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21
Aurora
There was something odd about the atmosphere in the cafeteria when I walked into it with Nyra. The cafeteria was usually buzzing with sounds of chatter, yelling, and the clatter of food trays, but today, it was filled with the hum of murmured conversations. Unfortunately, my hunger, heightened by the delectable aroma of the cafeteria’s dishes, was so intense that I ignored the tension in the cafeteria.
As I moved toward the end of the queue to retrieve a clean tray from the stacks, an older couple came to stand between me and the stack of trays. I didn’t understand what they wanted, so I took a step back while staring at their faces flashing with a conflicting mix of grief, anger, hatred, and disdain, all of which seemed to be aimed at me.
“Um, can I help you?” I asked, my thoughts fixed on the turkey sandwiches that I could smell all the way from the counter to where I stood at the end of the line.
“We’re Angelique’s parents.” The woman spat out, like having to introduce herself to me made her feel inferior.
“Hello, ma’am, sir, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said, my brows tightening as I wondered why they were here, looking at me and approaching me like I killed their daughter when it was already a foregone conclusion that I didn’t.
The man scoffed. “Sorry for our loss? You killed Angelique so no one could stand in the way of your relationship with the future Alpha and you think we’d let you get away with a simple apology? No way, we’re going to make you pay for this. Even if it’s the last thing we do.”
“But . . . I had nothing to do with Angelique’s death. Didn’t the police tell you that they questioned me and have proven me innocent?” I asked, my brows furrowing deeper as I wondered why everyone kept thinking I killed Angelique when there had never even been any hatred between us.
“Oh, we heard about your shenanigans at the police station and how your parents who work in the Supernatural Council bailed you straight out of every involvement with the crime and even convinced Alpha Owen not to kick you out of the pack. We weren’t able to get information about your parents, but a source told us about your identity as a spy for the Supernatural Council. I wonder if your schoolmates know that you’re staring at their every move and everything in the pack just so you can reveal our pack’s secrets to the Supernatural Council and help them disintegrate our pack?”
Gasps echoed in the room and whispers rose to murmurs as sharp stares started coming my way from many parts of the cafeteria.
I inhaled and exhaled twice to try to hold on to my calmness. “Mr. and Mrs . . . Angelique’s parents, I am not a spy. The Supernatural Council is not an enemy to packs and we do not send people to spy on pack activities.”
“So you say, but then again, it was the Supernatural Council that colluded with all the other supernatural factions and the humans to send in spies under the title of pack observers to every pack in the world. You guys train them and send them out to every pack and then they lie against their packs saying they found ‘misconduct’ against pack members which then allows your organization to gain entry into those packs for stupid assessments that you use to change the leadership of several packs to leaders that your council controls. Yet you still dare to say that?” Angelique’s father’s face looked distorted as he stared at me with bulging eyes similar to that of a frog.
“That’s not the purpose of pack observers. Pack observers are meant to protect every member of the pack . . .”
“I can’t believe you deceived me like this. Pretending to be my friend? Was that so that you could learn my secrets or the secrets of the pack through me? I can’t believe you would do this to me.” Nyra’s quiet voice interrupted me, and I turned my gaze toward her.
I found her standing beside me, her head lowered and her eyes fixed on the ground.
“Nyra?” I reached for her arm, but she moved away to avoid me, her body trembling as though she was trying to hold back from shifting into her wolf form.
“Do you truly support pack observers?” She asked in a soft voice.
“Nyra, I . . .”
“Answer my question!” Nyra’s yelling startled me as she stared at me with red-rimmed eyes that showed that she was trying not to cry.
I sighed and nodded, wondering what pack observer had left such a terrible impression on her while trying to inform her of their importance. “I do. Without pack observers, several packs would still be living under laws that serve only the selfish interests of their Alphas and pack council members. I think the existence of a neutral party in every pack to supervise every pack member’s treatment and protect them from mistreatment is meaningful.”
Nyra glared at me like I said I hated babies. Then she took a deep breath, stood to her full height, and looked down at me with pursed lips and a trembling chin. “Then, we’re no longer friends.”
She turned to walk away. I tried to grab her arm, but she swerved to the side to avoid my grip before stomping out of the cafeteria, still trembling.
“Nyra!” I called after her, but she didn’t even turn back to glance at me.
When I tried to follow her, Angelique’s parents stood in my path.
“You see? Your type is not wanted here. You and pack observers are the worst kinds of pests. I wish someone would just put you down or tear you to pieces like you tore my daughter to pieces.” Angelique’s mother said, her voice dripping with gloating and hatred.
“That’s enough, Mrs. Walker. Aurora is not here to spy on the activities of the Crawford Pack and she has nothing to do with Angelique’s death.” Mateo said, inserting himself between me and Angelique’s parents.
I could only stare at his back as Mr. Walker, Angelique’s father, moved to stand in front of his wife.
His chest puffed out like that of a bear defending its territory as he said, “I always knew you were just like your father. I already told Alpha Owen that a family with a history like yours where your father betrayed his pack for a woman should be prohibited from ever holding the position of pack Betas, but he refused. Now look at what we have here. You’re repeating your father’s actions, fighting for a spy that should be kicked out of the pack.”
“You’re just filth, just like your father.” Mrs. Walker echoed from behind her husband.
