Chapter 4

Davina

Alpha Atlas wasn’t only the ruler of Morningfall, but he was one of the strongest wolves in both the southern and the eastern territory, so strong that at the age of 19 he overtook two nations' alphas and merged them with Morningfall, even while his father’s reign had almost diminished the pack.

One would think that if he were rich and successful, he wouldn’t simply forget the debts owed by pack members during his father’s reign as ruler, but we were wrong. The first command he gave after his coronation was:

“Every debt must be paid back to the royal house, or defaulters would be banished.”

That was when my father informed me that my mother had borrowed millions of dollars from the royal treasury and ran away with it.

Now both of us are stuck with paying her debt or being banished as well.

The Alpha wasn’t particularly evil, but he ruled Morningfall with an iron fist. Everyone who had ever encountered him said he was a beast, a monster of a man.

“She’s the girl, right? That slut going around the pack begging for boys for a quickie,” I heard two adults talking to each other while pulling their child away from me.

I braced myself, trying not to break down. We had already been rounded up. All debtors holding the king’s loan were gathered in the hall, and we were told to wait for his arrival.

A lot of people here held their bags with them. They were prepared. No one knew if the king would give us another year’s grace. No one expected it.

But I came here on a mission.

I didn’t come here to collect insulting comments or have parents pull their children away or grown men wink at me. I came here to save my father. I don’t care if I am banished, but I am leaving with him alive and well.

That meant I wouldn’t leave tonight.

It also meant I couldn’t break down now, so I held myself, squared my shoulders, and moved further into the crowd, cutting through everyone until I could see the front of the hall where the king was supposed to address everyone.

Only this time I lowered my head and covered my face with my hair.

Soon the rattling in the room came to a halt, and without looking I could tell the king had appeared, the sudden surge of power arresting everyone in the room.

“People of Morningfall,” he began, his voice deep and surprisingly charming, strong enough to arouse my curiosity as I raised my head to see him.

The moment my eyes met his, my breath caught in my throat. I had never stood face to face with the king in my entire 21 years of being alive.

I had seen pictures of him, but I had never seen him in person.

Alpha Atlas looked like a sculpture made for lust itself. He was even more breathtaking than I imagined. Curly brown hair flowed down his back, his eyes were golden brown, and his frame clearly overshadowed everyone standing close to him.

He had a scar running from below his eye down to the top of his lip.

I wanted to touch it. There was no denying it. He looked fierce, and everyone, even his subordinates, went dead silent the moment he walked into the room.

For a short moment I was lost in the view, rid of all pain and worry. I just stared at him as he spoke to the crowd.

“The majority of you all standing in the hall will be sent away tonight because it has come to my knowledge that even though I have been nothing but merciful to everyone, some of you have chosen to play on my intelligence like you did my father.”

“I will not be that merciful. So if you hear your name, you walk up here, get your banishment mark, and are guided to the other chambers to be stripped and guarded out of the pack.”

“Dacoster Afterfall—”

The list of names and family debts made my heart beat faster and faster by the second.

“Segel Hawkmoon with Davina Hawkmoon,” I heard my name and my father’s being called. I couldn’t move my legs.

“Segel Hawkmoon and Davina Hawkmoon,” he repeated as his brows furrowed.

“Me, Alpha,” I said from the front of the crowd. The moment he laid his eyes on me, his brow tightened and he stepped toward me, making me falter backward.

“My father is sick. He has been rushed to the hospital, and I came here alone because I need your help.” The crowd mumbled loudly, some even laughing.

“Oh, the slut.”

“Yes, that girl is a slut,” someone yelled from behind. I almost felt like crying, but I held myself up again.

“Silence!” he commanded in his alpha tone, and the room went dead silent. Even if a pin dropped, it would be heard.

I braced myself again and continued my speech. “I do not have the final installment for my debt, not because I didn’t want to pay back but because I was fired two hours ago. I would have asked for extra time to pay you back, but all I am asking is time for my sick father to heal and I promise we will leave this pack. But I beg you, don’t make me a lone rogue wolf.”

I almost dropped to my knees.

A flicker of softness appeared in his eyes, then he turned to the silent crowd, all anticipating his action.

“Davina Hawkmoon?” he asked. I nodded.

“Welcome.”

A smirk appeared on his face. His eyes darkened, and confusion flooded my mind.

“What?”

He then turned to the guards standing beside him, clearly mind-linking something to them.

Three of his guards stood up. My first thought was that he was going to have them haul me out of the building or use me as an example. Instead, he stepped down from the pedestal, and the crowd parted for me.

“Follow us,” one of the guards said as they guided me through the hall.

What does he mean?