The Taming Of Alpha Rafael

— Sonya's POV — "If that is what you want to hear, I will say it. I, Kantos, alpha of the Bloomfield pack reject you, Sonya, as my mate," he said and banged the table before him. I used to know him, but at the moment, he was another strange man in his mid-twenties, dressed in a jacket with his chest open, who stood with a certain air of authority. His name was Kantos, and the new alpha of the Bloomfield pack - a man who used to be my lover; a man who once loved me, or acted like he loved me, a man I had given my body, the father of my daughter. I stood across the table. Was my beauty gone? This was the body he used to admire. Was it because I was covered in mud? He ordered that I be used as the plaything, to be trained with and this I just found out. What I wanted to avoid would continue, even under his reign. I once believed that being mated to him, the heir to the alpha spot would be my escape from the life of slavery that I had endured as a plaything in the pack. But now, all was wearing away - the pillow talks, the promises, and the plans to spend the rest of our lives together. "Kantos," my voice quivered as I spoke, "what about our daughter?" "Which daughter?" Kantos said and walked closer. He had never accepted the paternal roles to little Gracie but to deny her existence, this was at another level. "Listen," he said, now before me. "I reject you, as my mate, I reject Gracie as my daughter. And if it ever gets said to anyone that that thing is mine, I will kill you both. You have to understand, Sonya, this cannot continue. You have no place here anymore." My eyes became heated and welled up in tears. I couldn't help but let them roll down my cheek. The reality of the situation slowly sank in and I began to see another life of torment for my little Gracie. I have suffered as an orphan and that was my fate, but to envision a life of suffering for my little Gracie, this was sadder. It would be a wound she would carry forever if she grew to know that her father was an alpha, yet banished. "I will go, but keep her. She is your…" I thought they were just words, but when he wrapped his fierce hands around my neck, I could see that he meant it. He would kill us Within the close range, he said to my ears, "If you leave that thing, I will make it a recipe in my ritual. Now leave!" He pushed me close to the door of the tent and I heaved heavily. I had reached my breaking point and this was the peak of betrayal that I have ever experienced. "Please," I pleaded, "let me take custody of Gracie. Let me have her, I mean forever. She doesn't belong to you, I don't belong to you either." Kantos hesitated, he then nodded and strode towards me. "Only on one condition," he finally responded, his voice firm. "You must denounce your membership to the pack, sever all ties, and promise me that you will never breathe a word about the time we shared together to anyone. Then, you can have her, forever." My heart sank, but I wasn't palpitating atypically as when the conversation began. What's the point of staying anyway? What's the point of belonging to a pack? What's the point of belonging to him? I immediately agreed that this was the price that I had to pay for my daughter's happiness, and for my happiness as well. "Fine," I whispered, my voice quivering. "I will do as you ask. I will go away from you, from the pack, and you'll never see me again." "Good, go, go, Sonya. Never show yourself before me, you and that filthy thing," he added. Slowly, I turned away from him and left the tent. There was no hope at the moment but I had no choice. As I walked towards the tent where my daughter was, I muttered to myself "I belong to no pack, I am a lone wolf." It ached to think that at eighteen, I am a rejected mate, a single mother of a daughter rejected by her father, and without a pack. But that is the life I would lead now. *** Five years after *** New Shire was a city laced with opportunities - hourly work and shifts with which a living was earned. On a fateful day, while returning from Gracie's school. I hefted her on my shoulder when she relaxed forward and looked into my eyes. "Mummy, where is Daddy?" Just like my heart pounded in her chest when Kantos said those words five years ago, it did again. Gracie is among other kids. She probably had seen fathers with their kids. She probably had seen family pictures and had known the role of a father. She had the right to ask. Like an opened pot of decayed broth, the thought resurfaced and I remembered Kantos' words all over. Here is Gracie asking about her father, the same man who rejected both of us, the man who would use her as a recipe in his ritual if I had left her. What would I tell her? Will she be able to comprehend? No! But I have never had a reason to return to the godforsaken pack. Life in the city was lucrative and I have mixed with the human world in New Shire. But now that Gracie has asked, she is growing. I forgot that she had asked until she asked again, "Mummy, where is Daddy?" "Oh, sweet Gracie. Daddy will come soon," I answered with a smile and returned her head on my shoulder. It hadn't been an easy decision, but given Kantos' reaction to the pregnancy, I know that I had made the right choice. I haven't been thinking about him, and I won't continue to, but Gracie's question shovelled everything to the surface and I went back in time. My relationship with Kantos had turned sour quickly after I shared the news about my pregnancy. What once seemed like love and affection had morphed into ugliness and resentment. The look on his face when he said those damn words came to my mind and I hated the day that professed our love. Lost in my thoughts, I was jolted back to reality by Gracie's sudden scream. "Mommy!" My heart skipped a beat as I looked around and realized that we were standing in the middle of the road. A car screeched to a halt, mere inches away from us. Fear dominated me as I stood riveted on the spot. I could have moved, I could have jumped but the werewolf part of me had been hibernated. The last time I shifted was five years ago. We weren't hit, and then I opened my eyes. I watched a man and a woman, dressed smartly in suits, step out of the vehicle. They both appeared to be in their mid-twenties. "I am deeply sorry. I didn't know I was…" Apologies tumbled out of my mouth before the strangers could utter a single word but they gave no heed. Else, the woman said to the man, not even in a whisper. "She is a werewolf. Even the baby." This was a personality I thought was so kept but these people could smell me, even Gracie too. Who are they? Hunters? Oh God No! I retreated as the man approached me. With an intensity in his eyes, he revealed his true nature and beamed his golden eyes. He also let his fangs and claws be seen. "See, we are like you," he stated, his voice low and mesmerizing. I shook my head. I wanted to deny but they have smelt me. All I could hope was that they didn't belong to the Bloomfield pack of Kantos. "What pack do you belong?" he asked and I kept retreating. When he noticed that I kept retreating, he paused and I stopped too. "I belong to none," I answered. "What about you?" I wanted to be sure that they were not from Bloomfield. "We are lone wolves too. These days, packs are trouble," he said. To some point, my nerves were called. "We have a job for you - babysitting," the man spoke and I kept looking. Two of my shifts were babysitting and I could add another to get extra funds. But these were strangers, werewolves. "Babysitting? Who am I supposed to babysit?" I asked. The man's gaze softened. "An alpha who has lost everything. His pack, his leg, and his will to live. My twin brother."