Chapter 1: The Alpha’s bite
Lena's Pov.
I looked around seeing the crowd, I felt my heart pounding so hard inside my chest I could hear it in my ears. The night air was cold against my skin, but it wasn’t the wind that made me tremble, it was the realization of what was happening.
I walked barefoot across the dirt path, my feet sinking slightly into the damp earth. I was putting on a white ceremonial dress which clung to my body, I was dressed like a lamb for slaughter. I could feel the eyes of the shadow moon pack, my pack on her.
I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. But there was nowhere to go.
"Keep moving, Lena," my father’s deep voice sounded from behind me. It was so firm I knew there was no room for argument.
I swallowed hard, my hands curling into fists at my sides. "This isn’t right," I whispered but didn’t stop walking.
"It is what must be done." My father sighed.
I turned around to look at him, my nails digging into my palms. "Must be done?" I muttered with a shaky voice. "You’re selling me off like I’m nothing! Like I’m some... some weak offering to that monster!"
A muscle twitched in my father’s jaw, but he didn’t stop walking. "Enough Lena."
I let out a bitter laugh, blinking back the tears burning in my eyes. "You’re giving me to a beast, to Alpha Asher like I’m some kind of peace treaty. You expect me to just accept it?"
He finally stopped and turned to me, his face was too hard to read. "You think this is easy for me?" His voice was low but I could hear the strain in it. "Do you think I want to give my daughter to a man like him? I don’t. But we don’t have a choice. If we refuse this union, Alpha Asher will wipe us out. Every single one of us."
My breath hitched. Of course I knew Alpha Asher’s reputation. Everyone did. The Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, the most merciless, ruthless, a beast in the shape of a man. He had taken over his pack at the age of twenty after his father’s sudden death. Some said he killed him. Some said he enjoyed doing it.
Now, he was the most feared Alpha in America. Packs bowed to him, and those who refused were destroyed.
The shadow moon pack had been struggling for years. It was weaker, smaller than every other pack. Easy prey. And Asher had offered them a deal, his protection, in exchange for me. Out of all the she-wolves in other higher packs who chose me, why?
I hated that I was born as a bargaining tool.
"Father, please." My voice broke as I reached for his arm, but he didn’t move. "Please, don’t do this."
His expression softened for a moment, but then he exhaled and shook his head. "It’s done, Lena. You will go to him, and you will be his mate. You will be safe, and so will the pack."
Safe? I doubted that.
I turned around and looked up to see my mother standing a few feet away, her arms folded tightly across her chest. She hadn’t said a word the entire time. Her face was blank, but I knew she was hurting too.
"You’re my mother," I said desperately when I got to her. "You should be stopping this."
My mother’s lips pressed into a thin line. "And what would you have me do, Lena? Let you die with the rest of us when Asher decides we’re not worth keeping around?"
I stared at her feeling something deep inside me break. I had always been the quiet one, the one who followed the rules, but this... this was too much. It wasn't the life I wished for anyone… not even myself.
Tears burned at the side of my eyes, the back of my throat went dry, but I refused to cry. I had cried enough already.
"Let’s go," my father said, nodding toward the grand building ahead.
The Blackwood Pack’s hall stood in the distance, made of dark stone, its doors were massive and looked like a prison. As we got closer, two guards stepped forward, their faces cold as I expected.
I felt my stomach twist. This was it. There was no turning back.
The guards pushed the doors open, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor that stretched toward a big hall. The sound of voices murmuring inside made my heart tighten.
My father placed a hand on my back, probably a final gesture.
"Lena," he said quietly. "Be strong."
I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t strong, I have never been strong, that I wasn’t ready for this. But it didn’t matter.
Taking a shaky breath, I stepped inside.
The hall was huge, filled with Blackwood wolves who had gathered to witness the ceremony. Their eyes were cold as they watched me walk past, I could hear their whispers but what could I possibly do?
I closed my eyes and when I opened them at the far end of the hall, seated on a throne-like chair, was him. Alpha Asher.
He was everything the rumors had described. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in all black. His dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, but it did nothing to soften his sharp, angular features. His eyes were cold and totally unreadable as they locked with mine the moment I stepped forward.
I felt my legs tremble. He was terrifying. Not just because of his size, but because of the sheer presence he carried. Like a storm waiting to strike or something similar.
As I reached the center of the hall, I kept my gaze lowered, I was afraid of what I might see in his eyes.
"Is this her?" His voice was deep and emotionless.
"Yes, Alpha. This is my daughter, Lena." My father stepped forward.
Asher didn’t respond immediately. The silence stretched so long that I finally lifted my gaze just in time to see him stand.
The room felt even smaller with him towering over me. I felt disgusted.
"Come here," he commanded.
My feet felt like they were filled with lead but I forced myself to move forward. I couldn't believe that I was going to become his property tonight.
When I got to him I stopped standing just in front of him, he reached out, gripping my chin between his fingers. “This is her? Not exactly what I was expecting.”
I held my breath, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Asher studied me for a while and then, slowly, he tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck.
Before I could realize what he was about to do it was already too late. My breath caught in my throat as his grip tightened slightly, and then before I could even react, his teeth sank into my skin.
A sharp, burning pain shot through me, and she let out a soft gasp. The bond snapped into place instantly, a rush of something overwhelming flooding through my veins. It was like fire and ice at the same time, consuming me from the inside out. I felt dizzy. Weak. Like something had been taken from me.
Asher pulled away after licking the blood on my neck and licking the blood from his lips as he stepped back. His expression remained the same… cold, indifferent.
"It’s done," he announced, turning away.
Just like that?
I stood frozen, my hand pressed against the fresh mark on my neck.
I had been claimed by the most dangerous man on earth, was this the end?