Chapter 2

A fearful shudder crept up my spine as the thought of the repercussions of not going immediately to his office flashed through my mind. I had only been 10 minutes late, but it still earned me an excruciatingly painful slap across the face. The bruise of a handprint was left on my face all day before it finally healed enough to disappear.

I scurried quickly out of my bed and down the long corridor that had become my sanctuary. 

Being the shunned step-daughter of the Alpha, Alpha Donovan ordered my now Omega servant pack mates to move me to a wing to live alone, separated from the rest of my so-called Alpha family. 

Alpha Donovan couldn’t fully demote my rank and kick me out of the packhouse, let alone the Alpha floor after agreeing to mate, mark and declare my mother his new Luna. So, he did what he thought was the next best thing in his shriveled brain of his; he chose to remove my scent and presence from his living quarters.

 He moved me to the dusty abandoned other side of the massive Alpha floor, where it feels like you are stepping back in time to the eighteenth century because it was apparent that no one else has lived on this side for over a hundred years. 

Stupid Alpha. That was the best thing he could have ever done to me! I was left alone to study, focus on my school work, and train. I used one of the huge empty bedrooms in the wing to privately train since we were now no longer allowed to attend pack training, being servant Omegas now. 

I knocked on his office door.

“Come in!” He bellowed from behind the intimidatingly large mahogany door. 

Playing the submissive step-daughter role like second nature, I walk in quickly shutting the door behind me.

“You asked to see me, Alpha?”

I didn’t make eye contact with him, showing him my submission and respect for his position. It was never good when he called me into his office. The hairs on the back of my neck began to slowly stand on end.

When I looked up briefly, I could see that he was leaning back in a relaxed, yet arrogant posture. His eyes were soulless and empty, a black abyss that contrasted with his wispy blonde princely hair and attractive older yet still muscular physique. I detested him to my very core. 

“For the next 24 hours, you will keep your mind link open.”

His smirk didn’t establish any confidence in me that his intentions were innocent. Goddess he could be so damn controlling for no good reason at all! What did he think I was going to do in the next 24 hours? Runaway? I internally rolled my eyes at his petty command.

He continued after I didn’t say any words of protest, “The convoy delivering your mate to you is about to arrive. You WILL behave yourself and represent this pack and this family honorably with your utmost respect. Should you fail to do so, you WILL face severe consequences that I will personally see enforced.”

I looked up and glared at him with disgust at his words, but chose to not even entertain his twisted taunt at me. 

Surprising me and putting me off guard, the creeper of an Alpha dropped his cruel and power-abusing aura to show a more calm, and dare I say, compassionate side to himself. 

Looking nervous and a bit scared for our pack members he carries on, “This alliance is critical to the improvement of our pack, Violet. In order for our pack to flourish once again, we need someone to invest in it. 

We can’t renovate the hospital or the school for the pups, let alone conduct profitable business in and outside of the pack without the generous donation that the Burning Moon pack has offered to us. 

With you and their Alpha heir mated, it makes perfect sense to align our businesses so we both prosper AND should you remain their Luna, you will secure protection for our pack. Do you understand what I’m saying, Violet?”

He glared at me, looking deep into my eyes with a dark and penetrating stare that almost looked desperate. 

My heart sank into my stomach, sickening me. All I was to him was a meal ticket. He literally SOLD me off to a neighboring Alpha as breeding stock! 

Anger began to brew within me, but I held my silent and submissive facade. I knew better than to argue or go against him when my mother wasn’t present. I had only made that mistake once and swore I’d never do it again, so I nodded, "Yes, Alpha."

Satisfied with my response and our interaction thus far, the mid-40’s weathered Alpha stood from his chair behind his massive desk and moved to lean up against the front of his desk. 

He leered at me, molesting me with those black desperate eyes veiled in obvious lust, moving up and down my body careful not to miss a single inch. It made me feel dirty just standing there in his presence. It was a level of disgust I wouldn’t ever be able to scrub off of me no matter how hard I tried.

Before I could register his movement from my uncomfortable stance a few feet away from him, he was standing right in front of me.

He looked confused by my lack of response, obviously expecting me to put up a fight or at the least, argue with him. Disappointment showed in his face; disappointed that I didn’t rise to the taunts and commands, he gripped my shoulders, squeezing them tightly before running the fingertips of his left hand lightly up and down my arm.

With his right hand, he gripped my chin, tilting it up forcing me to look him directly in the eyes. He made a theatrical pouty face to mock me, “What? No snide comment? No argument or insignificant jeer at me or Sasha?” 

He laughed, licking his lips, “For the pack's sake, I hope this future Alpha accepts you.” 

He pauses, raking his eyes up and down my body once again, focusing his hungry stare on my breasts, “but for my sake,” he leans in licking his lips, pulling me flush to his chest to whisper into my ear, “I hope he rejects you for being a wolfless omega.” 

Then he licked at my earlobe before nipping at it. 

“Of course, you would have been an even…mmm…sweeter,” he paused to think of the best word. Little did he know this action caused my heart to speed up as fear and feelings of impending doom continued growing within me, “conquest to punish…that is, if you weren’t already such a little pack whore!”

I’m sure he did this and said venomous things to me like this to make himself feel more like a real man, a real Alpha, and to intimidate me into submission. All it did was sicken me more than I already was by his behavior and actions. I wanted nothing more than to escape him, but not to end up at the mercy of another equally cruel Alpha; another kept prison.

I was distraught by this realization; crushed and finally resigned to my step-father’s cruel fate for me knowing that if I stayed, once I turned into an adult she-wolf on my eighteenth birthday, his sick and sinister plans for me would finally be well within his rights as Alpha of the pack to carry out for any given reason.