Beneath the Surface

The calm before the storm

The backyard was packed with guests, and I shivered as Sarah escorted me outside. It was the first time I'd been around anyone other than herself for the last year and a half, and I felt as if every eye was on me, making me glad for the sarong I'd put on before coming downstairs. To Sarah's protests, I told her that her "plan" wouldn't work if I "showed the goods" too early, and she grunted an agreement, clearly annoyed that she hadn't thought of that. 

Alpha Ben was the first to approach us. "You look acceptable," he said to me. "I trust you won't engage in any ... scandalous behaviour?"

"Oh, she won't," Sarah promised, smirking at me, a silent threat behind her eyes. "She's promised to be on her best behaviour, haven't you?"

"Yes, Beta," I said. "I do plan on behaving myself and not causing any scenes."

Alpha Ben grunted. "See that you don't," he said. "You're walking on thin ice, and tonight is to be a very important night for the Brindlebone pack. Jesse is to wed Mia, and their engagement will be announced here. I don't want anything going wrong, or there are going to be consequences."

I shivered. "Nothing will go wrong, Alpha," I said, and I meant it. No matter the consequences, I wasn't going to let Sarah ruin Jesse and Mia's engagement. Not if I had to outright tell them about the plan. How I'd manage that was anyone's guess, but as Alpha Ben walked away, Sarah turned to me with a dazzling smile that did little to hide the distaste in her eyes. 

"Father has told me to release you from the link," she said, her voice as dazzling as her fake smile. "I asked why, and he told me that you have proven yourself, and therefore you don't need constant watching. I don't think you've proven yourself at all, freak, but since Father is still the Alpha, I have to obey him." She put her hands on either side of my head, and the world went white for a moment. When my vision cleared, Sarah was standing there, arms folded, a scowl of epic proportions on her face. I carefully probed my mind, and, to my surprise, could no longer sense Sarah's presence. I was wary though; there was every chance she was lying about letting me go, but even as the thought crossed my mind, I felt no repercussions, and no jolts of pain ran down my spine, as they so often did when Sarah caught a thought in my mind she didn't like. And there had been plenty. She is telling the truth, I realised, but I was very careful to keep the elation from my face. I didn't want to give her a reason to monitor me from afar. 

"Thank you, Beta," I said, bowing my head. "I am grateful for your kindness."

"Don't get used to it," Sarah snarled, eyes ablaze with hatred and deep disappointment. "When I become Alpha, you will be linked to me 24/7, and no force on earth will compel me to ever let you go. You've got a lifetime's worth of punishment ahead of you, and I intend to make you feel every single second for the rest of your miserable life, understand?"

I took a deep breath. "I understand, Beta," I said. 

Sarah grunted. "If I had my way," she said, "I'd be keeping an eye on you, but Father has forbidden me to surveil you from afar. He says you're an adult now, and you deserve your privacy. You don't, but that's not for me to say. At least not for now." She sighed and turned away. "Get out of my sight," she said over my shoulder. "I don't want you anywhere near me. But remember; when Jesse arrives, you will put my plan into motion. If you fail me, you'll soon be wishing for death take you."

With that last threat, she ran over to her friends, squealing with delight as they embraced one another. I watched her go, shivering as I remembered just what I planned to do tonight. No matter what the personal cost to me, Jesse would not lose Mia, even though it would break my own heart. But I knew Jesse and Mia loved one another, if the rumours of their potential engagment were to be believed, so, I put my childhood fantasies of marrying him aside. He was going to marry Mia, and they were going to have a family together and be the Alpha and Luna of their own pack one day.

And I was going to be the one to make that future come true. Sarah would not be spoiling it with her greed and her burning desire to have it all. And if she thought otherwise, she was going to be in for one hell of a rude awakening.