Cherished Hatred

ARIA

I was standing in Alpha Blaze's office and stared at him in shock, hoping that I misheard his words. I knew that Blaze had always hated me, but he was also my brother, and I naively hoped that having the same blood running in our veins would stop him from causing me harm. I might have been wrong about that. Jack Stonewood—Blaze's Beta, my aunt—Ramona, and two men that came from the Blood Shadow Pack all had their eyes on me as my brain hectically processed what was happening.

"I said that you will become Alpha Kestrel's new wife," Blaze repeated, his mouth curving into a vicious smirk.

I couldn't help the peal of hysteric laughter that escaped my throat. "You are kidding, right?"

Jack stepped closer to me and slapped my cheek hard, making me stumble back. "Show some respect to your Alpha," he hissed.

I could feel my wolf scratching angrily, more than eager to surface, but I had to calm her down. This wasn't a fight I could win. My cheek was already getting swollen, and that shithead, Jack, was giving me a mocking stare. He was one of the best warriors our Silver Blood Pack had, and I was more than aware that going against him meant suicide. Yet, I couldn't help a low snarl that squeezed through my throat and my eyes flashing crimson at the sign of my frustration and anger.

Blaze burst into laughter. "You see?" He turned to the two wolves from the Blood Shadow Pack. "She is more than just the face of an angel, but I can assure you that she could be tamed, and she's a virgin."

My blood boiled in seconds. How could he talk about my lack of sex life in front of those strangers and Jack the asshole?! It was more humiliating by the second. The Blood Shadow Pack wolves chuckled; one of them licked his lips, looking at me. This couldn't be happening. I felt as if I had entered a nightmare!

"I can't get married. I just turned eighteen. I didn't even participate in the mating ball. Please, reconsider it, brother…" My shaky voice betrayed my increasing inner panic. I looked at my brother pleadingly, hoping he wouldn't think of destroying my life for once.

Blaze's smile disappeared as he stated, making sure that I would feel the authority in his voice, "My decision is final. Alpha Kestrel is coming here in eight days. Then you will get married."

"No... please…" I muttered, desperately looking around the room and hoping that someone would fix this ridiculous situation. My breathing rate increased, my wolf shifting restlessly and whimpering.

Aunt Ramona walked my way and patted my shoulder. She was my mother's sister. When Mom died, Ramona promised to fill her place and help raise Blaze and me. Except for the fact that she had never cared about me since she was too devoted to raising the future Alpha. "This is for the best, deary," she said, nodding her head as if she was preaching.

"Best for who?!" I snapped, tears gathering in my eyes.

She took a deep breath, a faint smile painting her lips. "Our pack needs protection, and the Blood Shadow Pack will give us everything we need."

"And I'm the price?!" I groaned, trembling more by the second.

"It's your duty as an Alpha's daughter to take care of your pack, is it not?" she asked calmly.

I was everything but calm. "We have an Alpha King to protect us! Why the hell would we need anyone else?!" I couldn't understand the need for this alliance. We didn't need anyone's help when father was still alive.

She chuckled softly and stroked my hair. "Our business needs a special kind of protection. Besides, it is a privilege to become Alpha Kestrel's wife. You will become a Luna of a very powerful pack."

My eyes flickered red again. My hands fisted, my claws digging into the flesh of my palms, yet I stayed silent as I realized my words wouldn't change anything.

Ramona patted my swollen cheek as if she reminded me of my place in this pack. "I wish I could be in your place, little, silly Aria, but it turns out you are perfect for this position.” Her lips form a smile, but all I could sense was a mockery. “Alpha Kestrel deeply cherishes girls' purity. His wife needs to be a virgin, and it is kind of a blessing that you were never interested in boys…" She giggled with a hint of nonchalance which infuriated me even more.

Snickers filled the room. All eyes were on me, ridiculing my innocence. How could I agree to that marriage?! This would be even worse than my life in this pack that I hated! I was seconds away from crying. It was unfair, and I couldn't even kick their asses for it! I roared as loud as I could as a sign of my desperate protest. They all laughed even harder as they saw tears in my eyes, and all I could do was act like some sulking teenager. I turned around, walked out of Blaze's office, and slammed the door as I left.

I ran out of the packhouse crying. How could they do this to me?! How could they treat me like something they could sell?! How could they strip me of a chance to find my true mate?! I was the Alpha's daughter, but right now I felt as if I was ranked below omegas. I felt humiliated, I felt helpless, and I was furious.

I was the one who was born with the Seymour family's blessed features—silver hair, a sign of unique strength and wisdom! The Moon Goddess had chosen me to become the heir of the family! But that could never happen in my pack. Why? Because I was born a she-wolf and like all the other she-wolves in the Silver Blood Pack I wasn't allowed to practice martial arts or run any kind of business! Seriously, we were like the nineteenth-century village where feminism was unheard of!

I ran straight into the forest and shifted, ripping every piece of clothing I had on me in the process. I couldn't care less. At that moment, I needed to run. I needed to feel free. Even if it was just a temporary illusion of freedom. I howled, releasing my inner rage, and ran faster and faster until I found myself outside the pack's territory. I hadn't planned to go this far; I did it unknowingly as if my wolf spirit guided me here.

Should I escape? Should I leave my pack and become a rogue wolf? No. I heard that the wolves living outside their packs were bloodthirsty murderers, rapists, or thieves. I would never survive among them. I wouldn't be able to find shelter in other packs either. I was certain that Blaze would have been willing to spend a fortune just to bring me back to the pack. I hated my life...

"I knew it was you!" I heard a familiar, warm voice and laughter. "Your howl scared all the birds out of the forest." I turned toward the sound and saw Harriet standing a few feet away from me. "Come to my cabin, Aria," she said, gesturing at me to follow her.

Harriet was an old witch, although I had never asked how old she was. She had long grey hair that she always tied up in a cute granny's bun, and mesmerizing green eyes surrounded by tiny wrinkles, which only added warmth to her expression. Whenever I saw her, she kept wearing long black or dark-brown gowns, and I teased her that I would once buy her a pointy hat to complete her look, resembling a fairytale witch.

I met Harriet a few years ago when I saved her from a group of rogues. Well, I didn't do much. I ran out of the woods in my wolf form and growled. Because my wolf was larger than most of the wolves, those rogues must have assumed that I was an alpha. They ran away. Since then, Harriet had been my friend and a shoulder to cry on.

Harriet lived two miles outside our pack's territory. I followed her to her cabin and stopped on the threshold. She entered first and brought me one of her long gowns and a pair of sandals. "Wear this, and come inside for tea," she said.

I shifted back in an instant and put on the clothes she had given me. I walked inside her wooden home, passed the short corridor, and entered the kitchen.

She was standing by the oven with a kettle in her hand. Her chin motioned, pointing to the table. "Sit down. The tea will be ready in a minute."

I nodded and sat down without saying a single word. She narrowed her eyes at me, scanning my trembling body. "What happened?" she asked, leaning over me.

"I'm getting married!" I burst into tears.

Harriet rolled her eyes. She turned off the oven, put back the cups in the cupboard, and pulled out glasses instead. A minute later, she poured me a full glass of one of her homemade liquor infusions, and I was telling her about everything that had happened in Blaze's office.

Harriet placed her hand on top of mine and patted it gently. "I'm so sorry, darling. Your brother is a real dick... But you know what? You need to speak up for yourself! You are an alpha's child just like he is! He may be your pack's alpha right now, but that doesn't give him the right to hurt you!" she stated agitatedly.

I kept weeping. "But I'm too weak to stand against him…"

"Bullshit!" she thundered. "You keep concentrating on muscle strength, but you have a fine working brain and mouth, don't you? Why couldn't you use those?"

I shook my head, sniffing. "Once I opened my mouth, this happened." I pointed at my cheek, swollen from Jack's slap.

Harriet sighed and gave me a sympathetic smile. "There may truly be no verbal arguments you could use, but there has to be a way to avoid this marriage... Your brother and aunt said that you are a perfect candidate for this guy's wife, but perhaps you should stop being one?" She shot me a mischievous smirk.

I blinked my eyes at her and blushed. "Y-you mean that I should just... sleep with someone?"

She chuckled. "I'm not suggesting anything, but don't tell me that you haven't thought about it already."

I emptied my glass of liquor in one go. Of course, I thought about losing my virginity, but I also knew that I would rather risk becoming the wife of this old alpha than let any of those bastards from my pack touch me. Besides, even if I found someone fairly acceptable, my brother would make sure he would never touch me. Nonetheless, by the time Harriet and I emptied the bottle, I realized that I might not have other options. It might be the most stupid idea I had ever come up with, but it was also the only reasonable way to solve my marriage problem…

I didn't know how or with whom, but I, Aria Seymour, became determined to lose my damn virginity within a week.