Chapter 3.

His tongue was grazing against my lips, demanding them to open but I squeezed them shut as hard as I could. 

His other hand started roaming down my back and my eyes widened.

I closed my eyes, begging for him to stop. I got one hand free and started pounding on his chest but it was like hitting a mountain wall.

I heard a noise and the next thing I knew Adam was dragged away and I was harshly pushed down on the bed.

I gasped for a breath and covered my mouth with my hand.

I looked up through tear-stained eyes and saw the door closing.

I was alone. They had left. Whoever they were that pulled him away, I was thankful.

But still, he kissed me. I couldn’t wrap my mind around everything that had happened. The headache had grown worse.

I lay down and looked up at the ceiling. Eventually, my eyes got too heavy to keep open, and so they fluttered close and I drifted away.

*Loud bangs on the door*

I groaned and rolled around but quickly sat up when I accidentally placed my hand on my cheek.

I winced from the pain and groaned as someone kept banging on the door.

“GET UP!” It was Charity, her squeaky voice and need to be heard was the last thing I wanted right now.

I got up and dragged myself to the door.

“What?” I snapped as I opened the door.

“You look like crap.” I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on my hip.

“Thank you for that observation.” I was bored, tired, and starving. I wasn’t in the mood to take her crap and Charity was an Omega, meaning she couldn’t do much. She could be a bitch, but that was about it.

“What do you want?” I groaned out.

“The Alpha wants to see you,” my body stiffened, my hands began to sweat and my heart pounded in my chest.

“Why?” I asked weakly.

“Hell do I know. Why he wants to see your lousy face is beyond me, but he does, so get.” She said.

Charity, like every other unmated she-wolf, was in love with the Alpha and hoped to be the next Luna. But she also knew her rank and that the others would push her around like a glove if it ever came out.

I slammed the door shut and leaned my back against it. I tried taking a few deep and steady breaths to calm down.

What could he want to talk about?

The hit? Adam? No, he didn’t know about Adam and he didn’t know I got hit either.

It was probably something harmless, something that couldn’t get me in trouble.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, I walked to his study.

I knocked three times and the door opened up.

The Beta stood there, holding the door open as I stepped in. I quickly scanned the room and saw that it was only him and the Alpha.

My nerves were still on edge and they would continue to be until I found out the reason for this meeting.

“You wanted to see me,” I said, my eyes meeting his desk.

“Look at me.” His tone was rough, making me a jerk.

The Beta walked around me and went to stand beside the Alpha.

“The alpha of the Shadowland Pack is arriving with his wife and their son. They are attending the Winter Jule, you must be there.”

His face was void of any emotion, more so than usual.

"Yes, Charity told me that he was visiting," The Alpha's brow went up and I gulped, waiting for what he had to say. 

"You do know who he is, do you not?"

I looked between him and the Beta, confusion written over my face.

"An Alpha?"

"The Shadowland Pack, Selene, The Royals,"

My eyes widened, every poor of my body started breaking out in a sweat and my heart began to hammer once again.

The Alpha of the Shadowland Pack? He wasn’t only an alpha.

“The king?” I asked, my voice shaking.

A stiff nod was the only answer I got.

“With all due respect, Alpha, why?” He puffed out his chest and raised his head.

“Because I said so. This Saturday, the Joule will be held, they arrive early on Saturday and leave Sunday.

They’re here for the weekend but you are not to make your presence known until the joule, understood?” His voice grew darker with each sentence.

He left no room for negotiation.

“Yes, Alpha,” I said with a head bow.

“A dress will be delivered to your room on the eve of the joule. Wear it.”

Why was I getting a dress? I had lived in rags and torn fabrics ever since I could remember.

“You may leave,” my mind was lost in thought but as I turned to leave, the door opened up again and Bella stepped in.

She was wearing a tight, short dress that showed her long legs. She had a seductive smile on her face and strutted up to the alpha.

Bella placed her hand on the Alpha's shoulder and squeezed it.

“So tense, how about I help you relieve some of that stress,” she leaned her head down and nipped his earlobe. The Alpha's eyes never left mine.

He grabbed her hand forcefully and removed it. Bella gasped in shock and looked at him wide-eyed.

“Since when did we stop knocking before entering?” His voice was a low growl.

“I-I’m sorry, I heard she was in here and assumed it was nothing important.”

I scoffed before I could stop it and all eyes turned to me.

“Something on your mind, slave?”

I cast down my eyes and turned around, heading for the door.

They didn’t know about anything that had happened earlier. Relief washed over me as I walked to the kitchen. It was almost dinner and I helped out the chef.

‘Slave’

That one word had more power than I would like to admit.

But it was true, that was me. A slave.

“Selene, grab the potatoes and then make a salad,” Cathy, the chef said as I walked in.

“I’m on it,”

I peeled the potatoes and cut them into little cubes. My mind drifted off, suddenly aware of everything that had happened. I was kicked, I had been beaten, and Adam forced himself on me. And then, like a cherry on top, Bella’s words replayed in my head.

‘Wolf-less’

I couldn’t be. Having a wolf and a mate was all I had to look forward to. It was what got me up in the morning.

In three months I would know. I would know if I had a wolf, I would possibly find my mate and I would be able to get out of this pack. I would leave, go somewhere new, and start over. Perhaps I would find my family.

My only memory of my family was my mother's blurry face, leaning over me as she cried.

I remember my aunt telling me she gave me a pendant, a gold heart with a picture of her on it. But she couldn’t find it when I arrived.

I always thought that one day they would come. On every birthday that passed, I would beg the goddess to reunite me with them. But with every birthday that passed, the wish became more and more useless. Eventually, I began thinking that they would come to find me when I had a wolf, or that maybe they were waiting for me to find them.

“Hey, daydreamer, the water is boiling.” I looked up and saw Cathy watching me. She, like everyone else, didn’t take my presence lightly. If they could, I believe they would lock me up in a room and never have to see me. But there was something else about her. Something in her eyes told me differently, she looked upset.

She was never mean or rude, she was just very short and direct. She didn’t want any more talking than necessary. Cathy was in her late forties, she was much like a mother to many here, making sure everyone behaved and was respectful. She was warm and loving, to most anyway.

“Sorry,” I placed the potatoes in the boiling water and started on the salad.

I had been helping Cathy in the kitchen for the past hour, normally I would simply do salads and mashes but today there was more on the to-do list.

The tables were filling up and the warriors were heading in from their practice.

The smell of sweat was nauseating but the steaks that Cathy was grilling covered it up pretty well.

The warriors of this pack were some of the best. They practiced seven days a week and loved every moment of it. The Alpha would join in on practice every now and then when he had time.

Apparently, today he had the time. I watched as he stepped inside followed by some of the others.