The Alpha’s Curvy Cinderella - Chapter 137: Chapter 137

Josie POV
I silently made my way down to the dining room at dinner time, not surprised that Alpha Drake had not come looking for me. To my surprise, the dining room was filled with pack members. Alpha Drake sat beside the girl, Claudia, at the head of the table-another insult and slight directly aimed at me. I swallowed hard. His Beta sat on his other side. Gamma Rohan is next to the Beta and has an empty seat beside him. I hesitated but Gamma Rohan’s eyes shot up and he spotted me, awkwardly getting to his feet. “Josie,” he says loudly, making everybody turn and look at me, Alpha Drake looking disgruntled “Please come and sit by me.”
I give a small smile and head towards him. He pulls my chair out and I sit, before he pushes it in for me. Only then does he take his own seat. I am flattered. Claudia turns to Alpha Drake and puts a possessive hand on his. I flinch. Gamma Rohan narrows his eyes and turns them on me. “How are you finding our pack so far Josie?” he asked pleasantly.
“Cold and distant,” I said with gritted teeth.
Alpha Drake exhaled sharply. The pack looked insulted. I didn’t care. Gamma Rohan rushed to intervene. “I’m sure as you spend more time here that you will learn to like many things about our pack. What if I were to give you a tour tomorrow so that you can see more of the grounds for instance?”
Alpha Drake should have been offering to do that I fumed. He should have been the one to offer his hospitality. I wanted to protest, but one look at Gamma Rohan’s eyes which were shining and looking hopeful had me pausing. He was too nice to take my frustrations out on. But I also worried about his leg. “Would it pain your leg too much to take me on a tour?” I asked him, biting my lip as he glanced down at his injured leg “I don’t want to cause you too much trouble.”
He gave a small chuckle “It will not pain me too much to walk you around the grounds. Exercise is good for me” he added and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Alpha Drake was looking stonily at the two of us. His fiancee noticed and gave his hand a squeeze. “Is something the matter Drake?” she asked confused.
I felt a pang at the way they touched each other. Jealousy shot through me and I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from saying anything. Gamma Rohan took my hand and I felt tingles again. It was strange. I shouldn’t have been attracted to another, not while I felt the mate bond with Alpha Drake, but Gamma Rohan made me feel something towards him which had me questioning everything.
“I must say you look particularly fetching tonight,” Gamma Rohan said, kissing the back of my hand as my eyes widened. “Gamma Rohan” Alpha Drake’s voice was frosty “you are being a bit too forward with our guest.”
I almost laughed. Claudia looked confused. “I appreciate your compliment,” I told Gamma Rohan, ignoring Alpha Drake completely “thank you.”
He smirked. “Gamma Rohan you are so sweet” gushed Claudia, flipping her hair over her shoulder and glowering at Alpha Drake who was staring at the both of us with frustration “I wish my fiancee was as kind and full of compliments as you are.”
He put his arm over my shoulder. Alpha Drake let out a low growl. Claudia was taken aback. Gamma Rohan raised an eyebrow.
“Drake, what has gotten into you? You are behaving strangely” Claudia exclaimed and Alpha Drake blinked, turning his head quickly.
“I’m sorry” he apologized.
I dug into my food, Rohan letting go of my shoulder to do the same. The food was exquisite, the chicken melting in my mouth. I let out a small moan and both Alpha Drake and Gamma Rohan stiffened. Gamma Rohan hastily coughed and shifted on his chair. Alpha Drake scowled at his food. I continued to eat, Claudia looking a bit bemused as she nibbled on a tiny portion. I was starving from the long journey and to be honest, I enjoyed my food.
“Clearly she doesn’t worry about her figure, I mean just look at her!”
I heard a voice further down the table, a girl’s, coming from a pack member and stopped, my insecurities getting the better of me. I knew my curves were going to be commented on sooner or later.
“I like the fact that you aren’t attempting to starve yourself. Your curves and body are delightful and quite frankly I much prefer that to the thin, unhealthy figure that women seem to be going for these days” Gamma Rohan said loudly, making me blush while the other pack members went quiet.
Even Claudia flushed at that announcement. I stared down at the plate. He began to eat, narrowing his eyes at me. I cut into my chicken. The table began to murmur amongst themselves. Alpha Drake turned his attention back to his fiancee.
“I appreciate you standing up for me but you don’t have to lie” I whispered to Gamma Rohan whose eyes began to go dark “I know I could stand to lose a little weight.”
“You are perfect” he denied in a harsh voice “the way you are. What would convince you?’ he leaned close, his face only inches from mine, making me blink.
I was mesmerized. It was like everybody else at the table ceased to exist. His eyes went even darker. I forgot all about Alpha Drake, the horrible comment the other pack member made, the hurt I’d been feeling. All I could focus on was him. He reached out and stroked my cheek. I shivered. Then, right in front of everyone, including my mate, he bent down and kissed me, pressing his lips to mine, kissing me so gently that it brought tears to my eyes as he sought to convince me of my beauty, before pulling back. Alpha Drake looked stunned. I was dazed. I had felt sparks as we kissed. It had felt like small pulsing bursts of electricity had shot through my body as well. My body was vibrating with energy.
“Did you see that?”
“Oh my god. Are they mates?”
“Is he claiming her?”
The voices began to get louder. I could only stare. Alpha Drake stood up abruptly, glowering at his Gamma, while Claudia got to her feet, smiling at us widely.
“As touching as that was, it’s impolite to show such displays in public” he hissed, “one would almost think you are trying to gain favor and a higher status by spreading your legs for anybody that shows interest in you” he added, causing the table to go silent.
Gamma Rohan rose to his feet, but the Alpha turned and stormed away. Tears trailed down my cheeks. Before the Gamma could say anything or do anything, I got up, pushed my chair back, and ran, away from the table, outside, and away from the pack house as I went blindly into the woods, wanting nothing more than to escape from him and his cruelty.
I couldn’t believe how far he would go to embarrass and humiliate me like that and in front of his pack no less. I crashed headlong into the forest, branches scraping against my bare skin, stumbling on twigs and debris. My heart beat wildly in my chest. Tears continued to flow down my cheeks.
I caught a breath. Pain shot through me. It had only been a day and already I wanted to leave. I don’t know what my father thought would happen, but Alpha Drake was never going to want me and he wasn’t going to accept this mate bond. I would be better off rejecting him.
I sobbed, running as though my life depended on it. I didn’t stop to think about what I was doing, or about the foolishness of my actions. All I could think about was getting far, far away, wanting to cry in private and wallow in my grief.