Chapter 2- The party
Marie had been kept busy all day with tasks to help towards the party. She was happy to be working alongside Emily. The morning had started with helping the chefs prep the food, and the afternoon went by in a blur as she and a group of other maids were given a very quick lesson on serving. Marie retired to the room and changed into the server's outfit that had been provided. She stole a quick glance at herself in the mirror and retorted at the reflection staring back at her before quickly spinning around and heading back to the kitchen.
Marie grabbed a large silver platter that was laid with various bitesize foods, such as deviled eggs and baked feta bites. It smelled divine and Marie was unable to control the rumble that came from her stomach. She carefully balanced the large tray across her arm and on her had as she had been shown that afternoon, took a deep breath and walked into the great hall.
It was then that the smell hit her. A strong smell of grass that had just been freshly mowed mixed with a heavy musk. The scent intoxicated her and surrounded her body, making her burn from the inside out. Her eyes darted across the room searching for where the scent was coming from. The room was so busy with groups of people everywhere that Marie thought she would never find the owner. She took a few steps forward, her eyes still searching the room when, suddenly, she felt the tray be lifted from her arm and she herself was pulled through a door way. The scent surrounded her, making her beat against her chest and her breath catch in her throat. Her eyes explored the hand that had grabbed her and then her eyes followed up the body and landed on the face of her fated, her mate.
Tears filled her eyes and an audible gasp left her lips when the realization dawned on her.
"You?" she cried.
"Mate" was the only word that was uttered back to her. He lowered the tray he had removed from her and then grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against him. his breath against her lips, Marie could not help but groan with the feeling of pleasure that was washing over her from being so close to him. She felt the grip on her tighten and then a grimace appeared on his face as he pushed her away. Fear rose in the pit of Marie's stomach.
"I...This cant be happening..." his words hit Marie like a sledge hammer.
He pulled her by the hand and dragged her away from where they were standing. The loud music grew quieter and finally he stopped dragging her and pushed her inside a room and slammed the door. Marie was out of breath from the running and tears were once again threatening to fill her eyes. She looked up at him as, he placed his hand softly on the side of her face.
"Mate" he groaned at her from the pleasure of touching her skin.
"Mate" was all she could whisper back.
His lips came crashing down onto her mouth and she gladly parted her lips to allow him to search her mouth completely. His hands began to search her body, slowly caressing her breasts and then moving down to her hips. Marie flinched at his touch, knowing that her body was not what it should be for a werewolf. However, he did not pull away. He kept searching and kissing and getting more and more desperate with his hands and his kisses. Suddenly, a growl erupted from his chest and he pushed away from her with all his might. Marie fell backwards and fell over a glass table that was behind her. The smell of blood filled the room. Marie looked down and saw blood trickling down her arm. The blood drained from her face and fear took over her body. She ripped the apron from around her waist and quickly tied it around her cut. She knew that it would heal but not as fast as it should have due to how underdeveloped she was as a wolf. Her mate stood frozen to the spot. His eyes glued to the blood that was covering his mate. A look of pain upon his face. His breathing was heavy.
" I am sorry Marie, I did not mean to hurt you". He went to step forward to offer help but he stopped himself and again stood frozen on the spot.
Marie was unable to say anything. The fear had completely taken over and all she could do was sit on the floor surrounded by glass and blood and stare at the man who was meant to change everything for her.
Silence fell on the room as all they could do was stare at one another, unable to speak. Finally, Marie's mate spoke.
"I...I need to get back to the party before anybody realizes I am missing."
"Jacob...please don't leave me" Marie uttered his name for the first time since the realization hit that Jacob was her intended mate.
Jacob turned to look at her with pain in his eyes, torn between the calling bond with his chosen mate and that of what was expected of him and the love he had for his girlfriend Elizabeth. He fought with everything he had in his soul and walked away, closing the door behind him.
The tears were now freely falling down Marie's cheeks and the pain she felt in her chest was becoming unbearable. unable to move, she lay curled up where she had fallen and let the pain overwhelm her.
Jacob returned to the party with a heavy pain in hsi chest which he knew was from walking away from his injured mate, but he also knew he had no choice. He could not make the lowest wolf in the pack, Luna of the Dark Moon pack and he could not betray the one he chose to love. Panic began to rise in his chest, he needed to seek council. He remained in the great hall and danced with Elizabeth. her touch burned on his skin and the pleasure her touch once brought was replaced with pain. He tried to ignore it but Elizabeth could feel him squirming under her touch.
"What is going on with you" She barked under her breath.
"I..I am just tired my love and wish for this party to end.. I have some urgent business i need to discuss with my dad now that i am 18" He followed this with a kiss on her lips even though the pain in his chest was becoming unbearable.
Elizabeth smiled and squealed with glee as she assumed that this business was his intentions to mark her and claim her as his mate without the bond. Elizabeth therefore ushered him away. "Go and do this business with your father. I will cover for you and bring the party to an end, my love" . She let her hand linger on his arm but Jacob quickly pulled away and left the party.
Jacob rushed through the halls of the house and as he passed the room in which he left Marie he paused wondering if she was where he left her. He paused at the door and could hear her erratic heart beat and sobs of pain. His heart ached and the bond was trying to pull him through the door and help fix what he had broken. Jacob, however, continued passing the door and took the stairs 4 at a time and finally came to a stop outside of his father's office door. He knocked twice and awaited for a response.
"Enter" came a deep growl from behind the door. Jacob took a deep breath and stepped inside.
"Ahh my boy, why are you not at your party?"
"Father, I need to speak to you, something terrible has happened and I need your help."
Alpha Barrett stood up from his desk and rushed to his son, looking him over and finally noticed the pain etched on his face.
"What is Jacob?"
"I....I found my....I found my mate father. I cannot accept her as mine"
Alpha Barret took a sharp intake of breath and stared at his son...
"What do you mean you are unable to accept her? You have been blessed, my son."
"But father, you don't understand, she is the lowest wolf in the pack. She is the maid of Lord Francis"
Alpha Barrett's eyes widened in shock.
"Father, I cannot make her the Luna of this pack. Plus, I am in love with Elizabeth and wish to claim her as my mate". Jacob slumped into a chair and held his head in his hand. His father began to pace his office, stroking the stubble on his face over and over again in deep thought.
Finally, he asked "who else is aware of this situation?"
"Nobody, father. I came straight to you."
"Good that will work in our favor, but we have to move quickly."
"Quickly? Why?" Jacob looked at his father with confusion written all over his face,
"Yes. The law states that the Alpha's in our pack do not reject their chosen mate, but I agree with you. We cannot make her Luna of this pack"
"What do we do?"
"First thing first, you must reject her and she must accept your rejection. then you will need to claim Elizabeth as your mate in front of the pack"
"That is easy father, I can do that."
"That is not all, my dear boy". We have to then remove this maid from our pack for good"
Jacob's eyes widened in shock at the suggestion of removing Marie from the pack.
"Father, is that necessary? If I had rejected her and claimed Elizabeth, then surely that is enough"
"If the pack discover you were blessed by the moon goddess to have a mate and you rejected her, they will turn against you and will reject you as their Alpha. We cannot let that happen."
"how do we remove her from the pack? We cannot banish her, because no crime has been committed."
"There is one other reason, that we can remove individuals from our pack ." Alpa Barret paused and glanced over at his son who was now pacing the room and he could tell from the pain etced on his face that the mate bond was weighing heavily on him. They needed to move forward with this plan now.
"Humans are not permitted to live in our pack without a mate, We will therefore remove her of her wolf side and grant her freedom to the human world"
confusion grew on Jacobs' face once again,
"Rid her of her wolf? Make her human? Father, I do not believe there is such a way to do this."
Alpha Barret strode to his bookshelves and from the very top shelf he pulled down a large leather bound book that had a thick layer of dust covering it from front to back. He placed it down on the table in front of Jacob. Jacob reached out and wiped the dust away revealing the book titled "Vampire Legends".
Jacobs' eyes grew wide with shock as he read the title.
"Father, vampires have been extinct for thousands of years. I do not see how you plan on using this book to help us"
"Oh my boy, you have so much to learn before you become Alpha of this pack. Vampires are not extinct, they are rather controlled by a treaty set in place by the Lycan king to protect us all. This treaty came about as vampire venom is the only thing known to us that can kill our wolves."
Jacob sat in complete shock, staring between the book and his father, not believing the words he was speaking. Alpha Barret continued,
" I have a vampire in our dungeons, which we can use to complete this plan.
"Father, you cannot be serious! You cannot unleash a vampire into our pack!" Jacob bellowed at his father.
"Oh you fool! Of course, I could not unleash the vampire. He would not be trusted to not attack all he met after the years we have kept him locked up. Instead, I will ensure his venom is spread on a blade and this will be used in an attack against this maid and this will be the way we remove her."
Jacob began pacing again and running his hands through his hair. Every nerve in his body was telling him to run to his mate and claim her. Save her from the pain that he and his father were about to subject her too. He stood and headed to the door. When he reached for the handle he stopped himself. He knew that he had to go through with his father's plan.
"Father, how will we do this?" His head was beginning to spin.
"You will reject the maid, and then head straight back to the party and claim Elizabeth. I will ensure that the maid is returned to the maid's quarters and, once there, she will be attacked.
"Who will do this? and if she is stabbed with the blade. She will not heal as her wolf will be gone" How do we know she will not die?" Jacobs questioned, snowballed and rolled one after another from his tongue as the room began to spin around him.
"Sit down, boy. You do not need to worry about the who. I will sort this out. As for her not healing, we will offer her medical help at the pack hospital. Once healed, we will give her freedom."
Alpha Barrett reached for his phone. After seconds, he was repeating the plan to whomever was at the other end. "I will let you know once she is returned to her quarters". With that, he hung up the phone and growled.
"Lets go and get this done"