Eight

TESSA’S POV
I could feel the dread crawling on my skin as I glanced up at Atlas Edevane, the future Alpha of the Crimson Shadows Pack. His pair of marble gray eyes radiated amusement, and I kind of felt mocked for some unknown reason, not to mention that the crowd’s attention was focused on us… on me.
Atlas knelt in front of me, still in a graceful manner. He was like a prince, if not for his dangerous aura. It made me overwhelmed and I wanted to disappear right away.
“Stand up before the crowd finds you as a laughingstock,” he whispered in his cold tone.
Swallowing the big lump in my throat, I managed to gasp, stand up, and straighten my gown, which was a bit wet because of the cucumber juice that was thrown accidentally on it.
“I… I’m sorry…” I said in my faint voice.
Atlas stood up, and I could feel his attention was still fixed on me. My heart raced wildly. The last thing I wanted to happen was for him to see me, but as much as I wanted to avoid it, it seemed to me that fate wanted to mock me. Not only did I get his attention, but the whole crowd… even the Alpha and Luna!
“You should be careful whenever you run away,” Atlas whispered, loud enough for me to hear.
I winced at what he said, glancing up at him in secret. He looked amused or something, which doubled the anxiety coursing through my chest.
“This is just a minor accident. Everyone should continue having fun,” Atlas announced.
It was as if that was the only thing the crowd was waiting for. They went on with whatever they were doing after such an announcement was made by the future Alpha. Seconds later, two maids appeared next to me, and they cleaned up the mess I made.
All I did was bite my lower lip and said, “T-Thank you….”
I flushed when Atlas walked near me, leaned down just enough to whisper something into my ear, “Coming into this pack with your stupidity is a serious mistake. Consider yourself lucky that I saved you. Return the favour by keeping your mouth shut about whatever you witnessed upstairs earlier…”
My body quivered at the way he insulted me. So, he thought I was stupid… just because I was trying to avoid him and ended up breaking a glass in the middle of his party. A gasp escaped my throat while my chest tightened. There was no way I wouldn’t feel offended by his remarks.
How could he….
“F-Fine… I… I appreciate your mercy…” I uttered, swallowing my pride and trying to avoid another conflict between us.
“Of course you should,” he said before he walked past me to interact with some relevant members of the pack.
I sucked in a long breath. My eyes roamed around to see if anyone was still watching me. Luckily, it appeared that only Mikhaela kept her attention on me. She ran in my direction, with an obvious worry in her face.
“Are you alright, Tessa?” she asked.
My lower lip quivered as I tried to speak, “I… I am.”
She winced and looked over my shoulders, perhaps checking the future Alpha to see if he was far enough away to hear our conversation.
“You see? That’s why I wanted you to come with me.” Her gaze dropped to my gown. “Your dress is wet.”
“It’s fine, Mikhaela. I think I’m going to find my guardians. I… I just want to go home.”
Her expression softened. “Oh my poor girl.”
I excused myself and blinked away those tears that wanted to fall down my cheeks. My chest was still heavy. Trying to find Aunt Alice to tell her that I wanted to go home, I walked to the other corner of the event hall. She was nowhere to be found, making me wonder where my vampire aunt went to and leaving me alone here surrounded by the shifters.
“Ms. Finley,” a voice spoke behind me.
Frowning, I spun around and saw the chamberlain standing in front of me.
“Y-Yes?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t like a friendly smile. It brought tension to my body.
“Our Luna wants to speak with you.”
And, oh, God… what exactly does the Luna want from me?
“M-Me?”
“Yes, Ms. Finley.” He tilted his head, motioning for me to follow him. “Let’s walk this way.”
I hadn’t moved on from the minor accident that happened, yet I could really feel my body tensing up again. Still, I had no choice but to follow the chamberlain. It was Luna who wanted to speak with me. It wasn’t like just a common shifter I could ignore.
As the chamberlain led the way, I noticed that we were heading into a private room behind the center platform. No visitors could be seen in the area, which doubled the fear engulfing me.
“Luna Serene is waiting inside,” he said with a wry smile before he opened the door for me.
I gulped down the lump in my throat, gave him a scared look, and then entered the room in hopes that everything would turn just fine.
The room was vast. It was like a conference room with all the antique furniture and materials that were mostly being used for a meeting. In the left corner, Luna Serene was feeding a parrot inside its cage hanging across the window, and gracefully turned to me, acknowledging my presence.
She looked at me with obvious disappointment, making my skin tighten at the back of my neck.
“I… I am please to meet you, Luna Serene,” my voice cracked as I said those words, and I bowed my head to pay my respect, even if the atmosphere was obviously not good.
“Raise your head,” she ordered.
My heart banged in my chest, but I still raised my gaze to her.
Her eyebrow rose. “I am not pleased to witness the accident that happened.”
“L-Luna Serene, p-please allow me to apologize. I didn’t mean to-”
“Save it,” she interrupted me. “I am not in the mood to hear any of your explanations. You see, Crimson Shadows is the most powerful pack in North America, and having someone who came from the human land makes me… displease.”
A gasp escaped my throat, unable to look at her in the eyes as I felt that it would be a sin if I did so. My nerves rang out with tension. The Luna of the pack obviously didn’t want me here. I thought I was welcomed… but not everyone was happy about me living with the pack.
And it hurts knowing I was a werewolf too… their kind.
“But my husband wanted to show mercy on you since your family is a useful member of the pack,” she continued and walked near me. My body shuddered when she was just a few steps away from me. “You grew up with pure human behavior, and I hate it. So I want to warn you, little kid.” Her hand moved to touch my chin and make me look at her. “Stay away from Atlas, and try not to influence our pack with your disgusting human behavior. It is such a disgrace. Do you understand?”
Hot tears formed on both sides of my eyes as I nodded in response.
“Have you gone mute, hmm?”
“Y-Yes, Luna Serene…”
She offered me a cold stare. “Now, leave ’cause your presence is ruining my night.”
“I… I apologize once again, Luna!” I said, tears falling down my cheeks.
I bowed my head one last time and forced my feet to leave the room immediately. The chamberlain was waiting outside when I opened the door, and the way he smirked at me made me feel worse. Without a word, I walked past him and ran as fast as I could to exit the place.
There was nothing else in my mind other than to escape that party. I wasn’t that fully welcomed, anyway. Luna Serene made it clear to me that I was different. Well, she was right to begin with. I lived with the humans… and my existence was already humanized, even if I was a shifter.
I didn’t know how the hell I was able to go home without getting lost in the direction. The only thing I wanted was to be alone, so I went straight into my room, crawled onto my bed, and cried.
“Tessa!” Aunt Alice’s voice echoed in the house a few minutes after.
A loud bang of the door was the next thing I heard, and with a loud whoosh of the air, I then realized both of them were standing next to my bed.
“What happened? I saw you running away,” Aunt Alice asked worriedly.
My shoulders shuddered as I covered my face, crying. It didn’t take that long before my aunt spoke once again.
“Shit, did that really happen, sweetheart?” Her voice softened as she sat down next to me.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she invaded my thoughts again. For the record, I didn’t have the ability to block her from doing so.
“That she-wolf is really heartless,” said Uncle Harry.
“How could she scare our niece that way, Harry?” I can’t believe she’s done that,” Aunt Alice said, frowning.
I wiped my tears away and looked at my aunt. “She’s right, anyway. I was humanized. I shouldn’t influence the others…”
“She’s just like that because she hates Vera,” Aunt Alice remarked, clenching her jaw.
My brow furrowed at what she said. “What do you mean, Aunt Alice?”
She took a deep breath and shook her head.
“You don’t need to know the details, but…” she paused as she held my hands, staring down at me intently. “Try not to cross paths with Serene. Don’t even get close to Atlas. Her mother is dangerous, Tessa.”