HER SECOND CHANCE : A CURSED ALPHA

CHAPTER SIX : ALPHA DRAVEN

DRAVEN’S POV

I flexed my fingers, trying to calm myself, as my dark eyes stared at that familiar name on the screen of my computer.

‘ALINA TARIUS.’

I’ll recognize it anywhere. I’ve seen that name plastered across every corner of the werewolf realm continuously for three months.

The runaway bride from the Greenlake pack. Her reputation was already bad enough, and now, she dared to apply for a position in a facility as prestigious as mine, knowing our pack history.

I would have dismissed her resume the moment it was brought to me, if my dumb cousin, Kade, had not made me swear to actually look at her qualifications and give her a chance.

Apparently, his newly found mate was a friend of hers. But the mate bond meant nothing to me…But Kade did.

He was one of my most loyal men regardless of being my cousin and was as close as a brother to me.

Memories flashed through my mind of twelve years ago, just like they had done every single f*****g day.

And this time, I could not stop it. My hands tightened, curling into a fist, as my fingers dug into the thick skin of my palm.

My father’s face was the first thing to flash past my mind as I relived those painful memories, like they happened just yesterday.

My young legs raced towards the kitchen the moment I heard my mother’s chill curling cries and screams. And I knew my dad was home.

But what I never expected was to walk in on

his bloodied knuckles, and his eyes gleaming red from overdrinking. But that was not what froze my childish heart cold.

No…it was my mother’s body lying stiffly on that force my heart, so much so that I could barely take in air. And my father, he stared at her unmoving body with nothing but in disgust, not even a drop of sympathy or guilt considering that she might be dead.

She was already frail from his countless beatings and the numerous times he had cheated on her.

I knew more things than kids my age, because my father never bothered to hide his extramarital affairs from anybody.

I had to watch my mother lose her wolf right before my eyes, all because he could not keep his d**k in his pants.

And now this!

He saw me walk in, and a proud scowl cut across his features as he grinned.

“You see her body there boy?” He smirked. And I only swallowed, my entire body trembling as I rushed towards my mother.

But the second I stepped close enough to take in her bloodied form, I knew I was too late.

Her wide lifeless eyes stared back at me, freezing me to my spine.

“Take this as another of your lessons. This is how you treat women who refuse to be submissive. You cut their worthless life short.

Women are good for nothing except f*****g and bearing children. And when they can’t do that properly, you get rid of them.

Do you understand me, boy?” He smiled moving closer to where I knelt beside her.

But the moment his eyes landed on the tears that trailed down my cheeks, his hands darted as he landed a harsh slap on my face, sending me flying.

And then he moved towards me, curling his disgusting hands around my neck enough to cut off my breathing.

“How many times do I have to warn you never to shed a tear! How many!

I did not birth a f*****g weakling.

If the pack members see you, they’ll think I produced a defective heir. Wipe those things off your face, or else you’ll be joining her soon.

And take my teachings deep in your damn stupid brain,” he spat. His breath was heavy with alcohol, enough to make my stomach churn.

My mind swirled, my mother’s still form with wide dilated eyes was the only thing I saw in my head over and over again, till my vision blurred and all I could see was red. And then, I let loose.

“You bastard! You killed her.

You f*****g killed her!” I roared, my hands clawing at his which still held me in his choking grip but I barely cared. I was fifteen but I grew faster than most kids my age, and was almost his height already. I could take him on, except for one f*****g weak link, and that was my wolf. I was not old enough to awaken my wolf, else I would have killed him a long time ago.

He only laughed in my face, a mocking one, as his fingers sharpened into claws digging into the skin of my neck.

“Forget that you are my heir. I would kill you without blinking if you cause problems for me, you weak thing,” he hissed, throwing me to the floor. And then, he picked up his other bottle of booze lying on the table as he sauntered out. Leaving me crying, pleading, and begging for the only person who ever believed in me to wake up.

What followed was a blur, but I did not blink in hesitation when my aunt, who was our pack doctor, offered me a potion to awaken my wolf just so I could challenge my father and dethrone him as our alpha. I knew she was wrecked by the pain of losing her sister and she thirsted for revenge, and so did I.

Overthrowing my father was easy. Not when he drank half his weight every day. No one stood by him when I challenged him, because he was the worst alpha to ever rule the Silver Wood’s pack. He destroyed and wasted rather than built.

But still, a fifteen-year-old boy shouldn’t have defeated an alpha for almost twenty years so easily. But I knew my wolf wasn’t normal. I saw it the first day the potion worked and the blood red eyes of my wolf form stared back at me. One that looked like hell, and craved nothing but blood.

Soren, my wolf was a beast, and it was everything I needed to defeat my father and calm the anger in fifteen-year-old me for being too weak to save my mother. And Soren, he did that so easily too. And I took over the pack.

But the moon goddess cursed me for that, I knew she did. Soren was a blessing to me because I won every war, every f*****g battle, and fight. But with every blood I shared, it craved more. And that was until I completely lost it, and could barely handle him anymore.

And I knew for a fact why she cursed me, because I became a monster like my father, or even worse. So I had to escape and build this facility far away from my pack, and the human world was the safest option. This was the best way to conduct research and find a way to cure my wolf, without killing him.

A sweet yet unfamiliar scent hit me immediately, strong enough to jerk me out of my thoughts violently.

I could barely recollect my senses, before my door was pushed open as a sweaty female with wide eyes rushed all the while rambling, “I’m sorry for being late for the interview, the traffic was…”

She froze the moment her eyes landed on me, as she stared at me with parted lips of shock.

“MATE,” I heard Soren roar through our link as I cursed out loud, “f**k!”

I recollected myself easily, putting on a steel expression. “And you are?” I growled, my hands tightened around the edge of my desk as I struggled, sweat dripping down my forehead to steady myself and ignore our bond.

Her lips snapped shut in surprise, “Alina Tarius,” she muttered through those full red lips that I struggled to divert my attention away from.

But the moment her name left her mouth, my gaze flared in nothing but disgust. And I knew she saw the repulsion in my expression as clear as day because hurt flickered through her eyes.

“You are hurting our mate! What are you doing! Claim her now, she’s ours!” Soren growled in rage through our link, but I ignored him.

I had gone twenty-seven years already without a mate already, and I never needed one in the first place. I’d seen what the mate bond did to my mother.

It landed her in her f*****g grave!

And now, I had my fated mate walk right in here at this moment, she turned out to be the daughter of the man I’d plotted to kill from the moment I took over as the alpha of my pack, Zane Tarius.

He was no less of a bastard like my father was! And he contributed to my mother’s death.

I observed her intently, wondering what the odds were that our bond was not faked, and she was sent here by her father.

Maybe her running away was a plot right from the beginning. And on top of that, she already had a bad enough reputation. As far as I knew, she had a mate waiting for her back home, which she ran away from because she was a slut, so they say. So how could she be my mate?

But then, I breathed, knowing everything the mate bond felt real. And I could see the genuine surprise in her gaze.

“Take your seat. You’ve already wasted five minutes of my time.

And I have less to spend with you,” I gritted, wanting so badly to wash her scent out of the air if I could.

She stared at me in shock, as those beautiful lips parted again to speak. “Did you not feel it? Are you just going to…”

“Am I going to what?” I cut her off sharply, my glare fixed on her in rage, hating how being this close to her already made me feel. This was definitely not going to work.

“You being my mate changes nothing. I never needed one, nor did I ask for one.

And if I wanted a mate, it definitely would not be one with a reputation like yours!” I hissed, cutting her off. And I almost wanted to feel bad when I saw the way her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

But I couldn't, not when I saw her father’s features on her face so clearly.

“And don’t act like an oblivious kid. You should know clearly the history the Silver Woods pack shares with the Greenlake pack. We are rivals and I’ll respect that if I were you,” I clenched, as I continued.

“You being my mate changes nothing.

And it’s already suffocating to breathe in the same air as you. I’d like this over as soon as possible so start now!”

Her eyes widened in alarm as she stared at me frozen in shock, “You…you are…. Alpha Draven?” She stammered my name out in dread.

And it was good to know that she had heard about me already. At least then I knew she wouldn't try to forge between us if she knew of my reputation.

“Yes. Now s…” my phone’s ringtone echoed in the air, cutting the tension between us.

I would have ignored it if I had not seen the caller ID.

Standing up, not regarding her, I picked it up, walking towards the large window at the opposite side of my office as I answered the call.

And almost immediately, her childish scream of excitement rang in the air, “Daddy!”