THE SCENT OF BETRAYAL

A night to remember

ALYSSA’S POV

It had only been a few days since I witnessed my father being killed, and I was still in disbelief that I was now an orphan. I had been keeping a low profile out of fear that they would find me because they probably knew that I was still alive. The only reason why I hadn’t been found was because no one knew what I looked like or even what my scent was like.

My father’s house had been burnt to ashes, and there was absolutely nothing left. It was as if my family had never existed. I still wasn’t sure what my father had seen that made them kill him, but it was clear that they wanted to erase any memory of my family.

I may not have known what the real reason was for doing what they did, but they didn’t want to leave any trace of my family. Unfortunately for them, I was still alive, and I would make sure they paid for what they did. I didn’t care who he was.

Luckily, my friend Amy and her parents had offered me a place to stay. I was smart enough not to tell her parents what had happened to my father, but Amy was my friend. I didn't want to keep anything from her, so I told her everything that had happened.

“so are you going to attend the mating ball tonight” my friend Amy asked and I sighed

“I am not really in the mood for a party,” I said honestly. I felt like she was being insensitive to the situation I was in.

“I heard the prince will attend too, I wonder if he has met his mate. What if I end up being his mate?” She asked me excitedly

“give me a break; he is not all that,” I mumbled as I turned to look at her.

“you look different today” she commented.

“Probably because I barely slept, you know I did watch my father being killed a few nights ago,” I said and she pulled me in for a hug

“I know that but I was talking about your eyes. They changed color,” she said, and I got up and ran to the mirror.

“They are sea green,” I said as I looked at my reflection. Looking into my eyes now, I felt like I was looking into my father’s eyes. He had the same eyes and he often told me that was a way that we could identify if a wolf was a part of my family.

“I think I finally got my wolf,” I whispered. “Funny how this happened now, my father and I were looking forward to celebrating this,” I said, tears streaming down my face once more. Amy pulled me into a tight hug.

“we can still celebrate it, I mean, let’s do it in honor of your father. The moon goddess knows that you are hurting after your loss. She did this for you so that you can focus on what’s important.

“you can even meet your mate tonight,” she suggested, and I sighed.

“I feel like going for a run,” I said and she grinned

“That’s your wolf calling you,” she said excitedly as she started taking off her shoes.

“Come with me,” she said, grabbing my hands. Amy had gotten her wolf a few months before this and she knew exactly what she was doing.

I followed everything she was doing, and all she said to me as soon as we got outside her house was, “Run.” She said that I was supposed to run as fast as I could until I eventually felt the urge to turn. This was nothing like what I had heard but she said that’s how she had done it. I did as she said and ran into the forest. The faster I ran, the more I felt free. Suddenly, I felt like something just popped inside my stomach, and I abruptly stopped running and dropped to the ground on all fours. I grabbed my stomach, feeling like there was something in there that was literally trying to claw its way out of me. I growled as I felt my hair stand. Suddenly, I felt like I had hair everywhere, and I felt light on my feet. I didn’t need anyone else to tell me that it was now time to run, I found myself on all fours, and I ran so fast I passed Amy.

I ran until I got to the top of the nearby mountain and realized what I had been missing out on all this time.

I felt light and a little bit happy for the first time ever since I had lost my father. I felt more hopeful about my mission for revenge. To be honest, having my wolf made me want to go to the mating ball. I wasn’t excited because having my wolf meant that I could now find my mate, but because now I could sniff out the wolves that had murdered my father. So far, I only knew the prince, but I knew he had accomplices, and I wanted to know who they were.

I figured the wolf would attend the mating ball because the invitation wasn’t limited to our pack. As a matter of fact, wolves from packs often attended in numbers and in hopes of finding their own mates.

By the time Amy and I got back home, it was already night and almost time for the ball. I was a little anxious about what the night held, and I was scared of what I was about to find out. I could possibly come out of that ball with my mate along with the names of the wolves that had participated in the murder of my father. I hoped I would find the one who killed my father because I wasn’t ready for a mate.

Amy had really put in some effort in getting me ready for tonight, and she had even hired a makeup artist for us. She was convinced that the death of my father would bring me fortune somehow. She said that my father wouldn’t allow me to live my life in loneliness, and he would certainly bring me a mate, a mate that I was supposed to be meeting tonight.

The dress she had picked for me wasn’t all that fancy, but it was a lot for me and also a little shorter than what I would normally pick for myself. It was a figure-hugging dress with a low-cut back. It accentuated every curve in my body; although it was short, it was incredibly comfortable, although still something that I wouldn't normally wear.

When both of us were ready, we headed to the alpha’s mansion, and you could see that it was a big night because there were all sorts of fancy cars on the road. For me, it was a sad moment because I never imagined that I would be attending my first ball without my father's insight.

When we got to the mansion, people were already there, and some were even a little drunk. The doors were wide open for anyone to enter, and I could see the brightness of the lights from outside. They were blindingly bright as if to hide the darkness that lay within the mansion.

Amy walked in first, and I followed nervously close behind. I knew from the moment I stepped foot inside that mansion that this was going to be a night that I would never forget.