Chapter 1 (Thumping Heart)

Valeria POV

I sat in front of a mirror, looking into my soulless blue eyes. My lips twisted into a frown as I could hear the sound of someone’s heart beating loudly. The sound was obviously very annoying and uncomfortable. The sound was also very painful to hear; it seems the person is in pain as the heart trumps loudly.

“It’s you, you dummy!” my subconscious yelled at me. Me? Am I the owner of the thumping heart? I slowly placed my hand on my chest, and I could hear my heart beating loudly. Sadness was over me in great waves as I struggled to keep my tears in. The door opened, and my mother came in.

Her lips were stretched in a wide smile, and a bright red lipstick sitting pretty on her round lips. Her eyes glowed; they glittered. Today was the happiest day of her life. She was getting rid of the one thing she hated, the one thing she hated looking at, and the one thing that almost got her killed. That thing is me.

“Oh, Alpha Adrain is almost here,” she shrieked, almost jumping on her heels, but I knew she wouldn’t. You see, my mother is a pretty woman, always dressed in the best and finest clothing. She cares more about her gold jewellery and her expensive clothing than her pack. The pack doesn’t even matter to her, but who is going to question her? The door slammed open again, and my sister walked in, looking just as pretty as our mother, but instead of my mother, she had a frown on her beautiful face.

“Why is she getting married to him? He is a famous Alpha mother, powerful and rich; she doesn’t deserve to be married to someone so rich and successful; why didn’t you get her married to an Omega?” she fumed, glaring at the back of my head in hate. I sat down, barely affected by her words; this was a daily occurrence, and I was used to the mean words.

“Now, Ruby. We talked about this; she has to get married to the alpha. I wish I could get her married to the omega, but we don’t have a choice. And besides, I am not going to marry you off; you need to find your mate,” she said, taking her head into her palm and stroking her black, wavy hair softly. My heart pinged painfully, mate. That was the only thing I ever requested—to look for my mate. Instead, I got the opposite. The door opened, and my father came in, a permanent frown on his face.

“Bring her down; the Alpha is here,” he said, closing the door and leaving. He didn’t spare me one glance. I took a deep breath, swallowing my tears and standing up. I was dressed in a beautiful white gown; this is probably the most expensive thing I have ever worn. Mother did try to make me look beautiful today; she wanted to impress my soon-to-be husband. I wanted to walk out of the room, but my mother dragged me back with my hand, her perfectly manicured nails digging into my skin.

“Where do you think you are going?” she snapped. I looked at her without saying a word. She growled, her hand digging deeper into my skin, but no sounds came out of my lips.

“Do you think because we are marrying you off to a rich alpha means you are safe?” She snapped, her face awfully close to mine. I took a deep breath. Of course, she is not doing me any favours; instead, she is making my life more miserable, but not like she knows that; she is obviously very slow. I wonder how father keeps up with her being a very smart man, but then they make a beautiful couple. Mother grew more angry as I didn’t reply to her words. She grunts, leaving my hand harshly. I looked down at my skin, and of course, her nail imprint sat on my skin.

“I hope the Alpha treats you as terrible as you deserve; you will never be free, Valeria, not from me and not from your husband, because no one would ever love you; you are ugly and don’t deserve to be loved by anyone,” she said, her eyes looking deeply into mine. Of course, as usual, I showed no emotion, but her words dig into my heart. This feeble heart of mine has always failed me, as they both can hear how fast I am breathing. They both snickered evilly, leaving the room. I stood staring at the wall, then I took a deep breath, cleaning up the tears that fell.

“Let’s get this over with,” I mumbled, coming out of the room. I walked to the packed dining room, rubbing my sore arm. When I got there, I saw my father sitting at the head of the table; beside him on the right was a man whose face I couldn’t see. On the left, Mother sat down, Ruby sat beside the man, and the rest of the people were men I didn’t recognise. I took a very deep breath, walking to the empty seat beside my mother. I looked down, not looking at anyone’s face, as I took my seat quietly. Father laughed nervously.

“The seats are all complete, and now we can get into the dinner,” he said, snapping his fingers. The double doors opened, and maids flooded in, bringing in a lot of trays. A few moments later, the table was filled with different types of food. I have never seen so much food in my life. When my father and mother would have guests, I would stay in my room, so this was the first. We waited for Father to take his food, and when he took his food, everyone took theirs, but I waited for everyone to dish their food before taking it from the steak in front of me and pouring a bit of sauce on it. I continued eating quietly, not looking at anyone, and the table was quiet; no words were shared until we were all done with our food.

“So, Alpha Julius, which one of your daughters is getting married to our Alpha?” a man across the table asked, his voice deep and full of authority. I could see my father smiling widely.

“My first daughter, of course, Valeria,” he said, pointing at me. I could feel the eyes turned to me all at once—judgmental eyes.

“She seems shy and unfit to be our Luna. How about the other girl? She seems to compliment our Alpha more,” the man said, sneering at me. 

“No, when we agreed to it with the former Alpha and Luna of the Midnight Pack, they specifically said my first daughter,” my father said. 

“Is our alpha a joke to you? Considering his reputation, he needs someone powerful beside him; she looks malnourished, dead by the first strike of a claw,” he exclaimed. I looked at my empty plate quietly, and embarrassment washed over me. They all argued over who should get married to Alpha Adrain, and all were in support of Ruby, but my parents wanted me gone. They were all insensitive to my feelings and didn’t care. I was listening to them argue about something that would affect my whole life. I looked up at Ruby, and she had a wide smile as the men argued for her. She loved the attention and praise, and she loved how once again everyone chose her over me. The strange man, whom I have not looked at, cleared his throat, and the argument stopped. 

“I will take the first daughter, Valeria, as my bride,” he said, and that ended the argument. I ignored Ruby’s disappointed looks, my eyes on the Alpha. He wasn’t looking at me, but instead his eyes were on my arm, where my mother had fixed her print, and I couldn’t tell what was going on in his head. I was surprised he chose me; this is the first time that has happened. He looked up, and our eyes jammed, and I took a deep breath. I guess getting married to Alpha Adrain won’t be bad after all. But how wrong was I?