Chapter Twenty-Nine: Alpha Ceremony (Part Three)
Sunday
Emerald's POV:
Turning around, I saw the quads rushing towards me. They all looked worried, with a hint of anger swirling in their eyes. I hoped that better not be directed towards me; I don't think I could take anything else today with the day I just had.
"Little Luna, are you okay? Your emotions were all over the place. It felt like a knife to our stomachs. Are you hurt? What happened?" asked Ezekiel, as he engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug.
His scent was calming me down, and helped my erratic heartbeat slow, as I leaned more into him. Please don't all be a charade. I don't want my heart broken again. I could feel the other three quads surrounding us and someone rubbing my back, while one rubbed my shoulders, and the last patted my head.
Why would they put in this much effort just to get me into bed? They knew I was putty in their hands at this point, why go to all this trouble if that was the case? Maybe whatever the twins said was right, and Aria was indeed lying. But I had to be sure. If it is true that I would know if they lie to me, I will ask them straight up, instead of pretending and waiting for disappointment to hit. But before I could say anything, I heard the twins say behind me,
"You know, Ezekiel, I would think you would've at least taught your pack members some form of decency, or is it okay to assault the vulnerable in this pack?" asked Isaiah, I believe.
I glanced and saw the confused looks on all the quads. They probably hadn't even noticed the twins before they had spoken. Seeing the confused expression on the quads’ faces, Isaiah continued,
"We walked into an exciting scene playing out in the pack dining hall not too long ago. Your Luna over here was being harassed by who I believe were yours and the rest of you lots flavour of the month before you found her."
Before the quads could say anything, Josiah spoke,
"But that's not even the fun part; those three she-wolves dared to call their future Luna a slut and even manhandled her,” he finished, seething as he said everything.
I gulped. I was supposed to subtly tell them all this, and here the twins just dumped all the dirty laundry. I felt all the quads tense and hold me tight. I felt the tremble in their hands, and I gulped.
Holy crap! This wasn't good.
I saw four sets of black eyes staring back at me with their noses flaring; they resembled dragons at this point.
"Who were they, Luna?" Ezekiel asked in an eerily calm voice, but you could hear the hatred and rage seeping from his words.
I knew those three wouldn't live another day with how the quads were raging. I had heard stories of how mercilessly the quads killed in their rage. As much as I hated those three she-devils, I didn't want their blood on my hands. That was the same reason I stopped the twins earlier. As much as I hated what they said to me, and how they still claimed Sam and Azreal were theirs, I pitied them and the quads other exes. Being tossed out like trash is something no female should feel.
"Oh um, don't worry about it, Ezekiel, the Supreme Alphas handled...,” however, before I could get another word in for the three, all the quads growled in warning.
I stiffened.
"I will ask this only once more, Emerald, WHO WERE THEY, AND WHAT DID THEY SAY?" asked Ezekiel.
The quads hadn't used my name since they claimed me. They always had some sort of pet name for me. I knew they were serious this time, and avoiding the question would probably land me in trouble along with those three. I swallowed and literally word vomited everything out in fear.
"I was in the pack dining hall eating when I was approached by three she-wolves who said their names were Aria, Cassandra and Ivy...,” the moment I said their names, I saw the younger three quads flinch and ball their fists.
"...they said some really harsh things which I wouldn't like to repeat...,” however, that was wishful thinking on my part. I was interpreted by Azreal's bone-chilling voice as he said,
"Each and every word, word by word, Emerald. Do not leave anything out."
I stiffened even more and let out a little whimper. In response, to my surprise, the twins snarled at the quads. The quads glared daggers backed at them and bared their teeth.
Wait, were they even allowed to do that? The twins were our leaders after the triplets. Disrespecting them is disrespecting the triplets. But it seemed the quads couldn’t care less at the moment.
"I suggest you calm your wolves down, you're scaring her, said Isaiah.
"Supreme Alpha or not, you do not get to tell us what to do with our mate. So I suggest you back off,” said Ezekiel, his voice deep due to the presence of his wolf.
The rest of the quads stood in front of me, blocking my view of the twins. I heard them snarl back at them but back off. Mates were sacred between all supernatural species, and others weren't allowed to interfere until necessary. The law had been passed by the Lycan Kings themselves. So, even if the twins wanted to do something, they couldn't; their hands were tied. After they backed off, the quads faced me again, but they tried to control their anger to not scare me more than they already did.
"We're waiting, baby,” prompted Sam.
I took a deep breath and continued,
"They came in claiming that I was worse than dirt, and that their Azreal and baby Sam were blind to leave them. That I was probably good at pleasing you all, I said, leaving out the part where they tugged my head back by my hair.
Please don't ask me about that, please!
"What did Josiah mean by they manhandled you, angel?” asked Zeke.
Today isn't my day!
" Um, after they had something, Aria had pulled my head back by the hair," I whispered, hoping they didn't hear it properly. But I was so very wrong.
After finishing what I had said, I heard four furious growls echoing in the clearing. I flinched and jumped back. If they were furious before, they were raging now. All of them were heaving, but Azreal seemed the maddest. I could see the fur erupting on his arms. The other three weren't far off either.
Oh crap, is he about to shift?
I still had to ask them about what Aria claimed, but was it the right time? What if they hurt me in the process? Conflicted and scared from the Alpha's behaviour, I unconsciously looked towards the twins. They were already looking at me with concerned eyes; they seemed jumpy, ready to intervene. Knowing what was in my head, the twins nodded towards me, probably prompting me to ask the quads about the accusation.
I guess it's now or never. At least the twins were here if the quads decided to hulk out, or more like wolf out on me. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, I touched the older two quads’ arms, prompting them to turn their attention back to me.
"That was not all that they said. They actually said something which I wanted to ask you all about. But I need you need to calm down, you're all scaring me, and I need you level-headed so you can answer me properly. Since this will decide if we have a future together or not,” I said.
I had all four of the quads attention when I said the last part. They were still furious but tried their best to reel in their wolves. After a couple of minutes of them taking deep breaths and nuzzling into my neck, they all seemed better, not entirely, but I guess this was the best I would get. I took them all over to the fallen-over log near the lake and asked them to sit. It was comical to see four ginormous Alphas perched on a tiny log, but I controlled my laughter.
However, I was broken out of my thoughts when what happened earlier popped back into my head. What if it was true? What if they try to lie about it? Could I really tell if they were lying or not without my wolf? Until now, I knew there wasn't a doubt that we were fated mates and if what the twins said was true, I would be able to tell if they were telling the truth or not. I just hope that whatever Aria said was a lie, I don't think I will be able to take the blow if the quads say it's true. I took a deep breath and looked toward the quads; four pairs of grey eyes watched me intently.
"Baby, you can ask us whatever you want,” said Sam, sensing my hesitation.
"Yeah, angel, we will always tell you whatever you wanna know,” added Zeke.
"You don't need to be scared, my love. We're sorry we scared you back there, but I assure you we are in better control now,” said Azreal, smiling at me.
"Go on, little Luna, ask away,” finished Ezekiel.
I guess it's now or never.
"One of the she-wolves, Aria, said something that she claims you all told her the night you found me...,” I looked at the quads to spot any reaction, if they knew what I was talking about? However, there was nothing but confusion.
That's a good sign, right?
"...she said that you all claimed that you'd throw me away once you had your fill of my...mm.. my body, after you got what you want, you'd just throw me away. That it was your instinct to do so,” I finished, flinching at the memory.
My heart was beating so fast I thought I'd die of cardiac arrest, as the humans like to call it. I was too scared to look up and meet their eyes; what if it was true and they admitted it. I had figured I would hear furious growls and rebuts, but I heard nothing but silence. Looking up, I locked eyes with the quads, I saw sadness instead of denial or hostility in their eyes.
Huh?
The looks they were all giving me were like knives to my heart. Their eyes were saying that I had betrayed them or something. It hurt more than Aria's words probably did. Not wanting to see them like this, I looked away. I heard shuffling and felt surrounded by them. I felt Ezekiel take hold of my chin with his index finger and thumb, lifting it up so I could lock eyes with him.
"Little Luna, do you really believe that?" asked Ezekiel.
"Love, have we ever given you that perspective? We know what you went through before you met us. How could you even think we could do that to you?” asked Azrael, his eyes held such sorrow.
"Angel, we know we don't have the cleanest history, but trust us, angel, we would never do that to you. Hell, we wouldn't do that to any girl! Yes, we dated and fooled around, but we never treated them like garbage,” said Zeke, his eyes prompting me to trust him.
"Baby, we only want you. Yes, we f*****d up in the relationship department before you, but trust us, you are our world, the air we breathe. Our day starts with the thought of you and ends with you. All we can think about is you. Yes, no doubt we want to be more physical with you, but we would never do that without your permission. Have we not proven that over the days?" finished Sam.
"Little Luna, to answer your question more directly, no, we never said anything like that and would never say anything like that,” said Ezekiel.
I saw nothing but honesty in their eyes. Whatever they had said was right. They had proved repeatedly over the days they would never push me more than my comfort level. Yes, they were possessive and bossy, but they never forced me into anything unreasonable. I knew they were telling the truth; I was feeling something in my soul that told me that the quads were honest and they did cherish me.
Oh, Goddess! What have I done?
Was I so gullible that I believed the first thing someone said about them? I trusted a random wolf over my potential mates. Those mates that did nothing but welcome me into their lives and show love. A dam of tears broke from my eyes. I jumped into their arms, somehow holding some part of each quad as I let my tears fall.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, so very sorry. I don't know why I doubted you. You’ve all shown nothing but patience and love towards me, and the first time I needed to show my trust in you in front of others, I chose the easy road and blamed you. I'm so sorry,” I cried, tears streaming down my face.
"Shh, my little Luna. Calm down. We can't see you like this. Please stop crying. We're not mad, we understand,” said Ezekiel, showering my head with kisses.
"My love, we would probably do the same if we were in your place,” said Azreal, as he patted down my hair.
"Please, angel, stop. I..we can't see you like this. This isn't your fault,” said Zeke, licking my tears away.
"Baby, if you don't stop crying, I'll think you hate us. Please, my love, my Luna, you need to stop,” said Sam.
After what seemed like hours, my sobs had become hiccups as the quads held me close to them, their warmth and scent further helping me calm down. Here I doubted their intentions, and they were comforting me and telling me they adored me and would never hurt me.
Why was I such a horrible person? I could never forgive myself for the heartache I caused them. The look in their eyes would haunt me for a long time.