Chapter 22
As I drove back to Night-fall Pack, I had mixed feelings. Looking at the familiar stores, restaurants and gas stations lining the streets, I remembered the old days, which were so wonderful, as if a colourful soap bubble had been pricked and turned out to be just a dream.
I pulled up in front of Alpha's office building, and immediately a Guard came over and opened the door for me.
He said respectfully, "Gamma Aiden, Alpha ordered me to wait for you here, please follow me."
I followed the Guard to my father's office. He clearly did not recognize me; he shook my hand warmly and welcomed me, "Gamma Aiden, welcome to my Pack. "
Looking at the familiar face in front of me, I tried to suppress my excited emotions as I thought of how I used to be the apple of his eye.
This time, I calmly exchanged pleasantries with my father, before I asked him some questions about the matter at hand, which he answered in great detail.
We talked for fully two hours, and just before we wrapped up, my father said to me, "Gamma Aiden, tomorrow my daughter will hold her engagement party, and I would like the great honor of inviting you to attend, and also to introduce you to my daughter Zelda and her fiancé Jacob."
As he said this, he handed me the invitation card.
It turned out that this hated couple are getting engaged.
Despite my disdain for these two, I put on a happy face and accepted, "Thank you so much for your most gracious invitation, I'll be there."
The next day, I arrived at the Treasure Square Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in the Night-fall Pack, where Zelda and Jacob had their engagement party.
As I arrived at the hotel, I was greeted by a sea of white roses, which were scattered throughout the ballroom. Soft, elegant music was being played on a grand piano in the corner of the room.
I spotted Zelda and Jacob standing at the entrance, greeting guests as they arrived. As I approached them, my heart raced. Jacob looked just as handsome as ever, and Zelda looked radiant in her white gown.
Neither of them recognised me, and they greeted me warmly; I smiled politely and pretended that I was meeting them for the first time.
As the party began, the couple's parents made speeches. I witnessed my father recounting the story of how Zelda and Jacob had met when they were children and had fallen in love at school. The parents spoke of the couple's love for each other and of how proud they were of their children.
All the guests were so engrossed in the love story of the golden couple that no one remembered me, Jacob's former girlfriend. It was as if I had never existed at all, just like a blank page being turned over in a book.
As the speeches concluded, Jacob stepped forward, holding a tiny box in his hand. He turned to Zelda, got down on one knee, and opened the box to reveal a beautiful, glittering diamond ring. The room erupted in cheers and applause as he slipped the ring onto her finger and they kissed.
How ironic, it was that I was witnessing the lovely engagement ceremony of these two schemers who had betrayed me and set me up.
At this point, I didn't feel merely a grudge but real hate - I must expose this couple of bastards for what they really are, and maybe today will be their final moment of happiness.
The party started. The guests enjoyed a sumptuous spread of food and drinks and danced to the music on the dance floor. I searched for Zoe's relatives among the guests and tried to see if I could find Peter's family.
Luckily, I saw Peter's younger sister, so I approached her and introduced myself, "Good evening, Miss, you look so beautiful this evening. I'm Aiden, King Theo's Gamma; Alpha Edward invited me to his daughter's engagement."
Peter's sister, who was about 15 or 16, blushed, "Hi, I'm Lily. I'm a relative of Zelda, it's lovely to meet you."
I sensed Lily was attracted by my handsome appearance, and she and I chatted enthusiastically.
Of course, I had to seize this rare opportunity, so I asked casually, "Miss Lily, are you here with your parents?"
"Yes, but my brother didn't come with us today. He doesn't live here and works at Gold Heart Pack. He's a dentist and is always busy." As Lily spoke of her brother proudly, it appeared she didn't know Peter was dead.
I pretended to be envious, "Then your brother must be very clever."
"That's for sure, he's amazing. He was also an obstetrician and gynaecologist before he became a dentist, and Zelda was delivered by my brother. It's unfortunate that, he isn't here today." Lily waxed lyrical about Peter.
I was shocked because while I knew Peter was a dentist at Gold Heart Pack, I didn't know he was a gynaecologist and had delivered Zoe's baby, Zelda.
I was about to ask more questions when I heard my father's voice behind me, "Gamma Aiden?"
I turned my head and saw Zelda, Jacob, my father and Zoe standing right in front of me. We used to be a happy family, and Jacob had been my boyfriend, but now everything had changed.
My father continued with smile, "Let me introduce you to my family. This is my Luna Zoe," he said and nodded to Zoe beside him. "This is my daughter Zelda and her fiancé Jacob. Jacob is also the Prince of Dark Rock Pack."
I glanced towards them, "Nice to meet you."
Zelda looked me up and down with a wary look in her eyes and said, "Gamma Aiden, thank you for coming to my and Jacob's engagement party. What were you and Lily talking about?"
"Nothing much, I've just arrived at Night-fall Pack and I'm not familiar with the place yet, so I was asking Miss Lily where I could find a good restaurant." I glanced at Lily, who I knew didn't want the Alpha to know about the conversation we'd just had, as what she'd just said was private family information.
Lily gave me a grateful look and said sagely, "You guys talk first, I'll go over there and find my friends." With that, she left.
"Gamma Aiden, Zelda and I would be happy to show you around." Jacob said enthusiastically.
Before I could accept, Zelda interjected, "Gamma Aiden, Jacob and I happen to be on our school break now. Why don't we go out to dinner tomorrow night?"
She was even more forthcoming than Jacob.
I replied gratefully, "That would be nice, I was just thinking about how I would spend the evening alone."
"Then we'll pick you up at your apartment tomorrow night at eight." Zelda was, as usual, very forthright.
They then left me to circulate, moving around the room and talking with their guests.
I wanted to speak with Lily again, but unfortunately she was now dancing with a boy, so I had to let her go.
Much later, when the party had finished, I returned to my apartment. I turned the lights off and pretended to sleep, but soon afterwards I had put on plain black garments and left to drive in the direction of rogue territory.
I was afraid of being watched, and thinking about the treatment of Zoe and Zelda towards me in the past, I felt I had to be careful. After a short drive, I arrived at the border of Pack and rogue territory.
I parked at car at the side of the road and found the fence wall covered in ivy, intending to go through the secret hole that Sophie had showed me last time.
Knowing that I had left the Palace, Sophie had immediately applied to leave. Because she was an insignificant rogue, her request was quickly approved. I was now going to meet her.
I searched the ivy wall for some time and finally found the two moving stones, which I pushed away before passing through the hole to reach rogue territory.
I found Sophie's small thatched house just where I remember it to be. I knew the lock was broken and the door was never locked, so I gently pushed the door open intending to surprise her.
When I entered, Sophie was reading a book lying in her hammock. As soon as she saw me, her eyes widened and her mouth opened in disbelief.
She jumped down from the hammock, rushed to me and hugged me, "Dory, you're here so soon! "
I hugged her back and kissed her cheek, "I heard you were back, so of course I wanted to see you as soon as possible."
"What book are you reading?" I was a little curious because I knew she didn't like reading.
"It's a magic book that my Gran left behind." Sophie handed me the book and continued, "Dory, I don't want to keep picking up trash for a living, so I've decided to study witchcraft so I can earn a living as a witch later."
I nodded, "That sounds like a good idea."
Sophie looked at me enviously and continued, "I'm not as talented as you are, I'm just an Omega, with no special abilities."
She suddenly thought of something and asked, "Dory, what does your wolf look like?"
"She's just a wolf, nothing special, but the colour of my wolf's fur is a little unusual." I explained to Sophie. Seeing that she looked baffled, I said, "I'll shift to show you," and I turned into my wolf form.
"What a beautiful colour, that's very unusual." Sophie commented as she stroked my fur.
As Faye had heard someone compliment her, she tilted her head up proudly and spun around on the ground.
Suddenly I sensed many different sounds entering my ears, crying, laughing, screaming, cursing, and the sounds were getting louder and louder. I felt my head hurt and Faye was rolling on the ground in pain.
Sophie saw my suffering and urged me, "Please hurry and shift back."
I shifted back, the strange noises disappearing without a trace, and everything was back to normal again.
I related Sophie about the bizarre experience I had just had, and she pondered it for a while and advised, "What you just experienced sounds like when we witches are communicating with different kinds of spirits, but this is an ability that only high-level witches have. "
She reached under her bed and dragged out a black leather case covered with dust. She took out a rag to wipe the case, opened it, and revealed several books and some witches' tools.
"My Gran wouldn't let me touch this case, and said that with my ability I can't practise the magic in it yet. She said that she'd only consider teaching me this powerful magic when my skills have developed. Sadly, my Gran has now passed away." Speaking about her Gran made Sophie look forlorn.
She took a book from the case and handed it to me. "Dory, I think you have the mysterious talents for you to feel the spirits from these different worlds. Have a look at this book, and maybe with practice you can learn this powerful magic, unlike me, as I've lived here for so long and never sensed anything."
I took the book and reassured her, "Don't be discouraged, it's never too late for you to practise your witchcraft, maybe you'll become a famous master witch, and everyone will have to book you at least six months in advance."
We hugged and laughed together.
I saw that it was getting late and I had to leave. Sophie was very upset that I was leaving and grabbed my hand and insisted, "Dory, you have to be careful."
I gave her a hug, "I will, you be careful too!"
I returned to my apartment and couldn't get to sleep. My head was spinning. The drugs and weapons I was investigating didn't seem to have anything to do with the Night-fall Pack, so was it just a coincidence that Peter was a relative of Zoe's?
I seemed to be missing something. When I was apart from Theo, I couldn't help thinking of him. I cursed myself for thinking about him; he didn't belong to me anymore, not ever, and I needed move on.
I couldn't see myself sleeping anytime soon, so I got out of bed, picked up the magic book, and started to read it.