ADAIRA
~
All the figurative butterflies in my tummy seemed to die at once. A cold feeling of dread settled in my tummy instead and I began to sweat for no apparent reason. My heart immediately tried to convince me that it couldn’t possibly be Tyler that said that. Maybe someone was just trying to play a prank on me, but then he spoke again and there was no doubt that it was him in there saying those words.
“I’m serious, father, I’m done pretending I care about her. She’s not even my type.” Tyler said in a tone dripping with disdain.
“I don’t care if she’s your type or not, Tyler, you will claim her as your mate tonight.” The Alpha growled at his son.
I could hear the anger in his voice and it made me shiver. Or maybe the shiver was for a different reason, who knows. I don’t really know what or how I’m supposed to feel except that it seemed like my heart was being ripped from my chest.
“She’s just an Omega, a weak Omega. I can never accept her as a mate. I only dated her because you made me do it. Every time I was forced to hold her or kiss her, you have no idea how badly it disgusted me.” He growled at his father.
“She’s not just any Omega, she’s a white wolf, Tyler. No pack has had a white wolf in centuries. Do you know the level of prestige we enjoy just because of her presence here? She may be a weak Omega, but she has been touched by the moon Goddess. There must be a reason for that, so we must keep her here. She must not leave our pack.”
“Chain her to her damn house if you really want her here, father. I have my own mate, and I’m claiming her tonight, not Adaira. I’m done playing your games. If she’s so important to you, then mate her yourself.”
“I would if I could you silly boy, but I already have a mate. White wolves usually mate with Alphas. If you don’t mate her, another Alpha from a different pack will do so. The other pack Alphas will be in attendance for this ceremony and their heirs will come with them. Do not let Adaira get away from you. We have no idea what the moon Goddess has in store for her, but it must be something important. Getting mated to her will make you a part of it too and it will also…”
I didn’t wait to listen to what more the Alpha had to say, I just turned and ran out of the house. I’ve heard enough. I ran all the way back to my house. I was already in tears before I even got back to my room. I heard my phone ringing but I didn’t even have the energy to pick it up. It was the ringtone I had set specifically for my mother’s number. Knowing that she was calling me made me cry even harder. It was probably time for the ceremony, everything they would have gained from me mating with Tyler will never be a reality now. I couldn’t possibly get mated to Tyler now that I know the truth. They would go back to being ordinary Omegas, not the esteemed parents of the Luna.
All the love I felt for Tyler was suffocating me from the inside and I just couldn’t stop the tears that were pouring in an endless stream down my face. I heard the door to my house open and close, yet I still didn’t move, I didn’t even care if we were being attacked by rogues. Maybe being dead was even better than this pain in my heart.
“Adaira! What are you still doing here? I’ve been calling you. The ceremony is about to start.” My mother said as she walked into my room, the door was already open.
“Momma.” I turned to face her with a tear streaked face and she frowned.
“What’s wrong, honey?” She asked but I didn’t reply.
I just moved towards her and let her embrace me. Being in the comfort of my mother’s arms made me cry even more, I just couldn’t stop.
“What’s going on? Why is she crying?” My father said as he joined us in my bedroom.
I felt my mother’s head move to indicate that she didn’t know why I was crying.
“Ady, what’s wrong? Talk to papa.”
I moved out of my mother’s arms and hugged my father.
“Are you scared of getting mated? I understand that it’s a new phase for you and a lot of things will change when you become the next in line Luna, but there’s no reason to cry. You’re going to be okay.” My father said as he tried to soothe me.
I shook my head that was still pressed into his chest, then I moved back so I could speak.
“I’m not going to be the Luna. I can’t get mated to Tyler anymore.” I said through my tears.
“What do you mean? Did something happen?”
“I went to Tyler’s house. He was talking to his father, he said he doesn’t want to get mated to me. He doesn’t want me, he doesn’t even like me. He thinks I’m just a weak Omega. His father is the one forcing him to mate with him because I’m a white wolf. It was all a lie, father, all the times we spent together.” I tried to hug my father again but he pulled back with a frown.
“Is that why you’re crying here like a child?” My father asked.
I looked at him in confusion, did he not understand what I just explained to him?
“Father, I…”
“Clean your tears and fix your dress. We’re going to the pack square and you will get mated to Tyler.” My father said and even my mother’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What do you mean, father?”
“You heard me. It doesn’t matter if Tyler is doing this of his own free will or not, what matters is that he’ll listen to his father and so will you.”
“I won’t mate with someone who has been deceiving me, someone who lied to me.” I said to my father and he grabbed my arm roughly.
I gasped because my father had never treated me like this.
“Don’t be selfish, Adaira. You know what your mating will mean for this family so suck it up. Once Tyler is mated to you, it won’t matter if he doesn’t want you, he won’t be able to separate himself from you except in death.”
I turned to my mother so she could help me convince my father that what he was saying was crazy. But, one look at my mother and I knew she agreed with my father. She may have been surprised initially, but I realised that prestige was more important to them right now than me or my feelings.
How did my life get so messed up?
ADAIRA ~ I walked with a smile on my face between my parents as they led me back to the pack square. My parents stood on either side of me like they were afraid I would run at the slightest opportunity. I wanted to, but I stayed for their sake. Even if it felt like my heart was being torn to shreds, I wouldn’t be selfish, they’ve given up so much for me, this was the least I could do to give them a better life. I would smile and pretend to be happy, I would mate Tyler even if he loathed my existence. It was a full moon, that was the only time this kind of ceremony could be held. Fated mates could have their mating ceremonies at any time, but those like me and Tyler that weren’t fated but decided to choose each other had to mate on the night of a full moon. It was a symbolism of getting the moon Goddess’ blessing for the union. The light of the moon always gave me comfort, and tonight was no different. I prayed to the moon Goddess for the strength to go through with this and what I
SOMEWHERE IN THE CENTRE OF ALL THE PACKS, IN THE PHYSICAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN OUR REALM AND THE NETHER REALMI was buried deep in the earth and have been here for centuries, yet, the howl was strong enough to seep through multiple layers of earth and get to me. Another one of the invisible chains that held me here loosened as a flare of light wrapped around it. I was bound to the female that howl came from, I could feel the bond from the moment that she was born. During her birth, it was a full blood moon, the strongest of moons, I could feel its power despite being buried so deep. The second her infant cry rent the air, announcing her birth, one of the three chains holding me bound loosened.Today, under the light of the full moon I could feel, she released me from the second chain. I just had to wait a little while longer for her to complete the keys: Blood moon, full moon, new moon. When all the chains are gone, I will awake. And once I am free, I will destroy everyone that was involv
ADAIRA ~ I should have known that something was wrong the second I saw smoke as we approached my old pack. I pointed it out to Raed but he kissed my cheek and told me to calm down and stop letting my nerves stop us from doing this. “Relax, babe. Shifters have festivals all the time, maybe they’re roasting the kills of the last hunt.” He said to me. As we got closer, my second clue was the lack of patrol at the pack boundary. Even Raed’s brow creased with a tinge of worry but he still tried to reassure me. “Maybe they were invited to the feast as well? I don’t know what your pack security protocols are like.” He said. “There’s always supposed to be guards at the boundary, no matter what festival is going on. They usually do one hour rotations on special occasions so each of them gets to enjoy themself, and the border would still be guarded. Except Tyler changed things around here when he took over, it’s so unusual for them all to be gone at the same time.” I replied. That was whe
ADAIRA~When I woke up after who knows how long, I was lying on my stomach in human form, and I was clean. Someone had bathed me, washed my hair and put a gown on me. I felt so violated and I growled as I tried to stand. How dare they touch me without consent?My back bumped into the top of whatever I was in and it made me even more angry. I looked around and discovered that I was in a fucking cage, I couldn’t rise up more than this. I only had two options in the enclosed space, lie down the way I was before I woke up or maintain my current crouch on hands and knees. Lying down would leave me vulnerable to attack so I decided to remain on all fours, it wasn’t much of an advantage if I actually got attacked while I was in this enclosed space, but it was something at least.My anger at being touched without my permission multiplied at the thought that I was locked up like a damn dog. I’m a shifter with an animal side, but it doesn’t mean I should be degraded this way, wolves deserve be
ADAIRA~It felt like someone was trying to fry all my brain cells and I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t scream. I couldn’t afford to alert the rogues that I was awake. The element of surprise may be the thing that lets me outsmart these rogues so I can make my escape. If it was someone else, I would have shut them out immediately, but I held on because it was Raed, and he may have something important to tell me. At least now I know that he’s alive.“Raed.” I tried to speak through the pain.“Ady.” His voice in my head was strained, that was how I knew that he was in pain too.He may even be in more pain than I was because he was the one that initiated the mind link. I knew why this was happening, we weren’t members of the same pack, and we weren’t mated yet. He could only have access to me because he’s an Alpha, but the price of trying to form a temporal bond to be able to mind link me was the pain.“Fuck! I didn’t think doing this would hurt so much.” Raed cursed.“We need to
ADAIRA~I made the mistake of trying to get up again, forgetting where I was for a moment. I snarled and cursed as my back collided with the top of the cage. I looked around, momentarily confused why I was still in a cage, I thought we had already escaped. My eyes widened as I finally realised what had happened… O dear goddess, I was just dreaming. We never escaped.“Who is Raed?” The man in front of me growled menacingly.He was crouched in front of my cage and in my position, I couldn’t see his full frame, just his face. But I didn’t need to see him completely to know who he was, I felt the power that seemed to seep from his pores. He could be no other person but the Rogue Alpha that was terrorising the other packs with his pack of miscreants. He was beautiful. Brown skinned with curly hair that was in a complicated knot on his head with some tendrils loose around his face, full sensuous lips, and those eyes that were now more golden but still had a little swirl of red in it.I had
ADAIRA~I waited patiently and listened carefully. The rogues were being rowdy, and from the sounds I could hear, it seemed like they were being gathered together for something, like they wanted to leave, maybe to invade another pack. The Rogue Alpha didn’t send any of his wolves to guard me, and I didn’t know whether to be elated or insulted. One one hand, I knew that it was a good thing because my escape would be easier without someone constantly watching me. On the other hand, if he didn’t send any guards here, then he didn’t consider me enough of a threat to do so. Even if this was a better option for my escape, my wolf was annoyed at being disregarded as a warrior, and I was annoyed at her for letting me down.Now I wish I could actually communicate with my wolf, the curse words I would have used on her have not been invented yet. Instead, I settled for just projecting my anger about her actions, making sure she would feel the full brunt of my disappointment. She tried to send f
ADAIRA ~ I dodged the other two and ran towards the third one. If Gavrael returned here, our chances of escaping would be less than five percent. Because she was distracted by the mind link, she didn’t notice me coming for her till it was too late, I snapped her neck just as one of the two males pounced on me. They had both shifted to their wolves. I had an advantage, I knew that their Alpha didn’t want me dead so they wouldn’t strike to kill but I will. I grabbed the wolf at my back and tossed him aside just as the other one prepared to jump on me. They were trying to pin me down, subdue me and recapture me… over my dead body. I crouched as the second wolf dove for me, and swiped my claws on his soft underbelly. He howled in pain as he landed on the floor hard. I turned and faced the other one. Even after seeing what I did to his team mate, he still jumped to pounce on me. I crouched and did the same thing to him. They laid on the floor, bleeding from the deep cut to that sensitive