When I reached our packhouse, my muscles were already sore from shopping for clothes. The omega of the pack greeted me and asked for my bags which I easily handed them. “Please put it in my room safely. Everything I bought is for the orphaned kids,” I announced as they nodded. “Did Ali come here and visit me?” “No, Miss Natasha. He did not.” I nodded, confused about why he never did. We talked yesterday over the phone that he would visit me here and we will talk about our plans for the wedding. Ali, the alpha of another neighboring pack, was my mate who was never met by Father. We decided to tell Father today. The servant hurried away with the bags in her hand. I entered inside and was about to go upstairs when I found Daddy sitting on the couch, with a sour expression on his face. I usually saw him in his study, watching the news while his other hand was holding his phone, tending to someone's call. Having a meeting. Pack meetings and other stuff. Or sipping his coffee. But not n
“Redd Larson?” I managed to ask when I finally had the ability to speak. This man staring at me with his blue eyes was the alpha who wanted to take my hand. Why? What was his ulterior motive? "Future husband?" Why did it feel like someone was choking me when I said those last two words?“Your future husband. Nothing else, Tasha. In flesh and blood. The one who liked you first and noticed your beauty despite the fact that you not looking in my direction. I assure you, Tasha. The moment I laid my eyes on you that fateful day, I heard ringing bells in my ears.”Did he like me that much? Probably not because he liked me. It would probably be that he would sell me to another alpha for a large sum of money after he was done with me. That was a more plausible explanation than he liked me at first sight. I felt as if a bucket of cold water was suddenly thrown on my shoulder. "You are quite artistic with your words, Alpha Redd but it would never sway me. How could you ever feel that way agai
My knees lost the strength to stand up and a pair of strong arms comforted me. The smell of cedarwood hit my nose and temporarily dulled the pain of my fresh rejection. I looked up and saw Alpha Redd giving me a worried expression. "Tasha. Are you all right?" "What happened, Natasha?" Daddy asked. "Alpha Ali just rejected me." There was no surprise on their faces. Not even a fake worry. They were expecting it. The two of them. I saw red. "What have you done, Daddy?" "Your father did not do anything. It's just your mate was an asshole after finding out that your pack is going downhill. You don't deserve an asshole like him," Alpha Redd spat. Disgusted, I broke away from his hold and faced them. Daddy couldn't look me in the eyes as if he was guilty of doing something. "Are you my dad, Alpha Redd? Why do you answer on his behalf?" He shrugged his broad shoulders, smirking. "It's no longer an issue. Now that Alpha Ali is out of the equation, you'll accept me as your mate." "Mat
"Dad! Is this your way of controlling my life?" "I am not controlling your life, Natasha." "Then what? What do you call this? I thought we were still looking for someone who would invest in the company. But what is happening right now? You wanted me to marry someone whom I barely know?" Alpha Redd put down his wine and faced me. "You will know more about me after our marriage, Tasha. You will know how amazing I am as your future husband. Do you want to support orphaned children? You can continue doing that after our marriage. I can even build an orphanage for you. Or anything you want. Tell me.” Glaring at him, I said, “You cannot buy me, Alpha Redd. You cannot buy my love and affection. I still hated you. In my eyes, you are nothing but an opportunist.” “Six months.” The four of us looked in Dad’s direction. “Alpha Redd and I had talked about it. He only wants six months to be with you since the Elders wanted him to marry. Anyone would do, but he saw you once and wanted you to b
Redd Larson just freaking kissed me on the lips, and it seemed he did enjoy it. But not me. It was only a brief kiss. More like a friendly kiss, but because it was Alpha Redd who did it, it was repulsive. I felt raw anger toward him. When he pulled away, my palms had a mind of their own and connected with his cheeks. Slap!"Tasha?" he asked, bewildered. He was stunned for a moment and smirked again. "Yeah. I deserved that for kissing you without asking your permission."I pointed my fingers at him, shaking so badly. "I loathed you!""I love you, too, Tasha," he answered sweetly. "You're getting lovelier the more you get angrier. I loved everything about you, my future wife."I stepped back, sickened at him. "I may be your future wife, but I did not say you can kiss me, asshole! Your kisses are poison to me. Don't you ever dare do that again! Remember, everything is just a contract marriage. Nothing else."Alpha Redd looked at me and threw his head backward, laughing. When he was don
When I did not answer, Abby cursed again. My ears would likely bleed if she did not stop muttering curses. If Father knew I had learned to say curses from her, I was sure he wouldn't allow me to be friends with Abby.Despite her foul mouth, Abby was the sweetest friend I could ever have, and I can still tolerate her curses as long as she will not say them in front of the children. That would be a big no!"Natasha. Are you still there?"I was brought back to the present. Looking out the window of my room, I saw the moon was at its highest peak. This would be a great time to shapeshift. However, my wolf was silent and did not attempt to talk to me. I had no idea if my wolf liked my upcoming marriage with Alpha Redd or not. Did she prefer Ali over Redd? "Natashaaaaa," Abby called, using her shrill voice. "Earth to Natasha, please.""Where we were again, Abby?"About your wedding tomorrow?"Ah, right."You heard it right, Abby. I'm getting married tomorrow to my fated mate. My second-
It was already eleven o’clock in the evening, and I arrived at the address of the club Abby had given me. I never told Daddy I would be coming here, nor did my other brothers. They would only be protective and say I was still a baby and should not come here. I was already inside the club, but no matter where I looked, Abby was not yet there.I swallowed all the surroundings. This was my second time coming here, but it felt like it was still my first time. I still could not get used to the flickering neon lights and the people all over the dance floor. Some customers—a mixture of humans and werewolves were already having the best time of their lives while I was at my table, sipping a glass of wine. No matter how I think about it, my brain doesn't want to accept marrying Alpha Redd. Living with him in his pack would never be easy, and I did not know if I could stomach sleeping beside him.My phone beeped in my bag, and I pulled it out.Scowling, I read the message, thinking it was A
The man did not hear me. At all. He was oblivious to my calling. This man indeed grabbed my attention. Chuckling, I called him one more time.Glad my siblings were not here. Or they will reprimand me for calling the man first. Finally, the man turned around, faced me, and, while lifting his hand, banged his head in the air. Okay.That was part of his dance steps?Who was this man's dance instructor? He did a lousy job of teaching him. I was even better at teaching.The man did not know any rhythm. He wasn't even dancing to the tempo.“Having a great time?” I asked again.We came face to face.He had a handsome face, and based on my assessment, he was not a human. A werewolf. What pack did he belong to? The girls loved his look. But never his weird dance.The man did not answer me.He was not dumb, was he? He grunted. "You want to dance, but the dance doesn't like you," I commented.It was not meant as an insult, but if I hurt his ego, it was not my fault he was sensitive."Let me
NATASHA:Alpha Redd and I reached the pack in one piece. Almost everyone had gone to sleep, except some of the warriors doing some patrol and servants on their night duty. And I was grateful that none of my family were awake to ask me and scold me for going home late. The servants, upon spotting Alpha Redd, shut up and continued whatever they were doing.I unbuckled my seat belt and was about to push the door open when someone opened it for me—Alpha Redd. It sickened me how he continued to act like a gentleman even if that was not him. Not saying anything, I stepped out of the car and was about to go straight inside the house when Alpha Red pulled me to a stop by holding my wrist. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched our connected hands. "Not that fast, my little Tasha. You haven't said goodbye to your husband, yet."He was so tall that I had to crane my neck. Gritting my teeth, I looked up at him and said, "We are not married, yet. You are not my husband, yet. I might change my m
NATASHA:My stupid tears won't stop falling as my lips quivered.Pathetic, Natasha. How could you make yourself this vulnerable in front of the alpha?Alpha Redd was right. Given my current state, I was indeed pathetic and my pitiful tears would not stop falling at all. They were unending, making me look in a more embarrassing spot. The only thing that I was thankful for was that Alpha Redd was not laughing at me. It's fine now. You have to pull yourself together, Natasha. I slapped my face and angrily wiped my tears away while glaring at Alpha Redd. His eyes locked at my tears and his mood became even more sour. He did not like what he was seeing. A growl escaped from his lips. "It makes me mad that you're crying over a bastard like him, Tasha. He is not worthy of your tears."Ali was worth everything. All through our relationship, he was nothing but sweet to me. He was kind and the type of man who would take care of my needs even if he had his own. He was the prince charming
NATASHA: The rest of the drive was uneventful, with me not wanting to talk to the driver. An unfamiliar song wafted through the air, while I had been constantly checking my phone to check if Abby had texted. None. That woman. Tomorrow, we will talk and she should have a lot of explaining to do. The car had smelt so much of cedarwood—Alpha Redd's scent. No matter how many times I told myself that I should not sniff his scent, but sometimes, I found myself inhaling his scent, calming my nerves which should not happen! I must not forget that Alpha Redd was my enemy. If he did not come into the equation, Ali might not reject me at all. I thought he would just leave me alone when he started opening his mouth. "What's your favorite color?" he asked out of the blue. He was trying his best to make me warm up to him, but he would find it difficult. He will try his damndest to get my trust because he will have a difficult time with that. I gave him a half-shrug. I always gave Alpha
My mood suddenly turned sour after hearing the name of Lysander's alpha. Did I come here to forget about that jerk only to be reminded? What kind of prank was this? And why was Abby not here?"Why? Don't tell me you will be wedded to him?" I did not answer.Realization dawned on him.“Fuck.” Lysander sniffed me once more, and realization dawned on him. "That's Alpha Redd's scent. You were the one whom he was referring to? You are his mate?""Unfortunately, he is. Did you bring him with you? Your alpha?""Was he that bad? I have known him since we were children. You will like him eventually.”I scoffed. “Like him? I’m not a fool. Did you even know about our agreement?”“Contract marriage? He did tell me everything. I was the only one who knew about it.”Good. The smaller the circle of people who know about it, the better. “Where is that bastard?”I wished I was drunk right now and told him all the vulgar words that were playing in my mind to appease myself. “Careful with the choice
The man did not hear me. At all. He was oblivious to my calling. This man indeed grabbed my attention. Chuckling, I called him one more time.Glad my siblings were not here. Or they will reprimand me for calling the man first. Finally, the man turned around, faced me, and, while lifting his hand, banged his head in the air. Okay.That was part of his dance steps?Who was this man's dance instructor? He did a lousy job of teaching him. I was even better at teaching.The man did not know any rhythm. He wasn't even dancing to the tempo.“Having a great time?” I asked again.We came face to face.He had a handsome face, and based on my assessment, he was not a human. A werewolf. What pack did he belong to? The girls loved his look. But never his weird dance.The man did not answer me.He was not dumb, was he? He grunted. "You want to dance, but the dance doesn't like you," I commented.It was not meant as an insult, but if I hurt his ego, it was not my fault he was sensitive."Let me
It was already eleven o’clock in the evening, and I arrived at the address of the club Abby had given me. I never told Daddy I would be coming here, nor did my other brothers. They would only be protective and say I was still a baby and should not come here. I was already inside the club, but no matter where I looked, Abby was not yet there.I swallowed all the surroundings. This was my second time coming here, but it felt like it was still my first time. I still could not get used to the flickering neon lights and the people all over the dance floor. Some customers—a mixture of humans and werewolves were already having the best time of their lives while I was at my table, sipping a glass of wine. No matter how I think about it, my brain doesn't want to accept marrying Alpha Redd. Living with him in his pack would never be easy, and I did not know if I could stomach sleeping beside him.My phone beeped in my bag, and I pulled it out.Scowling, I read the message, thinking it was A
When I did not answer, Abby cursed again. My ears would likely bleed if she did not stop muttering curses. If Father knew I had learned to say curses from her, I was sure he wouldn't allow me to be friends with Abby.Despite her foul mouth, Abby was the sweetest friend I could ever have, and I can still tolerate her curses as long as she will not say them in front of the children. That would be a big no!"Natasha. Are you still there?"I was brought back to the present. Looking out the window of my room, I saw the moon was at its highest peak. This would be a great time to shapeshift. However, my wolf was silent and did not attempt to talk to me. I had no idea if my wolf liked my upcoming marriage with Alpha Redd or not. Did she prefer Ali over Redd? "Natashaaaaa," Abby called, using her shrill voice. "Earth to Natasha, please.""Where we were again, Abby?"About your wedding tomorrow?"Ah, right."You heard it right, Abby. I'm getting married tomorrow to my fated mate. My second-
Redd Larson just freaking kissed me on the lips, and it seemed he did enjoy it. But not me. It was only a brief kiss. More like a friendly kiss, but because it was Alpha Redd who did it, it was repulsive. I felt raw anger toward him. When he pulled away, my palms had a mind of their own and connected with his cheeks. Slap!"Tasha?" he asked, bewildered. He was stunned for a moment and smirked again. "Yeah. I deserved that for kissing you without asking your permission."I pointed my fingers at him, shaking so badly. "I loathed you!""I love you, too, Tasha," he answered sweetly. "You're getting lovelier the more you get angrier. I loved everything about you, my future wife."I stepped back, sickened at him. "I may be your future wife, but I did not say you can kiss me, asshole! Your kisses are poison to me. Don't you ever dare do that again! Remember, everything is just a contract marriage. Nothing else."Alpha Redd looked at me and threw his head backward, laughing. When he was don
"Dad! Is this your way of controlling my life?" "I am not controlling your life, Natasha." "Then what? What do you call this? I thought we were still looking for someone who would invest in the company. But what is happening right now? You wanted me to marry someone whom I barely know?" Alpha Redd put down his wine and faced me. "You will know more about me after our marriage, Tasha. You will know how amazing I am as your future husband. Do you want to support orphaned children? You can continue doing that after our marriage. I can even build an orphanage for you. Or anything you want. Tell me.” Glaring at him, I said, “You cannot buy me, Alpha Redd. You cannot buy my love and affection. I still hated you. In my eyes, you are nothing but an opportunist.” “Six months.” The four of us looked in Dad’s direction. “Alpha Redd and I had talked about it. He only wants six months to be with you since the Elders wanted him to marry. Anyone would do, but he saw you once and wanted you to b