Chapter 0002

Tia.

"Tell me it is a joke." I said to my parents, with tears falling down my eyes as my mother shook her head in tears.

"Luke is a mean horrible man. He is cruel and disrespectful. He is a big bully. He cheats, lies, name it. He killed an innocent person. He is the devil. How could you allow this?" I asked my parents even though I knew they had no say in the matter, but I had to blame someone.

"We had no choice in the matter. They said you are the strongest female of your generation and they believe you will match him and tame him," my father said and I stood up.

"Enough daddy! We all know you can't tame someone. Luke is an arsehole, and he is fixed. How will I survive in this? I am going to be Caleb's Gamma. How will I manage my job and an asshole mate?" I asked my parents, and they did not know how to respond.

"You know what? I am leaving. I do not care about the Gamma position anymore. Once I am gone, they can find someone else to gift to their asshole son," I said and got up, ready to go up the stairs, pack my bags and leave.

"You can't leave, Tia, we need you to accept the offer or Alpha Moon would cast us out. We can't survive as rogues. Once the Alpha casts us out, the mark of the Woodclaw pack would fade in time, and we will turn feral eventually. That is what happens to rogues. Please, you have to consider this," my father pleaded with me.

I looked at my mother with tears in my eyes.

"Do you know what you are asking of me? I will be the most unlucky woman alive," I said to her, and she nodded with tears in her eyes.

Luke was not a good person. That was why Caleb had to take up the reigns.

Alpha Moon could not trust Luke with his pack, yet he forced my parents to trust the monster with me. He was a wicked man. Maybe I should have been a bad girl, a bitch to be precise. They wouldn't have thought of me as an option, but I was too busy crushing on Caleb, trying to be the perfect girl for him. I hated my life right now. Unrequited love, forced marriage, name it. I was going to be miserable forever.

I became angry. I wanted to return upstairs when the doorbell went off. My mother went to answer the door, and I smelled him. It was Caleb.

I turned to look at him, and his eyes were crimson, sad and teary as mine. He entered the house, sad and shaking.

"Tia," he managed and stretched his hands towards me.

He did not need to ask twice. I went to him, and he hugged me tightly. My parents left to give us some privacy.

I began to cry profusely.

"I am sorry, Tia. I did not know they would do this. I did not know he would do this," he said, and I cried.

"I don't want to be with Luke, Caleb. I do not like him. I can't be with him. Help me, Caleb," I cried, and he held me tightly.

"I am not Alpha yet, Tia. I have no say in this," he said, and I could feel his sadness in the crack in his voice. Did he feel something for me all this while?

"I thought we had time, but I guess I was wrong," he said, and I did not know what he was trying to say.

"I am sorry, Tia. I am sorry. I did not know," he said, and I wondered why he thought we had time. I guess he wouldn't tell me now, thanks to Alpha Aesop Moon.

We finally broke the hug, and I looked at his crimson eyes. There was nothing to say.

"Know that I will always be there for you. I would not let him harm you. You can come to me whenever. You can call on me whenever, and I will be there. I will never be too busy to attend to you. I know my brother is an arsehole, so I will look out for you. It is the best I can do in this situation." he said, and I did not know what to say. I wished I did not try to be his beta, if I had stayed down and taken medical classes instead, Alpha Moon wouldn't have noticed me and felt I was a good match for his unruly son.

"Caleb.." I said, thinking of confessing my feelings, but I decided against at the last minute because as things were, we could never act on them.

"What is it, Tia," He asked me with eager eyes.

"Nothing, Nothing but fear," I said, and he pulled me back and held me.

I breathed in his scent and allowed myself to rest in his embrace. I could never have him. I could never dream of ending up with him. I could never hope he would see me. It was over.

He was going to be my brother-in-law. My desires for him were now forbidden. I took in his scent and held him tightly. I wished I could give it up to him at that moment, but I did not dare to ask him.

I rested in his arms, and he held on to me tightly. He kissed my head and then pulled away.

"We will still be best of friends. I do not care what the pack says. You are still my best friend, Tia. No one will replace you," he said to me, and it broke my heart because I wanted to be more and our friendship was one of his father's reasons for joining me with his son. Twisted.

I wanted to be Caleb's Luna, his love, his north, but someone destined me to remain in the friend zone forever.

It was bearable and I could live with that. Caleb wasn't the only man in the world and I would move on eventually, but forcing me to marry an arsehole was wicked. Suddenly running away and becoming feral seemed like the best option. I wanted to leave.

Caleb and I went upstairs to my room. For the first time, it felt weird having him in there. It had always been weird since I started crushing on him, but it felt very weird now.

I did not know what living in their mansion, the Moon Mansion would be like, but I doubted if I could handle seeing Caleb every day while married to his brother. I hoped my heart would not get me in trouble.

Caleb waited for me while I went to the bathroom to shower. I wept a lot in the shower and sat on the floor. While I cried, I contemplated running away.

I dressed up in the toilet and headed out. It wasn't like Caleb had never seen me naked before; we shifted and went hunting often, but I just felt it would be weird dressing up in front of him now.

"How are you feeling," he asked me, and I nodded. His eyes were still crimson, but there was nothing either of us could do.

"Luke doesn't want the union either," Caleb said to me, and I was surprised. "That was how I found out. I overheard him arguing with our father about it. He doesn't want you Tia, and that is what scares me the most," he confessed, and I knew why. Luke was wicked, he was bound to take out his anger on me.

"Then why won't he reject it," I asked Caleb, and he sighed.

"Ever since they picked me to be Alpha instead of him, he has not opposed my father much. I think the humiliation of placing me above him has made him docile. I do not know, but Luke has a girlfriend he loves very much. This is unfair for both of you," Caleb said.

"Will I still be your Gamma?" I asked with a sad tone because I did not want to be Luke's mate. I wanted to be Caleb's mate.

"Yes, you will still be my Gamma unless you decide to resign because of the situation," he said to me, and I shook my head. This was all too much, and I needed time alone to process and accept the situation.

Caleb left my home sad, and I stayed in bed crying all day. My parents tried to cheer me up, but I couldn't. I refused it. I hated them, and I hated my life. If the Alpha had opted to join me with Caleb, I would have welcomed it. Why Luke?

I spent two weeks crying and moping about the place. I refused to attend functions or gatherings, and I doubted I would do that anytime soon.

Luna Stacy Moon visited us twice to speak to my parents about the arrangements. She was Caleb's mother.

Luke's mother died when he was born, and Alpha Aesop Moon mated with Stacy. Everyone referred to her as Luke's mother ever since, but Luke never failed to correct people that she wasn't. I was indifferent to the woman.

All I wanted to do was disappear, and I couldn't do that, anyway.

Caleb got into trouble a few times that week. His father blamed it on his idleness and delegated some responsibilities to him, so I did not get to see my friend.

I was going to be given to Luke soon, and I dreaded it, anyway. There was no date yet, but I knew it was soon.

I sat on the patio of our home when a car pulled up in the driveway. A young, beautiful brunette with porcelain skin stepped out of the car, looking angry. I figured she must have lost her way, so I stood up, ready to give her directions.

"Are you Tia Lockwood?" she asked, and I slowly nodded because I did not know her.

"You gold-digging bitch. What do your parents have on Alpha Aesop?" she asked me, and I was confused.

"Do you know how long Luke and I have been together?" she asked in tears, " We were sweethearts for a long time, and now I hear they have chosen you to be his mate?" She said, and I was tongue-tied.

I had absolutely nothing to tell her. I too was still processing it.

"How dare you, Tia? I promise you we will make it hell for you," She threatened me, and that was when I got pissed.

It wasn't my fault that Alpha Aesop picked me for his son. I did not even like the guy.

"Watch it!" I yelled at her, "I do not give two fucks about Luke. I don't like him and don't want to be his mate, but there is nothing I can do about it. Instead of ranting and trying to bully me, tell your boyfriend to tell his father to pick you; trust me, you will be doing me a huge favour. He isn't a great catch," I said, and I could see her contemplate advancing towards me.

I growled at her.

"You need to fuck off, bitch. Or I will tear you to pieces with the way I am feeling right now," I said to her, and she was surprised.

I wasn't playing.

She backed away into her car and drove off.

"Great, I now had to deal with the girlfriend too. I wasn't even his mate yet, and this is happening. Since Luke had not come to see me, I guessed the feeling was mutual.