The Moon Warriors Second Chance

Chapter 3

AMARIS

The past week has been a whirlwind. The head omega made me do someone else’s chores on top of my normal chores. Not caring that I was planning Bri’s party. Now that I’ve decided to leave, and am sticking to it, it seems like it takes less and less to set me off. It makes me wonder how I made it through all the years of abuse. How much more would it have taken me to get to this point if I hadn’t listened and felt sorry for my wolf?

The only thing keeping me sane other than Artemis is my runs. Every night, no matter how tired I am from the chores and spending every other waking moment on party planning, I take a run to my special area. It doesn’t do much to calm me. Lately, nothing has. It seems the closer it gets to the party, the more anxious I am to leave. I’m not sure how I went from feeling like something was keeping me here to having an overwhelming itch to leave, but it was almost enough to make me say screw it and leave.

Thank the Goddess the party is here. I almost left last night after Bri changed the colors and the food last minute. Luckily, the colors she changed the party to I had expected: silver, black, and blue, our pack colors. However, the food was something I hadn’t. I stayed up almost all night making new hors d’oeuvres, and doing the prep over for dinner. I had asked for help from a few of the omegas, but as soon as the head omega found out they were helping me, they had something else to do that was more important. I’m ecstatic that I could pull everything off. Who cares if I lost a little sleep? This party is the best I’ve put together if I say so myself. The pack house is spotless and decorated in silver, black, and light blue. Moonflowers scattered throughout the house and backyard, giving off a sweet smell. Bri got Alpha Robert to book a live band, and they’re setting up outside. So far, everything seems to be going off without a hitch.

Finishing up the final touches on the decorations outside, something or someone hit me in the back, causing me to fall into a bush, and making me scrap my hands to keep myself from scratching my face.

“There’s the b***h. Oops. Did I make you fall?” Kyle said through his laughter.

I grit my teeth. Kyle’s always been one of the worst of my abusers. He’s three years older than me. He’s almost a foot taller than me and is nothing but solid muscle. He’s 6’4, and looks like the rest of my family, with brown hair and green eyes. It’s something they always made fun of me for growing up. My family almost looks like they’re descendants of the Gods. Toned muscles, flawless golden skin. Beautiful golden brown hair and sparking green eyes. They’re one of the most beautiful Alpha families.

Which makes me stick out like a sore thumb when I’m seen with them. My height is fairly close to the same as my sister's and mother’s. I’m 5’6 and they’re only an inch or two taller than me. But that’s as far as our comparisons go. Unlike the rest of my family, I have white hair that almost looks silver and blue eyes. I’m sure if I was outside during the day more I could have a golden skin tone like them, but because I’m a slave to my family and the pack and spend most of my time inside, I’m probably considered more fair-skinned. Luckily, I spend some time outside in the sun, so I’m not ghostly.

“Kyle, I didn’t realize you were coming home for Bri’s party. I thought you would still be at Alpha training.” I replied, ignoring how he was trying to rile me up.

Kyle scoffed. “Like I need to be at Alpha training. It’s almost over, anyway. They said I was doing so well that I could leave early. There’s no way I’m missing my baby sister’s birthday party.”

Right. Like I believe he was doing so well in training. I’ve seen him fight. Even if I wasn’t a natural warrior, I could beat him. He relies on brute strength alone to win. He telegraphs his moves way too much, and he only has one style of fighting. I don’t even want to think about what kind of Alpha I think he’d be. If the way he treated me growing up is anything like he is to other people, let’s just say I’m glad I won’t be here when he takes over. He surely would run this pack into the ground. But I can’t say any of that to him, so instead I paste a smile on my face and welcome him home.

Hoping to get this conversation over with so I can finish up the rest of the preparations and make myself scarce before the party starts. Until Bri looks at me with an evil glint in her eyes and gives me a sickly sweet smile and I know what she says isn’t going to be good for me.

“I’m so glad we found you. Unfortunately, we’re going to need you to come to the party tonight. Not as a guest, of course. An omega who was on the serving schedule had a terrible accident in the kitchen, so we need you to take her spot.”

My stomach sinks and the smile I plastered on my face slips for a second before I catch myself and force it back on. Surely they don’t know about my plan to leave. This has to be just another way for them to mess with me. They could have gotten another omega to take the place of the injured one. Why me if not to humiliate me some more? It means I’ll have to rework my plan for tonight, but I don’t see another way.

*A few hours later at the party*

“Ris, we need to leave soon. Once Bri and the rest of the family make their appearance and see you, we need to go.” Artemis says with a strange urgency.

“We will. I just need to let them see I’m here like they wanted and then I’ll slip out before anyone notices.”

It’s not the best plan. It’s far riskier than the one I had before Bri dropped a bomb on me. It’s the only opportunity I see to slip away while the party is in full swing and everyone is distracted. Just another hour and we should be far from here. Hopefully longer before they realize I’m gone. Even if they realize I’m gone before the party’s over, I don’t see them making a huge scene. Most of the pack is here, so if they notice, they won’t have that many people able to track me.

I wish they would make their appearance already; the party started almost an hour ago and most of the guests are already here. My family likes to make a grand debut. Like they’re royalty or something. It’s like the Goddess heard me because as soon as I think about where they are, I see Alpha Robert and Luna Kate make their way carefully down the stairs. Alpha Robert is in a nice suit like the rest of the male guests, and Luna Kate is in a stunning black gown that shows off her golden skin and fit body. She would look timeless if it weren’t for all the jewelry she was wearing. Like she’s trying to show off their wealth. Instead, she almost looks tacky. My brother followed them down the stairs, dressed similarly to our father.

Finally, Bri makes her way down dressed in a gorgeous strapless silver gown that clings to her skin, showing off her curves, and there’s a slit up one side to show off her long, toned legs. She’s not who my eyes are on. She’s escorted by arguably the hottest man I’ve ever seen. He’s not as tall as my brother, but he’s close. Blond hair and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. He’s dressed in a suit like everyone else, but I can still see that he’s fit and he smells divine. Artemis is pacing in my head and I know what that means.

My mate. He looks like he knows my sister well, how have I never seen him before? Why does it feel like this is exactly what Artemis was trying to avoid? So many thoughts swirling around in my mind, but before I can even react, he makes eye contact with me and I know he knows I’m his mate. He knows who I am. He says something to Bri that makes her smile and they make their way over to me.

“ Hello, mate.”