CHAPTER TWO

I run home and burst through the door.

I cannot believe what I have just heard.

Father emerges from the kitchen.

He looks at me expectantly.

He is smiling.

He is expecting me to announce my engagement to Nathaniel.

"How did it go?" he asks.

I shake my head.

"I am not marrying Nathaniel," I blurt out.

His mouth drops open. His face falls.

"What?" he says.

I stare at the floor.

"He has arranged for me to marry someone else," I say angrily.

"Who?" he asks.

"Jeremiah."

"There is no wolf called Jeremiah," he says, frowning.

"He is the Alpha of a neighboring pack."

"What?" Father says, his eyes wide. His mouth is open. He is clearly shocked. "That's absurd."

"I know."

"But...but why?"

I pause. I feel guilty. I know Father loves me. I know he loves Alpha. And I don't want to hurt him.

A part of me wants to keep my mouth shut. To not talk about Alpha at all.

But it is too late.

"Why would Alpha do such a thing?" he continues.

"He did not say," I say, miserably. "I did not give him a chance to explain."

I feel so guilty.

I feel so angry.

My emotions are like a storm inside of me.

I sit heavily on the couch.

My father sits beside me.

"Bria, I'm so sorry," he says.

I burst into tears.

He grabs me by the shoulders and pulls me close.

"It will be okay," he says, his voice full of concern.

"How?" I say between my sobs.

"I don't know," he replies. "But we will get through this."

I take a deep breath and try to compose myself.

"I don't want to leave you," I say.

"I don't want you to leave, either."

I look at him and see the pain in his eyes.

"But," he continues, "you have to go through with it. If it's for the good of the pack."

My heart sinks.

I stare at him.

I am hurt.

First Alpha betrays me.

Now Father too?

"That's exactly what Alpha said," I say, bitterly. "Why should I be the one to suffer? Why should I have to leave my home and my family? Why should I have to marry a man I don't love?"

"Calm down, Bria," he says.

I turn away from him. How dare he tell me how to feel? It is not his heart that has been ripped out.

"It is up to Alpha," he continues. "You must respect him even if you do not agree with him."

"I will not marry Jeremiah," I say. "I will not leave my home."

"Do you love the pack?" my father asks me.

"Of course."

"Then you must go through with it," he says. "You must accept your destiny."

He does not understand.

He does not understand how I feel.

How I feel about being forced to leave everything behind.

How I feel about being forced to settle for someone else.

"It is your duty to obey," he says, sternly. "You say that you love the pack and you are loyal to Alpha. Then you must do as he says. He is Alpha. It is his right to command you."

I feel betrayed again.

I cannot look at him.

I cannot believe what has just happened.

I feel so alone.

I feel so hurt.

I feel so angry.

How could Alpha do this to me?

How could my father agree?

I get up and walk away.

I don't want to hear any more.

I walk up to my bedroom and close the door behind me.

I sit on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest.

I feel so alone.

I feel so betrayed.

I feel like everything I have ever known is falling apart.

I feel like the floor is shifting beneath my feet.

I feel like I can no longer rely on anyone.

I feel like life as I know it is over.

I feel like I have nothing.

I feel like I have no one.

I feel like I am in the middle of a storm, with the wind whipping through my hair and rain pouring down on me.

I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to feel.

I don't know what to think.

I am so confused.

I feel like I am spinning.

I do not want to leave my father.

I do not want to leave Alpha.

I do not want to leave my friends and my family.

I love them all.

I cannot live without Nathaniel.

I cannot leave my love behind.

Am I destined to marry someone I have never even met?

I feel so betrayed.

How could Alpha put me in this situation?

How could he be so cruel?

I hear a noise outside my window.

I stand up and approach.

I can see all our territory from here.

Someone is approaching the gate.

It is a boy.

My age.

I frown.

I do not recognize him.

Then I spot Alpha.

He goes to the gate and greets the man.

He turns and points up to my window.

I dart out of sight.

My heart thumps.

Is this... Jeremiah?

Is he here already?

I peer again out of the window.

They are now approaching my house.

They are talking together, but I cannot hear what they are saying.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps in the hallway.

My bedroom door opens.

"Bria," my father says.

"Yes?" I say.

"Alpha is here," he says. "He is waiting downstairs for you. He wants to introduce you to Jeremiah."

My stomach drops.

It's true.

I can hear voices downstairs.

I want to hide away.

I do not want to meet him.

"We have to go down there," Father says.

"I don't want to."

"I'm sorry, Bria," he says. "You have no choice."

I swallow hard.

It's no use fighting.

I will have to meet Jeremiah.

I try to stop the tears from coming.

I do not want to cry.

Not in front of Alpha.

And not in front of my future husband.

"Come," my father says. "Let's go."

I gulp, and leave my room.