Chained To The Alpha

Nyx had grown up in the San Lak pack house, the only orphan of the Northern war, without a guardian, because her entire family had been wiped from the face of the earth by the Alpha for being traitors. They wouldn’t fight with him; apparently, an uncle even tried to fight against him! Nyx survived because she was only a tot at the time, and the Luna didn’t want to put the guilt of killing a child on any of the warriors. Nyx’s childhood and adolescence had been hell in the pack. She worked like a slave; often not allowed to go to school; beaten by everyone, she received death and r**e threats regularly. Some of the males around her age would corner her in dark corners of the pack house, and she would be convinced they were going to make good on their threats. However, they never did, only pushed it to the point where she wet herself with fear and left her there. It didn’t matter to them that she was of alpha blood; she suspected most didn’t know or had forgotten. She just couldn’t wait to get out of there as soon as she came of age. Nyx was not like the other wolves. She had never felt the pull to transform; she spoke with her wolf, but her wolf, Skyla, would never be able to run free like the others. Nyx had very few of the usual heightened senses of a wolf as a consequence. But she did have an unusual ability: she could heal others. Not that she had ever actually used it. That would mean actually touching someone voluntarily. There were just 2 months left until her 17th birthday, when she would come of age. Nyx had big plans. Once she was 17, the pack would have to pay for her labour; she would be an adult. She could save for the final year of school. Nyx was naturally intelligent and maintained good grades; she could go to university and move away legitimately, not run. She would never run; she would leave in the light of day. There would be no bond to hold her to the pack, no pack connection for her; she was never welcomed into the pack. But no connection meant that she wasn’t tied here either. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was the alphas’ only son’s 21st birthday today. Every unmarked and unmated female who had less than 6 months to go before their 17th birthday, and therefore a chance of feeling some of the mating bond, was expected to attend. Ashlyn did everything she could to avoid the boy alpha; he and his friends had been some of her worst tormentors over the years. Their favourite game was cornering Nyx, locking her in small cupboards despite her claustrophobia, throwing spiders and worms on her hair, and taking her food. They took delight in generally making her life hell. Nyx had been sitting in the back of the room while the young alpha circled the other women looking for his Mate. Wolves usually had one fated Mate, one chance at lifelong happiness and fulfilment. Your Mate is supposed to complete you. They are the perfect other half for you, and when you find them, you never want to leave their side. For a while, you can’t, some couples even follow each other to the bathroom to avoid the pain of even that small separation. Nyx knew that she would leave the main territory for one of the human towns long before she found her Mate; she knew she would never be fulfilled, never feel the soothing, comforting hand of him, but if he were one of these men, no boys, she would not want to find him. A Mate bond was unbreakable; the only surefire way to sever it would be to kill your Mate or yourself. In reality, it would usually kill both of you anyway. Most wolves longed for the day they found their fated Mate. Nyx longed for the idea of her Mate, but knew that she would probably only face more torture and rejection. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shifting in discomfort - she had taken a horrible beating from a few of the other girls earlier in the day, and her ribs were broken, she suspected from the bruising. She healed faster than a human, but not like a wolf. She decided to head into the kitchen for some ice. Her oversized, holey, men’s, hand-me-down t-shirt pulled up to the edge of her bra, exposing her side, all shades of black and blue. The ice pack pressed against her side. Nyx was sitting at the table in the kitchen, which was big enough to seat 12 people. This was the smaller dining table. The door creaked open, making Nyx jump to her feet. “I wasn’t running away….” She starts to say, looking round at the person who entered the room, finding herself face to face with none other than the young Alpha himself, her stomach drops, her eyes going wide, ’it’s him…..he’s ours Nyx…… he found us….. Mate!’ She hears Skylar in her head. Sky is pushing her to move towards him, but Nyx wants only to be swallowed by the ground. “M…Mate”, she whispered uncertainly, the feeling was faint because of her age, but unmistakable. Her heart was racing and her palms sweating, her eyes wide, everything else fell away, she could smell him and only him, he smelt of trees and grass, and outside, freedom, it was intoxicating. There was a tingling in her lower abdomen; her feet felt like they were glued to the spot, even as Skylar urged her on: “Go to him!” i***t! Touch him! Kiss him! We need him!’ Nyx didn’t reply. She stood, staring up at him like an i***t.