Sold To The Barbaric Alpha of Wildwood

Freya Grey A loud thunder splits the night sky as the door barges open. "What's taking so long, Melissa? These woods aren't safe. We must keep moving." "No, Clawface. It's time." Melissa shifts her gaze from the broad-shouldered man to me, a pitiful look on her porcelain face. "The baby is coming. Stay strong, Luna." "Now? Ah...fuck." Clawface cries out, and I don't blame him. We all fear what we're running away from. "A storm is coming. This is bad." As if the plank isn't already giving me backache, I whine as a sharp pain stings the side of my stomach when I try to sit up. "Clawface is right, Melissa. The both of you have done enough for me..." "Our loyalty is to the Alpha and Luna, including our lives. This is your legacy. Let us help you protect it." Melissa counters and Clawface grunts. "I—I will secure the perimeter. Whatever you must do, do it fast!" The moment Clawface leaves Melissa to me, she elevates the plank, making me cry out even more. "No, no, please, stop!" "Luna...Luna, look at me. I know you're in pain right now, but I need you to be strong." Melissa holds my hand as she speaks. "Wherever he is out there, he wants you to be strong." I shut my eyes. Her words hold a dreadful reminder. "He's...he's gone, Melissa. I lost him to the darkness. Our mate bond is severed." My heart beats faster, hammering against my sternum and releasing toxic chemicals into my system. Soon, a seizing pain takes over and I scream. "It's time. When I tell you to push, don't hesitate. Okay?" Mlissa's voice is muffled. My ears are blocked, same as my blurred sight. Warm tears stream down the side of my face. "Push!!" "Ahhh!" My body is weakening, the bleeding is worsening. "I...can't...I can't do this, Mel...I..." Melissa climbs atop me and cups my face. "There is a fight in you. It's always been there. From the moment you saved me from death, I knew. And yes, he saw it in you too. Stronger and brighter than any of us can imagine." She's breathing heavily. "Think about your pain, what he said to you as he died in your arms—his fight. So when I tell you to push again, you'll do it with everything in you!" I close my eyes to a new sight, one reserved dearly in my memories. His death. The sharp silver dagger that pierced the center of his chest, spilling blood across my horrified face. "My blood is your blood. My throne is your throne." He whispered his last words to me. "I love you, Cherry." "Push. Now!!" An ear-piercing, glass-shattering shriek erupts, my throat tearing the air as I let it all out. But, my body gives up. A seizure, my spine fidgeting without control then I hear an ominous voice. "Three-eyed seers... Women of Virtue... Redeemers of the land... Breakers of chains... But you... different. What are you, child?" Snapping back to reality, Melissa's face appears before my sight and she screams excitedly. "Just one more time. Push!" And I do with my last straw. With my shriek heavy thunderstorm striks and the sky splits open. The roof of the rusted hut blasts off with a strike and rain plets down upon us. I hear their cries before Melissa brings them closer to me. "Twins, Your Highness. A boy and a girl." My smile is feeble, hands limp to even touch my own babies when Clawface storms in, soaked in blood. "Terrorwolf and his men. They've caught up with us." He whispers before he falls to the ground. Melissa hurries to help him but I find the strength to stop her and pull her close. "Take my twins and run as far away as you can." Melissa takes a moment to breathe before she turns back to me. "This is your fight, Your Highness. We knew our lives are at stake right from the beginning." "It doesn't have to be. I can't..." I whine and curse under my breath against another sharp sting. "I can't protect my babies like this." "There's a horse in the backdoor. Use the chance. Clawface and I will delay those bastards for as long as we can." Melissa grabs my arm tightly. "Our world as werewolves depends on your survival and theirs." Melissa helps me out, the whipping rain having washed all my blood away but more bleeding is happening internally. I can feel it. "I'll never forget you both." I tell Melissa and Clawface as I head into the depth of the woods with my two crying babies. There is nowhere else to go, no place to hide from them so I path way back to my origin. The same place I once swore never to return to. From a distance, I hear my stepsister's voice. "Oi, you're not fun, sourpuss." She's cursing at the sudden bad weather as she forces the livestocks into the barn. With each steps I take approaching her, my legs grow weaker. "My, my, see what the wind wheels in. If it's not the pack's w***e and traitor." "I see you haven't changed one bit, Trisha." My voice is trembling as I meet her gaze. "Is that..." When she looks down at my babies, I smile, and thinking she's finally grown soft but I am a fool to trust Trisha. "You wretched beast. You stole him from me and then you had him killed. Then you dare bring your bastards here!" "I just want to see Father. I need help, please. Trisha, please." "He's my father not yours. You abandoned us." "He banished me. I was an outcast to you both." I stop when the door creaks open and my stepfather gaits down the porch. For a second, I see a flicker of shock on his face. "You. Why have you returned?" Years since I've heard his voice but now I'm reminded of how cold and vile they are. "I need your help, Beta Xavier. Desperate for a shelter." "How dare you? Come again to curse us like you cursed our Alpha? From that day you stole him from your sister, you were dead to me. You're not my daughter, so leave." My stepfather says without blinking. "Aye, rot away in the woods with those tiny bastards!" Trisha joins him. I fall to the ground, the heavy weight of loss eating into me. I raise my gaze and my heart bleeds. "You never loved me, never cared, and I know why. The truth? I was never yours, but tonight, you won't see my weakness. I'm done begging you." I have millions to say to him, but he doesn't deserve them. I mount the horse and pull my babies close to me and head into the woods again. Minutes later, deep in the forest, wolves attack us and the horse's thrashing makes me lose control and fall to the ground. I'm unable to fight alone so I cover my babies and wait to be bitten but it never comes. "Stand up, child. You're safe now." A white-cloaked woman stands before me; her eyes are a glowing emerald green. In her presence, the wolves are gone and the forest is still, like a held breath. "I saw you... in my visions. You were there during my childbirth. You aided me. Who are you?" "I am many things, but in this moment, your salvation." "What do you mean?" She has many voices, one overlapping the other. "An Oracai never births a boy nor twins—only daughters. This has never happen, but you're different, Freya Grey." "You know my name?" I ask, shocked. "As I know this isn't your end. You're in so much pain." Her touch is soft against my skin. "I've lost everything." I sob and she shakes her head. "When all feels lost, always go back to your beginning." She pulls me up and beckons down a path. "Where are we going?" I hesitate. "The start of it all, to rewrite your story."