Mom stopped brushing my hair and I could tell she hesitated for a second before moving to squat in front of me at the vanity. She began in a serious yet hushed voice, “Listen to me and listen good. I’m only going to tell you this once, because I fear what would happen if I ever spoke these words again. Do you understand what could happen to us if what I am about to tell you were to be overheard by anyone?” She stared me in the eyes more seriously than I think I had ever seen her in my life.
A knot immediately began to form in my stomach and I grew scared and concerned, but nodded my head in agreement. I would never tell another living soul what my mother was about to tell me.
“Our pack is in a remote location, so no one really knew which pack was which or where each of our packs were really located. Because of this, your father persistently worked to conceal our pack’s exact location, while also protecting the identity of the packs near us so if we were ever attacked, our enemies wouldn’t know what pack they were actually attacking,” I could tell she was struggling to explain what she felt she needed to tell me.
“But why go through all that trouble to conceal the pack’s identity when we live way out here anyway?” I was confused. I mean, I understood it was a war defense tactic to try and keep us safe, but with where we live, it seems like my father should have focused on some other way of defending our pack instead of just hiding it.
Mom continued, “Your father couldn’t let anyone find out about the deepest secret he died protecting.”
A tear fell from her eyes as she remembered and talked about him. It’s obvious in every pore of her body that she still loves and misses her fated mate. Will she ever heal from the pain of the loss I know permeates deep into her bones and soul?
“Violet,” she sighed, “each Alpha she-wolf in our pack has the possibility to inherit the Moon Goddess Gifted abilities. Our bloodline carries the gift. Your grandmother was the last Moon Goddess gifted Alpha she-wolf known in existence until she passed away. You also have the possibility of obtaining this gift, Violet.”
She took a deep break, seeming to try and hold on to the courage to go on, “After your father died, the burden of protecting the pack, and keeping the secret, fell on my shoulders. I needed to make sure our bloodline lived on.”
She said those words with a cold and harsh tone as she glared directly into my eyes, holding onto my shoulders.
Realization began to set in as she paused.
The tears began to steadily stream down her face as I began to feel her sorrow.
“Mom, don’t cry,” I began to try comforting her by wiping the tears from her cheeks and quieting her, “it’s okay. I don’t have to know anymore. You don’t have to tell me.”
“NO! I need to tell you. You HAVE to know,” she insisted.
Clearing her throat before continuing, she began.
“The night I met your step-father was the night the pack wars made it to our packlands. Alpha Donovan and all his pack warriors arrived just after I had put you to bed for the night. Because they didn’t know exactly which pack they had arrived at, they didn't see us as a threat to them as they took over our pack. Even though we were not a threat, he was ready to slaughter us all. Wolves with blood in their scent tend to move towards violence no matter what. That is ingrained into every Alpha on the warpath for power, control and land.
Mom paused and I handed her the glass of water I had been sipping on. She took a shaky sip to cleanse her dried nervous pallet as I helped her up and we walked over to my bed and sat facing each other on the bed before continuing, “I knew that if I didn’t act immediately, he would disregard the pack, and kill us all. No one was left that could help me defend our pack! I had two priorities - save you, and save our pack; our home. I saw no other way to save us at that moment, Violet.”
Mom had tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she nodded, “Yes. I had to make the choice to watch everyone and everything I ever loved and held dear die, or lie, forsaking our pack, in a last ditch effort to somehow save all our lives without losing our home.”
She added, “So, I offered myself to Alpha Donovan, Violet. I admitted that I was the Luna and you were my daughter. I just had you 6 months before. You were still nursing. There was no way I could hide those facts.
offered him our home. Our packlands. My body; So long as he spared your life and the lives of everyone in our pack.”
I rubbed my mom’s back listening intently with so much heartache and concern for my mother and what she must have been put through, as she continued, “I told Alpha Donovan that you wouldn’t be a threat to him. I promised him that he could arrange a marriage for you as an alliance so he could grow his pack to be even more powerful. I convinced him that you were worth more to him alive, than dead, especially since you were of my blood and could be Moon Goddess gifted like your grandmother was! That kind of valuable mate was worth a pretty penny and would get him LOTS of things for his pack. He agreed and has allowed me to raise you under his control.”
She sighed as if finally finished, and so relieved to have finally gotten that off her chest.
I sat, allowing the load of information my mother just dumped on me to sink in.
She wasn’t finished angrily growling, “But then he got smart and put two and two together, realizing I could produce an heir for him WITH the ability, so he hasn’t stopped trying to breed me ever since.”
I was hoping for good news that would encourage me to accept this chosen mating, but all her story is doing is making me want to run for the damn hills as fast and as far away from this fate as I can.
Then I realized something, “So…how have you not had a pup by him all this time? You’ve gone in and out of heat religiously every season!”
She smiled bitterly, “I’ve been taking contraceptives since you were born. I was afraid of something like this happening while your dad was gone. I’m so glad I did because if I hadn’t, I would have already had a litter of pups for him.”
She was a sly little shit! What a brilliant idea! I reveled in that knowledge.
“Okay, so if we’re such a value to him, why does he barely treat you with the respect you deserve and he treats me like a wolfless omega that’s just a piece of meat he can’t wait to bite into?!”
Mom sighed, “Because I’ve been hiding most of my Alpha aura, which I will teach you how to do as well once you shift and they see your wolf! As long as Silas Donovan thinks you are as weak of a she-wolf as me, he won’t see you as a threat. Trust me my sweet angel, you are safer away from here!”
In that moment, I realized how much my mother had been protecting and shielding me my entire life from the horrors of this cruel Alpha and his pack. She was right. I needed to get the hell out of here and this was the only way she could try and get me away to some other semblance of safety.
I broke down in tears.
“Oh, honey! I didn’t mean to make you cry! I’m so sorry! Don’t mess up that beautiful makeup!”
A light knock on the door notified us that it was time to go and greet our guests.
I dabbed at my cheeks and touched up what I could around my eyes and turned to show my mom for inspection to make sure everything was still good. She nodded before giving me a big hug.
“Don’t forget that I love you and I will ALWAYS have your back!” She whispered into my ear before releasing me from her embrace.
I nodded with a final sniffle before we plastered the fakest smiles on our faces, leaving the bedroom.
At that moment, Alpha Donovan screamed through my mind-link. I had forgotten he ordered me to keep my link open for 24 hours. Shit!
‘VIOLET! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!’
‘I’m sorry Alpha! Luna and I are on our way downstairs now.’
‘HURRY THE FUCK UP! They have arrived and we are waiting for you.’
Fucking asshole. I shut the mind-link. He technically didn’t say WHEN to keep it open, so I decided that he implied that I should keep it open once the convoy arrives. I didn’t have much time to think as we descended the grand staircase towards the doors to receive our guests. Before I reached the bottom of the staircase, ready for the Burning Moon pack Alpha to inspect me. Afterall, I was his son’s new poised, prized pony of a future mate that they had come to collect. I thought about this unfortunate twist of fate forced upon me. I had to try and be optimistic about this. I had to think of it not as a curse, but potentially, a blessing. The Burning Moon pack is from the city, unlike our remote, tiny and rustic pack up in the mountains. Maybe I could sneak away and hide in the human cities in society? Or atleast hide the fact that I enrolled in a human university in the city? Maybe I can do an online school? I’ve saved, but not enough. I could say I am using funds to improve
I froze in place, my mouth suddenly dry. The man scowled at me after squeezing the omega’s hand as if to ask her to stay before she pulled away.“I’m so sorry miss! I will get back to work right away!” The omega blushed and scurried away as fast as she could.I stood paralyzed as I watched the couples interaction. It sickened me to see so much love and passion exude from the man’s eyes as he watched the young she-wolf slip away from his grasp. My heart ached, but for reasons I couldn’t explain. I didn’t have my wolf yet, so how could he be my mate? We can’t tell until they emerge, and he certainly didn’t jump for joy at my presence. So why did I suddenly have such strong and angry feelings towards this man?The man was tall, towering over me in an intimidating stature as he approached and stood in front of me. He was more attractive than I initially gave him credit for now that I was standing toe-to-toe with the gloriously sexy wolf. His arms and chest clearly showed his strength wi
Alpha Donovan and my mom stood to greet and shake hands with the future alpha heir. “I look forward to the alliance we will be forging through the union of our daughter to you, son!” Alpha Donovan jovially shook Weston’s hand as he looked on at them both smiling; the picture of happiness.He walked over to me as I stood at my seat to greet him with a polite, prim and proper curtsey and bow, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Weston.”He smirked at me, kissing the top of my hand as he lifted me from my bowing state, “The pleasure is mine.”We stood there for a moment, silent, just staring at each other. Neither of us had any hint of an expression that would give away how we felt about the other and this predicament. If anything, we both looked indifferent and unmoved by one another. Inside I was seething with anger and jealousy, now realizing, it’s for good reason. Was I going to have to live with an unfaithful mate the rest of my life? What was it about him that got under my skin so much
The years have beaten him down; Anyone can tell from the look in his tired eyes.With another deep sigh he answers, “This is how you save your home, Vi, but we have to take it back when the right time comes. Promise me, when the time comes, you will come to my side and help me get back your pack, Vi, promise me! I’ll do everything in my power to bring you back to where you belong!” I would do whatever it took to help my cousin take back my rightful packlands from Alpha DICKovan. When the time was right.“I promise.”“You know you’re going to miss your own mating ceremony if we stay on the phone together much longer, right?” He chuckled, “You need to get some rest. You sound exhausted, Vi.”I knew. I was avoiding everything. I had to face the music of my impending reality.“Speak for yourself!” I attempted a playful laugh. “You’re the one sporting bags under your eyes darker than a vampire’s soul!” I teased, extracting a sweet laugh from Leaf before I began frowning, thinking about
Scrunching my brows, curious as to what he wants to speak to me about privately, I sit back in my seat next to him to hear him out. I’m sure he has some explanation for me about why he was kissing an omega. Weston handsomely smiled that golden boy toothsome smile, waving to everyone as they left the room. Once the door shut, signaling that we were finally alone, Weston turned to me, an indifferent expression still plastered across his face giving nothing away. I started, “So…you want to spill the beans as to what you wanted to speak to me about privately?” “I am a very direct person, Violet. I don’t fault myself for it; and I certainly am not going to apologize for it,” Weston began with an air of arrogance in his attitude.He leaned in close and stated in a sharp authoritative tone, “Here’s what’s going to happen now, Petal,” he spits out a shitty excuse for a pet name bitterly.“You are going to decline our generous offer and formally reject me in front of our Alphas. I’m going
I woke up the next morning with dried tears and puffy red eyes. I didn’t even care. I really wished I could talk to Leaf right now, but my shitty stepfather wouldn’t allow him back on pack grounds.What’s worse; Leaf’s phone conversations were still under Alpha Dickovan’s surveillance with the excuse that he needs to continue to “mentor” Leaf. More like MONITOR him so he can make sure Leaf doesn’t turn around and attack him! Because of this, I couldn’t even call to confide in Leaf unless I didn’t care if my stepfather knew what we were talking about. I was so glad Leaf called me last night. If he hadn’t, I don’t think I would be able to make it through today. Good thing, we don’t really care what the Alpha hears from our conversations these days since we have learned not to talk about the deep and really serious stuff over the phone.That creeper clearly has trust issues with the level of control he insists on maintaining at all times around here. I was in a haze and wanted to hid
Then, I felt his teeth elongate. I had no time to brace myself before he mercilessly thrust his canines into my neck, thoroughly marking me as his. Forever. Chosen mates sever the mate bond between their fated mates when they are marked by their chosen mate, which is supposed to be painful. Some described it as a painful burn that feels like it's searing you from the inside out.I expected an uncontrollable amount of pain, especially since he wasn’t my fated mate, or at least I wasn’t sure, but only the sharp instant pain from when he broke my skin was felt. This sharp pain was followed by a flood of warmth that coursed through my entire body and hit me straight in my core. Why didn’t I feel that burning pain that is said to follow after chosen mates mark each other?Everyone clapped in jubilation as I shook the conflicting feelings out of mind.“And now for the Luna’s mark!” Could I do this? Would I be able to make my wolf’s canines come out long enough for me to mark him? My he
With impatience laced in his voice he stated, “Luna Violet, the caravan is ready to leave and we are now behind schedule due to your tardiness. Alpha Weston has ordered me to tell you that we must leave now.” I closed my mouth and nodded to the beta before glancing up into Leaf’s eyes with a frown and dread plastered on my face. “Stay positive Vi! You never know - you might love your new pack! You only get out what you put in to something, so put everything you have into being the best Luna and I know you will be happy and the pack will fall in love with you! They’d be crazy not to!” Leaf hurriedly explained before giving me one last hug. His words were always so comforting and encouraging. He has always been an optimist, even when there was hardly anything positive about a situation, Leaf would find that sliver of something to be positive about. I released him from the hug I was trying to make last forever. In his arms, I felt safe, like no one and nothing could get to me in my