Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future by Neener Chapter 6
I finish pantry duty making sure everything is set in the guest rooms. I had Sam order bouquets for
each of the
suites as an extra touch. In the guest Alpha’s suite, I also add a bottle of champagne. If this is the last
thing I ever get to do, I want it to be something that makes someone else happy.
It is almost one-thirty in the morning before I plop into bed exhausted. It has been a shit day. If Luna
Caroline has anything to do with it, it will probably be my last. Lex is exhausted too. She stops sulking
long enough to tell
me she needs me to shift, but I can’t. I have no time or energy. I keep promising her I will, but I feel like
I’ve broken that promise. I float off to sleep to the sounds of her whimpering in my head while I cry into
the pillow.
To my surprise, my alarm wakes me in the morning. Lex makes me promise to hang on for one more
day. We go through the motions of the life I hate. While I’m getting ready, I look in the mirror to find my
hair is completely silvery white now. I tuck it into a bun to try to avoid people noticing it.
The delegation from Blood River arrives in the early afternoon. They are all tall and intimidating with
tattoos and big muscles. Some of them have visible scars on their arms and faces. They’re wearing
matching black
and white business clothes or all-black security uniforms. Luna Caroline directs them to the sitting room
while I quietly bring in pitchers of water and ice tea for them to drink. I do my best to try not to be
noticed when one of the women calls me out.
“You there, omega,” She says abruptly, staring with green eyes and black hair pulled into a tight
ponytail.
I look around and realize she is speaking to me. “Wine. Wine for everyone.”
“Beta Lenora, of course, right away,” Luna Caroline says quickly, then nods her head to me.
I rush to the wine cellar and pull out two cases of wine, napkins, and glasses, prepping the drink
service cart and head back to the sitting room. I open three bottles each of red and white, leaving the
rest for them to do as they wish and I back out of the room so I can start on preparing dinner.
The rest of the day goes without a hitch. The guests seem pleased with dinner. In the evening, I go to
each guest suite to make sure everyone is happy with their accommodations. A couple of people ask
for more bags of chips or soda but on the whole, everyone seems satisfied.
The last door is the Beta’s room. Beta Lenora opens the door wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans, looking
much more relaxed than earlier. She has a large tattoo of a rose and a dagger on her forearm. Her dark
hair is still pulled back but she isn’t wearing makeup. I can see now, she looks only a few years older
than me. I can hear her mate inside talking on the phone.
“Thanks for checking on us. Everything is wonderful. The flowers are a beautiful touch. You have good
taste,” she smiles at me. I bow to her slightly, then turn to leave.
“Wait, what’s under your hat?” I stop in my tracks and turn around.
“I’m sorry ma’am?” I ask. I feel the blood drain from my face and a knot forms in my belly.
“Your hat. Why is it so low? What are you trying to hide?” she asks, “Come closer.”
I come closer and slowly take off my hat. Keeping my eyes to the ground. My silver hair cascades
down my back. It is embarrassingly greasy and visibly dirty. I feel myself blush.
“Oh, I see,” she says with surprise in her voice, “Now. Don’t be disrespectful. Always look me in the eye
when I speak to you.”
Oh crap. I look up at her. The light from her room shines right into my eyes. She looks at me blankly for
a moment trying to process what she is seeing.
“What are you? A hybrid?”
“No, ma’am. The pack doctor did tests but doesn’t know why it happened. He thinks it must be a
transformation related to my wolf getting ready to wake up,” I mean, it’s not a lie…it’s just not the whole
truth, right? How am I supposed to tell a complete stranger that my wolf says I am the Moon Goddess’s
actual daughter and that is why I have silver hair and violet eyes?
She grabs my chin and pulls my face closer to hers, inspecting closely, “And does the pack doctor
know someone has broken your nose recently? You still have bruises.”
“He’s treated my injuries in the past,” I’m not trying to elaborate or implicate anyone to this woman I
don’t know.
“Who’s at the door, Lenora?” the Beta inside calls to her.
“Just the omega assigned to us, Milo. What’s your name, again?”
“It’s Iokaste, ma’am but please call me Kas. I’m not an omega, though. I’m just a servant.”
“Her name is Kas. She picked out my beautiful flowers,” she’s still talking to her mate but she hasn’t
taken her eyes off me as if she is trying to size me up for some
reason. Her brow furrows slightly as she stares. She’s making me really self conscious.
“That’s nice. Ask her if I can get bubbly water in the refrigerator.”
“No problem, ma’am,” She and I share a smile at ‘bubbly water’, “I will bring it shortly and leave it at the
door.”
“Thank you. Oh and Kas, if those bruises aren’t healed tomorrow morning, find some powder. Alpha
Bronx Mason does not tolerate seeing injuries like that.”
“Ye-yes, ma’am.”
I run to the stockroom, get four bottles of San Pellegrino and put them in front of the door, then run
away as fast as I can. One million questions run through my head.
Would their Alpha kill me for being weaker than other wolves even if I was not part of his pack? Was
she going to tell Alpha Graham about my unusual features? Was she going to call him out for letting
someone break my nose? I mean, lady, if you think that is bad, I got some news you’re not gonna like
and then I’m dead meat by your Alpha for sure.
Alpha Graham comes down later and whips me for not having all the items our guests wanted. By
morning, Lex has still not been able to fully heal me. So I put on a loose black t-shirt and shorts with a
stretched-out
waistband. I’m in so much pain, everything is a struggle. Cooking, carrying breakfast trays, leaning over
to clean tables. Every move causes scabs to open and bleed, making the back of my shirt damp with
blood.
Beta Lenora makes eye contact with me a couple of
times. She can tell something was wrong but doesn’t say anything.
For some reason she can’t explain, Lex is bouncing around in my head all morning.
“The Beta is so nice! I can’t wait to meet the Alpha and Luna!”
“Lex, come on. We’re not going to get to meet the Alpha and Luna. We’re going to melt into the
wallpaper and pretend we don’t exist.”
“Pshh. I want to meet them.”
“Okay, well I hate to disappoint you, but you’re gonna get disappointed.”
Lori comes in while I’m prepping lunch to let me know the Alpha has arrived and I need to make lunch
for him as well. There is no Luna. He doesn’t have a mate? And according to Lori…he’s really
handsome. Not that it
matters to me, because I’m going to be wallpaper. I don’t want him to notice me at all.
I take the trays to the conference room. Alpha Bronx Mason is not there but there is a spot at the table
where he is supposed to sit. I leave his meal at the empty seat. Everyone from the Blood River pack
politely thanks me as I lay plates in front of them. Their manners betray their intimidating features. No
one from the Silver Moon pack says a word to me as I serve them. I collect the trays and walk out
quietly. Lori lets me know she will clean the plates so I can focus on dinner and food for the party.
I go to the kitchen but need a minute to collect myself before I get started on dinner. I go out the back
door and stand on the stoop. In the distance I see a man smoking. I don’t recognize him, it must be the
Alpha from Blood River. He is too far away for me to see his actual features though. All I can see is a
tall figure with dark hair and a black suit. The wind wafts his cigarette smoke toward me. It smells like
cigarettes but I swear it smells like
coffee too…or dark chocolate. This guy was a mocha drinker? I laugh to myself at the thought of the
big bad Alpha of Blood River sipping on a mochaccino.
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