A Rejected Luna: Sold and Tamed

Episode nine

~~

The tension in the room grew thicker, the same way Diane wanted answers to questions running through her head.

'Your presence has been announced to the whole pack and the ceremony will be taking place in two days.....' the maid servant continued to say. Diane shut the voice of the woman out of her head, annoyance welling up in her heart.

Once done, Diane followed the maidservant out of the room, very much determined to go see the Alpha after.

'I saw what you did in there' she heard the maid speak to her.

'I do not understand what you're talking about, ma'am'.

'You refused to show due respect to the Alpha's Luna'.

Once again, the reality of her current life situation dawned on her. Although, she has been wronged but she was defenseless. She is too weak to come to her own rescue and nobody is willing to do so for her.

Diane swallowed hard. 'My bad. I would make sure not to repeat the same mistake' she apologized hurtfully.

'If I ever notice such attitude again, I will report to the Alpha without a second thought' she threatened, waking away thereafter.

The fact that she has accepted whatever that's coming her way didn't stop Diane from attempting to see the Alpha again.. As she approached his office where she was sure he'd be at that moment, she started to search through her head for excuses that would make the guard let her in.

Luckily for her, there was no guard in sight when she arrived his office. She moved closer to the door, inhaled deeply, ready to turn the door knob when the door was forced open by someone else. She froze when she bumped into an estranged ireful figure. His poise immediately relaxed when he saw her. And his once stoic expression turned bright. Confused at the sudden switch in emotions, Diane also flashed an unsure smile.

'Hi Diane. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person' he mentioned, his palm extended for a handshake.

Diane took a step back, rubbed her palm on her faded jeans before nervously taking his palm. How come he's heard about her enough to know who she really is. Was it the gossips again or the Alpha himself? She's certain she has not met this man before.

His smile widened. 'Your expression shows how much confused you are...'

She inclined her head. 'I'm sorry if that upsets you' she apologized instantaneously.

He waved his hands dismissively. 'A proper introduction will do. My name's Lucius. I'm Alpha Xavier's beta.'

A gasp escaped her lips, followed by an immediate bow. 'I'm sorry if I didn't show enough respect'.

Diane felt him nudge her shoulders. 'It's fine. I'm not as mean as your mate..' he joked.

At the word 'mate' Diane raised her head to stare at him. He definitely knows...

He grinned, walking farther away. 'I'm sure we would be seeing each other around' he added lastly before walking out of her presence.

'What are you doing standing there?' she heard him question from indoors. Diane detached herself from the sense of eeriness she still felt from Lucius impact then went in, closing the door behind her.

Her wolf awakened at the sight of her mate, inciting pleasure within her. His sweet, intoxicating smell, one she had missed continued to linger around her smell organ. The expedition causing her to momentarily forget the displeasure she felt while coming here. Painfully, she realized she had missed his presence these past few days. She could tell it wasn't the same for him anyways, Judging by his piqued appearance.

Diane consciously collected the pouch bag from her pockets, positioned it on his desk. 'I forgot to return this'

His fists pushed the pouch bag to the floor. 'I don't need it.'.

Prominent lines formed between Diane's brows. 'Still, it's wrong to keep it. Alpha since I'm no longer to leave the pack'

'I don't care what your reason is. Take the money and leave. I can't accept what you already laid your filthy hands on.'

'About your new Luna too. Do you have an idea that we're sisters?'

Diane swore she heard him chuckle. 'You mean step sisters?' he rhetorically questioned.

She nodded slowly, the answers to her question coming to light. He wasn't in the dark about it.

Diane said nothing more, she picked up the pouch as ordered by her mate and walked out the office in a sullen state.

She was blinded by her own tears and didn't notice when she bumped into someone else. She started to apologize but was quickly cut short by him.

'You don't seem happy. Do you need some help. I can help lift your mood' He offered, a genuine concern crossing his features.

His eyes... They had a distinct feature in them. Diane peered, searching deeply... It appeared all too familiar like she had seen them before.

'Are you one of Crescent's'

'Definitely not. I'm new here'

'Have we met before?' she asked peculiarly.

He tilted his head to the side. 'A couple of times..'

'Ahhh... I'm sorry. I really can't recall where..'

He squirmed. 'That's not really necessary now. I'm sure we will keep up together'

Diane casted furtive glances at him..

'My name's Michaelson. I hope we get along well.' he added, head bowed lightly.

~~

Diane had resumed her duty as her step sister's serving maid and today was the day of the Luna's ceremony. The day her destined mate, Alpha Xavier is going to announce her very own step sister as the Luna of his heart and his pack instead of herself. And regardless of that, she was still forced to prepare Hailey for the ceremony. Apparently, the universe cares nothing about her. Diane stood by Hailey's room entrance, anticipating her presence back into the room. She had excused herself earlier, complaining about the urge to pee. Just as the thought slipped, Hailey scurried back into the room, her face Bright and radiant. Of course, Xavier wasn't the only one that's a happy traitor, Hailey was too.

'They make just the perfect duo' Ivy, Diane's wolf scoffed.

Diane resumed the duties of detangling Hailey's hair.

"Ouch!" Hailey yelped, swatting Diane's wrist as she attempted to detangle it.

Hailey glared at her through the mirror.

'How frustrated are you that you are willing to take it out on the Alpha's Luna?!' she yelped, abruptly leaving her seat again.

Diane heaved an exasperated sigh. 'I'm struggling to make this work, Hailey. Please, cooperate by sitting still..'.

Diane's plea earned her a death glare from Hailey.

'Whatever' she blurted before settling back down.

Approximately an hour and half later, and about thirty two uncomfortable yanks and tugs, Hailey was ready. Diane flashed a satisfied grin, proud that she pulled the hairstyle off pretty well. She had pulled the hair into an elegant low bun with protruding end curls which framed Hailey's face lightly. She caught a hint of surprise and contentment on her step sister's face when she looked at her reflection but it soon disappeared.

Diane stood by and waited for her to get dressed in the blue dress she had picked out for this day. A pang of jealousy settled in the pit of her stomach when Hailey came out beautiful as ever. The blue dress cascading around her in soft, beautiful, waves.. She smiled slightly.

'The dress, Hailey... It's beautiful'.

In response, Hailey jutted out her chin stubbornly. ,'That's right. A Luna's ceremony is half a wedding for an Alpha. I have to look my best for him'

Involuntarily, Diane's eyes began to water. She threw her head back to stop the tears from falling. These weren't tears of happiness. They were that of denial, resignation. After the ceremony, he's going to mark her and once he does that. It's literally over for her. She'd have to live with the pain of watching her mate love someone else.