Arranged
1498 Words
Kayla's POV
"Stupid b***h!" I heard a male pack member yell.
"I'm sorry, sir." I apologized, keeping my head down. I had been tasked with bringing Derek, Alpha of the Green Bay Pack, some coffee, and due to the glass burning my hand, I accidentally dropped the cup I was holding. It shattered on the floor, and coffee splashed on a male wolf who just so happened to be picking something up from the floor at the same time.
The Green Bay Pack is located in Savannah, Georgia. On the outside, our pack looks friendly. Their land is not huge. The packhouse sits in the middle of the land, surrounded by small huts for the mated families. Flowers accent it all, and there is a forest further back on the land where their wolves can run wild.
He wiped his face. Luckily, there were no bruises on it — not that it would have mattered. He was a male wolf. He would heal quickly. I tried to walk to the packhouse kitchen to get some napkins, a broom, and a dustpan, hoping he would see it was an accident and let me go.
The boy quickly walked behind me, grabbed my arm, spun me around, and slapped me. This was the first time in a few weeks that anyone had slapped me since I had been here. I held my face to try to stop the stinging pain that followed, and I looked up with tears in my eyes. It was the Alpha's son, Liam.
Liam loved putting me in pain. Standing at almost six feet tall with chestnut brown hair and brown eyes, Liam was known around the packhouse for his nasty temper and torturous ways. He would bully any pack member he saw fit. Being the son of the Alpha made him overconfident, and he was always full of a rage that never died.
She-wolves in the pack were constantly throwing themselves at him, each one probably hoping to become his mate. Good for her if he finds one, but I pray their moon goddess does not give him one.
His father — who was his twin in every way — beat him constantly, and since Liam would never attack the Alpha, he took it out on me. Luna Kim had been a human who died while giving birth to Liam, and Alpha Derek blamed Liam for the loss of his mate. The stories go that he became cruel after that, no longer caring about his son or the pack, though he continued to lead them nonetheless.
It was because of his father's abuse that Liam turned out the way he did. Alpha Derek also came to hate humans, calling them weak and forcing Liam to accept that belief as his own. I did my best to avoid Liam when he was upset, and so far, I had been staying out of his way — invisible. He hadn't noticed me in a few weeks. Not until now. I looked into his eyes, holding my face, and regretted it instantly.
SLAP
"That's for burning my face," he yelled. People were gathering to watch the scene.
SLAP
"That's for looking at me," he yelled. He punched me in the gut, and I hunched over.
"That's for being alive. Now clean this s**t up." And then he walked away.
Onlookers didn't bother helping me as I staggered to the kitchen, attempting to catch my breath and gather supplies for the mess. I cleaned up while pack members smirked at me, then made another cup of coffee for the Alpha.
I grabbed my necklace and held it — a carving of the sun. I didn't remember where I had gotten it, but it always seemed to calm me down. I had had it for as long as I could remember.
"What took you so long?" Alpha Derek demanded when I reached his office, as I set the coffee on his desk.
Liam was in there as well, and he gave me a look that said, I dare you to tell. Not that I would, even if I could. Alpha Derek had never hit me, but he had never liked me either.
My adopted parents — Alpha and Luna of a neighboring pack — had adopted me due to being unable to have children of their own, and later sold me to the Green Bay Pack as part of a treaty between the two packs. They hadn't liked children at all. Everyone here had been less than friendly toward me, due in large part to the fact that I had not shifted yet. Since I was adopted, no one had been able to find information about my birth parents, so they had raised me and sold me off to this pack. The reason why still remained unanswered. On top of that, since I had never shifted, everyone assumed I was human — and being human was something this pack despised.
"Sorry, Alpha. I have no excuse," I told him, not looking up.
"It's good you're here, actually. I have something to discuss with you both." Liam turned to face him, and I stood in place, waiting for the news.
"Liam will be eighteen tomorrow, and as of then, I am making you Alpha of the pack," he told us. Liam grinned wide. I was still waiting to hear what any of this had to do with me.
"As part of the treaty written by her parents, you will be married, and she will be recognized as your Luna."
I looked up at him, horrified. Liam's wide grin dropped. He was just as upset as I was.
"Are you f*****g serious?" he yelled.
"Mind your tone, boy," the Alpha commanded.
"But, Dad, she's human. She isn't fit to be Luna. She is weak. Look how pathetic she looks!" Liam sneered at me.
You're probably wondering what he means.
A chosen mate is selected by someone who has no fated mate. If that person is to be an Alpha, then once marked, their chosen mate must be as strong as them for the pack to remain strong — otherwise the pack will grow weak. The chosen mate must be able to defend themselves and protect the pack with their life. As a human, I was considered the weakest member of the pack. I could not heal at an accelerated rate. I had no wolf-like qualities or powers. I had no relevance here other than securing an alliance. Everyone in this pack was a shifted wolf — half mated, half unmated — and any one of them would have been a more suitable choice. But instead, I was chosen. Not by Liam, but by the current Alpha on his behalf, all because of some treaty with my adopted parents, who were both wolves.
"The treaty with her parents depends on this marriage. They are our biggest allies — ones we cannot afford to lose," he said.
I said nothing. This was ridiculous. Me. A Luna. Married to Liam, of all people. His pack hated humans; they would never accept me. As if reading my mind, the Alpha spoke.
"The pack does not like humans — that is true. But they will have no choice. Liam, to become Alpha of this pack, you will take Kayla Summers as your bride, or I will kill you." He stated it simply, as though threatening his son was the most natural thing in the world.
Liam walked out of the office, seething.
I had always known my parents would do something like this one day. They were part of the Dark Lands Pack, a few packs away. I had been found as an abandoned baby and brought to them. They would have had me killed, but they saw that I could be useful. Growing up, they showed me no love. They kept me as a slave and abused me. I had thought things might change when I was sent to this pack at the age of six, but if anything, everything only became so much worse. I often wondered where I truly came from — how someone could have hated a baby enough to simply leave her on the ground the way they did.
"You're dismissed," Alpha Derek said.
I nodded and walked out. I had barely turned the corner when Liam grabbed me by my throat and pinned me against the wall.
"Just because I have to marry you doesn't mean I won't make your life hell. I'll torture you every single day for the rest of your pathetic human life. I'll take many mistresses and make you watch. And I'll make them beat you, too. Stupid f*****g human," he said. Then he dropped me to the ground and walked away.
I grabbed my throat as a small sob escaped me and rushed back to my room, crying. I got into bed, held my necklace, and tried to calm myself down as I drifted off to sleep.
- Writer
