Chapter 1

 "You will marry the Alpha heir of the Burning Moon pack before next month."

I quietly watch as the packhouse buzzes with activity as my stepfather’s command continues to engulf my troubled thoughts. It’s just a few days shy of my 18th birthday, but they aren't preparing for my birthday. They are getting ready to welcome the Alpha and Luna of the Burning Moon pack, along with their Alpha heir.

A month ago, my step-father, Alpha Donovan, arranged a marriage contract between the Alpha heir of the Burning Moon Pack, Weston Mercury, and I. I have never met him before. As a diplomatic pawn, that was my biggest value as the Alpha's step-daughter and the daughter of the previous Alpha. 

Casually summoned to his office, my step-father unceremoniously called me into his office to condemn me to a future with the unknown, and, with a commanding tone, informed me of this fact without giving thought to my wishes or hope of waiting for my fated mate. 

Summoning up my courage, I tried to question this arrangement, "Why me? Why not Sasha? She's already 20, she's already shifted and has her own wolf!"

My words were interrupted by my step-father, "This is the arrangement! Sasha needs to complete her education at the Werewolf Academy. She will become an excellent warrior and mate to her fated mate. Whereas you are merely the descendant of a defeated; you don't deserve those opportunities."

"But I..." I looked towards my mother, who was standing quietly beside us. She looked at me with despair, and I saw tears shimmering in her eyes as she subtly shook her head.

"No 'buts'! Don't make me punish you in front of your mother," my step-father said, giving me one of his disgustingly covetous glares that told me just how desperate his sinister intent had become. He was looking for any excuse to justify his sick and sinister desires he would “be forced” to inflict on me. 

Shortly after he made sure his message was received by both of us, he slammed the door as he left.

"An excellent warrior?" I scoffed inwardly. During the last holiday when my step-sister came home, I overheard her conversation with a friend. Her academic performance at school wasn't good, and her expertise lay in flirting and sleeping around with male werewolves.

I settled myself into the middle of my bed, surrounded by an abundance of soft, cushy pillows and mink blankets, opening my laptop to check my email. Nothing. 

My sole wish in this world is to go to college and flee from this werewolf society to escape the archaic traditions, rules, and hierarchy. No one knows that I secretly applied to several human universities. Growing up, being treated as a lesser wolf because of my dead father fueled me; giving me the strength and grit I needed to make sure that my academic performance was excellent so that one day, I could liberate myself from this goddess forsaken pack. 

Sadly, the tiny shred of hope that kept fueling me was finally crushed once and for all with my step-father’s command, dictating my future. My dream of freedom would be long forgotten and always forbidden.

Ever since my biological father died back in the Pack Wars and my step-father, or Alpha DICKovan as I like to call him, took over the pack, our lives changed. 

Alpha Douchebag…mmm, that’s another good one too…called all of our original pack members to the packhouse for a mass meeting. We gathered and he wasted not even a sliver of a millisecond declaring us all second-class werewolves. 

This meant we could no longer hold important positions within the pack. First priority to get the opportunity to enter a werewolf university is only given to the current pack heirs, and definitely not pack members originating from a pack’s fallen, deserted, or defeated Alpha. 

What that meant to me was that there was not even a snowball’s chance in hell that I was ever going to get priority admissions and I most likely wouldn’t even be granted admission at all. 

To add insult to injury, according to the human’s federal government, as a werewolf, I can hardly receive any financial assistance to attend a human university.

At that moment, I felt a fast building pressure in my mind, a signal that someone is attempting to mind-link me. I quickly opened my link to listen for someone to speak to me. As soon as I heard the voice, I rolled my eyes listening to Alpha Sleazeball. 

Come to the Alpha’s office immediately!

Yes, Alpha.

Could he be any more rude about it? What a dick.