Chapter 4: Alexandra's POV

My body recoiled as my father approached, along with the other members of the Ashclaw Pack who had come for Nathan’s ceremony.

Mother followed a few feet behind, her face clouded with worry.

“Alpha Damarus, I do apologize for my outburst earlier. I was simply shocked by what happened. Perhaps we could head back in now. It’s getting dark, and perhaps you should even spend the night in our guest chambers.” Father’s eyes hardened as he spotted me behind Marcus.

“We have no reason to spend the night. The ceremony is over anyway.” Damarus glanced at the other wolves. “Since we’re all here, we will be on our way now and make it by midnight.”

Father glanced at me then, causing Marcus to release a low, threatening growl. Typically, spending the night was traditional, but I could tell Alpha Damarus was desperate to avoid further conflict. And the only way to achieve that was to get Marcus far away from here.

It pained me to think I felt so relieved to leave a place that had always been my home. But watching my father’s contempt once he realized he was getting rid of me pulled me back into reality. This wasn’t my home. I wasn’t welcome here.

“I appreciate the hospitality.” Alpha Damarus turned away from my father then. He didn’t seem upset, which was good since this pack didn’t stand a chance against Ashclaw if they chose to take offense.

“Shall we prepare the carriages for departure, my lord?” one of the men stepped forward, bowing deeply to Alpha Damarus. He carried the crescent moon pendant that marked him as the pack beta, second only to the alpha and his heir.

“Do just that, and prepare a separate carriage for my mate and me.” Marcus pulled me to his side, staring down at me with a cryptic expression I was too shocked to decipher.

This was happening. I was actually leaving this place. My heart raced. Everything was changing too fast. Just this morning I was the bastard of the Moonridge Pack, a maid.

Now, Marcus held my hand like it was something precious, something worth protecting.

The look he’d given me made all his words about being cursed fade out of my mind. He didn’t seem like he would harm me in any way, and that was enough reason to trust him.

My heart squeezed as my thoughts drifted back to Nathan. He was probably the only thing worth holding on to in the Moonridge Pack, and despite my mind being in denial, I knew if he asked me to stay, part of me might have.

I spotted him then, rushing across the yard toward me. He was panting once he reached us, though he held his chin high when he addressed Marcus.

“Nathan, what are you doing here? Your party isn’t over yet.” It took all my self-control not to hug him. There was a likelihood we wouldn’t meet for years. Still, I couldn’t control the guilt that settled in my stomach for ruining his special day.

Noble omegas got mating ceremonies and formal goodbyes to their families, but I doubted my parents would ever organize something like that. Father already looked so eager to get rid of me.

“My sister is about to leave for another pack on such short notice.” He glanced back at the pack house. “Everyone in there can wait. This can’t.”

“I’m sorry for ruining your day.” Marcus grunted at my words, clearly displeased that I was blaming myself.

Nathan ignored him, his sharp blue eyes fixed on me. “You didn’t ruin anything. You finally have a mate to protect you and get you out of here. I wish it didn’t take a stranger saving you for that to happen. You shouldn’t have to escape your family.”

The twinkle in his eyes dimmed for a bit, and my hands lashed out, wrapping around him, unable to resist. “You’re my family, Nathan, and I’m not running from you. I don’t know what the future holds, but maybe when you become alpha, you can visit?”

My voice came out shy, scared of rejection. Would he even still care by then?

“Of course I’ll visit. It’s so unfair. You should get a mating ceremony. Why is Father just making you leave?” His eyes shifted to the golden carriages that were brought to the gate on Damarus’s order. Then he handed me the bag he had been holding.

“What’s this?”

“I went back to your room when Mother told me you were going to leave so soon. I tried to get most of your things in.” The leather felt cool in my hands.

It was pathetic that everything I owned could be shoved into this one bag. My whole life.

“Marcus, bring the girl and let us leave. The sooner we go, the better.” Alpha Damarus said as he walked toward one of the carriages, the one at the very end of the line of golden vehicles. His beta followed as well, pulling the door open.

Nathan hugged me one last time before he was pulled away by Mother. Her lips parted like she wanted to tell me something, but she decided against it and turned away. I hated myself for feeling a shred of hope that she might change on the night she lost me.

But it wasn’t tonight. She had abandoned me years ago.

Marcus flicked my ear, drawing my attention back to him. “It’s time to go, Alexandra.”

I nodded, allowing him to pull me toward a beautiful carriage, smaller than the others, pulled by two majestic black horses.

The carriage had two windows at either side, which were covered by silk curtains. Marcus stepped forward, pulling the door open and stepping aside. It took me a moment to realize he had opened the door for me.

I flushed, taking his hand as he helped me step into it, then entered as well. My faded green dress stood out like a sore thumb in the luxurious carriage.

Marcus sat on the cushioned seat across from me. His eyes scanned me, stopping at my face. “You’re very beautiful.”

My eyes darted up, meeting his. If my cheeks were flushed before, they had to be burning red now. “You are also very handsome yourself, Alpha Marcus.”

He sighed, resting his chin on his fist as he leaned forward, still staring at me. “I do wish you would just call me Marcus.”

The carriage moved then, and soon the Moonridge Pack disappeared into the distance, along with whoever I had been for the past twenty years.

Our conversations were light after that. He seemed to want to know all there was about me, never appearing disappointed by my very pathetic life. I was too afraid to ask about him, about his curse.

Deep down, a voice screamed to know if that curse had something to do with his ability to murder a man with a simple slap and also tamper with the weather. Hours later, my eyelids became heavy, and staying awake and thinking felt like a chore.

I blinked repeatedly, trying to avoid sleep so much that my mind was too far gone when my eyes slid shut and didn’t open again.

My eyes snapped open to dim candlelight in the carriage. For a second, panic gripped me, wondering where I was as memories of the day flooded my mind.

The hard surface my head was resting on shifted suddenly, scaring me so much that I sat up, scooting toward the edge of the carriage seat.

Marcus was staring at me, his lips dipped into a frown. “I didn’t mean to disturb your rest. It was my intention to carry you in.”

Carry me? I noticed then that the carriage had come to a halt. My heart raced even more at the thought of stepping out into a new pack. “We’re here? In Ashclaw?”

Marcus nodded, using his leg to kick the door next to him open. The sun had long since set, leaving the moon and candles outside as the only sources of light.

“Yes.” He stepped out of the carriage, extending his hand to me with a smile that almost made me feel like the devil himself stood in front of me and not my mate. “Welcome home, darling.”