Aurelia the Pink

Chapter 6: Victim or Villainess

2 Days to Kang’s Birthday

- Jian POV -

After dinner, I offered to wash the dishes so that my sister can enjoy her romantic night with her boyfriend. She had been fantasising about this overnight staycation with Kang for ages. Even when we were swimming at the lake, she waggled her eyebrows at me each time she caught Kang glancing at her red hot bikini. That was truly my sister: the life and soul of the party. I, on the other hand, much prefer to relax in bed with a book in my hand. Speaking about books, I was happy that I remembered to bring one book with me today. Given my third wheel status, this book is going to be really handy now. In fact, it is a self-help book on building confidence and socialising. I wanted to be like Ling.

As I reached into the duffel bag for my book, I saw the birthday gift that Ling prepared for Kang. She wanted to give it to him tonight! I shook my head, smiling at my forgetful sister. Sometimes she can be a ditz when it comes to her beloved Kang. I grabbed the gift and headed out to look for them.

I finally saw the lovebirds seated on a bench by the lake admiring the view. Perhaps I could sneak up to her from behind and slip it onto her lap before Kang notices. I crouched and tiptoed towards them. The couple was so engrossed with each other’s presence that they could not even hear the crunching of the leaves near them. Just as I squatted within earshot of them, Kang broke the silence with his over-the-top declaration of love. I rolled my eyes at how this man swayed my sister so easily. Yet, my heart tightened and longed for his love. I knew that if he confessed to me, I would accept it in a heartbeat. I always viewed him as my hero when he snatched me and Ling from those bullies when we were 5. Ling has everything. She has the man I love, she has all the confidence in the world, and she has support from everyone. I wished I was in her shoes.

Before I spiralled down into this disgusting rabbit hole of comparison, I was brought back to reality by a muffled gasp. I looked up to Ling’s glowing pink eyes. I had to bite my inner cheek to prevent myself from drawing in a sharp breath. My shock quickly turned into disappointment. She is keeping secrets. I shared with her everything I knew in life, yet she hid her eye colour from me? I am her sister! I remained rooted in the ground although I knew that I should not eavesdrop. After her entire explanation, Kang wrapped his arms around her tightly. Afraid of being discovered, I ran back to the cabin as fast as I could. I showered in record time and plopped onto the bed and grabbed my book, right before Ling entered the bedroom. Ling was so drunk in love that she did not even realise I held my book the wrong side up. I decided to give her a second chance.

“Ling, how was the date night? Did anything eventful happen that I should know of?” I asked cautiously while hiding my shaky voice. She recounted every single romantic gesture that Kang made. Every conversation, well, except for her pink eyes. As the time goes, my faith in her is dwindling.

“You guys always make me the third wheel,” I whined to Ling. This was the usual joke I made to Ling before, but this time, it was laced with venom. They intentionally kept me out of their bubble. Ling just laughed it off. Trembling with anger, I shoved a pillow onto her face without thinking. “PILLOW FIGHT!” I shouted as an attempt to divert her attention from this questionable action.

1 Day to Kang’s Birthday

I felt a little better after the pillow fight as I vented all my anger into hitting Ling with the pillows. However, throughout the night, I was tossing and turning while my dear liar sister Ling was sleeping so soundly. My mind was coming up with thousands of reasons why she was hiding the information from me. Perhaps she was protecting me from something? Anyway, I decided to give my sister a benefit of doubt by trusting that she has a good reason for not divulging her little secret to me.

Before the sun rose, I got up to cook a simple breakfast for Kang and Ling. Bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee. As usual, Kang was another early riser. I flashed him a wide grin while setting a plate of breakfast for him and wished him happy birthday in advance. Amused, Kang ruffled my hair and thanked me. Ugh, I hope he would treat me more like a woman just like Ling rather than a little sister.

The time passed by really fast and before we knew it, it was close to midnight. We encircled Kang as he stripped to prepare for his first shift. I wonder what his wolf would look like. Soon, we heard the cracking of bones as his body grew into a wolf larger than the size of a lion. I knew an Alpha wolf would be huge, but not that gigantic. Somehow I was captivated by his wolf. I took a few steps forward until I was directly behind Ling. When Kang’s wolf howled to the full moon, my heart skipped a beat. I fell harder for him than ever before. Just as he shifted back, he faced Ling and I. His eyes turned black and declared: “Mate! Mine!” Was I imagining something? He was looking at me, not Ling! As if to confirm my suspicions, Kang ran towards me and held me tightly. I bit my lower lip as he sniffed me and groped my bottom. I could feel his hard bulge pressing against my abdomen. Is this a dream? He then locked lips with me hungrily, tasting every bit of me.

Afterwards, his eyes lightened back to his original caramel brown. His look of l-ust was mixed with confusion. Before I could react, Kang pushed me away for a moment, apologised, and took off to look for Ling. I followed after him as fast as I could. I found him calling out to her at her door. I felt a twinge of jealousy. Walking over to him, I tugged at his sleeves and convinced him to give Ling time alone for tonight. He agreed and followed me to my room instead.

Once we reached my room, Kang pulled me into hug. Then, he picked me up bridal style and lowered me gently on my bed. With a hand rubbing his forehead, he sat on my bedside and requested to talk.

“Jian, you are my destined mate. I am sorry that you had to see me and Aurelia together all the time in the past. But, I will make it up to you. Both Aurelia and I have come to a mutual understanding that destined mates are important. I am sure she will give our relationship her blessings. She just needs time to let the information sink in. I will love you all my life.” Kang reassured me. “As your mate, I only wish to do whatever you are comfortable with. Will you still be comfortable with us interacting with Aurelia in the future?” Continued Kang.

A still small voice in me wanted to say no. My body lied. I nodded. In response, Kang hugged me tightly and told me that I was the best. The most understanding Luna of all time. That the pack was blessed with such a Luna. My head was dizzy with joy at all the recent developments. The man of my dreams, Kang, is now mine. Oh how the tables have turned.

That night, we slept together for the first time. I spooned him and took in his heavenly scent. Although your mate’s scent was meant to calm your mind, I could not sleep that night. My head was filled with countless thoughts. Happiness for my budding relationship. Fear that Kang still had feelings for Ling. Pity for Ling for losing her love.

Kang’s Birthday Celebration

I woke up to a set of brown eyes gazing at me and a sweet morning greeting. Due to reflex, I immediately covered my entire being with a blanket shyly. I only popped my head out after hearing a deep chuckle. Kang proceeded to stroke my curls, entangling my bed hair. I giggled and returned the favour by grooming his tousled hair. We washed up together before making our way down the pack house dining hall for breakfast. Today, we had a piping hot bowl of pork congee with braised peanuts. Kang insisted to feed me, blowing at every single spoonful to cool them down. “It is not very hygienic, you know?” I whined. He brought his lips close to my ears and whispered, retorting that I did not mind swallowing a whole lot of his saliva last night. My face blushed a tomato red at his close proximity and words.

Halfway through our bantering, he paused like a deer caught in the headlights. I traced his eye movement towards Ling. She looked like a zombie. I felt guilt and jealousy at the same time. Before she made a U-turn, Kang asked her to join us for a conversation. Kang deeply apologised to Ling for all the trouble and pleaded that we remained best friends. I could tell that she did not want to have this conversation now so I kept silent the entire time. However, I blamed both Ling and Kang. If they had listen to the pack to not pursue a relationship before they knew who their fated mates were, life would not be so complicated.

During the party, everyone congratulated me and Kang for finding each other. I beamed at them. They often asked when would we officially mate and mark each other. Embarrassed, I looked to the ground and waited for Kang to explain that we will do so after I shifted. The party was a blast. However, I occasionally saw Kang’s eyes trailed towards Ling. I sighed inwardly at that thought. I had to convince myself that he was just caring for her as a friend. But, the nagging feeling of being second choice never left me.

1 Day to Aurelia’s and Jian’s Birthday

A month had passed since I moved in with Kang. Things have stabilised since then; Ling started talking to us again two week back. Tonight Ling will shift. I even got her a necklace since Kang never failed to remind me almost every night about her coming birthday. I sometimes felt that Kang wished his destined mate was Ling instead. If given a choice, he will probably never look at me even once. Too bad, a wolf only gets stronger with their fated mate. Especially for an Alpha, it is expected for them to be with their fated mates. Without a true Luna, the pack will deteriorate. Though Ling never caught on, I was in a love-hate relationship with her.

Tonight, we had dinner with Ling before her official first shift. I was touched that even at her down periods, she gave me a beautiful brooch made of gold, diamonds and jade. I hurt her and yet, she thoughtfully picked a suitable gift for me. Guilt overcame me for being petty this whole time.

As we stood around the woods in anticipation for Ling’s shift, Kang went over to prepare Ling for the shift. Right at the moment, a white hot searing pain rushed all over my body. It felt like someone was pressing a hot iron onto my flesh from the inside. I tried to call out to Kang but a shriek came out of my mouth instead. Bones were breaking and rearranging inside my body. It began to hurt less. An unknown consciousness took over my body and emerged from within. That was when I heard the words “Hello Jian, I am your wolf, Jermaine.” I relaxed after knowing what was going on. Ironically, today must be my 18th birthday! I dreaded that I was shifting at the same time as Ling. I wondered how her wolf will overshadow mine. However, as I turned to look at Ling, I realised that she remained not shifted, with her head buried in both her hands crying. I phased back to my human form and found myself n-aked, my dress left torn at the side of the path. Kang pulled his shirt over me to cover my private areas. He then carried me back to the apartment with Ling hot on our heels.

Kang patted Ling’s head while she cried on his shoulder the entire night. Jermaine was growling at the scenario. Wolves are typically possessive over their mates. Likewise, I was seething at the thought of Kang comforting Ling while I just had a hard time shifting a few moments ago. My fists were curled to balls and my nails pressed against the base of my palm until it drew blood. It was getting increasingly difficult to hide my anger and jealousy. With all my strength, I swallowed my anger and went over to Ling to soothe her.

I ran into a couple of older omega she-wolves doing laundry in the wee morning hours. They curtsied as they greeted me. I made some small talk with them. Kang told me that a Luna should engage and socialise with everyone from their pack. They asked me why I was up so early. I did not know what came over me. Before stopping myself, I told them that Ling was wolf-less. I also slipped in that she has pink eyes. I knew that my sinister plan was working when I heard multiple gasps surrounding me.

“Ling should rest since she has the pink eye! Your mother is a pack nurse so she could cure her.” advised one of the she-wolf.

“Ling does not have the pink eye infection. She has pink coloured eyes!” I replied, eliciting more interest from them. I smirked knowing that older she-wolves are gossipmongers in our pack. Since Ling decided to hide her pink eyes from me, she will get a hundred-fold karma by having everyone know her secrets.

Returning to bed with Kang, he spooned me to sleep until afternoon the next day. We were spent. We were rudely awoken by the banging and shouting at our door. Sighing exasperatedly, Kang stormed off to the door only to experience one tight slap. Kang’s wolf was fighting to come out. As much as I dislike my sister now, I did not want her dead. I ran up to break the fight. Eventually, Ling left and never returned or talked to us ever. The entire situation was escalated to an all-time high. She even moved to the pack borders.

A part of me was happy that I now had undivided attention from Kang. A huge part of me, however, hated myself. I brought about harm to my own sister. I saw the way she was bullied and mistreated. It reminded me of the day she stood up for me when I was 5 and undeserving of her kindness. I deeply regretted my actions and it was eating me up from the inside. Without Ling’s blessing in our relationship, Kang had put off our mating and marking indefinitely.