Chapter 10 Declaration of Love

Atasha’s Point of View

I lifted one hand to cover my face from the sun rays. I had to admit that the sun was shining beautifully today. I found it somewhat relaxing to be outside in the garden after spending so many hours cooped up in the study room. Veronica had agreed to let me take a break after I had aced my practice test, and I couldn't have been happier. I smiled and took several deep breaths.

In the right part of the garden, I stopped to admire the flowers, which had grown beautifully. There were red and white roses, as well as other greenery that surrounds them. There were butterflies in the air, and they seemed to be dancing in the breeze. As I watched them, I couldn’t help but remember my twin sister who I missed so much. Astrid has a deep affection for butterflies. Her favorite thing to do when we were kids was to take a butterfly home with her in a jar every time. I recalled asking her to release the butterfly since I was concerned that it might die if she kept it trapped inside the jar for a long time.

Despite the fact that I had a smile on my lips, I had to acknowledge that it didn't reach my eyes. For a brief period, I had the impression that I could be compared to a butterfly that Astrid had trapped within a jar. Only this time, I was trapped in our rival pack's territory and had to endure several obstacles in order to stay alive. However, when I think about it, I feel that these circumstances in which I found myself serve a significant purpose. If I ended up passing the test that the Alpha had arranged for me, Elijah would then locate my family.

I shifted my sight to the opposite side of the garden, where there were many bushes. In my mind, I saw the episode when Zach kissed me while attempting to hide me from the guards. With the way he kissed me, it was both passionate and tender, as if he was trying to reassure me that I would be safe as long as I had him by my side.

My eyes blinked several times. I shook my head, trying to get him out of my thoughts, but it got more difficult as I processed what he'd said to me.

"If you want to save your family, please remember that you can count on me . . ."

“I am the last card who will save you . . .”

I had no idea what he was up to, and if he was telling the truth when he said that I could rely on him and that he could help me. One thing was for sure, his words were very soothing. I knew he was worried about me because of the way he stared at me last night. But I'm still perplexed as to why Elijah was so enraged with him. I was truly shocked by the way he behaved towards Zach last night.

“Can you tell me why you're out here by yourself?” Unexpectedly, a familiar voice called out from behind me, jolting me back to reality.

When I looked around, there was Elijah, who was standing calmly with his hands clasped together at his back. He smiled as he tilted his head while his piercing eyes were fixated on me. “Taking a break?”

I nodded, a little uneasy at the thought of him seeing me zoning out in here by myself.

“H-How about you? Are you taking a break too?” I asked as I still looked at him.

“No, I was looking for you.” My heart skipped a beat as he spoke those words. He took a walk over to the flowers and picked a red rose. “I want to make sure that you don't get away. You can't ruin my plan because it's so important to me."

It felt as if a needle pierced my heart. I badly need to get used to his ruthlessness or else . . . or else . . .

Or else what, Atasha?

“I am not even thinking about trying to escape. No matter how much I wanted to, I was forced to endure this ordeal since you vow that you would locate my family after I pass the test,” I said back, the unpleasant tone of my voice was evident that I had to scold myself mentally.

“I will and you have my words, slave.” He looked my way and gave me the rose he picked. “Take it.”

Was he trying to play with me?

“Thank you but I don’t like flowers.” I said, annoyed.

"Don’t get your hopes up, slave. Take it, and throw it in the trash. That flower seems to be on the verge of withering.” He cockily smirked and leaned down enough to level his face with mine. “It's like someone I know who doesn’t appear to know how to look and dress attractively.”

My eyes widened, this time I felt more irritated at him because he seemed to be trying to start a war against me. “Excuse me, are you actually referring to me?”

He chuckled devilishly and licked his reddish lips. I could have sworn he looked so attractive, but frustration took control, causing my brow to wrinkle and my lips to form a narrow line.

“Hmm, are you that upset? I didn’t even tell it was you, slave,” he uttered playfully. “So, just take it.”

“I-I don’t know why you think it’s funny to insult someone but you’re getting on my nerves, you stupidly stubborn son of the Alph—” I wasn’t able to finish my statement as I realized that it was forbidden to throw an insult to a higher rank, especially to the soon-to-be Alpha!

I covered my mouth with my hand. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at me intensely.

“Did you just insult me, slave?” He asked warily.

“B-Because you insulted me!”

“You know I didn’t.” He then reached for my hand and placed the rose on my palm. “But if you think it was you then you might want to comb your hair, at the very least.” Using his free hand, he tucked some strands of my hair behind my ear and smiled. “Don’t stay here for too long. Veronica will be worried.”

After that, he walked away. I gasped for some air and clutched my chest. I looked at the flower he gave me. It looked so fresh as if it just bloomed at dawn. It didn't seem to be on the verge of withering at all.

He was only trying to humiliate me in some way! I stomped my feet on the ground and was about to throw the flower but my hand couldn’t seem to let go of it. In the end, I went back to my room with it and placed it on the empty vase on the side table of my bed.

***

The day had already come for the exam. Everyone was here in the library, as I sat here in the middle of a crowd, facing Alpha Gregory who was seated with Elijah and Veronica together with their servants. The library had some huge windows where I could see their large garden. To remove my worries, I looked outside, appreciating the beauty of flowers and the sunlight that rays through the leaves, creating a warm feeling.

As I gazed through the windows to distract the loud pump from my chest, I saw Zach outside, smiling and waving from a distance. I was trying not to look at him as much as I could, pretending not to see him at all. But in the corner of my eye, his figure showed he was still waving his hand, trying to catch my attention. I slowly turned my head to give him a gaze eventually, and his face was smiling from ear to ear then gave me a thumbs up.

I turned my head right immediately as he started making funny faces. Elijah and Veronica's stares were so intense, and I didn’t want them to see me laughing in this situation. Though, I appreciate that Zach wanted to make me laugh.

Alpha Gregory raised his hand to declare that it was time. “This examination will see if you have the intellectual skills to be a Luna to lead our female werewolves. Before we start, do you have any words?” Alpha said.

“I’m ready . . .” I answered bravely.

“ I’m not sure what you're planning with my son, but one thing is certain . . . you will not be part of the Crimson pack," Alpha said, then looked at his son, giving him a wide grin.

My restless days and nights where I sacrificed myself should pay off this day. It was time to speak up, and this was my first step to my conquest.

“I will be part of this pack, and I'm gonna prove it—”

“Prove what?” Alpha Gregory suddenly cut me off.

I looked at Elijah, who seemed to be worried at this moment.

“My love for Elijah . . . that I’m his mate, his Luna. I'll prove it to everyone!”

I saw Veronica holding her laughter and giving Elijah a nudge. His face turned away as I could see it from a distance. Likely, he was humiliated by this fake relationship we had and the lies that were thrown in front of his father.

I need to remind myself, this is only an act. Never in my life have I liked him, and I will never be in love with someone involved who killed my fellow pack and hurt my family. Even if he was the last werewolf on the planet, and I swear to God that I resolve to have vengeance with all of them once I save my family and the Silver Moon Pack's regroup.

The Alpha then cleared his throat and said, “Aw, how sweet. Declaration of love? How funny of you, Atasha. Unfortunately, I don't buy it. Let's begin this examination. Shall we? By the way, you have only thirty minutes to finish it.”

I saw Veronica clapping her hands and cheering for me. She was confident that I could ace the exam when I began looking at the test paper and read all the questions. I need to find out what's the easiest, as Veronica told me during our training, that I must answer the easy ones first. But later on, a sudden panic consumed my overall system. Everything that was written here was difficult questions. There were no easy ones! I began scratching my head out of frustration as this was not what we expected from the test.

“What happened?” Elijah exclaimed.

I was teary-eyed as I glanced at him. My hands and my fingers were sweating a bit. Suddenly, it felt like everything was in slow motion. Only a minute had passed, while it felt like forever here. I only read the questions over and over, but I didn’t know what to write.

Please, Moon Goddess, help me.

As I was praying in the back of my mind, I wish that I'd write the correct answer. I glanced at Veronica as if I was to give them a clue that I needed help, but she avoided looking at me. She ran outside from the room while Elijah seemed to be confused.

There was no way Veronica could do this to me. She might not want to see me suffering here, I hope. Many thoughts were whirling through my head. My mouth had run dry, and the bitter taste of this trial hit me down to the core.

“Atasha, focus! you can do this!” Elijah yelled while both of his fists were clenched.

I was holding myself not to cry out of frustration. I didn’t want to be humiliated in front of everyone. I saw Elijah ferociously stare at his father, and the confirmation he got from the Alpha was a wide grin from his face. Instead of being frustrated, I thought about my twin sister. What if Astrid was in this position, what resolution is she going to do? Would she also feel stuck and leave with no options the same way I have?

I stared back on these questions on my test paper, hoping for an answer to magically come out.

“Atasha, my darling, I believe in you!” Elijah's face now was so determined and confident. Clapping and cheering for me.

For once, this guy can't shut up. I can't focus!

“Baby, you can do this!” Again, he shouted. The Alpha seemed a bit irritated with Elijah's voice as he kept shouting every minute. “Can't wait to make love with you, so hurry up and finish this!” Elijah again exclaimed as the other werewolves held their laughter, but the Alpha Gregory was not amused and threw daggers at them that made them have a straight face.

I then realized that I wanted to say the correct answers all the time. Everything I did was to seek them, then I always got punished if I said the wrong word, the bad things, and the inadequate responses. In my life, I always felt that I was a black sheep, that my existence was wrong. But this time around, a small encouragement I got from my enemy made me write what I thought was right. Today, I’ll say what I feel and I’m no longer trapped with any judgment of all of them.

As my pen moved on its own and started writing on my test paper, I saw Elijah's face light up, which made me smile a tiny bit, but that smile was immediately removed as Alpha Gregory spoke, “By the way, Atasha, I forgot to tell you something. If you fail on this exam, prepare yourself to be slaughtered by my wolves.”