“Happy now? Contracted mate and Luna for the pack.” He said as he leaned back and let his head rest on the high back of the seating, closing his eyes in satisfaction as he did so.
Silence met his words before a cautious voice answered.
“Alpha, have you ever met that woman before?”
“No.”
“It’s just…”
“Spit it out, Allen…” Adam said impatiently, his brows creasing in a frown.
“That woman is Ann Veritas. The Alpha King’s daughter.” Allen said hesitantly.
Adam’s eyes flew open and he stared at the ceiling momentarily before leaning forward and looking directly at Allen.
“Perhaps it would be wise to find out what we can about her then. Who she is marrying, which company she is working for, and why she wants so desperately to get out of that wedding.”
Allen nodded as he jotted down the requests of his Alpha and began sending instructions out to their intelligence and surveillance team.
“Oh, and Allen?”
“Yes, Alpha?” He said lightly as he paused in his work and glanced up to meet his Alpha’s deadly gaze.
“Don’t refer to her as that woman again. She is your Luna from this day forward and don’t forget it.” He growled as he stood to leave.
After her discussion with Alpha Nocturne and his Beta, Ann headed straight home. She avoided the main streets as much as possible in case she inadvertently bumped into anyone on the way home.
She swore internally at herself as she scurried through the poorly lit streets.
How could she have been so stupid?
Not only would she most likely be the hot topic of gossip over the next few weeks, but she had also managed to inadvertently bind herself to one of the most feared and notorious Alpha in their community.
That thought alone was enough to sober her up almost instantly.
As she navigated her way through the extensive grounds and into her home, she shut the side entrance door as quietly as possible, desperate not to draw attention to herself arriving home so late at night.
She could hear lively voices from one of the drawing rooms, the sound punctuated with laughter as she crept past. Her face hardened as she heard the familiar tones of her step-sister and stepmother, with the occasional comment from her father.
Her heart lurched painfully as the sudden feeling of being completely adrift from her once loving father wormed its way into her mind.
With a small sigh, Ann continued along the hallway with the skirts of her wedding dress bunched up and held tightly in her arms. She managed to make it to the bottom of the sweeping staircase before suddenly the door of the drawing room behind her was flung open, banging noisily on the wall and the sound amplified by the echoey corridors.
Ann jumped slightly before freezing as the familiar sickly sweet tones of her step-sister Ada, reached her ears.
“Oh! Mom! Dad! Look who only just arrived home!” Ada announced, feigning shock as she called over her shoulder to them. “I didn’t even realize Ann was out! Look at the time! On the eve of your wedding as well! What will people say?” She gasped, clearly determined to put on a good show.
Ann whirled around furiously and glared through narrowed eyes at Ada.
“Oh my! Look at your dress!” Ada exclaimed loudly. “It’s positively ruined! How on earth will you wear that now for the ceremony tomorrow?”
Ada came to a stop in front of Ann and folded her arms as she ran her eyes disdainfully over her disheveled appearance.
She snorted quietly and leaned in to whisper in Ann’s ear.
“No wonder Brad couldn’t wait to be inside me, just look at the state of you.” She sneered.
Ann clenched her fingers into fists as she fought desperately to stop Maeve from launching at Ada and escalating this further.
‘Don’t just stand there and take this, the little b***h needs to know her place. Let me teach her a lesson she won’t forget.’ Maeve snarled angrily.
‘Maeve, we can’t, she doesn’t have a wolf yet. You know the laws, it wouldn’t be a fair fight, and the punishment..’
‘Screw the punishment, Ann, let me just bite her a little bit, maybe remove one of her limbs. At least then she’ll have fewer appendages to wrap around other people’s mates.’ She snapped viciously as she tried to surge forwards.
Ann closed her eyes tightly, clenched her jaw, and fought back against her wolf as Ada sniggered.
“Awww, what’s wrong? Is your little wolf angry?”
It didn’t take long for Ann to regain control, her wolf slinking off to slump in a corner and growl threateningly. Before long, the rage of her wolf had subsided and silence descended. Ann opened her eyes to glare icily at her sister.
“What do you think, Ada? You slept with her soul mate, the one who was intended as our perfect match! I know you hate me, but it was unnecessary.” Ann finally replied, her face calm and composed.
Ada frowned before her eyes darkened and her face twisted into an ugly mask of spiteful anger.
“Unnecessary? I think it was very much needed actually. If only to prove that I will always be better than you. You swan around here thinking that you’re little miss perfect. Mark my words Ann, I’ll make sure that you are nothing and have nothing by the time I’m finished. I’m sick of living in your shadow.” She hissed furiously.
“Ann! What is the meaning of this?! Why were you out so late?!” A Slimy, sickly sweet voice called out.
Narcissa, Ann’s stepmother emerged from the drawing room, with Ann’s father close behind.
Ann reluctantly tore her gaze away from her stepsister and focused her attention on Narcissa. The two stared at each other for a while as Ada sauntered to her mother’s side and tilted her head arrogantly as she turned to face Ann once again.
“I needed to clear my head.” Ann finally answered flatly, feeling like an exhibition on display with everyone’s attention on her.
“Oh but your dress came! How lovely!” Narcissa simpered with a poisonous smile on her face.
“I’m surprised you didn’t hurry down to show your parents before you disappeared out into the night doing goodness knows what.” She continued flippantly, her eyes full of malice.
Before Ann could stop herself she found herself snorting, loudly.
“Parents? I think you’re mistaken… don’t you mean parent? My mother died a long time ago and you are not fit to share that honor with her memory.” Ann answered casually.
Narcissa gasped and covered her mouth as she turned to face Ann’s father with a horrified and hurt expression.
“You ungrateful little cow! How can you speak to your stepmother this way?!” Ann’s father blustered.
“Because she’s the kind of stepmother that you read about in fairy tales. She’s not deserving of a place here.” Ann answered simply.
She was tired of this forced masquerade as a happy family. The family was supposed to be warm and inviting with a sense of comfort and security, not cold and unfriendly with the necessity of having to watch your back constantly with no support.
Her father lashed out at the wall next to him angrily as he began to advance toward Ann, growling a warning.
Ada rushed across to him and took hold of his arm with a sly smirk in Ann’s direction as she feigned an attempt to try to stop him.
“Dad! Please! Calm down! Don’t be angry! It’s fine, we’re used to all the comments she throws at us.” Ada whined.
Ann glared furiously at the trio as Narcissa joined her daughter in the pathetic act of caring for family members. How could her father not see through this charade?!
As Narcissa rubbed soothing circles on her father’s back she focused her attention on Ann again.
“Please Ann, you know your father’s health isn’t good. Let’s not trigger another episode with unnecessary nastiness, hmm?” She pleaded in a sickly sweet voice.
But Ann didn’t miss the smirk that danced on her lips.
“You should take a good look at your sister’s demeanor, Ann. You might actually learn how to conduct yourself properly!” Ann’s father snarled.
“Learn what?” Ann laughed in disbelief, “Learn how to seduce and sleep with another female’s mate? Maybe. She seemed to have the talent for it when she was f*****g my mate in her room upstairs!”
Her words hung in the air before a ferocious roar escaped from her father.
“How dare you speak about your sister that way?! There is no way she would do such a despicable thing!”
“Sister? Have you lost your mind, father? My mother only gave birth to one child.” Ann sneered as she swept her gaze disdainfully over Narcissa and Ada.
“You know something? There’s a popular saying, isn’t there? Now, what was it…Ah, yes! ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’. It fits both Narcissa and Ada perfectly, don’t you think? Her mother seduced my father and broke his mate’s heart, and now her daughter aims to do the same thing. Ironic really, isn’t it?” Ann continued furiously, her face shrouded with contempt.
A cold silence descended in the hallway, her father, Narcissa, and Ada all frozen in shock at the words she had uttered.
For years, Ann had remained silent and now that her life was about to change so drastically, there was no need to keep up with the pretense anymore.
The shocked silence lasted only a matter of seconds before her father exploded angrily, shouting incoherently as Ada and Narcissa did their best to calm him down.
Ann watched their struggle emotionlessly. It was about time they all heard a few home truths.
“Ann, that’s enough you’ve gone too far! Look at the state of your father! After everything I’ve done…” Narcissa snapped as she grappled with her husband, trying desperately to soothe his wolf.
“Everything that you’ve done?!” Ann laughed incredulously.
“Tell me which part I should be thankful for Narcissa? The part where you seduced my father into breaking his sacred mate bond? Maybe the part where my mother finally lost her fight and gave up on life? Or perhaps I should be grateful for the times that you’ve pushed me out of this poor excuse for a family and excluded me in favor of your own blood?” She spat disdainfully.
Ada did her best to appease her mother before she whirled furiously and stalked toward Ann stopping just millimeters away from her face.
Ann glared back coldly, the hatred between the two of them almost electrifying in the air.
“You have no right to speak to my mother like that. You’re right in what you said earlier though.” She snarled, a sardonic grin playing at the edges of her mouth,
“Oh really? I’m surprised you would agree with me on anything.” Ann s snorted and narrowed her eyes warily.
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