Promised to the Alpha

I'm sure my day can't get any worse, and it's not even eleven in the morning. I woke up with the sound of rain hitting my bedroom window at five in the morning and could not get back to sleep. I decided to start catching up on some college material, and came across an email from the dean of the university. If I didn't get better grades, I would lose my scholarship, and without it is impossible for me to continue attending it. I decide to leave the laundry for the end of the month, so all my clothes are in a growing pile on my room waiting for someone to decide to wash them. In conclusion, I was forced to leave my apartment in a yellow dress. I could easily be mistaken for a fifteen year old. To name December 13th the worst day of my life, the last thing I expected to happen happened: I was fired from my job at the local cinema. My only way to pay my apartment rent will disappear. I will be forced to use my last resource: my parents' money. As if my thought had summoned them, I get a message from my mother: Your father and I need to talk to you, what time can we be at your apartment? I keep my cell phone in the back of my suitcase, preferring to pretend I didn't see the message than have to deal with my mom right now. In this moment, I just want to complain about my life to my best friend and drink the worst coffee I've ever tasted. I walk into the little cafe where Nora White works, a small bell at the top of the door announces my entrance. Sitting on one of the chairs, which should be for the customers, Nora leafs through a fashion magazine. She opens a smile in my direction. "Good morning!" she greets me. When she looks at my face, she seems to find something that worries her. She gets up from her chair and approaches me. "Did something happen?" "The most exact question would be: What didn't happen today?" I ask, sitting on one of the chairs in front of the counter and hold my head with one of my hands. Nora goes to the other side and starts preparing me a coffee and a slice of chocolate cake. She knows me so well. "And first of all, I look like a child today. Be honest, how awful is my dress?' She looks at my dress, clearly holding a laugh. I would laugh too, in her position. "I feel like your day is not going well and it would be very insensitive of me to laugh at your dress" she gives me a cup with the black liquid I so wanted. Coffee is always gonna be my best friend. "But, it's being difficult. It looks like you robbed a children's store." I deserve that. The dress is f*****g awfull. How did I let myself reach this point? I'm grown woman, I should do my laundry. "It was the only piece of clothing left in my closet, the rest needs washing. How did I let my life get to this point?" I drink a big sip of coffee, feeling the bitter taste. "I used to have my life on track." Can't even remember when I had my life together. Maybe when my mom used to do everything for me. "Yes, when you lived with your parents" Nora puts a slice of cake in front of me and starts eating one slice she cut for herself. "I feel like you need something sweet. You're welcome." "I hope you know I'm not gonna pay." I say, my mouth full of cake. She laughs. I notice how The Red is more empty than usual. He's the most popular coffee in our small town, even though he has the worst coffee ever. Most of the habitants only frequent it for the simple reason that this is where you know everything that happens. I frequent it because this is where Nora works, and she is the only person willing to listen to me. "Nobody has a perfect life at twenty." she adds. I always thought that at twenty-one I would have my whole life on track. I would have a job I really liked, a boyfriend who was planning to propose to me and a house of my own. When the years passed, I realized that fantasy was impossible. But, it's still hard to think how many years it will take to achieve the life I want for myself. I want it now, even thought it's nearly impossible. "I was fired." I just say. Nora opens her mouth, shocked by the news. "I may lose my scholarship" I take a deep breath. "And I look like a child!" I'm a disaster. "This is not the end of the world" Nora argues. "You can apply more at university. And get another job " she looks at my dress with a funny smile on her face. "And you can go change your clothes even though, for sure, you'll ruin my day if you do that. "I seem to have hit rock bottom" I declare, feeling defeated. It was easy to give advice and imagine what I could do to solve my problems, but really putting those things into practice would be the hardest. "I just want to close my eyes and be transported to five years from now so I wouldn't have to deal with any of this crap now." "Me too, Liz. But at least we have each other so we don't have to suffer alone" she winks and goes to a client who called her. The coffee bell rings and I look over my shoulder to see who just walked in. Jack White. His sheriff's badge shines under the coffee light and makes him look more authoritarian. He fixes his blonde hair and walks up to the counter, placing an elbow and turning to me. "Nice dress" he opens a smile. I've known Jack since I was eight. I was always at his house, playing with Nora, his sister, so we ended up becoming great friends. Jack is twenty-six years old, and he became the sheriff of the city because he was loved by so many of the people. He has an ability to make us feel safe, even though he is much younger than the old sheriffs. I trust him with my life. "Thank you. Your girlfriend lent it to me. It's her favorite dress" I answer, finishing my coffee. He rolls his eyes and starts tapping his foot while he waits for Nora to finish writing down an order. "Is everything ok?" "It's confidential." "Then something happened!" I say, trying to think of a way to get Jack to tell me what happened. It could only have been something serious. "I don't talk to almost anyone, so it's impossible to me to spread any information you decide to share with me." "Nice try, it won't happen" he looks nervously at Nora, trying to catch her eye. "Nora!" I scream. "You're welcome." With an angry expression, Nora walks towards us. "I was busy. What's going on?" I point to Jack. "I need to talk to you in private" he says to Nora. I was hoping that after 12 years, Jack would trust me more. "You can say it in front of Liz" Nora answers, crossing her arms. "No need, I have things to do anyway" I say, getting up from my chair and grabbing my bag. "You've been fired and you're on vacation" Nora replies. "I have to go meet my parents. Apparently they have something to talk to me that couldn't be said by message" I give her a quick hug. "You better get out of work early and come be miserable with me tonight. I'm thinking chocolate ice cream and a Ryan Gosling movie." "It's like you're inside my head" she smiles and deposits a light kiss on my cheek. "See you later, Lizzie." __________________________________________________ I walk into my apartment, closing the door hard. It takes all my strength not to start crying. I lean my back against the wooden door and take a deep breath several times. I take off my shoes and walk to the bathroom so I can take a hot bath and forget the mess my life has become. I open the bathtub tap and while the water fills the bathtub, I get rid of my clothes. Everything becomes more difficult when we are alone and are forced to face our problems. I put one leg at a time and get into the bathtub, feeling the hot water against my body. The sound of my cell phone ringing goes through the bathroom door and I decide to ignore it, knowing that it must be my mother. Today, apparently, I can't get two minutes rest, because someone knocks on my door. I roll my eyes and say goodbye to my relaxing bath by wrapping my wet body in a towel. I leave a trail of water on the floor with every step. I go to the door, opening it, with only the towel on. On the other side of the door, I find Nick Cole. I don't think twice and throw myself into his arms. He surrounds his arms at my waist and squeezes me. I haven't seen him in over a week, I didn't expect him to miss him so much. I lift my head, stand on tiptoe, and kiss his lips for a long time. "I missed you" he whispers against my lips. "I know I shouldn't have, because of that stupid rule of yours: No feelings involved. But, God, I missed touching your body so much." Nick and I met when I moved to Thorn Hills. He works in a car repair shop and he was the one who fixed my car when my Toyota decided to stop working on my second week living here. We became friends, and it didn't take long before we had something that didn't qualify as friendship. He slept in my bed almost every night and left before I woke up. Our system even works well. He used me and I used him. I just asked him not to involve feelings, it makes everything more complicated. "Now we will have much more time for each other" I close the apartment door and sit on the couch, holding my towel tight so it doesn't fall off. "I've been fired, so I'll have a lot more free time." "That's awful" he sits in the seat next to me and holds my hand in his, making circular movements in it. "You'll get another job. You work hard, anyone would be lucky to have you as an employee. Especially because being able to look at you every day is a great advantage." I never noticed how the voice or everything that comes out of Nick's mouth annoys me. I look at him. His green eyes look back at me. I decide to do something impulsive. I put myself in his lap, the towel goes up to my waist. "I didn't expect that" he giggles down, taking a slight bite on his lower lip. I just wanted him to shut up, or use his mouth for something else. For something that would favor me more. I hold him by the neck and bring our faces closer. I can feel his warm breath against my face. In a painful speed I undo each of the buttons of his shirt, joining our lips in a passionate kiss. My tongue discovers every corner of his mouth, he moans on my lips. I pass my hands through his defined muscles. I want him to make me forget what happened today. I get up from his lap. "Take off your pants" I give an order. Nick didn't take long, he took off his pants and threw them somewhere. He wanted this as much as I did. He's definitely ready for me. To torture him I decide to get down on my knees, make eye contact with him while I put one of my hands on his leg and the other holds his d**k up. I take a bite of my lower lip. I start licking his head, slowly, to torture him some more. I pass the tongue by its length and put it almost all in my mouth. He lets out a slight groan. I loved to feel in power, I could control him as I wanted. With Nick, I never worried about what could happen, I'm in charge. He does everything I command. I put his erection back in my mouth, alternating between putting it all in and getting more focused on his head. I hear a key in the door. Damn it! I take his c**k out of my mouth and get up. My parents enter the apartment. They both have a shocked face as they realize what was happening. Nick dresses fast, trying to ignore my father's angry look that seems to want to kill him. My mother just looks at me with disgust and disappointment. I don't think they ever expected to find their perfect daughter making a blowjob, especially a boy with a questionable reputation. I hold my towel with more resistance, afraid she will decide to fail me now. "If we had known you were so busy, we wouldn't have come" my mother talks, while walking around the apartment, analyzing it as if she owned it. I put a hand on my forehead, feeling my face getting redder and reder. "I'd better go" Nick says, with his clothes already on and taking a step further away from my father. "Do you think so?" my dad asks, with his eyebrows raised. "It's good that I never see your face again once you walk out that door." Nick gives me an apologetic smile and walks away. My parents' attention is totally focused on me. Maybe I should have let Nick stay so he'd suffer the anger of my parents, and not me. "Do you want to explain to me what was going on?" My mother questions, too loudly. "I think it was pretty obvious, Mom" the look she gives me is enough to realize I shouldn't have said those words. "Go put on something decent and then we'll talk." I nod with my head and go to my room. I put on the blue dress again, because I haven't had time or patience to go to the laundry yet. I brush my teeth and observe my reflection in the mirror. My blond hair is disheveled, my eyes blue have big dark circles underneath and I still hate my dress. I leave my room with more shame than when it was found in the act. My mother is walking around the room, and my father is sitting in armchair, playing with his keys in his hand. "What do we need to talk about?" I sit on the couch, looking at the hem of my dress to avoid looking at my parents. I can feel them both looking at me, they must be wondering where they got me wrong, as always. "First: Who was that boy? Your boyfriend?" Marjorie Davis always loved controlling my life. She was the one who chose my clothes, my subjects on school, my friends, everything. When I got out of her prison, it was hard for her for the simple reason that she couldn't control my life the way she wanted and that was the best part of going to live in Thorn Hills. It must be hurting her that I can have a boyfriend who was not handpicked by her. I finally have control over my life and my mom decides to come here and make me feel bad about my choices. "I don't have a boyfriend. He's just a friend" I answer. "Is that the way you treat your friends?" my dad asks. "Some of them." "Elizabeth!" my mother scolds me. "I'm kidding" I end up laughing with my parents' horrified faces. It can't have been easy seeing your daughter in that situation. I didn't want them to see that. "I didn't know you were just going to walk into my apartment without any warning." I'm wondering if it was a good idea to give my mother a spare key. "It wasn't without warning. I texted you and I kept calling your cell. But you never gave a sign of life. We were worried" my mom sits in the other chair and watches me. "What is so important that you had to come here? I was going to spend Christmas at home." "I know" Marjorie passes her hands through her brown hair. She only does that when she is nervous. Is she nervous to tell me something? "Unfortunately, what we have to say can't wait anymore. We try to avoid this subject for so long." "You're scaring me, Mom" I cross my arms. "I'm not a child anymore, you can talk to me as an adult." "It's just hard. For so many years, we thought that no one would remember our mistake" she approaches me and holds my two hands between hers. "Sorry, Lizzie" I look at my father, hoping he gives me some clarity about what's happening, but he has his head down, focusing on his keys so he won't have to face me. My mother, cold and distant, never apologizes, so what they did must be really serious and involve me. "I hope you can forgive us after this." "I will die in anticipation if you don't tell me soon what is happening." Marjorie takes a deep breath, as if she's gaining courage to explain everything to me. "Our family has a tradition. Every two generations: one of our children has to be sacrificed to the Moon Valley pack. We ended up agreeing to this, believing that no one would remember to celebrate this tradition" she takes a break. "We were wrong. The alpha wants to marry you, Elizabeth. We can't refuse, it's too risky if we say no. You have to accept." "Are you sure we can't we refuse? It's my life" I get up, I feel anger running through my veins. I feel anger for my parents for never telling me any of this. For the damn tradition. For my ancestors who thought it would be all right to offer women to cruel werewolves. I had heard about it, but I never thought much about it, I never thought it would happen to me. "It's not going to happen" I start walking around the apartment, trying to process all this information. "It's not going to happen!" I say louder. "Elizabeth, you have to understand-" "I don't have to understand anything, Dad! You have to understand" I point my finger to my parents, my traitors. "That if I don't want to do something, I won't. It's not you who are going to make me, let alone a pack of annoying werewolves." I let out a loud scream that seemed to have been stuck in my throat for quite some time. I just wanted to scream and pretend that this day had never happened. My parents were never the most understanding, kindest and most present parents. But I never expected that they would offer me to any man to be his wife. They had a duty to get me out of that arranged marriage. But knowing how they are, my father will give me to the man who will ruin my life with a smile on his face, and my mother will volunteer to take care of the marriage. "You know, I never thought I could hate you more than I already did. I was so wrong" I laugh out loud. They both look at me, clearly worried. I feel like I lost my mind, but I don't care. "I want you out of my apartment and out of my life. It makes me want to throw up just looking at you." Parents are suppose to take care of you, not give you to a strange man. "Elizabeth, don't say that. We're your parents. We'll always be on your side and try to do what's best for you." That's a lie. If they cared about, they wouldn't do that to me. "After this, I don't want you on my side, the more distance I have from you the better. No parent would do what you're doing now." I hate them. I hate them! I never knew I could hate this much. "It's our only option, Lizzie" my dad comes to me with his eyes glowing with tears. "If you don't marry Collin Crestmoon, they could kill our whole family." " I don't care. You can all die." He could kill them all. It was a favor, really. I look at my parents one last time and leave my apartment, leaving them alone. I need to think. And I can't stand being in the same room as them. My parents ruined my life.