01 What The F**k!

Ruby

I woke up on a strange bed early in the morning with the sunlight stinging my eyes. How could I have overslept? I looked to my left, and there he was, handsome and still sleeping. I admired the outlines of his face, and I realised it wasn't the alcohol that drew me to him last night. The man was a hottie, and his looks took me. I wouldn't mind having him again. I stealthily snuck out of bed and put on my clothes in a hurry. I was about to head out when I glanced at the hottie with whom I had just spent the night. Goddess, he was handsome. Against my better Judgement, I scribbled my number on a piece of paper, signed my name, and stained it with my lipstick. I hoped he would call me. I wanted him to call me. I placed the paper on a table by the bed and left the room. It was a bit chilly outside, so I wrapped a scarf around my neck and signalled a taxi to stop. 

I hopped in and headed home. While in the taxi, I called Racheal to find out if my nosey brothers had called to find out my whereabouts, just as I thought they had called. Just as always, she had covered up for me telling them I had a headache when we returned from the club, and I was fast asleep. Racheal always came through for me. Being the only female in my family, my father and three brothers were overprotective of me. They monitored and tried to control everything. Even though I was twenty-one, they still treated me like a four-year-old, monitoring and questioning my every move. My father was a retired gamma of the pack, a position now occupied by my eldest brother. They had so many plans for me, and marrying me off to Alpha Randolph of our pack, my brother's friend, was high on the list. Although I had a crush on him for a while, I did not believe we would be a good match because he was too uptight and felt better than the rest of us. I had no choice but to do my father's bidding. The beta family did not have a female wolf, which made me next in line as a suitable match for our dear Alpha. The match was one of the reasons why my family closely monitored my movements and associations. My family believed I was a virgin, and I did not tell them otherwise. I was okay with sneaking around as long as I could get away with sneaking around. I had learned how to beat the scent ever since my first one-night stand when I was nineteen. My wolf, Kira, was an expert at things like that. It was simple. Get home when no one is around and have a hot bath. No one would know. It had worked like magic since then. I had dated a Beta of the Timber pack called Jackson for a year after we had a one-night stand. He met someone else and ended it. I wasn't hurt because I expected it would happen. I guessed the sneaking around did not help matters, and his pack was smaller than mine. I was single after then. No one wanted anything serious with me because of my family's reputation. Many people feared my father and my brothers, and now that everyone knew I was to be joined with the Alpha, they steered clear of me. That was why I never told anyone my last name anymore.

I arrived home, and just as I had hoped, no one was home. I went straight to my room to shower, soak and freshen up for the day. I exited the bath and went to dry my hair in the mirror when something caught my eye. 

I screamed so loud that my voice cracked. Fear rose in me; my hands and knees were shaking. I stared at the mirror long and hard. I used my hands to wipe away the steam to see clearly. I was not dreaming, and I was not hallucinating. It was there. I started searching my mind for what to do. How did this happen? When did this happen? Something that felt like a fun one night stand had turned into a nightmare. The arsehole had claimed me.

I threw up at the sink from extreme fear. I was nervous too. How did I let this happen?

"Kira, help me out here?" I asked my wolf.

"It must have been in the heat of passion. We were drunk last night. I have warned you to stop drinking," she said, and I sat on the floor, not wanting to look at my image again. How was I going to hide this?.

"We can't hide it, Ruby," Kira said.

"Why would he do this to us?" I asked, getting angry.

"I do not know, but we need to think of something fast. We will be handed to Alpha Randolph next week. He will reject us when he sees this, and father would be mad," she spelt it out for me.

"What if I get a tattoo?" I asked.

"That would be a weird spot to have one, and it would seem like an act of defiance against the union. Not like we wanted it anyway, but acting it out will be an offence," She stated.

"But he won't reject us," I said, and she was silent. I felt her uneasiness, and I had to probe my wolf.

"What do you think, Kira?" I asked her.

"Even if we covered it up. He has marked and claimed us. We have his scent now. No one would miss it," She said. And with those words, I felt robbed, stolen, taken advantage of, cheated, name it. If that was his real name, Jasper had just fucked my life up big time. I hurriedly dressed up, wearing a turtle neck sweatshirt and jeans, and tried to hurry back to the motel I left Jasper in. When I got there, the room was empty; my number was still on the table where I left it. I did not know when I broke down there and began to cry.

The asshole did not even bother to take my number to give me a call. Was I that forgettable? I wondered if he was a serial claimer and went about claiming random chicks. I was doomed. How the fuck was I going to survive my family and Alpha Randolph. Whatever his name was, Jasper had just messed my life up big time. I returned to my home and sat in my room, weeping. I was afraid. Jasper had claimed me, and I did not even know his last name or his pack. My adventures and sneaking around had finally backfired in the worst way possible. I knew I had to come clean eventually, so my father would call off the joining. Alpha Randolph would not want me after this. No one would want me after this. The bastard had used protection, meaning he didn't want anything tying us together. Why would he do this to me? Why would Jasper, if that is his real name, claim me without my consent.

"I am sure it was not by force," Kira pointed out, and I shut her up.