THE ADOPTED LUNA

“Awwwn!” I let out a delighted gasp as the attendant showed me to the dress I had reserved for the Pack gathering. It was so beautiful, a lot more beautiful than it had appeared to be on the mobile site. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I imagined myself wearing it to the Pack Gathering. I would be the belle of the ball, the center of attention, the alpha's daughter in all my glory. “Oh, I can't wait to wear you,” I cooed, my fingers tracing the soft lush midnight blue fabric. “You're going to make me the belle at the Pack gathering,” I added, smiling happily. “I'm definitely going to dazzle everyone… Maybe even wake my wolf and find my mate and live happily ever after,” I thought giggling happily. Yes, my mate. Our mate. My attention was soon drawn back to the delicate fabric which shone like moonlight, its color shifting between shades of blue and purple that perfectly matched the blue shade of my eyes. “Can you please pack it up for me?” I requested, my gaze sweeping over the attendant who had grudgingly trudged behind me to show me to my dress. I stepped back to give her space to pack up while I hurriedly pulled out my phone, excited to text my mother and tell her about my dress, but my action was cut short by the arrival of the beta's daughter and her minions. “We have a lot of dresses tailored to your unique taste,” the attendant in charge of them said, leading the beta's daughter and her four minions to a nearby rack. “Hmm, show me that one,” Anna, the beta's daughter, pointed to a dress, examining it briefly before dismissing it. “No, I don't want this dress. Show me something else.” The attendant obediently pulled out another dress, which Anna promptly rejected once again. “No, that's not the one either. Keep looking.” The attendant continued to show her various dresses, but she remained unimpressed, staring at each dress with a bored gaze. Finally, she noticed me, and a sly smile spread across her face. “Ah, I see what I want now,” she said, strutting over to the attendant who was packing up my dress. “That one. I want that one.” I took deep breaths to remain calm, but it was hard to do so when the beta's daughter was being so blatantly rude and entitled. I watched in disbelief as she began to examine my OWN dress, her fingers tracing the material as if she were sizing it up for herself. “You can't have that dress, Anna,” I stated, trying to keep my voice firm. “I reserved it weeks ago. It's mine.” Anna briefly raised an eyebrow, her smile dripping with condescension. “Oh, I think I can have it,” she said, coming to stand in front of my face. “And I will.” Her eyes locked onto mine challengingly. I could feel my anger building up, but I refused to let it out. “No, you won't,” I said, my voice firm and steady. “I have the receipt right here, and the attendant can confirm that I reserved it first.” “Oh, don't be silly,” the beta's daughter sneered. “You think you can reserve a dress and expect to get it? I'm the beta's daughter. I get what I want.” Turning to the attendant who was packing up the dress, “Pack it up for me.” The attendant hesitated, looking at me in uncertainty before nodding and beginning to pack up the dress for the beta's daughter instead. “How do you really think you can just reserve a dress and expect to get it, half-breed?' Anna sneered. “You're not even a real member of this Pack.” “I reserved this dress fair and square,” I reiterated, standing my ground. I couldn't let her walk all over me. “The dress is mine and my receipt says so. You can get yourself another one.” “Don't you get it? Receipt or not, you're not taking this dress,” Anna said, crossing her arms under her breasts, causing it to pop up. “It's too beautiful for a... thing like you.” By now, we were already a spectacle as other pack members in the clothing store kept stealing glances at us, while others literally stared at us so openly like we were in a play and they were the audience. “A thing like me?” I repeated with a scoff, my eyes shrouding in sheer anger. “Yeah, Aurora, you shouldn't be dressing like you're one of us,” one of Anna's minions said, her eyes scanning me up and down. “You're just a… guest in our pack, after all.” “A guest who doesn't belong,” another one added, her voice venomous. “You're not even a real member of this pack, Aurora. You're just a... charity case.” “How dare you!” My voice rose, I was obviously infuriated right now. How can a common pack member speak so crudely to me? “I'm the Alpha's daughter, and I deserve the respect that comes with it.” “Adoptive daughter,” Anna said, cutting me off with a smirk on her face. “Don't forget your place, dirty half-breed.” “Please what is happening here?” The store manager asked, turning to stare at me and then the two attendants. “I want that dress as my outfit for the Pack Gathering,” Anna said softly, her eyes meeting the Store manager's eyes squarely. She then turned to look at me with an inquiring gaze. “Ma'am, here is my receipt that shows that I have booked and paid for this dress weeks back. All I need right now is my dress so I can go home.” I said, stretching out the receipt to her which she took, glancing at it before handing it back to me. “We have many other beautiful dresses you can pick from,” the store manager said, turning to me with a dismissive smile. “Why don't you let Anna have this one? It would look better on her than on you.” “What are you talking about?” I thundered, my anger finally boiling over. “The dress is mine!” “Oh, look at the little half-breed throwing a tantrum.” Anna muttered, her eyes gleaming with amusement. Ignoring Anna, I added, “I reserved this dress weeks ago,” I protested, holding up my receipt. “It's mine, and I won't leave without it.” The store manager shrugged, holding my gaze indifferently. “I'm afraid Anna's father is our priority customer, Aurora. We can't disappoint him by denying his daughter the dress she wants.” I felt my face burning with shame and anger. “So you're just going to take her word over mine? Even though I have the receipt?” The store manager's expression was unyielding. “I'm afraid so, Aurora. Now, please leave the dress and let Anna have it.” Faced with such humiliation, I felt utterly degraded. I glared at Anna and her minions, who were smirking at me with triumph. “Fine,” I spat, throwing the receipt to the ground. “Keep the dress. Keep the whole damn store.” And with that, I turned and stormed out of the store, my anger and shame burning like a fire inside me.