Red:The Alpha's Queen

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

~Ruby~

Breakfast continued as earlier planned, the earlier commotion temporarily forgotten, although not temporarily. The broken furniture had been replaced, and all debris from the earlier fight had been cleaned away. Everything looked normal, aside from the large crack in the wall that would be fixed later on.

I could feel the Alpha's anger simmering just below, although he kept it on a tight leash. I pretended not to notice, although that was nearly impossible. I could have sworn I heard him growl more than once in the past hour. Once breakfast was done, a few people, especially women, walked to me, saying their greetings.

As soon as we were out of earshot and inside the confines of his study, he was on me. With both hands mere inches away from my head, and his heated breath, hitting my face, repeatedly, I waited for the storm to break. Any minute from now, he surely was going to crack.

Surprisingly, even though he was having a hard time restraining himself, he bit out. " What did you do out there you damn crazy woman? Do you realize just how much trouble you've got yourself into?"

"There's no need to fret. I'll be fine. "

He laughed, although there was no amusement in the sound. "Fretting you call it?, hmm? This is not something to joke about. It's a near death experience."

And just like I had expected, the dam came busting. "I'm genuinely worried about you, and all you have to say to me is that I don't need to fret? Can you please take everything a little serious at least, even if it's not your damn life that you care about? "

"And who said I don't care about my life? All this time, I've been trying to survive, from the moment I was accused of murder, to when I was marked by you, to the very moment I was slammed into the wall this morning. Even now, all I'm doing is trying to survive in this new life that I've to find myself accustomed to. "

"My life's been a mess since I've been associated with this pack, so don't you dare insult me and say I don't care about my life when I have been damn trying to survive every moment since I woke up. I lost my life once, and I'll be damned if I'll lose it again for a crime I didn't commit."

By the time I was done, I was breathing hard, my voice gone hoarse from all the yelling. The Alpha backed away from me, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. In a much softer tone, he asked. "Then why the hell did you have to go and accept that challenge? For all we know, you could sustain serious damage or even die, even if you say that's the last thing you wanna do. "

"Did you forget I'm no ordinary human? "

"You'll still be facing a werewolf that totally has an advantage of shifting. We are stronger in our wolf forms. You know that. "

"I know that, but I don't plan on losing. "

"I hope so, because if you dare to lose, I'll have to punish you. "

I scoffed. The nerve of this guy. "And what if I do? "

"I guess we'll have to see when we get there. "

"Now that we're done yelling at each other, can I go now? "

"Sure."

"And one more thing?" I stopped, hand freezing on the door. "What now? "

"Promise me you'll not be doing something that will potentially put your life on the line." I shrugged at him, not daring to make such a commitment to him. Using the advantage that I was at the door already, I merely shrugged. " We'll see. "

I swung it open, freeing myself from the study and then shutting it closed immediately. Hopefully, he wouldn't come after me. I turned, narrowly holding back a scream when I came face to face with an older woman.

"I'm so sorry dear. Did I startle you? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to. "

She spoke so soothingly, here voice as calm as a warm summer breeze. She stood only a head shorter than myself, and stood only a few inches away from me. Her yellow summer dress complimented her warm toned skin, making her much more youthful than she looked.

All in all, she have a rather strong sense of nurturing energy. Even though my heart was still palpitating at the scare I just had, I simply nodded, unable to resist her warmth. "Hello. Did you want to see the Alpha? He's inside. Go ahead. "

I began to walk away, but the woman stopped me once again. "Actually, dear. We came here to see you. We are here for you. "

We?

On closer inspection, I noticed three other younger women standing beside her, or more accurately, sitting on the chairs behind her. I hadn't even noticed those in the first place, and neither had I seen the three women behind her.

I noticed their close resemblance. All four women had dark hair and quite the intense set of icy blue eyes. Their differences came from their different hairstyles and the different lengths in their hair.

"Oh. I didn't expect that someone would come looking for me. But how may I help you? "

The older woman smiled. " Didn't Jared tell you? " I shook my head, feeling my brows begin to furrow. " No. He hasn't told me anything yet. Is there something I should be worried about? "

" Not at all dear. But that silly boy be damned for not telling you. We're in-laws, dear or should I say your soon to be in-laws. Now come on dear. We can't waste anymore time. It's time for us to go shopping for a new wedding dress. "

"Wedding dress? Who's getting married, and why do I have to be there? "

The woman laughed, making it seem like I had said the funniest thing ever. "Don't be silly, sweetheart. Of course you're the bride. You'll be getting married a week from now. We can't do that without you in a wedding dress now, can we?

****

My life really was coming at me fast, and I didn't know whether I had to laugh or scream my f**king lungs out. Both options were good, but I can't say I would be doing any of that.

I started at my reflection in the mirror, halfway processing the image that stared right back at me. I didn't know if I liked or hated anything about the dress I even wore. The to of the dress had an off shoulder neckline while it's skirt puffed out, like a Cinderella balm gown.

Silk gloves covered my arms, and a veil so long it touched the group was attached to the little updo bun in my hair. Uh uh. This wasn't my style, so the dress was definitely out of question. I looked like I had stepped out of a Disney Princess movie.

Linda, my supposed mother-in- law, dangled another white dress in front of me. "How about this one? Would you like to try it on? "

"Come on mom. That's too old fashioned for her. This is not the 50s." Merida, her youngest spoke, eyeing the dress in disdain. She had had the same opinion about the dress I currently wore, but Linda had really wanted to see me wearing it.

"Really,? " Linda asked, putting back the dress on the shelf. "I really found it beautiful. "

Honestly, I didn't care what dress I wore, as long as I looked good. The girls and their mother did most of the choosing but none of them seemed to come to the same conclusion.

On the way here, Linda had introduced herself and her daughters to me. Her eldest daughter, Mia was gone for college, and her three younger sisters who were all currently in high school stayed with her att the pack.

Linda had also explained that she was Jared's aunt by marriage, since she had been married to his late uncle, her husband, which meant that all the girls were biologically his cousins.

The girls had narrowly spared me a glance until it had come to shopping. Zoey, the oldest of the crew of three, had so far given the biggest input going as far as letting me try on at least four dresses so she could assess which complimented my figure best.

Aeri, the middle of the bunch was however, glued to her phone 85% of the time since we had arrived. I realized she really didn't say much. And then their was Merida, who was still urging with her mom.

Suddenly, the door of the bridal shop flew open, and in walked the last person I expected to be here. "Hey gorgeous. Does anyone need a a professional shopper's opinion? "

"Ciara."

I rushed to her, letting her wrap her arms around me, while I enjoyed the comfort and reassurance she offered. My body went slack with relief and I realized I hadn't even let down my guard through out the day. Even though Linda and her daughtets had treated me with kindness, I was glad there's someone I knew, and I was glad.

We pulled apart and I was curious what she was doing here. "How are you here? And what exactly happened that night? "

"Shush, honey. I'll fill you in later. But first, " She eyed the wedding dress I wore with nothing less than disdain. "Let's get rid of this monstrosity that you're currently wearing. "

I laughed, before pulling her farther into the shop and formally introducing her to my soon to be family. Thankfully, Ciara was much smoother when it came to meeting new people. Her social skills were way better than mine, so she got along with them much faster than I had.

Finally, approximately two hours later, the girls had shared all their opinions on the ideal dress and this, my wedding dress hunting finally came to an end. The women all nodded in agreement at my final reveal, satisfied with their handiwork.

The dress was made from satin, with a v-line cut neckline that had been embroider with mother of pearl beads that perfectly my cleavage recently covered. It fit perfectly, hugging my curves before flowing down my legs, mermaid style.

My veil was made of lace, flowing down my back and forming a trail without me. It was beautiful honestly, but I felt like something was missing. "Can you fetch me those gloves that I was wearing? "

The sales girl nodded before disappearing off. She returned later, and I took the gloves from her. After trying them on, satisfied with the look.

I was tired, so I left shoes, the flowers and jewelry and even the tiara selection to my bestfriend and my in-laws.

Our bags and all the accessories were packed and then handed over to is, however, I didn't see any payments being made. Linda must have caught on, so she whispered, "No need to worry dear. Jared will take care of it. "

"Oh."

Just how rich was this guy? We drove back to the packhouse, and I practically flew from the car. I wanted to be alone, so I was fleeing to my room. Linda offered a tour of the pack territories, but I declined, choosing rest. Ciara however, took up the old woman's request, having noticed the disappointed look on her face after her refusal.

They went on their merry way and I went on mine. As soon as I entered that huge mansion of a pack house, Maria and Naomi were on me.

"Welcome back, Luna. "

I nodded, hoping they would be finished and go.

"We apologize, but the Alpha wants to see you. He asked us to guide you back to his study as soon as you arrived back from you trip. "

I debated on whether to disobey or not, but decided I had had enough arguments for a day. I had to reserve my piece of mind for the rest of the evening. "Lead the way. "

The two women bowed, before doing as they had been ordered. I didn't bothered knocking, letting myself in as I pleased. What I hadn't expected though, was to run into a full on meeting. Everyone turned back, all their eyes on me. It was possibly a group of at least twenty people which meant 40 eyes on me, the Alpha included.

Embarrassed, I walked by, keeping my head high as their eyes followed till I stopped by the Alpha's seat. Thankfully, he didn't comment on it, and I was already beyond embarrassed.

"Whatever else we have to say will be continued tomorrow. This meetings been dismissed. You're all free to go. "

Chairs scraped against the floor, and everyone was guided outside by Maria and Naomi. The Alpha led me to another door, one I hadn't recognized, even though this was the second time I was in his study. He led me inside a much smaller room, an office but still smaller than I was used to.

"You called for me? "

"Yes. I did. "

"I thought I'd let you know in advance."

"About what? "

"About your fight. You're the one that accepted that challenge this morning. Remember? "

"Hmmm. Like you told me about our wedding? "

He scratched his head. "I didn't forget. I just wanted to talk about it after your fight was done. Linda's already gotten to you, huh? "

"Yeah. I'm sure she'll be dragging me around the place next chance she gets. "

"Pardon her. She gets excited and carried away so quickly. I apologize on her behalf. "

"I really don't mind, although it will take sometime for me to get used to her. "

"Anyway, you fight has been scheduled. You'll only have two days to prepare. I hope that's enough time for you. "

"That's more than enough. I have one question though. Can I have a weapon. "

"Anything but wolfsbane. Besides, that, there are no rules in a duel. It's a fight until one of the two parties surrender. "

He rounded the table, placing his arms around my shoulders. He really initiated contact between us, so I knew he meant business.

" It'd be in your best interest if you prepared. The whole pack is going to be here. Take this opportunity and make one hella of a good impression. Trust me, you're going to need it. "