Defiant Sunshine

It Has Always Been...

‘oh isn’t this some nice drama?’ Alia thought to herself while sitting on a chair near the scene, busy popping her fruits into her mouth? She watched as Brandon turn the situation into his own Mafia King scene.

Alia kept nodding at Brandon’s words to the other Alpha. She was blivious to Brandon's bone crushing aura that kept everyone in the room shaking with their heads bowed. The power of the little aura he was emitting was already weighing over them like a ton of earth crushing rocks. To her, it was just another drama she had to witness. Brandon’s threat under all that speech was evidently visible in his powerful baritone voice. To others, it was venomous, but to her, it was like a feather lightly tickling her insides. Her breath hitched as she stared at the domineering man who she once knew as her brother. She couldn’t help admiring the power he held.

Standing upright with his eyes still on the shaking alpha, he turned around, locking eyes with Alia for a few seconds before walking away, taking immense power filled strides towards the exit. Her eyes couldn’t peel themselves from his upright, strong back until he disappeared out of the hall. Feeling eyes on her, she moved her eyes from the door, colliding with ones from the blondie. He stared at her with a meaningful smirk before turning to follow Brandon out.

The heavy atmosphere instantly lifted when Brandon went out and everything went back to normal, like nothing ever happened. Alia couldn’t imagine the amount of embarrassment the father-daughter duo currently felt. While lost in thought, a small voice snapped her back to reality.

“Good day Miss, I will be your personal maid from now onwards. Please follow me to show you your room.” The girl’s nervousness was evident from the way she stuttered and from the way she fisted the sides of her work gown. Pausing for a moment, Alia frowned a little, causing the young girl to shake, thinking she had said something wrong to the young miss.

“Can I take my plate with me?” she questioned cautiously. Alia knew that every pack or household had rules to abide by. She did not want to cross any of them, even the simplest ones, since she knew she was a rule breaker. Hearing Alia’s enquiry, the girl signed in relief and gave an immediate response.

“Yes, Miss.” Seeing Alia’s face light up at her response, the girl could not help but stare at her with slight surprise. “Great! Let’s go.” Alia happily stood up with her plate and walked out into the hall with the said girl trailing behind her. Passing by Wesley and his daughter, Alia did not even bat an eye on them, leaving the Winsley’s daughter seething with indescribable anger.

She couldn’t understand why Brandon would protect this skank. But she was an alpha’s daughter and an heir to one of the most powerful packs in the north, 3rd to only the Greyhound Park. She would never let such humiliation slide. Considering this, her mood improved a little, prompting her to graciously hold her head high. With no shame at all, Laura walked to where Brandon’s parents were sitting and joined them. Acting like nothing ever happened.

Opening the door for Alia, the maid excitedly introduced the style of the room to Alia. Her eyes sparkled as she pointed at each item with a huge smile on her face. Turning to Alia, still in her excitement, the maid grabbed her hand and dragged her to the bathroom before Alia could have any reaction. Bursting through the bathroom door, she eagerly explained every detail and the meaning of blending each item, style, and colour.

In short, it all created a luxurious yet traditional rich European theme, with door handles carved straight from raw gold. Every detail indicated the most recently evolved, multicultural and rich tradition of Europe. It was mind-blowing how they tried blending both the old school and the new school style and still be able to create such beautiful magic in an entire room.

All of this threw Alia off a little when she realised that the guest room shouldn’t be this well decked. She’s been to the pack house in Bluemoon pack. Their rooms were not as extravagant as the one she was to stay in ‘temporary’. While she had zoned out and gave way to her thoughts, the girl mentioned something that caught her attention. Snapping Alia out of her questionable thoughts.

“…wait…what?” she asked, blinking her eyes a few times as she stared at the door the girl was standing next to.

“This right here is the door connecting your room to the Master Bedroom…” she gestured to the matte black double door right in the middle of the wall. The door adorned in a thin golden frame gave off an oppressive ‘stay out’ that tempted Alia to even want to see what’s behind it. Seeing Alia’s long blank stare on the door leading to the master bedroom, the girl quickly explained that the alpha doesn’t like people interfering with his personal space. Any small mishap could lead to a person being beheaded.

The maids were very careful not to leave any lingering scent in his room. They had to ask for permission before entering their young alpha’s room. That’s how much they valued their lives after the last incident that involved an unruly alpha daughter. But the girl wouldn’t tell her that. She just needed to give Alia a heads up. After all the introductions and warnings, the girl left Alia to herself. It was already time for them to prepare dinner as she hurried out.

“…wait!” Alia called out to her and with farrowed brows asked the girl why she had been placed in a room like this ‘A room next to Brandon’s?! Are they crazy?! The dude’s probably gonna murder me at night, seeing as this is the best arrangement for it.’

“it was the young alpha’s orders to put you in the Luna suite. He said that he wanted to keep a close eye on you.”

The Luna suite? No wonder Alia felt like this room was too extravagant. It was meant for the future Luna of the pack, Brandon’s future mate. Now he’s using it to keep an eye on her. How thoughtful of the young master. Alia sneered inwardly at the thought and gave the girl a small smile before thanking her.

After the girl had left, Alia was now alone in the big quiet room. It didn’t look as glamorous as how the girl had detailed it anymore. It looked more like prison now that Alia knew why she was placed in it. With the space to herself, she went on fixing her clothes in the closet and before she knew it; she was being called to dinner by the same maid that led her here. Descending the stair, she heard clattering coming from the family dining room. Upon reaching the entrance, she hears laughter and voices she wasn’t familiar with in the diner.

Seeing Alia entering the diner, Elena immediately patted the chair next to herself excitedly, gesturing for Alia to join her. Not wanting to look rude, Alia walked towards Elena and took a seat right next to her. She had already noticed several gazes boring into her and had ignored them like they meant nothing. Even if they were to carve a mark into her soul, she felt like she didn’t owe any of these probing eyes an explanation. Elena excitedly clanked her wine glass to get everyone’s attention. Looking at Alia with undisguised motherly warmth in her eyes, Elena introduced her to the rest of the family. Most members didn’t have a problem with her, but some wore grim looks, not very fond of Alia staying with them.

“I hope everyone warmly welcomes her here. This is going to be her home. Permanently.” She put some emphasis on the last word, which arose murmurs and snickers from a lot others. The woman sitting next to Alia leaned towards her a little in a whisper.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it” she picked up some of her food with a fork and stuffed them into her mouth before winking at Alia with a meaningful look. Alia instinctively looked in Brandon’s direction, who was elegantly eating his meal. It showed how meaningless this conversation was to him as he continued to ignore them. He looked like he was in his own little dark bubble, that scared anyone away who try to approach him.

Alia hears someone clearing their throat and her gaze instantly collides with Elena’s. She gave Alia the ‘You’re staring’ look, causing Alia’s face to heat up a little. Alia looked around and found others engrossed in different conversation before clearing her throat and stuffing her face, avoiding the awkwardness she felt.

Elena laughed, causing everyone to stop mid conversation and stare at her. Even Brandon, who usually sat there like the world should bow at his feet, was staring at his mother with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“Mind sharing the joke darling” Brandon’s dad gave her a look with a slight smile as he took a bite of his food. “Oh, it’s nothing dear. Just thought Alia’s reaction was cute.” She smiled at him with eyes as bright and sparkly as stars. For a moment, they were caught in their own little intimate bubble.

“Can you guys stop staring at each other like that? It’s creepy.” The youngest in the room uttered. He was Brandon’s younger cousin, Tyler, who seemed to have been spoiled rotten by his parents. He had no respect at all as he blurted out his own thoughts. Right then, Tyler’s mother used a low tone to reprimand him before awkwardly looking around the table.

“My apologies for his unacceptable behaviour, mom. I’ll make sure he gets the correct punishment for his foolishness.” The woman tried smoothening out the awkwardness with a little laugh. Waving her hand as a sign of dismissal, “leave the child alone Teresa, he’s too young to understand” Elena smiled at the teenage boy who scowled at the side of her sweetness, though he gave her a small smile of appreciation. His reaction reminded her of the younger version of Brandon before he became this…rock he currently is.

“Mom…you said Alia’s reaction was…you know…cute.” He gestured with his head for his mother to continue. The one talking this time was Brandon’s younger brother, Terrance. He was known for his dark rebellion nature, where he’d wake up one day and decide to go on a killing spree. Anyone who is an enemy to their pack literally walked on eggshells, wondering when he’ll attack their pack.

Even with his playful nature, nobody dared cross him or his older brother. Some said they carved the two brothers from the same dark wood. They were known as the cursed princes for causing chaos and mayhem to packs around the world. “Well..” smiling, Elena looked at Alia’s almost ripe face as she hid it behind her thick curly auburn hair. But before she could utter a word, Brandon cut in.

“You call being caught staring, cute?” his eyes bore into the slightly shocked ones of Alia. Even if she wanted to look away, those beautiful dark eyes wouldn’t allow her. It was as if they were sucking her into them at that moment before he shifted his eyes to his speechless mother.