Page 27 of Accepted Bonds

However, his nonplussed look seemed to irritate his companion, and the ginger-haired future Alpha that had started this conversation continued.“Yeah ...when we were younger.There’s a big difference, Jeremy.Now every one of us is older and our fathers are training us to be the future Alphas of our packs.What’s a girl doing here?Why doesn’t her father just send her to a Luna training camp or something?”

“Um, Will, she’s Alpha Reece’s only child?”Another future Alpha interjected.

“So?”Will, the ginger-haired future Alpha, asked as if he hadn’t gotten the chance to be the future Alpha of his pack because he was his father’s only son.

Otherwise, why would someone stupid enough to share his misogynist opinions about one of the richest non-legacy packs in the world at the Alphas Congress be the future Alpha of any pack?

“So, she’s going to be the next Alpha of the Woodburn Pack?”The Terrence Alpha’s son answered in a matter-of-fact tone, looking doubtful about the aim of their conversation.

“But that shouldn’t be at all.Look around this room.There are no female Alphas here.Females do not belong in ruling positions, they should just be married off as Lunas to help their packs.I’m sure her father can find someone else to be the Alpha of their pack.”Will, the stupid, continued, his voice raised at least one decibel higher and thus attracting more ears to his ludicrous opinions.

“That’s because the other female Alphas haven’t arrived yet.Lower your voice and let’s stop talking about this.It will lead you nowhere good.”A future Alpha’s son said, patting Will’s shoulders.

“But ...”Will had to be the stupidest future Alpha I’d ever met because he still refused to take his kind friend’s hint.

“No buts ...Believe it or not, women, specifically Alpha’s daughters, aren’t just mindless pawns to be sold out as Lunas to the highest bidders.If I’d ever known you shared this opinion, I would have just avoided you.So annoying!”The future Alpha of the Terrence pack complained before walking away, his agitated footsteps showing his annoyance.

“Hey Jerry, don’t be angry ...”

I shook my head at their group for bringing up such an insensitive thing in front of Jeremy Terrence whose only sister was getting sold as Luna to one of the few war-mongering packs in the twenty-first century in exchange for enforcers in his pack getting trained.

Just as I turned my head away from the direction that Jeremy Terrence had walked away in, I saw my girl.She looked elegant and charming with her hair pulled up into a tousled and effortlessly chic bun that revealed her beautiful cheekbones.

She was dressed in a simple long black dress with tiny straps and a slit by her right leg.Paired with her evening dress, she wore a captivating pair of gloves that stretched gracefully from her fingertips to her shoulders, reminiscent of the elegant fashion worn by women in the early twentieth century.The gloves added a touch of allure to her and accentuated her timeless beauty, earning her several glances.

At first glance, it seemed like she wore no makeup, but given her father’s abrupt interruption of our cuddle time with a demand for her to get dressed, and the telltale blush on her cheeks that seemed a tad too vivid, I knew there was makeup subtly enhancing her features.

When she walked into the hall, she didn’t see me, but she was all I could see.And while there were no gasps at her simple clothes like there had been for some of the outrageously dressed companions to some Alphas, she seemed to be surrounded by a beautiful glittering halo that only I and several others paying attention to her could see.

As she headed toward her father, an unknown future Alpha stood in the way.I knew he was a future Alpha because all the future Alphas at the Congress were wearing mandatory blue Curio Bracelets while the Alphas wore red Curio Bracelets and other pack representatives wore yellow bracelets.

Since I didn’t know him and he seemed to know her judging by the step she took away from him when he moved too close, he had to be the future Alpha to a pack in Ni Daonni City which was one of the few cities that was a blind spot to me.

Whoever this future Alpha was, he was way too familiar.And because I knew how uncomfortable Aurora was with touch, I knew that this future Alpha was putting on a show of sorts.He was trying to indirectly lay claim to Aurora by pretending to be very familiar with her in front of all the watching eyes.

Unfortunately for him, Aurora was taken, and we weren’t sharing her with some future Alpha who wanted to use her to gain influence or clout.

I strode toward them just around the time the future Alpha touched Aurora’s bare shoulder and she froze.

I snarled as I realized that she was probably lost in his memories based on what I knew of her abilities, and widened my strides.

When I arrived by their side, the future Alpha was already wrapping his hand around Aurora.

I couldn’t help baring my teeth at him with a snarl as I pushed him away, grabbed Aurora’s arm, and dragged her close to me so that I could wrap my hands around her waist.

“What the f*ck?Who the hell are you?”The touchy future Alpha snarled at me as if Aurora was his as he stood up from the ground he’d fallen to when I pushed him away, a light blush on his cheeks, highlighting his embarrassment.

He tried to regain his composure by saying in a not-so-calm, breathy voice.“Did you know?Violence is grounds for expulsion from this meeting.”

I sneered at him as he patted at the nonexistent dust on his expensive designer suit.“Can shoving away an unknown Alpha touching my mate inappropriately be called violence?”

“Mate?Aurora doesn’t have a mate?Who the hell are you, anyway?”He asked.

“Caden Crawford, the future Alpha of the Crawford Pack, and Aurora’s future mate.”Before I could introduce myself, a deep, mature voice did, and it belonged to none other than Aurora’s grumpy father.

To my surprise, he came to my defense publicly, even though he didn’t like me.But then again, if I were him and I faced a choice between me and the pretentious Alpha who obviously had an agenda behind approaching Aurora, I would choose myself.

“Alpha Reece.”The pretentious future Alpha greeted.

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