Chapter 3

Mira

I was halfway down the hallway before I realized I was barefoot and in my nightgown. The maid had shrieked after me, but I’d panicked.

I had to find Tyler. I’d explain everything, and he would know what to do – he always knew what to do.

I almost turned down the hallway towards his room, but skidded to a stop when I heard the voices of other maids. I hid around the corner, back pressed against the wall.

“No, it can’t be Amber,” one maid said. “The Alpha said she’s blonde!”

“Well she has blonde highlights,” another maid replied.

“Yeah, and brown eyes,” the first said. “The Lycan King’s mate has blue eyes!”

“Lots of she-wolves have blonde hair and blue eyes,” a third maid pointed out. “I heard she’s supposed to have freckles, though. And you know who has freckles?”

I wanted to throw up. Only one she-wolf in the pack had blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles – me. My legs shook under me, and, before I could collapse to the ground, I turned around and ran back to my room.

I slammed the door behind me and pressed my head against it, whimpering.

No, no, no, no!

A tiny part of me had still hoped it was a coincidence. I’d hoped that the man last night was a random visitor from the Lycan King’s guard and that the Lycan King had somehow found his second chance mate at the same time. Now, that seemed like a silly hope.

Valen Montclair, the Lycan King – I was impossibly unlucky to be his mate.

Valen was a violent, temperamental ruler. Other wolves said that, after the death of his first wife, he’d become mad with grief. They said he’d killed more than a dozen guards at a royal banquet because the tablecloths were the color of her eyes; another time, he’d beaten a servant to death with his bare hands just for coughing during a meeting.

There were too many rumors to count. And he was my fated mate?

Everyone whispered that Valen had been hunting for his second chance mate for so long, it was unlikely he’d ever find her. I’d believed them. Like most, I thought that might be for the best so that some poor woman didn’t have to suffer being his mate.

Oh Goddess…what am I going to do? I can’t do this!

A firm knock came at the door, then. I lifted my head and took a breath, trying to calm myself.

I opened the door just a sliver, arm wrapped protectively around myself. There stood the maid who had brought me my breakfast, eyes wide with concern.

“Mira,” she started awkwardly, “the Alpha wishes to see you.”

I nervously peered both ways down the hallway.

“It’s really not a good time,” I whispered, fearing my voice would carry and the Lycan King would hear me.

“It’s urgent,” the maid pushed, taking my hand. “We must go to his office immediately.”

As I looked into her eyes, I could tell she was scared, just like I was. I closed my eyes tight, biting my lip. I couldn’t force another girl to be punished because I was being a coward.

I opened my eyes again, trying my hardest to look confident.

“Alright,” I said. “Just let me get dressed.”

I stood in front of the doors to my father’s office, rubbing my arm. I didn’t know what to say to him, but I knew I had to ask him for help. He was the Alpha, after all; if anyone could help me, it would be my father.

I inhaled deeply one last time before steeling myself and knocking.

“Enter,” his gravely voice came.

Inside, my father sat behind his oak desk, hands neatly folded. The only sound in the large, circular room was the fire crackling behind his desk.

“Sit,” he ordered. I swallowed, eyes dropping as I walked to the chair in front of his desk. My father was a fair but stern leader, and his business-like demeanor made it hard to tell if he was upset or excited.

I rasped, “Good morning father.”

“Where were you last night Mira?”

I froze, my eyes shooting up to his. “I…I was at the party,” I said nervously.

“You left to look for Tyler. What happened when you did?”

I stared at him, too scared to admit what had happened. A tense moment passed, the crackling of the fire uncomfortably filling the silence.

“Mira,” he said more firmly. “Answer me.”

“Father, please–”

“Now, Mira.”

I looked back down at my hands, which were now shaking. I couldn’t lie to him.

“I went to a room someone told me Tyler was in,” I admitted. “But he wasn’t there.”

“Who was in the room?” he pressed.

“I think…” I swallowed. “I think it was the Lycan King. I think he’s looking for me.”

Tears welled in my eyes as I said it out loud. Somehow, it made everything seem more real.

“Please father!” I said, voice breaking. “You have to help me hide! You can’t let him find me!”

“You know I can’t do that,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“But you’re the Alpha!” I begged.

“Mira, we have to think about what’s best for our family and for the pack. If you’re his mate, then you must go to him.”

“But I already have a husband!” I exclaimed, tears streaming down my face. “You’re here; Ethan and Molly and Amber are here. I won’t leave everyone I love to be with that bastard!”

“Silence!” my father snarled in his powerful Alpha voice. I froze, unable to move under the influence of my Alpha’s power. He’d never used his Alpha voice on me; my heart cracked as I felt his order take over my will.

“You will go to the Lycan King,” he ordered. “You will be sent off to him today, and you will honor our family with pride. Valen does not know you are a newlywed, and I intend to keep it that way.”

He stood and walked around his desk, standing directly in front of me now. He placed his hands on my shoulders, staring deep into my eyes.

“I will deal with Tyler, but you must understand, our family needs this alliance with the Lycan King,” he said, softer this time. “You must go to your mate.”

He let go of my shoulders then and stepped towards the door. I didn’t look up as I heard him say to a servant, “Prepare her. I want her sent to Valen within the hour.”

I had no choice but to obey.

I didn’t cry the entire drive to the royal palace. I stared out the window of the car, not really seeing the landscape pass as it passed by.

A faint ache throbbed in my chest. The Alpha, my own father, had forced his will upon me to make me go to the Lycan King. I had never imagined he could do something so heartless.

I looked up at the royal palace as the car pulled to a stop. It looked more like a medieval prison than a palace.

The driver opened the car door for me, and my body moved against my will as I stood. A man dressed as a butler waited on the steps, cold eyes looking me up and down.

“My name is Mira, and I’ve been sent from Eclipse Pack,” I said, voice mine, though the words weren’t. “The Lycan King is expecting me.”

“I know who you are,” the butler said in a clipped tone. “We will see if Master Montclair confirms what you are tonight. Come.”

He turned towards the palace, and I had no choice but to follow.