Chapter 0003

Fiona

I turned my head to the direction the voice came from and I saw my Dad, Gamma Ferguson. I didn't expect him to be here because he told me that he had to meet with some members of another pack to form an alliance in order to strengthen our pack.

My dad was a very active member of the pack, he was rumored to have a wolf that is as strong and powerful as the Alpha. He was nicknamed "Single Bone" during his youthful days because of how fierce he was in battle. He and Alpha Shaw used to be best friends but not anymore and no one actually knows what transpired between them.

"I said what the hell is going on here?!" He thundered. As my eyes met him, all the tears that I'd been trying so hard to hold came falling down as I ran towards him.

"Dad," I said, sobbing loudly as I hugged him tightly. He patted my back as he allowed me to cry while staring at everyone coldly.

"It's okay Beau," he said as he patted my back continuously. This was the first time my dad called me Beau. According to him the name Beau reminded him of his late wife my mom whose nickname was Beauty. Tamara walked up to us and explained everything to my Dad.

His hands tightened into a fist as he gritted his teeth and glared at Leland, it took him just a few seconds to get to where Leland was and he grabbed him by his neck, almost squeezing the life out of him as Leland gasped for breath.

"That's enough!" Alpha Shaw said, slamming his fists on the table. Everyone gasped as the tension in the room was getting high. They all shuddered in fear as two strong werewolves were about to lose their cool.

"Dad! Tell him to stop" Rhian cried out, " he's hurting Leland."

"Gamma Ferguson!" He thundered, "I order you as your Alpha to stop this instant!" My Dad simply ignored the Alpha and this infuriated Alpha Shaw the more. As I saw that this was going to end badly I walked up to my dad and held his hand.

"Let him go, Dad," I said.

"But, he…"

"It's okay Dad," I cut in, "I will be fine," I said teary-eyed. My dad let go of Leland and he fell on the floor gasping for breath as he held his injured neck and glared at me.

"Leland doesn't want your daughter, deal with it!" Rhian screamed at my dad as she tried comforting Leland.

"And he doesn't deserve her," my dad said as he cupped my chin in his hands and looked me straight in the eyes affectionately, " Cause she's pure unrefined gold," he said, smiling at me sweetly. I returned the smile even though I was hurting. But hearing my dad speak about me like that made the pain a little less painful.

My relationship with my dad has never been the best, he didn't hate me but we didn't have the usual father-daughter bond like most people. He was closer to my sister Stella, who was just a year older than me.

"Well, since she's gold, let her accept the rejection," Rhian snarled.

"She will," my dad retorted as he stared at me seeking my approval. I walked up to Leland amidst everyone.

"With all pack members being present and bearing witness, I," I sighed, taking a few deep breaths, "Fiona Beau Macleod, daughter of Gamma Ferguson Macleod accepts your rejection of me as your mate," I said as a tear dropped down my cheeks. Tamara came over to me and hugged me.

"It's okay Fiona, you will be fine," she whispered.

"Take Fiona home, Tamara," my dad said as he glared at Leland.

"Let's go," Tamara said, pulling my hand, and taking me out of the hall, towards her car in the parking lot.

She opened her car trunk and brought out a few cans of beer and offered one to me.

"Thanks," I said as I collected the beer even though I don't drink beer often but at this moment I needed anything that would distract me from the sorry realities of my life. I opened the beer and gulped it down in one go.

"Easy girl, you are going to get yourself killed," she queried.

"At least that's better than being made a ridicule of In front of the entire pack," I retorted while taking another can of beer. My aim was to get drunk and drown away my sorrows. I opened the second can and was about to gulp it down as I did the first, but Tamara stopped me mid-way.

"This is not going to solve shit," she said.

"Let go, Mara," I snapped as I grabbed the can from her, I dropped it on the car and clasped my hand over my eyes and pressed my lips together, and broke into a sob. Tamara wrapped her arms around me as she gently ran her hand through my hair and massaged my scalp. Being my best friend she knows that's one of the things that makes me calm.

"It's okay girl, let it all out, don't hold any of it in," she said as she patted my back, this made me sob even louder.

"H- he told me he loved me, Mara," I mumbled as my lips quiver and I choked on my sobs. As I struggled to breathe, I let out a series of hiccups as my body trembled. I took out a tissue from my pocket and tried drying my eyes but the tissue was soaked as I could not stop the tears from flowing.

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Fiona

I gently opened my eyes to the dimly lit room, though it was daytime no one has opened the thick drapes, the arching in my skull ebbed and flowed like a cold tide, now I understand why they call it a hangover, it feels like a balloon under my cranium was being deflated.

I stood up on my feet and the room swayed almost causing me to lose balance then I reached out to the wall for support as I went into the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face just to feel something refreshing and instantly wish I could wash away the pains from last night.

Bang!

I heard the sound of a broken vase coming from downstairs and the voice of my sister Stella screaming. My brain felt like it would swell beyond the capacity of my skull. I splashed water on my face a few more times before heading downstairs.

"How could you do this to me, Dad?!" The voice of Stella echoed as I descended the stairs in my pajamas.

"It's the Alpha's decision, Stella," my dad said, trying to calm her down.

"I hate you, Dad!" She screamed, "You are such a coward, you can't even defend your daughter," she broke down in tears.

I didn't understand what was going on and tried searching their faces for clues but found none.

"Dad," I called out, "What's going on here?" I asked.

My dad sighed, "I- hmm…"

"He's selling off his daughter! That's what's happening," Stella interrupted. I was dumbstruck, I couldn't believe what Stella just said.

"Is what she said true?" I asked, staring at my dad.

"It's not…"

"It's the truth, Dad wants to marry me off to the ruthless Alpha of Silver Bow Pack," Stella said in-between sobs.

"Dad, please explain yourself," I said, giving him a chance to defend himself as Stella kept interrupting. I know Stella is my dad's favorite child and the thought of him wanting to marry her off to some stranger was just appalling. There had to be some logical explanation to it even though I can't phantom it at the moment, because my dad was a strong believer in being with one's mate, and he told us countless stories of how he fought with basically everyone just to be with his mate, our mum.

" It's for an alliance," my dad began, I arched my brows at him. " Remember I told you I was going to a neighboring pack to form an alliance?" He asked, looking at me.

"Yes? What has it got to do with Stella?"

My dad sighed. "The criteria for the alliance to be forged was through marriage to Silver Bow Packs Alpha. This will strengthen our alliance since both Packs have been on each other's throat since the beginning of time," he said.

I could not believe my dad would do this. I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water as I was feeling parched due to the hangover. I went back to the sitting room and I gulped down the glass of water hungrily.

"So, you decided to make your daughter marry the Alpha?! I asked, "Don't you know how ruthless he is, he is rumored to not have a soul!"

"There's no other alternative," he said.

"What do you mean no other alternative?! What about Rhian?" I suddenly went mute as I remembered the event of last night and I instantly felt a splitting pain in my head, I clasped my hand in my head, as I winced in pain, and slumped on the sofa beside me.

"Dad, why?"

"I'm not getting married to him and that's final!" Stella barked and stormed out of the house. My dad looked up at me and I could see that he was one blow away from breaking, for the first time in years I saw my dad helpless. I didn't know what to do or how to help him because I was in pain myself. I stood up gently from the sofa and went and sat beside

him, I wrapped my arms around him and patted his back.

"It's okay Dad, everything is going to be fine," I said.