CHAPTER 26

Book:Sinful Love Published:2024-5-1

The leader’s pack with Selena entered the brick house after their usual morning routine with running and resistance training. The whole house was filled with a lot of unfamiliar faces, all hustling and bustling around, making preparations for the full moon night as Zaden has announced it to be a special full moon.
Selena has already started feeling nervous and Orion sensed her
“Relax, would you?” he bumped his shoulder to her’s. She managed to muster up a smile. All the other training has been postponed for today.
“Selena, dear, I need your help…” it was Mother Ruth, flustering in the most elegant manner. She held Selena’s wrist and guided her to the yard. Orion followed her while others were assigned their own division to be taken care of.
Selena followed Mother Ruth obediently as she stepped out of the side door. Zoomed out, she saw a whole yard filled with kids of different ages. Some crying, some fighting, some laughing, some jumping from table to ground, and a boy pulling a girl’s hair.
“Could you please watch after them, dear?” Mother Ruth requested politely but Selena slowly stepped back.
“No no no no no…I’m not good with kids” she said as fast as her tongue could move
“I am and I can help” she turned around to see Orion, standing like a savior behind her.
“Thank you dear” with that Mother Ruth left them and Selena didn’t waste any time-pinching Orion on his stomach
“Why did you do that for? Look at them, it’s a nightmare” Selena turned for another glance at the misery she is in.
“Oh come on, it’s not that bad” he held her shoulder and pushed her into the yard.
As soon as the kids saw them, they all shouted “Orion!!!” and ran towards them, crashing Selena to Orion. Orion had to hold her waist to prevent her from falling down. With Selena in one hand, he picked up a girl from the ground.
“Prewty girl!!!” It was the same girl Selena meet the day she came here and she still calls her pretty girl with slang. Selena gave a sheepish smile
“Selena, this is Sophie. Sophie, this is Selena, the pretty girl” he totally forgot about his hand around Selena and she got pushed closer to Orion by a group of boys, initiating a spark through Orion. At the moment– maybe she is wholly his. His mind slipped away, wanting to mark her right there and then. He leaned forward as his lips gently grazed the outer shell of her ears and she flinched back due to her ticklish nature.
“You should cut your hair, like this!!!” Sophie grabbed his beard and mimicked scissors, turning around the odd moment immediately as Selena laughed out.
Sophie was busy pulling her wavy curls, like a spring. Selena gently pinched the chubby cheeks of Sophie. Within the next 10 minutes, Selena got used to them and they got comfortable with her. She ended up playing catch and, hide and seek with them. Later, she read stories for them. It’s not that she is not good with kids, she is one of them. Orion had to get between Selena and another boy, to resolve their fight.
“Orion, he is stubborn” she stuck out her tongue to that boy and he returned her the same, making Selena raise her palm to hit him and Orion held down her palm, entwining with his. The boy escaped
“Wow, easy there little fox!!! Calm down.” he pulled Selena closer to him.
“Orion, you are teaching them a wrong concept. You didn’t know what he did, if–” Selena rambled on
“Ok fine, fine. Naptime” Orion shouted and all the kids wore a long faces.
He let out a laugh and pulled Selena behind him when an omega she-wolf helped usher all the kids to their living room. A row of beds laid down next to each other, forming a super big bed and the kids crashed on them. Selena and Orion sat next to each other on a fluffy couch in a corner. None of the kids looked tired or calm, the omega wolf struggled hard to keep them in line when Sophie ran to Selena and sat on her lap
“Can I sleep with you?” she asked
“Oh dear, I’m not going to sleep…” Selena said with her innocent Bambi eye to her
“Oh…then can you sing a lullaby for me, please…” she struggled with the words. Selena nodded and hugged her closer to her chest.
“You are my sunshine…you are my raindrop…” Selena begins to sing the only lullaby that she remembers. Her voice became deep and soothing, even for adults as Orion’s eyes felt heavy and he started rubbing them.
When the lullaby was finished, she hummed the song again and again until she fell asleep with Sophie in her arms, Orion hugging her from behind and his chin on top of her head. He too, has fallen asleep. Zaden crossed the area and saw the 3 sleeping on the couch, with a group of kids on the ground.
He felt a sudden pang on his chest, his eyes glazed with dangerous venom called jealousy. He moved slowly towards them with a hand in his pocket, gently grabbed Orion’s hand, and removed it from her waist, placing it back on his thigh. He then walked away.
Not long after that, Mother Ruth came. She gently woke up Orion and the other kids. Orion blinked awake.
“Let’s leave her alone. She needs as much rest as she could get, it’s an important night for her” She whispered to Orion and another omega wolfs. It wasn’t until 7 pm when Makeala came to wake her up. She then took her to her room for a shower
“Here, alpha wanted you to use this” she handed over a tube of hair color remover. Selena huffed out a breath of annoyance after being busted. She did as instructed by Makeala.
She walked out of the bathroom, a towel around her chest and head tilt down. Lumps of silver hair from root to tip framed her face, giving her a bad girl vibe. She put on a white, knee-length cotton dress with a zipper at back, just in case she needed to take off her dress for shifting. She wore a sneaker and packed some necessities like a blanket, water, and aspirin that she managed to get from the pack doctor. It might not be able to knock her off but can at least calm her down.
She walked downstairs and before she reached the last step, Zaden in a black cotton shirt and blue jeans, followed by Orion, Sitka, Oliver, and Xavier came striding in. They gasped at Selena. The silver hair falling right at the front, framing her face made her eye stand out.
“Look at you girl!!!” Sitka exclaimed
“It’s premature graying…” she said with doubts
“You, mean scientifically” Zaden was mocking her with a faint smile while he fiddled with his sleeve, making sure it sits in its folds before he starts talking to Makeala and Selena. They took this really serious as they went through the plan again and again
“Selena, it will take around 5 minutes for me to make the announcement, and then we would need to flee. There is a wood nearby, I will shift into a wolf and you would have to climb on me.” Zaden explained
“Shift? Can’t we just run?” Selena recalled Zaden’s wolf and her eyes widened, intimidated by Zaden’s wolf
“We won’t have enough time. Any delay could be dangerous.”
“Where are you going?” Makeala asked
“Lake Khalifa. Everyone would be focused on running furthest to the third lake so that they can hear Elder Village howl. None will be nearby here. And Khalifa lake faces just inhabited mountain, so there should be no one there.” they all nodded but Selena kept quiet, looking at the floor
“Hey…don’t worry. We will get through it…” Zaden reassured and she smiled.
They ate together and talked more about their precautionary measurement when it hits midnight. Apparently, a group of fighters will always be ready at the brick house and surrounding the pack’s members so that no unwanted incident can take place. Makeala has been interpreting everything to Selena the whole time, making sure she understands their customs which will also be hers, soon.
Werewolves that were scattered around are now magnetized to the yard. Selena’s heartbeat rose, bit by bit and she felt a chill creeping up her neck. There is no need to see the time, it’s 11. 30 pm and her panic attack had just kick-started. Zaden pulled her up to stand on a rock, where everyone can see Zaden.
“Dear Mountain Manuka pack, it is my honor to have you all gathered up today, at another full moon night” the crowd cheered.
“We will all shift and run free today, to the third lake so that we can greet the Elder Village but before that, I would like to invite a new member to our pack, Selena Brook” Selena grabbed Zaden’s palm really tight. The crowd cheered even louder and immediately, a glint of flash crossed Selena’s eye and she felt a surge of newfound energy, filling her from within. She felt lighter and she felt every member of the pack, individually in her heart.
“That’s it. Welcome, baby girl” Zaden whispered over her shoulder with a smile on his face. Selena looked up and returned his smile.
“Oh he is so cute”
“Damn his smile…Why doesn’t he smile more often?”
“Our fierce alpha melting like ice-cream to a girl…” she heard multiple voices in her head and winced
“Don’t worry, you will learn to control or ignore them” Zaden assured before pulling her behind him.
“Enjoy!!!” he said to the crowd just before surpassing them with Selena on his tail. She can clearly see some girls scowling at her. Zaden mind-linked Orion
“Take care” and Orion nodded. A few meters ahead and Zaden speed up to a run, unbuttoning his shirt in the process. He then took off his shoes and pants before shifting to a wolf, within a second, right in time when they reached the woods.
Selena stopped abruptly, when she suddenly felt a choke, facing a black alpha wolf in front of her, under the magnifying moonlight. Zaden’s wolf hearing picked up no movement from Selena and he turned around to face the now ghastly Selena. The mighty black wolf cooed out of despair, seeing the woman frightened by him. He took a step forward and Selena fell on her butt to the ground–fear consumed her.
Her eyes focused on his now, golden eyes. Something calming about those eyes. Zaden paced closer to her, and snuggled his head in the curve of her throat, making Selena hold her breath. He then laid down, flat belly for her to ride on him. She stretched her arm, struggled to pull herself together before climbing onto the wolf, and hugged its neck tightly. Zaden stood on 4 legs and sprinted off into the woods. The moon shone bright showing the path they needed to take, although Selena squeeze shut her eyes.