“Hurry now, dear. No one makes the council wait,” Sarah said to Lin as she lingered at the door. Lin had to take a few seconds to think. Did she even want to be the first female Alpha of the pack? The only real reason she came back was because of her parents. She came back because she had heard they were dead. She never wanted to be Alpha to begin with. It was just too much for her. The responsibility, being in the public eye, and having to be a certain way; it was just not for her. She had no desire for it. But now, with her parents dead, she had to step up. She had to put aside her personal desires so she could let their legacy live on. “Okay, okay,” Lin mumbled in response. “Where can I find something to wear?”“Check in the closet. Look your best and make sure that you don’t delay, dear,” Sarah said and then walked away, finding her way to the grand gathering. The grand gathering was a huge meeting that involved almost everyone in the pack. Everyone in the pack would come to
Lin was taken aback. What did Hunter’s dad just call her? “Excuse me?” She did not intend to let it slide. And there was no way she would sit there and let her birthright be stripped away! That would just be a spit on her parents' grave that her pack so happened to be celebrating. “You heard me, dear. Now, sit the f*ck down and let the grown-ups do what grown-ups do.” Lin’s heart was beating fast, and she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins. She felt angry and disrespected and gosh, she hated it!“Stop talking to me like that,” She tried her best to say in a respectful way. She did not want to come off as a rude outsider, because she already knew that her leaving the pack to live in the city with humans would certainly be the excuse that her people would use against her. “Baby girl, I can talk to you any f*cking w–”Lin did not even wait for him to finish his sentence, she snapped and slapped him across the face. It was after she did it that she fully realized what
Hunter licked his lips and then ran his hand through his blonde hair. He walked close to her and stopped just before reaching the cell. “You ran away for years. You left your parents, your pack, your culture. And for what? To live with humans?” Lin felt a stab of pain in her chest and seeing the look of disgust across Hunter’s face only made it worse. “You don’t understand.” “Lin, your parents died and you didn’t even know! You didn’t find out until a week later!” She felt a hard knot in her throat and a few tears escaped her eyes without her permission. She had already been beating herself up for all that but hearing Hunter say it out loudly, shook her to the core. “Yes, I know. I know that I f*cked up.” Her voice broke. “But it was too much for me. You have to understand that I was way too young and everyone was putting so much on me. Plus, you know it, the pack was not ready for a female alpha. You heard about the riots.” Her voice got firmer at the end. Hunter scoffed. He sho
Lin’s heart was beating so fast that she could literally feel it. Her throat burned due to the councilman’s tight hold around it. And the way he pulled on her hair made her cry. “Roger…” Sarah begged her husband but in a delicate and careful tone. She was trying her best not to upset him.The councilman enjoyed the rush of adrenaline that ran through his veins. He felt powerful and that fed his ego. He ignored his wife and shouted in Lin’s face, “Beg me you, you sl*t!”“I’m sorry…I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Lin cried out the words under her breath as her knees buckled. She was now only being held up by the man. Tears flowed from her eyes freely and it felt like she was going to die.Due to his tight hold around her neck, she could not breathe well. And it was only getting worse. Sweat rolled down her face and pain filled her scalp. “I can’t breathe,” Lin managed to say as she started to panic. “Please…I can’t breathe…” She tried to pry his hands from around her neck but was not strong en
Depression. It is a very slippery and dark slope that could lead to one doing stupid things. Things that they would never consider if they were okay. Lin Boyce, the one next in line to be the female alpha of the pack was now officially a nobody. And not just a nobody, but she also had nobody. She had lost her boyfriend, her parents, her birthright, the respect of her pack, and was now slowly losing her mind. As she lay there on the hard and cold floor, her mind spun. She had never cried in her whole life like how she had cried for the past few hours up to now. To top it all off, she had just been physically, verbally, and emotionally abused by one of the councilmen who was meant to protect her. If not for his wife, who knows? She could have died right in that basement. Her phone suddenly started ringing and she released a shaky breath before reaching for it. Her head was pounding and the pain that surrounded her neck was only getting worse. When she glanced at the screen, she sa
Maybe it was the fact that his dad had always treated him and his mom like crap. But at that very moment, Hunter felt like going down to one of the security rooms and getting a pistol so he could put a cold metal in the man’s head. There was not a month that would go by that he or his mom would not get a bruise or wound from that man. They had to be perfect for him, or else they would pay. Even the smallest mistakes were punished. Sometimes, Hunter wished that he and his mom would have just left in poverty and lowliness, rather than accepting to come and live with his dad. The man was a monster. “Why did he hit you?” He asked as he tried his best to deal with the anger that kept building in him. He had an online therapist that helped him with his anger issues but to be honest, he did not think that it was working. Because he was angry almost all the time. Except recently…when Lin walked into his life. Yes, he still got triggered, but not as much as before. He actually forgot abo
Lin could feel a knot in her throat. She wanted to defend herself so badly but she decided to let Hunter finish before doing that. “I am sorry for what I did,” She managed to say even though it was hard for her. “Are you really? Are you honestly sorry that you ran away? Because if your parents would have not had died, you would have still been living in the city with the humans.” He frowned tightly. She could not argue with that. It was spot on. It was true. Because even though she had found out that Robert had been cheating on her and was very heartbroken, she still had no plans of returning to her pack. It was because of No User. He was the one that made her come back. He was very convincing, and the icing on the cake was her parent’s death. “No, you’re right.” Lin flipped her hair a bit. “I’m not sorry,” She said to him honestly. Her honesty was brutal but it was better to say the truth than to lie to his face. That would be worse. Hunter scoffed and stood to his feet. “You ha
Hunter felt sorry for Lin, and a bit guilty for how he had snapped at her earlier in the basement. He just assumed instead of talking to her. And now he had only just added to her broken heart. “Look.” He sighed as he gestured for her to give him her hand. When she did, he said in a gentle tone, “You’re not cursed. And it’s definitely not your fault that your world seems to be crumbling down.”Lin enjoyed the guy’s calloused hand around her small and fragile one. It somehow made her feel seen, and safe. “Then who’s fault could it be?” She smiled sadly. “I really want to know.” Her voice was breathy. Hunter shook his head weakly. “Your parents’s death is not your fault. You being bullied was not your fault. Your not being able to wolf out is also not your fault. And your boyfriend cheating on you is most definitely not your fault, Lin,” He assured her as he continued to rub his thumb over her hand, keeping a comfortable grip.Lin released a breath and nodded. “Yeah.” Her voice was qu