The walk to the office was confusing as they left her quarters and descended a set of spiral stairs. Once at the bottom, she looked around trying to get a handle on the layout. The castle was huge, to say the least. Once she was out of her room, she realized that that was exactly what it was.
A castle.
At the bottom of the staircase was Beta Matthew.
"Princess Luna."
He bowed to her and then straightened as he greeted her politely and with respect, then he led the way. Maya was on her left and Beta Matthew was on her right. She realized that she was being guarded and inwardly groaned.
Her wolf groaned in protest. They were warriors. They didn't need protection. They needed freedom.
After going down numerous halls and turning quite a few corners, they entered another long hallway. This one was wider and more majestic as they proceeded down the hall to the large double doors at the end.
Once they reached them, the sound of a male with authority called out to them.
"You may enter."
The guard on the right opened the door and both guards bowed as they entered the room.
She gazed around the room. It was large and stately. A male sat behind a mahogany desk that was clear of anything but a landline and a cell phone. The only other items on it were a notepad and a pen. Nothing of consequence to Cora and she looked up into the eyes of the man seated behind the desk.
Her eyes widened. Those were her eyes. The same golden brown.
The man was quiet, calm, and collected. It was then that she saw a flash of pain enter them before he hid it once more behind the calm mask he wore. She knew that he was controlling his wolf.
Her own wolf let out a small whimper and she tried to calm her.
"Not now, Ava. Hold it together."
She felt her wolf lay down in her mind, clearly upset about being restrained.
"Easy for you to say...."
"Have a seat Alyssa. Maya, you may go, for now, we will let you know when she needs to be escorted back. "
He nodded at her and she bowed and nodded back.
"Yes, Alpha King. Thank you."
She exited the room and Beta Matthew led her to her seat. She gazed at the man in front of her and noticed that he looked young. In his early to mid-thirties.
Suddenly, there was a rush of wind and she felt herself being pulled out of the chair and into a pair of warm arms.
"Alyssa. My, Alyssa. I have missed you so much."
When she pulled back a moment later, she gasped.
Was she looking into a mirror?
The woman in front of her had the same red hair and golden eyes as her. Her wolf whined in the back of her mind once more and she bit her bottom lip as her wolf laid her head down on her paws and looked sadly out of her eyes.
What was going on?
When she sat back down, the man behind the chair spoke once more.
"Alyssa, do you remember who we are?"
She looked from one to the other. They must be the people that the Beta was referring to as her parents. Only...She had no memories of them. She shook her head.
The man sighed and stood up, coming around the desk he knelt down in front of her as she heard the woman start to cry.
"I am your father and this is your mother. You were kidnapped when you were six years old. We have been hunting for you ever since."
Cora's mouth dropped her eyes held a look of disbelief in them.
"No...it can't be. I am a Paglione. My parents are Anthony and Rebekah..."
A low growl rumbled in his throat and she closed her eyes, afraid of what he might do to her. She had sounded so desperate to believe the words that she spoke. Though, sadly, she knew that they were not true.
She was deceiving herself. The resemblance was strong and she could not deny it. Like it or not, these people were her parents. Next to her mother was a man that she didn't know, but like her parents, and hers, they were golden brown. She looked back at the man kneeling in front of her and she sighed, lowering her head.
"I don't remember. I am sorry..."
Her voice was a whisper as she spoke. She had no idea what was going on and she knew that she may never remember. Her life with the Pagliones was great up until her sixteenth birthday. Even now she was loyal to them.
The man placed his hand on her cheek and he smiled softly.
"You are the spitting image of your mother. So beautiful."
He went to hug her and then pulled back once he had finished, his eyes shifting to the birthmark under her arm. She noticed his gaze but said nothing. She knew what he was doing and she pushed it out of her mind.
He was making sure that they had the right she-wolf.
He stood and went back to his seat behind the desk and she was moved to the other side of the room. Now she was sitting by her 'mother' who immediately took her hand in hers and looked at her father expectantly.
"Bring in the prisoners."
His gaze had gone back to Beta Matthew and new nodded and opened the door. A moment later her parents entered the room. Both were shackled with silver chains and collared.
She sucked in her breath as they gazed around the room and their eyes landed on her.
Her father growled and her mother hissed at the group.
"Give us our daughter and our grandson and we will leave. You will never have to hear from us again."
Her father had spoken those words as if he still believed they had a chance of leaving with their family.
"The princess is not your daughter and you knew that when you kidnapped her fifteen years ago. Her mother went crazy without her and we almost lost her in the beginning. You took the pup of a king and queen. Then you raised the princess as a rogue. Who knows what else you have done? This is treason no matter how you look at it. You will pay for your crimes. All of them. Our only hope is that we get our daughter back fully. But even now, this is better than we hoped for in the beginning."
Alpha Anthony glared at the king. His eyes went black.
"You have your daughter back physically. But we have her loyalty and her love. So you truly have lost her."
An evil laugh escaped him as Cora pulled her hand away from the woman beside her. Her father was right. She was loyal to him and even though she hated him, she loved him as well. At least she thought she did.
The king began to growl and he stood and began to speak.
Cora's mind wandered back to that day. The day she walked in on her father, excited to thank him for the car he got her for her birthday.
"Daddy?"
Her father's face held a look of horror as he lowered the gun. At the time, she had wondered why she had not heard it go off. She had no idea that the walls and door to this room were soundproof. No one would have heard it.
He kept his eyes on her and spoke to one of the men in the room.
"Get the body out of here now and clean this up."
His voice was cold and cruel as he spoke. A far cry different from what she was used to. She had never heard him talk this way.
Neither one of them moved as the body was cleared out and the blood was cleaned off the tile floor. The smell of the harsh chemicals burned her nose, but she had seen everything.
"Everyone out! NOW!"
Everyone shuffled out of the office and she heard the door close behind her, followed by the sound of the lock clicking into place. She was trapped.
"Sit down, Coraline. We need to talk."
She knew by the tone of his voice that he was no longer in father mode. He was in business mode and she was in trouble. She had a sense of foreboding danger seize her heart as she gazed up at him, before breaking eye contact and looking down at her hands.
"Look at me, Coraline."
His voice was icy and seething, as his dark eyes burned into hers.
"What you witnessed tonight was not for your eyes. Why did you disobey me and come into my office without knocking? You know better than that. I raised you to know better. Why did you disobey me?"
He came around the desk and stood in front of her. His hands were clenched into fists as he tried to keep his wolf at bay.
Cora knew all about Alpha's and their wolves surfacing when they were quick to anger. This was no different and she whimpered quietly.
"I am sorry, daddy. I...I was just so excited...."
"Don't call me daddy. Right now you are just another member of my pack. Someone who has disregarded the rules and acted on impulse. Do you know what this means?"
His words came out through gritted teeth as he hissed at her.
She knew the pack rules for disrespecting her father, but she had never been held accountable for them before. Until now. She nodded.
"I can be subjected to being put in the cells, shackled with silver, or even collared for misbehavior. Even as your pup."
She saw a look of regret in his eyes momentarily before he covered it up.
"For the pack laws? Yes, that is true. Word for word true, but I am talking about something far more dangerous and the consequences of crossing into a world that you cannot go back from. No one is to ever know what you saw. I have a choice to make now. You have a choice."
He paused for a moment, appearing to gather his thoughts. Then he took a deep breath and continued.
"Coraline Paglione, you have two choices. So choose wisely. There is no going back. Choice number one......"
He lifted the gun off the desk and held it to her temple.
"You die for disobeying your father and entering a room without permission. Or...two..."
She heard the sound of him cocking the gun setting him up to pull the trigger.
"Two, you pledge your allegiance to me as your boss and you join me in my extracurricular activities. If you make the pledge, there is no going back. It is for life."
Cora closed her eyes trembling. She knew right then and there that her father was into some bad shit and she would have to join or die. She had no choice but to give him her answer. One that she was already regretting. One that in the future made her wish she had chosen the other option.
"I...will pledge my life to you as my boss and join you in your extracurricular activities."
The sound of the trigger hammer being put back in position and the feel of its ice-cold barrel being removed from her temple caused her to let out a breath that she had not realized that she was holding as she sunk back into the chair. The realization of what everything meant hit her hard.
She kept her eyes closed as tears slid down her cheeks. She was weak back then. Weaker than she should be. That was the last time she ever cried out of fear. That was also the last moment of her innocent childhood. That was the day she chose to live.
"That's daddy's good girl."
The words rang in her mind still to this day as she pulled herself out of her reverie and looked up at the man she had known as her father all these years. Their eyes connected. The color in both of their eyes had turned black.
"I Coraline Paglione, pledge my life and my soul to you, Alpha Anthony Paglione."
Three gasps sounded in the room as she stared at the man who had raised her.
"That's daddy's good girl," he whispered back.
Ana's POV Sitting next to her daughter she felt her heart break once more. The sweet beautiful child she had known was gone. In her place was this beautiful grown woman with a dark heart and a cold spirit. Her thoughts drifted back to the last day that she had held her precious daughter. The last day she had been able to breathe in her sweetness and cuddle the pup. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander back to that day. A day that she could never forget. Ana sat in the rocking chair rocking her daughter to sleep. It was a quiet night now that the rest of the pack were in their own homes or rooms in the castle. Her thoughts went to the beautiful redheaded pup in her arms and the memories of her birth made her smile. She gazed down at the small bundle in her arms. Alyssa had been a quiet little girl. She was sweet and loving to everyone she met. At least this was what Ana had observed in her pup. Alyssa loved the typical things other pups her age did. She could see the stren
The room remained a silent hush as she gazed at her father. The only man she ever remembered as her Alpha and her dad. After a moment everyone let out a breath and the couple was bound and escorted out of the room. They would not be allowed to see Coraline again. "NO!!" Cora tried to follow, but she was retrained as the only parents she had ever known was taken from the room. She looked helplessly over to the man that claimed to be her father and Alpha, her eyes narrowing as she spoke. The pain in her heart seemed to intensify as she glared at the wolf. "You can do what you want to me, but I will never be your daughter and you will never have my love, loyalty, or respect! I am a Paglione through and through and I will not betray my family!" The coldness in her eyes reflected the anger she felt inside. Her world had just been turned upside down and she had no idea what was happening. Why she had been brought here and why have so many packs been trying to take her Pack down? Once
The sun bore down through the window, waking Cora from a long restless night. Immediately she pulled the covers over her head and groaned in frustration. For a brief moment, she thought she was back at home as she felt Andrew pounce on the bed, calling her name. He bounced a few more times and then lifted the covers to peer underneath at her closed eyes and thinly pressed lips. His tiny body was wiggling all over the place as he desperately tried to get her attention. His high-pitched toddler voice broke the silence as he whined at her when she didn't respond immediately. "Come on Cor! I am hungry and I want to go down to breakfast. Please, hurry!" Cora was amazed at how he seemed to settle into his new surroundings and she moaned at him, ready to remind him who he was and where they came from. She didn't want him to forget he was a Paglione and that they didn't belong here. The frustration she had was silenced as she thought about the situation. That was another problem she was wo
Two weeks had passed since Cora and Andrew had arrived at the Royal Pack. Cora's plans to leave had evolved even more. They were not ready yet, but soon, she hoped. Jeffrey had hired the pack psychiatrist to work with Cora whenever she could. It was just simple things at first. Things to try and get her to remember anything. Anything at all. Catie was an Elder of the pack and she had known Cora when she was Alyssa. She had often reminisced about the sweet little girl that she remembered. She knew that Alyssa was this tall beautiful woman that she saw now. She just didn't know how to reach her yet. Today it was a doll. "Alyssa....erm...Cora, hold this and tell me what you are thinking. Cora sat on the couch in the sitting room in her suite. Andrew was in school once more and out of the suite for the day. Uncrossing her legs she leaned forward to take the item from the woman and then leaned back to stare at the doll. She was almost hoping that something would spark and that she wou
Eight years earlier. The Alpha King stood by the door of his office waiting for the young girl to enter. It had been a month since her parents had died and she wanted revenge on the rogues that did it. At thirteen she was one of the youngest and best fighters that he had. Not because she was stronger than his other warriors, but because she knew every move and how to execute it. She knew how to stay out of the reach of others that wanted to kill her. Still, in his eyes, even though she was still just a kid, he knew that she would be able to handle the adult mission that he was about to send her on. It was a long shot, but if it helped him find his daughter, the princess, then it would be worth it. The pint-sized child walked into his office and sat down when he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. He knew that she would want to take the mission he had planned out. Even though it was dangerous, he knew that she was like her parents and would never give up. When he sat down
Jesse stood in the doorway holding Andrew in her arms. A sight that Cora never thought she would see again. Truthfully, she thought that Jesse had been killed and that she would never be coming back. Sitting on the floor for a moment, Cora gazed at her best friend with pure shock in her big brown eyes. She was unable to move as she saw how tightly Andrew was hugging his mom. The two had always been close and Cora could see that Andrew was not letting go anytime soon as he had his face buried into his mother's neck with his fingers clinging to her hair. After a moment she was finally able to stand and run over to Jesse and wrap her arms around her neck in a tight hug. For a moment, she had forgotten that Jesse had betrayed their pack and that she had kept a secret from Cora for all this time. As she stepped back, she bit her bottom lip. She was torn between forgiving Jesse and turning her back on her. In her eyes, she was her best friend, but at the same time, she was a traitor an
The alarm sounded as everyone went crazy. The time that it took for her to make it to her bedroom door was half a second as she ran into the sitting room. Her eyes darted around as she entered. "What the hell?" The room was shut down tight. The windows now had metal sheeting and the door was also covered in metal. No one was getting in or out. The thing that surprised her the most was that everyone else was gone. Everyone, but Andrew. He sat on the couch with wide eyes and tears streaming down his cheeks. The poor child was terrified. She went to sit beside him and he crawled into her lap and buried his face in her neck. She rubbed his back gently, and the feeling of him shaking in her arms worried her. Where did they all go? She heard more slamming as the entrance to the hallway was closed off and the entrance to the kitchen as well. Now they were trapped in one room with nowhere to go. She could tell from the whining of her wolf that they were surrounded by even more silver a
"What happened to Auntie Cora, momma? Why won't she wake up?" The sound of Andrew's voice was so far away. She felt like she was in a tunnel and unable to get out. She could hear the hushed voices around her and the shushes when Andrew tried to ask questions. Everyone sounded worried. She could feel herself slowly regaining consciousness, but she felt weak and drained. Her mind was blank and she had no idea where she was or what had happened. Her overall being felt different. As if she felt a release like she had been set free. Little did she know, that others had gone literally mad when they had been through what she had. The bits and pieces of her memory that had been repressed for so many years had started to come back. They would be small and short at first. The vampire that compelled her had done a thorough job and only two things could break the compulsion that he had done on her. The vampire would have to reverse her compulsion or a traumatic experience that would shock her