Chapter Two

Melissa

I walked into the house with my clothes torn and dirty from the shift the night before, but the silence I hoped for was instantly shattered by my aunt’s voice.

"Where the hell are you coming from?" Aunt Leyla screamed as she looked up from the small plastic bowl she was holding.

She was trying to feed my three-year-old cousin Zara, but the toddler was pushing the spoon away and refusing to eat the tasteless mixture her mother had prepared.

I didn't answer her as I just wanted to get to my room and forget that the last twenty-four hours had happened. I tried to walk past them, but Aunt Leyla stood up and blocked my path with a scowl that twisted her face.

"Oh, so you just ignore me now?" she sneered as she shoved the spoon into the bowl. "You ran off to hide your face in shame after Kelan blatantly chose your friend over you, and now you come back here looking like a stray dog."

The mention of his name made the tears threaten to fall again, so I pushed past her and rushed into my room before she could see me break down.

I slammed the door and locked it before I stripped off the ruined red dress. I rushed into the shower and scrubbed my skin raw, wanting to wash away the feeling of Kelan’s betrayal and the memory of everyone laughing at me.

I sank into the bed after I dried off, and sleep took me immediately as my body was exhausted from the worst experience of my life.

It felt like I had only closed my eyes for a minute when a loud banging on the door jolted me awake.

"Melissa, come out for dinner now!" my aunt screamed from the other side of the wood.

I groaned and threw the duvet off my legs before I picked up my phone to check the time. I saw twenty missed calls from Kelan, but I ignored them and walked out to the dining room.

Zara was crying in her high chair while holding a toy, so I picked her up and bounced her on my hip to soothe her as I walked toward the table.

"Good evening," I greeted my aunt and her husband as I took my seat.

My uncle reached out and took Zara from my arms, so I could eat, and that was when I noticed we weren't alone.

I stopped when my eyes met an aged man in his forties who was sitting at the head of the table where Uncle Zarek used to sit. He looked at me with a happiness that made my stomach turn, and he didn't look away even when I frowned.

"Meet Alpha Draven," Aunt Leyla introduced him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "He is the Alpha of Dark Moon Valley, and he is a widower who has a son about your age."

"Good evening," I greeted him stiffly as I settled down to eat the meager portion of food on my plate.

Alpha Draven nodded at me and continued eating, but his eyes kept darting toward me every few seconds.

My aunt began to speak about the pack and how it flourished under the current leadership, but my attention wasn't there as my phone had started vibrating in my pocket again.

It was Kelan calling nonstop.

I reached into my pocket and silenced the device because I didn't want to hear his voice or his lies ever again.

"So we have come to an agreement," Aunt Leyla announced loudly to pull my attention back to the table. "Alpha Draven has bought you as his wife and property."

I froze with the spoon halfway to my mouth.

"So you will be going to his pack with him tonight," she added casually as if she were talking about the weather.

The words hit me so hard that I inhaled sharply and began to cough as the air got stuck in my throat. I choked and grabbed the glass of water to clear my airway while I looked at her in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" I asked her when I could finally speak. "What do you mean he bought me?"

"I mean exactly what I said," Aunt Leyla replied as she cut her meat. "You will have to marry Draven, and in fact, you are already married to him as he has paid us already."

I looked at the old man who was smiling at me like I was a prize he had just won at a carnival.

"How could you sell me to a man who is more than twice my age?" I questioned her as I stood up from the table. "He is old enough to be my father!"

I began to cry as this nightmare just wouldn't end.

"What would you have us do, Melissa?" Aunt Leyla slammed her fork down and glared at me. "You were supposed to become the mate of the Alpha heir Kelan, and that was our ticket out of this misery."

"I didn't choose for him to reject me," I defended myself.

"But you sabotaged it somehow because he chose that girl Cindy instead of you," she countered with venom in her tone. "Now you just want to keep incurring debts for us while we feed you, but I won't allow it."

"I won't do it," I stated as I wiped my face.

"I am not going anywhere with him!" I screamed and turned to walk out of the dining room.

I heard her chair scrape against the floor as she followed me into the hallway.

"You can't just walk away from this!" she yelled.

"I can and I will!" I screamed back as I turned to face her. "I can't marry him!"

Aunt Leyla didn't speak. She just raised her hand and gave me a resounding slap that echoed through the small house.

I held my cheek and looked at her in shock. She had never hit me before.

"You have an hour to pack your bags and meet us in the living room. You leave with him tonight," she ordered me as she pointed a shaking finger at my face. "Do not test me, Melissa."

She turned around and walked back to the dining room where the men were waiting.

I ran to my room and collapsed on the floor as I began to cry. I thought of running away, but I realized there was no way I could leave the house without them seeing me.

My uncle had thought it was economical to have just one door in the house and many passageways, so the only exit was the front door right next to the living room where they were sitting.

I had no money, no car, and nowhere to go.

I grabbed my suitcase and threw my few belongings inside with aggressive movements. I packed everything I owned in less than thirty minutes because I didn't have much left to take.

I dragged the bag out to the living room where Alpha Draven was standing by the door with my aunt.

"She is ready," Aunt Leyla announced as she took my arm and shoved me toward the old man.

"Excellent," Draven smiled as he took my bag from my hand. "My convoy is waiting outside."

I didn't say goodbye to my aunt or my uncle as I followed the stranger out to the line of black SUVs waiting in the driveway.

Draven opened the back door for me, and I slid onto the leather seat without a word.

The car engine roared to life, and we began to move away from the only home I had known for the last few years.

I looked out the window at the passing trees, and a cold rage began to settle in my chest where my heart used to be. This was all Kelan’s fault. If he hadn't humiliated me and rejected me for Cindy, I would be safe right now.

"I will make you pay, Kelan," I vowed to the darkness as we sped toward my new prison. "I swear I will make you pay.”