Beta Xavier Costa

I jolted awake and glanced around, disoriented. The depressing gray walls of my bedroom greeted me. A thin layer of sweat coated my forehead, and I took deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

My dull gold eyes stared back at me.

“Why did you leave me, Mom?” I whispered, wiping away the tears forming in the corners of my eyes. It had been a year since I lost my mother and came to live with my father and his family, but the memory of her torn body still kept playing in my mind.

Life hadn’t been easy ever since I lost her, but I promised myself that I would find who was responsible for her murder and make them pay for what they did. I’d waited long enough for the “professionals” to do their job and find out who did it. But they’d gotten nothing, and now it was time to take matters into my own hands.

I quickly wiped away my tears and took a shower to wash away the emotions and prep myself for whatever family drama awaited me next. I grabbed a red T-shirt and a pair of black jeans before I walked out of my room.

“…I don’t like it!” My stepmother’s voice boomed from downstairs.

“We don’t have a say in this, Karla. She has to come with us.” My father sounded irritated.

I didn’t want to go downstairs with everyone in the house, but I had no other good option. I plastered a blank look on my face and slowly walked downstairs.

The noise was coming from the kitchen. No one looked up when I walked in. My dad, my stepmother, and my stepsiblings—Jacob and Avery—were all huddled around the kitchen island.

“Do you want anything else, sweetheart?” Karla asked Dad as she handed him a few painkillers.

He shook his head and took the pills while gently rubbing the left side of his chest. I didn’t know what disease he had, but I frequently saw him rub his chest and complain about an indescribable pain.

“Hel…hello,” I stammered, but no one acknowledged my greeting.

“You’re going to attend the Moon Ball with us today, Eleanor. We’re leaving early, so clear your schedule,” my father said in a monotone the moment he saw me.

“Why?” I questioned.

“Look, if it was up to me, you’d be staying home, but the alpha insisted that everyone from my family should be present, and that includes you,” he answered.

I glanced at my stepmother to see a scowl etched on her face. She clearly didn’t like me tagging along.

“I tried talking to the luna, but she wouldn’t hear it,” my stepmother said. “Good thing I ordered a dress for you just in case. Make sure you do your makeup and hair properly. I don’t want to be embarrassed in front of the other high-ranking members,” she said.

“I could have bought something for myself,” I asserted, and she rolled her eyes in response.

“I don’t want people to think that I’m treating you poorly,” she said before getting up and walking out.

A few tense minutes passed in silence before the rest of the family quietly left the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I walked to the fridge, pulled out the carton of milk, and poured myself a glass.

I knew I was breaking the promise that I made to my mom, but I didn’t think I could cope with this house any longer.

Clearly, no one wanted me here, and I knew that the longer I stayed, it would only make things worse.

Erica had been bothering me about finding our mate for a while now. But after what happened with my mother, it really hadn’t been on my mind.

“Eleanor! Your dress is on your bed,” Karla called from upstairs.

I finished my milk before slowly making my way to my room to find out what horrible style dress Karla picked out for me.

I was greeted by a wine-red dress that was sleeveless, and it had quite a deep neckline and a huge slit on the left leg that would stop a few inches above my knee. If this didn’t scream slut, I knew the low backline would definitely do the job.

I wished Karla would’ve let me pick a dress instead. This one would make me stand out too much. I slipped on the dress.

I knew exactly why she chose a dress like this for me. It certainly wasn’t out of love. She wanted to portray me in a bad light. I used to get upset when she did things like this, but I didn’t really give a flying fuck anymore. I’d go to the ball, play the part, and get through the night.

I took my time getting ready. I removed the curlers from my hair, letting it fall into a wavy mess before I moved to my eye shadow palette to touch up my makeup.

“Eleanor, we’re leaving in five minutes,” my father’s gruff voice called from downstairs.

I quickly grabbed the off-white purse, stuffed it with my phone and a few dollars, and walked out of my room.

When I reached the foyer, I saw that everyone was dressed and waiting for me. Karla was wearing a black long-sleeved dress that flowed down to cover her shoes, while Avery wore something way worse than mine.

It was a pink lace dress that barely covered much of her skin.

“Let’s go,” my father said as he quickly walked out of the house.

The SUVs were already waiting for us. Karla, Jacob, and my father got in the first one while Avery and I got into the second, and we soon drove off.

I turned my attention to the window while Avery was busy texting someone. We left the pack territory and merged onto a highway that had nothing but trees on either side. After a forty-five-minute ride, the SUV turned onto a narrow lane before we reached a huge iron gate that automatically opened to let us in.

The deeper we went, the wider my eyes grew—until they were practically the size of saucers. The pack town was massive, with sleek glass buildings towering above rows of modern boutiques, flower shops, bakeries, and so much more. It was like stumbling across a miniature New York City tucked away in the middle of nowhere.

I’d never seen a pack like this before.

As we continued past the town, rows of one- and two-story houses came into view. Some were so large they looked like mansions, each with its own private garden.

“What’s the name of this pack?” I asked, but I didn’t get an answer. I wasn’t surprised because Avery hated it when someone spoke to her while she was texting.

A minute later, Avery said, “It’s the Full Moon Pack.”

The Full Moon was the strongest and largest pack in this country, and even though many claimed that their alpha was one of the most feared in this country, rumor had it he wasn’t as ruthless as his beta. For decades, they’d managed to thrive on their own, making sure to keep their distance from the other packs.

This pack had a history of not allying with anyone since they did just fine on their own.

Usually packs only put on events when they wanted alliances. It seemed odd that all of a sudden they’d reached out to other packs. I wondered if it had anything to do with what happened to my mom. Maybe I’d be able to find out something useful tonight and coming here wouldn’t be as much of a waste of time.

My thoughts came to an abrupt stop when the SUV stopped in front of a mansion. This was the biggest I had seen so far. Soon, our doors were opened, and we were helped out of the SUV by Full Moon warriors.

I walked to stand beside Avery, who didn’t look as shocked as I was.

“Let’s head inside. Mom and Dad are already there. Our driver was freaking slow today.” Avery started climbing the staircase, and I followed behind.

There was a huge water fountain in the foyer with two sets of staircases leading to the upper floors and an elevator in between. The entire place was well lit with a giant chandelier right above the fountain.

“Miss Amato, please follow me.” A warrior greeted us and walked into one of three large hallways connected to the main foyer.

This hallway was lit up with warm light, and there were a lot of wooden tables placed at regular intervals, which had huge vases of multicolored flowers.

The warrior came to a stop in front of a pair of wooden double doors and opened them for us to enter. Avery walked in without even glancing at the warrior, but I made sure to smile at him.

“Thank you for helping us,” I politely thanked him, and he nodded his head.

It was a huge ballroom. Many wooden tables were set up, and most of them were already occupied. I stood near the doorway and scanned my surroundings.

The room was designed with warm colors and decorated with fresh flowers. But the most impressive part of the room was the three walls of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the dark forest outside.

I fixed my gaze at my family, who were throwing daggers at me. I quickly made my way to our table and took a seat between Avery and Jacob.

My insides burned in anger at my father’s harshness toward me, but I made sure to keep my mouth shut. I mean, it wasn’t like I’d always lived in a bed of luxury, unlike him.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. When I turned around, I spotted a group of men near the buffet table—but their eyes were on Avery. Still, the nagging sensation lingered, like someone’s gaze was fixed on me.