A Dangerous Proposal

Savannah’s P.O.V

It’d been five days since I cut a deal with the moon goddess and it’s been days of anguish from my worst nightmare. The Alpha of the golden circle pack accused me of stealing from him after Celia’s mother, Katherine ordered me to go to their territory to fetch something from their Luna.

They ignored me no matter how hard I cried and begged them to listen. Even my father - I mean Alpha Reed - turned away and ordered them to punish me like a criminal.

I was staring ahead in shock, pleas spilling from my lips when someone threw me violently on the mansion's front porch.

I groaned as my head slammed against the hedge, blood trickling down my face.

“Savannah of the Druid pack is hereby declared a shameless thief!” The guard declared and immediately the pack members began hooting and howling.

A rough hand yanked me up, forcing me to look at them. My breath hitched as I took in their hateful glares and curses. “Please…I am innocent.”

“Shut up!” A glob of saliva hit my cheek as the man spat at me, his scarred face twisted into a sneer.

Just as I turned away, a rock hit me right in the forehead and everything went dark. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a cell where I starved in for three days before I was finally released tonight to return to Hybern.

Right now, I was in my room, twirling the end of a knife in my hand as sobs racked my body. This was it. The moon goddess clearly didn’t give a shit about me. Nobody gave a shit about me.

Sucking in a breath that had my shoulder quivering, I raised my arms in the air.  The knife almost slipped from my trembling fingers.

I’m sorry Hunter.

With a low shout, I brought the knife down. Its tip sliced through my neck just as a hard knock resounded through the room.

The knife fell from my hands with a clattering noise. I gasped, tears choking my airway as I clutched at my throat.

 “Miss Savannah, the Alpha wants you in the hall now.” Filtered through the door, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps.

Oh, God. What do they want from me now? What have I done again?

The best thing would be to go through with my plan but something ignited in my chest. It was so fickle and barely holding but I felt it.

Hope. Hope that maybe…just maybe my fate would change if I faced the Alpha.

I got up and headed to my bathroom, splashing water on my face. The cool liquid turned red as it drained down the sink.

Drying my eyes, and tussling my hair to cover the cut on my neck, I walked out of my room.

“I don’t want to! I don’t want to marry that psychopath!”

“Who doesn’t know that the third prince of the Red Moon Pack is a crazy fellow? Only a few she-wolves in the entire Kingdom of Sylvia dared to marry him and they all died!”

A sharp female voice resounded from the hall, “Besides, if you want to give any daughter for an alliance, it should be Savannah! She has a lot of experience and it won’t be a loss if she marries him….”

 “Savannah is your sister, Celia!” The King’s voice was sharp as he interrupted her.

Celia gritted her teeth, her voice shaky and thick with unshed tears, “Father, I am your biological daughter and Savannah is just a bastard who you had to accept because her mother was mated to you. For years, my mother and I had to live a wretched life so as not to expose that you had another family. Now, when I have finally taken my place as the true Alpha’s daughter, you can’t make me marry someone I don’t love!”

“Yes,” Katherine who stood at the side quickly added, “Cece is a white wolf. A wolf that’s only bestowed to a pack every hundred years. It is the glory of our Kingdom. How can we sacrifice her when we have Savannah who doesn’t even have a wolf?”

Suddenly, the family halted in their conversation as they noticed me standing on the bottom step.

My knuckles turned white from holding the railings so tightly. So many thoughts were racing through my head but only two stuck.

Celia was the true daughter of Alpha Reed. It all made sense now. I had always been an outcast. The king kept a secret family and then brought them into the pack after my mother’s death.

Sucking in a deep breath, I limped into the hall, stretching my hands towards the Alpha, “I agree.”

He arched a brow, “What agreement?”

“Please Your Highness, let me marry the third prince of Sylvania. I want to repay your kindness for raising me.”

The king’s expression was filled with astonishment so were Celia’s and her mother’s.

“If you don’t believe me then I’ll sign a blood oath.” Hurrying into the study that’s close to the hall, I returned with a dagger, a feather, and the royal scroll.

Not wasting time, I slit my palm and dripped my blood onto a small lid, and then scribbled my signature on the scroll. “I will marry the prince.”

Before I turned away, I saw Celia rush over to pick up the note and she gasped, “Mother, is Savannah stupid? She just promised to marry that madman without us forcing her!”

Her mother quickly slapped a hand over her mouth while looking at me.

A wry smile twisted my lips as I reached the top of the stairs. The moon goddess did hear my prayers after all. She was offering me a way out of the pack and I’ll be damned if I don’t hold onto it with everything I’ve got.

***~

Three days later, I was taken to the Kingdom of Sylvia.

The royal family had not agreed to the marriage yet but asked me to live in the red moon pack for some time before making a decision.

In other words, even if there were very few women who wanted to marry the prince, he was still incredibly choosy. My orders were clear: Please Prince Reginald, make him fall for me, and then successfully form an alliance through marriage with the Sylvia Kingdom.

And despite my excitement that I’d be leaving the Druid pack and my wicked sister, I couldn’t help but be terrified while wondering if the rumors were true.

If Prince Reginald was truly a madman who killed his previous wives with his bare hands.