Chapter 1

Elaina

“Lay your hands on me, and I will make sure it’s your last action,” my voice is harsh as I glare at the warriors.

Their eyes flicker with hesitation, and fear is etched on their faces. Guilt tugs at my small chest. I hated to wield my father’s position like a weapon. But tonight, I must. Tonight, I will.

Because I can’t give them the chance to mate me off against my own will. Worst of all, I can’t let them mate me to Alpha Darien.

The warriors stumbled aside, and I grabbed hold of the heavy handles of the council chamber doors. Metals groaned loudly as I shoved them open, and the room instantly fell quiet.

Everyone’s gaze snapped to me.

The high platform encircling the entire chamber casts long shadows onto the center, seats were filled with high-ranking wolves and few other faces I didn’t recognize. But at the far end of the room, there was a throne elevated above them all. My father.

“Because you are my daughter,” Alpha stone’s voice cuts through the air like a whip, “does not give you the right to barge into my meeting, Elaina.”

My throat tightens as my father’s words threaten to strangle me. I forced my legs forward till I was standing right in the center of the chamber, my shoes clicking against the floor way too loudly. My heart pounded violently like a frantic prisoner trying to escape his cell.

Every instinct in me screamed for me to apologize, to say I had entered by mistake. But I knew deep down, I didn’t come here by mistake.

“I won’t be mated to him,” my voice trembled, but the words were out already.

Alpha stone leaned back into his chair, his lips curling into the smile I hated the most. The cold, empty, and cruel expression that sent shivers down my spine. “You will do whatever I tell you to, my sweet girl.”

There. Those haunted phrases. My sweet girl. There is a lie hidden in every syllable. The truth was that ever since my mother died years ago, I have been nothing but bitterness to him. In front of others, he says these sweet words, but behind closed doors I am nothing but a rag doll to be dealt with whenever his temper burns.

“No,” I whispered. The words he hated most.

His features hardened, and the chamber grew thick with tension. “Think carefully, Elaina. Alpha Darien is already within the walls of creekwood. Your mating ceremony is set in stone. Tomorrow, you are going to leave with him whether you like it or not.”

Anger surged through me, burning hot and reckless. My knuckles ached by how tightly I held them. “I know why you are doing this.”

He scoffs. “For the betterment of the pack, of course. Even you can’t deny it.”

I shook my head, fist trembling. “No, you are doing this because I am wolfless. Because you can’t stand the fact that I’m your child.”

The words slash the air like a blade. A gasp escaped one of the elders as whispers began to stir like rising smoke.

I’ve said it. I’ve actually just said the forbidden words out loud. What was I thinking? I have just spoken aloud the secret my father has tried to bury all these years.

That secret is me; my dormant wolf.

My father shifts in his throne, his expression unreadable. For a flickering moment, I had thought he was going to leap down and strike me like he has done in the past. But instead—

“Borris. Matheus.” His voice rang out in a cold command. And the warriors at the entrance snapped to the attention of their Alpha.

“Drag her out. And if you hesitate again, I will have your hands severed for failure.”

They rushed to me and I thrashed against their grip. “Don’t you dare—”

But they dare. They seized my arms, lifting me like I weighed nothing. The council watched in silence as I was hauled across the floor, my feet kicking, dignity stripped, fury clawing at my chest.

They threw me out into the corridor. My body smacked hard against the concrete floor. Pain exploded through my skin, but I forced myself to sit upright, my voice heavy with fury. “I will stop this mating ceremony if it’s the last thing I do!”

But the door slammed shut against my words.

For a long moment, I sat there. My breath ragged, shame and fury tangling in my chest as I stare at the door. My father humiliated me in front of them, and would still give me away like a property in front of them.

But if Alpha Darien is here, then maybe I still have a chance. Maybe if I tell him about my inability to transform, then he will refuse the bond.

I rose to my feet, brushing invisible dirt off my dress. Determination hardened my steps as I turned the corner towards the guest wing.

The corridor is dim with only a few lanterns flickering. I had expected to meet a line of warriors guarding the guest wing since he was the Alpha to another pack, but to my utter surprise, the hallway was terrifyingly empty.

A foreboding sensation hung in the air as I inch closer to where I believe was his room. The more I walked closer, the more my heart threatened to leap out of my rib cage.

I whispered a string of prayers to the moon goddess. I hoped this night would be the one when my destiny changed for the better. Maybe if he listens and becomes disinterested in me, then my father would give up trying to find a mate for his wolfless daughter.

If Alpha Darien listens, I might still be free.

I pushed the door open, but then, I froze at the sight of what I saw.

The scent hits afterwards, the air inside the room tangled with heat, lust, and betrayal. Then I saw the movements. Tangled sheets. Bodies pressed dangerously close. Alpha Darien’s voice. Melissa’s laugh.

My step mother and the person I’m supposed to be mated with tomorrow, their bodies were entwined like honeysuckle vine during spring time.

“Oh, yes ... .darien, just like that,” Melissa moans, her eyes rolling into her head as she rides a wave of pleasure.

Bile rises in my throat just by the sight of their naked bodies ramming into each other. I had to seal my lips with my palm to stop myself from giving away my unnoticed presence.

My father wouldn’t even believe me if I told him. And tomorrow, I will be bound to a man who already belongs to another.