1. Ruined

Chapter One

Nina

Suddenly, his icy fingers grabbed my arm as I inched towards the darkness.

“Father ! Please , don’t do this to me . My whole life is going to be ruined…I’m begging you father,please!“ I cried out,finding it hard to hide with my long legs underneath my medium sized  bed.

“You can’t run away from this, you are already 19 years old, don’t be such  a heartless spoiled brat. Stop misbehaving,come out right now to meet and greet your future husband properly!“ barked father dragging me from under the bed with so much force that his hand left a red swollen mark on my bare arms.  

“Father , we have always heard terrible rumors about him. I’m just going to be one of his sex slaves! Alpha Lucas is a heartless beast and he is much worse than his wicked father” I pleaded with him, trying to make him understand amidst the tears that are now freely rolling down my face.

“You are here complaining instead of you to be grateful , most of the ladies in the Moonlight pack already have their mates at the age of  18 but look at you at 19 years old and not even a low ranking omega has come to claim you as his mate! You are such a disgrace to this family!” The bitter words he spat with so much rage shattered my heart into a thousand pieces.

I have known my father to be a tough man which is a necessary trait for a man in our world but regardless he has always been a devout and caring man to mother, Nathan, my twin brother and I but this scary side of him is making me question the man I grew up to know.

“Father , I’m trying my best to make you and mother proud….look, look father …” I said, yanking my arms away from his painful grasp and walking across my room to open my purple backpack and bring out a hard copy of the university acceptance letter into the department of nursing I received earlier on while I was at the clinic where I volunteer.

What’s this rubbish?” He asked, looking at the piece of paper with an irritated scowl on his face.

“I got accepted to study nursing under full scholarship because of my good grades and volunteering activities. You know this has been my dream and I promise to study hard to graduate ,come back home and help in taking care of all the sick werewolves in our Moonlight Pack …”

Before I could finish talking, father roughly yanked the letter from my hands and tore it into tiny pieces right in front of me.

“No, no!” I bent down trying to gather the piece of  paper when I felt a painful hard kick in my stomach and then another one around my diaphragm. It felt like my lungs had a spasm, like it was on fire and I was finding it hard to breathe in between the pain and choking tears.

“Take it easy on her , what will the Alpha King and Alpha Lucas think of us when they hear this commotion ?” I heard my mother's quiet voice as she hugged me from behind,I didn't notice when she slipped into the room.

“Woman, you didn’t teach her about her duties well! We trained and kept her to be a pure virgin, gave her everything on a platter of gold and when it’s her time to repay us …she is talking about college and trash when she should be with her husband , submitting to him, mating and producing heirs for him!” Father  barked at mother who just kept whimpering quietly, I felt her hands shaking as she hugged me tighter.

“I’m going to leave you two, to go and apologize to Alpha Lucas for your stupid behavior.  Woman ,speak some sense into this ungrateful brat! I shouldn’t have been soft with you and handled you with an iron fist from the onset!“ Father hissed, banging the door on his way out.

“Mother , please help me out. I’m scared, I can’t marry Alpha Lucas “ I whispered, turning to face my mother who also looks pale , sad and helpless.

She sighed, turning to face me and cleaning off the mucus and wet drool on my face with her bare slender hands while giving me a small sad smile.

“You have to do it Nina, you’re lucky Alpha Lucas is a young man ,an eligible bachelor, an heir to the Moonlight Pack and not some old or low ranking man. We women don’t have a choice…his father is sick and thinks it’s about time his son marries and produces an heir, your father has political ties which makes you a suitable bride plus you’re beautiful, pure…”

 “I can’t  believe these words are coming from your lips mother, you should be protecting me from this beast! And not defending them with these silly excuses!” I shouted, getting really angry at her.

“Don’t shout at me and don’t you dare call your future husband a beast! We have performed our duty as parents to you in this cruel world.It’s  now your time to repay us with yours…this marriage will make your father and brother’s rank higher in the Pack, we will be respected and have more political power. Most importantly, the hideous debts of your gambling father will be paid too”

“I don’t want to hear it , leave my room…” I shouted pointing my hands towards the door. 

“Nina, think about it…”

“Mother please leave!” I shouted standing up from my bent position and walking her out ,banging the door hard then bolting it behind her.

Of course mother will always support father, she is very gentle and submissive, always saying yes to father’s command,she doesn’t have a mind of her own ,always waiting for fathers orders before she acts  and when did father indulge in debts, we aren’t extremely rich but we were doing okay and never had money issues till this latest revelation.  

I knew my instinct were right earlier on ,my gut kept telling me that something terrible was about to happen the moment I came back home from the clinic where I volunteer as a nurse assistant with the good news of my acceptance letter when I sighted the five black limited edition luxurious cars parked in our driveway and several moonlight Delta soldiers in black suit standing on guard around the house.

I rushed into the living room with my heart beating fast with worry , hoping that none of my family member is hurt in anyway only for me  to see father,Nathan ,the old yet rugged looking Alpha King of Moonlight Pack and his son in what looks like a serious discussion over the most expensive wine in the house, all eyes turned to me the moment I stepped in , I bowed to greet them out of respect to the Alpha king of Moonlight Pack.

“She will do” was the only thing the Alpha King of Moonlight said , his menacing eyes and the way that he was openly checking my body out made the hair on my arms stand.

“Nina, meet your fiancé Alpha Lucas' ' said father with a proud grin plastered on his chubby face. I lifted my eyes to look at the beast I have heard so much about looking at me with a smirk and a calculated look on his face,it felt as if I was some kind of prey in a dirty game.

I gasped in shock and ran out of the room on impulse, my heart beating really fast at the realisation that my life is about to be thrown into shackles. With nowhere to hide, I slipped under my bed when I heard fathers footsteps behind me…

“Knock knock knock here, I’m coming in Nina” came Nathan’s voice interrupting my thoughts, of course he can come in,the room has a spare key.

I cleaned my teary face , turning my face and looking at the entrance of our modest  mansion through the window of my room where I can see the shadow of father and mother wishing my supposed in-laws farewell before the cars zoomed off in an intimidating convoy. 

“Your wedding has been fixed for tomorrow Nina , Alpha Lucas thinks you are sweet”  said Nathan as if the later part of the sentence could mend my broken heart.

“They can’t do this to me Nathan! It’s  too early , besides It’s my life and you have to help me escape this hellhole I’m about to enter!” I pleaded with my twin brother,crying on my knees and begging him to find a way to save and help me escape.