Chapter 13
Ciara's POV
As I walked towards the dining room, my heart was beating fast inside my chest. I was struggling to breathe and if I didn't get a hold of myself, I would pass out from the shock of everything.
Alpha Stone and his wife and mate, Luna Stone preferred Sophie over me and just like their son, they had made it clear especially on the day of the coronation ceremony and my Luna reveal. So the fact that he was asking me to join the family for breakfast was a fact I was struggling to understand.
The maid stopped suddenly and I had to stop before I ran into her. She held the door of the dining room open for me and I bit my lip, not sure if I wanted to go in there. No one in that room liked me well except Bryan but he didn't know me so.....on second thoughts none of them knew me.
It would be utterly disrespectful of me to ignore the Alpha's invitation and for that reason, I forced my legs to move towards the door. I passed the maid who bowed and closed the door behind me after I had finally made it into the room.
I heard chatter, laughter and the sound of cutlery as soon as I walked in but as soon as the maid closed the door she announced my presence and everyone looked up at me, the room growing eerily silent.
"Glad you could join us, please come and have your seat," Alpha Stone said, rising to his feet and I forced my legs to move towards the table. When I was close enough, I realized that they had formed some kind of sitting arrangement so the only seat available was the one beside Orion and Alpha Stone who was sitting at the head of the table.
Gulping, I eyed Orion who was doing everything he could to avoid my eyes. Sighing, I looked around and my gaze fell on Bryan who was already staring at me. You could see from the way he was staring at me that he approved of what I was wearing.
I blushed as he sent me a wink and walked towards the table. Bryan stood up as I walked up to them and walked towards a corner of the room to grab something. When he walked back towards us, I saw that he was holding a seat. I almost sobbed in relief understanding what he was doing.
I thanked him as he held the seat for me to sit down. He then sat down beside me serving as a middleman for Orion and me. I couldn't be happier.
'Thank you for inviting me Alpha, I'm honoured." I said, chalking up the courage to meet his eyes. He was already watching and for some reason, his eyes lingered on Bryan and then bounced back to me.
I shifted in my seat feeling uncomfortable. I reached for the glass of water in front of me and raised it to my mouth.
"Father you don't have to scare her away with your eyes,"
I had just taken a sip when Bryan spoke. Father? I choked on the water, coughing and spitting water everywhere. Orion ignored me as usual but Bryan was quick to ask if I was okay and even went as far as patting my back. A stranger would think he was the man I was about to get married to with how much concern and care he was showing.
"I'm sorry," I apologized when I managed to stop coughing.
Alpha Stone was still staring at me. Shifting in my seat, I looked down at the plate.
"Can we eat now? I have a lot of work to do," Orion said, speaking for the first time since I walked into the dining room. I raised my head to look at him but he wasn't looking at me.
Alpha Stone finally stopped looking at me and smiled. "Right, serve the food." He signalled to one of the omegas standing at the corner and then looked at me again. "I haven't had the chance to officially welcome you into the family and for that I sincerely apologize for that."
I flushed wondering why he was being so nice to me. "I understand you were probably busy with pack duties." I knew that even though Orion had taken over, he was only Alpha in name only.
He hummed and shook his head. "I also should apologize for the way I welcomed you at the ceremony. The truth is we all thought Orion would marry Sophie but when she eloped with that boyfriend of ours, we didn't know what would happen until your grandfather picked you as his new bride."
I didn't know what to say to that so I remained quiet and simply listened to him. He was saying a lot of things and implying a few other things. What did it mean?
"I should have given you a chance to be part of this family and for that, I apologize."
Wow, could there have been something in the water I bathed in this morning? So many strange things were happening and I didn't know what to make of it. First, he had invited me to join the family to breakfast then he had practically called me his daughter-in-law officially. And now he was apologizing for the second time since I joined the table.
Was this a dream?
"From now on, I want you to feel free and remember that this is now your home and my family is yours."
I still didn't know what to say so I remained silent while my heart was faster than normal in my chest.
"I would also like to introduce my second son to you. You probably have seen him around and were wondering who he is. That is Alpha Bryan Stone, my second son and the Alpha of the Blue Moon pack."
Son? Alpha of the Blue Moon pack.
I turned to look at Bryan and saw him already looking at me with a bright smile on his face but I didn't smile back. I couldn't. He was Orion's brother? And he was the Alpha of my former pack?
"I need to be excused, please," I said and without waiting for a response from anyone, I got up and ran out of the dining room.