New home!

As we traveled through the silent road, a thousand and one thoughts ran through my head.

I was lost and had not the slightest idea what was going to happen, especially with this man I was leaving with.

I was sad and hopeless. I was blank and continued to stare into oblivion. Nine months and I'd be free to leave after I had given him the heir that he wanted, I managed to give myself some hope.

I reminisced about what happened a few minutes ago and was almost on the verge of tears. My stepfather hadn't even thought twice before sending me off, and for what? A piece of land. Anger welled up in me but it was futile and of no use.

We drove on and on until we were almost at his pack. I knew because he mentioned it in his next statements. "We'll be arriving at my pack in a moment. I want you to be on your best behavior."

His words left me dumbfounded. What did he mean? I tried to think it through in my head but to no avail.

"In my best behavior? I don't seem to understand what you mean by this."

He scoffed, slowly turning his face towards me. He had a sinister look on his face, one that irked me so much.

"I'm so sure you understand what I'm talking about," he said, clearing his throat loudly.

"I'll break it down so you can understand very well what I want from you. You aren't to spill our arrangement to anyone. It should stay between us, got it?"

I kept mute, pondering what to say to him but he was rather impatient.

"I expect an answer from you. A nod would suffice at the least," he snapped.

I rolled my eyes with indifference as I muttered, "Fine, I got that loud and clear."

He grinned at me as he drove into the gate of the pack house that had been opened wide in anticipation of his arrival.

I was shocked to the marrow and couldn't believe my eyes. Words failed me as my eyes darted around the house. It was magnificent; I wasn't going to deny that.

Everything around reeked of wealth, wealth, and even more wealth.

He noticed the way I gazed around and seemed to be pleased. "Do you like what you see?" He inquired, arching his right brow in arrogance.

A loud hiss trailed from my lips. "Not really. It's a bit nice but not enough to impress me." I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction he wanted.

His face fell and he immediately became gloomy. "Let's go in already and stop wasting time," he grunted.

A deep breath escaped through my lips as I summoned strength from goodness knows where.

I had no explanation for where the strength came from, especially when I was as weak as a dead man a few minutes ago. Some of the Omegas walked up to us and lined up at the entrance of the palace.

"Good evening, sir," they chorused in unison, bowing right before him. He nodded his head in response to their greetings, not uttering a word of cordiality.

A simple response to their greeting would have sufficed, I thought to myself, shaking my head internally.

About five other cars were pretty much in the garage, a little away from where we were.

"Have the keys and make sure to park the car properly," he flung the key to one of the chauffeurs who was standing in wait for him.

The young man muttered some incoherent words and dashed off to do as instructed. I noticed the swift manner in which they all moved. He must be such a disciplinarian, I assumed but soon digressed to some more important thoughts.

The huge front doors stood in front of us at last. The height alone left me in awe, as did the weight it must hold. The power of two would be required to pull both sides open.

Scott turned his head towards me and said, "I need you to remember what I said to you. You are to stick to your place."

A sigh of frustration escaped from my lips. "I understand and I understand well. You've got nothing to worry about."

The door flung open right at that moment. It had been pulled open by two of the maids in there. I stepped my feet into the house and was mesmerized.

Never in my life have I seen so much luxury on display.

The chandelier dangling high above us was the first to catch my fancy.

Wow! I exclaimed but within me, Like I had said, I wasn't going to give him the chance to see my smile, especially after what he had subjected me to.

"Good evening, Alpha," Greetings flew from every angle in the large sitting room that I later found served as the waiting room for whoever wanted to see the Lycan.

Scott stopped in his tracks, startling me. Is he going to remind me about the plan again? I discreetly placed my hand over my head in dismay. I wasn't so intelligent but neither was I dumb and I could see no reason why he had to repeat it over and over.

I'm going to speak severely to him this time around if he brings it up again, I promised myself. Like he could read my mind, he looked at me intently and sneered, after which he fixed his gaze on one of the maids.

The maid understood his gesture without having to hear him speak. She straightened up and sauntered to where we stood.

"Always at your service, Alpha," she said, bowed for a few seconds, and then stood at attention.

"Her luggage is in the car. I need you to get them upstairs as soon as possible."

She nodded her head as she muttered, "Alright, Alpha. It would be done right away," and then dashed off.

The second sitting room was staring right at us and it looked even more exotic than the first and had more expensive stuff in it. My jaw dropped in astonishment and I couldn't but marvel.

"Good evening, brother!" I heard the shrill voice of a lady from behind me, which startled me a bit. I turned and there stood a lady who wouldn't have been more than twenty years of age.

"Good evening," I managed to say but without a smile on my face.

She stared a while at me and then moved them to Scott. I knew that look, as I had used it a lot of times when I wanted to ask a question of my mom and didn't want to ask it so directly.

Scott recoiled towards me and wrapped his arm around me without an iota of emotion or excitement. He didn't need to tell me.

I managed to smile brightly at her. "Hi sister, this is Emma, my mate, and she is my Luna," he announced casually. My heart fell as he spoke. Never in my life did I anticipate my mate would treat me this way. He was so cold and even the arm that was around me felt so distant, even though it was around my neck.

The lady, who I later found out went by the name Anna, walked up to me with a welcoming smile and locked me in a tight embrace. She was rather excited and I could see it written all over her.

"This is good news. Mom must be so excited," she shrieked, unable to keep herself in check. Scott scoffed and then went off.

We headed to what I found out was the main sitting room and damn, it was even more astonishing. "You can have your seat there. Let me get the rest of the family," she mumbled and raced off.

I stole a glance at Scott. He seemed so engrossed in his phone that he had forgotten I even existed. Bile gathered in my throat as I attempted to speak to him but to no avail. I couldn't even get the words out.

His mother, sister, and two brothers arrived at that moment; their gazes fixed on me like I was some object from the museum.

"So this is the one we have been waiting for, right?" The elegant middle-aged woman, dressed impeccably in black floral attire, asked, not waiting for a response as she moved her gaze to Scott at once. “Aren't you going to answer me?"

Scott rose to his feet, flinging his hands in the air. "You are right about that, Mom. She is my Luna."

"Oh my goodness! That's such great news. I would finally get the grandson that I want."

Her eyelashes fluttered at me, her nose in the air, and at once looked away. It was apparent she didn't fancy me. Perhaps, I was not what she expected.

The boys…. I noticed they were laughing and I could immediately tell I was the object of ridicule. Well, I was used to it so it didn't come as a shock to me.

"Stop that at once!" Their sister yelled at them in a loud voice. They went mute at once, lowering their gazes.

"You look so beautiful and it's good to have you here, Emma,” Anna said, giving me a warm smile.

I blushed, my eyes flickering incessantly as if they were being controlled by a switch. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind as they spoke but none of them seemed to matter, especially in this situation.

Anna moved towards Scott, giggling all over. "So what about the rites? When is it going to take place?"

Scott frowned. "What rites are you speaking of?" He sounded rather grouchy than he was initially.

Her brows furrowed. "The Luna's rite. These rites would make her the true Luna and would make people accept her. You know about this so why are you asking?"

Anger welled up in Scott, and I could see how hard he was trying to keep his anger in check.

"Please, let me be, Anna. I'm exhausted and I don't need anyone bugging me about some trivial stupid ceremony at the moment.”

"But I'm not bugging you. I'm only asking about the rites and rituals, which are as important as any other thing," she tried to explain but it seemed to upset him further.

He flew to his feet with bloodshot eyes. "I'm sorry but I won't be carrying out those silly traditional acts that you all seem to cherish so much," he yelled and stormed off.

…