Sold To The Alpha

Ivy I run my fingers through my curls, staring at myself in the mirror. I look at myself —the last omega of the Lune pack, our line who was hunted and slaughtered. Only a fraction of us remain, with no alpha to protect us, we are just a dying pack. But that won’t be my fate, even if it means that I will be sold off to the alpha from the Blackwood pack. Rumor says he’s gone celibate from losing his first omega and ever since he’s never bonded. Never spoke again and is feral. Living near his pack to protect but never close enough for them to be unified. I was hoping to change that, my hand moves down to my empty womb and I ache. My job as an alpha heir is to bring more alpha’s to this world but I've never bonded. Letting out a shaky breath, I look down at my hand that cradles my stomach. Papa always made sure that I had what I needed in order to prevent my heat, he said that I should have the choice. Meeting love versus duty. The muscles in my womb tighten, and I grimace. I've never been in heat. This would be my first but I feel it crashing down on me, slowly but surely. Grams says it will happen soon and I can feel that she’s right. I sigh, sagging against the chair, she’s always right. Grams also says to just let me be used— that in the end it wouldn’t matter as long as our bloodline lived. Which is true, especially after what happened during the last full moon, the pack was hunted down and brutally killed. It took days to find the bodies of our people and properly send them away. But I wanted to be bonded—not just be an omega but an alpha’s luna. A soulmate. Like my parents. But with papa dead, I no longer receive my much needed heat suppressant. The situation is dire. I can go into heat any minute and any alpha could come and claim me as his. In this situation at least I have a choice. A marriage between us will unite our packs, helping my dying pack out. Protect those Papa died to protect, even if it means never bonding. I hold my stomach tighter, as if I could stop what’s coming, but there's no stopping it. I can feel it deep inside me, even in my dreams. I’m beginning to want to. To need. Ripe. Untainted. Ready to be taken by the feral alpha— Jackson Blackwood. Despite the remote location, where my pack is located, rumors traveled faster than any good news and not only was I marrying a mute and feral alpha hole—but I wasn’t the first omega to be sold to him. Word around the packs is that the omega’s will either disappear or run away. Become Rouge, if it meant escaping the feral alpha. Could he truly be that bad? What does he do to them? Whatever it is must be bad enough for a wolf to choose being in exile, rejected and used for only s*x due to abandoning one’s alpha. Would that happen to me? What if he doesn’t claim me at all? Taking a deep breath in, I look back up, and continue getting ready, pulling out a golden crescent moon clip. I pick half my hair up leaving the rest down. My eyes fixate on the darkness under my eyes, the hollowness. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, it wasn’t always this bad but with the hunters tracking us and killing the smaller packs, we need to ban together and fight back. But how? All I see is defeat. I've gotten thinner from the lack of resources, I was never fit to rule. Papa handled all that. I was certain he would have married me to an amazing alpha and I would have his babies. I was raised to be knotted.. To be bred. And I was happy with that until the Blackwood happened, deciding that they would challenge the packs to protect us from the hunters. But instead it created division and seclusion. Most of us are dying out anyway. And this union changes it all, and with my heat coming in, we will both benefit each other. I didn’t want to be in pain, I wanted to be knotted. Taking in a deep breath, I push away from my worn down vanity and brush out my white dress. In the Blackwood pack only virgin omegas were given as brides to the alpha. Under the full moon, the omega will be claimed, if accepted by the alpha and when heat is near, then she will be knotted. Biting my lower lip, I try to think of anything else but the time moves closer to being dropped off at the edge of the woods. Butterflies dance in my stomach, my heart beats incredibly fast, and I couldn’t figure what to do with my hands. “Ivy Lune,” grams call from downstairs. “It’s time child.” Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Once my heart stopped beating in my ears, I turned the door knob to my room and walked down the stairs. Surprisingly now, the jitters from meeting my alpha calm down. Like the calm that happens before the storm, I wonder if he would reject me. If he doesn’t publicly hunt me and mark me, then I wouldn’t be claimed. I wouldn’t be worthy. And I will just be an omega, unworthy of being an alpha’s Luna and as the heir of the Lune pack, it will be a true dishonor to not be chosen to be the bride of an alpha. I pray to the moon gods that he brands me, that his claws scratch the nape of my neck, or his strong fangs pierce my skin. Anything but come back as rejection. Barefoot, as demanded and dressed in a white cotton spaghetti strap dainty dress, I walk down the small stairs to where Grams waits for me with the only two elders left besides her. They look at me with worry, their wrinkled faces looking as if they were walking me to my grave. The good thing is that, travel isn’t too far, we were practically neighbors and I would just be delivered to the edge of the woods and left under the moon near the wolf crescent flowers. My favorite flowers. I foolishly take this as omen, that this is fated. Wolf crescent flowers never sprout around this area, so what are the odds that this particular area grows them in abundance. It was truly breathtaking under the moon. We walked past the fields of the tall, white flowers that seemed to glow in the dark but it was the flower’s core that glowed. The shape resembles a crescent moon, which is why it was named how it was. It was a beautiful flower, rare and also so dangerous. No one speaks as we continue our walk, the wet ground squishing under my foot. Until we get to the willow tree that sits in the middle, the meeting ground. I gulp, trying to swallow the knot of anxiety but it’s no use, my heart is ticking away, my ears perched up, listening for anything. “Okay we can only come with you till here.” she squeezes my hand in hers. “Now go on and make your pack proud.” I don’t say anything, only nod as I choke back the tears, instead I bring my grams into a tight hug before she pulls away and turns away, heading back to the elders. My heart is officially hammering in my chest, so much that it has me constantly checking my pulse. My stomach is in knots, the sound of the crickets is the only thing I can hear. And I don’t know how long I stand there, hugging my slender frame, my stomach contracting from hunger. My body is burning. Everything hurts. Suddenly a branch snaps from behind me, quickly I turn but I see nothing. My heart picks up its rampaging pace and my breath catches when I see a pair of ember eyes looking back at me from the woods. Slowly, I begin to back away, willing him to hunt me, but Lune wolves are not known for playing fair. So I live true to the rumor. I wanted my opportunity and there’s nothing that makes an alpha more feral than smelling a little blood. It will be a small dishonesty but one that will ensure the survival of my pack. Using the clip that holds my waves in a half up and half down hairstyle, I unclip it from my hair and let my waves fall down my shoulder, then quickly use the sharp end to scratch on my palm. The wolf reacted immediately, startling me. I was running into the woods, away from my pack and safety without even releasing but he wasn’t far behind me. Even over my pounding heartbeat and my ragged breathing, I could hear the branches and the low growls as the alpha hunts me down. When sudden warmth spreads through me, more contracting in my stomach makes me trip over a dead branch and into the muddy ground. “Ugh.” I huff as I clutch my stomach, my blood smearing on my white dress that now is soiled with mud. “Fuck.” But before I can stand and continue my run, a giant figure steps from the cover of the trees, four claw marks on the side of his face distinguishing him from the others. Jackson. Standing before me, naked. Feral. And f*****g scary. Yet, I couldn't suppress the whimper, the sheer need to be submitted to the man who looks at me like he is going to shred me to pieces. Without a word, he stalks towards me and I scramble backwards trying to stand but failing. When he crouches before me, his bulge doesn’t go unnoticed. And I gulp, as his hand fist my waves and right on my shoulder. The alpha bites me, causing the most pathetic whimper to escape my lips.Before I can even say a word, he inhales me and let's go, shifting back to his wolf form and running into the darkness. Leaving me marked and claimed in the middle of the woods.