Chapter 7
Chapter 7
I don’t know what’s going on with Xavier. He’s acting so strange lately. I frown as we head to the study and enter, only to see Regan sitting in front of my father and mother, The Alpha and lipna of the Blood Moon Park, along with her stepmother Heather and her father Johnathon, the Beta. The room was slightly crowded as we walked in, Xavier and I standing off to the side. Regan looked nervous, wringing both of her hands together, while I shut the door and turned around, raising a brow and regarding my parents with a questioning look. It was not often that they called for both of us together.
“Well?” I asked, “What did you need us for Alpha, Luna?”
My father gives a slow smile, but my mother looks uncomfortable. “It’s in relation to your birthday party,” he says and it’s all I can do not to let out a growl of frustration, while Xavier continues to stand there, perfectly composed. “What about it?” my voice is cool.
“Every pack member is required to attend unless they are of omega blood” my mother interjects, as Regan stares at the desk. her dark hair hiding part of her face, while her stepmother just nods in agreement. “However, in Regan’s case..” she trails off.
Is she asking for permission for Regan to attend the party? I can feel anger coursing through my breast at the mere thought of it. After everything that she has put Isabelle through, there is no way that I’m granting her permission to attend. If I had my way, she wouldn’t even be allowed near the pack house, let alone on the grounds. I glared at my mother.
“If you’re asking permission for Regan to attend, the answer is no.” I said heatedly “I don’t want her there, the pack doesn’t want her there” I added, even as my brother cleared his throat.
“Xander, you’re being hasty” he began, but I shook my head and pointed at Regan who had finally lifted her eyes to look at me, her eyes wide with hurt.
“No. The pack will only resent her for attending. It will ruin the whole night. I understand that it’s usually for all pack members excluding omegas, but in this case, I think we need to make an exception” 1 growled back in frustration.
“If that is what you feel, then we will agree,” my mother said, glancing quickly at Regan who simply tightened her lips and said nothing. “However Johnathon has another request he would like to bring up with you, while Regan is here.”
I could see Regan staring at her father, her eyes gleaming with what looked like devastation. I wondered what kind of request Johnathon could be asking for Regan to look so upset, even as I dismissed the tiny bit of concern I was feeling towards her. The girl was a murderer. I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for her at all, I reminded myself crossly, not to mention the way she treated my chosen mate. Isabelle was the one I should be feeling sorry for, not her.
“What would that be?” Xavier’s voice was tightly controlled, but he was studying Regan carefully.
His gaze lingered too much for my liking. I glared at him.
“My daughter has expressed a desire to leave the pack when she turns eighteen” Beta Johnathon finally spoke, bowing his head respectfully as he addressed the both of us.
“You want us to give her permission to leave?” that surprised me
Given the way he treated Regan, I had never anticipated that he would show her or grant her that kind of compassion. My mother coughed and my father slowly shook his head. Xavier gave me a sidelong glance, looking just as confused as I felt. “No Alphas, the law states that anyone of
“Beta or Alpha blood must receive permission from the Alpha in order to be able to leave” I interrupted smoothly.
I knew the pack rules and laws, inside and out.
Fri, Jal
“Yes,” Johnathon said, glancing at his daughter, his expression clinging to a scowl “I am requesting that Regan never be granted that permission and that she continues to remain in this park indefinitely.”
I saw Regan’s head droop down. She looked like she was fighting back tears. I saw Xavier staring at the Beta with what looked like condenmation. Even I had to admit that it seemed oddly enrl to force somebody to live in a pack that hated her for the rest of her life. I looked back at Regan but could only remember the stories that Isabelle told me and I forced back any sympathy I might have for her.
“Your father and I have already decided not to grant that permision, however when you take over, you can always change that” My mother spoke, glancing at Johnathon who continued to have a fixed smile on his face
So far, Heather had said nothing, but there was a small smile of satisfaction on her face. I almost felt pity for Regan Almost U I remembered Isabelle and then it was just as quickly gone.
“You’re looking for us to agree with you” Xavier’s voice cut through the din and got straight to the point of the matter.
“He’s got a document to sign, that would forbid you from changing your mind in the future. Beta Johnathon wants a guarantee that his daughter will remain in the pack and as a clo friend of ours” my father said gravely “We feel that It’s not too much of an imposition” “We’ve never done this for any other pack member” Xavier’s voice is quiet but firm.
“This is an unusual circumstance, my mother says calmly “not to mention that as Isabelle will be your chosen mate, Regan will also be part of the family. One more reason to keep her in the pack. Perhaps in the future, we could even find her a chosen mate of her own” she suggested in a tight voice.
Regan’s shoulders slumped. I swore I heard Xavier give a growl at my mother’s suggestion but when I glanced at him, he was looking straight ahead, giving nothing away. Had I imagined it?
“Is this what Regan wants?” my tone is surprisingly sharp.
“With all due respect Alpha.” Heather speaks to me, her eyes fixated on mine. “It doesn’t matter what Regan wants as she is still under eighteen and we are her legal guardians. In fact, we were proposing that Regan become an Omega of the pack house, perhaps serve Isabelle after she becomes your chosen mate” she added,
Whoa. The Beta and his wife were doing everything in their power to make Regan’s life even more miserable than it was already. My mother and father weren’t objecting to it either. I knew my mother was angry at the loss of her friend, Regan’s mother when she died, but not to this extent. I glanced at Xavier and then back at the Beta who was beginning to look impatient
Was that a tear trailing down Regan’s cheek? I inhaled sharply, feeling this innate desire to reach out and wipe it away. What was going on with me? Why was I feeling badly for this girl, when all my life, I had done nothing but despise her or tease her to her face? What had suddenly changed? Was Xavier’s change in behavior getting to me? I forced myself to focus on the task at hand, wanting to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
“I trust your judgment,” I told my mother and father, watching slightly nauseated as the Beta’s smile grew wider, “and if you agree, then I agree. I’ll sign the document” I forced myself to sound nonchalant, grabbing a pen and signing.
I saw Xavier hesitate and then proceed to do the same, saw him glance apologetically at Regan, although she didn’t see it.
“Great. Regan can start as an omega in the pack house starting tomorrow” my mother told Heather, as she began to stand “We could use the extra hands to prepare for the party.”
Even my mother’s tone was abrupt as Regan got to her feet and blindly staggered out with her stepmother holding her arm in a tight grip. I winced as I saw the bruises on her arm, wondering if that was from Heather.
“Thank you, boys, that’s a load off my mind: Beta Johnathon thanked us, heading out the door with his legal document.
You can leave”
my
father dismissed us.
12:17
We headed out, but as we did, I couldn’t help but think that we had done the wrong thing, committing Regan to a lifetime as an omega at a pack that didn’t want her. Why did her father ask for such a favor unless he hated her just as much as everybody else did! Would this come back to haunt us?