Chapter 383

383 A New Beginning

Sandra sighed, giving up her futile resistance and followed the two werewolves patiently, trusting Jason and Cole to guide her through the throne room blindly. She couldn’t see... and yet, Jason’s consciousness assured her of each step she took forward, almost like she could see through his eyes.

‘This is freakier than a trust fall,’ she thought to herself. Soon enough, the two wolves of them came to a stop. Since Sandra couldn’t hear a thing, her other senses began to heighten, trying to discern her surroundings. She could tell something big was about to happen. Maybe they had prepared something astonishing for her to see. ‘Maybe it’s new hunting gear, but no... That’s so Katie... I wonder.’

Sandra tried gleaning through the mind link she shared with Jason for some form of an answer, but nothing came through. When she had just given up on figuring it out, she heard a whisper..., “You can open your eyes now.”

The hands on her eyes came free, giving her the chance to see what they wanted to show her. Sandra kept her eyes closed for a moment, suddenly frightened to open her eyes. The voice that had just whispered to her wasn’t male at all.

The hunter opened her eyes, going mute at what she saw. Standing before her was a blue-eyed girl dressed in a blue dress that was an identical copy of the red one she’d given up on wearing earlier that day. For a brief moment, Sandra forgot to breathe. It was Katie... the last person she expected to see on her birthday, “Happy Birthday, Sandra.”

The sound of her voice itself lingered in her mind. It was a sound she never thought she would get to hear again... not in a long time from that night. Sandra embraced the girl before her, “Y-you came... but how?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Congratulations on turning eighteen,” Katie giggled, hugging her friend back.

The slight hint of sadness in her voice told her all she needed to know. This wasn’t permanent... but that’s what made this even more special, “It’s a miracle you’re here at all. I don’t want to know the details. Thank you for coming.”

“You’re welcome... Umm, Sandra, I can’t breathe,” Katie struggled as her friend held onto her tighter.

.....

“You might vanish again. I’m just making sure,” the girl whined.

“Well, I won’t vanish until midnight, so let’s try to have fun,” Katie replied, tapping her friend rapidly for the chance at relief.

Sandra finally let go of her friend and studied her. She didn’t look much different from the day she had vanished which was somewhat disappointing. She didn’t know what she was supposed to expect, but hey... her friend had just come from the realm of immortals... there must have been some form of change, right...?

The rest of the party was now resuming the conversation now that the surprise was over, “The two of you look cute together. Are you sure you’re not mates?” Frank’s voice sang through the air, breaking the tension in the air... and replacing it with several mixed reactions.

“Frank,” Cole and Jason turned to the hunter at the same time with looks of anger.

“Oh my... I was only kidding. Alphas can be so uptight,” Frank raised his free hand daintily in the air while the other brought the wine glass he was holding to his lips for a sip.

Katie giggled, “I’m glad you could make it, Frank.”

“Yeah, I had to. When I heard that I would get a chance to see my student, I just had to make it. It’s a surprise that goes beyond your best friend’s birthday. Then again, Sandra, you do realise how lucky you are, right?”

“I don’t,” Katie responded before Sandra could, trampling any insinuations that were about to be made clear, “I wouldn’t miss my best friend’s birthday. If you ask me, I would say she’s loved very much.”

Sandra’s eyes watered at the girl’s response, “You’ve never let me forget it.” Memories of the times they’d spent with each other rang clear in her mind. The one that shone the brightest was the one on the day that Katie had killed a rogue to protect her.

The look in the girl’s eyes was not so different from the one that she had right now. She wouldn’t let anything happen to her best friend. ‘Oh, Katie! You don’t change no matter what form you take,’ she thought to herself.

“Looks like I’ve been forgotten,” a dejected voice interrupted the two friends, followed by a loud sigh. Katie and Sandra, startled, took a step away from the source and turned to witness the saddest-looking Kyle to ever grace the planet.

The beta alpha, for some reason, had gone unnoticed since the party had started. Cole looked around for Caden but gave up when he couldn’t find his other right-hand man. Kyle should have been noticeable in the crowd, but as it had turned out, no one had, “How long have you been standing there?” Katie asked.

'

“Now he’s resorting to being a creep,” Sandra mumbled.

“I just got here. Happy birthday Sandra. Also, that hurts... I would never stoop as low as that,” the new beta alpha announced, “It’s so good to see you, Katie.” The characteristics of a beta alpha had finally gotten to him.

“It’s nice to see you doing well too. Is it just me or have you... gained weight? You should start working out,” Katie suggested, eyeing the man before them.

Kyle looked himself down. He’d buffed up since the last time the two of them had spoken and this was simply an insult, “It’s not my fault I have a huge appetite. At this rate, I’ll be bigger than Caden,” an evil smirk graced his countenance, “then the tables could finally turn around.”

“I had no idea you would like to torture him for a change,” Sandra chuckled.

“Not torture him, but finally send him flying in the ring. Just imagine... Me, of all people, bringing down one of the steel tank’s beta alpha’s,” he mused.

“Yeah, I don’t see that happening. But hey, you’re also allowed to dream,” Sandra countered.

“Oh, mark my words, Sandra. You just sit tight and watch,” the boy huffed, “Enough about me though. Let’s get this party started.”

“I agree... It’s not like we have all night, now do we?” a woman’s voice called for their attention.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sandra turned to Katie, failing to discern the direction from which this voice had come from.

“If the three of you would follow me, please?” a feminine voice interrupt. Sandra turned to see Samantha dressed in a power suit. Her hair had been tied back and her smile curved into a wicked one. The night was only getting started and it seemed a lot had been prepared for them that night.

Katie smiled fondly at the female hunter from her home town. Hooking her arm around the hunter and beta alpha, “This is going to be fun, let’s go,” she giggled, pulling the two of them with her, following Samantha out of the throne room.

Back in the throne room, Jason approached his alpha, “Is this what you would have wanted to spend the only chance she gets to come here on?”

“It’s a special day for Sandra. One that Katie wouldn’t have liked to miss. I’ll spend the rest of my life with Katie, which won’t be the same for Sandra. This was the best time for her to use this chance,” Cole replied. While his words sounded sincere, his face told a different story and Jason didn’t pry any further.

“That’s very selfless of you. Thank you,” Jason thanked the man with a bow, “It’s the greatest present you could have gotten Sandra... and one she’ll never forget.”

......

The aftermath of the party was written clearly in the minds and memories of all those that had been present that night, etched into their heads as the night their Luna returned to congratulate her best friend on turning eighteen and finding her mate.

Sandra was lying fast asleep when the sound of curtains being drawn cut through the comfortable silence of the room. The warmth of the sun’s rays soon covered her face, forcing her eyebrows to scrunch in irritation, “Who is in my room this early?” she grumbled, turning within the covers.

‘Wait... how did I even get into my bed?’ she wondered before forcing one eye open.

The white sheets in her bed were unfamiliar to her. The bed itself was much larger than her own... despite all that though, she felt like it was where she was meant to be... ‘Wait.’

Before she could say much, a pair of strong arms scooped her with her covers, “Who knew you could sleep this long?” Jason’s voice rumbled. The alpha pulled the girl into an embrace. This gesture was met with next to no resistance. In fact, the girl cuddled closer to him.

“I had a long night, Jason. Where...? Oh...” she stopped her question in half, suddenly feeling sad. Memories of the night before came into her mind.

“She went back to the Moon Palace. After you passed out, she met with Cole five minutes before midnight and that was the last we saw of her,” Jason said to her.

“Oh, I see...” the girl breathed in deeply, “I’ll never forget... my eighteenth birthday. I see the sun is out.”

“Yeah... I guess Cole was able to come to peace with all of this,” Jason replied. After this, Sandra had a mountain of questions waiting for him.

The beta alpha explained everything that had happened that day. From the lies that involved a rogue general to the games that had been prepared for the girls that night.

Cole had started preparing it much earlier, travelling to Brigadia where he communicated with the moon goddess and had her agree to let Katie come down once for Sandra’s birthday. When this happened, the king invited everyone that was interested to attend the birthday that night.

The royal family of Sirius, the hunters of Brigadia and the Chase hunters along with Sandra’s parents were the most important people on the guest list. Still, it had gradually grown, harbouring some other unexpected personalities like Lionel Haelstrom and the Mighty Warriors.

After returning to the palace, they then spent the whole day that she was not around preparing the palace for the event. The surprise, the games, the food and everything was taken care of while Jason had taken her out through the capital on their first date. It explained how the beta alpha hadn’t had a single job to do that whole day and where the king had been the night before while they worked on his work.

In the end, the night was a success and the girls had enjoyed the night to the fullest, tiring themselves out so much right before midnight. Sandra remembered passing out on a sofa, but couldn’t remember what happened after. She could only assume Jason had brought her to his room after that and she’d slept soundly.

“Did Katie tell you anything?” Jason asked her suddenly.

“Oh... Yeah, she did. Gave me quite a lot to think about actually. I can’t just sit still forever, now can I?” the answer was as vague as she could make it, but Jason understood what she meant him to. Even with Katie gone, nothing had stopped, “I’ll catch up to her... like I always said I would... I might even surpass her. Who knows?”

The beta alpha sighed in contentment, “That’s the hunter I’ve always known.” Chasing Katie... that’s what she’d always been doing. The only difference now... was that she didn’t sound like she was trying to achieve the impossible. She had a Prometheus gift now... and this heavily changed the game.