Chapter 3

"You can sit," he says, nodding toward the chair beside me. I stared at it before sitting on the edge and looking back toward the door where my parents were waiting.

Turning back to face the Alpha, I find him watching me again. "Your name is Katya?" He says pronouncing it correctly; most people don't the first time.

"Yes, Alpha,"

"You can call me Ezra," he says quickly, and I nod.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," I tell him, and he nods before looking at some documents, which I see are my mother's and father's paperwork, along with my birth certificate. He picks it up, looking at it.

"You turn eighteen soon? You will be able to find your mate. That's exciting," he states, his eyes flicking back to me. I say nothing. No one will want me; I was basically human with the added difference of heightened senses.

"You go to school; I take it?" I nod, chewing on my thumbnail.

"Last year?"

"Yes, I finish this year, well I am supposed to."

"You'll be finishing school," he states, leaving no room for argument. I press my lips together.

"You don't like school?"

"Does anyone like school?" I ask in return, and he smiles.

"I liked school. I am surprised you don't since you are a beta's daughter," he says.

Yeah, the school was great till they found out I was a freak, I think to myself.

"Your parents have already explained your reason for leaving, that you had a run-in with the Alpha's daughter, and your mother hit her?" He asks. My mother was taking the blame; I kept my mouth shut to stop the risk of being caught out in a lie, although technically that was true, just not the reason we left. I swallow nervously, thankful he was paying attention to the document in front of him.

"Hmm, yep," Please ask no more questions; I suck at lying, not my strongest point.

"Good enough for me; I can't stand Alpha Jackson. I should put the prick down," Alpha Ezra says, not even trying to hide his dislike for my old Alpha.

"Come here," he says, standing up. I jump out of my seat, taking a step back. His eyes snapped to mine at my sudden movement.

"I won't hurt you; I would never hurt you, Katya," he says, holding his hand out to me. I hesitate before I place mine in his. Tingles spread across my palm, and I jerked my hand back, looking at it.

"Sorry, must be static," he says, grabbing my hand again with a smile playing on his lips, making him look even more gorgeous. He pulls me toward him.

His hand was warm, yet the strange tingling sensation didn't stop. I looked up at him, thinking it was odd, only to find he was watching me again. He was tall, and I only came up to the center of his chest. He was wide too, all hard muscle as he towered over me.

He bites his wrist, offering it to me, and I stare at it. He can't be serious; I tried to picture him offering his wrist to my father, awkward. That's also when I notice two glasses stained with his blood on the desk, making me look at him; he wants me to drink his blood from him. Why do I have to play bloodsucker?

"Times ticking, little one, hurry up," he whispered, pulling me closer and wrapping his arm around my waist before bringing his wrist to my lips.

"Oh, God no," Shoving the thought of what I was about to do away, I grabbed his wrist, and I could taste his saliva on his wrist. His blood, surprisingly, didn't taste bad. Not something I would go out drinking. I definitely would suck if I were a vampire, but it didn't make me gag. It was sweet tasting, or maybe that was the taste of his skin, I wasn't sure.

He pulls his wrist away but doesn't let go, holding me close to him, his arm tightening around my waist. He bent down a little, so his face was closer to mine, his voice soft below my ear.

"You now need to pledge to me," he whispers, and I nod, the heat from his hard chest pressed against my back seeping into me and warming my skin.

"I, Katya Hartley, pledge my loyalty and my life to Alpha Ezra. "I stop not knowing his last name. Looking over my shoulder at him. His face is so close to mine, and I am stunned for a second by his masculine scent.

"Pierce," he whispers, his lips almost brushing mine. Gosh, he was close, and I thought I saw him smile before turning my face away.

"I, Katya Hartley, pledge my loyalty and my life to Alpha Ezra Pierce of Black Creek Pack." as soon as the last word left my lips, searing pain exploded in my head, making me drop as I clutched it. His grip tightening around me prevented me from hitting the floor in a heap. The chattering of my old Pack, every word spoken through the Mind-link flitting through my head loudly, making my ears ring and a scream to leave my lips.

Just as suddenly as it came, it stopped like the snap of a rubber band.

"You're okay. It's over now," Alpha Ezra's voice flits through my head, making me peek up at him. He smiles back at me, and I stupidly stare back at him, my thoughts becoming muddled.

"Are you good for me to let you go?" He asks, and I look down to see both his arms wrapped around me, just under my breasts. My face heats with embarrassment realizing he was the only reason I was still upright before quickly becoming aware of his hands on my body. Great, I was crushing on my Alpha.

 I step away, and he lets go; I watch his eyes glaze over before my mother and father rush in. He must have been talking to them through the Pack-link.

"You okay, see you're fine. I told you it wouldn't be so bad," my father says, fussing over me. I slap their hands away at their fussing. I wasn't a baby. Sometimes they could be a little embarrassing.

.

"Tonight, you can stay in the packhouse. Tomorrow I will have someone show you to your new home. May I ask why you requested one so far from everyone?" He asks curiously, looking at my father.

"Kat doesn't get along well with others; she prefers being by herself," my mother answers, and the Alpha seems a little shocked at her answer.

"And why is that?" He asks, staring down at me.

"I just like being alone," I shrug. Alpha Ezr presses his lips in a line before looking back at my parents.

"Tomorrow, you can get settled into your new place, and I have already enrolled Katya in school this morning. So she can start on Monday, you can skip the Pack run on Friday and both meet me here Monday morning for work details."

"Pack run?" I ask, and my mother nudges me with her elbow to be quiet, which doesn't go unnoticed by the Alpha.

"Pack runs are compulsory. Why is that a problem?" He asks, and I duck my head down, examining my shoes.

"No problem at all," my father says while chucking his arm across my shoulders and holding out his other hand out to the Alpha.

The Alpha turns his attention to my mother. "How are you with training teenage students?"

"I trained my daughter mostly and older she-wolves, but I would give it a go."

"Interesting. We need an extra hand at the high school if you're interested. That way you can also monitor Katya," he says, and my mother seemed excited about the idea.

"That would be lovely; thank you, Alpha," he nods, staring at me again before looking at my father.

"My Beta will show you where you are staying for the night," he says before walking around to sit back at his desk and dismissing us.