Chapter 12 Chapter 12
ELLA
To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
“Mom, you wouldn’t believe what just happened,” I said as I walked back into the kitchen.
“Zane?” My mom turned to me, smiling.
“Wait, how did you—”
My mother laughed.
“He came and apologized to me first. Can’t say I remember the last time he ever did that.”
“That’s because he never has,” I replied, laughing as well.
We worked on dinner and were informed there would be a last-minute pack meeting at the end of the day before dinner.
That meant we had to attend, and dinner needed to be ready for whoever wanted to stay afterward. I heard my mother groan, “We won’t have enough food!”
“Go talk to Alpha Daniel about it. We could use the food that we were going to use for dinner tomorrow as well as what we have for tonight. He will have to approve it, though,” I suggested.
Mom nodded.
“You’re getting good at this, hun. You’ll be in charge before you know it,” she said as she left the kitchen and walked to the alpha’s office.
I started on some of the salads as I waited on approval.
Zane walked through, stealing a couple of olives off my board. I rolled my eyes at him, and he gave me a smirk.
Don’t let him in, my wolf whispered. He hurt us before, he’ll do it again.
I sighed and nodded my head in agreement. I know.
Everyone sat in the pack hall as we awaited the alpha. My mom and I sat near the back so we could escape quickly when the meeting was over and get back to the kitchen to start dishing up food.
“What do you think this meeting is about?” I whispered to my mom. Sophie shrugged and the whole room hushed as Alpha Daniel and Zane walked into the room and to the front.
They took their seats next to the Beta and then Alpha Daniel stood and began to speak.
“Good evening, Green Ridge Pack. This won’t take long, we just wanted to update you on a few changes. Our plan was to have Alpha Zane take over as official alpha at the end of the summer.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be pushing back his promotion until December. He will be taking the next six months to train with me personally to ensure our pack has the very best alpha.”
I could hear the whole pack beginning to whisper, making guesses as to why he was pushing things back. I felt embarrassed as I sat there knowing it was my fault.
I kept my head down and I could feel eyes on me. I didn’t dare to look up, knowing it was probably Zane glaring at me.
As soon as the alpha released us to dinner, I stood and dashed out of the room. I finished dinner and began dishing up food for pack members who made their way to the kitchen.
Finally, Zane and Daniel made their way through the line.
“Sophie, Ella, this all looks awesome. Thank you for putting this together so last minute!” Alpha Daniel sang as he walked up to us.
“It’s no problem, Alpha,” we both said. I looked up to see Zane staring at me, not with anger but with confusion.
“Ella, do you have a moment?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.
“Uh, I’m actually in the middle of serving dinner. Is it important, Alpha?” I replied, hoping he wouldn’t push it.
“It is.” He turned to my mother.
“Sophie, do you mind if I steal her for just a moment?”
My mother nodded with a smile. Traitor, I thought to myself. Zane led me out to the hallway behind the kitchen.
“Is everything okay?”
I lowered my head again.
“I don’t know what you mean, Alpha. Everything is fine.”
Zane moved toward me, and I involuntarily flinched backward. Frustration flashed across his face.
He took a breath and spoke again.
“Ella, something is obviously bothering you. What is the matter? You’ve been like this since the…”
I met his eyes to see the realization in his eyes. He knew that I knew he wasn’t getting promoted because of me.
“Ella…” Zane looked down at me and his face softened.
I lowered my head again.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. I had no idea Alpha Daniel would do that. I can go talk to him and explain everything.” I was eager to keep myself from his wrath.
“Ella, this isn’t your fault.”
I looked up at him, confusion evident on my face.
“But I—”
“Ella, this is my fault. I messed up. I let my pride get in the way of my duty to my pack. My father is giving me six months to get my head straight, to figure out exactly what kind of alpha I want to be.”
He wasn’t angry at me. He wasn’t going to hurt me or yell at me.
“Oh. I thought you weren’t being promoted because of me.”
Zane shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got things I need to work on before I can be alpha.”
I looked up at him and attempted a warm smile before pulling some wisps of hair away from my face and turning toward the kitchen.
“Well, I have work to do, so..”
“I don’t want to keep you. I just didn’t want you to worry.”
“Thank you,” I replied, surprised at how levelheaded and cool he had been. He had never treated me this way.
Maybe things were changing, but he hadn’t addressed the mate situation. Obviously, he still didn’t want me.