Forced To Be His Bride. Fated To Be His Mate.

[Denali’s POV]“Mommy,” I whimper, hanging on to my mother’s limp hand. “Please don’t go. Don’t leave me.”Tears stream down my face as I stare ahead, taking in my mother, who lies motionless in the hospital bed. Behind me, I can hear my father speaking with the doctors about my mother’s recent diagnosis, but I try to block them out.“You’re going to be fine.”For years, my mother has been sick. Her illness was so constant that this was truly the only way that I knew her. For as long as I could remember, she was in and out of the hospital, and with each passing year, her stays grew longer and longer until finally, she wasn’t able to come home.Six months had passed since that day, and no matter what the doctors tried, she just kept getting worse and worse until she was how she was now. In the end, she became a husk of the woman she once was, even when sick.“Please, goddess,” I whisper, tightening my hold on her hand. “Please don’t take my mommy.”How could I possibly continue on with

[Denali’s POV]“Dad!”Anastasia’s shocked exclamation fills the area around us and causes my father to snap out of his shocked daze. Of course, she would have an issue with being sent away to goddess knew where.“Wait!” He gasps, drawing the man’s attention to himself in order to save his precious daughter. “Anastasia can’t. She’s…”“Already mated to someone!” She says quickly, pulling Alexander against herself. “I can’t possibly go anywhere when I've already found my fated one, but Denali is single, and she's a great choice."As she speaks, she motions toward me and gives a brilliant smile that I know is all for the show.“That’s correct,” my father agrees, coming to her aid. “Anastasia is also still very young and wouldn’t make a good bride.”“Bride?” I hiss, suddenly understanding what is going on here. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but a bride wasn't it. “Father, who is she supposed to be marrying?”My head was spinning from how quickly things turned from good to bad, but wi

[Denali’s POV]After that day, I fell into the rhythm of waiting each night in the bridal chamber for my ‘husband’ to appear, even though he never does. And despite my protests, his butler insisted I stay there so that when he returned, we could consummate our wedding.When I wasn’t waiting for Rosco to make his appearance, I was busy helping the maids to at least try to make myself useful. At least when I was cleaning something, I didn’t have to be alone with my thoughts.Despite the embarrassment of looking like a fool who desperately wanted to see their new spouse, things weren’t bad, at least compared to how my life was in Emerald Moon. Even his parents, who visited with me regularly, were nice, and before I knew it, six months had passed with no incidents.“Please deliver these to the master's room,” Bianca, the head maid, announces, throwing blankets at me. “He has returned.”Eyes widening, I take in her words in disbelief. Had I heard her correctly? Rosco finally returned after

[Rosco's POV]I stare down at Denali, waiting as she looks from me to my crotch, which is at eye level with her. From her actions, I know she knows exactly what it is that I want her to do, but she doesn't move. Was this some sort of joke on her part? Did she truly think I would believe a thing she said or did?"What?" I ask, getting even angrier over her innocent act. "Are you going to try to pretend to be innocent?"It was bullshit; she thought anyone would believe she was anything more than a slut given her reputation. To act like she wasn't was only riling me up even more."I..." she begins, reaching out shaky hands to start to fumble with my belt. "I don't…""Don't what?" I snap. "You don't want to please your husband? Am I not good enough for you? Or do you have some other man in mind? If that is the case, you might as well go ahead and forget it. The minute you signed that form, you became mine, and if you so much as dare touch another man, I'll kill him while you watch."Fuck,

[Denali's POV]I look from Rosco to his father and back while any sense of hope that things would become better recedes."Don't worry," I continue, forcing a smile. "I won't cause trouble and will leave quietly."It pained me to say this, knowing what was on the line, but I was humiliated, insulted, and shown that this whole ordeal wasn't Rosco's wish. Because of that, I couldn't possibly stick around since I knew it would only cause more discord."Thank you for the kindness you've shown me these past six months." I continue, fighting the tears that want to come. "I really appreciated it."Done speaking, I turn and make my way out of the room while the two men continue to stare at me. However, neither moved to stop me, further confirming that they truly didn't care if I stayed or if I went.Letting out a shaky breath, I make my way downstairs and then out the door of the large mansion.Above, the sky is a sickly green, and lightning flashes, indicating that a storm was brewing, and I