A WAY OUT

CHAPTER THREE

WILLOW’S POV

Five girls have been betrothed to Alpha Killian Hayes and they’ve all met the same fate.

Death…

“Guards!”

… he stays locked up in his castle and only comes out at night to do inspections and pass judgments…

“Lock her up so she doesn’t try to run away. The Lycan King’s Beta will be here to take her anytime soon.”

… rumor has it that he has a horrible temper that makes him kill people at will and the entrance to his castle is lined with the skulls of his transgressors hanging on spikes…

The guards arrive and start pulling me away which they really don’t have to since I’m not trying to resist and I don’t intend to. I simply do not have any energy left in me to do so. I am drowning in fear of my impending doom.

… some say he drinks the blood of werewolves. Others say he’s the beast who transforms at night and kills his brides-to-be.

I have no idea which of these rumors are true or false, but what I do know is that Alpha Killian Hayes of the Crescent BloodMoon Pack is a brooding, nocturnal demon and being betrothed to him means I will not live to see the next full moon.

The door I’ve just been shoved into shuts in my face and just when I think I’ve finally had a moment to cry alone, the door opens again, revealing Harriet, the very last person I want to see right now.

“Oh, don’t look so disappointed, I’m only here to formally tell you goodbye and wish you good luck. What kind of sister would I be if I didn’t?” She says in the most patronizing tone and a thousand different things I can do to hurt her right now cross my mind.

I hate her.

Not only for the fact that she has been sleeping with my mate behind my back all this time to the point where she has gotten pregnant for him, but for all the times she made my life miserable because of my wolf-less nature. A sister who has been nothing but a hater and punisher. My number one enemy.

Blood boils in my veins when she stalks closer and closer to me until we are barely inches apart. I can feel her hot breath fanning my face as she breathes and it absolutely disgusts me.

“What do you want from me?” I ask, my voice tight with fury.

“You’re not going to last a day with Alpha Killian and that’s a good thing because then, this family will finally be rid of an abomination like you. You’ve brought nothing but shame upon this household and it’s only right that you die. You’ll watch me thrive as an Alpha from the land of the dead.”

“You slept with my mate behind my back.” The words slip out even though I never intended them to. I hate the satisfaction it brings her whenever she’s reminded of the fact that she got my mate for herself. That wicked smile I’m so used to receiving from her creeps up her cheeks and lights up her entire face like a lamp.

“No hard feelings. He was never yours in the first place.” She mocks and I lose it.

I raise my hand in the air to strike her hard in the face, but my plan is thwarted by her quick impulse. Before I know it, I’m on my knees, screaming in agony from the unbearable pain tearing through my shoulder-joint as she has my arm twisted in an uncomfortable angle.

She’s strong. She has always been. It was foolish of me to try and attack her.

I let out another yelp of agony when she grips a handful of my hair very tightly and yanks my head backwards and down so that I’m staring up into her angry, wicked eyes.

“Careful, sister.” She sneers. “Right now, my advantage over you in combat isn’t just the presence of my wolf, but my pregnant state as well. My hormones are all over the place. I could snap you in two halves without battling an eyelid.” She ends the statement with a great shove that sends me scampering a few feet away from her. Relief washes through my released shoulder and prickling scalp like calm waves on an ocean shore.

I wish she would just give me a break for once.

“There’s no fun in killing you myself. It’ll be more satisfying to have you die by whatever means it is that the previous brides-to-be of the Lycan King have.

Just then, a guard walks in and my heart drops into my knees because that can only mean one thing.

“Beta Kane has arrived.”

“It’s time to meet your nemesis.” Harriet chirps in the most enthusiastic tone.

I am like a walking corpse as I’m being led into the spacious living room.

Pale, cold and completely void of life.

Apart from my parents and Miles, there’s a powerful looking man standing at the center of the room, flanked by two others dressed in soldier uniforms. He is undoubtedly Beta Kane. His towering height, muscular build and overall intimidating aura completely gives him away. The moment he sets his eyes on me, his face twists with disgust. He gives my father a sharp look. My heart lurches.

“She’s as frail as a butterfly!” He thunders.

A few hours ago, a statement like that coming from Miles would have made me blush, but I highly think that the stern looking man who just said it meant it as a compliment.

He has gone red with rage.

All the color has drained from my father’s face. He’s terrified.

I crumble like a pile of blocks when the Beta’s heated gaze meets my face again. My trembling knees are barely able to keep myself upright as he burns holes through various parts on my body with his scorching, lingering gaze.

“She reeks of weakness and I cannot smell any wolf in her. She has no wolf. This is not what the Lycan King asked for!”

“My Lord… I mean, Beta Kane.” My father falters. My father never falters in his speech. This is serious. “I would have loved to offer my second daughter a lot more… normal, but she just recently found her mate and has been marked already. We both know the Lycan King does not accept already marked she-wolves.” He says pointing to Harriet who hastily shows Beta Kane the fresh mark Miles put on her a while ago.

My eyes are filling with tears and I’m letting them flow and feeling the burn in my throat and everything hurts.

Now it’s all clear to me why Miles always refused to mark me. They’ve all had this planned out from the very beginning. To let him mark Harriet just in time for them to hand me over to the Lycan King.

I have been so blind and foolish.

“Willow is the only unmarked daughter I have.” My father concludes and the Beta gazes at my full length disapprovingly once more. He doesn’t seem to be satisfied with what my father is offering him and looks furious by the fact that the better candidate between Harriet and me can no longer be a candidate, however, he knows he has no other choice, but to accept me.

“Hmm.” He grunts and turns to one of the soldiers flanking him. “Take her.” He orders and as the guard approaches, I contemplate my options.

It’s either I start screaming and begging my father to not let them take me, which would yield no positive results or I quietly go with them and meet my doom or I…

Without a second thought, I break into a full-blown run and let my feet carry me out of there as fast as they can, ignoring the screams from my mother and sister and instructions to get me from my father and the Beta.