4: Mate From Hell

"Gentlemen, we could just talk about the situation in a civilized manner. There is no need for unnecessary violence," I spoke through the discomfort of my healing arm.

I was the daughter of an Alpha, so I knew how to act in the presence of high-ranked wolves. My mother taught me how to be a lady, but also how to withstand pain. My mother had a very high pain tolerance. My father always said he had seen nothing like it before.

"Shut up and let the men handle this."

Alastor flashed me his red eyes, and I almost swallowed the entire atmosphere as I gasped.

Red eyes only meant two things: one, you were a vampire, or two, you were a werewolf who partook in the killing of humans.

My wolf refused to back down, and with her courage and mine, I spoke again, walking in between the heated wolves.

"This is my father's land, and you will not disrespect him and our pack by fighting at an event that he is throwing for you. So, both of you, stop it now!" I growled, showing them my dark eyes so they knew how serious I was.

But before I could say another word, Alastor strode up to me and clutched me by my throat, restricting my airway.

"Very unsubmissive," he rumbled, sticking his tongue out and licking the side of my face.

With my feet dangling off the ground, my hands flailed as my fingers tried to pry his tight grip loose from around my neck.

Suddenly, I felt a familiar gust of wind as my father swooped in, throwing Alastor to the ground and sending me dropping to my knees. Through grainy vision, I worked to catch my breath and steady my racing heart.

Trenton ran to my side.

"Are you OK?" he asked, and I nodded my head.

The Moon Goddess knew at that moment that I was going to reject Alastor and choose Trenton.

But then Trenton asked, "Is he your mate also?"

Again, I nodded my head.

"Then you must not reject him. Give us a chance. He is my brother, and he is not that bad."

Really?

Was this guy for real? Or was he just dumb?

I'd only known his brother for five minutes, and I knew he wouldn't share his mate.

My father hurried over to me. His wolf was in control.

"Daughter, are you alright?" Drum, my father's wolf, asked.

"Yes, I am fine," I told him as my father helped me to my feet.

Alastor stood.

"How dare you put your filthy paws on me?" he boomed at my father.

"How dare you treat my daughter like that? This is our land," my father growled. "You and your pack should leave now. You're not welcome here anymore."

Alastor stuck his palms into his pockets.

"Very well then, but your daughter comes with me."

"The fuck she won't," my father growled.

"Don't you wolves do everything the Moon Goddess' way?" Alastor cackled. "Isn't honouring your fated mates the ultimate commandment around these parts?"

My father huffed, wondering where he was going with this. "Yes, what's your point?"

"Me plus your delicious virgin daughter equals fated mates."

He wolf-sped over to me, and in a quick second, he seized my lips with his, shoving his wicked tongue down my throat and kissing me in front of my father.

"No," my father barely let out. "Ava, is this true?"

Shoving Alastor's face off mine with my hands, I managed to answer my father.

"Yes, Father, it is true."

I saw the blood drain from his face. Speechless, my father held back his tears and his wrath. He wouldn't dare disrespect the Moon Goddess.

"What will it be, Alpha Redclaw? Your daughter or your pack?" Alastor asked.

"That's enough, brother," Trenton tried to intervene. "You've had your fun. Let's just take our mate and get outta here."

"Wait! Ava, they're both your mates?" my father inquired, hoping that my answer would be in his favour.

But when I tilted my head and looked him dead in the eye, his face went pale again, and he saw the answer in my eyes.

"Don't worry, Alpha Adam, your daughter will be in excellent hands," Alastor stated.

"Ava, you don't have to go."

"Oh no, she doesn't have to go if she doesn't value your life."

"What?" I grunted.

"If you don't come with me, then I will declare war upon the Redclaw Pack, and let's be honest, I have 10,000 wolves, and Alpha Adam seems like he can scrape up a thousand, maybe fifteen hundred if he's lucky."

"You're as evil as they come," I spat.

"I know, hun. And I will take great pleasure in breaking you."

He squeezed my ass, then shoved me to his brother.

"Trenton, take her to the car."

"Wait, you are taking her now? Won't you allow her a day to say goodbye to her people?" Trenton argued.

"No mate of mine will have time for such frivolities. We leave immediately."

"Please, I beg you. My mother is sick. Just let me say goodbye to her. Please!" I wailed.

But Alastor barked his orders at Trenton once more.

My father tried to hug me, but Alastor pushed him away.

"She is no longer the daughter of an Alpha. She's a Luna now."

With teary eyes, my father fell to his knees, shouting profanities at the Moon Goddess, screaming for her to answer him. He wanted to know why she had been so cruel to his daughter.

Even I wanted to know why the Moon Goddess paired me with the Mate From Hell.

I kicked and screamed when Trenton dragged me to the car. I was thrown in the backseat, my palms banging against the rear window, yelling for my father. My dad's eyes connected with mine for a second before the car drove off down the cobbled road.

'I love you, my Rose-bud,' he spoke through the mind-link.

I kept my eyes trained on my father, crying on his knees.

'I love you too, Father. Tell Mother I am sorry I did not come to say goodbye,' I replied to my dad through the link.

Before I could hear my father's voice again, I felt my hair being pulled, and the most excruciating pain I'd ever felt in my life gnawed at my neck.

Alastor sank his long, sharp canines into my neck, biting out a chunk of my flesh, marking me, and leaving a hideous scar for the world to see.

Immediately, the pack-link with my home pack shattered, and I was no longer able to communicate with them telepathically.

"You are mine now," Alastor whispered as my world got dark and I passed out.

It wasn't until I felt Trenton's fingers wiping away my tears that I noticed I had gotten lost in my memories once more.

"Don't cry, my love. It will all get better."

Honestly, I was so sick and tired of his words.

This time, I slapped his hand away from me.

"You've been saying that for 13 fucking years now."

I walked off, deciding to go to my room.

"Is she mine?"

That question yanked me to a halt, cementing me to the spot. The cool air seemed to drop a couple of degrees as the wind got icier.

Gripping the front of my dress, I turned my head slightly, the moonlight illuminating the side of my face.

"No," I answered before I hurried off to my chambers, leaving Trenton behind in the cold, hoping and praying to the Moon Goddess that he bought my lie.