StarShine (Temporarily On Hold)

3

There is a sort of tranquility that Elara finds herself in when she cleans. It's easy to fall into a rhythm and let her mind wander to happy times or idle daydreams. It was usually peaceful, but not this time. 

Currently, Elara was left to stew in her thoughts with the new information about her parents and worse, about Everett. 

She couldn't even name which emotion was more prominent over the other. of course, anything to do with her parents was a sore spot but what hurt her the most was Everett not telling her about the new information. 

How could he hide this from her? Even if he wanted to wait, he had to have known that when the Alpha called her to his office, he might tell her. Everett had plenty of opportunities to tell her the truth and she knew there was never going to be a perfect time for this truth. 

Instead, he left her to be railroaded by the Alpha. 

And she couldn't wait to ask him why. 

After three hours of angrily cleaning, the guest quarters were fully stocked and cleaned, ready for the guests to arrive. She had made sure that food was stocked into the kitchen and that all the towels were fluffed and folded for every bathroom within the five-bedroom cottage.

In all the shock that happened, Elara never asked how many guests to expect, so all five rooms are ready. She even decided to make fresh baked cookies for them, something that her mother was keen to do whenever a guest would visit their home. 

Just as Elara plated the cookies, tires turning on the gravel reached her ears and she quickly grabbed her bag, leaving through the back door.

It had been awhile since Elara shifted into her wolf but a feeling of excitement raced through her as her bones snapped and realigned. The entire pack had been surprised when she shifted the first time and her wolf had been black.

Typically only high ranking wolves and males had black wolves, her she was all black except for the very tips of her ears dipped in white.

As she began her track through the woods back home, she heard some shouting and growls from the guest cottage. She debated checking to make sure everything was okay, but it wasn't her business. 

Besides she has a future beta to yell at. 

~

"Everett James!" Elara's voice rang through the house as she slammed the front door with enough strength to make it rattle on the hinges but not break.

A small scream sounded from upstairs followed by a loud thump and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Whatever that was, Everett deserved it.

The pounding of his feet on the stairs sounded like thunder and she nearly choked trying to contain the laughter that was bubbling in her throat. 

She's supposed to be angry and hurt. If he came in here while she was laughing it would ruin everything. So she swallows it down and does her best to let her anger show on her face. 

"What? What?!" Everett rounds the corner from the stairs on high alert as his wild eyes look for a threat. 

His hair is a mess, sticking up at odd angles and Elara noticed his basketball shorts were crooked. His posture relaxes when he sees no threat of danger, but he eyes Elara cautiously as he runs his hand through his hair. 

"You scared me, Elara." Grace laughs coming down the stairs, fixing her hair into a messy bun. 

She contemplates asking for Grace to leave so that Elara can vent her frustrations at her brother. But Grace is like a sister to Elara and mated to Everett. She is just as much a part of this now, even though Grace never had the chance to meet their parents. 

"So I met with the Alpha," Elara ignores the love-struck look Everett gives grace and decides to play it cool for a minute. 

She moves into the kitchen, grabbing a cold bottle of water from the fridge. She can sense the two mates following her in, but she allows a silence to settle for a moment. 

"Yeah. Max told me," Everett clears his throat, clearly sensing some animosity, but tiptoeing around why, "Apparently, we are having some visitors to the pack." 

Elara couldn't hide her surprised that he mentioned the Alpha's son. Why she didn't think that the future Alpha would be involved is anyone's guess. She was now wondering if Grace knew the truth as well. Was she the only one who hadn't been informed about this? 

"Yeah, I had to make up the guest house for them," Everett visibly relaxed at Elara's words and disappointment flooded through her. 

She had hoped that he would come clean at this moment. That something inside him would snap and the truth would spill free from his lips because he didn't want to lie and hide things from his only sister. 

"I wonder what it is that these visitors know about the death of our parents." she had tried to keep her voice calm and collected but even she could hear the accusation in her voice as she stared daggers at Everett.

"What?" Grace stepped up to Everett's side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

Elara now felt bad accusing her of knowing. It's clear that she was just as blindsided by this news that Elara had been but that does little to heal the wound Elara harbors. 

"Elara, what are you talking about?" Grace's wide innocent eyes meet Elara's.

"Oh, you didn't know? Maybe Everett will tell you,"  she didn't mean to sound so rude, but sometimes in anger, her tone can't be controlled, "You're his mate after all. I'm just his sister." 

Everett's entire face drained of color as he stares at the two most important females in his life. Both wear matching angry expressions and both display different levels of hurt and disappointment. 

His mouth gaped open like a fish gasping to be put back in the water, but no words were coming out. Grace crossed her arms and tapped her foot, a sign Everett knew meant he better answer or he wouldn't like the consequences. 

"I had a reason -" 

"Everett!" Grace gasps, cutting him off. 

Elara, can you please come to my office immediately. The Alpha's voice sounded in her head and she looked at the mated pair with panicked eyes. But neither saw because they were arguing together. 

Why would the Alpha want to see her twice in the same day? She hadn't forgotten anything that he asked her to do. Perhaps he was angry about the cookies? Maybe the visitors are allergic to chocolate chips or something? It seems unlikely as wolves rarely had allergies, but maybe it gave off the wrong welcome to the pack greeting. 

"Elara, please. I'm so sor-" Elara brushed past Everett and his apology not ready to hear it. 

"The Alpha wants to see me again," She moved quickly towards the front door, ignoring the calls and yelling as she ran to the pack house again. 

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You're Beautiful and YOU matter! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise❤