《Taken By My Alpha》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 I stopped at the door frame and looked around. No Tiffany, No Brutus. Then I quietly sneaked out of the kitchen with a small sandwich in my hand. My father, the beta of Silvae Pack died several years ago from a rogue attack. My mom, rice, married the alpha of our pack, Brutus, whose mate had also died a few years ago after giving birth to his daughter, Tiffany. It was all good at first, but it turned to a living hell when two years ago, on my sixteenth birthday I shifted into something that no one, ever in the history of werewolves had ever seen- a dooling fluffy pup that can¡¯t even fight off a sick dog. That weakness became the reason for everyone in the pack to turn me into an easy target to bully along with Brutus, and Tiffany. Rushing to my mom who was taking away tes on the pack¡¯s dining table, I kissed her on the cheek, ¡°I¡¯m off to school, mum.¡± She briefly put her lips on my cheek, ¡°Brutus already drove Tiffany to the school. Take care of yourself.¡± ¡°I will.¡± I smiled reassuringly. Her tense gaze bore into my hazel eyes, filled with a warning. ¡°And, be on time for dinner tonight,¡± she said. ¡°they are your family, and you are eighteen now. You need to stop avoiding them whenever they are in the house. You have to bond with them.¡± ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t w*-¡± ¡°Stop arguing with me!¡± she said in a cold tone, her hand loosening on my arm, finally letting it go, ¡°Face the truth, Heather. The only reason you are not banished is that you live under the Alpha¡¯s roof!¡± She stared at me sternly ¡°I need you to think for yourself and I want you on the dinner table by eight.¡± Tears filled to the brims of my eyes. I tried to hold them because I didn¡¯t want to cry. I didn¡¯t want to be hurt. ¡°Wrong move.¡± I said coldly, ¡°Maybe I prefer to be banished and die. Tell them to do exactly that.¡° The cold mask on her face slipped for a few moments, revealing the helpless look in her eyes. I turned away and rushed out of the house. The look on her face hurt me deeper than I thought it would. Maybe I¡¯ll bring her some flowers on my way home today, I thought to myself, trying to quench the guilt. Deep down I know all she did was try to protect me. We didn¡¯t have a choice. This pack was our only home and the only ce where we could survive. ***** As I came out of the ss and crossed the red corridors to reach the cafeteria for lunch, I was greeted by Ashton, the ss clown hollering, "The freak is here!" I hardly had time to register the sound ofughter when I pushed open the door and a bucket of cold water fell over my head, drenching me from head to toe. Some people threw food at me, staining my jeans with mayonnaise, meat, and sauces. All of that paused suddenly as Tiffany entered the lunch hall with a chocte ice cream in her hands. Her face immediately soured and turned in my direction the moment she stepped inside. She had smelled my scent. The ice cream in her hand melted and dripped down on her brand new pair of shoes. She flinched instinctively, disgusted. Then like an idea struck her mind, she walked up to me until she was a foot away from me. She had an evil grin, ¡°Clean it.¡± Pepper and Sashaughed beside her. Last week I had gotten hit by Tiffany¡¯s same shoe in my face. That bruise still hadn¡¯t disappeared from the side of my cheek and hurt like hell. Resistance won¡¯t bring me anything good. So I pulled at the sleeve of my top to cover my palm and bent down on my knees to wipe the ice cream off. She kicked my knee, making me fall down on my ass, ¡°use your tongue, Heather hoe.¡± As much as I tried to endure her insults and bullying, her words were thest straw to my patience. This time I met her eyes with indifference, ¡°I won¡¯t be doing that. Please move out of my way.¡± My response seemed to have triggered her ego as she grabbed my arm and growled nastily, ¡°Have you grown a backbone now, dog freak? Losers like you should be grateful to be even left alive! If it wasn¡¯t for your slut mother seducing my dad the moment your father got buried in the ground, you wouldn¡¯t even have a roof over your heads!¡± That¡¯s it, I can feel my brain boiling in anger the moment she mentioned my mom. Before she could finish saying thest word out of her mouth, I pped her hard across the face. Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org. The chaotic room suddenly silenced. She fell down on the ground with her hand covering her face. I want tough at her expression but my senses areing back. And I¡­ became scared. My first instinct was to sprint from there. My feet stepped sideways and rushed out of the room before anyone could register what had just happened. I heard screeches from behind me, the most shrill sound was of Tiffany¡¯s voice screaming about how she is going to cut up my face with her own ws for touching her. I heard footsteps behind me and ran faster, my wet shoes sliding on the slippery floor as I rushed down the stairs, my chest aching for air. I was going to be punished severely if I didn¡¯t find some ce to hide. As I reached the ground floor, I felt trapped. ¡°I smell her! She ran down.¡± I heard a holler from the first floor. I turned on my feet and ran outside. Instead of going towards the ground, I ran sideways towards the janitors'' toilet booth that was built on the side of the school building. I huddled in a corner of the stall, trying to obstruct my mother¡¯s voice in my head. She was trying to mindlink me, but I blocked her out. The sun had set already and darkness covered the clouds. Assuming I had run off in the jungle, half of the people had run towards the trees to find me. I kept blocking my mom¡¯s billionth attempt to mindlink me. Maybe Tiffany had told her and Brutus about the p. Brutus didn¡¯t hit me in front of my mum. He took me in his office room with the pretense of making me understand things with patience and then hit me brutally in ces where the wounds weren¡¯t visible with his threats of kicking me out of the pack if I uttered even one word of his violence in front of my mum. ¡°Heather?¡± The door of the booth burst open, making my head snap up in fright. I shot up on my feet, trying to find a way out in the darkness but the only way out was blocked by a tall figure at the door. Before I couldpose myself, a pair of arms grabbed me and pulled me in a tight hug, ¡°I have been trying to find you for hours!¡± my mom¡¯s voice quivered, ¡°you made me sick with worry, Heather!¡± ¡°Y- yes.¡± I whispered, buried my face in her arm, and couldn¡¯t control my heavy sobs from escaping any longer, ¡°I am sorry for saying those nasty things to you. I am so sorry for causing trouble again, mum. I didn¡¯t want to hit Tiffany.¡± She pulled back. Her hazel eyes, the same color as mine, were filled with redness while her thin face didn¡¯t have a trace of that familiar worry and tension for the first time in years. ¡°I know. I am sure that pretentious bitch deserved it.¡± she said and smiled at me. I gasped in shock as I heard her say that. She had never, NEVER, said anything bad about any pack member in her whole life. A wave of happiness spread through me, making my dry lips curve in a smile. Grabbing my hand, she started pulling me out of the toilet, ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for your scent, I don¡¯t know what I would have done.¡± I looked around the ground while running to match her hurried steps towards the car. No one was around any longer. She opened the car door for me and as I started getting in, she grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Her eyes roamed over my body from head to toe, her lips thinned into a straight line of anger. She went towards the car trunk, and a minuteter returned with a dress in her hand, ¡°Get in the back seat and change into this.¡± Halfway through the road when I changed my clothes, I realized we were not on the way back to our pack. Instead, we were on a highway. Fear gripped my chest so hard that I couldn¡¯t even breathe properly. Had Brutus kicked me out of the pack for hitting Tiffany? ¡°Mom, where are we going?¡± I asked in a barely audible voice. ¡°Somewhere far from here.¡± she closed the car windows and increased the speed of the car. A painful grip seem to have clutched my throat in guilt, ¡°Di- did they kick us out of the pack because of what I did?¡± She shot me a nce through the frontview mirror, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, honey. Don¡¯t worry.¡± All I could feel were anxiety, dread, and distress. Werewolves who didn¡¯t have any pack didn¡¯t live long. They either went insane or became easy targets to kill. She could perhaps see the way I had started to have a panic attack through the mirror as her gaze turned from determined to a worried one within a few seconds. ¡°Heather, look at me!¡± her grip on the steering wheel tightened, ¡°It is not your fault! And we didn¡¯t get kicked out, we are running away from that pack. Willingly. For all these years I stayed in that house because I had to protect you.¡± I was confused by her words. Not understanding why she was suddenly so changed. ¡°I overheard Tiffany and Brutus a few hours ago. They were trying to make a n to banish you secretly without letting me have a hint of suspicion.¡± ¡°What?!¡± all breath had left my lungs as I stared at my mum, aghast, ¡°Was it because I hit her?¡± Regret was clear in every fiber in my body, wishing for the time to go back so I could just lick that damn shoe off instead of subjecting my mom to a life of insanity or death because of a momentarily slip of anger. ¡°No, no honey. I should''ve known they will never really ept you. But mommy is here. Mommy will protect you. .¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± She rotated the steering wheel to take a turn, ¡°There¡¯s only one pack that¡¯s stronger than everyone else- Moonstruck pack. There are rumors of the alpha killing half of his pack when he had seeded to alpha position several years ago. But rumors also say that he is wise and strong.¡± she took a heavy breath and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know if he will take us in or kill us at first sight foring from a rival pack. But he is the only one that we can hope to save us.¡± The road passed by in a blur in the darkness of the night as terror now flooded my veins. I tried to keep my eyes on the road ahead, but it was impossible not to think about whaty ahead of us. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 ¡°Almost there.¡± Mum whispered while slowing the car and turning down the heat. ¡°What are we going to say to them?¡± I huddled closer,ing at the edge of the seat nervously, ¡°are we going to tell them that my wolf is a useless pup so our pack didn¡¯t want me?¡± Mom fell silent for a moment, then her hands started fishing around in the dashboard to look for something, ¡°No. We are going to tell them that Alpha Brutus was violent and abusive to me.¡± she said calmly and took out a crowbar. Without a warning, she smashed it on her forehead. ¡°MOM!¡± I screamed in horror. Her head started bleeding so much! ¡°Hush.¡± she murmured and put the bloody crowbar back in the dashboard, ¡°A small price to pay for a new future, Heather. ¡± She calmly wiped away the overflowing blood with kleenex. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hurt yourself.¡± I had my hand on my mouth to suppress my sobs, ¡°mom-¡± ¡°I did what I have to do for us to survive.¡± She put down the paper and turned to me. Her big eyes gleaming in the dark, staring at me intently. ¡°Mommy did this for us, for you. The best you can do is to make my sacrifice worth it.¡± I lowered my hands and wiped the tears from my eyes while nodding my head. She was right. I couldn¡¯t see her get hurt because of me any longer. Ten minutester, we were at the entrance of Moonstruck pack. Pack soldiers were guarding the territory at night actively. One of them immediately ran towards our car when it came to a stop in front of the gates. He was a young, handsome man, with muscles bulging through his fair skin. He stood at six feet tall, with the build of a warrior. His hair was ck, it fell to his shoulders. Leaning down to look through the car window, he nced at the both of us before asking, ¡°How can I help you?¡± His knitted brows were focused on the wound on my mom¡¯s head, but ignoring his piercing eyes, she turned off the ignition and got out of the car to speak with him. I followed her suit. My mom told him our names and from where we came, asking to meet the alpha. He was clearly surprised to hear that we were from Silvae pack. As the rivalry between both the packs went back to several decades, I don¡¯t think they ever had a visitor from the opposing pack. ¡°I am Alfred, Beta of Moonstruck pack.¡± he said, ¡°I will be back in a bit. Please wait here.¡± He turned around and jogged towards the pack house. It didn¡¯t take him too long to return, ¡°Alpha is ready to see you. Please follow me closely.¡± THE ALPHA. The two words circte in my mind. This is the moment, I thought to myself, I could die today. The Moonstruck packhouse was surrounded by arge forest on all sides, giving enough space for the pack wolves to run and y without fear of being hunted by the humans. Right next to the packhouse, there was arge area for pack warriors to train in their wolf and human form. As we walked inside, the house had white walls and chocte-colored floors that gave it a warm and weing feel, with tall ceilings andrge windows. Our pack also had these things, but much smaller inparison to this pack. We were directed to a room on the top floor. Beta Alfred knocked on the door, a heavy voice came ¡° Send them in.¡± I can feel myself shiver. At the very first nce, I realized it was alpha¡¯s office. The room wasrge, with a high ceiling and long, wooden support beams. There was arge, brown couch on the one end of the room, ced on an elevated tform. A man in a ck sweater sat on the couch majestically, looking down on all of us. His one muscr leg resting on the other one, his hands resting on the arms of the couch, he was staring at the fire in the firece. He had tanned skin like he had run constantly under the sun. His eyes turned to us as soon as we entered the room, as if to pierce into our souls. I dropped my gaze instantly, staring at the ground. I was intimidated by his presence. But strangely I could still feel his intense eyes on me like the warmth of the fire on my skin. ¡°I am Tiberius. Alfred told me about your and Heather¡¯s situation,¡± he said in a deep, masculine voice that was devoid of any emotions. ¡°Thank you for letting use to you.¡± mom said respectfully. There was something powerful about him. Unlike any man I had ever seen, Alpha Tiberius exuded power and confidence. I can imagine him killing half of the pack without a blink, I thought gravely, trying to act normal. But the more I try, the harder it is. I can¡¯t pay attention to their conversation at all. Their words buzzed and slid past my ears. When I finally managed to control myself, I heard the Alpha asking, ¡°I gather that you want to leave Silvae pack to live with us. But by taking you under my protection from them, what use would you be of to me?¡± My mom obviously had thought through everything. It didn¡¯t take her long to answer him. ¡°I was their Luna. I know more confidential information about that pack than any of your informers can ever bring to you.¡± He finally smiled. Is that it? Did we make it? I can¡¯t breathe. ¡°Alfred, take rice to see a doctor.¡± this time he spoke in a soft tone, ¡°make sure that she is well taken care of.¡± My head shot up in fright and met his intense eyes for the first time. Along with having a well-built body, he was extremely handsome as well. The messy hair and thick eyebrows indicated a primal charm. Suddenly a tingling shock ran through my whole body. As I turned my head in mom¡¯s direction, I could clearly see her eyes were filled with the same emotions as mine- fear, and worry. She doesn¡¯t want to leave me alone here with the Alpha. But we both knew she didn¡¯t have a choice other than to obey. They left the room, and then the Alpha stepped down and came close to me. Am I gonna die now? My head is filled with irrelevant thoughts about ways to die. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard him ask, ¡°How old are you?¡± He stood just a bit away from me with his arms folded over his chest, studying me. ¡°Eighteen.¡± He seemed surprised at my answer but quickly went back to his usual nk face. His brows knitted in tension, then he asked, ¡°Have you found your mate yet?¡± Oh god, did we get ourselves a nosy Alpha? I was caught between being scared and offended. Calm down, Heather, calm down. ¡°I.. I don¡¯t think so, Alpha.¡± I heard a few footsteps, and when I turned my head back in alpha¡¯s direction, he was already barely one step away from me. His sharp gaze roamed over the parts of my naked skin visible to his eyes, ¡°Heather, did your step father abuse you as well?¡± There was an edge in his voice that seemed to havee from nowhere. Like he was angry at me. My body shivered in dread now. With his words, he had taken one more step closer to me, and there was no space left between our bodies anymore. I instinctively took a step back, stumbled on my feet, and almost fell down but an arm N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. slipped around my waist to catch me and pull me back to the same position. Alpha¡¯s firm body pressed against my small frame while I felt his warm breath in my neck, fanning over my skin. I was startled by our sudden closeness, but his face got closer to my skin instead of moving away. A momentter, he murmured, ¡°There is a scenting from you.¡± No, no, no no no!!! Had he found out about my wolf?! His rough fingers grasped the neckline of my dress, and pulled it sideways, revealing my naked shoulder to his eyes. I flinched a bit when his thumb gently rubbed over a scar that still hadn¡¯t fully healed. The coarse skin of his hand tickled my skin. The heat from his touch sent tingles in each nerve of my body. All I can feel is his hands on my body. A momentter he drew away from me and took a step back. His hands left my body and I felt the loss of his touch like a bucket of cold water on my skin for some reason. ¡°No one in this pack will ever hurt you.¡± Hearing him say this, a wave of emotions surged through me suddenly. Focus Heather. I nudged myself. Remember what he is capable of. The door opened, my mom walked in, breaking the trance I and alpha were in while staring at each other. She had a bandage wrapped around her forehead. Alpha turned around, his hands clenched tight in fists as he returned to sit on the couch. Mom¡¯s concerned eyes met mine and looked relieved when she saw I wasn¡¯t harmed or panicking anymore. ¡°Both of you should take rest.¡± his eyes turned towards Alfred who stood at the doorframe, ¡°Alfred will take you to your new houseter. For the night you can rest in the guest room. Heather can start school here from next week.¡± ¡°No, that won¡¯t be needed.¡± mom sped my hand in hers, ¡°she can start school from tomorrow. There won¡¯t be any need to wait until next week.¡± My shoulders stiffened in tension. I had just gotten freed from the clutches of my old bullies. I could be facing the same destiny in this new school as well. I didn¡¯t want to go back to school tomorrow only, but I also couldn¡¯t say no to my mom. I stayed silent. Alpha didn¡¯t say anything for a few seconds, like waiting for something. ¡°Alright. Alfred will take you both to your new house to settle in.¡± My mom¡¯s face brightened in happiness instantly. Bowing down her head in respect when we started to leave, he called my name from behind. As I halted and turned, he smiled, ¡°Wee to the pack.¡± Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Alfred led us out of the packhouse and towards the line of white houses that ended at a certain point. I wasn''t in the mood to listen to him introducing the buildings and territories. All I know is that I need to attend school tomorrow. After walking for about five more minutes, a new, small house appeared. It had a rustic, country feel to it. The ceilings were high, the floors were wide, and the windows were big enough to let in a lot of natural light. There were usual supplies and bedsheets already set up, white sheets covered them to save them from catching dust. After Alfred returned to his pack duty, I started cleaning up the ce. Mom offered to help, but noticing that wound on her forehead, I begged her to go to sleep. I don¡¯t have a home anymore after dad died. Every minute, there¡¯s always someone, making sure to remind me to be grateful that I¡¯m able to live. And now as I get to clean my own home, it was actually therapeutic for me. An hour and a halfter, I was done with dusting the ce, wiping up the kitchen, couches, and bed. The only thing that stopped me from constantly thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow at the new school, was focusing on rubbing each corner of this house spotless with my hands until my body started aching. I grabbed a ss of water from the kitchen and went to my mom¡¯s room, but I stopped in front of her door when I heard her sobbing. My grip tightened on the ss in my hand. Even though Brutus had been cruel to me, he had been good to my mother. She had considered everyone a family in our old pack. She left them behind and everything else for me. My heart ached as I felt the guilt grow in my chest. I need to pull the school stuff off. The next morning, by the time the clock struck eight, I was already up and had bathed. Since I wasn¡¯t able to fall asleep, I had kept on thinking about how I will avoid everything that wille my way at the school. Mom hadn¡¯t woken up, so I let her rest and left a note on the table next to her, letting her know that I was leaving for school. I was going to go to the packhouse to get way for the school, but as soon as I opened the door, I saw Alfred standing outside the door with his arms crossed over his chest, just looking around coolly. He turned to face me when I stepped out, ¡°Right on time?! Impressive.¡± ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I closed the doors and turned to face him, confused. ¡°Alpha¡¯s orders.¡± he shrugged nonchntly and handed me a school bag that felt a bit heavy, e with me.¡± I had to jog behind him to catch up with his fast steps as he led me towards the school on foot. ¡°Why are you the one taking me to school?¡± I asked hesitantly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the beta? You must have more important things to do besides walking a teenage girl to school, right?¡± He sighed heavily and turned his face to me. ¡°I am thinking the same thing. I don¡¯t walk anyone anywhere unless it¡¯s someone VIP.¡± he said with a frown, ¡°Hell, even then I am given the most important works instead of having to show them the way.¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± I murmured. ¡°You better be.¡± He strode along the way, and we arrived at the school in no time, ¡°Come, let¡¯s get this done quickly.¡± He said, ¡°We both have work to do.¡± Alfred talked to the front desk and handed me my ss schedule, then wished me good luck before leaving. I was looking through my schedule for my sses and times when someone tapped me on the shoulder. What the hell? I nearly jumped. When I turned around, I found a girl about my age, with long, dark hair, wearing a surprised expression. Oh Moongoddess. Why do I have to make a fool of myself in the first meeting?? ¡°Woah, Wow rx. You are Heather, right? Everyone was talking about how you and your mom joined our pack overnight but beta brought you to school?! That¡¯s beyond shocking!¡± I didn¡¯t answer. Was I about to get in trouble already for snatching someone¡¯s crush? She tilted her head sideways as if she were amused by myck of response. She looked at the schedule in my hand and said, ¡°I am Ariel. You¡­ have the same sses as me. How about I be your guide today?¡± There was no one in the hall. Even though I was hesitant, I nodded my head and smiled gratefully, ¡°thank you.¡± Someone volunteered to be my guide! What¡¯ll happen next, will she propose to be my friend? I can¡¯t help being hopeful inside. I feel like some mixed feelings are warming up my chest. While walking, I looked around, trying to take everything in. The school corridor was lined with lockers and smelled of sweat and pencil shavings. Most of the students were concentrated in the far end of the corridor, talking in small groups. I felt a familiar knot in my stomach and swallowed hard. Instead of going to a ssroom, Ariel led me to the training field behind the school where several pairs were fighting with each other. ¡°It¡¯s the midterm trial in two days, so everyone is training for that,¡± she said excitedly. I felt a tight grip around my neck. With no powers at all, these people were going to crush me with one hit. My secret was threatening to be out before I had even finished the first hour in school? Ariel seemed to have smelled the strong scent of my distress. She grabbed my wrist and said softly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry! You are new here, so you don¡¯t need to participate today. I am sure the teacher won¡¯t mind.¡± My heart slowed down a bit hearing her words. We stepped down the stairs while staring at the several pairs. My eyes fell on the one blonde girl who was fighting particrly fiercely, ducking and weaving in an almost choreographed fashion. I wondered to myself how she was even able to see, let alone react, but she seemed to be doing just fine. ¡°That¡¯s Christine.¡± Ariel noticed the direction of my notice and whispered in a low voice, ¡°she is a danger zone.¡± I looked at her, puzzled. Christine is grinning while attacking her training partner, who has bruises all over her face and is about to lose. My eyes quickly met with Christine¡¯s, and suddenly something sharp flew towards me. I didn¡¯t even have the chance to react before it pierced through my arm and fell to the N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. ground. ¡°Is that a hairpin?¡± Ariel¡¯s mouth was open in horror, ¡°what the hell?!¡± I winced in excruciating pain, our heads snapped in the direction of thebat fights but before we could call anyone out, Christine came stalking towards us. That bruised partner followed her. She is gloating and smiling. It¡¯s obvious the school is her yground. My wolf sense rings the rm. ¡°That¡¯s mine.¡± she extended her palm and wiggled her fingers in front of us, ¡°it flew out of my hair. Give it back.¡± ¡°Oh piss off, Christine! You hit her on purpose. I saw that.¡± Ariel snapped in anger. Christine¡¯s eyes narrowed, and asked the poor bruised girl, ¡°Did I attack her on purpose, Ems?¡± That poor girl shrinked, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t see anything.¡± Christine then turned to us, ¡°See that? No one is closer to me than Emily. So now get some sses if you are blind and stay out of my business.¡± Before I could do anything, Ariel bent down to pick up the hairpin from the ground, and threw it in Christine''s face, ¡°Stop being a bitch. Ah I got it now. Are you jealous that Heather is raised by an alpha family? Feeling threatened, aren¡¯t you?¡± Christine¡¯s expressions changed from triumphant to pissed off within seconds. Her teeth clenched tight, she took a threatening step toward us, And I jumped out before Ariel. If I can¡¯t even try to protect my only friend so far, then what am I? Christine was about to pounce on me when a deep and strict voice emerged from behind. ¡°What is going on?¡± When Alpha Tiberius¡¯s voice resonated through the training field, I froze. Ariel and I turned around to find Alpha Tiberius and Betaing towards us from the other side of the field. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 My breath got stuck in my throat in fear and panic. I had vowed to not be a troublemaker in this school, and that promise had gotten broken within fifteen minutes of stepping inside the school. What if Alpha kicked mom and me out? We didn¡¯t have any other ce for survival. Christine quickly rushed to alpha¡¯s side and grabbed his hand, ¡°Alpha I-¡± Alpha Tiberius snatched his hand from her grip while Ariel interrupted Christine in a higher voice, ¡°Alpha, Christine hurt Heather! Her arm is bleeding.¡± A smirk yed on Alfred¡¯s lips, but he quickly hid it with his palm. Tiberius¡¯ body became taut, and his eyes left all signs of amusement behind. A re took ce in them. ¡°You are aware that you aren¡¯t allowed to hurt anyone in the school, aren¡¯t you?¡± his angry eyes bored into Christine¡¯s intimidated ones, ¡°what do you have to say to exin yourself for hurting another student physically?¡± Christine seemed to have lost all signs of arrogance and happiness as she took a step back. The effect of alpha¡¯s authority was clear on her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t hurt her on purpose, alpha. The hairpin just flew out of my hair and hit her.¡± All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. ¡°Liar!¡± Ariel gritted out, ¡°I saw you throw that pin at her.¡± Tiberius¡¯ eyesnded on the bleeding wound on my arm. He grabbed my hand and pulled it higher to stare at it while instinctively, I tried to pull it back. ¡°Don¡¯t move¡± He whispered, not allowing me to do so. His fingers inspected the small wound on my arm. My ear must be ming red right now. The crowd is silent, no one dares to ask what is going on. Christine left her mouth open, as if she just witnessed the dooms day. Atst, he finally let me go while snatching the hairpin from Christine¡¯s hand. His poker face is back. His posture impable. Tiberius turned to Christine, whose face is pale like a zombie. ¡°Everyone in this pack has been told over and over again that we are a big family. Do you remember that?¡± ¡°Yes.. Alpha.¡± Her voice is shaken. ¡°And what¡¯s our motto?¡± ¡°Blood is thicker than water.. ¡± ¡°Do you know what happens when you attack your family?¡± Tiberius takes a step closer to her. Christine almost copsed. Yet he continued , ¡°then you have to pay an eye for an eye.¡± With that, he hand over the hair pin to me. ¡° I give you permission to cause the same wound on Christine on anywhere you choose.¡± My mouth dropped open while gasps came from all around. Christine was horrified, but she eventually managed to speak. ¡°She is going to scratch my face or my neck or anywhere. I will look ugly with a nasty scar! How can you allow her to hurt me?¡± Christine screamed. Her voice trembled as she shouted at Alpha, ¡°Alpha, you can¡¯t do that!¡± No one pays attention to her. I wasn¡¯t even sure what I was going to do. I mustering up all my courage, step by step, and walk closer to Christine. The hairpin is in my hands. For the first time in my life, I have the to hurt the privileged and ungrateful people. But I turned around. ¡°Thank you, alpha. But I¡¯d rather pass. .¡± I had to rush to finish before I lose all my confidence. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be the kind of person that I hate.¡± I give the hairpin back to him. ¡°Although if that is alright with you¡­ can I please not take part in the uing midterm trials? I am new here and not prepared¡± He gripped the pin in his hand. His gaze bored into Christine¡¯s face for a moment before clenching his eyes and turning to me, ¡°If that is what you want. Sure.¡± Feelings of relief rushed through my heart like a fireball. As I listened to his approval, I found myself smiling at him, which made mee to my senses and look away from him quickly. ¡°Alpha, there is a call for you.¡± Alfred handed Tiberius a cellphone. He gave onest look to me, before turning around and leaving with Alfred to talk on the phone. Christine had a very nasty look in her eyes when she red at me. Ignoring her, Ariel grabbed my hand and took me back to the school hallways. We reached the lockers where she showed me where I could keep my stuff. Once done closing the door, Ariel got closer to me to murmuring, ¡°You need to stay away from Christine from now on. She is the queen bitch of the school who is the leader of all bullies and she is very popr for holding grudges and paying things ten folds.¡± I stared at her with concern. I hadn¡¯t even done anything! ¡°Why would shee after me now?¡± Ariel rolled her eyes and hit my forehead with the roll of papers in her hand, ¡°Are you a dummy? Couldn¡¯t you see her literally drooling on the floor as soon as Alpha came to us?¡± Realization dawned on me. She did look about ready to lick alpha¡¯s feet if he asked her to. The look in her eyes was of pure admiration. ¡°She has a major crush on alpha. With the way alpha protected you from her just now, obviously, she isn¡¯t going to let it go easily. I bet her mind is already thinking of ways to make your life miserable without letting the alpha know.¡± I huffed out a frustrated sigh, ¡°I don¡¯t even want to be anywhere near her or Alpha Tiberius! I haven¡¯t finished my first day at school and all this drama has already started.¡± Ariel patted my shoulder to console me. I let my head fall on the locker¡¯s door, determined to not cross paths with Christine nor the alpha to stay alive for at least one week in this pack. The school day ended with peaceful sses after that, thankfully. By the time I returned home, mom was already in the kitchen setting up arge table filled tes and food. ¡°Mom?¡± I grinned, happy and surprised. She¡¯s making tacos today! ¡°Happy first day at school, baby.¡± She kissed me on the cheek as I put the bag on the couch and returned to sit at the dining table. I start to grab food the moment I sit on the chair. Mom makes the best Brisket tacos ever! Slowed- cooked juicy pork and beef, with fresh lettuce, tomato, onions and pineapple. Not to mention thest punch of her home-made salsa, YUM. I had been so worried about her sincest night. Now seeing her up and running again made my heart Mom joined me and start eating. Weughed and talked like a normal happy family. Yet, the loving feeling is lost the moment I told her that I had managed to convince the Alpha not to let me take part in the midterms trial, her smile disappeared. ¡°Why would you do that? I told you a hundred times that you need to fit in!¡± she hissed, mming her hands down on the table. I was taken aback by her change of temper so quickly, ¡°Mom, I- I am not as strong as them. You know I will get hurt badly if I participate. They will know I don¡¯t have my wolf!¡± ¡°Stop making excuses for everything, Heather!¡± she cried out angrily, ¡°I lost everything for you! Our house, pack, my husband, everything! I told you that you HAVE to take every training to be stronger and grow up.¡± ¡°Mom, I can barely shift into a small wolf! How will I fight them?¡± She was even more enraged than before, "There is no rule that requires you to change during the trial," she said. For crying out loud, it''s a school exam! You will be safe! If you can not even handle this small school fight, how are you going to face the real cruel battles that packs go through year after year? For how much longer are you expecting to remain a child in my arms instead of learning to fight for yourself to live with a pack?!¡± I couldn¡¯t believe how mom had turned a blind eye to something that wasn¡¯t even in my control. I wanted to be a stronger wolf than anything else in this world, but she didn¡¯t see my disability as a disability. If even my mom wasn¡¯t ready to acknowledge it, how can I expect others to? ¡°Then I don¡¯t want to live in a pack!¡± I shouted, and stood up from my seat, shaking in fury, ¡°maybe it is time for you to ept that you gave birth to a disabled freak!¡± The sound of her palm hitting my face echoed in the house. My face hurt, but more than that my heart ached from everything she said to me. My cheeks tingled with tears as I sobbed, "I tried so, so hard to please you." My voice cracked through the heavy tears as my breath became shallow, ¡°I thought I had done well today. Handled everything like a grown up would. Like you expect me to be, no matter what others do to me only toe home and hear from you that it¡¯s not enough. When is it going to be enough, mom? When will I be good enough?¡± Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Her face grew grim as the shadow of guilt covered her. She stepped forward and grabbed my arms, pulling me into a hug. She broke down in tears, "I am so sorry, darling. I shouldn''t have hit you." I tightened my grip on her body. It was unbearable to see her cry like this. ¡°You are the only one I have left, Heather,¡± she whispered in sadness, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to happen to you.¡± She pulled back from the hug. Her eyes were red. I felt bad seeing her like this. She had already cried so much sincest night and now I made her cry again by saying things in anger. She put her palm on my face gently, her gaze filled with concern, ¡°I want you to be stronger, and safer, Heather. In the future, don¡¯t talk to alpha unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary. I don¡¯t want his attention on you.¡± I nodded my head. It was not like I had any choice in my interaction today with him as well, but I couldn¡¯t convince mom otherwise. ¡°Finish your dinner. I have to do something important.¡± she murmured and kissed my cheek. I watched her back as she gulped down a ss of water before walking out of the house. With a heavy heart, even though I wasn¡¯t hungry anymore, I tried to fill up my mouth with food. Ten minutes passed, I had covered the dishes and put the remaining food in the fridge when the doorbell rang. Confused, when I opened the door, I found Beta standing in front of me with his shoulders leaning against the doorframe. ¡°All good, miss VIP?¡± His eyes took in my face and the teasing smile from his lips instantly vanished, ¡°what¡¯s wrong with your face?¡± I instinctively put my hand on my cheek to cover the red print, ¡°What are you doing here at this time?¡± His brows stayed furrowed in concern, ¡°Alpha¡¯s orders. You need toe to the packhouse with me.¡± My heart started thumping in my chest. Why would Alpha call me to the packhouse at this hour? And mom wasn¡¯t even here! I didn¡¯t have any other choice than to close the doors and follow him. Alpha¡¯s orders werew in the pack. As much as I would have loved to avoid a confrontation with him again, as mom had wanted, I couldn¡¯t ignore his orders. Beta Alfred took me to the packhouse and led me straight to the same office that I hade to on my first day. He knocked at the door, when Alpha asked toe in, I stepped inside and heard the door getting shut behind me. When I looked up, my eyes widened as I saw mom standing by the couch with alpha. I saw Alpha Tiberius¡¯ eyes stuck on my reddened cheek and his jaw tightened visibly. ¡°What happened to your face?¡± he asked, calm as an ocean. But I could see the thunder behind his calmness. ¡°Nothing.¡± I said way too quickly, nonchntly, and with indifference, ¡°I was walking and texting at the same time so my face bumped into the wall at home.¡± The stern look never disappeared from his face. He stared at me for a moment, then nced at my mother before returning to me with a look of scrutiny. He didn¡¯t believe my excuse, but thankfully, he didn¡¯t try to pry any further. ¡°Your mom says that you want to participate in the trial?¡± For a moment, I was taken aback. I peeked at my mother who stood with her arms crossed on her chest, looking straight at me. She had already decided for me. I couldn¡¯t disagree.Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org. I nodded, feeling the blood rush in my ears at the mere thought of fighting with powerful wolves two dayster, ¡°Yes, alpha.¡± His lips thinned into a straight line as his gaze bored into me and then mom. He didn¡¯t say anything for a few moments; he just stared. Then, ¡°Alright,¡± he finally said, ¡°if that is your decision.¡± He walked up to me. My head tilted back to look at his face as he extended his hand and handed me the hairpin from this morning, ¡°Since what you had wanted isn¡¯t going to be fulfilled, you can ask for something else from me in the future.¡± My fingers had just touched his when I felt a jolt of electricity run through my body, making me take a sharp breath quickly and snatch back my hand. My whole body felt like it was on fire, and my heart was beating so fast I was sure he could hear it. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have done it, but I couldn¡¯t help myself. I wanted to feel more of him. He let out a low chuckle and lowered his hand but his eyes didn¡¯t leave my face, ¡°I know what we have to do.¡± Mom and I looked at him with confusion. ¡°You will be receiving a private training session from me tomorrow.¡± he finished and turned around to walk back to the table and lean against it. Is it an invitation to get myself killed by his hand and get exposed earlier than I had anticipated. ¡°Alpha, we can¡¯t trouble you with that.¡± mom rushed to my side to save me, ¡°it won¡¯t be fair to other students. Heather can¡¯t receive any special treatment.¡± Alpha was unphased by my mom¡¯s words, ¡°It is only fair to Heather since she is new and doesn¡¯t know anything about the fight trials of this pack.¡± Mom¡¯s fingers tightened in a fist while I felt her shiver beside me. She and I had the same fear, same concern in our minds but we couldn''t disobey the alpha. ¡°I will see you tomorrow.¡± he smiled encouragingly while looking at me, ¡°Alfred will drop you back at home. I have to talk to your mom about something.¡± My hand trembled as I gripped the corner of my cloth in nervousness. My gaze slid to look at mom who patted my arm in assurance and asked me to return first. With worry still clouding my heart, I came back home with Alfred. It seemed like hours had passed with me pacing back and forth in the hall with my mind making thousands of assumptions about what could have happened. When the door opened and mom walked in, I quickly ran to her, ¡°What happened? Why did Alpha hold you back at the packhouse?¡± She seemed tired but not hurt or worried, so it gave me a bit offort. She walked in and sat on the couch before exining, ¡°Alpha scolded me for being too harsh on you. He thinks I am very strict on you.¡± I took a deep breath and sat down beside her. I rested my head on her shoulder when she continued, "I want you to be polite to alpha, Heather," my mom demanded, cing her hand in mine. "But just stay away from him as much as possible." ¡°Okay,¡± I muttered, knowing I cannot decide at all what can happen tomorrow. Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Bidding a good night to mom when I returned to my room, I grabbed the phone off the nightstand and dialled Ariel¡¯s number. She picked up after two rings and chimed in before I had the chance to say a word, ¡°Can¡¯t stop missing me, do ya, bestie?¡± I rolled my eyes and grinned, ¡°Shoo, I am not that obsessed with you. I had something to ask that can¡¯t wait till tomorrow.¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°I.. I need you to tell me everything about Alpha.¡± She gasped, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are one of them! Do you know the tworgest groups in this pack?¡° ¡°No?¡± ¡°The I Want to Fuck Alpha club for admirers and The Alpha Fucked Me club for dissapointers, Honey. And there''s a syndrome named after him by broken-hearted boys and girls! ¡° All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Iughed, ¡°Do they really? Noooo, this is not what I meant. Long story short, Ariel, I¡¯m gonna participate in the mid-term trial. And Alpha said he will train me tomorrow so the fight is fair for me. ¡°WHAT?¡± I interrupted before she could go on a rant, ¡°but I am kind of scared. How will I even train with him?! He is all powerful, he will kick my ass within five minutes of stepping in front of him.¡± Ariel startedughing at my words, ¡°He is not that bad, Heather. I mean, yes, he is a great fighter, but he is good and kind to each one of us- until we do something bad. Our pack was a major mess before Alpha came into power. He is the one who united and strengthened us.¡± ¡°But I heard rumors that he is brutal and savage.¡± I murmured chewing on my nails nervously, ¡°before I came here, that¡¯s the only thing I heard about him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t believe whatever you hear, there are jealous people all around us who can¡¯t swallow the way Alpha rules with dignity.¡± she sighed and seemed to have fallen back toy on the bed from the sound I heard, ¡°anyway, I can¡¯t stop thinking about the private session you¡¯re gonna have with him! How did you even convince him for it?!¡± ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t. He ordered.¡± ¡°Kill me now.¡± she gritted, ¡°one day or other, you are going to have to tell me the magic trick that¡¯s up your sleeve making Alpha do things that he never did for any of us.¡± ¡°Never.¡± I teased and hung up the phone. ***** Walking through the packhouse¡¯s training field, I tried to nudge my wolf Selene, who as usual kept on sleeping and snoring. Just my luck! I sighed heavily. When I crossed half the field, I saw alpha standing on the other side on a high stand talking to someone. When he saw meing, the man he was talking to went away and alpha climbed down. There were many girls passing by constantly checking on him and giggling. Well, I had to agree that he looked gorgeous even though it was a Sunday morning. He stood tall, with broad shoulders and a muscr chest. His hair was neatly trimmed, making him look dashing. His eyes staring at me seemed to pierce right through me. He waved at me when he saw meing. I waved back and ran to him. He looked at me up and down, dressed in a simr sports attire as his with shoes on my feet. ¡°Come at me.¡± he stepped back, legs spread wide in an open position, ¡°I won¡¯t fight back. Try making a hit on me.¡± I looked at him wide eyed. Wasn¡¯t that¡­ too easy? I took a swing at him, but he dodged it easily. I looked into his eyes, saw the mischievous crinkle on the corner of his eyes. I tried again, and then again, he easily dodged each of my punches. I can tell he is used to this type of fight, so he is patient and waits for his opportunity to strike. As my body got exhausted, I straightened, shook my shoulders, and bent my knees, ready for the final strike, but when I rushed to him, he easily stepped sideways, and this time, I couldn¡¯t control my body and started falling. Alpha¡¯s hand on my waist was the only thing keeping me from falling, so I couldn''t move. When he pulled me back, my back fell against his front and I could feel his hard abs. I felt his hot breath on my neck and shivered, my body reacting without my permission. My face grew hot, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to look at him. At that very moment, Alfred appeared in the field like my lifesaver. ¡°Miss VIP, Alpha?¡± he called out our names as he came to us with three bottles of juice in his hands. Alpha pulled his arm off me and I quickly took several steps back to create a safe distance. ¡°Pretty hot today, huh?¡± he handed each of us a bottle, ¡°your faces have turned red already.¡± Both of us ignored him and gulped down the drink he had brought. When I capped it and put it aside, I noticed Alfred staring at me intently. ¡°What?¡± I asked, a bit intimidated. ¡°You have nice eyebrows.¡± he murmured. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Let me take a closer look.¡± he ignored my confused face and stepped close to me. His fingers smoothed over the outlines of my brows while I fumbled nervously on my feet Alfred had just smoothed his thumb over my brow when a hand on his chest pulled him back. ¡°Don¡¯t touch her.¡± Alpha snapped. Tiberius¡¯ voice was low and dangerous, his hands curled into fists at his side. I¡¯d never seen Alpha like this. He was usually so calm and in control. It was kind of eerie. Alfred raised his hands, palm up in defense and backed off. For some reason, he had a small smirk on his face, ¡°Got work to do. See you bothter.¡± he winked at me before walking away. ¡°Let¡¯s end the training here today.¡± Alpha snatched the bottle from my hands, bringing my attention back to him from Alfred, and threw the bottle in the dustbin. ¡°What about letting Alfred send me home?¡± I remembered clearly he said that yesterday to my mom. ¡°He has other tasks to finish. Can¡¯t you walk home on your own? Or do you need an escort to take you home?¡± He asked sarcastically. Did I imagine it, or does he suddenly seem sulky? He started taking steps closer to me until he stood right in front of me, his eyes staring at me intently, ¡°You move fast, and you have the ability to adapt quickly to your surroundings. You¡¯re skilled at maneuvering and escaping the attacks, so you can use your speed to your advantage and outmaneuver your opponents." Listening to himplimenting me in his deep voice made my heart thump harder. This is the first time anyone noticed my strength, not to mention advantages, during a training session. ¡°Thanks for your time and help today, alpha.¡± I said when we started to part our ways. He stepped closer to me, bent his head down close to my ear, and whispered, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have any favorites, but I am hoping that with your swiftness you will defeat all your opponents tomorrow.¡± Leaving me wide eyed, and a bit shaky, he pulled back, gave me a small grin, and returned to the packhouse. For the first time, I start to believe maybe I can survive tomorrow.... right? Chapter 7 Chapter 7 ¡°I will be there to watch you.¡± mom leaned in and kissed my cheek when I stood up from the barely eaten breakfast table. The worry for the trial today was eating at me from inside. And the thought of my mother watching me from the audience didn¡¯t help at all to curve down my nervousness and anxiety. The first thing I noticed when I arrived at school today was the new training field. The whole thing had been redesigned like the Colosseum in Rome! I made my way to the training field on the far side of the school. The whole space had been rebuilt with argebat stage in the middle and an audience area on the side. I could already feel the excitement building in the air. The entire school had gathered together to watch the trials like it was freaking Olympics! Damn my life. My palms turned sweaty and I couldn¡¯t get the thought of how many ways I can die today out of my head. At that moment, I saw Arieling my way dressed in her full bodybat outfit. ¡°My turn next!¡± she pped her hands excitedly as she skipped in my direction, ¡°geez, your face is so white. Are you alright?¡± ¡°Just nervous.¡± I responded with a nervousugh. ¡°You are going to do great, Heather! You havee from Silvae pack, and it¡¯s just second to ours. I am sure you will kick some asses with your moves today.¡± Only if she knew that I didn¡¯t fight even once in my whole life. This is getting even more stressful. ¡°I am off, they¡¯re about to call my name.¡± she patted me on the shoulders, ¡°I will meet you after the exam.¡± ¡°Good luck.¡± ¡°Same back at ya!¡± As soon as Ariel walked out of the room, my phone dinged with a text. Confused, because no one else but my mom and Ariel texted me, I pulled it out of my pocket. Alfred: Surprise! Girl, I got you a perfect rival. Just Wait and See! Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g! I didn¡¯t even want to know how he got my number. I got more worried about his ns of having special rivals for me. This man better pair me with the weakest link here, or I might haunt him in his sleep for a lifetime once I am done getting killed today. Clocks ticking by, and I saw peoplee and go, with excitement on their faces. God I must have waited for hours. From morning to Afternoon with only a in bagel for lunch. I swear that it¡¯s killing me slowly. ¡°Heather Silvano- You¡¯re next.¡± a voice called out from the speakers. Putting on a simrbat suit as Ariel¡¯s, I walked out on the big stage in the middle of the ground, and as soon as I saw the person standing in front of me with a smug smile on her face, I almost turned around and ran back. Christine. Damn it, Alfred! My eyes roamed through the audience until I found Alfred sitting with Alpha beside him in the smack middle of the audience. He gave me a big smile, like there was nothing more funny than seeing my death re on him. My gaze briefly fell on Alpha Tiberius and noticed his unmoving stare on me. I quickly looked away, back to Christine. His eyes always had such intensity that I couldn¡¯t bear to see. Once I was focused back on Christine, I saw the way she was staring at me and then alpha, visibly enraged. Fuck. Before I had the chance topose myself ande into a fighting stance, she shifted into a huge, fluffy, gray wolf, and lunged at me. I fell, lying on my side, my breath puffing out in front of me. My head started ringing, and my right arm felt numb. When I stood back up on my feet, Christine''s wolf was on its feet, growling and snapping at me just one foot away. Its fur was standing on end, and its teeth were bared in a snarl. And then it charged at me again, in order to block the attack, I drew my arms closer to my body, preparing for the attack. The sounds of wolf¡¯s growl filled the air. I tried to take breaths between its heavy attacks. Her fangs pierced through my nk, but those injuries are not deadly enough to kill me. I didn¡¯t have the courage to look in the audience to see the disappointed look on mom¡¯s face. The audience kept on screaming ¡®ooh¡­ and aaahhhhs¡¯ each time the wolf attacked and I tried to fight it off. Suddenly Alpha¡¯s words entered my ears that he had said yesterday- ¡®You move fast, and you have the ability to adapt quickly to your surroundings. You¡¯re skilled at maneuvering and escaping the attacks, so you can use your speed to your advantage and outmaneuver your opponents.¡¯ I took several steps back quickly and climbed up on the railings of the stage. When the wolf attacked me this time, I dodged at the veryst moment, getting saved from the attack and almost making the wolf fall off the stage to its defeat. The wolf turned its head again in my direction, and when it attacked, I used the same tactic to dodge its attack, making it almost fall several times off the stage, but missing out at thest moment as it grabbed the ground with its ws. The wolf suddenly paused, its bright, shining eyes turned to me with fury in them, and I understood, Christine had learned of what I was trying to do. This time when she jumped at me, there was no ying around. She grabbed me by my stomach, the world spun around me, and I felt myself falling. I tried to grab on to something, anything, but I couldn''t seem to find anything to hold on to. I hit the ground with a hard thud, and my vision went ck. I could still hear the growls and the snapping, but I couldn¡¯t feel my body anymore. It was all over. I couldn¡¯t move. The wolf¡¯s paws pin me down so I can¡¯t escape. I could feel her breath on my neck, and I knew that in a moment she¡¯s going to bite me. The pain will be unbearable, and there¡¯s nothing I can do to prevent it. I could feel my pulse racing. I could hear someone shouting to stop but the sound felt likeing from very far away. But Christine didn¡¯t obey. The wolf opened its jaw wide, bending in my direction to rip my skin off my body. I knew I was about to die. At that very moment, I felt a strange wave of sensation running through me. A power taking over my senses and my body, I felt myself gradually losing control. It felt like I was going to¡­. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Tiberius¡¯ POV The moment she climbed up the stage and came into my view, I could feel my wolf, Torin, howling in happiness. She looked beautiful standing under the fading sun in the middle of the arena, although looking quite anxious, perhaps because she was about to fight with an unfamiliar pack¡¯s wolf. When I had seen her for the first time in my office, I had thought that she hadn¡¯t recognized me because of being underage. But when she confirmed that she had already turned eighteen, I knew there was something wrong with her. And I was determined to find out what. From the way Alfred kept giving me sneaky smirks, I knew Alfred had figured out why I was so overly conscious around Heather. He is my closest friend, we had grown up together in this pack. I know I was not myid back, usual self whenever anything involved Heather, but I couldn¡¯t help my reactions either. Yesterday during the session, I had seen his dirty smirk when he had purposefully walked in on my private training session with Heather using the drink as an excuse. I wanted to be alone with her, but the bastard could not keep himself away from us just to have fun. And when he got close to Heather with his hands on her body, even if they were just a pair of damn eyebrows, my wolf started to lose control. Seeing Heather¡¯s attention fixated on Alfred sent a dark sensation through my body that I had never felt before- to the point that my wolf urged me to challenge Alfred to duel and prove to my mate that I am more deserving of her than any other man in the world. The only thing that stopped me is knowing that he was only teasing me to confirm his thoughts. I still wanted to kill him though. I already had a feeling that something was going to go wrong at this trial. She seemed too scared, but I didn¡¯t know what she was hiding from me so I had no way of helping her. I did not want to push her to confide in me until she was ready on her own, but even I hadn¡¯t imagined that things would get this nasty. Every time she took a hit from Christine, my fingers clenched tight to the point of drawing out my ws. I knew it was just a small school trial, but seeing my mate get hurt was the worse thing possible to endure. And then I saw her start using the tactic I had taught yesterday, my heart became full with pride. Clever girl. Torin hummed in agreement inside my chest. And then I saw, like everything happening in slow motion, Christine¡¯s wolf turned feral and attacked Heather with a deadly lunge. I jumped off the bleachers and ran towards the stage at full strength, knowing my mate¡¯s life was in danger. Christine¡¯s fangs were getting closer to Heather, I roared at her to stop but she ignored my order, lost in her bloodlust. And just when I thought I might be toote, Heather was gone. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g! A small, silver wolfy in front of me in ce of Heather. Christine seemed to have suffered from the same shock as me as her fangs snapped in the cold air, missing Heather¡¯s body. I kicked at her from the side, making her fall off the stage, and picked up the wolf in my arms protectively, growling angrily at Christine¡¯s wolf who whimpered and took several steps back from us immediately. Heather wolf pup was a unique gray color with bright, blue eyes that stared up at me curiously. Her fur was dense and silky. The wolf pup was so small and fragile. I never knew how much I could feel the need to protect someone in my life until this moment. I gently stroked the wolf pup behind the ears, hoping tofort her. Surprisingly, she turned her head and nuzzled my hand. My gaze turned back to the audience, noticing the way rice looked desperate and shell shocked. I climbed off the stage and stormed off from there. rice''s breaths were heavy and uneven, and then the moment her stupor broke, she came running towards us. ¡°Alpha, please give her to me.¡± she begged as soon as I came to a corner where no one else was present. Her hands shivered as she extended them wide, expecting me to just hand over my mate who had just almost gotten murdered! ¡°Back. Off.¡± I gritted. No wonder Heather had been resistant to take part in the trial. rice had just crossed the limits of my patience with this act of hers. Despite knowing her daughter¡¯s weakness, how can she put my mate¡¯s life in danger?! I sidestepped her to walk away, but she came in front of me again, her eyes burning with strong determination, ¡°Alpha, please give Heather to me. She hasn¡¯t done anything wrong. You can¡¯t hurt her.¡± ¡°I said move out of my way!¡± ¡°You can not take my daughter away from me.¡± she hissed angrily and tried to snatch the pup out of my hands. I couldn¡¯t contain the fury running through each nerve in my body. Even if rice was Heather¡¯s mother, no one can part me from her at this very moment. No one can stop me from protecting her! I immediately took a step back, growling at rice fiercely, ¡°I can do whatever the hell I want because she is my mate!¡± Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Selene¡¯s POV (Heather¡¯s Wolf Pup) Through the sound of uproar and chaos, I woke up. It had been a very long time since I saw daylight, although darkness had already started covering the sky because of dawn. People were screaming, shouting, the loud noise scared me and my body froze. I could feel the wind blowing through my fur, a sensation that I had not felt in a very long time. I just wanted to go back to my peaceful space where it was quiet and safe and where I could sleep again. But then the next thing I knew, a man snatched me off the floor and engulfed me in his arms. I was afraid and startled and about to bite him off. But then I smelled his scent and became still. It was the most intoxicating scent I had ever smelled, so instead of biting him, I found myself drowning deeper and sniffing more of it. Coconut, and a misty forest, all of my favourite scents were engulfed within his body. He cradled me in his arms, bringing me closer and I couldn¡¯t help but hum in contentment. I felt safe. The sound of a woman bickering broke my peace again. When I turned my head, I found mommy arguing with the man that was holding me, talking about mates, and safety, and hurting and things that I could not quite understand. I like both of them and I hated to see them fight. So I stuck out my tongue and licked his arm tofort and calm him. And it worked. Not only Ti.. Tibe..Damn it, Mr. T stopped the conversation with mom. Mommy stopped too. She stared at me with her wide eyes brimmed with sparkling water. Not a word is said. ¡°Fine, take her.¡± I hear her speak softly. Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org. Mommy gently patted on my body and then said to Mr. T, ¡°You can¡¯t cradle her all her life. She needs to learn to walk.¡± ¡®I know how to walk, mommy¡¯ I thought, trying to make noises. Mr. T didn¡¯t follow mommy, and instead he took us towards the forest on the other side. My ears perked up as I heard the sounds of birds and wind whooshing. He walked for some time until we were surrounded by trees and then he put me down on the ground. I jumped a bit when I felt the softness of soil under my paws. He then bent down on one knee in front of me, his one open palm came in front of me and rubbed my jaw lightly. It felt good, so I just leaned my head on his arm. ¡°Do you recognize me?¡± he asked suddenly in his rough voice. I straightened my head and looked up at him questioningly. I had not seen this man before. ¡°You can talk to me through the mind link. Can you do that?¡± he asked again when I did not do anything but stare up at him nkly. I tried to answer him, in any way, but nothing came out except for some squeaky voices that startled me as well and made me take a step back. He startedughing. With his mouth curved and his white teeth shining, he looked very beautiful. His eyes are like stars. The moon shone behind him in the dark sky. Then he took off his clothes, and shifted into his wolf. A giant ck wolf had reced his human form. I stared at him in awe and amazement but before I could stare at him more, he suddenly opened his jaws and fetched me by my neck. I made a sound of protest but then realised that his canines didn¡¯t hurt. He walked and walked and walked, I was about to wiggle in his grip again to get out when I heard the sound of water. I turned my head, and saw a giantke in front of us. He still kept walking while I stared at everything around me in fascination. There were flowers and huge trees and the smell around was like it had just rained. I needed to sleep less so that I could see things like these and this man more. He put me down when we reached the corner of the river. He thenid down on the ground while I started to finally jump around to look at everything around me. I suddenly stepped on something that made a loud snapping sound under my paws. I ran back to Mr. T who had turned his head and was looking at the twig under my paw and the freaked out expression on my face with an amused, tilted head. Ignoring hisughing face, I climbed on the top of his belly, walking around on hisrge body like it was my throne. This was fun! Even when I started jumping around, falling down from his belly and then climbing back up, he let me. I then felt him trying to say something to me through mindlink but I could not understand anything. I closed my eyes, and tried hard to hear what he wanted to say, but nothing seemed to work. I can not control this as well as Heather. I humphed aloud in frustration and slumped down on his body, just rolling around in his soft fur as the moonlight shined down on me. I was now tired but I had not had this much fun ever before. I felt safe too. ¡°Feisty little thing.¡± I shot up on my paws in shock. My heart thudded hard in my chest and my ears standing up high in the air to hear if there was a threat. And then I realised, the sound had echoed in my mind. I turned my gaze in Mr. T¡¯s direction and found him staring back at me with the same expressions as mine. It worked! I had just mindlinked with him! Then I heard his voice again, deep and soft, ¡°I have never seen a wolf like you.¡± I jumped off his tummy and walked closer to his face. His yellow eyes looked into my blue ones with an adoration that I had never seen before. I nudged at his nose with my own, thanking him. He extended his neck and bumped his head with mine, making me fall down a bit which just made me I rubbed his face with mine as I felt the transition taking ce and Heather taking back the human form. ¡°I am Torin.¡± - These were thest words I heard when I lost control and shifted into Heather. Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Heather¡¯s POV I woke up. Selene was still awake and was murmuring something in my mind when I changed back to my human form. But I did not have the time and energy to pay attention to what she was saying. I was stilling back to my senses. And then I looked down, and freaked out. I wasying on the back of a giant, ck wolf! The blush that rushed to my face could have burnt a hole through the wolf¡¯s fur if I had not shot up on my feet. I was butt naked. Damn it, where in the world were my clothes?! I looked around, found nothing but ake and trees and leaves all around. My face was burning in embarrassment and shame as his yellow eyes stared at me. I ran and grabbed the bark of a tree, hiding behind it even though it did a very lousy job at covering me. The wind in the atmosphere sent chills down to my whole naked body, making goosebumps appear on my skin. ¡°Don¡¯t run. Wait right there.¡± I heard Alpha say through mindlink. I lifted myshes, still red in face, to stare at him sneakily and found him shifting back in his human form. His hard back was in my sight, his hair blew with the soft wind and then before my eyes could wander down, I gave a mental p to my pervert brain and looked away quickly before he could catch me staring at him. ¡°Wear this.¡± a hand came into my sight with a ck shirt bunched up in the palm. I snatched it instantly. The hand went away, and with relief flooding my veins, I pulled the cloth over my head and pulled my arms through the holes. It fell to my knees. When I looked down at it, I recognized that this was the t-shirt Alpha was wearing during the trials. His t-shirt had engulfed my small form entirely like a loose dress. I came out from behind the tree and found him standing under the moonlight staring at theke silently. When he heard the sound of my footsteps, he turned to look at me. His smooth, hard abs were exposed to me while his bottom half was covered with a trouser. The pale moon shone down, illuminating his body and casting shadows from the trees onto his smooth, tanned skin. The shadows made his abs look even more defined, and as my eyes slid down, I noticed that he had an erection. My face was burning so much that I could have swore he saw how much red I was and was still holding back hisughter. Although it was true that I had never seen a naked man, and seeing a man like him, so gorgeous and handsome and hard¡­ I was one second away from burying my face in the sand. ¡°How do you feel?¡± I heard him ask. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Like an ostrich ready to find its way in the ground? I cleared my throat to appear confident, and indifferent, but when I spoke, my squeaky voice gave me away, ¡°Good?¡± God¡­ ¡®Tell him that my name is Selene.¡¯ Suddenly I heard Selene speak to me. I was shocked to hear hermunicating with me. She stayed asleep and dormant all the time. This was the longest that she had been active in my mind. And well, at least it gave me a topic to get over this embarrassment, ¡°M- my wolf wants to tell yours that her name is Selene.¡± I squealed out quickly. He grinned at my words, a wide, happy smile spread across his lips. ¡°My wolf¡¯s name is Torin.¡± he said and took a step closer to me, his eyes staring down at me with a strange intensity, ¡°tell her that my wolf finds her name just as pretty as her.¡± I was staring at him open mouthed. The realisation suddenly dawned that I had revealed my wolf in front of everyone in the pack just a few hours ago! I stumbled back when he took another step in my direction. My heart broke into millions of pieces within a minute. The pain spreading through my whole body felt unbearable to the point that even when he looked into my eyes, I looked right past him like he was invisible. Tears made their way on my cheeks silently. I didn¡¯t want to face him right now. I felt small and powerless in front of him. I wanted to run far away and hide. Before I could dive deeper into my overwhelming embarrassment, shame and sadness, he took two strides forward, and cupped my face in his palms. His hands tilted my head back, his thumbs wiping away the wetness from my cheeks. ¡°Hey¡­ why¡­ don¡¯t cry. What happened?¡±. I couldn¡¯t even look at him when I started to speak, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said to him. ¡°I shifted in front of everyone today. I know I¡¯m powerless, and useless to you, and I¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to hide it from you or the pack, alpha.¡± I paused, tears welling up in my eyes again. ¡°Please don¡¯t kick us out because of my disability.¡± In order to force me to look into his eyes, he pressed his fingers on my skin, and he titled my head back. "You are gorgeous!" he said. There is nothing to be ashamed of, neither your in this form, nor your wolf.¡± I could not believe what he had said. He found me beautiful even in my pup form? When I shifted at my old pack for the first time, I was unwanted by them. I was a burden, and a risk. I was weak, and I could not defend myself. I was not wanted, and to be rejected like that hurt. But now the alpha himself told me the words that I had never, ever expected to hear from anyone. ¡°It iste.¡± he said to me gently, ¡°should we go back home now?¡± Lost in his eyes, I just nodded my head. I had not even heard what he had said. He lowered his hands but grasped my palm in hisrge one. We started walking together, his steps were prettyrge so I had to take two steps at a time to match him. When I suddenly stumbled on my feet, he turned his head and noticed it. A small hint of a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth which made me frown. Why does he enjoy watching me embarrass myself?! We started walking again, this time he walked a bit slower so I was easily able to catch up with him. He was shirtless, and I was bottomless. It really felt like we were on the walk of shame. Instead of going towards the school ground, he took a different turn and led me through a small path until his house appeared in sight. Why would he take me here? I was confused for a brief moment, and then a shback came in front of my eyes. ¡®I can do whatever the hell I want because she is my mate!¡¯ Alpha had shouted this when I had shifted into my wolf! Waaait. I was Alpha''s mate?! As my heart began beating so fast, my eyes grew wide in shock. It was nerve-wracking, anxious, and thrilling all at the same time. Had I hallucinated? Before I could tame down my reactions, my gaze shot up to stare at alpha Tiberius. He looked so handsome, and confident, and everything I never was and never dare to expect... He extended his hand and opened the front gate for me, his heated gaze once again falling on me¡­ Chapter 11 Chapter 11 ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think that it would be appropriate for you and me to be alone at your house.¡± I murmured nervously without taking a step inside, ¡°I should go back home. Mom must be worried sick.¡± What was he thinking?! Sometimes I feel like I can¡¯t even breathe when I¡¯m in the same house as him. Being alone in the same room with Alpha Tiberius would probably be a nightmare! op 2 a ¡°I will inform her about everything, you don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± he said nonchntly like it was not a weird, big matter that I was going to live at alpha¡¯s house with him. Alone! I gulped hard, trying to force the words toe out in front of him, ¡°Alpha, I really think I should go back to my house. It wouldn¡¯t be.¡± ¡°There is nothing wrong with my mate living at my house with me. That is the bo tradition, isn¡¯t it, Heather?¡± He spoke softly, calmly. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, unable to form any words. Nothing can be heard except the chaotic symphony ying in my mind. es Wait. Oh. It seems what he had said the other day isn¡¯t a hallucination after all. Oh.. GOD ¡°But you a- are Alpha of the pack, and I a m¡­ well, me.¡± I murmured in a barely audible voice. I was not even looking at him directly. I was staring at his chest so I wouldn¡¯t have to meet his eyes. But then, I felt his rough palm slipping into mine as he responded, ¡°Which is perfect.¡± My eyes shot up and my gaze locked with his, and I was sure I saw a hint of a smile o n his lips. I felt a shiver run down my spine, and my heart began to race. With my hand clutched in hisrge one, h e led me inside his house. It was a modern house with a ssic touch. The rooms were open, the ceilings were high, and the furniture wasfortable. The walls were white, the furniture was white, the carpet was beige I guess I could say Alpha was a white person. There were some paintings on the walls b y some artists, polished antiques for a more ssic look. The whole house smelled likevender. 88 ?There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms.¡± Alpha showed me the ? bedrooms with his index finger as we stood in the living room hand in hand,¡± you can take that one and rest for now. The one next to yours is my bedroom. If you need anything, just call my name, a alright?¡± I nodded my head. Grateful that at least I was not going to live in the same room as him on the very first day of my arrival here. My heart was still thumping so hard that I was pretty sure he could hear every beat clearly. He let go of my hand after giving a soft squeeze, and went to his room. I couldn¡¯t even believe how my day had changed so drastically within a span of a few hours and now I was in Alpha¡¯s house as his mate and my mind just could not calm down. I shook my head to clear all the memories from the jungle that rushed in, bringing a bright red hue to my cheeks. I stepped inside my room and even though it was the same as the rest of the house, empty and white but sshed with colours of paintings on the wall, it felt warm. I went to the bathroom to take a bath first because my whole body was covered in dirt. By the time I came out in a bathrobe, I remembered that I didn¡¯t have any clothes with me. But I couldn¡¯t stay naked, of course. Stepping close to the only other door in the room that looked like a walk-in wardrobe, I opened and went inside. The wardrobe was filled with women¡¯s nightdresses. All of them were strap nightgowns which were way sexier than what I was ustomed to. out, I hesitated for a moment, but picked a dusting pink colour to put on. When I walked I couldn¡¯t help but stand in front of the full-length mirror on the side of the wardrobe to look at myself in the new attire. It was weird that he had a wardrobe full of women¡¯s clothes in his house when he lived alone. My fingers suddenly tightened in a fist as the dreading thought crossed my mind, like a light bulb suddenly getting turned o n. Were these his old girlfriend¡¯s clothes? She wore them? The giddy feeling I had just a few moments ago evaporated in the wind immediately. I straightened, dragged my feet to the soft, white bed, and fell down o n it lifelessly. I should have realised it already. I have always known my ce. Why did I let myself even have a thought that it was going to be anything special with alpha? I need to adapt to the vicious environment N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. and be invisible- if I¡¯m lucky. Why would someone as powerful as Alpha Tiberius want someone like me who can not even win a damn school fight? I had to be invisible at school, and now¡­ now I will have to be invisible in front of my mate too. But now what? Anxious and baffled, I could not sleep at all. I twisted and turned in the bed but my eyes didn¡¯t feel heavy. Frustration increased with each passing minute, and then I don¡¯t know what courage came over me that I shot up from the bed and stormed out of the room to go directly to the master bedroom and started knocking on the door loudly. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!