11

Emma

Today is the day, and damn am I glad it's finally here. It took so long to get here, and I swear it felt like it was never going to come. The days dragged on and seemed to last forever, and it got worse the closer to the day it got. I thought I was gonna die from how long it was taking.

Now, the question is, what do I wear? I don't exactly have formal clothes. I have jeans, more jeans, even more jeans, jeans that were cut into shorts, tank tops, camisoles, crop tops, tube tops, T-shirts, I have no idea what that is supposed to be, and... nothing formal. Not even a skirt!

This only means one thing...

I sighed, wrapped my towel tighter around me, then went for my parent's room. Mom sat at her vanity brushing her hair. Her eyes widened a bit before she turned around to face me.

"Emma?" She set her brush down and stood. "I thought you were getting ready?"

"I was, but..." I clutched on tighter to the towel and said the rest in a rush. "I have nothing to wear and I need your help to pick out something to wear because I don't want to look like a tom boy while I'm up on the stage being named Beta of the pack." I took in a deep breath after that long sentence.

She smiled and went for her closet. "I told you getting a few dresses would be nice for you. Now, this isn't exactly a formal event. Yes, we need to look nice, but you can wear a sun dress and still look presentable. Like... this one!" She pulled out a soft blue dress that looked like they would come down to just below my knees. The back of the dress was a bit longer and swished a bit when it was moved. The sleeves were similar to the back of the dress.

I smiled a bit. "It's perfect. Thanks, mom." I grabbed the dress and went back to my room to finish getting ready for tonight. After I finished drying off and got the dress on, I slipped on a pair of black flats and applied on some eyeliner, calling it good.

I met my parents and brother downstairs. Dad was trying to straighten Orien's mess of hair that refused to lay flat.

I rolled my eyes. "Let me." I licked both my hands and started ruffling up his hair even more.

"Ew!" He cried out and tried to get away. "Sister germs! Gross!" He still laughed though, causing me to giggle as I messed with his hair one last time before stopping, admiring my work. His hair now had a natural bed-head look. He can really pull it off.

"Alright, alright, let's go." Dad rolled his eyes and led us out of the house, locking up. He's still a bit skeptical about certain things, mainly Rogues, even though we haven't had an issue with them in sixteen years. It kinda has him on edge.

Orien and I walked in front of our parents as they held hands behind us. I gave him a light push.

"Excuse you?" He pushed me back. I rolled my eyes and bumped him with my hip. And then the game was on.

But only for a few seconds. "If you two get dirty, I swear you'll both be washing your clothes by hand for the rest of the month!" We instantly stopped after that. Who wouldn't?

My ears suddenly perked up and a sly grin spread across my lips. "We're here. We're here! Last one to the stage is a rotten egg!" Orien and I took off, mom shouting at us from behind.

"I beat ya!" I shouted as my hand slapped the stage.

"Nu-uh!" Orien shouted at me. "It was a tie! We were going the same speed! Just because I'm younger and smaller than you, doesn't mean we aren't of the same blood line of Betas!"

I tried to hold back a chuckle. "You're voice cracked. I'm sorry, but it's a little hard to take you seriously."

His cheeks turned a bright red. "Shut up! Damn it, stupid voice!" He covered his cheeks and started walking away. "I'm gonna get a drink..."

"Love you, Orien!" I called after him.

"Whatever..." I just smiled at his retreating form. He was right, though. It was a tie; I was just messing with him.

"Sibling rivalry?"

I turned and nodded to Kester. "Yup. It's fun to pick on him."

He shrugged. "I'm an only child, so I wouldn't know what that's like. It looks fun, yet annoying at the same time."

"Yeah, but it's nice." I leaned against the stage and stared out to the crowd growing bigger every few moments. "Lot's of people here today."

"Tell me about it." He leaned against the stage beside me. "And this is only our pack. The others should be arriving within the hour and then we start the ceremony within another fifteen minutes."

I nodded slowly. "Hey, do you know if Emily will be here tonight?"

"No," I looked up at him through the corners of my eyes. "She won't. He hasn't told her yet. He's scared to and doesn't know how to bring it up."

I sighed. "He has to tell her. Not telling her is only going to make things worse for them. She's going to continue hurting from the partial mating, and the longer he waits to tell her, the harder it's going to be for him to actually confront her."

Kester remained silent, his eyes wide as he stared behind me. I groaned. "He's behind me, isn't he..."

"Yes he is..." A tired voice said behind me. I turned, the voice matching the person. "You think I don't know that she's hurting? That if I keep waiting, there's a greater chance she'll reject me? I know, guys. I wasn't thinking when we had sex. I didn't realize what I had done until I spoke with my father about it. He told me everything. And you know what else? If she does end up rejecting me, I will not only be emotionally hurt, but also physically. And she will be psychologically hurt because we did have sex and preform a partial mating. I can't do this, guys. I'm scared to know what will happen! I know I have to tell her when it's just the two of us... but... I-I can't."

I placed a hand on his shoulder, then drew him into a tight embrace. "It's going to be okay, Gaven. We'll be with you through this entire thing. You can tell us everything. We can even prepare the message for you guys so that way you won't have to do it alone."

"You'd do that?" He asked as he slowly wrapped his arms around me.

"Of course," Kester gripped Gaven's shoulder. "We're friends, a team, part of the same pack. You're going to be our Alpha, and we have to be with you and help you through everything. You will have the help of your Beta, and your third in command every step of the way, just like it's supposed to be."

"Thanks, guys." He pulled back and sniffed. "Do I look okay?"

I licked my thumb and wiped it under his eyes, making him cry out in disgust and pull away. "Now you do." We laughed at that, which lightened the mood drastically.

"Emma...?" That voice... I slowly turned around to see someone I wasn't expecting.

"Vicca," I glanced away from her. "I mean, Alpha Victoria."

She sighed softly. "There's no need for formality, Emma. I... wish to speak with you alone. Please."

I looked back to the guys before facing her again and nodding. We walked away from the stage, away from the others and the festivities.

When we came to a stop, Vicca took a deep breath. "Emma... How- how are things with you and Soran?"

I gave a light shrug. "He's... okay, I guess. We had a project together and got an A on it, then we haven't really talked much since. I haven't heard anything about him being with any girls since the project. I know he's trying to change, but I can't deal with it. What if he reverts back to his usual ways and ends up doing something stupid? I don't want to take that chance. So tonight, after the ceremony, I'm going to try and be around as many guys as possible, see how he reacts. Depending on how he reacts will determine if I give him a chance or not."

I thought I saw something flash across her eyes, but it most likely was the lighting. "Emma, I know you're looking out for yourself, but a pack can't survive without its Alpha and Luna. Since you are so young, any choices you make will affect your future pack greatly. I know it'll be hard, but you have to give him a chance, no matter what happens tonight."

I sighed and lowered my head. "With all due respect, I have to go forward with what was already planned. I'm sorry, Vicca." With that, I held my head up high and went back to the festivities. I do respect her and value her opinion, but it seems as if she doesn't want to look out for my well being. She's always looked out for me.

Why not now?

"Emma!" I jumped then looked up a bit to see Kester motioning for my attention. "We're starting soon! Get up here!" I jogged back over to the stage and took my place at the steps behind Gaven. I took a deep breath and smoothed my dress out.

"You're fine, Emma." Gaven assured me as we watched his dad take the stage. Nyl stood tall with pride and authority. There may be other Alphas present, but this is his land, his pack, and he is making that very evident.

"Members of the Lynspack, the Twilight Pack, the Woods Pack, and the River Shore Pack," His powerful voice silenced the crowd. "I welcome you here to witness a glorious event, one that has been done for thousands of generations. I, Alpha Nyl Nilson, will be giving my son, Gaven Nilson, the title of Alpha. At the instance he is given the title, Emma will be given the title of Beta, and a new era of leaders will rise. Gaven, Emma, to the stage, please." We walked up the stairs, him a step ahead of me.

We faced the crowd before us. I discretely scanned it until I found a set of eyes staring directly at me. They stood at the very back of the sea of people, not once leaving me. I shook my head a bit to get my bangs out of my face and broke eye contact. They aren't worth my time at the moment.

"And so," I focused back on the ceremony. "I shall now pass over the title of Alpha to my son." I missed the huge speech... Oh well.

I watched from the corner of my eyes as father and son faced each other. Nyl placed his hand on Gaven's upper arm, to which Gaven gripped his forearm. Both bowed their heads as Nyl began muttering to himself.

Soon, I felt a surge of power flow through me. A small gasp left my lips as the power became tangible to the audience. My head tipped back a bit as I allowed the power to flow through me. I had no idea that becoming the Beta would feel like this. I wonder what it's like to be the Alpha and receiving all this power.

Soon, the last of the energy left the air and slowly finished entering Gaven. He gave a low gasp as he tried to regain the bit of breath he lost.

"Your new Alpha of the Lynspack," Nyl held up Gaven's arm by his wrist. "Alpha Gaven Nilson, and his Beta, Emma Kutcher!" Cheers and whistles sounded from the crowd as they gazed upon the newly appointed Alpha.

Wait, if he just became the Alpha, and all that energy went in to him... how is Emily feeling right now?

Gaven suddenly jumped and hastily reached for his pocket. He pulled out his phone, which was playing his and Emily's song while vibrating like crazy. "Excuse me..." His cheeks turned bright red as he sprinted off the stage to take the call.

"Anyway..." Nyl cleared his throat. "Lysnpack has left a variety of snacks and food for you all. Please enjoy and have as much as you would like." The crowd began to disperse with light chatter as the four packs mingled and spoke amongst each other.

I stepped off the stage with a light sigh as I felt the power the pack brought on to me. It feels like a lot of responsibility, but it feels amazing. I've never felt so in charge before. I feel as if I should have had this sooner. I can't wait to lead this pack into victory at Gaven's side.

"Emma!" I turned to see Kester jogging over to me. "How does it feel? Being Beta?"

I grinned. "It feels amazing. I love it! I'm glad Uncle Ty let my dad have the title. Though, at the same time I wish he had kept it, even though my aunt can't have kids. It would have still been nice to work with him as our Beta."

"I see what you mean," He said as he lead me over to the table of food. "But then again, we don't know how that would have gone over. I mean, yes, he was a great Beta for his time before he gave up the position, but each generation of new leaders needs fresh and new. While the old ways from the past generation are nice, the new gen would be better suited with their ideals and thoughts for the pack."

I nodded as I stuffed some food in my mouth. "I agree."

Kester laughed at my see food, but suddenly grew quiet. "Oh, great..."

"What?" I asked as I swallowed.

"Alpha Jerk is here..." He said with a low growl.

Finally... Now to be the game. "Who said he could come? I swear, if he came to crash the party, he's gonna hear it from me. Hold my plate." I thrust it into his chest and began to disappear into the crowd.

Now to find a bunch of guys and... Ah-ha! Perfect. "Kevin! Trixie!" The two glanced up and smiled wide.

"Emma!" Trixie ran over to me and we collided in a huge hug. "How does it feel to be a Beta now? Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah!" I giggled as we pulled away.

"You're not gonna crack under the pressure, right?" She teased as she elbowed me.

I scoffed at her. "Please, this will be nothing."

"What, no hug for me?" Kevin suddenly said as he joined us. I rolled my eyes and gave him an equally large hug as I gave Trixie.

"Hey, Kev." We pulled away and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So, how's Alpha life treating you?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. It's nice and all, but it's not like I thought it would be. Dad always told me that it would be the hardest, most stressful job I'd ever do."

"And?" I prompted.

"It's so simple, I can do it in my sleep!" He huffed and stuck his lip out. "And I have. I woke up one morning to see me at my laptop writing notes and patrol routes for our warriors. And they were very detailed and thought out!" Trixie and I laughed at him.

"It's not funny, guys!" He pouted even more, but I could tell he was trying so hard not to laugh.

"There's the little trouble maker." I glanced up to see Simon and Bella walking over to us. Turns out they're mates. Go figure!

I rolled my eyes. "Simon, how's it going?" We slapped each others hands then fist bumped.

"Same old, same old." He shrugged. "Being the Beta, giving orders, loving Bella, nothing new."

I giggled. "You need something to spice up your life."

"Oh yeah?" He challenged as he crossed his arms. "How do you propose I do that?"

I smirked. "Try something new in the bed, travel, go cliff diving, go on a date." I suggested.

Bella leaned in a bit. "I have wanted to try BDSM with him, but he won't do it because he thinks he'll always be on the bottom."

I snorted loudly to cover a laugh, then quickly covered my mouth with both hands. Simon's face turned bright red as the entire group burst into howls of laughter. I couldn't hold mine back for another second as my own bubbled up.

Our laughs caught the attention of others as they joined us. Trixie brought them up to speed as we began discussing the many things Simon and Bella could do. Bella was enjoying it, but Simon had fallen silent as his face became the color of a ripe tomato. He obviously wasn't expecting this talk.

As we talked and made our own group among the many others, I pulled back a bit, noticing that I was around a whole bunch of guys. This should really irk a certain someone. I began to scan the area, hoping to spot said person. I have to know what his reaction is to me being around so many men and-

What I saw about made my heart break in two. There, along the tree lines, was the man I despised. And with him, attached to his lips, was another female. He wasn't even looking in my direction.

A small, barely audible sound, squeaked out of me as my body seemed to suddenly weigh a ton. The plan back fired. He only wanted me for a brief moment before going off with another girl. He doesn't want me. He never wanted to be with me. I felt something streak down my left cheek.

"Hey, Emma. You suddenly went quiet and-" Kevin went silent as he followed my eyes. "Oh..."

"What?" Trixie was then at my other side. She glanced between Soran and I then gasped. "Oh no... Are you two...?"

I slowly shook my head. "I knew all along he never wanted to be my mate. He never proved that he could be loyal to me. This just shows that he can't keep his promise. I have to reject him."

"Emma,"

"Bella, no." I sniffed as more tears streamed down my face. "I have to do this. I can't be with someone who doesn't care about my feelings. This is all he's ever done. He girl hops; never settles. He doesn't even want to settle with me! His own mate! His Chosen One! I can't do this. I can't deal with heart break after heart break."

"When are you gonna do it?" Simon asked.

I tried to wipe away as many of the tears as I could. "Now. Wish me luck." My group muttered good luck to me as I slowly walked across the field over to Soran. He was so lost with this girl, he didn't even know that I was approaching them.

I felt something begin to burn inside me. It started out warm and began to grow hotter the closer I got to the pair. It simmered deep inside me, threatening to boil over. My pain ridden face soon turned to one of hate and rage.  The Wolves I passed felt this and quickly moved away from me, hoping they weren't what was causing this to emit from me.

My strides grew heavier and longer. My hands turned to fists, itching to hit that girl in her face; maybe break something. My jaw clenched and unclenched with unspoken malice, waiting to lash out with its poison filled words.

"You," I growled loudly. I gripped the girl by her hair and threw her off of Soran onto the ground, causing her to cry out in shock and pain. "Stay away from him you ungrateful, slut of a bitch! He is not yours! He is not your play toy! He is not your mate! Keep your slime covered lips off of him! He doesn't belong to you!"

She sniffed and glared up at me. "And what is he to you!"

My hands twitched as I bared my teeth at her. "He's supposed to be my mate! If he would stop trying to get with skanks like you, we'd probably be together, but no!"

I rounded on him, making him raise his hands a bit. "You just had to ignore the Mate Calling! You keep going off with girls! You keep hurting me! You don't want to be with me! You want to keep fueling your sex life and ignoring what your mate wants! You're only goal in life is to hurt me as much as possible before you go back home to be with however many more girls you choose! I've had it, Soran! I want no more of this! I, Emma Kutcher, reject you, So-"

He suddenly covered my mouth. "You can't do this! You're causing a scene!"

"I don't give a fuck!" I snarled as I pulled away. "We're not doing this, Soran! There will never be an us! I, Emma-"

"Don't!" He shouted over me.

"I will!" I began shaking from head to toe. "I, Emma Ku-"

"Emma!" He brought me into his arms and against his chest to try and muffle my words.

"Let go of me!" I shoved him away from me. "Don't ever touch me again! I-" I didn't have time to react as I felt lips crash against mine, shutting me up. My eyes bugged wide as he tried to get my lips to move with his.

My heart soared and my body exploded with those amazing sparks that mates get when they touch. My body wanted to move and kiss him back. My heart screamed at me to give in, to allow this.

But my conscious was stronger. I bit down hard on his lip. While he was distracted, I slipped out of his grip and shifted, flying right for him.

Since he's an Alpha, and was graced with lightning quick reflexes, he managed to shift at the last second. We collided with snarls and tufts of fur flying as we fought. He may have the strength, but I have the speed and agility.

I hit him from every angle I possibly could, trying not to get hit by his claws or get bit. Yes, he did get a few good lashes in, but I was landing more in the spots he couldn't defend.

Though the fight only lasted a mere thirty seconds, it seemed to last an eternity. It took Nyl, Krivix, and Signih to split the two of us apart. I was still rearing and ready to give Soran a piece of my mind. To let him know that we would never be together.

But something sent this white hot rage through me. Soran was smirking, and he had lust in his eyes. He thought this was a game! He knew being with that girl would set me off! It was all part of his plans to see what I would do! My plan failed and his succeeded.

I fought harder to get to him and slash that smirk from his face.

"Emma, that's enough!" I flinched and settled down a bit. "We're going home. Shift back and put this on."

I glared hard at Soran before I turned my back to him. I looked up and gave a soft whine before moving closer to my father. Gaven may be my Alpha, Nyl the Alpha before him, the current Alphas, and the ones before their children, may have authority over me, but none of them will have as much authority over me as my father does.

He looked away just before I shifted back and held out a long, thick robe. I grabbed the robe just as a lust filled growl filled the air. I looked over my shoulder as I put the robe on, letting Soran know that he wasn't ever going to get me. This was all he was going to see.

Krivix  and Signih held on tighter as he thrashed about to try and get to me. I turned away from him just as he shifted back.

"You can't avoid me, Emma!" He shouted as my family and I left. "You felt the sparks as we kissed! You want me! I could see it in your eyes! I could feel it through the kiss! Don't walk away from me, Emma! Emma!"

I shook my head and wrapped my arms tightly around me. A hand tugged at my sleeve. I looked down to see Orien with big, soft eyes. I took his hand and stared at the ground until we were far enough away from the party.

Then I lost it. My whole body shook with pain filled sobs as tears fell in waves from my eyes and down my cheeks. Three sets of arms wrapped around me to give me comfort. We stood there, allowing me to get this hurt and pain out of my system.

We stood there for roughly ten minutes before my tears started to slow and dry up. "Why does it hurt so much?" I asked in a shaky, cracked voice.

"It's because it feels as if the soul you share with Soran is starting to shrivel up and die." My dad explained. "Mates aren't meant to hurt each other physically, spiritually, or emotionally. Soran's basically done all three since you met him. Your soul can't handle it and doesn't know what to do."

"I don't like this." Orien wiped at his eyes. "I don't like how that jerk hurt my sister."

"None of us do," Mom took his hand and mine. "Let's just go home and forget this even happened." We softly agreed as we headed back to the house hand in hand.

In the distance, I heard a lone wolf howl its pain. It shook me to my core as a few more tears dripped from my eyes.

Soran is finally feeling the pain he's inflicted.

But it's too late...