The days after Selena's discharge felt like a fever dream because, apparently, the spooked attitude that girl had towards her was shared by pretty much most of the pack members. Now, when they gave her their usual wide berth, they were accompanied by poorly-covered whimpers and wide-eyed terror. It almost felt like she'd stepped into another world by accident.
Oh, and apparently, she's now prohibited from touching any sort of instrument for life. Especially brass ones. Joy.
At least she's now graduated from sleeping in the basement to a comfortable, wide room on the east side of the mansion. Far, far away from Claire's room on the west side. That's a double win enough on her books.
So now, Selena took this chance and started that stupid list she needed to do. After she found that the mansion actually had an impressive library with walls practically covered in shelves stuffed with books, she had all but holed herself in there for three days now, trying to sort out all the knowledge she knew of this world in a stream of writing frenzy, putting down all memories she had of the novel, before starting the process of segregating each one into broad arcs.
"Right," she huffed as she stretched her arms over her head, shivering at the tickling sensations brought on by writing for hours (thank God this place is modern enough to have pens). She tapped on the notebook she filched from the library, reviewing all the bullet points she'd managed to summarize for the important events she could remember:
Duel scene: already done.
Living together with Chase: insisted by elders ( not a good idea )
Lots of really intense sex scenes with Chase ( Avoid)
Arrival of a rival pack: introduction of the second potential male lead
Another multiple rounds of sex scenes ( Also avoid )
Kidnapping scene from another rival pack: reference to rape ( AVOID AT ALL COST!!! )
Escaped kidnappers, extremely injured: first shifting scene
Future chapters supposedly coming…
Selena blinked. Now that she listed all the main events like this, it almost felt… rather minimal compared to the 90 chapters the book had the last time she read it. And she didn't even add those supposed angsty ones! She'd been unsure if she should even write the 'intense sex' points, but now she couldn't help but think that the story really was just a quarter fantasy, a quarter angst, and half smut, with some angst sprinkled in a metaphorical cupcake top.
"Great. Now I'm questioning the evolution of my reading preference," Selena muttered despondently.
She shook her head. Focus . If she's here to stay, she should at least try to make sure she's as prepared as she can be for future events. She tapped at the second bullet point and absently underlined the "living together" phrase. Being forced to cohabitate due to their nature as fated pairs… ugh, that sounded so wrong on so many levels to her liberal spirit (somehow, she sounded way too Gen Z even in her mind…). She didn't know how much patience—she never really had much, to begin with—she could instill if this got pushed; it just looked like a perfect cooking pot for potential troubles.
More so, as both she and Chase didn't really like each other currently.
If she tries to open this to others… Well, the others were too afraid to get close to her right now, and she's still trying to decide if she should fess up to Melissa. There wasn't even a guarantee that the girl wouldn't call her crazy…
She grabbed her hair in both hands in frustration. Is there something she could do?
"You'll end up pulling all of your hair if you pull any harder."
"GAAH!" Selena all but jumped when she felt someone's breath passing her ear. She tried to move, only to end up kneeing the long table she'd been using upside down and having her foot caught on the chair she's using, tripping her mid-escape, making her fall to the floor, and hitting her forehead on the table's underside.
"Still feeling skittish? Where's that enraged girl who hurled a tuba at someone's face?" Chase said in a mocking voice as he looked down on her in a sharp, amused smirk. He was the epitome of casualness, limbs loose, and a hand in his jeans pockets. He's clearly not planning to help Selena stand.
Charming my ass, Selena bit in her mind, remembering Melissa's words before everything else. Which part of this guy can anyone consider charming? The guy had a fanbase both in her real world and in here, and she failed to see what made this guy so popular. Bad boy aura? Daddy vibes with darker tones? Or were his looks really that convincing?
Chase's eyes moved down, eyeing the mess. Selena followed his gaze and felt her face getting cold. Crap, the notebook was still open. And Chase was about to pick it up.
Selena dove towards the notebook, which resulted in her headbutting Chase. The alpha growled in irritation, but Selena merely humphed at him. That was close. "What are you even doing here? Who allowed you in?" She felt like he's been popping out of everywhere lately.
"Your family allowed me entry," the guy replied as he cast a look around the library uninterestedly. She probably looked confused still, as he elaborated, "The elders have given counsel. They wanted you and me to be a proper mated pair before the sixth month ended. Every member of the pack must cooperate in this, and is allowed to interfere to facilitate the mating faster." He then raised his other hand, where he was holding a small basket covered with cloth, and swung it lightly, as if trying to prove his point.
Selena could feel her face twisting in objection. Are they already trying to push them together? "That's not—That doesn't sound fair! What rights do they have to impose their order on us?!"
Chase shrugged. "They're this pack's elders. They had reputation, knowledge, and seniority. Everyone will always follow their words."
"But you're the alpha of the pack! Shouldn't you have some sway on them? Don't tell me you actually want to do this, too? You look like you barely tolerate me!"
He chuckled, but it sounded dark and a bit self-deprecating. "You think those old folks will listen to an alpha that's barely in his mid-twenties? It doesn't matter what title I hold in this place. My words won't hold against them."
Selena's thoughts seemed to pause at the obvious glint in the alpha's eyes. "You're… angry." Well, it probably shouldn't be surprising. Despite him being the main love interest in the novel, the current Chase looked like he barely tolerated Selena, as she'd mentioned earlier. Somehow, she forgot that she's not the only one affected in this shitty situation.
Maybe there's a reason why Chase continued being a dick.
Selena just huffed a breath and started righting the table back. Chase quickly grabbed an empty chair to sit once the table was back in its position and threw the basket, almost hitting the girl in the face. Selena rolled her eyes. "You suck at giving gifts, you know?" Even so, she couldn't help but peek at the basket. Something smelled delicious in there. When the man didn't comment, she started pulling out the plates of desserts. Huh, she would have expected that Chase would bring something generic like some fruits or whatever it is werewolves prefer, not some muffins. That's actually… almost sweet.
It shouldn't be bad… taking a bite in the library, right? She'll just have to make sure she won't leave crumbs. Blueberries are her favorite.
"By the way," he drawled without acknowledging the statement, eyes boring in her direction while Selena started placing her things back before grabbing the food he brought. "What's with that 'intense sex' with me line? And why did you write avoid on it?"
The food went down the wrong pipe and had Selena hacking. "W-w-w-w-wh-what are you talking about? Aren't you just flattering yourself?" God frickin' damn it!
Chase pointed at the notebook with his chin. "I saw it there. You've had some very interesting things written there. Even wrote the 'intense sex' twice. Especially…" He leaned closer with a charming smile, but his eyes were nothing but cold, like he wanted to bare his fangs at her in warning. "That thing about rival gangs. Tell me, Selena, are you planning on selling out the pack?"
"No!" Selena shouted before covering her mouth. After making sure that no one's around, she hissed, "I'm planning anything! Why would I betray the pack? I basically have no reason to do that!" She blinked. Actually, bullying and abuse can be put in the table as a basis to leave, actually. But then, she'll have no way of knowing if other werewolf packs treat omegas the same way. Better in a more familiar territory than trying her luck.
Chase, however, didn't let his gaze waver, clearly not believing her words. Shit, she messed up big time! Quick, she needed to un-dig the hole she'd accidentally made. "Look, that list was nothing more than ramblings in my head. I was just trying to, uh… Writing! Yeah! I was trying to write some sort of story, and I just thought I'd use some real-life inspirations to plot the details!" She was starting to have cold sweats at the back of her neck, but she couldn't afford to break eye contact. Please, whoever it was that has the highest power in this world, have the guy buy her words!
"… Writing, huh?" Chase's gaze was still good, but at least he now leaned back a bit, making Selena breathe a little easier. "That tasty? The muffin?"
Selena fumbled at the sudden turn of the conversation. Muffin..? "Oh! Uh, yeah! Really delicious! You have good taste when it comes to dessert! I could eat a dozen more of these, hahahaha!" Shit, did her voice break a bit at the end?
Before she was stewed from nervousness, Chase then said, "I suddenly remember those outings we used to have when we were seven or eight, I believe. Back when we were playing together. We went to the woods behind the mansion back then, right? And then we got lost for a few hours."
Selena nodded, thoroughly confused at where the conversation was going. "Uh, yeah! I remember."
"We were still wandering around past lunch, and you were so hungry that you started picking at some berries near us. Your throat closed up in seconds. Allergy reactions. Then the adults found us just in time." His smile turned sharp and threatening then. "They were blueberries."
The large room fell into silence, and Selena forgot to breathe for a bit. Satisfied, Chase then leaned on his chair and crossed his arms. "Now then, let's start again, shall we? Who the hell are you?"
The next day, a loud commotion was heard in the large clearing where the pack held their celebrations. At the center of the large crowd stood Selena and Chase, locked in a very heated and loud fight.
"Fine then," Chase all but growled, eyes glowing gold. "Then let's make this official, shall we? I, Chase Dreyfar, reject you, Selena Maysien, as my mate, and declare our bond be severed!"
The gathered crowd gasped in outrage. Rejecting a bond?! On a fated pair that the Moon Goddess assigned herself?! What kind of blasphemy is this?!
Selena, contrary to everyone's expectation, laughed loudly. "Great! That's great! Thank you! At least now, I don't have to pretend to follow everyone's opinions anymore! I, Selena Maysien, accept your rejection and hereby declare our bond severed!"
As Chase was the pack's alpha, every member felt the moment the bond between the pair snapped.