Born An Alpha

Chapter 8

*NOAH’S P.O.V*

She didn’t join us at lunch nor did she sit with us at the school assembly. Once home, I tried to find a moment to slip away and see her but it was next to impossible. Carla and Katia were upstairs getting their makeup and hair done. My mom was busy in the kitchen and my dad was checking security points with the guards. Even Beta Daniel was here to double check the temporary guards identifications. Nothing could go wrong today. Soon it’s time for me to go upstairs and change. I quickly hurry and make my way to dad's office.

“Finally” Sighed Katia.

“I’m here, aren’t I ?” I snap back.

“Late as always” Katia quickly adds. I roll my eyes at her.

“Enough” my father says looking at us, “we have important matters to discuss right now. Sean will be here at any moment and we have to be on our best behavior” He says this last part looking directly at me and Katia.

“No funny business. No back talking, no snide comments, no snorting, no eye rolls and absolutely no contradiction” my mom adds.

“Okay” I tell mom.

“Fine” Katia adds. Carla just nods.

“I have something for all of us” my dad says taking out a little sack from his desk. He spreads its contents out on the desk as we all admire the beautiful jewelry.

“These will help us tonight” my dad tells us.

“How?” I ask him, eyeing the jewelry suspiciously.

“They’re not just jewelry… they contain dark magic. Not enough to be detected and not enough for long term use”

“Why? What do they do?” Carla finally asks.

“They control an alpha wolf…” My dad says before pausing. We all look at him with gaping eyes. “we can’t let our emotions get the best of us tonight. These will essentially control our wolf so that we don’t react before thinking.”

“Hans…” my mom says before being interrupted.

“Control our wolf, how?” Asks Katia.

“The jewelry must be worn for it to work. The magic is strong enough to suppress our wolves. Think of our wolves as sleeping” Dad tells her while handing her a necklace.

“This is disrespectful, not only to our wolf but to the moon goddess” Carla adds while dad hands her a bracelet.

“I know sweetie but that man is dangerous. Any sign of disrespect could mean all of our deaths including the pack members” dad reassures her, “it’s only for tonight”.

“How did you even get these pieces of magic?” I ask dad.

“That’s for me to know” He says handing mom a small ring then hands me a watch. The last piece of jewelry is also a watch but slightly bigger.

Sorry Hunter, I tell my wolf as I slide the watch on.

A rush of energy overcomes me as I feel like a part of me has become numb. I’m not the only one feeling this way as my entire family looks like they feel the same way.

We make our way out of dad’s office just as the door bell rings. The maid lets in Cynthia as she widely smiles at all of the preparations.

“I thought you said she wasn’t coming” my mom whispers at me. I shrug as I glare at Cynthia. My mom mind-links one of the maids to add an extra plate.

“Good evening Alpha Hans and Luna Brie” Cynthia greets them as she comes over to stand by me. Katia whispers something to Carla and they both start snickering. I shoot them a dirty look but this only makes them snicker more.

“Alpha. Luna. The Beta family has arrived” one of the omega maid announces. Beta Daniel walks in with his wife Maria, they both greet my parents and then my sisters.

“Noah” Uncle Daniel grins as he extends out his hand. Even though neither of them are blood-related to me, they’ve always treated me like a son. I shake his hand and greet aunt Maria.

Right as we finish shaking hands, in walks in the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Her hair done in loose curls, her light eye shadow making her brown eyes shimmer, and her strut as she confidently walks in.

“There’s our sweet girl” my mom says while hugging her.

“Thanks aunt Brie” she says with a smile. My dad also greets her as she waves at my sisters. She glances at me and gives me a weak smile before standing besides her parents. I must have been staring at her for too long because I feel a pinch on my arm and then a nudge to the side. I look at Cynthia who’s starring daggers at me. I brush her off as the maid announces that our guests have arrived. A dozen guards walk in first then Alpha Sean enters along with Helena.

My father is the first to greet him. The rest of us follow but Sean’s eyes linger longer on Carla. She smiles at him as they shake hands.

“If you could all please follow me” the maid tells us. She leads us into the dinning hall and we all take our place. My father sits on one end as Alpha Sean sits on the other end. My mother sits next to my dad on his right as I sit next to him on his left. Helena sits next to Sean’s left as his top guard sits to his right. The rest fill in the seats that are missing.

The plates are neatly served in front of us as the maids begin to fill our drinks.

“Lovely help you have here Hans” Sean says as the maids exit the dinning hall.

“Yes thank you Alpha Sean” my dad replies .

I smile as we all start to eat our food. Sean and my father begin to discuss all the new security measures we have and the new guards that are set to arrive soon. Aunt Maria comments on how beautiful Helena looks tonight while my mother agrees. Soon the room seems relaxed and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

“So kids, what seems to be plan after you all graduate?” Sean asks looking between Cynthia, Celeste and I.

“Truthfully I haven’t thought about that” Cynthia speaks up first. 

“That’s all right. Knowing your father, he’ll probably want you to go to college” Sean tells her.

“I didn’t apply” Cynthia replies nonchalantly. Sean stares at her curiously, “I’m hoping to stay with my pack until I get married”.

I don’t say anything as she says this.

“Noah?” Alpha Sean asks me.

“Perhaps attend a local college or the academy” I tell him.

He nods his head slowly, “Ah, yes. The academy for our young Alphas”

“Almost all the upcoming Alphas choose the academy to continue their training right away” Helena adds.

“I want to keep my options open” I tell Helena.

Sean nods towards me. “What about you, Celeste?”

Finally looking at her, I see her startled by his question. She seemed to be in a daze before Sean interrupted her.

“Distracted?” Helena asks her while intently eyeing her.

“Not at all” Celeste says smiling.

“Thinking about the final debate competition you have in a month?” Sean asks her.

“How did-“

“Celeste, I know everything that happens at my schools. Especially when students exceed expectations… like you” Sean tells her smiling. Beta Daniel has a stunned expression on his face as does his wife.

“Thank you Alpha Sean” Celeste tells him. 

“I also wanted to tell you that I have personally approved your request to attend university”

At his words, Celeste’s smile grows bigger and she beams as her parents congratulate her. I can’t help but smile as I feel how happy she is. My heart leaps at her excitement. I can feel Cynthia burning a hole in the side of my face with her eyes.

“Thank you Alpha Sean” Beta Daniel responds.

“Of course” Sean says while nodding at Daniel. He turns his attention back to Celeste, “Do you know what you’ll study?”.

“Science. Either biochemistry or microbiology”

Helena takes a sip of her glass before saying, “Interesting. Have you thought about going to graduate school for research or even medical school?”

Celeste doesn’t lose her smile as she replies, “I have but I’m not sure which to choose yet. So many choices”.

“I’m sure you’ll choose wisely” Sean clears his throat before saying, “After you finish your studies, I want you to join my pack. We can benefit from having someone like you”.

I’m not the only one who’s smile dies down after he says this. Her mom and dad have a worried look on their faces.

“Thank you Alpha Sean but-“

“A toast for our young ones” Sean says interrupting her. He raises his wine glass as we all do the same.

“To Noah, Cynthia and Celeste. May their futures be bright!” My father says as we all clink our glasses. Celeste keeps a stunned look on her face as she quickly looks at me.

“Carla, what is it that you do here?” Sean asks after we finish our toast.

“I help run the nursery and the orphanage” Carla smiles as she replies. Sean smiles at her reply and continues to intently stare at her.

Helena snorts at her reply, “Can’t be too difficult then”

“Quite the contrary, kids can be a handful. Especially at a young age” Sean replies for Carla.

“Yes, they certainly are” Carla adds.

“It’s also a good quality to have if your a Luna” Sean tell her. Carla’s cheeks turn red as he says this which makes Sean smile even bigger.

“So Katia, you’re a doctor right?” Helena adds quickly.

“Yes I am” Katia replies in a poised manner.

“Are you still in England or are you moving back?”

“Hopefully you’ll move back. Packs always need more doctors” Sean tells her.

“Of course. I’m definitely thinking of moving back home” Katia replies.

“Really?! That would be so great Kat” my mom warmly tells her.

After dinner, my father, beta Daniel and Sean all leave to go into my father’s study for a private talk. Sean excuses himself with everyone but mostly while looking at Carla. I see Celeste sneaking away and I resist the urge to follow her. My mother, aunt Maria, Katia and Helena go into the living room.

Now is my chance to look for Celeste, I make my way to the door when I feel a hand grabbing my arm. Goddess what more does this girl want?

“Where are you going?” Cynthia asks crossing her arms. Before I can reply, Carla interrupts us.

“Cynthia can you help me check on the kids?” Carla asks her. Cynthia throws her an annoying look while sighing.

“Can’t the omegas help you?” Cynthia rudely asks her. I glare at her while she drops her arms to the side. “Fine”. I watch them walk out the door and down the pathway. I wait for them to be out of sight before I make my way outside. I focus on her scent which leads me to her house. I knock on the door but no response. I knock a few more times before she finally opens. She motions for me to come inside but brings her finger to her lips. Silently, we step inside the house when she turns on classical music.

I follow her further inside and upstairs to Andrea’s room.

“Why are we here?” I finally ask as we step inside the room. She closes the door behind her and quickly draws the curtains.

“Andrea spend so much time sound proofing this room” she laughs a little as she says this. “It’s safe to talk here.”

She sits on the corner of the bed and I sit next to her.

“Are you okay?” I ask her. My nerves were on edge tonight.

She stares at me with hesitation in her eyes as she bites her bottom lip.

“Celeste?”

She sighs, “I had a dream… right before the dinner. But it wasn’t just an ordinary dream… No, this one was vivid. It felt too real”.

“What do you mean?”. I see her fidgeting with her fingers and take her hands into mine. She smiles when I do this.

“I don’t know how to explain it…”

“What was happening in this dream?” I ask her, trying to understand what’s happening.

“I was inside a pack house-“

“A pack house?”

“Yeah like how they used to be before. All the ranked members living and working under one roof”.

I nod in understanding. In 5th grade, I had a history project that required me to do hours of research. That’s when I came across old packs and their photographs. I remember seeing the design layouts of pack houses and all the photos of people living inside them. It was weird to see all those people living under one house but it also seemed cozy. I’ve only ever seen ranked member having their individual houses and smaller houses for omegas.

“It was an Alpha and a Luna. It seemed like they were trying to run away but she was pregnant” She hesitates before continuing, “she went into labor as they tried to leave.”

“Who were they?”

“I don’t know” She tells me.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream?”

“No. It seemed so real. Like if I knew them. As if I had a connection to them”.

“What were they running away from?” I ask quietly.

She shrugs at my question. She stares straight ahead but I can tell she’s still thinking of this dream. I wonder what pack it was? Or who those people were? Or why she had this dream?

Suddenly I remember reading about the different symbols packs used to have in order to differentiate themselves from other packs.

“What symbols were inside the pack house?” I ask, snapping her out of her daze.

“I think one was a moonrise symbol and I don’t know the other symbol” She tells me. I wonder where we can find more information on the different symbols. Perhaps the school library but we would have to until Monday to get more information.

“Maybe my family’s library has something. We can check it out tomorrow”, I suggest which has her intrigued again. She nods and rests her head on my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her and caress her hair.

“I have to tell you something” I tell her quietly. I really don’t want to ruin this moment but I also don’t want to lie to her anymore. She holds her breathe as I continue, “Cynthia knows about us”.

She lifts her head off my shoulder and turns to look at me. Her teary eyes tell me all there is to know.

“I figured” She says with a sad smile. I squeeze her hand but she pulls away. My heartaches at what is happening.

“Celeste?”

“It’s was always an impossible situation Noah” She gives me another sad smile.

“We always knew it would-“

“NO!” I say shaking my head. Although I can’t feel my wolf, I feel the anger arising from the both of us. I gently grab her face with my hands and lean in close to her.

“We’re mates. We’ll figure this out but please don’t give up on us”

“Noah…”

“I will fix this, believe me… believe in us”. I wipe the tear rolling down her cheek and give her a single kiss. She nods slowly as I inhale her scent to calm myself down. We don’t even realize what time it is until we hear the front door opening.

“Tomorrow then?” She asks. I nod as I climb out the window. As I’m climbing down I look up to see how beautiful she looks in the moon light which of course, makes me lose my balance. She giggles as I land by the bushes. I give her a smile and jog home.

Once home, the maids are cleaning up the plates and decorations.

“Where were you?” My father demands as I walk through the door.

“I was talking to Celeste…we lost track of time” I tell him as Katia walks by.

“Well, it’s a good thing he didn’t notice” Katia says defending me.

“What did he say?” I ask.

My sister shrugs as my dad hesitates to answer.

“He’s going to be staying in the area until after the debutante ball” My dad tells me while massaging his temples. His phone rings and he leaves to answer it where we can’t hear him.

“So…where were you?” Katia asks with a smirk. I roll my eyes at her while trying to walk by. “Your girlfriend was trying to make a scene but lucky for you, Carla saved your a**” She tells me.

I turn back to look at her and arch my eyebrow to her.

“You should end it with her if she isn’t the one” Katia tells me in a matter-of-fact voice.

“I’ve tried…” I tell her with a sigh. If only she knew how I’ve tried to break up with her. “She refuses to acknowledge the breakup”.

“Well, whatever the situation…be honest”. She walks away to leave me with my thoughts. I wish I could tell someone the truth. To have someone to vent my frustration to; someone who understood what I was going through. I hated keeping my feelings a secret, especially ones related to finding my mate. I walk upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Once my head hits the pillow, I drift off into a deep sleep.

I wake up before dawn the next morning. Training is even more intense today as Alpha Sean criticized all of our routines the night before. He pointed out the flaws and errors in our defense/attack mode. After three intense hours, I walk out of the training center with my body throbbing. I catch Celeste and her mom on their morning jog.

“Hi” I greet both of them.

“Hey” Celeste gives me her sweetest smiles.

“Noah!” Her mom brings me in for a hug not minding my sweaty self. “How are you?”

“A little sore after today’s training” I admit to her.

“Hopefully it will go away soon” She tells me while keeping her smile. “Any plans for today?”

I nod, “Studying with Celeste”.

“Well, sorry to rain on your parade but Celeste and I have some shopping to do” Her mom practically squeals while nudging Celeste. She gives her mom an annoyed look.

“Why? I don’t want to go shopping” Celeste complains.

“So what will you wear to the debutante ball? Huh? You need to wear something special, something beautiful” Her mom tells her.

“You always buy my dresses. So-“

“This isn’t a small event Celeste. It’s the ball and you need to take it more seriously” Her mom interrupts her with a stern voice. “Plus, don’t you want to pick out what you’ll be wearing?”

I slightly laugh at their conversation while earning me a glare from Celeste.

“Mom-“

Her mom holds up her hand for her to stop, “It’s non-negotiable”.

“Well can we at least study until noon” Celeste says in defeat, “then we can go”.

Her mom smiles in approval.

“I guess we can’t waste time” I tell Celeste, “I’ll see you in thirty”

“Seems like it” Celeste sighs.

“See you Aunt Maria” I wave goodbye to her mom as she waves backs. I jog home to shower and change.

Before I know it, Celeste is knocking downstairs. Lucky for me, the maids answer the door. My mom and sisters are out for the day while my dad and beta Daniel are going over security details again.

“Hi” Celeste says smiling at me. I smile back at her and indicate for her to come in. She follows me towards the side of the house and we enter the library.

“Wow! I didn’t know the collection has been growing!” Celeste says in excitement. Her eyes twinkle as she scans the room.

“Yeah. My mom and Carla have been adding to it lately” I walk by the rows of shelves and catch her staring at an old photography book.

She skims the book and stops at a torn photo. It’s an out of place photo; as if someone took this picture by accident. The only thing it shows is the moonrise symbol and a centimeter of the other symbol. The symbols seemed to be craved on wood. Maybe they were carved on a pack house? She checks the back of the photo but nothing is written on it.

“This is the symbol” she quietly tells me. She hands me the photograph and continues to skim the book.

“Do you recognize the background?” I ask while looking for more clues. She shakes her head. She looks through the rest of the photographs before putting the book down and shaking her head.

“Did any of the people in the old photos look familiar?” I ask.

“Unfortunately they did not” She tells me. She walks down another row and pulls out a book on pack symbols. She goes to the page on the moonrise symbol but it’s just information on the meaning of the symbol. I pick up another book on old packs’ architecture but the information only dates back to post-Alpha Sean. After what feels like forever, I slump down next to her as she reads old archives my dad had saved.

“Find anything?” She asks me. I shake my head.

“You?”

“Only some old copies on past alliances this pack had with others” She shows me the papers that date back to when my grandfather was the Alpha.

Midnight Moon Pack Allies to…

The list is incredible. It shows how long these alliances had lasted and the pledge each Alpha had to each other.

“Wow… I didn’t know how many Alphas had entered into an alliance” I tell her. She smiles at me and rest her head on my shoulder. My heart flutters as her scent hits me so strongly. I gently lay my head on top of hers.

“We can try the school’s library tomorrow” Celeste tells me “If you want”

“Of course. I will always help you” I tell her. She moves her head to faces me. By surprise she gives me a quick kiss and smiles. I wrap my arms around her and give her another kiss while she giggles.

“I like being like this with you” She tells me. She nuzzles her head between my shoulder and neck.

You see how much our mate loves us, Hunter tells me.

Shut up, I tell him laughing.

We sit like this for a while until her phone rings. She stands to retrieve it by the desk. I watch as she quickly ignores the call.

“I have to go” She tells me. I nod as I stand and put everything back. She comes over to give a quick kiss before leaving. I arch my eyebrow as I see how fast she left. After I’m done I step out into the hallway and see her standing at the other end. Because she doesn’t have her full wolf hearing yet, she doesn’t realize I’m there.

“Yeah that sounds…wonderful” She says the last part in a pitched voice. “Okay…I’m actually busy today….really?…wow…yeah, no I’m thrilled… of course…I’ll see you then… bye”. Her voice sounded exaggerated. As if she’s forcing herself to sound enthusiastic. But before I can react, I hear her footsteps heading towards the door and then hear the door slam.

After heading to my room to finish my homework, I get a call from Alex.

“Hey man, what’s up?” I ask him.

“You saw the email from Headmaster Murphy?” He asks me.

“No, not yet”. I close my books and stretch my arms. “What does it say?”

“We have to submit who we’re escorting to the ball by tomorrow afternoon”

I laugh at his words, “What does that even mean?”

“We have to pick our dates. I mean that’s such a short time to ask someone to the ball”

“What happens if you don’t choose?” I ask carefully.

“They choose for you” he tells me.

I sigh. I wish I could take Celeste but I know it’s not possible. An Alpha can’t take a beta to the ball.

“Who are you taking?” I ask him suddenly. “Have you got someone in mind?”

He doesn’t answer right away.

“Alex?”

“I don’t think I’ll ask anyone…maybe I’ll wait for them to choose for me…”

“You should ask Lydia…she’s always talking to you and-“

“No man, I’ll just wait for them to choose for me” He interrupts me. “You’re taking Cynthia, right?”

“I guess” I sigh into the phone.

“Such enthusiasm” Alex jokes which makes me laugh a little. “Hey, did you hear Scott is staying with Michael until the ball?”

My mouth falls open and I feel my heart stop. I end the call and a massive growl escapes me. I’m lucky no one is home to hear me. What does he want? Why is he here? Why can’t he leave?

I call Celeste but her phone goes straight to voicemail. I was about to call again when Cynthia calls me. I hesitate to answer until I see her calling me again.

“What?” I ask through my gritted teeth.

“Hmmm, that’s no way to talk to your girlfriend” She tells me. I growl lowly which makes her laugh. “I see you found out Scott is in town”.

“What do you want?” I ask in a growl. I feel my body getting hotter and hotter. Hunter’s anger was rising.

“You see I found a solution to our problem” She pauses, “Scott can have Celeste and we can end up together!” I growl at her last remark while she squeals in delight.

“I’ll see you tomorrow love!” She adds quickly before hanging up.

I needed some fresh air. Now more than ever. I was lucky that I was now joining the guards on patrol duty. I lay on my bed and focus on Celeste to calm myself down. I dreaded knowing that Scott would be so close to us…to Celeste.