Chapter 4 The Price of Protection

Hazel’s POV

My mind had conjured up a different reality, one where my future husband would be the epitome of strength and virility, a young alpha with chiseled features and piercing eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled at me. But fate had other plans. The man standing before me, the one I was promised to marry, was...human.

A wave of disappointment washed over me as our eyes met, and I felt a strange sensation stirring within. It wasn't the flutter of butterflies or the giddy rush of love at first sight. No, this was something more primal, a spark of awareness that left me wondering if I was ready for what lay ahead.

What I felt? It was irritation, anger, disgust and something that left me wondering why that man would choose to marry someone so young. I could tell. It was too obvious that he was way older than I was. Maybe somewhere in his 30s.

“Is there something on my face?” he asked with a soft chuckle. “Why are you staring at me like that?” he added.

Like dad had sensed something was wrong. I was silent, staring, trying to figure out what exactly it was that he wanted from me. Maybe a child or maybe all he wanted was a stay-at-home wife.   One he could boss around and give instructions.

“Hazel, greet,” dad mouthed, giving me ‘the stare’.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Alpha Kimberly, I believe Hazel has already been informed that I’d be showing up today.”

“Dad, is this him?” I asked again. I couldn’t possibly hide the disgust on my face.

Dad took a giant gulp and shifted his gaze towards me. The kind of look he’d give me when he thinks I’m about to mess things up. “Damien, please, make yourself comfortable while I have a word with Hazel,” dad said.

“Is everything okay?” Damien shamelessly asked.

“You should understand. You know, children will always be children.”

Dad dragged me into my room, where Ariella and the other maids waited.

“I gave you just one job, Ariel! To make sure Hazel is ready before he arrives!” Dad yelled at her. She flinched.

He seemed to enjoy how everyone quivered at the sound of his voice.

Wow, Dad! It’s something to be proud of.

“I am sorry sir. But she stepped out before I could get hold of her.”

“Leave us,” Dad ordered.

“What is wrong with you, Hazel? I thought we’d already talked about this?  Why on earth were you staring at him like that? Can’t you just learn to behave for once! Do you realize how uncomfortable you made him feel?”

Scoff…

“And you think I am comfortable knowing he is the one I’d be getting married to?”

Dad let out a deep breath, brushing his hand against his forehead.

And again, he had managed to make himself look like the victim when I was clearly the one who was asked to marry a man twice my age.

“Listen to me, Hazel, all you need to do now is understand,” Dad said, trying hard not to raise his voice, but I could see how angry he was.

What the fuck was he getting angry for?” Understand what, Dad? That my life is going to get fucked up the moment I get married to that man?”

“How, Hazel? How?”

“He clearly doesn’t love me, Dad!” I screamed.

“Hazel, you know better than to marry for love!” “Coming from someone who married the love of his life,”

I scoffed. Dad was literally the most selfish, inconsiderate, and greedy person I’d seen. Mom’s death has turned him into something else. It brought out a side of Dad I never thought I’d see.

“We all need you to marry Damien, Hazel,” Dad said.

“We?”

“The whole city, Hazel. Damien is the president’s son, and the best thing to do is to have the blood of a wolf running through the veins of his children,” Dad explained. I wondered how long he’d been thinking about it, and he never told me about it.

“There are other alphas that have daughters. Daughters that are way older and are more than willing to be fucked by a man they barely know. Why don’t you tell them to pick one of them, Dad? Why the fuck does it have to be me?” I asked, a drop of tears rolling down my face.

“You think I will open my eyes and let another pack take that opportunity away from me?”

I laughed, tears streaming down my face. So that was what it was about. Dad was only trying to gain more power, and I was just a tool he decided to utilize.

Dad’s eyes grew scary. He looked at me in a way that he shouldn’t have. I could sense the desperation in his eyes, and I could tell that he just didn’t care how the hell I felt.

I looked into dad’s eyes and I saw nothing but greed. I hated it.

Dad’s voice was raised, his claws were out and his canines were visible. I trembled. “Mess this up, Hazel, and I will make sure you regret being stupid.”

After those words, he said to me, Dad didn’t say anything else. Every other thing I said didn’t matter. Just before I could protest, I was already seated in Damien’s car, heading to God knows where.

That devil of a man had his eyes on me the whole time, grinning like he’d won a lottery.

“Your father told me you’d be turning eighteen in a few days,” he broke the ice. I finally shifted my gaze towards him. “So you know?” My voice sounded almost inaudible.

“Know what?” he asked, smiling.

“That I have not turned eighteen yet,” I answered, and he chuckled.

What the fuck made him so happy? That he is getting married to someone he’s old enough to birth?

“I know you’d be an adult in two days, so it doesn’t really matter.”

I swear I wanted to yell at him and bite his nose off, but I wouldn’t dare. I didn’t want to see that side of dad anymore…. That wasn’t my dad. It was the monster my mother’s death had turned him into.

“So tell me, Hazel, what do you want for your birthday? Anything. Name it and I’ll give it. You now have the president’s son wrapped around your fingers,” he smirked, his eyes trailing my body one more time, and I noticed how his gaze rested on my boobs for a while before he looked at my face again.

“You are a lot more beautiful than I pictured… you’re perfect,” Damien licked his lips. “So tell me, Hazel, what do you want?”

“That you’d marry someone else,” I mouthed, looking directly into his eyes.

“What did you say?” he asked.

“Nothing. I don’t want anything,” I lied. But…what I said earlier was what I wanted. I just wanted to live a normal life, hit adulthood, and find my mate. But what I wanted didn’t matter anymore.

Congratulations, Hazel, your life is a mess, and your father doesn’t give a fuck.

“Are you sure you do not want anything?” he asked, moving closer to me. His hand landed on my thighs, giving it a gentle grab while he smiled.

I gulped... hard.

He leaned in for a kiss and I turned my head. I just wasn’t ready. I still needed to get my head together. “Why are you shy because the driver is here?” he asked, laughing.

The way he always laughed irritated me down to the bones.

“Listen, Hazel, I can choose to fuck you right here, right now. You’re mine, so it doesn’t matter who the fuck is watching, so why don’t you just stay put for me?” Damien grabbed my chin…I groaned, but he didn’t budge.

Damien didn’t care how I felt or that he was hurting me. He forcefully kissed me and buried his other hand between my thighs.

Thanks, apparently, this is the best life you can offer your daughter.