The door banged shut and Destiny stumbled over to the small bed and collapsed on it. She sobbed into the pillow, lamenting her fate.
“I won't mate with Johan,” she mumbled, wiping the tears away. “I would rather die than mate with that bastard.”
When she was done with her crying, she stripped off her clothes and slipped on her nightgown. The light gauzy material of the sleeveless gown caressed her body and fell to her knees. Pulling the thin sheet over her tired body, she tossed and turned. Her stomach growled faintly, and she remembered she had skipped her lunch as well as dinner. Curling up into a fetal position, she tried to relax her mind. There was nothing she could do about the hunger pangs.
Her father wasn't always like that. When she was little, her father had been her everything. To say that, he was her world, would be saying too little. He was more than that. Her mother and her father were perfections in her eyes. She had never known what it was that had driven him to madness, but she would always remember the first time she saw it. She was 10 years old. She had been redecorating her room. Taking away the pink colour wallpaper she had chosen when she was 7 and moved on to the grown-up lavender one.The sound of screaming caught her attention. Then she heard the unfamiliar sound of skin slapping against skin. Her whole body shuddered at the sound. She heard her mother cry. When she hesitantly walked into the living room, her mother was on the floor, blood trickling out of the side of her mouth. Her father was a seething pillar of rage standing over her. The shadow that he cast over her wasn't enough to cover the tears seeping from her eyes. She moved to help her mother, and her father lashed out. He grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground. She had never felt so much fear, then or since. Her hands drifted to her neck, she could remember how hard it had been to breathe. The look on her father's face was so different from the face she had known before.
It was full of rage. She buried her face into the pillow as the memory grew more distinct. He had thrown her into her room and locked the door afterwards. She could do nothing but huddle in the corner. That was when the cold wind blew in.He had left her alone in the room for three days. At first, she was terrified. So, she busied herself in finishing her room.On the second day, when it was finally done, she had pounded on the door for hours. She tried her best to get anyone's attention. Her poundings turned to sobs, the sobs to pleas, and the pleas to silent whimpers. On the third day, she curled up on the floor. Her hand was bruised from the beating of the door. Her voice was hoarse. The same terror that had taken hold of her within her father's grip had taken root again. They had forgotten her. Left her in the room, they would never come for her.
Late in the evening, one of the omegas that worked as her nanny came in and got her out. She held her and washed her. She put ice on her hand and fed her, but Destiny never said a word. She waited for days, but she never saw but a glimpse of her father. That was how things started to deteriorate. Her father hated her, but she was still a valuable commodity to trade-off for status.*********
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Sam asked as Jake made another loop around the Inner Chambers. “You've been pacing since we got here.”
Sam was in his early twenties, and Jake's second in command, beta. His short brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and boyish looks earned him the nickname “cute guy”. But looks were deceiving, he was ruthless in a battle.
“I… don't know,” Jake replied as he stopped to look out one of the windows. “I have this feeling of anguish, of desperation. I can't sit still, and I feel like I need to… Damn, I don't know; I just feel like I need to do something. Be somewhere.”
This was probably just his subconscious trying to get him in trouble and out of the 'arrangement'.
Sam smirked and sat down on the chair, putting his feet on the table. As the Alpha's best friend, sometimes he didn't give a damm about protocols.
“Maybe it's Eliza, your wolf is finally accepting her.” He grinned, knowing full well that Jake hated talking about her.
“I've found myself saying 'I don't know' to similar questions repeatedly tonight. Just drop it.”
The tone in Jake's voice was dangerous and Sam didn't know what, if anything, he could or should say.
Jake was the Alpha of his wolf pack. He turned 25 not long ago and controlled one of the strongest wolf packs in the area, 'The White Claw '.
Eliza's father Richard Webster was dying. He was ancient. Jake owed the man his life. If it weren't for Richard, Jake would have been killed years ago. Eliza was his only daughter. It was obvious that his child would not be able to succeed him, and the vultures were clamouring for his throat.
So, Richard asked Jake to mate with his beautiful daughter Eliza. Jake couldn't refuse the old Alpha. The girl was stunning. Jake would take over her pack," The Wolfgang" and merge it with his own. When they would have cubs, one of the cubs would carry the Webster name and rule Richard's pack in the future.
Initially, Jake had refused this offer. But having noted the political turmoil in the territory would have affected the peace of the area, including his pack. He didn't want to deal with a new batch of rogues, which usually sprang up whenever a pack had an unstable leader.
By securing a suitable mate for Eliza, the rebels knew that if they challenged Richard, there would be someone able to take his place who was a powerful Alpha. There was only one problem, he felt nothing for Eliza.Jake had reasoned that if he hadn't found a true mate by now, it was entirely likely he would never find one. He had never put much stock in the idea of a 'true mate' anyway. He had always assumed that when he wanted a family, he'd pick a woman and mate with her and have a family.
He sat at his desk, rubbed his face in his hands, and tried not to feel like his life was ending. Technically, he should have been thrilled by this. A beautiful wife and an unchallenged addition to his pack.“When did this start?” Sam asked as he moved closer to Jake.
“Early this morning, and it's getting worse,” Jake said as he closed his eyes. “I'm needed. I need to be somewhere. There's this feeling of helplessness.....”
“Maybe you need to get laid, it's your body telling you that you need a woman.” Sam grinned again.
Jake frowned, “fuck you!” “I would love to, but I like women,” Sam said, then howled with laughter. "I am not in the mood for your stupid jokes,” Jake said, his eyes narrowing dangerously on his friend.“Well, Serra, Gerald, and the rest of us have noticed you are distracted, and we get it.” Sam shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. “We've been talking about that too.”“Talking what?” Jake growled.“The mating. We just wanted you to know that,” he looked at Jake sympathetically, “you don't need to do this.”“I don't ?” Jake leaned back in his chair. It was obvious that no amount of glaring was going to have any effect on Sam.“No. The way we figure it, in the worst-case someone challenges Richard. He may not be a bad Alpha. Who knows, he might be better than Richard, and the peace reigns. If he is an asshole. So, what? We get into a fight. We've been at peace so long, some of our guys are forgetting to watch their backs. Maybe it's time again.”
Jake sighed. “Thanks, but I put a lot of effort into what little peace we have. Besides, the last thing we need is another pack war. The humans love to prod, and the feds would be all over us.”
“But you don't love Eliza!” Sam said with some disgust.
“It's not like there are any other women higher up on my list,” Jake mumbled.Sam rolled his eyes, “Whatever,” he said in annoyance.” But you do need to get laid, if not Eliza, then any Dame bitch you find."It was Jake's turn to roll his eyes.Jake was busy working on a file when the knock and a familiar scent invaded his senses.He stood up immediately and walked over to open his office door. The ancient, older man smiled at him. Richard was a tall, well-built man with short, dark brown hair that had grey around the temple and deep-set brown eyes. His skin had an olive tone, declaring his Mediterranean heritage.“Richard! You should have called me. Why did you travel all the way here?” Jake said while gently leading the older man inside. “Not that you are not welcome, but you must not exert yourself.”“Bah! I am not that old.” Richard said with a twinkle in his eyes.Jake gave a guilty smile. He wondered what was the visit about? Eliza had shown up at his office late that week. She was excited and waited all afternoon for Jake to manage enough time to meet with her. For his part, he had been fin
Destiny was running swiftly, she raced through the forest, the night was warm but pleasant. She felt happy and free, something she had not felt in a long time. The starry sky and full moon lit the way, showing the path that would take her to her favourite place…the lake.As she approached it, a new scent reached her, drawing her wolf's attention. She decreased her pace to a gentle trot. She was trying to understand what was so enticing about this scent that caught her wolf's attention.“What…” She moaned as her body reacted, “is that scent?”Nearby, a twig snapped and Destiny swung around. Moving out of the woods was the biggest wolf she had ever seen. His silky coat was coal-black. The scent of pine and maple floated towards Destiny, the wolf inside her howled with desire. He was magnificent; everything about him shouted power and authority. Bright gold eyes followed her
The next time, Destiny's bedroom door opened. Her father stormed inside carrying a ridiculously lacy pink dress. “You got thirty minutes to make yourself presentable,” he snarled. “Do not disobey me, or I'll haul you to Johan in whatever state you are in. Take a shower and get ready. Don't even think. Of escape, just in case.” She eyed that hateful dress. An overwhelming need to rip to pieces, cut it into tiny little shreds was hard to ignore. She noticed her claws had lengthened. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to leave the damn dress alone. Her father's threat rang clearly in her mind. Moving slowly to the bathroom, she finally gave up hope. There was no escape, no way to stop what her father planned. She would have to marry Johan, become his mate, and pray to Luna he wasn't as bad as she had heard. * * * * Her door opened, it was her mother this time who had come to help her get dressed in that god-awful dress.
The White Claw Compound. As Destiny walked inside, fear never once left her heart, especially as the pickup came to a stop. She was trembling again, her eyes even shook in terror as the two guards got out of the car. She had been picked up from the riverside. She had managed to reach the White Claw territories but had no idea how to proceed further. She was shivering in a bush when the guards spotted her. When she told them who she was, they replied. Her grandmother was expecting her. “Go park the truck, Conroy,” The leader of them told him, who nodded and went to go park it, “Marco, Emanuel, let's go.” They both nodded and followed him into the compound. Destiny struggled to keep up with them. They had provided her with a dry pair of track pants and a tee. Not having many other choices, she meekly followed them. As they passed the homes—which seemed to make a small town on its own—she smelt and saw other wolves males, females
Jake stalked toward the elk, his body remaining low as he hid behind a bush, so his black fur wouldn't be noticed. Before the bull could even look up and take stock of things happening around him. Jake charged at it, seizing it by its throat with his strong jaws. It let out a fearful and indignant cry right before Jake's jaws tightened on its throat further and sharply twisted his head, breaking its neck with the momentum; its body fell almost soundlessly into the snow. He looked around before indulging in his fresh kill. In truth, Jake didn't need to be hunting this far north in the pack territory, but he needed to clear his mind, and going on long runs and occasional hunts were the release his wolf needed. For the past week, he's been having recurring dreams and restlessness. That made his wolf go wild with want, desperate for something. He had thought about taking a few of his pack females to bed. They would be willing to do that. But he had decided not to date hi
"There you go, it won't leave a mark." The kind doctor said to Destiny as he applied an ointment on her wound."Thank you," she smiled at him."So you are a new arrival?" Dr Connery asked casually."Yeah, things were not very good in my previous pack. I had to run away," she said biting her lips.He gave her a sympathetic look," which pack are you from?""The silver Cresent."Dr Connery raised an eyebrow and stared at her, she remained him of her. Could she be.......?"Well now you are here, so forget your worries and come to me if you get bashed up again." He grinned at her.*********"I need to apologize to you for the mishap," Sam started to say.Annoyed, Eliza cut him off. "No, you don't. Why should you have to apologize?"Then she added, "where is he?""Jake has gone for some important pack business," Sam s
The girl turned to face him, and Rodney's sucked in his breath. He had been watching her from afar since she had walked up from the alley. Putting his plans in motion to separate her from her friends.She was worth the effort, her olive complexion was flawless and the layers of thick shoulder-length hair framed a lovely heart-shaped face. Her amber eyes were intoxicating and beautiful, flecked with specks of brown.'Howl' Had been a thriving nightclub downtown for years. It was nightlife frequented by many humans as well as supernaturals. Even the neighbouring packs often visited it. She was a wolf, but surprisingly, he had never seen her before.“Who are you?” the beauty asked, her eyes slightly widened with either surprise or fear, he wasn't sure what.“Rodney White,” He introduced himself.“Destiny, Parr, and what makes you think I have any problem which needs to be rectified?” She
The silence in the elevator was deafening. Destiny titled her head and looked at the man who was supposedly her mate.Mine. Her beast snarled. Mine.No, he can't be our mate, he is an Alpha who is already engaged. You must be mistaken, she argued with her wolf.“What is your name?” He asked her, his expression as hard as before.“Destiny, Destiny Parr.” She replied. Her wolf's agitation had increased tenfold.“That's an odd name,” he commented.“Sorry, if my name is not up to your liking, I can do nothing about it.” She retorted.And she is mouthy as well. He thought.When Jake had reached 'Howl' he was talking to a few bouncers when he got the whiff of her scent. It was very faint as if she had just brushed past them. Curious, he had followed the trail and found her talking to Rodney, he instantly knew she was his. Irrespective of his cur