VICTORIA
"Could it be true that I'm this handsome man's mate?" I asked myself as soon as he mentioned the word. It sounded too good to be true. I mean, I was a wolfless wolf, despised by everyone in the pack, both the exalted and the lowly, locked up in a house away from where the occasion was supposed to take place, so it was hard to believe that any good could happen to me.
I wondered how he was able to locate me. The thought made me a bit wary of the man since only very few people knew that I was at that house. I was sure that my father told no one that he didn't trust, about my whereabouts. He didn't want me to be found by his guests but here I was, right before the very man that he tried to hide me from. Indeed, fate had a very strange way of doing things.
"How did you find me?" I asked him, breaking free from my thoughts to see that his gaze was still fixed on me.
"Your smell. I could smell you as soon as I got into this land."
Well, it wasn't uncommon for wolves to smell things and people. It was a gift that all wolves possessed, all wolves except for me. However, it was really strange that he could smell a wolf that he hadn't met, especially one that was almost human, amid lots of wolves around. I guessed it had something to do with me being his mate.
"Are you going to keep staring or would you get dressed?" His question snapped me back to reality a second time. I couldn't say that I was to blame. This man was gorgeous. With a bulky frame and beautiful brown eyes, he was likely every wolf's dream. Yet, to me, he was more than that. He was hope. My chance of being free from the wicked hands of my father and everyone in my pack. I was grateful to the goddess for a chance like this. Perhaps, I wasn't so unfortunate after all.
"Yeah, I–. Let me put something on."
I dashed out of the bed and quickly walked to the place where I had dropped the clothes that I had worn to the room. It was nothing flashy, just a mild dress fit for a loser like me. I put it on in a haste and he motioned for me to follow him. As I walked to him, I remembered that my father warned me to stay put and not be seen around the venue of the occasion for any reason. I knew he was going to be upset but I couldn't stop myself from going.
***
We arrived at the venue to see the other guests of the pack, talking, laughing and enjoying themselves. Everyone looked so excited and I scanned to see where my dad was. I wanted to see the look on his face when he'd see his daughter walking hand-to-hand with the wolf that everyone was expecting.
On sighting me, the faces of most of the wolves in my pack changed from that of excitement to disgust. I expected that. I had that effect on everyone. They spat on the floor, and made faces at me, probably wondering why and how I was there. All of a sudden, they were all smiles again, well, more than that. The place erupted with loud cheers and claps. They had seen the man I was with.
With a broad smile on his face, he waved at them. He seemed to love the moment and he made sure to enjoy every bit of it. They probably forgot that I was with him and I took that chance to look around in search of my father.
It felt weird. He was supposed to be there. My father was never one to keep a guest waiting. He always made emphasis on punctuality and had hit me more than a few times for showing up late for any occasion he allowed me to be in. Maybe, he was a hypocrite after all.
"Welcome back! You took so long."
I was wrong. My dad was there. It seemed like the alpha had already shown up at the occasion before he reached out to me. My father sat on his favourite, well-decorated chair and waved at the man from there. Everyone clapped as soon as he spoke. He stepped down from his highly elevated chair and walked toward us with a smile on his face. He walked with such poise and swagger that showcased how important he was. His confidence was over the top and his grin sent shivers to every member of the pack.
"Victoria? What exactly are you doing here?" On seeing me, he stopped abruptly and his countenance changed. He was visibly angry and I began to wonder if the presence of the people around would stop me from getting what was about to come; his palms and fists on my delicate face.
My face turned red and I felt my eyes widening. My heart pounded so hard and my hands were shaky. I was terrified and I couldn't hide it. He approached me and held my right hand, fuming as he stared at me. He must have changed his mind about hitting me because he usually didn't take that long.
"You'd go back to the house where I asked you to stay and you'll do that very quickly."
"Ye– Yes Sir."
I turned to leave but I was held back by someone. It was the man who stood with me. Indeed, he must have been very important because no one had ever stopped someone from carrying out my father's commands. No one dared challenge or oppose my father.
"She's with me, Alpha Henry," he said, much to the bewilderment of everyone including my father. "She's my mate."
The whole place went quiet, save a few whispers here and there as everyone was gripped with confusion. I looked at my dad and his mouth was just wide open. He was surprised and it wasn't hard to tell why. But he didn't look angry anymore. His previously disgusted countenance had disappeared and he simply coughed and scratched his head.
"I didn't know that," he said to the Alpha, as he began to smile again. "I felt she was being disobedient to her Alpha."
As soon as he said that, he turned around to go back to his seat while I looked at the alpha who returned my gaze with an assuring look. I felt safe. I had never felt safer in my life. It was all new to me and I wished it'd never end.
"Get away from here, you bitch!"
It was Rania, my elder sister, screaming as she approached the alpha and I with an angry, fierce look on her face. It wasn't unexpected. She was furious because she had an eye on the alpha. She felt she was going to be his mate, only to be met with the greatest disappointment of all. Being beaten to the alpha by her weak sister, especially when she was dressed for the occasion.
She put on a very long, black gown and very high heels and gold jewellery to match. Her smell, or her smell, she smelled like rose mixed with cinnamon. I could swear that the fragrance she was wearing was extremely expensive. She was pure class, but it seemed that class was not enough, contrary to what she might have thought and she wasn't going to sit back and let things be.
As she came close to me, I went behind the alpha's back, using him as a shield as it forced Rania to stop right in her tracks. Yet, she was still fuming, cursing and swearing at me for being no good. The alpha tried to calm her down but she wouldn't listen. My father, who had walked towards his seat for a bit, had to turn back. The scene was an embarrassing one and I was certain that it didn't go down well with him. All these could have been avoided if I had only stayed in the house, but I guess the goddess had other plans.
The people around had stopped eating and drinking as they watched the drama that just unfolded right in front of them. Most of them stood as they sensed the trouble that was about to ensue. I was still hiding behind the alpha's back like the coward that I was, while he was doing his best to get Raina to calm down a little. It was a fruitless attempt. Raina was not about to stay put. She was as energetic as ever and all that energy was directed at me.
"Come on, bitch," she said, as she unsuccessfully tried to get past him and lay her hands on me. "You can't fight? Yeah, you can't fight? Call out your wolf then."
On hearing that, I knew what was about to come. I was quite surprised that I didn't figure that out earlier. How on Earth could a person come after another, without revealing the deepest secrets of the other person? She was going to reveal that I didn't have a wolf form, in a bid to get the alpha to think twice about what he wanted to do. I didn't know what would become of me if she did that and I didn't want to know.
"What is it? Are you getting scared already? Does he know that–"
VICTORIABefore she could finish her statement, my father dashed to her, shielding her mouth with her hands, causing her to immediately stop talking. He wasn't happy with what she wanted to do, not because he cared about me, but because he didn't want the people of the Blood Moon pack to know that his daughter didn't have a wolf form. It would bring ridicule to his pack, which was exactly what he was trying to avoid.He turned around, smiled and said, "Wolves of Oakland Park! I'm happy that we're all here to see this great day. A day when my daughter would be getting married to the Alpha of Bloodmoon pack." The people clapped and howled as he continued. "Indeed, we have been blessed by the goddess herself. Fortune has smiled on us, as a day which was set out for a simple occasion has turned out to be a life-changing one. I say a big congratulations to both of you. By the goddess, great fortune awaits you."The people clapped again as he led the alpha and me towards a seat that was res
VICTORIAI woke up the next morning with a slight headache. I struggled to sit up on my bed, ready for yet another nightmare of a day. I heard someone knock on my door but I was too tired to say a word so she let herself in."Get up and follow me, your dad asked to see you." The maid walked across to my bed and helped me up in a rather violent manner. "Come on, don't waste my time you idiot! You don't want to keep the alpha waiting."With all the strength I could muster, I followed her as she dragged me with all her strength to my father's waiting room.As we got in, he was already there. He didn't look as angry as he looked the day before. I turned to my right to see the alpha wolf. "Why on Earth is he here?" I asked myself."I've come to take you home, my dear," he said to me, drawing closer to me as I stepped away a little, still unsure of his intentions."It's fine, my daughter," said my father. "You can go with him. He changed his mind and has decided to accept you the way you ar
VICTORIAI sat there, with the other maids and I was really confused. "Did he just say those harsh words to me?" I asked myself. Perhaps, I was being too hasty with my conclusions. Maybe he didn't really mean what he said. I couldn't get myself to imagine that he didn't want me. I mean, he had happily accepted me the way that I was, and he may have just said that because he was angry.Indeed, he wasn't harsh, even as he spoke. He just looked a bit sad, probably due to the reception that his pack gave me once they heard that I didn't have a wolf. I felt he still loved me and I wasn't going to let one single statement change that.I ran out of the room, in search of him, stopping abruptly as I almost collided with him. He hadn't gone far at all. He was probably still looking out for me. I had to talk to him and get him to explain things better to me. I was his mate so I more than deserved the answers that I sought."Hey, I don't understand what is going on. Could you talk to me?" I aske
VICTORIAThe next morning, I was harshly woken up by one of the maids who poured water on my face. I quickly sprung up from the bed to the amusement of everyone else. Somehow, instead of being upset or feeling humiliated, it also seemed very funny to me, and so I laughed with them."You're a lazy one, aren't you?" She asked. I didn't think she needed an answer, so I didn't give her one. I still felt very tired. I had worked tirelessly, late into the night, and had cried most of it, so the tiredness I felt was a deserved one. I would have stayed back in the room if I had a choice but I didn't, so I quickly stood up and went into the bathroom to take my bath.As I picked up the soap, I heard the maids chattering. They seemed so into the conversation they were having that I paused to hear what exactly they were saying. The bathroom door shielded most of the sound that came through it, so I was barely able to make anything of their conversation. I focused on the task at hand and in a few
VICTORIAThe next morning, I woke up, feeling sore as I felt pain all over my body from the brutal beating I had received the day before. I looked around to see that every single maid had gone to work, leaving just me behind. I checked the time to see that it was already 9 am and I knew I had to get up.After the fight, I had gotten some help from the elderly maid who prepared a concoction to help me heal faster. She also told me that I should take a day off work so that I could recuperate. Yet, no one even bothered to keep something for me to eat. They had forgotten that food was essential for healing or they simply didn't care.I gingerly stood up and walked to the mirror to take a look at myself. My face still had some red patches and I could spot a small cut just above my right eye. I wished I hadn't been cursed, because then, I would have been able to heal as quickly as the other wolves. Good thing was that I didn't have to work but I couldn't tell if it was worth the pain I felt
VICTORIAI lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling as I recalled what just happened. The shame, the humiliation and the utter disrespect that I received from my supposed mate. The world was indeed a den of so many surprises; unpleasant surprises in my case.I tried to get myself to sleep but I couldn't. The thoughts wouldn't let me. I imagined how my life was going to be from then henceforth. I thought about how badly I would be treated by everyone when they found out that my mate had sex with someone else.I knew I had very little value in the eyes of everyone, including the maids, but with such news, my reputation was just about to go further downwards. This was far from the life I expected to have here.I thought the alpha was a kind man. He seemed to be kind when he came to take me to his pack. I wondered what caused the sudden change in attitude. If he didn't want me as I was, why did he come back to get me? Should he not have simply left me to suffer at home instead of giving me
VICTORIAIf I had my way, I'd have sneaked out of the pack. It was the dangers that seemingly lurked outside the walls and the fear of being caught. Yet, I knew somehow that my days in the pack were numbered.In the kitchen, as I did the dishes alongside the other maids, my mind was far away from reality and it affected my pace, much to the irritation of the maid in charge."Hey, what is going on with you?" She asked, her face indicating that violence was a resort she may be forced to embrace if I kept delaying the process."No–nothing," I stuttered, quickly washing the plates to avoid incurring her wrath.It was more of the same for the rest of the day, so much that I couldn't wait to get back to the room. As soon as we were told to go back home, I quickly dropped everything and ran back to the room. I could see the look of surprise on the faces of the other maids as I ran home but I just didn't care.On getting to the room, I lay on the bed and began to think about my predicament. T
VICTORIA I decided to walk past the guards and see what would happen. If they had seen me already, there was no point in turning back. I would still be called back and caught, but this time, I'd be the coward who was caught without even trying to make the required move. I was no coward, especially in that matter. I moved toward them very slowly, expecting the worst whilst still hoping that something would happen. I felt in my heart that they were just biding their time and waiting for me to get close enough for them to ask me where I was going with my bag packed, and possibly capture me. With every step, my heart raced and a journey of a few steps began to look like a thousand miles. I got close to them and saw that their eyes were closed. They were fast asleep and the sleep looked very deep. I walked past them and turned around to know if they weren't faking it but they were still dozing. I couldn't believe my luck! It was then that I remembered the old maid sending one of the mai