Devoted : Enemies and Heirs

Chapter 1

Aiyana- 15 years later

I wake up in a panic as I look around my room. I need to calm down. I remember the technique I learned online.

5 things I can see. I can see my window. I can see my favourite pair of shoes. I can see my overfilled book shelf. I can see my dresser. I can see my stuffed wolf.

4 things I can touch. I can touch my soft comforter. I can touch my fleece pyjamas. I can touch the smooth sheets underneath me. I can touch the worn wool of my wolf.

3 things I can hear. I can hear the air conditioning. I can hear an owl outside. I can hear the guards doing patrols outside.

2 things I can smell. I can smell the familiar scent of my room, subtle and sweet. I can faintly smell the woods outside.

1 thing I can taste. This one is a little harder as right now all I taste is copper from my dry mouth.

I take stock of my breathing and heart rate, glad that it's back down to normal. I haven't had that nightmare in a long time. Most of my nightmares these days are about my future not my past.

It's been 15 years since the coup that destroyed my world. I was the daughter of the Beta. My brother destined to take over when the Alpha's son did. Damien Cross and his goons killed the Alpha and his family. My father and brother died trying and failing to protect them.

My mother died less than a year later from a broken heart. You're not meant to live without your mate. She made a deal with Damien Cross to keep me alive. She promised that I would marry him when I came of age.

I found that bit out on my 16th birthday. It was the first time he tried to kiss me. When I pulled away from him, it was the first time in a long time that he got truly mad at me.

He yelled and broke things, saying I was promised to him. He had waited 11 years for me to come of age and it was expected of me.

I managed to convince him that I wanted to save it for our wedding night, to ensure I was 100% pure for him. That shut him up and even made him give me a sneer that sent shudders down my spine.

It's been 4 years since then and I'm running out of excuses. I want to wait for my mate. I want him to take me away from this place of beatings and terror and show me what it is to be truly loved.

I walk down to the kitchen in the pack house to get something to drink, my heartbeat finally back to normal. I open the door to the fridge, deciding between juice or taking a bottled water upstairs. I grab the glass carafe of orange juice and turn towards the counter.

"Aiyana..."

I jump, squeaking as I drop the glass. Damien catches it, giving me a dark smirk. "My apologies. I didn't mean to frighten you Little Wolf. What are you doing up so late?"

My heart is once more pounding in my chest, "Damien... I had another nightmare so I came down to get a drink."

He touches my cheek and it takes everything I have not to shudder in disgust. "Do you want one of the Mystics to make you a tonic to help you sleep?"

I shake my head, "The tonic was too strong the last time and I don't like not having control over my own body. Thank you though."

He smiles but it doesn't meet his eyes, like he's only smiling because he thinks it will warm me up to him. He's wrong.

I grab a glass and pour myself some juice before putting the carafe back in the fridge. "Goodnight Damien."

I walk back towards my room, hearing him whisper "Goodnight my Little Wolf. Soon enough you will be mine."

I shudder at the thought and head back up to my room. I close and lock the door behind me, drinking the juice quickly before crawling into bed.

I wake up as soon as the sunlight hits my face, blinding me for just a moment. I climb out of bed and make my way outside. Every morning I let my wolf out and run until I can't anymore. It's the only sense of freedom I have and Damien is smarter than to deny me that.

I make it past the tree line and strip down before taking a calming breath. I feel my bones and muscles stretch and change, pushing me onto my hands and knees. Shifting hasn't hurt me in a long time but I also shift much more often than the rest of the pack. If I knew I could get away with it I would have run long ago.

I spend the next few hours enjoying the mild weather and the smell of the forest. I make it to my favourite watering hole, lapping up the crystal clear water.

I hear a twig snap and jerk my head to the direction of the sound. I smell another animal of some kind so I make my way closer to it, hoping it was a deer. I haven't had fresh venison in almost 2 weeks.

When I get to where the noise is coming from, I freeze in my tracks. It's a man. A beautiful man. He's setting up a camp of sorts. He shouldn't be this close to the pack land, they'll surely kill him if they find him.