CHAPTER TWO
1113 Words
I stared at my father in shock. What was the Alpha doing here? I wasn’t supposed to get married until I turned twenty, so why was the Alpha here, and did he have to come with so many guards?“Cassandra, this is…”“Alpha Ken,” I finished for my father and bowed to the handsome man who stood and smiled at me.“Cassandra, it’s lovely to see you,” came his strong voice, and I smiled. I was glad I wasn’t marrying a troll or a gray, old, dying Alpha. The man before me was strong and handsome, but something felt off.“You might be wondering why I am here,” he said, and I nodded.“I was surprised to see you, Alpha. But you are very welcome,” I said, and he nodded.“The Alpha has offered to sponsor Patrick to study under the Alpha of the Crescent Pack, but there’s one condition,” my father said, and my eyes flicked to the Alpha, who stood there smiling at me.“And what’s that?” I asked. My father smiled, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, none of his smiles ever did.“You’ll marry the Alpha next week,” he said, and I stared at him, surprised. I hadn’t finished my major in photography, and now they were pushing the marriage forward. I had always wanted to finish my education before getting married.Ken walked toward me and held my hands tenderly. His blue eyes bore into mine.“You don’t need to worry, Cassandra. Even when we are married, you can still go to school. I won’t deprive you of that. You deserve it and everything more,” he said, and I smiled, relief flooding my system.“Thank you,” I said, and I meant it. He nodded to me and shook hands with my dad before leaving with his men.“I’m not going to Crescent Pack,” Patrick said as soon as they were gone, and my father turned to him sharply.“What did you say?” His voice held a warning, but Patrick was as tall as my father, maybe even taller, though leaner.“I’m not going anywhere. You can’t just marry Cass off and then have me shipped away like garbage,” he growled, and our father growled back, loud and clear.“You’ll do as I say, Patrick. You know what happens when you don’t,” he said, and Patrick moved a step forward, staring him straight in the eye.“What? You’re going to have me flogged, locked up, punished, disowned? I don’t care, Father. I’m done being your plaything, your toy to use as you please. You’re the reason Mother died!” Patrick yelled, and I gasped. Father’s eyes darkened in fury, and he slammed his fist into Patrick’s face, sending him flying back from the impact and crashing into a sofa.“Patrick!” I cried in panic. Father stormed away, and I rushed to Patrick’s side. He was already sitting up, but his nose was bleeding and bruised. “Are you okay?” I asked, and he nodded. He glared at our father’s retreating figure, his eyes filled with hate, making me wonder how much resentment my younger brother held for our father.“You didn’t have to say that,” I said, and Patrick glared at me, scowling.“You’ve always been a f*****g weakling, Cass. I told him the truth, and I’ll say it again. And next time, I won’t just take a punch,” he said, and I glared back at him.“So you’ll hit Father?” I asked, and he shrugged.“Yes,” he stood and kicked something out of his path.“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see Elaine,” he said, but I held his arm.“Are you really…?”“Sleeping with her… yes,” he answered, and I gulped before I nodded.“How did it feel?” I asked, curious, and he shrugged. He pulled his arm away from my hand.“Ask her,” he said and stormed off. I sighed, tensions were rising, and I didn’t know what to do. I fitted my spear on the rack on the wall. I knew my father was going to berate me later for hunting and coming home in dirty pants and a dew-wet shirt.“We should go for a run,” my wolf said, and I grinned. I was excited. I was getting married to the Alpha, and I could still finish my major. I leaped out of the window and instantly transformed into my wolf form. I had always taken pride in being one of the werewolves who could shift the fastest.I bounded into the woods on my paws. It felt good to let my wolf take charge, seeing through her eyes. I didn’t know how long I kept running, but I suddenly stopped when I realized I was no longer in the woods but on a mountain knoll. As far as my eyes could see, there were no woods, only open land.“Uh oh,” my wolf said. I turned around frantically in panic. The sun was already setting, and I was lost. One thing I lacked was a sense of direction. I transformed back into human form, naked, and wandered around, but I still couldn’t find the woods.“No, no, no,” I groaned. Just when my life was starting to take shape, I had to get lost. I kept walking forward until I saw the woods, and I sighed in relief. It looked different, but maybe that was because I had never been this far. As I stepped into the forest, I heard a low growl. I turned, but there was nothing. I heard another growl to my right, followed by more growls. Then, from the shadows of the trees, wolves emerged, looking quite different from those in our pack. They snarled and growled, keeping me from moving forward. My eyes widened in realization. This wasn’t our woods—I was in the wrong territory. “Easy, boys,” came a deep voice, and I turned to see a dark-haired man so handsome I couldn’t help but stare. Then my eyes widened when I realized who it was.“Alpha Damon?” I said in fear, and he grinned, a sinister grin that only made him more handsome.“Yes, little pup. And I presume you are a long way from home.” He turned to one of his men who had transformed. “Take her.”
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