The last Hope: A Prophecy is Born

Chapter Four

I tried to keep my cool as I made my way out of the Alpha’s office. I felt like the whole pack had betrayed me. I felt like this was something that could have been easily avoided had I just came clean to begin with. But where would that have gotten me? Probably locked in a dungeon somewhere so that they could use me in a freak show.

“Nah, they wouldn’t be able to keep us locked up.” Nyx huffed.

“What makes you so confident?” Nyx had always been arrogant. She always tells me we must wait for the right time but refuses to tell me when that time might be. I was growing restless with waiting. I felt as if I had been waiting for the ‘right time’ my entire life.

“Please, just trust me. Ok? Our time is coming soon.” I sighed. I knew if Nyx was telling me this, then it must be something big.

“Fine. But can I at least get a hint?” She shook her head no. I let out a frustrated huff as I made my way into the dining hall. This was one of my all-time favorite places to be. No, not just because of the food, granted that was a plus side to it though. But I just loved how it seemed like all your cares vanished the moment you stepped foot through the threshold. Everyone, regardless of rank, came here to eat and enjoy each other’s company.

I stopped to take in the sight before me. The dining room was decorated beautifully. It was a large room that would usually double as a ball room when we had large events such as a mating ball or any ceremony. In the absence of an event, it was just a cafeteria style dining room. There were four rows of large brown tables that ran the length of the room. Each one had matching chairs that lined each side. Once you enter the dining room, you’re right where the food is served. This makes the flow of things a lot easier.

A large buffet style trolly hosted an array of foods. Everything from slices of fresh baked pizza to an entire salad bar. The choices changed daily as well. Sometimes the kitchen staff would prefer to make a nice meal rather than the buffet style. It was heaven to say the least. I picked up a plate from the end of the buffet trolly and made my way down the food line. I didn’t have much of an appetite after everything that had happened today, so I settled for a burger and some fries.

I looked around the empty room, thankful no one had come in yet. I made my way over to one of the tables closest to the windows and took a seat. Today may be my last time ever seeing this room. Well ever seeing this pack. Part of me was happy that I would be leaving all my tormenters behind. Then there was another part that was sad to be leaving my home behind. This had been the only place I’ve known as home.

There was so much I was going to miss. I couldn’t help but feel sentimental towards this place, no matter how much I’ve suffered recently. This pack has been my home for the last almost 18 years, and now I must leave. I’m not sure why either, I just know that I need to follow my wolf’s instructions if I want to stay safe.

“Hiya.” A familiar voice broke my train of thought.

“Hi.” I said back. Stella plopped down beside me. Her perfectly shaped brows knitted together as she looked at me.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. Was it that obvious?

“Oh, just normal teenage stuff.” She c****d an eyebrow at me before shrugging her shoulders.

“Like who your mate is going to be?” She giggled before turning to her plate and loading her fork up with the salad. Stella had claimed she was watching her figure, but for a werewolf, that’s a load of bullshit. Our Metabolisms are super high, and if you add that to the fact that most of us train daily, you get the perfect body. That’s why a lot of humans envied us. To them, we look like Gods. Our werewolf genes play a huge role in our physical appearance as well.

Take Stella for instance. She had a sculpted figure that any woman envied. Her waist was tapered, and her complexion was flawless. A pair of perfectly arched eyebrows rest just above her thick, feathery lashes. Her dainty ears framed her small button nose perfectly. A set of perfectly white teeth glistened behind her perfect pout lips as she smiled at me. Her blonde hair had always been styled to perfection. Today her curls cascaded down her back in a more relaxed fashion. She was the prime example of why humans believed we were Gods.

Our men are usually nothing but muscle, and our women are mostly tall with a model figure. Every time we go into human territory, we get stared at as if we were literal celebrities. The only ones who don’t gawk at us are the very few humans who do know about our kind. Yeah, I know, humans knowing about us is dangerous. That’s why the humans that do know about us but aren’t mated to one of us are sworn to secrecy using a blood oath.

A blood oath is performed by a powerful witch. If the oath is broken, the human will suffer a long, painful death. Kind of extreme I know. But that’s how important our safety is. There are humans out there that hunt us down, but those humans are doing it because of “family tradition”. Their role had been passed down to them from generation to generation. I wouldn’t say that the hunters are an exception to that rule, but I’ve never witnessed one of them undergoing a blood oath before either.

“Serena?” Stella snapped her fingers in front of my face.

“Huh? What? Oh, sorry. Just got a lot going on today.” I started poking at my fries on my plate.

“Wanna talk about it?” Stella placed her fork beside her now empty plate before turning to me. She crossed her left leg over her right and placed her hands in her lap.

“Not in particularly, no.” She sighed at my response. I mean I want to tell her everything, but would she understand? Stella Kind of has a big mouth and loves to gossip. So, I know that she would most likely warn someone about my decision to leave if I tell her.

“Ok, fine. I get it. But look, this would stay between just the two of us.” She held out her pinky to me like we used to do as kids. I laughed and linked mine with hers.

“Pinky promise?” She smiled.

“Pinky promise.”

Having my best friend make a pinky promise to me felt almost childish. Yet at the same time, it gave me a sense of security. I knew Stella had yet to break a pinky promise, so that gave me a peace of mind. Could I tell stella everything? Regardless of our childhood, I still had my doubts about telling Stella any of this. I sighed. What’s the worst that could happen? They kick me out now instead of later.

I took in a deep breath before I began to quietly tell Stella my whole story. I watched intently as her face showed every emotion she was feeling. I knew all of this was news to her, but I had no choice before other than to hide from Stella in fear that she would blab about everything. I’m not sure why I was telling her now though. Maybe it was the fact that I knew no one in this pack wanted me here. That accompanied by the fact that I had already made my mind up to leave.

I finished my life story up until this point. I started with the first time I heard Nyx speak to me, how I felt at that point everything. I poured my heart out about how the meeting with the Alpha just went, and what he told me. I even told her my plan to run away. Stella sat there, her mouth hanging open and she just stared at me. I looked down at my hands as I twiddled my thumbs together. Had I messed up by telling her everything now? What would she think of me for hiding this from her?

“Wow.” I looked up at her.

“Yeah.” I nodded. Her face was void of any emotions. I felt a little upset as she had been quiet for a moment. I had hoped she still wanted to be my friend after this.

“Just, wow. This whole time?” She looked at me, her eyes were no longer their bright blue they usually were. I’d go as far as to say that she looked hurt, almost betrayed. I could understand her emotions, I know if she had hidden something like this from me, I’d be upset as well.

“Yeah. Crazy huh?” She nodded. Her expression had shifted from confusion to admiration.

“Soo you mean to tell me, that you took all this….this abuse for nothing?” I bit my lower lip and nodded. She let out a small sob.

“Nyx said she didn’t trust a lot of people here.”

“But why? We’re your pack.” She looked hurt at my statement.

“I don’t know. She just said that she would hide my aura until the time was right.”

“Right for what?” I shrugged my shoulders at her question. Truthfully, I still didn’t know why Nyx insisted we wait. But I trusted her, so I would wait. No matter what.

“I’m not sure. She just insist that I will know when that time comes.”

“So, you can mind link?” I nodded.

“I can shift too. If you want, I can show you sometime.” Her face lit up like a little kid on Christmas day.

“Oh. Em. Gee! You’d really let me see?!” She squealed loudly as she clapped her hands together. A few of the pack members that had started to arrive turned to look at us. I quickly shushed her so that we wouldn’t draw attention to ourselves. The last thing I needed was for someone to run telling Alpha Hendrix of my plans to escape this hell hole.

“Yup. But remember, this is a secret. Absolutely no one can find out about this.” The smile from her face dropped as she remembered what I had just said.

“Serena, what about…ya know.” She waved her arms around as she motioned around the area. I knew she was talking about my leave of absence that would be coming shortly.

“Well, we can go after dinner.” She smiled and nodded.

“Go where?” A gruff voice sounded from behind me. I felt the blood drain from my face.

“Oh, just out for a walk after dinner.” Stella smiled up at the man who was standing behind me.

“That sounds lovely!” A female spoke up this time. I didn’t recognize the voices, but based on the Aura of the two, I had assumed it was the visiting Alpha and his Luna.

“Oh, I do hope so. It’s been a while since Serena and I have had any quality time together!” Stella clapped her hands together as a dreamy look crossed her face. Goddess was she a great actress. She should have gone to the big screen.

“Well, it’s always important to spend time with your friends.” I nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I agree Alpha.” I turned to face the man who was standing behind me. He was a lot taller than I thought. My nose was dangerously close to his crotch area when I turned around. I quickly backed up and scooted almost into Stella’s lap. The color that had drained from my face rushed back full force. I could feel the heat radiating from my face as I tried not to look him in the eyes. Stella was stifling a laugh from behind me.

“Apologize, sir. I hadn’t realized you were so close to me.”

“No, no I should be the one to apologize. I shouldn’t have been that close to you in the first place.” Stella couldn’t contain herself any longer. She burst out laughing. Soon the visiting Alpha and Luna were both laughing as well.

What a great first impression. Well technically not a first impression of me as they met me earlier when their meeting was so rudely interrupted. I stared up at the man as his laughter started to subside. I gasped when he looked back down at me as I swear his eyes had shifted to the same purple as mine. Maybe I was going crazy. That’s it, I’m delusional. In fact, maybe this whole day had been a dream.

“Sorry psycho, not a dream.” Nyx piped up.

“Thanks for your encouragement.” I rolled my eyes at her.

“Is that seat taken by chance?” The alpha asked as he pointed to the chairs that just happened to remain empty just across the table from us.

“Not at all! Feel free to make yourselves comfortable.” Stella spoke up before I had a chance to. I quickly shot her a death glare as she shrugged her shoulders. She gave me a shy smile before she turned her attention back to the Alpha and his Luna. I tuned out the conversation as I began to eat my now cold hamburger. Hundreds of thought swirled around as I stared off into space. What would the future hold for me once I was no longer part of a pack. Would any other packs accept a rogue into their territory? Rogues weren’t often accepted; they were usually killed on sight. That was my biggest concern right now.

I had no doubt in my mind that Nyx and I could survive on our own, but I had grown up in a pack. That’s the only life I’ve known. I’ve considered going to the nearby human town, but the only issue with that is that there are hunters everywhere there. They would know that I’m not a normal human just with one look. So that wasn’t an option.

“Are you ok, dear?” A soft voice brought me out of my thoughts. I looked up and noticed that the Luna had been watching me intently.

“I’m fine. Just thinking about graduation and my birthday that’s coming up.” I gave her a small smile. She nodded and smiled back.

“So, when’s the big day?” The Alpha piped up.

“Pardon?” I didn’t know if he meant graduation or my birthday. I guess I could have given him both days.

“Your birthday.” I smiled. Of course, he meant my birthday. He has a son around my age, assuming their pack is close he probably goes to the same school so they would know when the graduation date is.

“Oh uhm. Just next week. On the twenty third.” The bite of food he was about to place in his mouth suddenly stopped just shy of his mouth. The color drained from his face as he looked back at me. The happy man that had been joking around with us just moments before was gone. His tone was solum.

“What did you say?” His Luna placed her hand around his arm as she tried to shush him.

“The…twenty….third.” He dropped his fork, making a loud clanking sound.

“I’m so sorry dear, it’s just that is our late daughters birthday. She would have been 18 next week as well.” The Luna spoke up after a moment of silence.