The Ugly Luna

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 ENGLISH

THALIA

Alpha Aldric's piercing gaze almost pierced through me when Beta Ryker defended me, and Tamarra's mocking stare added to my discomfort. It still hurts thinking she's Alpha Aldric's girlfriend.

Compared to her, who am I? Yes, my body is good, but when it comes to my face, I'm nothing. Maybe when she finds out I'm Alpha Aldric's mate, she'll be furious.

Tamarra has a beautiful body, with long blonde hair that falls past her shoulders, plump lips, and a pointed nose, although her nostrils are flared in annoyance right now.

I'm not surprised Alpha Aldric likes her, given her beauty. But her beauty is only skin-deep. They're a good match, Alpha Aldric and her, both being condescending and judgmental.

"Why are you defending this woman? You don't even know her well, and maybe she's just bringing bad luck here!" Alpha Aldric angrily said to Beta Ryker.

"How can you say that, Alpha Aldric? Thalia hasn't done anything wrong to you. All pack members can bathe in the stream, so why are you forbidding her? You even let Tamarra bathe here, and she's not even a pack member," Beta Ryker replied calmly but firmly.

Beta Ryker got out of the water to face his friend and Alpha. It's impressive how fearless he is in standing up to Alpha Aldric. He stands tall, unwavering in his conviction, facing both Tamarra and Alpha Aldric. I, on the other hand, can't help but feel anxious about their argument over me. I don't want them to fight because of me.

I saw the anger on Alpha Aldric's face due to Beta Ryker's defense of me, and I even saw him grit his teeth because he couldn't reveal the real reason.

"Because she's not an official member of the Blood Rose Pack yet. We don't know if she's a spy. We have many enemies, and many of them want to take over our territory. So don't trust a woman you've just met and isn't an official member of the Blood Rose Pack yet!" Alpha Aldric replied sternly to Beta Ryker.

Tamarra's gaze towards me was venomous as if she wanted to grab my hair and pull it out. If Alpha Aldric's gaze could kill, I would have fallen to the ground long ago.

"So what? Tonight is Thalia's ritual to become an official member of the Blood Rose Pack. Elder Imre wouldn't bring a new member to the Blood Rose if they were just going to bring harm to the pack!" Beta Ryker reasoned firmly.

The argument between the two intensified, so before they came to blows, I intervened.

"Let's not fight. Sorry, Alpha Aldric. If I'm not welcome in this stream, it's not a problem. I won't do it again, and I won't bathe in this water," I apologized humbly.

"You should be! Go back to where you came from! Come on, I'll escort you out of the Blood Rose!" Alpha Aldric said sternly, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from Tamarra and Beta Ryker before Beta Ryker could stop him.

We moved quickly, and before I knew it, we were already at the exit of the Blood Rose Pack. The guards stared at us, but they didn't intervene. Alpha Aldric's grip on my arm was painful as he pinned me against a large tree trunk.

"Leave now! And never show yourself here at the Blood Rose again, because I'll never accept you as my mate, and even less as my Luna!"

His disgust towards me was palpable. His words were like bullets hitting my heart. Even Athena felt weak and hurt by his words.

I swallowed hard and stared at him fiercely. His eyes were filled with anger and disgust towards me.

"No matter what you do, I'm still your mate. But if you want to see how I'll be attacked by rogues when I leave your territory, your conscience will have to bear the guilt that you're the reason I die!" My voice trembled as I said this to him. I held back my tears, refusing to let him see my weakness.

"I don't care if you die!" he replied sternly. He let go of my arm and pointed to the gate outside the pack.

"Leave now!" he ordered authoritatively.

Feeling hopeless, I obeyed his wishes. As I turned my back on him, tears began to fall. I stepped out of the Blood Rose Pack's boundary, feeling like I was accepting my fate. I thought about trying to return to the Gold Heart Pack or letting the rogues devour me on the way.

Without turning back, I crossed the boundary of the Blood Rose Pack. Once I was outside, my tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Let's just accept our fate, Athena. Our mate won't accept us and is pushing us away. He loves someone else, so if we can return to the Gold Heart Pack, we'll be lucky. But if not, it's the end for us. What if we go to humans? Maybe they'll accept us," I said sadly to Athena.

I still felt her sorrow, but she lacked the strength to speak. I continued walking on the rugged path. I didn't sense any rogues nearby, so I knew Athena and I were still safe. I followed the wind's direction, unsure where it would lead me.

In the distance, I saw a plain – a vast field of wheat that would be turned into flour. It was over a hectare in size. Not far from the field stood a small, wooden house that looked somewhat old.

I walked towards the house, hoping to find someone. Athena remained silent, watching to see what I'd do after Alpha Aldric's rejection.

The soles of my feet were aching from walking. I wasn't wearing any slippers because I left them at the stream. I almost twisted my ankle when I tripped on a small, cut tree stump. But I didn't mind the pain because I was desperate to reach the house.

When I finally arrived in front of the house, it was moderately sized. I had to climb stairs to get inside, and under the house, there were sacks of wheat stored.

"Hello? Hello?" I called out to the owner, even though I didn't see anyone inside.

I slowly climbed the stairs, but no one answered. I didn't smell any humans or living creatures inside the house, so I continued to climb. When I reached the top, I opened the door. Inside, I saw old furniture, an old piano that seemed to still work, and pictures hanging on the wall.

I looked at the pictures, and they were old. One of the pictures showed a palace. I picked up a framed photo of people – a king standing and a queen sitting, holding a baby. I assumed they were the king and queen because they wore crowns, and the king's attire was typical of royalty.

After looking at the picture, I put it back. It brought a smile to my face, to see what seemed like a happy family. I continued to explore the house and found cooked rice in a pot, which meant humans lived here, not my kind.

I saw a room and, out of curiosity, entered it. The room was clean, with a neatly made bed. On the side of the bed, there was a picture frame with a man and a woman. The picture was old, but the woman's beauty and the man's handsomeness were still evident. The man was wearing a Gamma's uniform.

My lips parted in surprise because I sensed that the people in the picture weren't human, but werewolves like me. Why was he wearing a Gamma's uniform?

Their smiles were sweet as if they deeply loved each other. In the picture, the woman's big belly was noticeable, and she was probably pregnant. The man was holding her belly while embracing her from behind. I didn't know why I felt this way, but I felt a pang of sadness.

Who were the people in this picture? What pack did they belong to? Were they still alive? And who lived in this house?

I sadly returned the picture to its place and sighed deeply before leaving the room. I went back to the pictures hanging on the wall and, after a moment, Athena suddenly appeared again.

"Oh, the royal family!" she said, looking at the picture.

"Are you sure they're the royal family?" I asked Athena.

"Not yet!" she replied and disappeared again.

I'd heard stories about the royal family before, but no one could say if they still existed today. I'd heard tales from fellow werewolves about the legend of the royal family, how they suddenly vanished, and no one knew where they were now.

I sighed deeply and went downstairs, unsure where I was going. After a while, I continued walking.

"Athena, where are we going? We've come a long way," I asked, but she didn't appear.

I stopped in the field and sat down, gazing at the high grounds of the Blood Rose Pack from afar. I looked at it sadly, wondering what Elder Imre's reaction would be when he found out I was no longer with their pack. I sighed deeply.

He will blame Alpha Aldric, for sure, knowing Beta Ryker will tell him the reason why I'm gone.

I felt hungry, so I rubbed my stomach. I stood up again and tried to continue my journey.

"Athena, come out, and let's shift so we can get to our destination faster!" I protested to my wolf.

"No way! I can smell Alpha Aldric's scent, so I'm sure he's following us. Maybe that crazy Alpha feels sorry for you. Just keep walking," Athena replied.

I had been smelling Alpha Aldric's natural scent for a while now, but I didn't pay attention to it, thinking it was just stuck to my arm from when he grabbed me. After Athena's words, I continued walking, entering a dark forest with tall trees. I had no idea where we were in North America; we'd come a long way from the wheat field.

But after a while, I caught the distinct smell of rogues.

"Get ready; this place is infested with rogues!" Athena warned.

In an instant, a hand covered my lips. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I found myself against a large tree trunk. I looked up to see who had done this to me and saw Alpha Aldric's neck. He was the one covering my mouth.

"Don't make a sound and don't speak. This is rogue territory. If you don't want us to become their dinner, stay quiet," he whispered sternly.

He slowly removed his hand from my lips. My heart was racing even faster now, and our lips were almost touching, just a hair's breadth apart.

I felt like kissing him, and maybe the curse would be lifted from me. I believed that Alpha Aldric's kiss was the only thing that could break the curse.

"Nero, let's shift," Alpha Aldric said to his wolf in his thoughts. I heard him clearly, probably because we were so close.

After saying that to his wolf, he turned to me.

"Ride on Nero's back!" he ordered softly but firmly.

In an instant, a large black wolf appeared before me. Nero was bigger than a regular wolf. I restrained myself from touching him. He signaled for me to ride on his back. Without hesitation, I mounted him and held onto his neck tightly.

Nero ran at lightning speed, and no rogue could catch us. We stopped at the edge of the forest, and I smelled the scent of lavender, knowing I was back in the Blood Rose Pack's territory. I got off Nero's back and studied him carefully. He possessed incredible strength, which seemed to grow stronger when we were together.

As I petted his head, he seemed to enjoy it, but only for a moment. He moved away slightly, probably due to Alpha Aldric's orders. Nero turned around and left. Watching him go, I couldn't help but smile.

I thought our journey with Athena would end in disaster, but it seemed Alpha Aldric had some mercy on us. Or maybe he followed us because of Nero, knowing his wolf would weaken if we disappeared.