Chapter 002

Rose Costa

When I left home for college, I promised myself I would never go back. My college admission letter was the best gift I had ever received in my life. It was my ticket away from all the madness, crimes and cruelty of my family.

Going back home has always been something I dreaded. For me, home was a place I wanted so badly to escape. The Lago Di Smeraldo pack is not just any regular werewolf family, it was a business werewolf pack with deep connections in various regions.

My father, Stanis Costa is the head warrior of the Lago Di Smeraldo pack. Stanis Costa was not only head warrior, he was a ruthless enforcer. Everyone knew and feared him. Everyone including me, his own daughter.

“I should feel proud and safe having a father like him”, I said to myself as I sat up in my dark room. “Instead all I feel is fear and the need to run. Why does he hate me so much?” I thought angrily that night as she fought to find sleep. “I did not ask to be born. I did not ask for anything. Yet he acts like it's my fault. Everyone else goes home happily but it's different for me because my family has made life miserable and unbearable for me”. I said grumbling.

“Now for some reason I have to be present for Adalina and Amara”, I said to myself as I kicked into the air angrily. “Because of them, first thing in the morning, I'll have to go back to the pack. Something I planned to avoid for as long as possible”, I sighed angrily.

“What have they ever done for me? Father has always favored them more than he ever did me. He treats them with love. Maybe because they are twins and I was born alone. Or because they are older. I don't know which and I don't really care. All I wanted was some attention from my sisters but they totally ignored me”

As a child, I looked up to my sisters. While father showered the twins with love, I hoped that through them, I would feel the love and maybe learn a thing or two from them.

However, Adalina and Amara were so caught up in themselves and the love that their father showered on them to even notice their little sister or her desire for their love and occasional attention.

“Daddy does not love you”, Adalina told me on several occasions when we were children.

“Yes he doesn't love you he'd be happier if it were just the three of us. Me, Adalina and dad”, Amara would say and as a result, I was constantly feeling like an unwanted mistake.

“Oh now I'll have to go back to all that isolation. My own family treats me like they'd rather not have me. And it's not just them. Nobody in the pack wants me. I don't know why dad insists on having me over. It's going to be a really boring and annoying weekend”, I said sadly as I tossed in my bed.

“Thankfully I have Marco and Lucia, the children of a beta family who handle the family’s legitimate business dealings. What will I do without those two? At the very least they can keep me company” I told myself in consolation.

“I have been summoned for the ceremony. I have no choice but to be there so I should just get to it”, I added, suddenly deciding to overlook everything and do as I was instructed. I got up and started packing my bag.

**”*

“It's already past six-thirty in the evening”, I said, smiling as I looked at the time on my wrist watch. The ceremony started more than One hour thirty minutes ago and I was intentionally late.

“Everyone must be inside already. It's a good thing I came this late. I can just sneak to the back while everyone is engrossed and carried away by whatever fun they're having by being present at this ceremony because as far as I'm concerned I'd rather be in my college room right now” I said to myself and sighed.

As usual, nobody paid the slightest ounce of attention to me as I walked towards the entrance of the hall where the ceremony was taking place. The ceremony was a very elaborate one. Every member of the pack was present so it was quite a large crowd.

“Good, good, everyone is very engaged. This is my chance to sneak in. I'll find myself a seat somewhere I can maybe hide so that nobody will focus on me”, I thought as I stood peeping from the entrance of the hall.

As I walked in, I perceived a very sharp scent. Pausing, I realized it was the intense scent of my fated mate. The scent is a sharp blend of peppermint , grapefruit and lemon. The scent was so pungent that I felt like I could taste it as well.

Suddenly I was sweating profusely. It was as though someone had poured water on me. The feeling was so overwhelming, I could not put words to describe how I felt. I felt hot and cold at the same time.

To worsen it, I was beginning to feel very uneasy as though a thousand explosives were going off inside of me. My tongue became so dry and itchy as though I had not had a drink of water since I was born. The air seemed to have been sucked away and everything became still.

I felt my clitoris throb. I closed my legs tightly hoping to calm my throbbing clitoris.

“What is this? What the fuck is happening to me? This must be it. My mate is here. I've found him” , I said to myself as I realized that the feeling I was having at the moment was my wolf bond with my fated mate.

I paused and inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm my racing heart and throbbing clitoris. Then I turned and looked upstage where the new Alphas stood with my sisters, their new Lunas. In the same instance, Lorenzo turned towards my direction and our eyes met.

I tried to look away but the force of the attraction was so strong it had created a connection that was undeniable. I recognized it in that moment as my eyes locked in Lorenzo's intense gaze.

“No!!” I screamed in her heart. “Not Lorenzo or Leonardo. Not them. Please not the heirs to the Romano empire”, I said to myself as I panicked.

“I don't want to be tied to the future leaders of the Romano empire. This is just not right. This is just too complex. After all the time and energy I have put into avoiding the business part of my family, how can the heirs of Romano crime syndicate be my mate”, I questioned rhetorically, realizing the complexities of being bound to the future heirs of Romano empire.

The thought of this filled me with fear. I could feel my knees grow weak and my legs shake with fear.

“I must leave here. I can't stay here. I can't. I can't”, I said as I shook with fear. Desperate to escape, I turned and bolted from the room, hoping to avoid being tied to the CEO life I had always tried to avoid.