The Alphas Want Me

Adi pushed the tips of her toes flat against the hardwood flooring of her bedroom, before curling them into round, plump semi-circles. This was one of her ways to relieve her mounting anxiety. Today was the day of her 18th birthday. Her father seemed to be the only person in the house who was pleased with her coming-of-age. Being the well-respected leader he is, he couldn't wait for his firstborn to become the mate of someone powerful within the pack, sending his social stature soaring amongst his other friends. Adi, on the other hand, felt completely opposite of her father. As a young girl, she had witnessed a few elder girls come of age. She reflected on her memory of one girl, Emma Lee, deciding on a mate. She chose Ry, the son of our alpha. As everyone knew, Ry was the vainest male on the pack, next to his father. He had prided himself in knowing that girls would be begging him to be their mate.  Ry and Emma Lee were bonded a week before his transformation began, and they both seemed extremely pleased. Ry was actually a decent person toward Emma Lee, always holding her hand and smiling when they went on walks throughout the pack. But, to no surprise, his transformation into an alpha had made him into a wicked and vile man.  The process made him bold, aggressive, and cruel towards Emma Lee. He would viciously throw her around in public, slapping her face until she whimpered. Too often she was found unconscious after his attacks on her. A few days after his transformation, he showed up to the pack's bonfire, sporting a s***h in his left cheek, and another person's blood on his right. No one seemed bothered by his appearance until the absence of his mate was noticed. The alpha sent a few of his men to search for her, in fear that Ry had tortured her and left her alone with injuries. What they found was far much worse. Ry had murdered Emma Lee, by choking her to death after biting her neck, leaving puncture wounds about the size of the tip of an index finger. This was evidence that he was in his wolf state when the incident occurred. Ry was accused of murder, but he was never delivered a punishment. Why? The alpha couldn't bring himself to accept that his own son had viciously violated the sacredness of the mate bond. He was simply exiled from the pack and lived among the rogues that inhabited the outlying borders of our packs.  Adi brought herself back to reality, her toes still curled beneath her, and her hands in her lap as she stared lifelessly at her plain wooden door. Any minute now, her father would arrive to bring her to the dining room, where she was to meet with another family, who had a son looking for a mate. She was terrified of her soon-to-be fate. What if she agreed to be his mate? Would he hurt her as Ry did to Emma Lee? Would he kill her? Adi exhaled slowly, trying to keep a positive demeanor.  She heard the doorbell ring, and she knew her future was sealed once the door was opened.