FLASHBACK**
Two Weeks After Elle's Arrival.
After waiting two long weeks of only being allowed to wander around the packhouse with nothing else to do, Luna Olivia and Alpha Charles determined I had enough time to adjust, and it was finally time to see the town and meet other kids my age before starting school. Thank the Goddess, too, because I was about to go crazy looking at the same four walls around me.
At least I had been smart enough to avoid Damon most days except for dinner, so at least I had that going for me until Luna Olivia showed me around the town. Goddess helped the woman, but she brought me to Damon and his friends. While she introduces me to the kids hanging around her son, the next Alpha, he is glaring daggers at me.
As soon as I could steer her away, I did, but not after five excruciating minutes of awkward pleasantries. It was unbearable, trying not to look at Damon, knowing the damnation that lay within. It wasn't until we walked away that I could finally breathe. After Luna Olivia showed me every nook and cranny of the town, she gave me the okay to explore independently.
"Have fun, sweetheart. You have money on the card if you want to go in the shops," Luna Olivia says, "and our numbers are programmed into the phone we gave you. Once you join the pack, you'll get to mindlink everyone else too." She wraps her arms around my body; being tall for my age, I am only a few inches shorter than her, so my hair tugs uncomfortably on her earrings as we separate from each other.
"I will be back in time for dinner," I say before stepping away and walking back towards the pack house. Having seen a small path in the woods at the end of the driveway, I am dying to explore. Wasting no time hurrying my way down the path, evergreen clinging to the air, invading my nose so that everything else slowly fades away, including my scent.
Determined to follow this path to the end, I continue walking until the path widens, revealing a large field of the most vibrant green I had ever seen. A pigment that could only be found on healthy land. Tiny yellow flowers littered the field reflecting brightly against the afternoon sun. A gentle breeze causes them to sway.
As my foot extends to step further, I hear the snap of a twig behind me and muffled voices coming down the path. Not wanting to be found, I find a tree with a low branch before hoisting myself up, my skin brushing against the rough bark as I climb higher. Once I get to the top, I watch for the people to pass below me. As they near, I hear a voice I could pick from a hundred different ones.
"Come on," the blonde-haired and pale boy Luna Olivia introduced as Matt whines, "tell us more about that Elle girl."
"My mom says she is an omega orphan from another pack," Andrew says if I remember him correctly. "I don't care who she is," Matt says, "she is super cute," Damon says nothing as they pass under the tree, stopping to lift his nose to the air and sniff, looking around for its source. My lungs are burning as the oxygen I have been holding in my lungs begs for release. He continues onward when he doesn't find what he is looking for.
"Come on, Damon," Matt says, "tell me about her so I can make my move before the other guys in the pack try to. Have you seen how cute she is? Imagine how hot she'll be when she gets older." He continues on, not paying attention to the deadly look on Damon's face. Matt is about to say more when a low rumble shakes the trees, including the one I am in, when a sending me a little off balance that I grab the trunk in a vice grip.
In the span it took me to blink, Matt's neck in Damon's vice grip, he slowly lifted him from the ground, face turning blue from the lack of oxygen. "NEVER go near Elle," Damon says, his eyes black voids. "Don't talk to her; she isn't yours to conquer. If I see either of you talking to her without permission, you'll wish I killed you today. Understood?" Damon doesn't need to scream to make his words frightening; his aura is doing it all alone.
"UNDERSTOOD?" Damon screams, bringing Matt's face closer so he can hear the small croak of a "yes" from his lips before dropping him to the ground. The same black eyes focused on Matt a few moments ago are now looking at Andrew, waiting for his nod of acknowledgment to the new rules.
Giving Damon the smaller nod of agreement, Damon shoves past him, making his way back to the drive. Andrew rushes to help a coughing Matt stand before following behind their Alpha. I don't move, frozen in the tree, my arms still around the tree as I try to decipher Damon's words.