Chapter 240

Jennifer helped Amy replace her beautiful ball gown with the plain brown ceremonial robe of a first-shift ceremony. She removed her shoes and all of her jewelry and loosened her hair.

“All ready,” Jennifer declared.

“Do you have it?” Amy asked me.

I patted the canvas bag under my arm. “Yep, let’s go.”

Amy walked solemnly beside me, but I could tell by the look on her face that she was almost bursting with excitement.

To avoid the guests, we went out the west wing side door and walked around the outside of the mansion to the rose garden. Justin, Mr. Gray, and the priestess were waiting there for us.

Amy wanted the ceremony to be private, so a few footmen were standing guard nearby to keep away any curious guests.

The ceremony wasn’t as formal as mine, but I thought it was very beautiful.

As the witnesses, Justin, Mr. Gray, and I chanted the ancient prayers, the priestess called for the Moon Goddess.

“We ask for your prayers and intervention with Lycaon, dear Goddess,” the priestess intoned. “Ask him to welcome Amy as one of our own and help guide her through her first shift.”

The priestess sprinkled the pleasant-smelling powder around Amy and repeated her prayer. Then she raised her arms to the night sky and smiled.

“My prayer has been answered,” she declared. “The blessing has been delivered.”

We chanted louder as my friend unbuttoned the top of the brown robe and began to shake. She called out the name Lorelei, and I knew it was happening.

Amy was about to shift.

In the blink of an eye, Amy dropped the robe and shifted into a beautiful wolf with fur the color of sunshine. She was almost as large as Diana, a strong Alpha trait.

At first glance, she appeared to be pure Alpha. But if you looked closer, you saw a small tuft of silver fur on her back that marked her as part Omega.

Amy was a hybrid wolf: a mixture of Alpha and Omega.

Omegas are considered lower in rank than Betas, and they have even less opportunities and respect than Betas. They live off the crumbs that the rest of society allowed them to have.

Amy being part Omega wasn’t what I had been expecting. But her wolf’s appearance was pleasing to the eye, and I didn’t care what she was. She was Amy, my best friend.

She came to me and pawed at the canvas bag.

“Okay,” I giggled and removed the table mirror from the bag. I held it out so Amy could see Lorilei, her wolf. “You’re a very pretty wolf.”

She admired herself for a moment before running to Justin.

“I can hear you,” he said. “My wolf, Ezra, recognizes your Lorelei. You are right, my darling. We are fated mates!” he declared.

Mr. Gray and I cheered. It was no wonder Amy and Justin fell in love so quickly. As fated mates, they were destined to be together and happy.

“Don’t just stand there, Justin,” Mr. Gray scolded. “Take her on her first run.”

Justin walked around the rose trellis, and his light brown wolf emerged in less than a minute. Amy’s wolf nuzzled his face, and they ran off toward the field.

I decided to let them enjoy themselves and returned to the ballroom with Mr. Gray, where I discovered curiosity about Amy was running high.

“Well, is she an Alpha?” Justin’s mother asked me. “Our son told us the chef isn’t her real father.”

Mr. Gray swallowed his anger and answered the rude woman. “My daughter shifted into a gorgeous blonde wolf with a small silver marking on her back.”

“That means she is an Omega hybrid,” Justin’s mother said and rolled her eyes. “We’re not allowing that in our family.”

Mr. Gray put a hand on my arm to stop me from doing something Amy might regret. “Don’t do it.”

I nodded. “But she can’t be allowed to cause trouble for Amy.”

“They aren’t the only ones among us who won’t accept her,” he said. “It’s worse than I feared. Listen to the talk around us. It would help to know who Amy’s mother was and the circumstances surrounding her birth and abandonment.”

He was right. When people didn’t have the facts, they often made up their own wild theories.

I quietly walked around the edges of the crowd and listened to the chatter of the guests, and my anger and fear for Amy’s future grew.

“Amy’s not one of us anymore,” a family friend of the Gray’s said to another woman. “She’s part Alpha, but what Alpha would mate with an Omega?”

“This is such a shock,” her friend said. “Poor, Elliot. Having Amy be part Alpha is bad enough, but her Omega blood could destroy his business.”

I gasped. Even though I was raised with them, I never knew Betas felt this strongly about Omegas. I guess everyone enjoyed feeling superior over somebody.

Next, an older Alpha woman who was friends with Lana let loose a wild theory. “Her real mother must have been one of the Omega females who sell their bodies for money. Older Alpha men visit them when they are desperate for a lover.”

I couldn’t listen to any more of this. I had to do something to stop the nasty talk about my best friend. Amy and Justin could return at any moment. I would find Alex and have him send everyone home.

“Where is he?” I mumbled while I scanned the room. There, he was with Victor, talking to a couple near the fireplace. I waved to try to get their attention.

But it was too late. The crowd parted, and Amy and Justin walked into the center of the ballroom. They held hands and had huge grins on their faces.

Amy looked just as beautiful in her brown robe, bare feet, and loose hair than she did in her ball gown. She was truly happy.

“Oh, Daisy, running as a wolf was amazing,” Amy gushed. “I love shifting and running through the woods and fields. Why was I ever frightened of it?”

“She almost caught a rabbit,” Justin bragged. “You should see her run. Amy’s wolf is faster than mine.”

Amy giggled and leaned against Justin. “I wasn’t going to hurt the poor bunny. I just wanted to see if I could catch it.”

Justin kissed her cheek. “I know you didn’t want to hurt it. You are the sweetest girl. I’m glad you’re mine.”

“No, Justin, she isn’t yours any longer. It’s over between you as of this moment,” his mother declared. “You are not seeing that hybrid anymore. Who knows where she comes from? Your father and I forbid it.”

“Mother, Amy is my fated mate,” Justin calmly informed her. “We will see each other whenever we wish until we are ready to marry.”

Justin's father stepped in front of his wife. “But you don’t even know who she is except that she’s the daughter of an Omega who tricked an Alpha into sleeping with her.”

“If you don’t break it off with your little hybrid this minute, you will be disinherited,” his mother added.

Justin was shocked by the venom coming from his parents about Amy. He and Amy had been blissfully happy a moment before. Now, things were crumbling around them.

“I don’t care,” Justin said. “Disinherit me if you like. I love Amy. We are fated mates, and I will have no other.”

The solitary man in the worn, blue suit walked up to Justin and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t let them pull you apart. Please don’t make the same mistake I did. If you lose her, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Andrew, it’s time to go home,” Pat Archer shouted. “Right now. Stay out of things that aren’t any of your business.”

“But it is my business,” Andrew insisted. “You know it’s my business.”

“No. Stop this, right now!” Pat Archer was seething with anger and frustration. “Stay out of it. Don’t say another word, or I promise you’ll be sorry.”

“No, Mother. I did as you wanted for too long. She needs me to tell everyone the truth.” He turned to Amy. “I’m sorry, Amy, for not being there for you all this time. Maybe my speaking up will help you now.”

Amy stared at him for a long moment. “I’ve waited on you at the restaurant. Who are you?”

“I’m Andrew Archer,” he replied. “I’m your biological father.”