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Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“Everything can change at any moment, suddenly and forever.”

Paul Auster

I got no sleep the rest of the night.

In my head, I replayed everything that I remembered about Ava’s book.

I knew that Scarlett and Asher would lock eyes at the coronation tomorrow, and he’d break her heart immediately after by rejecting the connection in front of everyone. He’d continue to mistreat Scarlett for awhile, only to follow her out into the woods one day and realize that she’s not some weak omega, but a rare white wolf.

After that, he’d apologize – poorly – she’d take him back, and things would be good for awhile. I was sure there were other things that happened, but some of the details evaded me.

Internally, I cursed myself for not paying more attention.

I did know that eventually, Alpha Enzo would launch an attack on Asher and Scarlett’s pack. That was the main conflict of the book: Alpha Enzo’s desire to take over the werewolf world.

And it almost worked too – had it not been for the way Scarlett and Asher used Enzo’s beta to betray him.

Oh, well. I don’t really have to worry about that stuff anyway. I’ll be long gone by the time the plot comes to an end.

I’m not getting involved in any of this. No Asher, no Scarlett, and definitely no Alpha Enzo.

🔮🔮🔮

Asher’s pack was bigger than I’d realized.

Every pack member, from elders to infants, gathered in the large pack house for his coronation. Frankly, I kind of hated that it was called a “coronation.” It made him sound like a king, which I’m sure didn’t help Asher’s gigantic ego.

The pack house was just a gigantic wooden cabin, complete with at least three floors and more guest bedrooms than I could count. There was also a kitchen somewhere, which is where I knew Scarlett meant most of her time. Asher and his cronies made her do the bulk of the cooking, even though they insulted just about everything she made.

Today, a stage area had been constructed at the front of the living room, where Asher would be “crowned.”

I hung out in the back of the room, surrounded by the twins that had accompanied Asher last night. Their names, I learned, were Blake and Brad.

At least I think it was Brad. He could’ve said Chad – I was hardly listening.

They were both tall, freckled redheads, and if I remembered the book correctly, very loyal to Asher. In the novel, they’d practically been his lapdogs, joining in on the senseless bullying of Scarlett to impress Asher.

A little bit of anger bubbled up inside, but I resisted the urge to chew them out.

How did that saying go? Not my circus, not my monkeys?

Well, this is not my pack, not my werewolves.

My only concern is getting back to my real life.

Even with Blake and Chad – I mean Brad – by my side, I still got plenty of weird looks from Asher’s pack. No doubt they could smell that I was human.

“Would you like a cheese danish? They’re homemade,” a meek feminine voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned around – and gasped.

Standing beside me with a tray full of cheese danishes in her hand was the book’s main character.

Scarlett.

Even with her head bowed and wearing hand-me-down clothes that hung off her petite frame, it was impossible not to notice how beautiful she was. She had dark auburn hair that hung in loose waves, pale skin, and bright green eyes – even if I couldn’t see them right now.

“What do you think you’re doing, omega?” Blake spat at her, his face suddenly twisted into a snarl. His change in demeanor felt like whiplash.

She curled into herself.

“I-I just got made some cheese danishes,” she said, her voice even meeker, “For Alpha Asher’s c-coronation.”

“You think we want your dumb danishes?” Brad growled, and I gasped when he grabbed her tray and flipped it onto the floor. “Get out of here, omega.”

She scurried out of sight in an instant, leaving the ruined danishes on the floor.

Holy shit.

It was one thing to read about the animosity that Scarlett’s pack had for her, but it was another thing to witness it firsthand.

That anger bubbled up inside me again. Where did these pricks get the nerve to speak to her like that? They hated her, and for what? Because she was supposedly an omega? Because they liked kicking around someone weaker than them?

Not that they have any idea she’s probably the strongest of them all.

Still, I wanted to punch the twins in the face.

Better yet, I wanted to grab a few of those danishes off the floor and shove them down their throats until they choked.

And then I wanted to find Scarlett and shake some self-confidence into her. The poor girl had just taken their abuse like she deserved it, and she’d been doing it for years. I wanted to tell her to use some of those rare white wolf powers she’d discovered recently, and claw out –

I paused, taking a deep breath to ground myself.

Remember, Elsie. Not your pack, not your werewolves.

Getting home is priority number one.

You have to be logical about this.

Like you always are.

It took several deep breaths before I felt at least some of the anger subside. Fortunately, Asher’s coronation started, and that provided a distraction from my violent thoughts.

Unfortunately, werewolf coronations weren’t as interesting as you might assume. Asher knelt before one of the pack elders on the makeshift stage, and swore to protect the pack and all of its members from harm.

I actually snorted at that last part, which earned a few glares from anyone standing nearby.

Can you blame me? How am I supposed to take these vows seriously when Asher doesn’t?

And while Asher made false promises to his pack, my eyes scanned the room. I found Scarlett standing in the corner, a new tray of drinks in her hand. She stared at Asher in awe, like he wasn’t the same man who’d spent years belittling her.

Not your pack, not your werewolves, Elsie.

“And now,” the elder’s croaky voice rang through the room, “I name you, Asher Knight, as Alpha of the Crescent Moon pack. May your leadership be long and peaceful.”

This was it – the moment where it happened.

Asher stood up and turned to face the crowd, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. His green eyes darted across the room, and then, they landed on Scarlett.

He gasped.

Although Scarlett had turned eighteen three weeks ago, the age where all werewolves could find their mate, this was the first time they’d actually made direct eye-contact.

“Mate.”

They spoke the word in unison as the mate bond snapped into place. For a moment, Asher’s face was full of awe. He was looking at Scarlett like she was the answer to every problem he’d ever had in his life.

And although I knew what was about to go down, I had to admit…nobody had ever looked at me like that. Not Aiden. Not my pathetically short list of casual boyfriends.

Nobody.

And then the moment shattered.

Just as gasps and murmurs began to ripple throughout the room, Asher came to his senses. That look of awe twisted into disgust.

I couldn’t see Scarlett’s face anymore, which was probably for the best. I didn’t want to see the heartbreak.

“You? My mate?” He snarled. “No way I’m mated to a lowly omega.”

You mean…no way this rare white wolf is mated to a selfish Alpha-hole like you, I wanted to correct him.

Asher gestured to his pack, but his eyes were still fixed on Scarlett. “Get that look off your face, omega. I’m not your mate, and I’m certainly not going to let you be Luna to my pack. We don’t need you holding us back.”

I clenched my fists so hard that my nails began digging into the skin.

Not my pack, not my werewolves.

Scarlett started to say something, but Asher cut her off with the wave of his hand, his face stony. “I, Asher Knight of the Crescent Moon, reject you, Scarlett Davis, as my mate.”

Scarlett whimpered, but Asher wasn’t about to let her mourn – not even for a moment. “Say it back,” he growled, his eyes flashing gold, “Accept the rejection or I’ll kill you right here, right now.”

In my head, I chanted for Scarlett to do something, anything. To tell Asher to shove it, or even better, wipe that smirk off his face with a little bit of her white wolf power.

Unfortunately, I already knew how this part ended.

Shaking so visibly that I could see it across the room, Scarlett’s voice was meek and devastated as she said, “I, Scarlett Davis, accept your rejection.” Then, without another word, she bolted up the stairs.

More murmurs broke out over the crowd, but my human senses couldn’t hear most of them. I could, however, hear Blake and Brad just fine.

“Did you see that shit, man?” Brad asked his twin, “Alpha mated to her?

“Yeah, I can’t blame him for rejecting her. She’s an omega,” Blake replied with a smirk. “Just glad we got to witness it. Did you see the way she looked at him when she realized he was her mate? The omega really thought she was going to be our Alpha’s mate. As if.” Blake began doing his best impression of Scarlett crying, which made his twin howl in laughter.

Not your pack, not your werewolves, Elsie.

Not your pack, not your werewolves.

Not your pack, not your –

Fuck it.

I should’ve just kept my mouth shut, let the plot take its course, and let Blake and Brad drop me off at the nearest road to human civilization. That would’ve been the logical course of action.

But I didn’t do that.

For the first time in a long time, the anger bubbled over, and emotion overtook logic.

“Hey, guys, you know what else is funny?” I suddenly interrupted, my voice tinged with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

Blake and Brad barely stopped laughing long enough to look at me. “What do you want, human?” Blake said.

“Well, you guys think it’s funny that Scarlett won’t ever be your Luna,” I said, “And I just wanted to let you know that, no matter how hard you try to kiss Asher’s ass, you’re never going to get that position either.”

Their faces went from surprised to enraged in a blink second, and I decided it was time to exit.

However, I didn’t head for the literal exit – I bolted toward the attic.

To Scarlett’s room.

I was still getting the hell out of this book or world or whatever it was, but before I did, I might as well give Scarlett my two-sense. The girl desperately needed a little logic in her life, and that was the one thing I could provide.

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