Renege

SCARLET

We exited our house, making our way to the pack church. The pack church was within walking distance of our house, so there was no point in taking the car or shifting.

Every pack has its house where members live, but not necessarily everyone. Those who want to live separately have their own houses just like we had ours.

“I never got to tell you that the alpha king is coming,” my brother informed me, breaking the silence.

My eyebrows scrunched together.

“That is very strange. The last I heard, he never steps a foot outside his pack unless a serious problem arises,” I commented, still confused.

“I was really surprised too. Dad told me to invite him just as a courtesy, knowing he would reject the invite.

But imagine my surprise when his beta called yesterday afternoon, informing me of their arrival today.”

King Dallesandro, the alpha king, was a very mysterious man. I think hardly anyone knew his first name. No one knew a lot about him except, of course, the royal pack that he dwelt in.

He ascended the throne at the mere age of sixteen due to the death of his parents.

From what I had heard, he was a fierce but just king. The packs had not been at war among themselves, all thanks to him.

It was very unusual for him to accept a wedding invitation. I wondered what he was up to.

Sarah found her mate two months ago. He was the beta of the neighboring pack.

The alpha and beta of the neighboring pack had visited two months ago to discuss the increasing rogue problems, and that is when they both found each other.

Many of you might be wondering how in the world a girl can marry a guy she met not two months ago. A mate basically means a soulmate, your other half.

In the werewolf world, mating is similar to marrying, which means that once the pair mark each other and mate, they are practically bound together for the rest of their life.

It is not necessary to marry your mate, but some do just to fulfill their wishes. You can’t personally choose who your mate is, because it is the moon goddess who makes the pairs.

I was fortunate enough when I didn’t find my mate in my pack.

I don’t mind the conceptual fact of having a person made just for you, your other half. But it’s because of what I am that I cannot have a mate.

Everyone stood up when Silas entered the church with me on his trail. Silas nodded and gestured for them to sit down.

I could see alphas from different packs already seated. Dad was so hyped about Sarah’s wedding that he invited many alphas not only from our country but from other countries too.

It was a good thing our church was big enough to fit all the alphas and our pack.

I could feel the eyes of many different people on me, but I didn’t dare look into anyone’s eyes, keeping my gaze on my brother’s back.

The last of the people were filing in when we entered the church and took our places in the front row. I could hear the people whispering about me as we walked down the aisle toward our seats.

“Who is she?”

“She looks so much like the previous luna.”

“She looks so different than the last time I saw her.”

“She barely gets out of the house.”

“I heard she’s leaving.”

It was true I didn’t socialize much in the pack. I barely got out of the house. I only went out for training, but then too, I trained in the woods behind our house.

I found it too shameful to go out of the house to even talk to someone. After all, they lost their luna because of me.

No one exactly knew what happened eleven years ago, except that one afternoon, their alpha announced the death of their luna.

All the people went silent when the pack officiant entered the church and took his place at the altar.

My sister’s mate, Jacob, and the alpha as the best man entered from the side door and stood at the altar.

Jacob was a nice guy, from what I had overheard from my sister’s conversations with her best friends, so I was not really worried.

The wedding party started to enter, and a small feeling of sadness tugged at my heart when I saw her best friend, Lilia, walking down as the maid of honor.

I looked down at my hands when I felt my brother’s eyes on me.

I shouldn’t have felt sad, because I knew this was going to happen.

I only looked up when I knew it was time for my sister to enter with my father.

She looked absolutely gorgeous in her white wedding gown. She was glowing with happiness as she stared at her mate from across the room. You could quite literally feel the chemistry between the two.

My sister looked nothing like me except for our eyes. She looked like an exact replica of my dad with her dark brown hair and light brown eyes, whereas I got my looks from my mother.

My dad looked dashing in his gray suit. There were stripes of gray among his hair, but his face could have easily fooled you. We wolves age much slower than humans.

I could see his tired eyes filled with joy as he walked his daughter down the aisle.

My dad was devastated for almost a year when my mother died. I could hear the crashing sounds coming from his room every other night. I would wake up every night hearing him screaming his lungs out.

Losing your mate is said to be the most painful thing in the world. It’s like someone ripped out half your heart. I could only imagine what the poor man went through because of me.

My father and I have a complicated relationship. He doesn’t blame me for my mother’s death, but he ignores me most of the time.

It hurt to see him get out of the room whenever I entered it. It was as if he couldn’t breathe the same air as me. After my mother’s death, it was my brother who took care of me.

The rest of the ceremony passed by in a blur, and soon after the vows, Jacob grabbed my sister’s face and kissed her gently.

People started cheering once they broke apart. Everyone stood up, eager to meet the newly married couple.

“C’mon, let’s go meet them,” Silas said, getting up.

“You go. I’ll stay here.”

The next thing I knew, he grabbed me by my hand and pulled me up. I let out a defeated sigh when I knew he wasn’t going to back down. I let him lead me toward them, pushing through the crowd.

I cautiously looked up when we were just in front of them. I took a few steps back so that they could not notice me just yet.

My brother’s features were graced with a wide smile as he hugged Sarah and Jacob.

His face suddenly turned serious as he said, “Jacob, I swear if my baby sister comes across any harm, there will be no one worse than me.”

“I am not a baby,” Sarah grumbled.

“I’ll always keep her happy. She’s my life now,” Jacob said, looking lovingly into her eyes.

My brother turned his head around, gesturing for me to come forward. I took hesitant steps till I was beside him.

“Congrats, guys,” I said, looking at both of them with a smile on my face.

“Thank you, Scarlet,” Jacob politely said while my sister turned her head away from me.

“Sarah, quit being so hard. Scarlet is leaving the pack to God knows where. We might never get to see her again,” Silas said defeatedly.

A look of sadness flashed across her face, but she covered it up quickly with a stern look.

“What am I supposed to do then? Let’s go, Jake,” she said, pulling Jacob away and walking toward others. Jacob gave me an apologetic look, but I just smiled and shook my head.

“I’m sorry, Scar.”

“What are you sorry for? That was nothing unexpected. After all, I deserve to be on the receiving end.”

“No, you don’t. I think it’s very immature of her to still be angry. It’s been eight years, Scar. She needs to get over her petty self. I really thought she would at least pretend she cared.”

“Let’s forget it. If I am fortunate enough, she might forgive me. I am willing to give her all the time in the world. I should probably get going, or else I might miss my flight.”

“You’re not waiting for the wedding reception?” he asked me.

“I think I’ve upset her enough for the night. Besides, I don’t want to risk the chances of finding my mate.”

“You do know that finding your mate is not a bad thing, right? Oh Goddess, I would kill to find mine.”

“I know, but I don’t think it’ll be very fruitful to find mine. So I guess this—” I was cut off mid-sentence by Silas’s beta, William.

“Silas, the alpha king just arrived.”