The New Alpha
Rule number one: Don't ever go upstairs for whatever reason. No matter what you see or hear, remain on the ground floor!
Arabelle reminded herself of that rule because she was about to go upstairs. What if her boss needs her assistance? Accidents can happen even in the most random time or place. Problem is, she signed that document where the rules are specific. She can't do anything about it then. No matter how curious she is, she can't even check upstairs. What caused that crashing sound? She will never know since she can't go there.
“I hope my boss is okay up there.” she muttered to herself and decided to go back to the kitchen.
It's almost dinner when the call to her mom and sister ended. She missed them now even if it's just day one. Maybe she will get used to it somehow. She only has two choices, starve or have a better life. It's natural that she will choose the latter. She wants to make sure that her mom and sister will eat better food. From now on, she's in charge of providing them whatever they may need. She needs this job so bad so she will never break any rules that were handed to her to sign.
Arabelle suddenly craves soy sauce, chicken and rice. Problem is, she doesn’t have any garlic and she's not even allowed to use that for cooking. Maybe her boss is allergic to garlic or he's a skinwalker. She scolds herself for thinking about monsters. It was Amies's fault of telling her about the huge black dog. Maybe it was a stray or owned by one of the neighbors. It doesn't make sense why a dog would be checking out their house. Amie's imagination can run wild sometimes or so she thought.
~
Justin got home from his daily stroll from town. He was not able to see the one he came there for. His form changes from a werewolf to human. Now that he's back home, it's already safe to show his face. He chooses to go out in his werewolf form in case he encounters vampires along the way. These creatures have been enemies ever since anyone of them remembers. It's safer for them to be in their powerful form when going out.
Unfortunately, he did not see who he's looking for today. It seems that the young woman is not around. Ever since he saw her from that dark alley, he felt something different. He recently just discovered that such beauty existed in a place he frequently visits. She might be his fated mate and he wants to learn more about her. As a werewolf, stalking is normal when you think that you have found your mate. That's what he has been doing recently.
If he needs to go back and forth everyday just to see that young woman, he will do so. There's something about her that seems to be so attractive. She's radiating powerful energy which will make her a perfect Luna. Since she's human, he needs to approach her how her kind do. Courtship seems to be a big deal for them so he can go that route. But first, he needs to meet her by some accident. Young women seem to be into that as well.
He enters his house which is the biggest around their village. As the son of an alpha, he's basically a prince around there. Everyone is expecting him to take home the perfect Luna. He's going to be the next alpha of their pack which puts a lot of pressure on his choices. One year to go and he will turn 21 years old. It means he needs to have a mate before being declared as the new alpha. He should not become a failure when it comes to that. There are many shewolves who want to be his mate after all.
“Justin, where have you been again?” his father, the alpha, asked.
“Hey Dad! I was just stalking my mate.” he proudly announced.
“So, you found her. That's good news, son! You know how important it is to have a mate before becoming the new alpha.” the alpha reminded him.
“I know Dad. That's why I'm making sure nobody can snatch her from me.” he boasted.
“That's great to hear, son. Next year, you will lead the pack already. “ the alpha replied.
“I'll make you proud, Dad!” he said with conviction.
His father doesn't have any doubts that he will be able to pull this requirement easily. After all, they came from a long line of alphas. Their family always leads the pack for generations. The only thing that can jeopardize being an alpha is not having a mate. It's just like getting married to humans before becoming a king. That's going to be easy for Justin since he's an alpha. He's good looking, smart, and all the qualities any shewolf looks for in a mate.
Justin feels happy that his father has confidence in him. He wants to make sure that he will not fail from his responsibility. It's his destiny to become the new alpha and getting a mate on his side is an easy task. This will only become harder if that young woman he's stalking meets a vampire. He knows that it will be the only reason that he will fail from making her his mate. The thought made him nervous and decided to check on her again.
~
Arabelle finished her solo dinner and decided to go to her room already. There's not so much to do around the castle anymore. However, she needs to wake up early tomorrow since there will be a delivery. It's one of her daily tasks she needs to fulfill. She needs to receive the delivery and then she will be allowed to go to the second floor. The only reason she can do that is to place the delivery box in front of her boss's door. She can't even knock or make unnecessary noises which is odd.
When she saw her bed, she couldn't help but feel excited and lonely at the same time. Back in her house, she and Amie need to share one bed. Their mom's bed is also inside their only room. It can be uncomfortable sometimes but they don't have a choice. But now, she already has a room bigger than their whole house. It has a toilet and bath inside already. For someone poor like her, it can be an entire house since it has a small kitchen sink. There's also a small fridge inside. It's filled with drinks and snacks.
“Whoa, it's like living in a hotel room!” she exclaimed and took a selfie to send to her family.
If her sister sees this room, she will be ecstatic for sure. Her mom experienced being well off before them so maybe not so much. If only her father is still alive, maybe they can also have something like that. Arabelle takes out a small white candle and a lighter. She doesn’t know where she learned this habit. As if she needs to light a candle before sleeping. It's weird according to Amie but if she doesn't do this, she will have trouble sleeping. She placed the candle into the small table and lit it up.
Unconsciously, she started praying for her mom, sister, and herself to have a better life. She always prays for the same thing. Make her mom well again and have a job so they can have enough food. Tonight, she's grateful for already having a job. One last thing will be for her mother to be fine again. She overheard her aunt before talking about her mom's condition. It was not medical according to her but it is a curse. Her eldest daughter needed to do something to lift it but she didn't know what to do.
The light on the candle seems to die without a reason. The door is already closed and no windows are open either. It means that the wind can't be the reason why the candle just died. Arabelle feels the chill from her spine as if a cold air passes her by. She lights the candle again but the fire can't seem to hold. There's a presence inside her room but she can't see anything or anyone. The room doesn't have a fan or air-conditioning but the temperature seems to drop. She can see her breath from the air.
“Please stop scaring me. I don't want any trouble. “ she whispered, hoping whoever it is, it will soon leave.
She turns her head left and right since she can feel that there's somebody lurking behind her. It's making her paranoid now. Although whatever it is, she knows that it's not human. Is it a ghost? She's not scared of them as long as they don't catch her by surprise. Ghosts seem to like doing that. She tries to compose herself and look around the room. Right in the corner, she finally saw a dark figure standing there. It looks like a woman with a pale face and red eyes that seems to be looking at her.