Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 12

“I have an important assignment for you,” Marian said, approaching my desk. “One of my photographers isn’t feeling well. So, I need you to go to Onyxfang and take some photos of the ethnic werewolves. They have a workshop you can take the photos in.”

Onyxfang? I had never been to Onyxfang before. The only thing I knew about that pack was that Erick, a good friend of Jonathan’s, was the Alpha. Despite them being friends, Jonathan had always told me that Onyxfang wasn’t the place for a young wolf and said to never go there alone.

I couldn’t have heard her correctly. Why would she want me to go there?

“Is there an issue?” Marian asked; she didn’t wait around for me to answer. She spun on her heel and began walking back towards her office.

Then again if I successfully pull this assignment off Marian would trust me with other big assignments. I could finally prove myself to her and the others. It would show them that even though I’m young, I am very capable.

“No, of course not. When would you like this by?” I asked before she disappeared.

“You have till the end of the weekend.”

…

Saturday came around quickly, and I wanted to tell Jonathan that I was going to Onyxfang. But I knew he would never let me go there by myself and this was something I needed and wanted to do alone. I was lucky enough that he seemed to be wrapped up in something that he probably wouldn’t even notice I left.

However, being his luna, I felt it was my duty to at least tell him I was heading out for a little bit. That way he wouldn’t worry too much about me once he resurfaced from his office.

He was sitting at his desk with papers scattered across. He looked stressed out and I hated myself for finding him so attractive in his stressed-out state. After all these years of no contact, it felt surreal that he was not only in front of me but that I was his luna. I never thought I was suitable to be anybody’s luna, let alone Jonathan’s.

He was on the phone; I couldn’t quite understand what they were saying but I caught a glimpse of the ending before he noticed I was standing there.

“We can’t do this right now Dorie,” he muttered into the phone; his voice sounded strained.

I silently wondered who Dorie was and made a mental note to ask him later.

“I can’t talk. We can talk more later but for right now, just drop it.” He slammed the phone down and rubbed his temples. I wanted to run to him and wrap my arms around him and tell him that it was going to be okay. Regardless of what the situation was, I wanted him to know that I was still there, and I wasn’t going anywhere.

But I also knew better than to disturb a wolf while they are working. All those years of my father running his business, my mother never dared to disturb him while he worked. My father was always so secretive about his work; I don’t even think my mother knew what it was he did exactly.

“Everything okay?” I heard Jonathan asking from his desk; I didn’t realize he was staring at me. I must have gotten lost in my head. I shuffled in my feet awkwardly and gave him a small smile.

“Yes, I just wanted to let you know I’m running out for a little bit. A work thing,” I told him.

It wasn’t a complete lie; I just wasn’t telling him the full truth.

…

Onyxfang was much smaller than I imagined. On foot, it was about an hour away from Sabrebite. But using my wolf speed, I was able to get there within a few minutes. I didn’t have much time to waste.

The first thing I noticed upon entering Onyxfang was the gravely roads. The buildings were made of rustic brick and most of them looked as though they were falling apart. None of the buildings looked safe. The smell of the town was musky; the air was thick, and I found it difficult to breathe. I wondered what had happened to make the town look like this.

Just as Marian had told me, the workshop was off the east of the town. It was one of the smaller brick buildings with tinted windows so I couldn’t see inside.

The camera that Marian lent me was hung around my neck and I clutched onto it protectively as I attempted to open the doors of the workshop.

It was locked.

Fantastic.

Marian obviously didn’t know they were going to be closed or she probably wouldn’t have sent me here. She wanted the photos to be done inside of the workshop and considering they weren’t open; I had no idea how I was going to complete this assignment.

At that moment, I had an idea.

I could take pictures of the ethnic wolves from the streets. I could do some outdoor photography. It might be even better to get them in their natural habitat.

The center of town was busier than I expected; considering the sun had gone down and the moon was a moon phase away from being full, most everyone was already in their wolf forms. Which I took as the opportunity to take some photos.

I was able to get the full moon in the background and take a lot of great photos. I tried to incorporate the rustic buildings to showcase how these wolves live. Some wolves had no idea that I was taking photos. Other wolves, I would ask permission so they can pose.

As skeptical as I was when I first arrived in this town, everyone seemed fairly nice.

“You must be Arina,” said a voice from behind me, startling me. The voice wasn’t spoken out loud, it came through my head, so I knew whoever was speaking to me was in their wolf form.

Turning I saw this light brown werewolf; her fur was thick and glossy, and her ember eyes were sizing me up. She mainly startled me because her tone had a slight snark behind it.

“Do I know you?” I asked, hesitantly. I felt her laughter.

“No, but you will. The names Dorie.”

Dorie.

This was the woman that Jonathan was on the phone with only a couple of hours before. A heavy feeling was left in my stomach as I stared at the wolf in front of me.

“So, you are the woman he ended up marrying,” she spoke slowly. She sounded almost jealous. Her top l*p curled upward, revealing a row of bloodstained teeth.

Before I could say anything in response, a hand grabbed a hold of my wrist and pulled me back and away from Dorie. Soon, Jonathan was in front of me, in his dark-furred wolf form. He looked furious; he wasn’t looking at me. He was facing Dorie, who now looked almost ashamed. He was growling in her direction, and she returned the growl before ducking her head, almost sadly.

They weren’t speaking, at least not out loud. Something told me that he blocked me from their link, and they were speaking in private. I couldn’t push away the hurt feeling residing inside of me.

Soon, Dorie began to walk away, giving me one last look before disappearing. Jonathan waited until she was out of sight before turning to me. Anger lingered in his eyes, and I couldn’t tell if it was directed towards me or leftover from Dorie. I could tell they had a history.

I wanted to ask him about it before I had the chance he growled.

“Let’s go.”