Chapter 1

RIVER BROWN

There are Alphas like Landon O’Connor who are blessed and favored by the Moon Goddess.

There are she-wolves like my sister Malia Brown who are destined to be great Lunas as compared to the size of their wolves.

Then…there is me, the abomination and apart from me I didn’t know anyone else who was weird until today.

Brackenridge is my home. Any other place rumored not to be Brackenridge is cursed and forbidden to step into by not only the alpha but by the Moon Goddess too.

These men in front of us are not from Brackenridge.

They are cursed by the Moon Goddess.

They are…rogues. Rogue alphas.

I’m still dazed by everything when Landon’s grip on my arm tightens and he whispers,

“Accept my rejection, River. If you don’t, these men will kill us all. Think of your sister and your aunt, do you want their deaths to be on you?”

His words cut every nerve in my body and I can feel myself bleed in the inside.

The three men are standing a couple of feet away from us looking very much like the rogue alphas we read in books when we were kids.

Rogues take what they want, whenever they want.

They don’t follow the rules.

They kill to survive.

Landon cheated on me a few minutes ago, I should accept his rejection but that means he’s freeing me and selling me to the devils.

How can he do this to me?

I’m helplessly crying right now, pleading for mercy but my mate only gets angry at me.

“Don’t be stupid, River. You are the only one who doesn’t fit here, everyone else fits. Why can’t you be grateful and accept that this is your fate? Do it now, River. Now”

My throat quivers with bitter emotions, my lips part as I stand straight gazing at the rogue brothers who haven’t said anything since Landon announced he no longer wants me as a mate.

“I…River Brown, accept your rejection”

Landon doesn’t hesitate when he says out loud,

“I offer her. There’s no need for blood shed today”

He then pushes me forward like a pig being offered to the slaughter house.

Someone gasps in the crowd, her cry so loud it cuts through the silence.

“How can you do this to her? She’s your mate! No, no one’s taking my niece. No one’s taking my River”, Aunt Tilda cries in front of me, cradling my cheeks and I only sob harder.

“It’s okay”, I whisper. It’s definitely not okay.

“Come, we’ll go home. You, Malia and I will go home-you don’t have to- “

“Aunt Tilda- “

“You are not giving up, River! I did not raise a weak pup; I raised a fighter. Fight, River, please fight- “

A throaty and deep chuckle filters through the air, sliding across my skin like fire and ice all at once.

“She can try to fight but we’ll devour her before she has the chance”, one of the rogue alpha brothers’ quips.

He’s the leader, you can tell by his voice, by his stance and by that jaw he has locked and loaded.

He’s the one with the dark hair falling on either side of his forehead and I’m guessing his wolf is also menacingly dark like him.

“Take me instead”, Aunt Tilda surprises everyone.

“I hate to break it to you but we are here for young blood. You are not exactly young”, the second brother scoffs.

This one has brown hair, deep, chocolate brown hair that glints the way his eyes do.

“No, I’m the one who’s leaving. I’ll leave with you just don’t…don’t hurt anyone. Don’t hurt anyone please”

My sister appears out of nowhere whisking away our aunt back to the crowd.

I stand in a throng of people, my dignity in the mud, my tears making me look pathetic.

“Walk to us”, the third brother commands.

I swallow the lump of shame in my throat and walk towards my doom. Every step is humiliating, every intake of breath splits my heart into two.

This wasn’t how my mating ceremony was supposed to be like.

The Moon Goddess was supposed to grant me one wish. To grant me the gift of getting marked by my mate tonight.

Tonight, however, as I walk to the men who are staring at me like they want to rip me apart limb by limb, I realize two things.

The Moon Goddess hates me.

And two, I’ll die in the hands of these men before I even get my wolf let alone find another mate.

The minute I stand in front of them, all the air is whooshed out of my lungs.

One of them smells like sage, another smells like citrus and the last one smells like mulled wine. All their scents mingle together so beautifully, it’s hard not to want to smell the air again.

“Strip”, the third brother orders, the one with the blue eyes, dark hair at the roots and strikingly ash blonde hair at the edges.

“Let’s see if you are worth not killing everyone for”, the chocolate-haired brother adds.

“No. Take me anywhere you want but I’m not going to strip in front of my family, in front of all of them”, I bark.

Their leader, the terrifying one takes one step closer to me, the dark orbs he has for eyes perusing my face.

He hates me. I can see it in his eyes, in his furrowed brows and I might just hate him too. I hate all of them.

“Who should I start with first? The granny who was crying over you earlier? I mean she’s easy game with a thin neck like that. One claw to the neck and she dies right in front of you.

Or maybe I should start with the sister? The one in yellow right? She’s a pretty little thing, her screams are guaranteed to be prettier- “

“Don’t”, I warn.

“You are in no position to negotiate. Now, strip!”

One of my hands grips the thin strands holding my green dress up and I slide them down my shoulders.

My eyes are downcast that I don’t even notice the brothers have surrounded me, their heights and muscular built shielding everyone from seeing me.

The dress wiggles down my waist, slides off my hips and pools to the ground.

“Take the panties off too”

The panties are off my body at their command as they cocoon me in their scent and their scrutinizing eyes.

I’m naked as the day I was born to them. I can feel them sniffing me in and I shiver both from the cold and the situation.

Brown Eyes takes his shirt off and throws it to me saying,

“Put it on and hop onto Shane’s arms. You are ours now”

I put the shirt on, confusion and alarm eating me raw.

“Hop onto…what?”

“I’m carrying you out of here, princess. We are taking what’s ours tonight”, the one I’m assuming is Shane speaks and I know I’m doomed forever.