"This way, Miss."
I turn to the strange woman, dressed in some white and blue tailored outfit with an apron over it. A couple of other servants who have walked past us are dressed like her. But they don't have the apron, the cap on her head, her stout gait, or the sternness in her voice.She must hold some kind of high position to be able to incite fear easily with just her voice. "One moment, please. I just need to talk to my father." I plead again, trying to get out of the massive gate in front of me.I get blocked off by the guards with rigid looks on their faces. Father is flagging down a taxi with a satisfied grin on his face and the bag of cash in his hands."You should stop saying that and come with me. I don't have all day!""I can't just go with you. I need to speak with my Father…""You can't speak with him or with anyone outside the gate from here on. You've been sold to the Packhouse as a breeder. You have no more business with the outside world. How hard is that to understand?""Wait. What? A breeder?" That's impossible. Father had dragged me out of the house and brought me here this morning with my little duffel bag filled with my worn-out clothes.He didn't say what I was coming to do here. I only heard him telling the man who had already gone inside that I was here for the business. I wondered what business I could have with the Packhouse. But hearing her say this has just plunged me into a greater state of confusion.Tears leave my eyes like a waterfall and I'm almost down to my knees with how wretched I feel at the moment."You're kidding, right? I can't — I can't be a breeder. I'm only 19. I'm still too young…""Too young, my ass." A deep, male voice interrupts. A long line of soldiers circle us and a man is in front of them. It's the man from earlier. He was the one who handed Father the bag of cash minutes ago.A thin smile stretches his lips. His tailored suit and squinted eyes have an overpowering essence that makes me shiver and now my head. Even without knowing who he is and what he is. "Beta Luke." The woman says and I see her bow too. Beta Luke? Is he the Beta of our Pack? It's kind of embarrassing that I'm 19 and don't even know the royal household. But then again, I'm from the slum side of the pack. There are no chances for the slum people to get to know the richest circle of people in the Pack. "What are you doing, Mary? What kind of scene are you engaging out here? Do you want to give everyone a reason to gossip?""I'm sorry, Beta Luke. But the girl didn't want to follow me inside. She's insisting on speaking to her Father. Even if I made it clear to her that it's not possible!"The man shifts his gaze to me. He still has that smile that's more terrifying than charming."Grab her." He orders sternly.The soldiers bundle me up and I'm smoldered and dragged into the breathtaking mansion. "Please, let me go. Please!" I beg, struggling but there's not much struggle I can do. Their hold is too tight. They don't pay attention to me either and that makes me want to cry even harder. I'm taken through steps and floors until I'm tossed inside a room. An empty room. I fall to the floor, wincing at the pain. The soldiers leave with the woman and I'm left alone with the man. Beta Luke."Your Father didn't tell you why you're here, did he?" He asks, towering above me."No." I shake my head, standing to my feet and ignoring the sting on my knees."His bad, I guess." His tone is nonchalant. In a very disdainful way. "Anyway, that changes nothing.""Why am I here?" Yeah, the woman said I've been bought to be a breeder. But that's a half, terrifying information. It only left me feeling agitated and scared. I need to know what's really going on. "Just like Mary said, you've been bought to be a breeder for our dearest Alpha…""Alpha — Alpha Ace?" I stutter in disbelief."Oh, you do know his name. That's a great start. Tonight, you'll know more than his name. So prepare your mind for it."Alpha Ace. The cold and ruthless Alpha Ace. Am I dreaming or what? How can Father do this to me?Of all the menaces to sell me off to — he chose the king of all. The man with the worst reputation in the Pack. The man whose vicious acts are told as horror stories to kids to scare them. The man who's left dread in the heart of his people.His coldness is rumored to be legendary. A lot of people say he has no heart. Like, literally. No sympathy for offenders and he's cruel in passing judgments. His sexual escapades with the ladies aren't left untold either. He never fucks a lady twice. He discards them like they are worth nothing. He's brash and goes physical on them if they insist. Bringing me here is just as good as killing me off. Father surely chose the worst fate for me. Why did I hit him last night? I shouldn't have.I'm better off satisfying his cock than being thrown into the cold hands of Alpha Ace. Being Father's mistress is a much better hell than being Alpha Ace's breeder. "Are you even listening to me?" Fingers snap in my face, jolting me from my thoughts. "Wh – what?" I stutter with quivering lips."Oh, hell no. You didn't hear a thing I said." The man, Beta Luke, scoffs irritatedly. "I'm sorry…""Yeah, you will be. I just read you a list of dos and don'ts so you don't upset Ace when he joins you tonight. But you didn't hear a thing…""Join me? Join me to do what?" I ask in brewing panic. He stifles a growl. "You're quite frustrating and ask very dumb questions. The worst kind of woman. Ace just might snap your neck before the night ends.""Snap — snap my neck?" The door opens and the woman is back with a trail of other female servants. They have bags and suitcases."We'd like to get her ready, Beta Luke." She explains as they bow."Sure. Go ahead." He nods, moving to the door. "And please, do something about her attitude. She's tacky and dumb. We don't want her dead on her first night with him. Do we?""I'll take care of it, Beta Luke." The woman replies with another curt bow.I can't hold it in anymore so I break into deep sobs. "Dead? He's going to kill me? Why?!"Beta Luke shakes his head with another disdainful smile and leaves the room, totally ignoring my question. "What's he talking about?" I ask the women but they drag me to another room instead. A bathroom. "We'll start by giving her a good bath. To get rid of her stench." The woman declares and the others go ahead to take off my clothes. Not even paying attention to me or my cries.The clock ticks midnight and I hurry out of the bed, gripping the silk fabric of my nightie.He'll be here soon. The thought of that makes my heart give a crazy thud against my chest. The head maid, Mary, had been very specific about the time of his arrival. Yeah, I realized why she's dressed differently and has that rigid aura around her. She's the head maid and has worked the longest here in the Packhouse.She also mentioned that I have to look soft and accessible. I shouldn't question him and I should do whatever he asks. With no delay.He hates delay. I can get killed for it.She also said —"Get out!" A rigorous, deep, and fierce masculine voice yells outside the door. I hear footsteps scurrying away. Is it the soldiers the head maid Mary placed at my door to keep me from running away? Who just gave them that order to leave?The doorknob turns and the door opens. I gulp repeatedly, intertwining my clammy, shaky fingers. A man walks inside and shuts the door behind him. Bolts
"Get out! And take this mess with you. I don't ever want to see you in my study, bedroom, or anywhere close to me. How the hell do you not listen?!"Drenched with hot coffee and sprawled on the floor in the middle of the brown mess, I can only shed quiet tears as he continues to yell at me.I can't even look at him. It'll make me feel more trashy and miserable. The hate in his eyes has always been a poisonous blade that leaves eternal slashes on my heart.It burns me to ashes. Makes me want to disappear from his sight. Regardless of how much I care about him. He tries to come closer to me but gets held back by Beta Luke. They're struggling and once again, Beta Luke is keeping away from snapping my neck.I thought I'd witnessed the worst hardship in the world. I thought I'd gone through the worst kind of pain. But that night proved me wrong.That night when I realized he's my mate and the other nights and days that have followed where I try as hard as I can to make him love me — They'
Classic tunes from the speakers reverberate the hall and sync with the low-key chattering of the thousands of guests present. It's Alpha Ace's birthday and it has pulled in almost everyone in the Pack and people from the other Packs who are allied with us. The war that lasted two decades between every Packs in the region created a long-term feud between so many Packs. Our Pack is in enmity with so many Packs. Just a few still have a good relationship with us. You can blame it on Alpha Ace for not even trying to fix the feud. Or you can blame it on the other Packs for not being forgiving enough to let go of the grudge. The bottom line is that we have more Pack enemies than friends.I take a deep breath, trying to control my anxiety. Maybe I shouldn't have come to the party. I hate feeling this way. Like a time bomb just went off in my stomach, causing irreparable chaos. But then again, it's Alpha Ace's birthday. I can't miss it. Even though I feel very uncomfortable here. He's my m
Ace's POVThe shoving footsteps going through the hallway wake me up from my deep slumber. I groan at the splitting migraine, trying to blow my head off. I sit up with a groan, struggling to open my eyes against the sun rays beaming straight on them. The blinds have been open. Was it Luke or the servants? Another painful spasm goes through my head and I'm cradling it in my palms. Why the fuck did I drink so much last night?What was going through my head? It felt like I was on a mission to drown myself in booze. And now I'm paying the hardest way for it.It's all her fault. That damned breeder who showed her ugly face at my party and jinxed the air. Seeing her put me in a cranky mood all night. I lost all patience to sit around and enjoy the party.Booze was my only solace. My fucking haven. But now it's killing me.Someone, please get me something to cool it off with. Or I may lose my fucking head.The door opens and the head maid walks in with a tray. "Good morning, Master." She b
Ace's POVA YEAR LATER…How fast time flies! Especially when all you're doing is counting the minutes each day until you fall asleep or you're deep in thought or moping around. It's been a year since Betty disappeared from my life. I try so hard to hide the agony she left behind. I try so hard to control it. But then, I figure there's no use denying it. I miss her. I need her back. I need to find her.Searching for her isn't easy. I don't know anything about her. Her crackhead stepfather had disappeared too. No trace of him. She doesn't seem to have any other relatives so my search meets a dead end. Having no clue where to look, I fall into a depth of depression. Craving her but not having her in my arms. I'm about to go insane from that wretched feeling."Master." A knock and footsteps snap me out of my thoughts. My gaze is back on the piles of files on my table that need signing. Treaties and deals for the Pack. My strenuous duties as Alpha. I can't believe I'm slacking off on th
ACE’S POV“The car is ready, Sir.” My chauffeur’s voice pulled me out of my regular zoning. Ever since Luke made that shocking revelation about Betty being my mate, I have searched every pack for her. I have searched with a heavy and regretful heart with every hope of seeing her again. I need to apologize and make my newly found feelings known. I have never felt connected and concerned about a woman not until Betty left. I felt the bond that I stupidly ignored, and I couldn’t let it die with him. I sighed and stood up from the sofa. This was the seventh pack I would be visiting in search of Betty, and I’m onto my eighth already. It was quite tiring, but I have vowed never to stop looking until I find her. I know I will. Pack duties were hanging on my neck, but I have learned to trust Luke with them while I go on the search. I just felt like things could be better between me and Betty. I followed my waiting chauffeur to the parked car.THREE YEARS LATER…..“Okay. Thank you very much
ACE’S POVThe plane touched down gently, and I could hear the voice of the pilot announcing our arrival at Moonlight Pack. I followed the crowd and left the plane. Waiting for a few minutes at the terminal to get my luggageI walked outside the airport after, and noises from cars and people greeted me. I looked around the unfamiliar town and was suddenly filled with fear. I have never imagined myself stepping into Moonlight Pack. Our disagreement and feud have lasted long enough to drift us apart, but here I am, in the same pack I vowed never to visit.Betty is worth more than a feud, and I would go to any length to get her back. I only hope she wants it, too. I caught sight of a black car and a chauffeur carrying a placard with my name written on it. I shook my head as I approached him. Luke was always extracted, so I had kind of expected it. I got into the car, and the driver put my luggage away in the trunk.“Good day, Sir. I’m Alex, and I would be your chauffeur all through your
ACE’S POV“Yes?” I mumbled from my sleep. The gentle knock on my door woke me up. As I sat up on the bed, my head spun, and I squinted my eyes from the bright lights across the room. The sun was up already.I stood up lazily and opened the door. A hotel worker was impatiently waiting for me. “Breakfast is ready, Sir.” she said calmly, hiding her earlier anger well. I replied to her and shut the door. Unable to sleep back, I got ready for the day. The weird situation between Betty and I needed to be solved, so I decided to dedicate my whole day to getting to talk to her. She mostly needs to explain “Maxwell” cause he was definitely my child, and she hid it away from me.Pulled out a simple shirt and jeans from my closet and got dressed. Breakfast was brought in a few minutes later, and I sat quietly to bacon, eggs, and avocado toast. Another gentle knock jolted me out of my thinking. Alex walked in after I responded. I had guessed it was him.“Good morning, Sir. The car is ready.” he