Alpha Xiol Novel – Time didn’t heal anything. Whoever said it did was a liar. Time was just a cruel reminder that some things never changed like me. I was still Hazeal. The child my mother left behind. The girl who became the center of mockery. The girl who never got chosen. The only thing that kept me safe is my title as the Alpha’s daughter. Nothing had changed with the way I was treated by my pack either, I had only learnt over time how to hide and endure my pain.
I kept it from Dad too. He already carried enough weight on his shoulders, I could never pile mine on top of his. He was the one steady thing in my life. He became my light, and my rock. Every evening with him was filled with laughter and easy chatter, and for a little while, I could forget that the world saw me as less. But lately Dad seemed worn out since the Mating Fest was coming. It was one of those times where we invited other packs who seek mates into ours. It had been five years since I had come of age to participate in the Mating Fest. In my first year, I was really hopeful of catching the eyes of someone who would choose me as a mate.
Unfortunately, one year had turned into five, but no one ever approached me, much less chose me. Every year it happened, dad and I would laugh about it in our chit chats and he would grumble about how none of them had been worthy of me. I would laugh it off but deep down with the years passing I gave up hope. Maybe it was my body. I was never beautiful to their eyes like the girls who caught attention. Now, I have decided that I would just leave whatever years I have taken care of my dad. I sighed deeply as I stretched to hang the last decorations for the ball room. I looked at the grand ballroom glittered with crystal chandeliers. Young she-wolves look at me with disdain.
My stomach tightened as I passed by them, their beauty a painful reminder of everything I wasn’t. I wasn’t slim enough and I am not desirable for them because of my voluptuous body. I sat at the edge of the room while resting, pretending I didn’t hear any of their mockery. My heart skipped a bit when I saw him walking toward me. He wasn’t just any man… he was the one every she-wolf’s dream. My dream. He stopped right in front of me and extended his hand. Kevin. My heart fluttered just thinking of his name. Kevin had been my crush forever, the boy I secretly dreamed of choosing me as his mate.
I was naïve enough to believe the Moon Goddess had finally answered my prayers. “Hazeal,” he said, a practiced smile tugging at his lips. “Would you dance with me?” For a moment, I thought I misheard him. My breath hitched and my cheeks heated. “Y-you want to dance with me?” I bit my lower lip. His smile widened. “Of course. Come on.” My fingers trembled as I placed my hand in his as my pulse drummed wildly. Kevin led me to the center of the grand ballroom. Every gaze shifted our way, and I heard the sting of every whisper, but for once I let it all fall away. This was my moment. The music swelled as violins and piano twining like a spell. His hand rested on my waist, his other clasped mine. My heart soared as we swayed to the melody. My first dance with him.
All was going so well until I thought dreamily that I was going to lose my first kiss to Kevin. He leaned into me as though he was aiming for a kiss, so I closed my eyes but just as our lips were about to touch when he started laughing. I stared at him confused. Why was he laughing? I wondered. My eyes snapped open. Kevin wasn’t kissing me… He was laughing. “You actually thought I would kiss you?” He mocked and laughed harder while his eyes scanned me from head to toe with contempt. “You thought I would kiss a pig?” He mocked, making the others laugh harder. The jocks at the edge of the floor roared with laughter. Kevin threw me like a bone, and sneered. “She really believed it! Imagine thinking I’d kiss someone like her!” I could hear my heart break into pieces as they all laughed at me. “Why would I ever want you?” Kevin’s grin twisted. “It’s because of you this pack doesn’t have a Luna.
Your mother left because of you. Everything wrong with this pack is your fault.” I held onto my aching chest. “No…” My voice broke. “That’s not true. It’s not my fault…” I tried to make him understand as I nearly choked on my tears. He laughed again. “Aww. Is our little pig crying?” His whisper sliced deeper than any scream. The room howled with laughter again, crueler than before. Tears blurred my vision. I stumbled backward, desperate to escape. My eyes darted, searching for an exit. My salvation appeared in the form of a tray of wine on a nearby table.
If I could just grab it, and blend into the crowd, I could slip away unseen. I lifted the tray with trembling hands and started walking faster toward the door. “Careful, Hazeal,” a girl hissed with a smirk. “Try not to trip.” But the universe must have heard her. My foot snagged on the carpet’s edge. The tray tilted and glass shattered across the marble as the red wine splashed like blood under the lights. I closed my eyes and savored their insult. “No wonder no one’s chosen her.” “Hopeless.” “She ruins everything.” Each word pierced me like knives. My knees buckled as I dropped, fumbling for a napkin. My fingers shook as I tried to blot the spreading stain, my tears falling onto the wine-soaked floor.
I can hear their loud whispers, some young girls giggling like school girls and I wondered what had caused such a reaction from everyone. But then…a shadow fell over me. I froze for a moment before I slowly lifted my eyes and everything inside me stopped. He was so professionally dressed, everything about him screamed authority. From what I could see, his hair was strangely white like an albino’s and I wondered what his eyes were like. As though he read my thoughts, his blue eyes locked with mine, and it felt as though the air was ripped from my lungs. I gasped as our eyes met, he had the bluest eyes I have ever seen, he was such a handsome man! He crouched down as he picked up a glass with his long, steady fingers.
His hand brushed mine… barely but the spark that shot through me was undeniable. For one foolish heartbeat my body trembles from fear. He’s out of my league. I should stay away from him. I saw his lip curve so slightly into a smile and I realized I had been staring at him for a while. My heart jumped in embarrassment. “Clumsy,” he murmured dangerously, the single word slicing through me like a blade. “You’ll break before anyone ever claims you.” The crowd laughed again, but their voices faded, drowned out by the pounding of my heart.
His voice echoed in my head, magnifying every wound I carried, every fear I had buried since the day my mother left. I wanted to sink into the floor. But his eyes… his eyes never left mine. My breath caught as my body trembled with both dread and something I couldn’t name. I pushed through the crowd as I tried to find an escape from their mocking laughter. I ran all the way back home and I was so grateful that dad wasn’t home. I ran to my room and locked the door. Who was he? And why did it feel, in that moment, as though I had just been claimed after all? Continue