CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER TWENTY
The morning that followed came with a kind of aura that spoke of a day that carried misfortune with it. The famed pack territory remained silent, save for the hushed whispers of the werewolves that resided within who were awake and the snores of the ones that still slept.
Avyanna’s eyes blinked rapidly as it struggled to get accustomed to the rays of sunlight that escaped through her thick window blinds and graced her face. Her yellow retina dilated as she widened her eyes, waking up from her sleep. The thoughts of the previous night lingered on her mind as her eyes remained wide open; still, unblinking, taking in the sunlight, and seemingly absorbing the sunlight.
She finally shut her illuminated eyes before she groaned and stretched to wake her body up from the rest. She let out a subtle yawn and her joints squelched and made cracking noises the more she stretched. She allowed a moment for reminiscing the events of the previous night before she sat on her bed.
The satin sheets fell effortlessly from her body revealing her nude skin to the sunlight. Her perky nipples were stony hard and her plum tender breasts stood firm on her chest as her nipples pulsed to the lewd feeling that came with the morning; it was either the early morning cold-hot feeling that made her titillated or the thoughts of dancing with the Lycan King the previous night which she immediately shook her head to free herself from such thoughts.
She got up in her nude state and walked to the shower where she cleaned up herself, focusing on her moist thighs and soft tender chest. She smiled as she reminisced the dance before she remembered how it ended, then her countenance changed. The bath was over and she was ready to begin the activities she had for the day. She had little to no plans for the day but she knew that she had to do something to get busy.
In the same spirit, Avyanna wore her nicest perfume for some reason and headed downstairs from her room to the large room downstairs that served as the living room, meeting room, and dining room. As she slowly, majestically walked down the stairs in a grey short gown that had no strap on her shoulders, she accessed her surroundings, taking note of the enormous room downstairs that awaited her, the neat stairs and the two wolves kissing at the foot of the stairs.
She couldn’t discern their faces but she could see the act happen perfectly as she slowly approached them. The Male held the waist of the female tenderly as he stroked his tongue across her lips and inside her mouth. The female in turn slobbered her wet lips and tongue on his lower lips passionately as her eyes was closed. The male extended his palms from her waist to her fluffy butt and grabbed it roughly but still passionately, squeezing it as he kissed her upper lips harder. Their lips locked, eyes closed, sides facing Avyanna, arms holding, fingers caressing; Avyanna stared at them with a half-smile wondering what werewolves would have such audacity to perform such an act under her roof, knowing fully well that she was in the building.
The closer she got to the wolves, the clearer it got. The familiarity of the werewolves revealed itself and eventually, she finally discovered their real identities as she closed in on them, taking the last step off the staircase, inches away from the love-birds she spat; “Ericson! What the fuck!”
The male kisser was her chosen mate, Ericson and the female was none other than the lady whose face she despised, Nancy the Omega. Avyanna’s voice caused the mates to cease their act, in partial shock, and look at her. Immediately Nancy met with Avyanna’s countenance, she genuflected and adopted her face that she used whenever she wanted to extract pity from Ericson. “Please forgive me my Luna.” She said miserably with fake sobs that seemed real to Ericson.
Avyanna was more concerned about her chosen mate that showed little to no remorse for kissing another lady that wasn’t yet his wife right before her eyes. Ericson remained silent and dashed an unbothered look at Avyanna.
“Please. I never meant to my Luna,” the Omega wailed silently as she moved swiftly on her knees to hide behind Ericson, trembling in fear at what the seemingly raging Luna might do to her.
Ericson’s unbothered stare did not waver despite the intensity of Avyanna’s gaze at him and the Omega. He still remained angry at Avyanna because of the way she danced sensually with the Lycan King at the Feast. He had felt humiliated watching her spin around in the arms of another man and dancing erotically with another man, a rival, while he had to listen to whispers of the crowd shaming him for letting another man take his wife. His thoughts and feelings in that moment formed in him a defense mechanism to battle Avyanna’s penetrating stare at him; an unconcerned look. Looking at her face he thought to himself; ‘Now you know what it feels like; watching your chosen mate be with another person.’
“A mate kissing his mate is what is happening, nothing deep, nothing personal.” Eric replied.
Avyanna straightened her face and dashed a conspicuous smile that proved that she was not bothered about seeing her husband kiss the lady that his instincts were tailored for, saying; “I thought as much.”
In the deepest cracks of her heart, Avyanna nursed a heart-shattering pain upon seeing her chosen mate that swore loyalty and love to her and her alone, kiss another lady in front of her and act like he did not care about the way she felt. That pain did not deter her from dashing an ‘I don’t care’ smile and walking slowly away from them like it didn’t hurt; besides it was not the first time that Avyanna had seen it happen.
In her past life, that she failed to defeat Nancy, this same point in time that Ericson kissed Nancy unapologetically occurred, the only difference was that Ericson, in the past, was remorseful and sorry for being caught in the act with Nancy. He had begged Avyanna for forgiveness and said that he was manipulated by Nancy. He begged that he did not mean to do it and swore that he never would. In the same past, Nancy did not completely genuflect and ask forgiveness from Avyanna, rather she knelt before Ericson and pleaded forgiveness, bowed before Avyanna and said, “I am sorry”, before walking past her to whisper in her ears, “Your husband’s lips taste good.”
The heartbreak Avyanna felt in the past and the one she felt in her life of a second chance shared a difference; in the past, she was angry at Nancy and Ericson, and in the present, she was furious at Ericson.
As Avyanna walked past Ericson, acting unbothered to the whole situation, he grabbed her arm and asked, “Why do you do that last night at the Feast? I hope you don't think I have forgiven you so easily”
“Let go of my arm! I don't need any forgiveness for you because I don't regret anything I did and said last night." She shoved him with extreme might, making him to stagger away from her and the crouching Omega behind him almost made him to fall. She walked a few steps away from him, further into the living room.
“How dare you! Have you no respect for the Alpha of this pack!” Ericson’s eyes turned yellow as he howled, his fangs baring and his breath turning into the growl of his wolf.
“An Alpha who cannot respect his bride and keep his body in place is not an Alpha! Not to me!” The pain that resided within her could be heard in the words that spewed from her mouth. Ericson grew angrier yet was able to retract his wolf.
“What kind of Luna openly flirts with the Lycan Alpha right under her Mate’s nose! Are the acts that you did last night any better than what you just saw me do!?” Ericson walked towards Avyanna slowly, Nancy got up from her kneeling position and acted innocent as she eavesdropped on the entire conversation between them. That was the first time she was physically present while the angst and argument between Ericson and Avyanna got physical and to its peak.
“Are you kidding me? Is this your way of revenge? I can't believe you can be this petty. By the way it was just a harmless dance.” Avyanna argued.
“A harmless dance you say. Did you think of the repercussions that your dance will have on this pack? Last night our pack appeared as weak and disorganized because you wanted a harmless dance with the Lycan Alpha."
Just then, Will, walked into the conversation and cut in sharply, ignorant of the fact that a very heated argument was taking place, “My Alpha, there has been reports of potential attacks on the pack.”
“Where did you hear this?”
“Right now, it is all hearsay. My sources say that …” before he completed his sentence, he turned to look at Avyanna whom he had not really noticed when he breezed in, “Good Morning my Luna.”
“Tell us Will, what do your sources say.” Ericson asked, looking at Avyanna shrewdly as he waited to hear Will confirm his suspicions.
“I think it is because of the harmless dance last night my liege.” Nancy said lightly, feigning innocence and ignorance.
“Do you hear that? There are rumors that we might be attacked because of your act.”
“My act!” Avyanna cut in, “Will save us from any attacks. My act will guarantee us protection! My act will create an alliance that will forever go down in our history!”
“My Luna, I don’t mean to be forward or rude but is the alliance you want to make not forbidden?” Nancy feigned the same tone as she did earlier when she asked, “Ever since I was a child, I was told that Lycans and …”
“Fuck your childhood!” Avyanna boiled in anger as she spoke, “What you were told as a child will not dictate the future of this pack!”
“This glorious pack that you want to form alliance with the Lycan’s?” Ericson asked abruptly.
“It will remain glorious!”
“My Luna, I am so sorry to interfere again but if you thought that forming an alliance with the Lycans was such a good idea, why didn’t you share the plan it with your husband?” Nancy asked, bowing her head and acting ignorant to the fact that she only asked her questions to piss Avyanna off.
Avyanna on her part was aware of this, but she had not realized it earlier when Nancy asked the initial questions. The question that Nancy just asked made her pause to craft an answer that had no indication of anger, but of a clear-mind and unbothered spirit. Taking in a deep breath, she replied, “This is a harmless merger, Ericson would have known if he paid more attention to me than an Omega, don’t you agree?”
“I would have never agreed to a merger with such barbaric creature!” Ericson howled.
Just then, Avyanna felt a familiar tingle in her spine, the air around her grew thicker and the tiny hairs on her neck sprang up. She could feel a familiar presence that was so identical to the one she felt at the feast, it was the one.
The sound of the wooden sole of a Tom Ford could be heard coming in contact with the wooden floor was heard, the primal scent of an unfamiliar being could be perceived, and the shiny suit could be seen, before the voice of the Lycan Alpha followed, "Who the hell is referring to me in such manner?"