Chapter 5

Rosalie Murdoch stared at the sacred circle. The circle was a patch of land on a hill that was surrounded by a ring of stones. It was the sacred ground of the pack. This is where Christopher Reynolds would mate with 19-year-old Grace Anderson. Under the blessing of the moon goddess, the Council, and the pack's watchful eyes. Grace was another insufferable bitch! Rosalie had met her on a few occasions. She was a typical Alpha princess, with her head stuck in the clouds. "Rosalie, there you are. I looked for you all over." a curious voice startled her from behind. Melissa approached her carrying a bunch of white and red flowers. A few girls of the pack, including Rosalie, were assigned by the beta Roger, the second in command, to put fresh beautiful flowers on the stone pillars surrounding the circle. Grace Anderson, the bride to be, had requested to have a "flowery" union. Ugh. Everyone was busy preparing for the ceremony and decorating different areas of the pack. Several distinguished guests from other packs were also arriving for the ceremony. So, everyone was busy doing something. "You've been crying again!" Melissa declared. It was not a question, it was a statement. "I am not crying. I didn't sleep well last night," Rosalie snapped. " You are not an exceptionally good liar, Rosalie. Did Chris say something?" Melissa asked, she was the only one who knew about Chris being her mate. She was the only one who Rosalie trusted with the secret. The romance between the Alpha and a lower rank wolf was frowned upon by the Council. They didn't believe in 'tainting the bloodline. It was not forbidden but it was best to avoid such circumstances. Rosalie's father was the second-in-command and was proud of it. Although Rosalie was a Beta by rank. She was still not good enough to be a Luna. "I haven't seen him in days," she lied and continued to grab and tie the flowers on the blocks on stones. It looked like a flowery Christmas decoration. "I said you cannot lie to me," Melissa rolled her eyes. "Chris has been in a bad mood all day, he thrashed his office earlier, Roger had to send some boys to control him. They are cleaning up right now." Rosalie sighed. She knew that there was no way to deny the truth. "He said he loved me," she whispered, "I love him, Melissa," she whispered again, pain erupted in her heart, "you can't imagine how much it hurts, doing all of this, decorating for his mating with that bitch!" She said, throwing the flowers back into the cardboard box. Melissa hugged her sympathetically. "The council sucks." she whispered into her ear, feeling her pain. "Why didn't Chris oppose? If he is your mate, he should show some spine and tell the council that you will become his Luna. The ceremony is tomorrow for crying aloud! Is he a stupid chicken or a wolf?" she said and paced around in anger. Rosalie knew she felt bad for her. "He can't," Rosalie whispered back. She tried to control her voice so that the others would not hear the pain and hatred in it. "Anderson Pack would have waged a war with us for disgracing their Princess and breaking the oath. You don't want another pack war, do you?" Melissa frowned. "This is why I don't like arranged mating, it's too complicated and too old-fashioned." "I'll be fine Melissa, it's not like we are mated or anything. Our bond will break once Chris is mated to Grace. It won't be so bad afterwards," she tried to pacify herself in a cheery voice, but her wolf was sad. The mate bond could be broken if the mate mated with someone else, but it hurts until that happens. "I will be OK. I should have known though, our relationship wouldn't have made it anyway. I think it's for the best that it ended early." Melissa hugged Rosalie again. "You are very strong, Rosalie." "Rosalie," Martin's voice called suddenly. Martin was Rosalie's adopted brother. His parents had died in the pack war. They were good friends with Murdoch. So, he was adopted by them. Rosalie and Martin grew up together as siblings. He was 2 years older than Rosalie. "Rosalie, your mother is looking for you," Martin said. Martin was tall, with a good physique, he was a beta in training. He was strong for his age, as strong as an Alpha. Melissa broke off the hug. "Go on," she said, as she took the box of flowers from Rosalie. "I'll finish up decorating for you." "Thank you, Melissa," Rosalie murmured to her as she looked at Martin, then followed him. She went into the manor. A long corridor stretched ahead of them. The walls were filled with an array of priceless paintings collected over the years. The mahogany floor was covered with a luxurious red carpet. As they walked together back to their home quarter in the vast silver Moon Manor, the lower ranks of the pack bowed their heads to them in respect as they carried boxes filled with things needed for the sacred ceremony tomorrow. The air was filled with excitement and euphoria. The Alpha's mating was one of the most momentous events for any pack. The second most important event was the birth of an heir. Rosalie bumped into her father as she was entering her home. "Hey Rosalie, good that you are here. I am going to attend a pack meeting. And look over the arrangements for tomorrow's function," her father said. "Go to your mother, and stay out of trouble, all right?" He added. She smiled at him. He was worried that she would do something mischievous. She could not blame him for being worried about her. Rosalie loved to have fun and run around the forest and the manor in either human or wolf form. And yes, sometimes she did get into trouble, more frequently than others. But she was not a child anymore. Rosalie was eighteen now. She chuckled as she remembered her past mischiefs. A year ago, Rosalie, Martin and Melissa were part of their first pack run. Despite the warnings to stay in the designated area. She had ended up in a wolf trap, which was fixed by some human hunter. She had howled for help and Chris had gone crazy looking for her. He came to her rescue and hugged her tight. That was also when she had her first kiss. She bit her lip at that memory and shook her head to dispel it. As if wanting to erase that memory away. "Rosalie?" Her father asked again, snapping her attention back to him. She nodded, not trusting her voice. "I won't get into any trouble, I promise." "Good girl," her dad patted her cheek and left for the meeting. Nobody in the pack knew her inner turmoil. Except for Melissa, not even her parents knew that their daughter was the Alpha's mate, but he had abandoned her.