Creating The Perfect Alpha

Chapter 4

Passing by the entrance, I heard a knock on the door. For a second, I just stared at it, wondering if perhaps more family members would surprise me with visits.

Taking a bite of the apple in my hand, I walked over to the front door, opened it, and found a nicely dressed werewolf on the other side.

“Luna Aurora?”

“That’s me,” I replied.

“For your mate.”

He handed over a golden envelope. I carefully grasped it, seeing the silver letters on it:

The Alpha Games

He had been right, I thought. The games were official now.

I looked up.

“Thank you,” I said.

He bowed before me, showing me respect I so rarely received. I closed the door before turning to the envelope.

Open it, my wolf urged.

“I can’t. It’s not for me,” I said.

So? It was handed to you, and you’re his mate.

“Yeah, and you know what will happen if I open it. He’ll make me pay for it.”

She huffed but retreated again.

Would we ever see eye to eye again? I shook my head at the thought before hurrying upstairs. Reaching his office, I noticed one of the doors wasn’t properly shut. That had to mean he wasn’t inside. I was just going to leave the envelope for him.

Opening the door, I stepped in, only to freeze. A groan tore from Darren’s throat, his head tilted back, obvious pleasure written across his face.

What is happening? I wondered.

Darren turned his head, his eyes widening when he found me standing there.

“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted, and I noticed him shift away from something behind his desk.

Was there... someone down there on the floor?

Disgust curled within me, but this merely underscored how broken our connection was. I didn’t even feel it anymore.

“I’m sure you’ll want to celebrate this with your little friend.”

I stepped forward, smacking the envelope onto the desk. Darren didn’t even bother shielding his erection. My eyes, though, didn’t need to see it. They shot to the side, only for my entire world to fall apart as it had the first time I found him with another female.

Diamond’s eyes stared back at me, wide with shock. I turned back to Darren, seeing the indifferent look in his expression.

“Was there anything else?”

“Y-You can’t... My sister?!” I shouted, gesturing toward Diamond. “Of all people!”

He snapped his fingers, gesturing for Diamond to rise. She did, but when I looked at her again, she gave me a little smile and shrugged.

“He was lonely,” she said, as if she didn’t feel an ounce of guilt.

“What the f**k?” I yelled at her, coming around the desk, feeling anger beyond anything I had ever experienced. “What the hell do you mean, lonely? Do you have any idea how many women he has cheated on me with?”

She looked down, submitting like an omega should, but Darren stepped forward. Having fixed himself now, he placed Diamond behind him, as if she were... his mate. I stared up at him, and he reached out, grasping me by the throat and squeezing.

“Did I give you permission to complain?” he asked.

Bite him! my wolf urged.

He tightened his grip, cutting off my air.

“You know our roles here, Aurora,” he reminded me in a dark tone. “Yours is simply to bear my heirs. Otherwise, you have no power here.”

“Please...” I croaked out, scratching at his hand.

“In fact, why do I even bother giving you permission to walk around as you please? You always interrupt the best moments.”

He squeezed harder, dark spots forming before my eyes. I began losing strength.

Would he actually kill me this time?

Just as I was becoming certain of it, he let me drop to the ground, coughing.

“Goddess, what am I going to do with you?” he asked, as if I were a mere inconvenience.

I reached up, shielding my throat as I glanced up, seeing my sister standing behind Darren, smiling mischievously.

Why would she...? Why...?

“Come here!”

Darren suddenly seized me again, dragging me up from the floor, his grip so tight it felt like he was going to break my bones.

“Let me go!” I hissed.

This time I tried struggling against him, grabbing onto anything I could—his desk, chair, the doorframe.

“Diamond!” I shouted, seeing her standing behind the desk, wiggling her fingers at me in a little wave. “Diamond!”

I was pulled from the room and dragged toward the staircase. I kept shouting and struggling, but any pack members we passed merely looked down, quiet and submissive.

“You can’t do this!” I shouted at him.

“What is it I can’t do?”

“She is my sister!”

“And maybe I should have picked her instead of you. She actually knows how to please me,” he retorted as he dragged me outside.

“Darren, let me go!”

He didn’t listen. Instead, he stopped only to throw me over his shoulder. I pounded my fists against his back.

“Release me!”

He carried me into the forest behind the house. I already knew where we were going. As the shed came into view, cold dread shot through me.

“No! No!” I yelled.

He stepped into the slight darkness. The sun was still out, but the place barely allowed any light to come through. Finding the cell that had been built into the large wooden structure, he threw me inside, letting me land hard on the ground, the wind knocked from my lungs.

I tried to ignore it as I crawled toward the door, but the iron gate was slammed shut right in my face and locked. I grabbed the bars, pushing myself up as I coughed.

“As I said,” Darren began, moving in front of me, “I don’t even know why I bother letting you have any freedom to walk around. I should have kept you on a leash from the start.”

I could barely speak as the air still struggled to find its way into my lungs.

“Don’t... do this,” I gasped.

“But Aurora, it’s already done,” he said, a dark chuckle leaving him as he leaned against the bars as well.

My hand shot out, grasping his shirt, but there was barely any strength in it.

“You will stay in there for as long as I desire. I will come for you when your heat arrives again, but I will not let you distract me now that the games will begin soon. I need a mate who encourages me,” he said before grasping my hand and twisting it to the side, making me whimper in pain. “I think I will keep your sister. She pleases me.”

I shook my head, tears running down my cheeks.

“D-Don’t... Don’t...” I pleaded.

“Maybe I would listen if you had actually succeeded in fulfilling your duty, but you haven’t. Perhaps your sister will.”

“Those... children won’t be... true alphas or lunas!”

“Or maybe a miracle happens,” he said, confusing me, while squeezing my hand so hard I felt a bone break.

“Ah!”

“Maybe, as you give birth to the heirs I want, we will say they are hers.”

I stared into his sinister eyes, not finding an ounce of kindness. I couldn’t believe this...

“You’re... going to keep me... in here forever?” I whispered.

“I’m tired of you getting into my business, Aurora, never being where you’re supposed to be.”

“I have never... I have always stayed out of your way! As you wanted!”

“As I said, never where I wanted you to be.”

I knew that no matter what I had done, it wouldn’t have been right. Darren finally let go of me, and I clutched my hand to my chest, staring up at him.

“Don’t do this, Darren. Don’t keep me in here! I will go insane!”

“Good. I don’t need your mind.”

His words sent dark chills through me. He turned around.

“Darren! Darren!” I yelled. “Please!”

He didn’t even glance back. He just walked away without saying another word. The door fell shut behind him, sending panic instantly through me.

“No! No!” I yelled, shaking the bars. “Darren!”

Slowly, my body lost strength. I slid down the bars, sobs finally wracking through me, the pain so great that it felt as though I could barely breathe as I cried.

I curled in on myself, my hand still throbbing, but without medical help, I wasn’t sure it would heal correctly. I realized I didn’t even care. The pain in my hand was minuscule compared to the fate that now awaited me.

Curling tighter, I pleaded with the Goddess...

“Please, don’t let this be my life... I don’t care what you have to do... just end this!”

I knew she wasn’t a miracle worker. She didn’t come down to earth and grant us our wishes, but what else could I do?

You could get off the ground and look for a way out! my wolf urged.

“What for?”

Are you seriously just going to sit there?

I didn’t respond, the little fire I had left in me completely gone.

Aurora!

I still didn’t respond. I just curled tighter into myself, time passing by, the sun disappearing and throwing the place into darkness.

Only a few lamps hung around, providing a tiny bit of light, but they made the shadows seem alive, as if they were about to eat me. A creak broke through the silence, something that didn’t quite match the ones the shed normally made.

Somebody is here, my wolf warned.

I slowly turned, seeing a dark figure in the doorway.

“D-Darren?” I whispered.

“Not quite,” a light voice said.

“Diamond!”

Instantly, I shot to my feet, anger rising within me.

“How f*****g could you?” I snapped as she walked closer, the light finally hitting her and allowing me to see the wicked smile on her lips.

“How could I?”

“Yes!” I yelled.

“Oh, Ro Ro,” she said. “You’re the one who neglected him.”

“I neglected him? Have you any idea what a monster he is?”

“Come now,” she said, stepping a little closer. “Not something I can’t tame.”

“You’re f*****g mistaken. Why would you do this? What could possibly—”

“Because I don’t get what you get!” she yelled, stunning me into silence.

For a long moment, we just stared at each other, my mind trying to make sense of her words.

“What?”

“The precious luna of our family. One of the few in the world.”

I still didn’t understand.

“You could get any alpha you wanted,” she said, leaning closer. “I’m honestly shocked you didn’t try to go for Prince Cain.”

An image of the former prince flashed through my mind—the smile on his lips when he looked at me, the kindness in his eyes...

I shook my head, banishing such thoughts. We had only conversed a few times, and I had already set my heart on...

“And what do I get?” Diamond asked, throwing her arms out. “A simple warrior? Nothing special!”

“You’re an omega. We talked about this!”

“Well, it doesn’t make sense! I can f*****g enchant any man out there. I could get the f*****g king to f**k me!” she shouted.

I cringed, not liking that idea at all.

“The king is devoted to his mate, even in death,” I told her. “I think you think a little too highly of yourself.”

My sister slammed her hand against the bars, making them echo, but my wolf saw it as an opportunity. Taking control of my hand, it shot through the bars at high speed, clutching my sister’s jacket and pulling her into them, forcing her cheek against the metal.

“Release us!” my wolf demanded through me.

My sister pressed both hands against the bars, trying to create a little space, but my wolf held on even tighter.

“Release us!”

“I was going to!”

Instantly, her words hit me, and my wolf lost control of me. I took over again, letting my sister go slowly. She straightened her clothes, glaring at me.

“What did you say?” I asked.

She reached into her pocket and held out a shiny key.

“Let’s switch lives,” she offered.

What?

“Sorry?” I asked.

“You don’t want to be here,” she declared.

Understatement, my wolf mocked.

“So go. Go far away from here, start over somewhere else, or drown yourself in a river, I don’t give a s**t,” she said, her words hitting hard.

I knew we had never been that close, but... she wished me dead? Or at least didn’t care if I died?

Are you really shocked? She gave your mate a blowjob in his office. They have probably been f*****g since she got here.

I couldn’t deny my wolf’s suggestion. She was probably right. Sighing, I considered my sister’s offer, but why not take it? I could finally be free of Darren, of this place.

“What’s the catch?” I inquired.

“No catch. You get your freedom, and I get an alpha.”

“We are still mated in the official documents.”

“We will get them annulled.”

“Darren wants heirs.”

“I will provide him with them.”

“I’m not sure he will accept your...” I trailed off, seeing my sister raise an eyebrow.

“My blood?”

I nodded.

“Is that any of your concern? Do you not want your freedom?” She dangled the key in front of me.

What are you doing? Take the damn offer!

I nodded.

“I do.”

“Then leave. Promise me?”

“I’m out of here,” I assured her.

“Good.”

With a smile, she opened the door to my cell, but I didn’t dare leave right away. I wasn’t so sure I could trust her. Yet nothing happened. Slowly, I left the cell and stepped to the other side of the bars. I stared at my sister, seeing her sweep an arm through the air.

“Waiting for something?” she asked.

I kept staring, and she c****d an eyebrow.

“You’re serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? When I came here, I planned to stay,” she said.

That part wasn’t shocking. I had already gathered as much.

“I just didn’t realize I would be doing you a favor too.”

I scoffed. “A favor?”

“Exactly,” she replied. “How long have you wanted to just leave, but shame and knowing Mom and Dad probably wouldn’t take you back have kept you from doing it?”

Her words hit hard. They were all true.

“Now is your chance, sister. Now you can go and be whoever you want to be.”

Whoever I wanted to be, I repeated in my head. It was almost too good to believe. But that was exactly what I wanted.

Slowly moving toward the door, I stopped by the exit and glanced back, seeing my sister shrug. Strangely, I felt grateful to her. This was my chance.

Then let’s no longer stay here, my wolf said.

She was right. I stepped into the darkness and instantly set off at a run. I could feel a power reignite inside me, one I had lost long ago when I kept surrendering to Darren’s abuse.

I could feel my wolf coming alive again, our energies aligning and becoming one. For a moment, I let it overflow through me, surround me.

I’m free! I’m free.

I took in the many scents and sensations around me, my eyes easily adapting to the dark. I knew I was getting closer to the border. Just a little farther and—

A powerful sound rang through the forest before a sharp sensation struck me in the back. I fell forward, losing my balance before hitting the ground hard.

Fear shot through me, making me try to rise, but my body lost all strength. I collapsed flat onto the ground, finally feeling the pain within me, the warm sensation spreading across my back.

What happened? I thought.

Aurora! Aurora... My wolf’s voice began fading in my mind.

Why is she disappearing?

The sound of crunching footsteps reached my ears, coming closer and closer, but my vision was failing me...

Two dark boots stopped in front of me.

Who was...