TBMA [Complete ✔️]

17. Alpha II

Rosalie's P.O.V

"Everyone is dismissed until tonight's celebration!" I heard Aunt Zaria's voice over the ringing in my ears. Though her words sounded like anything but a command, everyone knew what stood behind them. The footsteps of their retreating form drowned the ringing as I allowed myself to focus on them rather than the body in front of me.

Aunt Zaria placed a hand on my shoulder, making me flinch. I sighed, tears gathering in my eyes as she pulled me into her arms, tucking my hair behind my ears and soothing me with words I couldn't force myself to focus on.

"I'll let you process this and start on the preparations for tonight. You're free to help if you wish, I think it would do you good to distract yourself for a while." I nodded, too tired and overwhelmed to speak. "Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" I finally looked into her eyes, seeing the concern swimming in them.

"I just need a minute, then I'll join you." She gave a small half smile, one too obviously forced, but turned to leave. Before she could make it too far away, she called my name.

"If you need anything I'm here to talk, or listen, you know that, right?" This time, I forced a smile, yet another today that was too obviously not sincere.

"I know."

With that, she left me alone with father's dead body, not a single wolf around. Silence drowned the forest and the previously crowded area with hundreds of thoughts to keep my attention away from the fact that my father was dead at the hands of my own brother, the son he didn't act like a father towards.

My heartbeat quickened, the silence broken by its thudding in my ears. My gaze followed the trail of blood, stopping at the dead body. I stared, too afraid to blink in case he got up and took revenge, blinked, or spoke. I was afraid things were far from over even if his heart had stopped a long few minutes ago.

With shaking legs, I slowly made my way to him, kneeling by his side. My fingers met his wrist, searching for a pulse I knew wasn't there. Except when I didn't find one, I didn't know whether I was relieved or not.

The air felt lighter, somehow, when there wasn't someone to punish you for breathing it. The old fear that I wasn't the perfect daughter or that I wasn't upholding my image as such had died along with him, yet a new one appeared. One, scarier than the previous as I didn't know its limits.

My brother had murdered for the first time today. We were wolves, predators, it was in his nature, but he murdered his only living parent, albeit a horrible, uncaring one. He tore his throat out without so much as a blink, or a speck of guilt. He enjoyed hurting both our father and his wolf, enjoyed taking revenge for the pain they had both caused.

He left himself an orphan, he left me an orphan, and I had helped. I shouldn't be surprised, I knew the outcome of today would be death - either his or Knox's, and yet it felt surreal still.

It felt horrible to all of a sudden forget, in the blink of an eye, all the times he had hit me or my brother, all the times he wronged us or the pack, all the moments he robbed us of by taking our mom away. Truthfully, I'd never forget any of it, but seeing his body lay lifeless on the ground, I had no idea what to think or do, what was right or wrong.

How does one react when faced with the corpse of one they should've loved, anyway?

I clutched my knees to my chest, sob after sob tearing through my chest until my body was too exhausted to continue. I realized that I wasn't crying over father's death, but rather about everything being over, about mom being avenged, over being overwhelmed, and tired, and uncertain, yet the weight lifted off my shoulders was enough to tell me what I already knew.

I didn't miss him, nor would being an orphan be any different. Both our parents died on the same day, the day father murdered mom, the day he decided to blame his son for his mistakes.

I pushed myself off the floor, dusting my jeans before finding aunt Zaria.

"Hey, dear!" She smiled upon seeing me, eyeing the Omegas working around her carefully. I silently let her know it was alright, that I was okay.

"How are the preparations going?" I asked, settling into the empty chair next to her.

We were currently in the kitchen, aunt Zaria with a laptop in front of her, while Omegas fussed around, running in and out of the room.

"I've sent invites to every pack, even those far away, but..." She stopped, pinching her nose in frustration.

"But my father wasn't well-liked enough to expect many, if even one pack, to actually accept," I concluded for her.

"Rose, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, I'm not blind.'' She shook her head sadly but otherwise let it go.

"So, what can I help with?"

"Well, I've started on the menu, so how about you start decorations and we'll figure the rest out as we go along." I nodded, the idea of decorating lighting a small smile on my face. I turned to leave, Zari stopping me just before I could close the door.

"Rose?" She called, to which I hummed. "I'm proud of you."

***

The pack house backyard was fully decorated, food was prepared and currently being carried out and I had surprisingly managed to have fun and not think about the events leading up to it.

I had had a few Omegas help me with decorating and even they seemed a little less stressed as they worked. The final product looked great, not too preppy, but not boring as well, I hoped Knox would like it too.

"Thanks for the help, ladies!" I smiled, dismissing my helpers before I headed upstairs to get ready. I took my time picking up an elegant, yet not over-the-top gown, settling on a flowy blue dress with pretty sleeves. The color made my eyes pop and the material was soft and easy to move in. For the first time, I got ready for an event without shaking, without wondering if every move I made, every accessory or makeup product was unworthy for an Alpha's daughter.

I was now an Alpha's sister and I was proud of it. I was actually excited to stand next to my brother and see what he would do for the pack, even if the uncertainty and the small alarm inside my head still made me a bit uneasy.

I put on a very light pink eyeshadow with a slight hint of sparkle, applied some blush to my cheeks, curled my lashes, and coated them with mascara before topping everything off with a bit of lipgloss.

I put everything away before quickly making my way to the backyard, which was, to my surprise, full to the brim. The area was full of Alphas, Betas, and their children, as well as pack members who for once looked excited about an event.

Just then, my brother arrived, dressed in black jeans and an elegant grey turtleneck. I almost gagged as I saw most of the unmated she-wolves ogle him, whispering something amongst themselves.

They probably all wished to be the Luna by his side, to have a title and strong mate to protect them, little did they know what a trap the mate bond actually was. My gaze found aunt Zaria as she stood by my brother. I wondered if she'd still be as kind and loving towards me when she found out what I planned to do to her son.

With my brother now completely alone and the leader of an easy-to-attack pack, I had no way of leaving, my only choice being to reject Zane. He was of Beta blood, he'd feel the rejection so intense it may bring him to the brink of death. I shut my eyes tightly at the thought, reopening them before someone could notice.

Tonight was my brother's night, a night to celebrate, and I'd be damned if I let problems ruin it for me or anyone else.

Knox held his head high, greeting a few of the Alphas with a curt nod as he made his way up the stage, eyeing his pack members and potential allies.

"Thank you for coming!" His voice boomed, cold and deadly like its never been. "If you've come to witness the pack's downfall, however, you're free to leave. I am not Esteban, nor do I plan to drag the pack anywhere but to the top! Alphas, I will prove to all of you, one by one if I have to, that standing against this pack wouldn't be as easy as it used to be." Whispers and murmurs broke out, my fists clenching at my sides.

I had no idea what had gotten into him. His first words to his new pack and Alphas of packs far stronger than ours were threats! Had he lost his mind?

"Members of Blood Moon, I will be creating a new order now that I am Alpha. Omega male wolves are free to work in the pack house as cleaners and cooks, I'm against believing that it's only a she-wolf's job. Every single one of you, whether teenager, male or female is expected at training daily, hours will be distributed based on your previous experience. No one," He raised his voice slightly, perhaps to gain attention he already had. "Absolutely no one in this pack would be defenseless against rogues ever again!" Claps and murmurs of agreement came from our pack members, while the rest of the Alphas talked amongst themselves. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it seemed they were so far in agreement with my brother's rules.

"The Beta will remain the same until Zane Brown returns from training. I will hold meetings with all of you personally, and unless I decide otherwise, you will keep your current positions. The rest of the information you will receive in an email sent by my Beta by tomorrow night. Enjoy the night!" He finished, making me realize I had held my breath while he spoke.

It surprised me how well he was handling everything. He really didn't lie when he said he had studied pack laws, histories, and finances. I hoped my brother could be as amazing of a leader as he seemed tonight.

The crowd dismissed, my brother heading to talk to the other Alphas, while pack members gathered around the food and took drinks, talking amongst themselves. I stood to the side, just watching everything and everyone, enjoying the feeling of a calm, fearless environment.

My brother had received a shoulder squeeze from the Alpha of Silver Claws, which was surely a good thing. As far as I knew, Silver Claws was a very large and strong pack, and having them as allies would benefit Blood Moon greatly.

"What's a beauty like you doing sitting by herself?" The Alpha's son, Julio, asked as he passed me a drink. I took it with a smile, straightened my back, and shrugged.

"It's been a long day."

"I can imagine." He replied, though there was no sympathy in his words. We stood there, just staring at one another before he let out a loud huff of annoyance and brushed his hand against mine.

I jerked it away, spilling a bit of my drink on the ground as I did so.

"You see, I was hoping you would be my mate, but you're clearly not." He left without another word or glance in my direction, leaving me completely speechless.

Spoiled brat.

"Don't mind him." A she-wolf approached me, extending her hand for me to take as she rolled her eyes. "He's a creep." I held my tongue to not say much worse, knowing even the walls had ears when you were a werewolf. I simply nodded, shaking her hand.

"Everest, daughter of Green Moss's Alpha!" She smiled kindly, looking around. "You can call me Eve, it was nice to meet you!"

"I'm Rosalie, but you may call me Rose. Hope I'll see you around!"

I talked with a bunch of other Alpha and Beta children, even Eve's brother, but apart from her, I didn't find anyone else tolerable. They were all entitled and spoiled, thinking the world was theirs. It took everything in me to uphold my image and not forget my manners, but the night ended peacefully as I finally slipped into bed.

A/N

Hi, Treasures! Make sure you join my F-a-c-e-b-o-o-k group Teddy's Treasures for extra content and discussions! I slipped a very slight hint for the third book in this chapter! To be honest, I don't think anyone would be able to guess, but it'd be fun to hear your theories!