Chương 387: THIS DREAM CAME TRUE

10 FEBRUARY, WEDNESDAY, PREDAWN

I tried to change quickly, and silently, knowing that there were two Alpha wolves stationed outside my door with Alpha hearing, but my eyes kept drifting to the rumpled bed.

Nothing happened.

Then why did my heart start beating and my cheeks flame up at the sight of it?

Actually, he didn't hold me all that tightly, yes my hands had been caught up above my head, but my legs were not trapped in any way.

I could have kicked Bell where it hurt. Now as I replayed the scenario again, he was growling, and his strength was unbending, BUT except for the sadistic smile he wore when he held the door open for me, his expression was something different when he had me in his bed. It was like a sudden shift in mood, from the initial anger to... To what?

I frowned at the bed. I was just temporarily freaked out by the flashback. Blinded by panic, I wasn't reading the actual atmosphere. Maybe I was suffering from post truamatic stress disorder too.

Now that was just pathetic. It wasn't even my own memory, plus I woke up before... I didn't want to think about that. Just like I didn't want to think about the horrors Ruby was talking about.

Perhaps it was his coldness towards Ruby and the other women, and his supposed cruelty. But I honestly freaked out.

But when I started leaking tears, the mood had shifted yet again. He was gentle and tender, still strong and large but warm and comforting. Why did I freak out like it?

When I used his phone, his low chuckle near my ear, the amusement in his eyes. I remembered how he assured my dad with a single text. Unlike me, he was very aware that nothing happened.

I was the only one with the storm in my teacup.

I flared.

Why was I so stupid?

I stormed out of the room, smashing the banged up door open.

"Princess, the entire thing is going to unhinge...like my heart" Bell mumbled from by my side, he soothed my hair and leaned in too close again, so that his lips brushed past my temples, very quickly, it could be entirely accidental. I continued sulking, even though my hair had calmed.

I don't think it's fair for him to blame me for unhinging either his door (probably Titanium's fault) or his heart (what the hell was that supposed to mean anyway?).

I tilted my head to scowl at him, but Bell face was back to his usual stoniness. He nodded at Stephan who led us to the special assembly. We walked without speaking, Bell with a hand on the small of my back. Theo and Owen took our rear the moment we stepped out of the restricted area.

After leaving the restricted area, the tunnels actually looked older, and much of it was lined with very light colored stone instead of concrete slabs. We entered what I could only describe as an underground plaza. There were wolves standing around silently watching from the sides. Men and women, some children...looking somber as if watching a funeral procession.

Based on the hard and unsmiling expressions of the men walking with me, I didn't blame them.

"These are the other wolves who run with us. The normal wolves and below. Only warriors are allowed in the Court of Honor. They will listen from outside." Stephan explained.

We walked past them to an inner stone court. The stone here was completely white. The warriors parted in the centre for us to walk through to the stone platform in front, as we mounted the steps I suddenly recognized it - we were in my first dream of Mate.

Talk about déjà vu.

I was standing on a white stone platform in front of a large arena surrounded by large pillars.

I turned my head to regard the men on my left. They stood there standing, shoulders squared, expressions unyielding, staring straight ahead. They looked really serious. If you made wax figures of them and placed them side by side.... heh heh heh...

And then I saw Fluffy among them, standing between Owen and EJ. In my dream, I hadn't recognized any of these men on the stage, but now I did.

There were a flight of stone steps leading from the platform down to the rest of the arena floor. On one side of the steps were two strong warriors. They stood by their rank, the higher one above the lower one. I knew the other side of the steps had similarly two more warriors, so I turned to see - because I wasn't trapped in the confines of Mate's POV of the scene anymore. I was here - actually, I was still dreaming since this was a dream travel, but it was really happening now.

Flynn and Titanium were the other two warriors. The rest of the arena was filled with men all built like warriors in their prime. They were standing as if on display, showing off a remarkable array of wolf bloodlines in their riot of hair and eye colors.

It was pretty exciting, to see that dream actually happening. I couldn't help but feel my hair sizzle around me in response.

Then Stephan took a step forward from Bell's side. He was tall, broad shouldered, muscle bound, with tanned skin, and long black hair tied in a pony tail, falling straight like a blade behind him - just like in the dream! I mean, how did the dream know he would be dressed exactly like this?

He gave Bell a curt nod, his eyes a slate grey flecked with silver, and then, as if having ensured Bell's permission to speak, his deep voice rang through the air, his alpha strength resounding in his words.

This time, I could hear the words, which for some reason surprised me because they were simple words, in English, and very short.

"Brothers, today we pledge our allegiance to the Alpha who gave us a second chance to run freely together and start new lives. Our Luna, Rebel will now introduce her."

And then they start chanting in unison, one word over and over again. "Rebel! Rebel! Rebel!" Their voices clapping together like thunder.

The chanting silenced with a gesture of Bell's hand. Stephan withdrew to his side. And then Bell spoke, his voice rumbled deeply, that was his voice! I recognized it! The sound of Mate!

"On the day we revolted at the Vampire Queen's Birthday, I gave you a choice - you either ran with me and follow me to settled in the land of my mate, or you go your own way. The fact that you are present here in this place right now, is not by chance, but by destiny and through the shedding of our own blood, sweat, and tears we have made it this far. I will give you a chance to choose again today - pledge allegiance to my princess, and live the rest of your days running as a warrior according to the rules of her pack, or leave now and forever hold your peace. Disloyalty will be swiftly ended by your death. Choose now!"

And then the warriors roared, "Rebel! Rebel! Rebel! Rebel!"

I blinked and suddenly Bell was facing me. I helplessly stared into the golden eyes, watching as a darker amber swirled within it. And suddenly they narrowed, reaching out for me, he pulled me up right next to him and shouted, "Our loyalty to the Alpha Princess!"

And to my absolute surprise, the entire floor of warriors responded with a resounding, "YO!"

And then all the warriors on the stage shouted in unison, "Our loyalty to the Alpha Princess!"

And the warriors on the ground shouted back,"Yo!"

Fists that used to be bound, fists that were used to cause hurt of the pleasure of others, fists that were used to fight desperately to stay alive, all these fists punching the air, shouting like an ocean's roar within the confines of the underground stone hall, "Our loyalty to the Alpha Princess! YO!"

And then there was cheering, I could feel automatically drowned in the mindlinks that connected, the relief, the desperation, the want. These were the fists that saw a chance to live and run as wild wolves again and they were going to grab it and hang on to it for all they were worth.

I flared at the connections with my new wolves. I mean, the moment the connections were made, I could sense their wolves' immense power and I wanted to make sure they understood, I spoke then, "I am Alpha Sam of the Moon Bell Pack in the Green Packlands. Since you run with me, expect to be treated like any other wolf that runs with me. I know I look like this..."

I paused to smile, "But inside, I am wolf just like you and you do not want to cross my wolf."

And then just to make sure they understood, I pretty much Alpha nuked the entire hall. Yeah, maybe I was overcompensating. The entire hall dropped on their knees and bowed their heads in submission.

Boo was very pleased, or perhaps it was Wolfie, or maybe it was just me. I win. Mine.

And then I woke up suddenly, grabbing the closest thing to me and finding my lemony quilt. I sat up in my bed. It was just a dream, I mean, I was dream travelling. I looked down at Rebel's clothes...Mmmm... I could smell his salted caramel scent. I dropped back into my bed and curled up to breathe in his tshirt. Mmmmm... the moment I got comfortable, my alarm starting to ring.

No! No! No!

I scrunched myself deeper in my bed. T.T

And then when the alarm didn't stop, I got up and snatched it up almost viciously, and threw it.

I said no!

It hit the door of my room. Grrr....

But as much as I wanted to stay in bed with the scent of Mate. As much as I wanted to see what happened after the dream. It was over and a new day had begun.

A school day.

It's not fair!

T.T

I wanted to play some more.

But because I was a responsible Alpha, and also because I was a creature of habit, I got out of my nice warm bed and headed in for my shower.

In the new Alpha House, the hot water was centrally heated, so I haven't ever had to shower in freezing temperatures as I used to. Also, my bathroom, I'm not sure how, but my bathroom was warm. Actually the floors in the new Alpha House were warm. And now that I thought about it, I haven't seen a radiator in the house at all. So the whole house was heated under the flooring? What scocery was this?

Eventually, I came up with the brilliant idea of NOT surrendering Bell's gorgeously scented clothes into the laundry basket. Instead I squirreled it under my duvet with Sir Sparkalot to guard it.

Then I got ready for school like I always did. Finding my phone on my dressing table fully charged, along with my ribbon, and a plate - I kid you not, it was a small saucer of hair ties.

Why would one ever arrange hair ties on a plate? They weren't doughnuts! But yeah, that was apparently how hair ties were arranged in my home now.

Nothing in my life was normal anymore!

I sauntered downstairs to the breakfast table and announced it to my family, "Nothing in my life is normal anymore!"

My parents looked up from whatever they were doing, and then deciding that my announcement was just a very normal thing for their teenage daughter to say, went back to answering email on his phone/tying Sabre's curls into two pigtails.

Savy grinned at me, "Who's fault do you think that is?"

I blinked. Moon goddess' fault.

What? Was I supposed to say it was my life, thus my fault?

I shrugged.

Ki put down a tall glass of juice and pancakes. I decided that my life was pretty good after all.

It's definitely better than the Underground. I mean, they didn't even have heating and I felt quite sure there wouldn't be pancakes for breakfast either. Remembering the grim expressions of the normal wolves gathered outside the warrior's hall... Yeah, that was not the faces of wolves who got fresh squeezed juice and pancakes.

On the other hand, there was the Lorent pack... Which was another crazy piece of work all on its own. Don't get me started.

Ironically, the both places were similar too.

Both had Rebel working there.

Both had secret meeting rooms.

Both had female fatales eyeing MY MATE.

Both had shady wolves.

Like the Underground had ex-fightdogs y'all. That be like really shady. I'm not sure how to explain. I didn't give it much thought before either, but recent experience had shown me if I said, "I'm going to let an ex-fightdog live with me."

The general reaction would be as if I said, "I'm going to house an infamous criminal-slave-monster with my family. Expect us to be violently and gruesomely murdered just like they do in the fight cages by the end of the week."

I mean, before I started getting involved with this s***, I didn't even know one could easily watch the fight cages (secretly) over the internet or buy the magazines etc. I thought wolves didn't support this stuff because they were cruel and demeaning to fellow wolves. BUT I was naive. From how Keys and Rebel were easily recognised... I realised a good number of wolves watched caged fights more than they let on.

Anyway, the underground was a whole army of infamous-criminal-slave-monsters aka fight dogs. So that's shady.

The Lorents was like the other side of the respectability spectrum, titled, pedigreed, with a veneer of wealth... But shady in their own ways. Listening to them talk was like being thrown a smoke bomb so bad that you couldn't distinguish between speculation and fact anymore. Everything just became varying shades of grey without any real lines to draw the boundaries. And with wolves I did trust, like Alpha James, Ki, and Bell playing along with the charade - I got even more confused.

Usually, as an Alpha, I could sense if something is lying. Half truths were a bit harder to detect. But at the Lorents, they were so skillful at lying in front of the Alpha that they do what I can only describe as a slanted truth.

Something that wasn't exactly a lie, and even had certain facts in place to support it, but wasn't the truth either, right? Because Mate was not supporting me and helping me merge the Green Packlands while plotting to mate me and eventually usurp my rule over Moon Bell, right?

Wow, actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was a good plan. So sneaky, so Lorent.