It had been a week since Beta Levi allowed me to stay with the pack, and I was so grateful. I’d grown close to Olivia and a few of the other members, mostly the warriors and some of their mates.
People seemed to respect me since I’d knocked Kenton down.
Thinking about it made me laugh. I was grateful that he hadn’t bothered me since, and Bell was relieved.
Some of the other warriors had even let me train with them. I felt like I had been so welcomed, and I didn’t expect that.
But it still seemed like something was missing. I hadn’t been able to figure that part out yet, and it was bothering me. I also hadn’t been sleeping well since I got there.
Something was wrong with my wolf, and I couldn’t seem to figure out what it was.
Bell had been silent, and I couldn’t stand it. She acted up sometimes, but she wasn’t as talkative as she was before I left my old pack. I kept trying to reach out to her, but I got nothing in return.
“Estella,” Kenton glared at me as he walked into the pack house. I rolled my eyes and ignored him as I made my way into the kitchen.
I was currently on my way to talk to some of the warriors to see if I could train with them today.
“Ed! Tess!” I shouted, walking toward them after finding them in the kitchen.
“Hey!” Tess said, giving me a hug, and Ed greeted me with a smile.
Ed is one of the warriors who is also looking at running for the third-in-command position. Tess and Ed are around my age and are mates. I have quickly become close with them, which surprised me.
“Are you going to train with us today?” Robin asked, coming over to us.
Robin is also my age and is Tess’s twin brother. They looked alike, but they were complete opposites. It was hilarious to watch them communicate with each other.
“I guess.” I shrugged with a smile.
“Morning,” Beta Levi said as he approached us. “What are we talking about?”
“Estella training with us today,” Robin said with a smile.
I could tell that he had a slight crush on me, but he was so sweet about it that I decided not to say anything.
“Sounds fun.” Beta Levi smiled.
“Estella.” Olivia grabbed me and pulled me away. She dragged me up to the third floor before letting me go for a brief second.
“So I kind of need your help!” she said, pulling me into Beta Levi’s and her room.
“With what?” I asked, concerned. She seemed a little distraught, and I didn’t know what was going on.
“Levi and I are going out tonight. I need help picking an outfit,” she said as she started rummaging through her closet. I nearly sighed in relief when I realized it wasn’t that serious.
I laughed at her frantic motions. She had expressed to me that since the alpha had been gone, Levi hadn’t been as attentive to her needs, and she didn’t know what to do.
Levi was her first, and she seemed to still get shy and nervous when they were around each other. It was adorable, to say the least.
“Calm down,” I said, looking at the clothes she had already thrown at me.
“What is wrong with this?” I asked, holding up a red dress.
“I don’t know,” she said, staring at it.
She was still so young, only just turned nineteen. She didn’t have her mom or dad around to ask about these sorts of things, and I was happy that I could help her.
Her sister and the rest of her family were back at her old pack. Her father was the alpha of Cameron Mountain.
“What’s wrong with it?” I asked.
“I just don’t know. I don’t like that dress.” She sighed.
“Why not? It is a perfect color for you, and I’m sure it looks sexy on you,” I said, throwing the dress at her.
“Are you sure?” she questioned.
“Yes!” I shouted. “Trust me. I know what men like.” I winked at her.
“Okay,” she smiled softly, hanging the dress back up.
“Will you come help me get dressed later?” she asked, batting her puppy dog eyes at me.
I felt as if she was the little sister that I never had. “Of course!” I smiled before pulling her in for a hug.
“Thank you.” She smiled and hugged me back.
“Levi is looking for you,” she said, pulling me downstairs. She was always dragging me around the house, and the pack and I never seemed to stop her from doing so.
“Let’s go train!” I shouted before walking with him out of the pack house after waving goodbye to Olivia.
“Damn,” Ed said as he caught his breath. “After the alpha sees what you can do, he won’t be able to kick you out!”
“I hope so.” I smiled and looked away. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do yet, but I knew I needed to figure it out before the alpha arrived.
“Do you like it here?” Robin asked, grabbing my attention.
“Yeah.” I shrugged, looking between him and Ed.
“That wasn’t really reassuring,” Beta Levi said, walking up over to us with Kenton following behind.
“I mean, I didn’t like having to leave my old pack, but here I am. I have really liked getting to know everyone, but I don’t know.” I sighed.
“What aren’t you sure about?” Ed asked. Ed was really good at reading people, and I knew that would be a good skill to have if he were to be third in command.
If it were my choice, it wouldn’t even be a competition between him and Kenton.
“My wolf,” I said, running my hands through my long brown hair. “She has been restless, and I don’t know why and I don’t understand it,” I said.
I quickly learned that wearing V-necks or low-cut shirts around the guys, especially the unmated ones, was a bad idea.
They couldn’t concentrate during training, and though it was easier to get them on the ground quicker, it didn’t help me improve my skills.
In my old pack, no one even bothered to look, mostly because I was the alpha’s daughter, and he would kill them. I also thought that Beta Ryan made a few threats if they looked.
He was always shielding me from someone or something.
“Well, hopefully everything will work out,” Robin said with a sympathetic smile.
“Yeah.” I sighed.
Ed nodded and looked away, although it looked like he wanted to say more. Beta gave me a strange expression like he knew something I didn’t, but I didn’t question it.
“I have to go catch up with Olivia. Thanks for inviting me to join today,” I said, waving goodbye to them before running toward the pack house.
“There you are!” Tess said as she was walking down the stairs. “Olivia is freaking out.”
I ran up the stairs to find Olivia pacing the room.
It was cute that she was all nervous about her date with Beta Levi. I envied that part of having a mate.
Sometimes it was hard to be around them and some of the other couples because they were happy— they had their other half. I didn’t.
Olivia relaxed once she saw me, and I smiled at her.
“I had a shower, and I don’t know what to do with my hair and makeup,” she blurted out, grabbing my hands.
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to calm her down. “How about we curl your hair and do something natural with your makeup?”
“Okay.” She nodded.
Tess and I helped her get ready.
Olivia had long reddish-brown hair, which was naturally wavy, so adding curls created more volume.
I knew by the way Beta Levi looked at her that she was pretty, no matter what, in his eyes, so keeping it close to natural seemed fitting.
“Wow,” she said, studying herself in the mirror once we had finished putting her look together.
She had her hair down and curled with only a little makeup on so that way her natural features showed.
Her red dress landed just above her knees. It was tight around her torso but loose and flowed down her waist.
“You look perfect,” Tess and I said at the same time and then giggled at each other.
“I’m so nervous. We haven’t gone out since Alpha left almost two weeks ago because of all the stress Levi has been under, and I really want tonight to go perfectly,” she explained, walking toward us.
“It will be perfect.” I smiled assuringly.
We heard a knock at the door, and Tess went to answer it. Beta Levi stood there looking for Olivia.
“Have a good night,” Tess and I yelled as we ran down the stairs together.
Beta Levi wasn’t able to take his eyes off Olivia once he saw her.
“Estella,” Kenton said, blocking my path.
He stood on the last step with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a determined look on his face that didn’t settle well with me.
“See you later!” Tess yelled before running off to find Ed.
I wanted to yell for her but decided it was no use.
“What?” I asked once I reached the bottom of the stairs. My wolf stirred as if to say she was upset.
“So, I’m in charge tonight.” He smiled.
I didn’t believe one bit of that but ignored the urge to say anything. “Okay?” I rolled my eyes.
“Come with me,” he said, grabbing my arm and dragging me out the back door of the pack house and into the woods.
I pulled away from his grip. I didn’t want to be alone with him. I didn’t trust him, and I felt extremely uneasy around him, especially right now.
Bell was scratching me from the inside out, and I couldn’t understand why.
“Follow me,” he said, glancing at me with a smile.
I didn’t exactly know how I felt about him, but I followed him anyways. He was heading in the same direction that Bell seemed to be pushing me.
He kept walking toward the tree line and continued a few more feet until we were submerged in the woods.
Bell whined in my head and kept scratching. Something was…coming.
“Here.” He turned around and grabbed my waist as he pushed me against a tree.
Bell snarled, but the shock of it kept me quiet.
