“Well, where the hell is she?” A querulous male voice bellowed and it echoed throughout the house.
“Where else do you think? She’s probably still in bed, dreaming about all the mischief she could cause here.” A feminine voice replied in an equally annoyed tone.
The sun was bright, and its rays streamed down on the large area of land, occupied by beautiful erect buildings, surrounded by high, mighty walls. The bright and clear sky was promising, and the atmosphere in the air was friendly and a bit cheerful, but Riley on the other hand was cranky. She lay in bed with her beautiful face set in a frown, her full l red lips pressed together as she glared at the door.
Any moment now. She thought, dreading and loathing the noise her step-parents made from downstairs. She had been awake for the past thirty minutes, her mind was still clouded with only one thing, just like it had been for the past year or so. She needed a mate, not just any kind, a handsome, well-built mate that would fall in love with her at first sight and propose love instantly to her. She had pictured it so many times, the moment her prince charming would spring up from the blue and sweep her off her feet, to the dismay of her harsh and wicked step-parents.
“They all have to be this, don’t they?” She thought wearily. “Stepparents!” She exclaimed and blew at her cheeks.
Just as she had expected, the wooden door to her bedroom, which tilted awkwardly most of the time due to its weak hinges, flew open and her step-parents stormed in like they were searching for a snake that had snuck into the house.
“There you are, you little piece of scum, what are you still doing in bed?” Her stepfather, Adolphus, snarled. His white full beard was stained with orange and his cracked lips were also stained with the same color.
He's smoking those tobaccos again. Riley thought as she regarded him.
“You just sit there? You repulsive delinquent, get out of bed and do something!” Her stepmother, Gwen, said, disdain written all over her face.
Riley thought she was becoming too unhealthy, recently she had put on a lot of weight, and the dresses that once sized her were clinging awkwardly to her fat body, some woman. Riley thought as she crawled out of bed.
“I’m going to school, what do you want me to do?” Riley asked meekly.
“Those damn dishes aren’t going to wash themselves. You can’t live here like it’s your parent’s house, are you forgetting that you don’t have any?” Gwen said scornfully.
Riley’s fists clenched at her words, but she remained calm, it wasn’t the first time Gwen had pierced a dreadful hole in her heart with her harsh words.
“I’ll do the dishes before I head to school.” She replied with a faint smile.
Riley knew that whenever she smiled during moments like this, it angered Gwen more, so she made a habit of it. She walked towards the door but Adolphus suddenly stopped her, grabbing her roughly by the wrist.
“You don’t need to be told to do these things, Riley. Do I have to remind you that you would be dead if we hadn’t taken you in? You’d probably be in some forest battling the wild beasts of nature.” He said, boring a hole into her eyes with his hollow, washed-out blue eyes that contained years of hardship.
“I understand,” Riley whimpered and looked at her wrist. “You’re hurting me.”
“Call me father.” He said abruptly, tightening his grip.
“What?” She was utterly confused and her teeth gritted as the pain increased and shot through her body.
“Call me father! Like you’re supposed to.” He repeated in a hoarse tone.
“You’re hurting me, father!” Riley cried and he let go of her.
“Good, now go wash my car also.” He commanded as though he were talking to a slave he had just bought.
She was confused, “But you don’t have one.” She pointed out, rubbing her palm soothingly over her wrist.
“Oh, get out of here then.” He said, nudging her by the shoulder.
“Ugh! We really should get rid of her! She’s rather a burden.” Riley heard Gwen say with disgust as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
About an hour later, she closed the front door behind her and began her walk to the Packs school. The Greenwood pack had served as shelter for her since she had lost her parents and Adolphus and Gwen had taken her in. Over and over again, they repeated to her that she was an object of their mercy and if it weren’t for them, she would have probably been dead.
She scoffed bitterly, “A dead person might fancy his situation more than this hellhole I’m forced to live in.” She said to herself as the sun beat down on her face.
On her way, she passed the Alpha’s mansion, a huge, astonishing building coated in marble. Riley wondered what it would be like living there, probably as the Luna of the pack and not just an Omega.
“Ugh! School.” She exclaimed with zero enthusiasm and in about twenty minutes, she arrived.
The halls were fully packed by this time with others chattering about different topics, relevant or not. Riley couldn’t blend in, she had no friends and no one to share her fantasies about a mate with, but it didn’t bother her. She didn’t need friends or sympathizers, all she wanted was a mate and her life would certainly be complete.
Dressed in a flashy black leather jacket and jeans, with a glistening chain on his neck and an expensive gold watch on his left wrist, a tall, handsome fellow walked towards her and Riley recognized him instantly, in her humble nature, she bowed as he walked past. Then she felt something within her as she inhaled his Cedar leaf scent and it fueled a burning desire for him in her. She had never felt that way about anyone else before and it intrigued her as she came to an exciting conjecture. Even in class, her hands trembled and her heartbeat hastened with excitement, could the Alpha’s son, Shawn, be her destined mate?
Riley was hardly paying attention in class, her thoughts wandered off, and luckily she wasn’t noticed among the other students. He wouldn’t make a bad mate. She thought, squeezing the paper she held in her hands absent-mindedly. “He’s handsome after all, and oh! I could become the Luna of this pack after all! It’s destiny!” Unknown to her, it was time for a general break and she was the only one left in class. She sat there, smiling to herself dreamily and picturing the moment Shawn would take her as his mate.A group of girls stood at the door, staring at her in bewilderment, their brains brewing up a mischievous plan to disrupt Riley’s seemingly peaceful moment.“I told you she was a weirdo, a freak. Who just sits there smiling at nothing and no one in particular.” The leader of the group, Lena, the daughter of the Beta of the pack said in a high-pitched voice.“Well, maybe…maybe she’s daydreaming. Look at how happy she is.” Another girl in the group of five said.“Exactly, she loo
The hours of torture turned into days and the days into weeks, during this period, Riley suffered more pain than she had ever imagined. It was like her world had been plunged from the edge of a cliff into a complete abyss of darkness that held only pain and suffering for her. The torture she passed through in the hands of her stepparents was nothing compared to what Shawn was putting her through. At least theirs had just been verbal abuse, but Shawn abused her in every way possible.On the first day, she had been thrown into a small room, with a tiny window where only a glimmer of light could pass through, a flat un-kept bed with no pillow and an untiled floor. She didn’t know what to do or why exactly she was in this dark room, but she remained there for two days, she was served food and water only twice during that period. Then suddenly, the next day, the cranky metal door swung open and a guard walked in, his black glimmering face as impassive and hard as a rock.“The Alpha wants y
In the face of death, Riley saw nothing but hope. He could have left her there, he could have left her to die and face whatever the others were facing, but he had thought about her during his plan to escape. Maybe he did love her after all and all he had been doing to her was just to test her loyalty to him. Riley was saddened yet excited, she had lost the pack no doubt, but her mate was finally owing to her, and she smiled.Shawn on the other hand, was thinking, his shrewd brain was in turmoil. The pack had been invaded just on the verge of his ascension and that pissed him off a great deal. What about his father? He had seen the sad look in his eyes when he had said 'Run!’, he knew that there was no hope for his people that’s why he had sent him away. He had lost his father, and his mother, the pack that was supposed to be his was all gone! Just like that, by a single attack from a pack of supernatural creatures slightly higher than his father’s.There was only one thing he could do
“Please…please spare me, I beg of you.” Riley cried, tears running down her cheeks, her whole body was trembling with fright.There was fury in Shawn’s eyes as he got to his feet, “How dare you? I don’t see how this is any of your concern, back off!” he growled. Lucas regarded him, the red eyes, the massive claws, and the air cocky emanating from him, he knew all about it.“I don’t think a baby Alpha werewolf is any match for a Lycan King.” He said curtly.Shawn’s eyes widened with realization and slowly he backed away, he knew he couldn’t take on a Lycan and when he saw a path, he turned and ran away after glancing one last look at Riley.Lucas turned and looked at her, she was shaking with fright and when he bent to touch her shoulder, a massive wave flowed through him. Riley also felt the connection, it was a strong wave that tingled up her spine, stronger than what she had felt when she had met Shawn. She looked up at him and their eyes met, then he broke the gaze and helped her
Lucas couldn’t get his eyes off her, he had somewhere to be later in the day, that was to check the effects of the raid that had happened the previous night and finally merge it into his pack. A guard walked in at that moment and bowed stiffly to him.“Alpha Lucas.” He said politely.“What is it?” Lucas harshly didn’t want to be interrupted by anyone whenever he was the damsel in front of him. “Some of the pack members from the pack we raided yesterday survived, you said women and children were not to be killed. So what do we do with them?” The guard asked.At the mention of the pack, Riley’s senses sharpened and she kept her face straight so he wouldn’t realize that she was eager to hear what was being said. “Take them in,” Lucas replied and the guard looked at him in surprise.“You mean…into our pack, Alpha Lucas?” He asked, which attracted a stern stare from Lucas. “What did I tell you about asking me dumb questions, Bob? I said fucking bring them in, all of them. We’ve got spac
Suddenly, he rose to his feet, there was a different air about him that seemed cold. “I have to leave now.” He said.“Me too.” She also said and that made him look sharply at her. “What do you mean by 'me too'? Where do you plan on going? That whole place is gone and whatever settlements that might be around there have been destroyed.” He said. “Then I'll go somewhere else.” She replied and rose to her feet, that had been her original intention.Actually, no, what she thought when Shawn escaped with her was that he was rescuing her so they could go somewhere else and start a new pack. The idea had thrilled her, then she had dreams, dreams of becoming the Luna of the Greenwood pack, but not it was gone. She had no dreams left, all she wanted to do was go away, go far away from all of it. “I’ve taken you in as a captive,” Lucas said firmly. “You have no parents, you have no money, you’re staying here.” He said and when she opened her mouth, he added stiffly. “And that’s final.” H
All Riley wanted to do was remain in the comfort of the large, sparkling toilet. She didn’t want to go out there and meet those faces again. She was in an unfamiliar territory and the only person she knew and was comfortable with for the meantime was the Lycan King. The maids kept on gossiping and suddenly, heavy footsteps approached them from a corridor.“What the hell are you maids doing there?” A thick masculine voice asked.Riley’s heart started thumping fast, she thought it was Lucas but this particular deep, masculine voice was unfamiliar. She concluded that it wasn’t Lucas but it carried almost the same authority Lucas’s voice possessed.“Good morning, Beta Dolph.” The ladies said in unison and curtsied and he nodded at them. “What are you all doing here? From afar it was looking like a gabfest, aren’t you on duty?” The talk handsome fellow who served as Lucas's beta/ second in command asked.“We are on duty, we are taking care of the king’s guest.” One of them replied.Dolph
They sat in awkward silence for a long while, Dolph staring at her impassively while she struggled to meet his probing stare.“You take pride in intimidating people in such situations, don’t you Dolph?” A voice boomed throughout the large, luxurious room as Lucas walked in.Dolph got to his feet with a sly grin on his face, “I like to make people understand that we aren’t so friendly and welcoming.” He replied. “Your guest is one timid lady.” He added, casting a look at Riley and then back at Lucas.Lucas stared at Riley and she got to her feet, then bowed. “If I took you out of the woods, you’d be scared out of your damn pants in a pack like this.” He said to Dolph.Dolph rolled his eyes, “Lucas, we have to talk, something’s come up. And it’s not looking too good.” He said, when he saw the look of admiration Lucas looked at Riley with, he added in a firm voice. “It’s important.”“Alright, alright,” Lucas said, his voice somewhat annoyed. “Let’s go to my study, bring that bottle of w