tell the guards to about tonight’s change of plans”.

She tries to speak but Alpha Gabriel raises his eyebrow at her, “Now Juliette”.

She pouts and leaves without saying anything else. We step into the elevator and he presses the fourth button.

“It won’t be the top floor” He tells us, “Unfortunately, it’s not ready. However, we still have one ready”.

“Thank you” Noah answers for us.

Since theirs only two dwellings on the floor, he leads us to the bigger one.

“Please feel free to ask for anything” He says while opening the door.

We step inside and I see how beautiful and modern the layout is. An exposed brick wall with hardwood floors and ceiling high windows.

“It’s beautiful” I say amazed once I step further inside.

“Thank you” Alpha Gabriel says, “I designed it myself”.

“Thanks again” Carla says as she puts our stuff on the couch, “We’re leaving around 7. My fiancé ordered his guards to take us”.

“Sounds great. Well, I’ll let you guys get settled” He says as he walks out of the condo, “Anything you guys need, let me know”.

We nod and he closes the door on his way out. Finally looking at my cellphone, I see a bunch of missed calls from mom and dad. Even a few from Max and Andrea.

“They’ve called us too” Carla says after seeing my worried face.

“They’re definitely going to murder me now” I say trying to joke. Only I knew it wasn’t entirely a lie. My parents would never forgive me now.

“They’ll get over it” Carla says, “Parents always forgive their kids”.

“That they do” Noah says as he comes up from behind and wraps his arms around me. I lean into him and I see Carla playfully sticking her tongue out at us.

“I’m leaving before I get scarred for life” She says jokingly and makes her way to one of the rooms. We’re left in the living room alone and I can feel Noah’s breath on me.

“Come with me” He whispers into my ear. He grabs my hand and leads me to the other side of the condo. He opens the door to the second room and I’m taken aback at how gorgeous it is. A huge low platform bed in the middle with a hanging pendant light besides the bed. Reflective closet doors with a hanging egg chair on the side. The dark color scheme of the room gives it the final touch. It was perfect.

Hearing my phone ring again, I look to see who it is. Dad. Given Noah’s worried face I know he saw who’s calling me.

“You should answer” He tells me. He starts to leave but I grab onto his hand.

“Stay” I tell him and he gives me a small smile.

Hesitating to answer, I let the call go to voicemail. I know my dad won’t be reasonable right now which is why I can’t talk to him. At least not now. I did however, need to let someone know I was safe. I click on Andrea’s number and she picks up on the first ring.

“Celeste” She says very quietly, “Where are you?! Mom and dad are fuming”.

“I’m safe-“

“Max and I can come get you” She say in a panicked voice, “But you need to come home now!”

“No”

“Celeste-“

“I’m with Carla and Noah. I’ll see you tonight” I say quickly and end the call.

“At least you have me” Noah says trying to cheer me up.

“That’s all I need” I say as I wrap my arms around his torso. In turn, he wraps his arms around me and gives me a soft kiss.

“You should sleep until it’s time to leave” Noah suggests.

I nod while kicking my shoes off and laying in bed. I pat the side of the bed next to me and he happily accepts. Wrapping his arm around me, I feel myself finally getting comfortable. It was weird to know that he was my mate but the more time we spent together, the more comfortable I was getting. His smile, his arms, his scent…everything about him was perfect. He was perfect.

Couple of hours later….

A sudden knock on the door pulls us from our sleep.

“What?” Noah says while unwrapping himself from me, “What time is it?”.

“Time to get ready kids!” Carla says gleefully from the other side, “Three hours till the party!”.

I groan as I try to get comfortable again. Noah does the same when we hear banging on the door.

“Now!” Carla yells. She continues banging on the door till Noah gets up from bed to answer it.

“Carla!” He says annoyed, “We still have time!”.

“You do but Celeste doesn’t” She says while trying to look inside the room, “Now move, so I can get sleeping beauty ready!”.

He groans but steps aside so she can enter. I pull the covers over me while she jumps on the bed. Obviously all we did was sleep but it’s still a bit awkward. She shamelessly pulls the covers down while bouncing on the bed.

“Let’s go!” She says way too energetic.

I look at Noah and he shrugs. He starts to put on his shoes as I get out of bed.

“Fine” I say giving in, “I’ll go shower before we start”.

“Noah, go downstairs and get us some food” Carla orders him as he glares at her, “Hurry along”.

He walks out of the room as I get up from the bed.

“You’ll look incredible tonight” Carla says gleefully, “You and Noah will look perfect tonight!”

A sudden turn in my stomach reminds me of something. Something that I didn’t tell Noah.

“He’s not my date” I tell Carla.

“I know but it doesn’t mean you guys can’t-“

“It’s Scott” I blurt out.