Chapter 2

Luana

Immediately I stepped inside and I saw him sitting behind his desk across the wide room.

“You… asked …for me master?” I asked, looking down at my feet.

I couldn't call him father, not because I wanted to but because I was forbidden to do that. The last time I called him dad I was locked up and starved for weeks as a penalty for it.

“Yes I did” his masculine deep voice causing me to tremble.

“I'm sorry master….alpha ….” My horrified frame bending to kneel on the rough floor before him, his demeuring and powerful aura weighing me down like stacks of bricks.

The more he pushed me away and acted nonchalant, the deeper my quest for his love and attention increases. “Oh lucky Michelle, she didn't have to do anything to gain his love.

“I have got news for you Luana, that's why I summoned you, you're getting married to the son of the alpha of blackwood, Kyle” he voiced.

My head shot up with unimaginable speed

“What did you just say?!!

Before I could make another statement Ryan landed a hot slap on my face causing me to loose my balance

“How dare you raise your voice at the alpha! Have you forgotten the laws?”

My cheeks burned from the impact of the strike, my eyes met dad's again, I don't care. “No. I can't get married to him”.

The son of the alpha of blackwood, Kyle mason, was the most feared killer in history. I had seen him kill multitudes with my own eyes.

He had killed all our soldiers in a battle that happened between his pack and ours, no single one of them survived including the strongest of them all. Thinking about it alone brought goosebumps to my skin.

“Alpha please , don't do this to me, I won't survive it please” I begged

Why would a powerful and influential family want a poor wolfless girl like me to marry their son? Is it that they don't care about him or his reputation or maybe because he didn't share the same blood with them.

Approaching them was tough at first, but after some time mason brought the contract to me himself. He wanted a bride for his son desperately and I had two daughters so it wasn't a bad idea to collaborate.

“But….why did you choose me? You think they would accept me ? I'm wolfless!” I reminded him

“I was going to give Michelle instead but Kyle is an illegitimate son his father mason won't let him be the next alpha, Michelle would end up with no power to her name and over the pack.That's why I chose you”.

“Meaning you sold me out to them? What if they realise I have no wolf? I asked in horror

He gave a devilish smile “they will throw you off a cliff or probably head off or even lock you up, I don't care. Mason signed the contract already,there is no going back, how they treat you or whatever they decide to do with you is none of my business!”

“For a moment, I just stood there, unable to move or speak.”

“How could you be so heartless! Am I not your daughter too?

“You came into this world and took the most precious gift I possessed. You killed my wife, my mate !” He said, hitting his fist on the table with anger causing his wolf to appear.

“I'm hurt too, she was my mother, she died giving birth to me, I didn't kill her.

How could I possibly think of killing my own blood, I had no control over what ever happened then, Not a day goes by that I don’t wish she was alive again.

“Shut your mouth you murderer! You’ve been a burden to me for years. I will finally be free If you die. It would be a pleasure watching you cry in pain as you die for killing my treasure, Lucy!. He snapped.

“I could ignore his ignorance, but hearing Dad wish me dead shattered me. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

Footsteps drifted closer, until they paused at the door. It swung open, and Michelle slipped in, a faint smile playing on her lips. She walked in without hesitation, like she had every right to be there, her gaze locking onto Dad.

“Is she done? Did she sign the paper?” she asked, her tone almost casual—like this was already planned.

A cold feeling crept through me. The pieces fell into place too easily. This wasn’t a surprise to her… they had arranged this together.

Dad didn’t say a word, but his eyes drilled into me with pure contempt. Michelle followed his gaze, and when she saw me, a cruel smirk spread across her face.

“Ahh, so the little brat has some fight in her,” she sneered, her voice dripping with mockery. “I can’t believe it… after everything at the wedding, you still have the nerve to act this shameless?”

I brushed the tears away with the back of my arm, forcing my voice to be steady.

“You’re right,” I said, my lips trembling with bitterness. “I was shameless… to ever believe any of you had a heart.”

Her smirk faltered. For a split second, it vanished completely—replaced by something raw and startled.

She hadn’t expected me to fight back.

“Aww… don’t worry, sis,” she cooed, her voice laced with mockery. “You’ll have plenty of men to keep you company in Blackwood’s dungeon. I hear they’re… very lively. Or maybe you’ll end up sharing a bed with that beast they’ve chosen for you.”

She tilted her head, her smile turning darker. “Just be careful. Rumor has it he once killed a woman who tried to get close to him.”

Her smirk lingered as she watched the color drain from my face, clearly enjoying every second of my fear.

“I—I won’t marry him!” I said, but my voice came out shaky.

Her expression changed instantly, her eyes turning hard. “I’m done listening to you,” she said flatly. “Let’s just finish this.”

She grabbed the collar of my gown and pulled me forward. The fabric tightened around my neck as I stumbled.

“Michelle, let me go!” I struggled, grabbing her wrist and twisting it.

“Ow! Bitch!” she snapped, turning and slapping me.

My head jerked to the side, my cheek stinging, but I didn’t stop. I tried to run for the door—

—but someone grabbed me from behind.

Ryan.

“Be a good girl and stop fighting,” he said quietly, holding me in place. “Or I’ll use my belt.”

My body went still.

The words alone were enough. I could already feel it—the sharp sting, the burning pain across my arms, my back, my legs. The sound of it echoed in my head, over and over.

My heart started pounding hard.

No… not the belt.

My head slammed against the wooden desk, the impact ringing through my skull. Papers slid into view, scattering in front of me.

“Sign it.” Dad’s voice boomed behind me—cold, commanding, impossible to ignore. The kind of voice that didn’t ask… it demanded.

“Ahh!” I cried out as Ryan seized my wrist, his grip tightening painfully, like he could crush the bones if he wanted to.

“Sign it. Now.” Dad’s voice dropped into a growl.

Michelle grabbed my hand and forced a pen between my fingers, pushing it toward the paper.

Pain shot up my arm as Ryan squeezed harder. My fingers trembled, barely able to hold on as the pen tip hovered over the line waiting for my name.

Then something cold touched my neck.

Sharp. Unforgiving.

I froze.

A silver dagger.

“Sign it,” Michelle whispered near my ear, her voice low and steady. “Or I’ll slit your throat right now.”

The blade pressed closer against my skin, just enough to make my breath hitch.

My hand moved before I could stop it, clinging to the

pen like it was the only thing keeping me alive. Tears blurred my vision, spilling down and soaking into the paper.

The ink spread as my name formed in uneven strokes.

By the time I finished, it was already done.

My signature sat there in bold blue ink… right beside his.

Kyle Manson.

And just like that, it felt like I had signed my own death sentence.