Her electric blue eyes were calm as she listened, but they played with daggers of cold gaze as she faced her grandfather. “I’m not going,” she uttered, her voice cold and flat. She turned her back and sat on her bed, waiting for her grandfather to exit her room.
The former alpha only sighed in displeasure although he knew it was difficult to make his stubborn and arrogant granddaughter to go look for her mate. “Must you make it difficult for me, Bella? You will be crowned alpha soon and it’s about time you find your mate. I have personally approached Seth’s father, and yet you’re telling me you won’t go. Must you disgrace me like this to the Morgans? Do you have no conscience at all?” Sevrio ranted furiously, his brows furrowed and his ears red in anger.
Bella closed her eyes and turned to face her grandfather. She looked unbothered, but she was burning with annoyance deep inside. Nonetheless, she kept a calm expression and nodded obediently. “Fine. I’ll go,” she said, her eyes looking defeated. “But,” she added, “only this once.”
Sevrio nodded in agreement, but was still upset that Bella waited for him to get mad first before obeying him. But then again, her granddaughter had always been like that even to her own father. “Baskerville Beanery at six tonight. Seth Morgan will be waiting for you. Dress your best. At least look decent in front of the beta's son,” he said as he eyed Bella from head to toe, displeased with her outfit: baggy trousers; loosed, oversized shirt; converse shoes; and a beanie. “You don't look like an alpha's daughter at all. You look more like an omega slave right now. How many times do I have to tell you to not look like some kind of disgrace? Could you, at least, dress like decent humans would?”
Bella suppressed her urge to argue with her grandfather. The urge to talk back to him was slowly suffocating her. She was not the patient, goody-two-shoes kind of granddaughter after all. She faked a smile. “Yes, sir. Baskerville Beanery at six tonight. Roger that.” She tried to sound cheerful, but ended up sounding bored and forced. She just never once liked the idea of dating, falling in love, marriage, mating, becoming a family. She believed that love was a form of weakness and dependence, something she never once considered to become a part of her system. However, it was only her made-up reasons about love because love, in fact, along with friendship and relationships, were her insecurities.
Sevrio finally smiled in satisfaction, pleased that he got Bella to agree. He patted her on the back, silently wishing her good luck and then left his granddaughter alone in her room. Bella lied on her bed and stared at the empty ceiling above her.
“A date,” she muttered in distaste. “It just doesn't go well with my pride,” she said and scoffed in displeasure.
Nevertheless, she stood up and tried to dress at her 'best'. Though she was always on her training clothes whenever she went out, she does know how to dress like a ‘decent person would’. She opened her wardrobe and picked a sleeveless dress which dangled all the way to her ankles; then, she paired it with her Martini boots and a black beret hat. She combed her long, silky white hair. Bella stared at the full-length mirror and smirked. “Now, that's what you call gorgeous.”
Indeed, she was. She looked breathtakingly stunning that even the moon would have been jealous at her timeless beauty. Her milky skin and wavy albino hair perfectly matched the dark purple dress and black beret hat she wore. Her deep-red pupils highlighted the mesmerizing blue irises beneath her long, thick lashes. She did not wear any makeup, yet her cheeks were tinted with a pinkish glow and her lips were plump and enticing as she stared at the clock with a luscious pout. Even time would have itself stopping just to stare at her splendid perfection.
“It's still so early,” she muttered, annoyed that she had to force herself to go out tonight.
Even so, she grabbed her guitar, placed it in its bag, and hanged it on her shoulder; then, left her room without another word after glancing at her beauty for the last time. If she were a man, she definitely would have chosen herself as her mate like most wolves in their town would. However, she would most likely still reject herself for she was an aloof and adamant lady after all.
Bella slowly walked down the flight of stairs, sliding her fingers down the banister as she made cautious yet confident steps downwards. It was as if an angel was descending from the heavens as she walked down with overflowing class, and grace. She looked cold-blooded, yet delicate; dangerous, yet flawless; bold, yet elegant.
Muffled voices filled her ears as she opened the door to their living room. She found her grandfather talking to her father in loud, thunderous voices. Bella was not surprised at all. Her fathers always talked like they were kilometers apart when they were actually inches away from each other. It was an alpha thing she could not understand. Bella rarely talked, let alone speak in long sentences. She only says what was necessary, unlike her fathers who were the talkative type.
Bella slowly backed out of the room. She did not want her fathers to see her wearing that kind of outfit. She reasoned to herself that it was unnecessary for her fathers to see her dressed elegantly since they already knew that her beauty was beyond exquisite. However, the real deal was that she just did not want to be teased, nor get nagged at. She was already exasperated beyond measure. Her fathers would just further test her patience, she thought. Unfortunately, considering her fathers' top tier alpha senses, they both saw her before she could tiptoe her way back to her room.
“Nice dress, young lady. You look as breathtaking as I do. You really are my daughter,” Alpha Apollo, her father, said with a smirk and winked at her smugly.
Bella grunted to herself and just ignored her father’s comment. Apollo chuckled and just grinned at his annoyed daughter. Nonetheless, he really did find his daughter beautiful. It was a fact he could never deny.
“How many times do I have to tell you to not frown at compliments?” Sevrio nagged at his granddaughter. Bella frowned even more, her patience slowly losing as she resisted the urge to reason herself.
Sevrio always had something to say to whatever his granddaughter does. Bella never knew the exact reason why her grandfather treated her critically. She always thought it was because of her curse which made everyone she would get close to suffer. When her grandfather first held her when she was a baby, he immediately acquired a disease to which he was still enduring in his present days. That was the only reason Bella could think of. Unless her grandfather would tell her, she would never know why he was treating her unfavorably.
Bella faced both of her fathers, trying her best to hide her annoyance “I know.” She smirked. “I'm quite the stunner. Compliments are unnecessary,” she said confidently, masking her frustration. Apollo just laughed at his daughter's overflowing confidence. Sevrio, on the other hand, was not happy with her arrogance. His sharp grey eyes darted at Bella in disapproval.
“I don't think Seth will like it if you boast like that. When he compliments you, just say thank you, will you? You should compliment him back, too. Your extreme arrogance is exactly the reason why we cannot find a cure for your curse,” Sevrio ranted, his wrinkled forehead frowning at her in distress. His hawk-like eyes landed on the guitar case hanging on Bella's shoulder. “Are you still composing songs?” he asked and scoffed before Bella could answer. “You cannot become alpha unless you quit composing. I told you countless times already that you should focus on your training. I will confiscate all your instruments so you can never play again.” He sighed and went closer to Bella who was glaring at him in disbelief, her anger evident in her piercing glares. Sevrio pretended to fix her hat as he clicked his tongue in displeasure. “This is why you should go on dates often — so you can develop good manners.”
The atmosphere was heavy. Bella had her head turned to the side, avoiding her grandfather's gaze. Her ocean eyes were frozen in place as she pierced the living room walls with hard, cold stares. She lost it, her annoyance and frustration have turned into tears. She dared not to blink, not wanting her resentful tears to cascade down her face; especially not in front of her grandfather. Apollo was not happy with what his father said to his daughter either. His younger days dawned back to him after hearing what his father said. Sevrio hadn't changed at all. He was still the same father who cut his children's wings as a form of discipline.
“You said the same thing to me when I was her age,” Apollo butted in and chuckled forcefully, breaking the suffocating silence lingering amongst them. However, Sevrio only ignored his comment and waited for Bella to respond, his gaze fixed on her granddaughter who could not even look straight into his evil grey eyes. “Father, that's enough. Bella is doing her best. There is no need for any confiscation —" Apollo pleaded but was cut off by his daughter.
“Don't worry.” Bella's eyes were stone cold as she stared right back at her grandfather's cruel gaze. “Tonight will be the last time I lay my fingers on this guitar. As of the other instruments, I'll say goodbye to them tomorrow. You will never hear me play after that,” she coldly said, her face expressionless and her voice filled with contempt. “I'm leaving now. My date is waiting.” Bella walked past them and left their mansion with scorn etched in the chambers of her heart.