Chapter 2

Violet

Two days later

“You are an absolute embarrassment, Violet! You’ve turned into the laughingstock of the whole pack! They are all talking about the future Alpha, who was rejected for her own maid! Everyone thinks you’re pathetic!” my father roars from his throne inside the grand hall.

I keep my head bent, eyes stinging with tears as I’m forced to listen to him. We are the only people inside the room, but I know my siblings are listening from behind the door. They are all worried about me, unlike my asshole of a father.

“Are you listening to me, Violet?!”

At that, I snap up my head and glare back at him. “I am, but what do you want me to say?! I can’t change the past! And even though I would like him to, I can’t...” My bottom lip is trembling with hurt. “I can’t make Blake love me. He rejected me, and I can’t change that.”

“You’re damn right about that!” my father strokes his grey beard, grumbling to himself. “The only way to fix this humiliating situation is to make the paparazzi focus on something else. This won’t go away by itself, I hope you know that, Violet. This is why I’ve come up with the perfect solution: I want you to visit the mating bureau and ask them to find you a suitable man to claim as your mate. If you find someone new, this shit storm will be forgotten, and the paparazzi will instead focus on the new man in your life. It’s a perfect idea.”

I can’t believe the words coming out of his mouth! I haven’t had enough time to cry my heart out over Blake. Even though he doesn’t love me back, I love him, and I need time to get over him. My father should be perfectly aware of this, yet he is choosing to ignore my heart and is already plotting to marry me off to somebody else?!

My father is such an asshole.

I growl low in my throat, angry at his lack of respect and concern for my feelings. “Did it ever occur to you that I’m not desperate to find a mate?! I refuse to participate in this nonsense!”

“What I understand, Violet,” he says with a harsh tone. “Is that you don’t have a choice. I’m the Alpha king, and you are my daughter, the oldest one that will take my place one day. That means that you will do as I say. And if you don’t find a suitable man on your own, I will pick one for you.”

I grit my teeth and curl my hands into fists, seething with rage. “And what if I go against your orders? What will you do to me then?”

“If you choose to disobey me and get your tail in trouble, then I will deal with you severely,” he says in a stern tone. “I will shun you and have you thrown out from the pack immediately. You will live the rest of your remaining days as a rogue. One of the twins will be made Alpha instead.”

As my father says this, he looks at me with a cold glare. It’s obvious that he is serious about this. He wouldn’t hesitate to throw me out on the street, and I unhappily lower my gaze to the floor. I don’t want to go through with this plan, but I don’t want to die as a rogue either.

“Fine,” I say, hating that my voice is shaking so much. Showing myself vulnerable is embarrassing, and tears I won’t willingly shed burn behind my eyes when a satisfied smirk curls my father’s lips.

“Excellent,” he says. “Tomorrow, you will go to the mating bureau and let them help you find a mate. Create a beautiful story about your relationship with the guy, and then invite the press to a press conference. Show them that you are happy with your new man, and the rumors about Blake breaking your heart will go away immediately.”

“It will be easy for you to find a mate there,” he continues. “Don’t forget that every male in our pack dreams about being your mate. I’m sure everyone will sign up with a chance to become the future Alpha’s partner.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Father, you’re ignoring the fact that I’m not interested in finding a mate. I don’t need a man to make me happy. I don’t want to pick a man out of a list. I want to find one on my own. I want to fall in love with him. I want to find the one I will spend the rest of my life with. Why can’t you understand this?”

“You’re not in a romantic movie, Violet!” my father shouts. “You don’t have time to fall in love. I am the Alpha king, and I expect you to behave as one. You are not acting like royalty right now. You are acting like a spoiled child! Do you understand me?”

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip to prevent myself from shouting something back. Part of me wants to fight my father on this, but deep inside, I know he is right.

As the future Alpha, I have responsibilities, and I know that if I don’t do what my father says, my entire pack will suffer. They need me to pick a mate to grow stronger after a successful mating. It is not just about me anymore. I have to set an example for my family and my pack.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“You’ll do as I say?” he asks, and I nod. His face softens, and he smiles at me. “Good. I am very proud of you, Violet.”

My lips twitch. I don’t deserve his praise. I still want to fight him on this, which makes me a brat—the future Alpha shouldn’t be thinking about her own heart. The pack is the most important, and I let out a sigh.

“Thank you, Father.”

We continue talking about the mating bureau for at least another hour before my father orders me to go to sleep, and I don’t notice until I get to my room that I’m clutching my necklace in my fist. Blake gave it to me, and my heart is clenching with pain.

Why am I still thinking about that asshole?

With my emotions all over the place, I lie down in my bed, but falling asleep is impossible. Blake’s scent is all around me. I can smell him all over my sheets and on my pillows. We never slept with each other, but we spent a lot of time cuddling in my bed whenever we studied together.

I really miss those times...

Tears stream down my face as I grab my pillow to hug it to my chest, inhaling Blake’s warm scent. Why did he pick Anna over me? If he rejected her, I could have marked him, and we would have been mates instead.

We would have been beautiful together.

I cry myself to sleep thinking about how close I was to having my own happy ending, only to be separated from the man of my dreams when my maid turned out to be his fated mate. My life is truly a tragedy.