Chapter 2
1465 Words
Her own voice echoed loudly in her ears.
Every head turned.
She had been standing near the back, close to the exit, and now hundreds of eyes stared at her as though she had announced her intention to jump off a cliff.
Suddenly, she wanted to disappear.
Her courage evaporated.
"Come forward, soldier."
Alpha Adam's voice cut through the silence.
Nausea churned in her stomach.
Soldier?
To him, she wasn't a person.
She was expendable.
A foolish she-wolf willing to risk her life for his important cause.
She highly doubted he intended to come anywhere near this mission.
And if one of the women died, he would probably offer a prayer for her soul before sleeping peacefully that same night.
Swallowing hard, Nadia walked forward.
Her eyes burned as she stared at the Alpha.
At first, he looked impressed.
Then recognition dawned.
His brows furrowed and his mouth formed a small O.
"I know you."
"Yes, my Alpha."
"What is your name? And how do I know you?"
Sarcasm rose to the tip of her tongue.
She swallowed it.
"Nadia Armando. My twin sister was abducted two years ago."
Something flashed across his face.
Guilt.
It disappeared almost immediately, replaced by annoyance.
"The crying girl," he said in realization. "Ah, yes. I remember."
He flicked his hand dismissively.
"I reject your volunteering."
The words hit her like a slap.
"But, Alpha, I—"
"Next," he interrupted. "Someone without baggage, preferably."
He actually rolled his eyes.
Nadia's claws dug painfully into her palms.
Silence answered him.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
No one volunteered.
For the first time, fear crept into her chest.
Maybe she really was a fool.
Maybe she was completely insane.
But this was for Talia.
She would gladly be insane for her sister.
Alpha Adam looked around the hall, embarrassment creeping onto his face.
"No one?" he demanded. "Not one of you? Where is your loyalty? Where is your courage?"
"Alpha," Beta Hector said carefully, "we mean no disrespect, but this mission is suicide. Almost everyone here has lost someone to Alpha Lockwood or suffered because of him. We are terrified of him. As much as we wish to rescue our Luna... we cannot. Perhaps you should allow the brave wolf to make the sacrifice."
It was said quietly.
Yet everyone heard it.
Alpha Adam looked from face to face.
Still no volunteers.
Finally, he sighed.
Defeated.
Disappointed.
Then he turned to Nadia.
"Fine. You have my blessing."
Her breath caught.
"You will go to Alpha Lockwood's territory."
The hall became deathly quiet.
"You will seduce that bastard. Gain his trust. And when his guard is down..."
His eyes hardened.
"...kill him and bring our Luna home."
For two whole seconds, Nadia forgot how to breathe.
Kill Alpha Lockwood?
The most feared Alpha in the werewolf world?
The man people called a demon?
The task sounded impossible.
Then she thought of Talia.
Her laugh.
Her smile.
Her emerald-green eyes.
She slowly lifted her chin.
"Yes, Alpha."
An hour later, Nadia was kneeling beside her bed, her closet doors thrown open as she dug frantically through piles of clothes.
Every time she pulled something out, her brain cruelly mocked her.
What exactly did it take to seduce a demon Alpha?
An ugly Alpha who supposedly had enough women to populate generations of harems. A monster who had committed unthinkable atrocities. A man whose very name made entire packs tremble.
Her head spun.
How exactly was she supposed to save her sister?
Talia had always been the brave one. She had shifted before Nadia did. She had been stronger, faster, more confident. She had become a Gamma while Nadia remained an Omega.
And now she was supposed to infiltrate the territory of the most feared Alpha in the werewolf world and seduce him?
What in the Moon Goddess's name was she thinking?
"I'm going to get killed," she muttered bitterly.
A shaky laugh escaped her.
"Oh, they definitely think I'm a fool."
She reached farther into the closet and froze.
In her hands was a tiny piece of red lace.
She held it up.
A lacy G-string.
A very short dress followed, half lace and half silk, with delicate spaghetti straps.
Nadia stared.
"My God..."
Her cheeks immediately flushed.
The clothes belonged to Talia.
Of course they did.
Her sister had always been effortlessly beautiful and confident. She probably wouldn't have thought twice about wearing something like this.
Nadia looked at the lingerie again.
Then at herself.
Then back at the lingerie.
"Okay..." she said slowly. "I just have to seduce him. I don't have to actually sleep with him. Right?"
She swallowed.
"Right?"
Her imagination immediately betrayed her.
She pictured a giant, hideous Alpha with sharp claws and glowing eyes.
She imagined him looming over her, laughing at her innocence while she tried—and failed—to be seductive.
"Nope."
She tossed the lingerie back into the closet.
"I can't let him sleep with me. I absolutely cannot let him be my first."
"Omega Nadia!"
The voice from outside startled her so badly that she nearly dropped the dress.
Her face immediately tightened.
Omega Nadia?
No one called her that.
Why now?
And who on earth was looking for her after she had just volunteered to die for the pack?
She marched to the door and yanked it open.
Then she blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Her expression melted into pure disbelief.
Standing outside her house was Alpha Adam.
Beside him stood Beta Hector and two Gammas.
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Then Alpha Adam cleared his throat.
"Are you ready?" he asked. "I thought it was only respectful to drop you off. You know... somewhere unprotected."
His gaze swept over her.
He looked profoundly unimpressed.
Nadia frowned.
"I was just packing."
"Uh-uh."
He shook his head.
"You don't get to pack anything. You're getting abducted, not going on vacation."
The words came out sharper than he probably intended.
He seemed to realize it and straightened awkwardly.
Nadia almost snorted.
He hated this.
He hated that she was his only option.
Without another word, she followed them.
A few minutes later, she found herself squeezed into the back seat of the car between the two Gammas while Beta Hector drove and Alpha Adam occupied the passenger seat.
Silence settled inside the vehicle.
Then—
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
Nadia blinked.
Surely she had imagined that.
She stared straight ahead, pretending the question had never been asked.
"Nadia."
Alpha Adam's voice was firmer this time.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
All eyes turned to her.
She wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole.
"No," she said at last. "I've never found my mate."
Silence.
Then—
"Pull over..."
Beta Hector glanced at him but obeyed.
The vehicle rolled to a stop.
Alpha Adam remained still for a moment, one hand pressed against his mouth as though considering something.
Then he turned in his seat to look directly at her.
"You've never had a lover?"
She swallowed.
"No."
He stared at her for several seconds.
"Have you ever courted anyone? Been courted? Kissed anyone?"
Her face grew hot.
"No, my Alpha."
He closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them again, his expression was unreadable.
"Nadia, do you understand what you're volunteering for?"
"I do."
"No, you don't."
His voice remained calm, which somehow made it worse.
"The male you're about to meet is not some ordinary Alpha from a neighboring pack. He is Alpha Lockwood. Women are constantly sent to him. Some willingly. Some unwillingly. He has seen every trick, every attempt at manipulation, every kind of seduction imaginable."
She stared at him.
"And you're telling me that you've never ... Oh my goodness."
Embarrassment flooded her face.
"I've... read books."
Beta Hector made a choking sound beside the steering wheel.
Alpha Adam simply blinked.
"You've read books."
Humiliation flooded her.
Hot tears burned her eyes.
She bit her lower lip so hard she tasted blood.
"I..." she whispered. "I won't fail."
Alpha Adam stared at her for several seconds.
Then his expression hardened.
"Oh, you'd better not."
His voice was cold.
"Because if you don't come back with our Luna..."
He stepped closer.
"...don't bother coming back at all."
The words struck harder than a slap.
For a moment, she swore she heard something growl deep inside her.
Her wolf.
Angry.
Offended.
Alive.
But she shoved the feeling away.
She couldn't shift.
She hadn't been able to shift for two years.
She always told herself it was because her twin bond with Talia had been partially severed somehow. That her sister was hurt. That something had happened to her.
Or perhaps...
Perhaps that was simply the lie she'd repeated so many times that she'd started believing it herself.
- Writer
