''I don't like the color of these drapes, they make the room too gloomy,'' Mom orders the decorators around as they pull them down for the third time in a row.

I called in my mom to help me with this as she has more experience, as I will be meeting the caterers soon so that we can decide on the menu. As I leave the pack house dining hall, my phone rings.

''Hello is this Ms. Athena Robinson?'' the person asks.

''Yes this is she, may I know who's calling?'' 

''Ms. Robinson, my name is Ella and I'm calling you from 'off the menu catering services' we were wondering when you will be coming by for the meal tasting?''

''I will be there in two hours time. I hope that's fine?''

''Yes ma'am that is okay, we shall see you then, thank you and have a good day,'' she says and cuts the call.

I look back at the dining hall and see mom on the verge of breaking bones. She seems livid with anger because of the color options. I walk back and decide to do some damage control. ''Hey, so I should be leaving now if I need to make it to the caterers in time,'' I announce as I veer my mom away from the decorators, who are visibly shaking with fear.

''Yes, that's fine. Just go, seems like I'll be here the whole day. I mean they can't even get a color co-ordination right!'' she glares at the decorator. "They should know this, shouldn't they? It's their job for crying out loud!"

''They're doing their best mom, in fact, I think I found the perfect colors.'' I tell her as I walk towards the drapes and pull out two rolls of fabric from underneath the thousands of them, okay maybe hundred, who am I kidding, they were less than ten rolls.

''What do you think?'' I hold them up for everyone to see.

''Oh perfect!'' mom squeals and hugs me. From the corner of my eye I see the decorators breathe sighs of relief.

''Okay so now that this is sorted out, allow me to take your leave. I trust you can take it up from here mom?'' I pose. 

''Yes, darling you can run along now,'' she pats my back, ''so glad you're here.''

I leave the hall and dial a number on my phone that my father had given me earlier. The person picks up after two rings. 

''Hello?''

''Hello, hi, is this Beta Charles from the Crescent pack?'' I ask.

''Yes this is he. May know who's calling?'' 

''Hi, uhhh, my name is Athena Robinson. I'm calling from the Crimson pack, I'm Alpha Christopher's daughter and I would like to go to the city. I would appreciate if I can get an approval to pass through your land, I will be returning back late in the afternoon.'' I politely ask.

''Yes, yes, yes that's not a problem at all, I will alert the guards at the border to allow you in. I'm guessing this is in regards to your brothers' ceremony?'' he asks casually.

''Thank you, that will be really great, and yes it's regarding the ceremony, too much to do and accomplish,'' I say with a nervous laugh.

''Been there, done that,'' He jokes. ''Anyway I will not waste much of your time. I have already alerted the guards, nevertheless I will be there at the border to accompany you across.'' He says.

''I'd really appreciate that, thank you,'' I reply and cut the call, then start walking towards our borderline in haste.

''Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch where you're going Ena you'll knock yourself out,'' Ethan states as I almost bump into him. 

"Ethan, just the person I was looking for, I'm going to the city for the menu tasting so I'll be gone for a while, just wanted to inform you. I have already spoken to the crescent pack for approval and someone will be there to escort me.''

'' That's great Ena, in fact dad was just asking me about it.''

''Where is he by the way, I haven't seen him since breakfast?'' 

''He's with Robert in his office, they are sorting out invitations. I needed to get out for a breather. There's too much planning happening all around me,'' He mumbles then continues his way. I laugh at his expression and walk towards the border.

It was a twenty minute walk from the pack house to the border separating us from Crescent pack. As I get closer I see a group of men waiting for me, one guy steps forward, who I'm assuming  is Charles based on the power resonating from him.

''Hi, you must be Athena,'' he says in a charming voice, he is much younger than I had imagined him to be, he looked roughly around my age.

''Hi, yes, and you're Charles I presume?'' he chuckles and nods his head. 

I look around and see the other patrol guards scattered about with their head bowed low in respect. I shudder as a chill runs through my spine 'what the hell?' I thought as I cross the border into their land, Charles gives me a wry smile as we walk side by side towards the other side of their border.

"So, how are the preparations going?'' he asks to get rid of the awkward silence setting between us.

''oh you know....'' I say and look at him. 

He turns toward me saying, ''oh actually I don't, that's why I'm asking.'' I look at him and see him trying to stifle a laugh.

''Okay, I did not see that coming, I'll give you points for that.'' I chuckle as I try to calm myself down from the growing uneasiness in my body.

''Wow, your pack is huge!'' I say as I marvel over their grounds, I see so many people running around doing their daily chores. I notice a group of girls practicing defense tactics and raise my eyebrows in amazement.

Charles follows my trail of vision, ''yeah, we are kind of on the outs with the council since we were like the first pack to encourage our females in fighting, they were really against it, but Theo is not one to budge and he declared a female warrior guard for the pack,'' he explains.

''uhh, sorry who is Theo?'' I question as I turn my gaze away from the training girls.

"Ohh, you don't know?'' he asks surprised like as if it's the most silliest question asked.

''Yeah I actually don't, that's why I'm asking,'' I smirk clearly referencing to our little joke earlier.

He laughs out loud '' ohhhh you got me there. Anyway, Theo Argent is our Alpha, currently the youngest alpha in these regions, though it seems in one months' time that title will be Ethans,'' he concludes.

''Ohh I see, so where is your Alpha?'' I inquire. 

''He is actually visiting the city for two days due to some work, but he will be there for the ceremony, we will all be there,'' He tells me as we come to a stop.

''This is as far as I go, I must take your leave, it was a pleasure meeting you Athena. I will see you at the ceremony.'' 

''Likewise,'' I reply as I flash him a smile and cross over the border.

 As soon as I do that, the uneasiness from my body vanishes. 'Weird' I thought and brush it off as I take off towards the highway where dad had arranged for a car to take me to the city.

I'm greeted by Ella as soon as I reach the caterers. ''Ms. Athena it's a pleasure to finally meet you after talking for days over the phone,'' she gushes. ''I must say you're very pretty Ma'am.'' She adds.

''Thank you Ella, and please call me Athena," I reply. She smiles and ushers me towards the kitchen where a variety of food samples have been displayed. 

After tasting all the varieties, I finalize on the menu and give them a deposit for it, I give Ella the details of the date and timings and who will come to pick the food on the day of the ceremony. I bid her goodbye and walk out the restaurant.

Wow that took longer than I thought. I take a deep breath to clear my head when a strong leathery scent hit my nose and the uneasiness from before comes back. I hold onto the nearby pole before rushing to the car and practically diving in while motioning the driver to go.

As I near the borders of the Crescent pack, I start getting the weird feeling again. Charles was there at the border once again, waiting for me with a group of female guards this time. I raise my eyebrows in amazement.

He chuckles at my reaction, "surprised to see a female guard this time?"

"On the contrary, I'm impressed."  I reply. "I too have started the initiative of female warriors back at Crimson."

"That's great, too bad we already  beat you to it, He jokes. 

"It's  not a competition Charles," I say as I shake my head.

 "It is to Theo, he needs to be the first and the best at everything," He responds.

I give him a wry smile as we continue walking in silence. I notice one of the females staring at me intently and when I look at her she immediately lowers her  head and walks further. We reach the boundary sooner than expected and I bid my goodbyes to Charles as I cross over to my pack.

"Hey princess, how was your day?" Dad asks as soon as I walk in the house.

I tell him everything, leaving out the part of the intense scent and the uneasiness. Dad had a lot on his plate at the moment and I didn't want to burden him with petty issues like these.

The month goes by quickly and now we are one day away from Ethan's ceremony. As we sit for dinner that night mom has tears in her eyes.

"My boy, tomorrow is  a big day for you, your father and I are trusting you to take care of this pack and take it to great heights, even more than he did. It's your responsibility to continue the legacy," She says as she wipes her tears on her apron. Even though my mom is the Luna of the pack, she still prefers to cook our meals for us instead of asking the omegas to do it like the rest of the packs.

"Remember son, every action  has a reaction and in the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die and the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. So act wisely and make your choices wisely," Dad advises.

"To Alpha Ethan!" I say as I raise my glass of wine in toast. 

"To Alpha Ethan," mom and dad chime in.

As I get ready for bed, Ethan walks into my room. "Heyyy," he says really softly which is unusual for him. 

"Hii, what's up?" I look at him inquisitively.

"Can I tell you something in confidence?" He questions as he closes the door behind him.

I nod for him to go ahead. 

"I'm scared Ena, I don't know if I deserve the Alpha title, I'm freaking out right now. What if I don't stand up to it's name, what if I'm a loser, what if I  can't do it?!" 

"Okay, first of all you need to sit down," I say and make him sit on one of the couches in my room. "Secondly, you're not a loser okay? You will be an Alpha, and a damn good one at that and finally, it's okay to make mistakes Ethan. that's how we learn, besides you'll have Axel by your side, he can be wise when he wants too." I roll of my eyes, which earns me a chuckle from him.

"Also, dad will always be there, so you'll have someone to turn to in case of anything" I conclude.

"Thanks Ena, I feel better about myself now," He says and hugs me. "So glad you're here with me. It means a lot. Soooooo, what's up with you and Axel huh?" He inquires once we pull away. "I see him giving you longing looks most of the times," He continues.

"I have no clue of what you're talking about," I reply while busying myself with my duvet.

"You know that he has a crush on you, don't you Athena?" He asks. I turn to face him and from the look on his face, he knows I know the answer.

"Yeah Ethan I do." I sigh defeated, there was no use of hiding this from him. "For a moment  I felt it too, but it would have been a waste of time as there is no future there, so I had to let it go.''

"Wow Ena, I didn't know it had gone that far, but you made the right decision here," He replies clearly surprised at my revelation. I just nod in response and stifle a yawn. "Anyway I should head to bed now, it's late. Goodnight Ena," he says and leaves the room.

As I get comfortable in my bed, thoughts start crossing my mind 'Tomorrow is the day, from tomorrow Ethan will be Alpha, from tomorrow everything will change for everyone. 

Little did I know that the biggest change tomorrow, will be mine.

***

Whoa...so Ethan is finally becoming the Alpha. And Athena is behaving weirdly.

What could it be???

-Jessica.S