Thor's POV
"Oh thank the Moon goddess! See who finally decided to show up!" Eric pushes himself away from the hood of the car he was sitting on to say as I come out of Martha's house.
"General!"
Henrik, Bear, and Ivar stand from where they were all perched around the place to greet me.
"Hey, guys." I smilingly reply to their greetings as I walk toward Eric
"What did I do?" I ask, trying not to laugh and pretending as if I don't know what he's talking about
"What did you do?..." He also asks and sighs dramatically "Thought you just wanted to talk to your mate! It's been four fucking hours, man!"
"Well, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting okay but if only you have a mate then you will surely understand why I stayed longer than expected," I say.
The guys obviously find what I said funny. They try to hold in their laughter but it's obvious they can't do that for too long
"Here we go again," Eric says and throws his hands up in resignation.
"Ivar got his mate before you but do you see him carry on about her all day, every day?"
"Yes, he does! He's always coming late to training because of her so how's that for carrying on?" I ask smugly. The boys finally let lose and chuckle, while Eric gives me the middle finger
"Yeah, so where is it?" I ask, looking around for the birthday gift I ordered for Ash
"It's in the shed." He replies
My eyes narrow in disbelief
"You don't have to look at me like that the shed is big enough and we cleared it out before we drove it in." He hurriedly adds before I can say anything further.
I wanted to get something functional for my mate as a birthday gift. Since I don't know much about girlie stuff, the only functional thing that came to mind was a car. She has been mistreated and looked down on for so long that I wanted to get her something that will make her stand out.
I wanted a gift that will make the likes of those who have been making fun of her among her peers to now envy her. I told the car salesman I want a great first car for my woman who I want to stand out and make an entrance and he recommended a gull-wing doors Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
I walk toward Martha's shed and Henrik immediately moves in the same direction to open the shed door for us, while Bear and Ivar stand guard. Indeed the shed is wide enough and has been cleared of anything that might scratch the car's silver paint. I don't know why, but it seems to look more beautiful inside the shed than in the showroom where I bought it from. I can't wait till after the duel so I can start teaching her how to drive
"Ash will surely love this," I say and they all agreed with me.
I will make sure no woman surpasses her everywhere she goes. If any woman with a better car or a better version of anything that she owns turns up around my mate then I'll make sure I get another one better and more unique than the previous
"What's that?" I call Eric's attention to something on the passenger seat that I'm sure didn't come with the car when I bought it.
"Oh, that's a laptop."
"I know it's a laptop, Eric, what is it doing there? I didn't order a laptop or did you?"
"Yeah, I did. Since she's starting school soon, I thought I should get her a functional gift too and..."
"Oh, you got it for her on my behalf?" I ask, not allowing him to finish his sentence. Of course, I know he didn't get the gift on my behalf. I just can't help feeling jealous that the idea to get her a laptop never crossed my mind.
"No man! I did not get her the laptop on your behalf, it is my gift to her! Your best friend getting a birthday gift for your mate is normal right?... Right, Henrik? Can you please tell Thor here he shouldn't be jealous? Tell him there's nothing wrong in me getting his mate a gift for her birthday"
Eric enunciated each word as if I'm an idiot asking Henrik who just nods helplessly at me.
"He's right General." He adds
"Well, I'm not jealous. Just that..."
"Oh sure, you're not. I must have been mistaken then. Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by you. Since she's starting school soon, I got her the laptop. And ON YOUR BEHALF, I contacted the principal of the Silver-Moon pack high school and had her registered for a special class so she can study for the SAT exam.
Thank god that a term just ended, another term begins in September. She's a smart girl. She will use the one-month vacation plus the new term to study for her SAT...
I hope you're not thinking it's too much work for her. I just felt you would want her to get admitted to college alongside her mate?" He said questioningly
"Oh, yeah! Sure it's enough time. Thank you for being so thoughtful"
He nods and laughs roguishly. "Now, am I forgiven for getting your mate a laptop without first asking for your consent?"
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm jealous.?"
"Sure you are, Thor. Sure you are. I know you more than anyone in this world, remember? Right now, every orifice in your body oozes jealousy so stop denying"
***
Miranda's POV
'Her bones are of very low quality... Her bones don't have the same amount of strength befitting an Alpha.'
I wasn't bothered when I first heard those words from the surgeon that operated on my hand before but right now that I completely understood the meaning of his words, the part where he said my bones don't have the same amount of strength befitting an Alpha hurt my ego so much.
It still feels surreal that I am truly not an Alpha! Rather, I was born an Omega! The Alpha and Luna of the Night-Howlers pack are not my real parents. Rather, I'm the daughter of a maid and the pack's handyman. My real mother happens to be Celine! Fuck, I hate that thought!
Celine explained to me that ever since she knew she was having a girl, she wished for me to live the life of a princess and as soon as the opportunity was handed to her, she couldn't help but take it. She and some people she hadn't revealed to me yet replaced me with the real princess and made her take my place as the maid's daughter
And guess who the real princess is?... Yes, Ash, the freak! I was shocked and hurt when I first got to know that she was the real princess while I'm fake. Why can't it be any other girl? It wouldn't have been this painful if it was any other girl. Why does it have to be her!? The one that humiliated me in the presence of the whole fucking pack!
The thought of her being an Alpha makes me green with jealousy. Now I know the reason why she irks me each time I lay my eyes on her. It's because, even though her clothes are always shabby, she went about her duties with an effortless grace that I now know she was born with. The smoothness and elegance of movement that I'd always wished I inherited from the Luna.
I love Ethan but being Luna has always been my dream. I mean who wouldn't want to be the Luna of the biggest pack in North America? And what makes the position more appealing to me is the thought of taking it all away from Ash.
I hate her more than anything or anyone in the world. That's why I want to take her position so badly I jumped on the idea the moment Celine suggested it to me. Her position was handed to me when we were babies. Now it would be my pleasure to snatch everything away from her again whether the Moon goddess wishes it or not. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she discovers her mate now belongs to me
It feels like it's been hours ago that the sorcerer told me the process of snatching Ash's mate is almost complete. I don't know how much longer we have till midnight when she said it will finally be over. All I know is my muscles and bones are aching badly as a result of standing inside a six-foot tall cauldron filled with a bubbling concoction that contains the hair and nails from when the freak was a baby till her seventeenth birthday.
I wanted to sit down so bad. I wouldn't mind sitting inside the cauldron if not for the fact that I would have drawn since the concoction was up to my neck level. All of a sudden, I started hearing arguments. I can only identify Celine and the sorcerer's voice and not the others that have remained hidden from me ever since we arrived
I moved to the edge of the cauldron to be able to listen in on their conversation.
"I thought you said they weren't on good terms? Thought you said you saw him leave her house in anger!?"
"Yes! I saw him storm out of Martha's house where she's now living! I couldn't tell what they argued about but I clearly saw he was furious when he left. What happened? What is the problem!?"
"They are fated mates. I wanted us to do this before she turns eighteen and they mate with each other because it will be easy to break their bond then. The problem is, now they just mated and he has marked her, which means their bond is stronger now and can't be broken!"
"Stop talking nonsense, sorcerer! What do you mean can't be broken!? All these can't be for nothing! There must be something we can do about it! Think of something for goodness sake!" An unknown male voice says. His voice sounded angry and desperate
"The only solution is to kill her! Unless you have her killed as soon as Miranda attains the position of the Luna, otherwise, this is a lost cause, I'm afraid."
"You heard him, Celine, that's our solution. That's what you should do if you want your daughter to be the Luna of the biggest pack in North America" A female voice says this time
"I don't understand, why can't you kill her right now? You're a sorcerer, can't you perform some kind of magic and kill her off right now!?" Celine asks, her voice louder than the others
The sorcerer laughs scornfully
"You're free to do so yourself. Any of you are free to kill her off! As for me?..." He laughs some more not saying the reason why he can't have the little bitch killed with his sorcery powers