Louisa's POV
Lying on the bed, being watched by Alpha Lucas and Beta Lucian, I felt so desperate."Alpha Lucas..." I said in a low voice, barely louder than a whisper."Is she trying to talk to me?" Lucas frowned."She's calling your name. So let me take a wild guess," Lucian shrugged.It seemed that he had a very passive-aggressive way against his Alpha, and Alpha Lucas didn't have any problem with that.This kind of fair and intimate Alpha-Beta relationship was something that I had never heard of.My father's Beta would never dare to look at my father in the eyes, let alone throw him a big fat attitude."Do you have anything to say or do you want to keep staring at us like that?" Lucian asked."I... I want to go home..." I murmured."Home?" Lucas narrowed his eyes. "Do you call that shithole a home?"I felt crossed.My father's pack was not as advanced as those packs in the north, but it was a clean, decent place.It was not fair to call it a shithole.I wanted to talk back to him, but years of subordination shut me up.This wasn't the place and the time for a person like me to talk back at a person like him.I cleared my voice and said, "If you could please let me go home, Alpha Lucas... I have to see my family. My father will get upset if I'm gone for a long time."Lucas chuckled with disdain."Is she seriously saying this or her head got bumped into something while I was dragging her into the tent?" Lucas said to his Beta.Lucian gave him a dark look.Lucas rubbed his head and said to me, "Your father sold you at 30,000 bucks to me over a poker table. I was at the Masquerade to collect you and saw your stepbrother trying to tear you into two halves. Why would you call someone who abandoned you and hurt you as your family?"I opened my mouth and closed it.I couldn't think of anything to justify myself.I didn't have a family.The family I had in my mind was nothing but an illusion.My father wouldn't even notice that I was gone.Maybe with me being gone, he would have one less thing to worry about.I wept silently.I tried to lift my arm to wipe my tears, but it was just too painful to move."They are the only ones that I have got..." I said in a quiet voice.Lucas stood up, looking vexed -"Now she's crying. Fuck. Lucian, help me out here. Why is she crying?"Lucian replied, "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you told her the truth?"Lucas looked confused, "What else should I tell her? Do you want me to lie to her, telling her that her father loved her more than anything in the world?"Lucian sighed and said, "That girl has just been sold by his father, Luke. You really should have got some common sense.""Please let me go home... I don't want to stay here..." I mumbled in tears."Oh, fuck, shut up, will you?" Lucas said impatiently. "Your father is dead and your pack is gone. There is no home and family for you to return to!"His words were like sharp knives, stabbing into my heart.I looked up into his eyes, trying to look for a trace of evidence indicating that he was joking.But there wasn't any.He was... telling the truth?!My head was so painful that I felt it was about to explode."No... It can't be it..." I said in despair, struggling to get up from bed. "I need to see them... I need to go back to my pack..."All the muscles in my body were giving off shooting pain at the same time.My spine must have been raptured, which was why I couldn't move my limbs.Nevertheless, I still persisted, trying to sit up.Tears were like running waterfalls, pouring down my cheeks.Deep down in my heart, I knew he was telling the truth.My pack was gone.My father was dead.But I just had to see it myself to confirm.At that time, Lucas started to get agitated."Fuck! Lucian! Stop her! Stop her from moving! Strap her on the bed! Chain her up! I don't care! Just stop her from moving around like that!"Lucian, who looked a bit surprised by his overreaction at first, stepped forward and pinned me down against the bed.I could feel the warmth and scent of cigarettes in his hands."You have to stay put, she-wolf." He stared into my eyes and said in an assertive voice. "If you keep moving like this, I have to be forced to take action to tranquilize this situation. Do not force me to do anything."His words were like cold surgical knives, cutting into my flesh and bones.I looked over Lucian's shoulder and saw Lucas, who was walking back and forth in the tent, looking agitated.I felt deterred. I knew it must be the bond between me and him.Whenever I felt pain, he would feel it. And that was why he asked his Beta to subdue me.So I stopped struggling, lying in bed, crying in silence, and eventually choking on my own tears.Lucas covered his head with both of his hands and roared at his Beta, "Lucian! Do something! My head is about to explode! I'm drowning in grief! Oh, fuck it! That's it!"He rushed forward and pulled me up from the bed, holding me in his arms while walking out of the tent.The pain coming from my back almost killed me.My head started spinning.I could feel something bitter in my mouth.I didn't know what it was, but I tried to swallow it back into my throat.The night wind was blowing and I could see millions of stars in the dark night sky.I had never been held like this by a man.I was in my mate's arms, which was supposed to bring me overwhelming happiness.But I just couldn't feel anything else but tremendous fear.His body was without any temperature.There was not a single dash of warmth coming from his embrace.He was as cold as death.Even though I leaned against his chest, I couldn't hear any heartbeat.It was as if I was being carried by a living dead.Where is he going to take me?Is he going to hurt me?The smell of burning was getting more intense.Then, his cruel voice echoed in my ears -"Now, take a look at it by yourself, you fucking she-wolf! Are you convinced?! Can you stop fucking around with me?!"I looked up and saw the direction of my father's pack.Old Crimson Creek was on fire.The fire ruptured the darkness by burning it up as if the whole night was bleeding.And that was what I smelt in the air.The burning of my home, my family, and all the werewolves in my pack."No!!!" I growled under the night sky with all my efforts, but my voice was smothered down by the howling wind.The swallowed bitter thing in my mouth surged at the back of my throat again.This time, I had to let it out by coughing violently."Oh fuck!" Lucas dropped me to the ground. "She's fucking coughing blood now! She's a fucking plague!"As my back hit the ground, I passed out into oblivion.The last thing I saw was the burning night sky.The stars were weeping blood.Lucas' POVOh, fuck.I curled up while stepping back.I could feel the throbbing pain coming from the innermost part of my chest.It was killing me.Lucian approached me, trying to pull me up from the ground.I grabbed his arm like grabbing the last straw of hope."I'm in pain, brother!“ I barked at him. "It's coming from my chest and it doesn't stop! What happened to me?! Am I dying?!"Lucian held me against his chest and said in a soothing voice, "Easy. Go easy on your breath, Luke. In and out. In and out.""Make it stop! Make it stop right now!" I almost ripped my chest open, but Lucian locked my hands together.He pinned me on the ground and said, "If you want the pain to stop, you have to work with me. Focus on your breath. Don't fight against it. Go with it."I fucking hate being subdued like this.But I couldn't do anything about it.It was so damn painful in my chest and it's fucking distracting."Do not subject yourself to fear, Luke. Live with it." Lucian's soft and tender vo
Louisa's POV"She looks so tiny. She wouldn't make it." I heard a boy's voice. "You're a doctor or something?" I recognized that was Lucian's voice."It wouldn't need a doctor to see that she wouldn't make it. She's dying," the boy said.I'm not dying. I'm still alive!I opened my mouth, but there was no sound coming out of it except a series of scratchy sounds.I felt my throat burning.I didn't know how long I had slept. "Wa… water…" I gasped.Every time I breathed, I felt my throat was burning on fire. The cloth covering my eyes was lifted. In a blurry vision, I saw a boy's face. He was holding a bowl of water in his hand. I struggled to get up, but my back was hurting so badly that I couldn't move."She can't even sit up straight by herself…" "She'll be fine, Leon," Lucian said.I grabbed the boy's arm and said, "Leon... Water…""Aha, she's calling my name and she's grabbing my arm now," said Leon."I've told you, she's not dying. She just needs some time to recover." Lucian
I closed my eyes. My tears kept falling from the corner of my eyes. I would be Alpha Lucas' breeder and I would be killed. Nobody would know that I had ever existed. But the most agonizing thought was… My child would be born into this world without seeing their mother. They would have nobody. No. I couldn't let this happen to my child. I had to figure out a way to survive. Maybe I should run away. "Is that your answer to every question?" I heard my wolf's voice in my mind, "To run away? Ever since I knew you, you're trying to avoid everything. An evil stepmother. A tyrannical stepbrother. An ignorant father. Look at what that has got you so far." "What could I do? I couldn't fight them. I'm too weak." I replied. "Concentrate, girl. When you're in fear, you're distracted. You have to stay focused and think about it. Alpha Lucas is your mate. He's found out that you're his mate and he wants to know your real name. Why do you think he's doing that?" "He want
I couldn't believe it. Did I gain the ability to heal myself? My broken back was intact again! It was cured by itself! I slowly lifted my waist. It didn't hurt at all. "Can you stand up?" Leon prompted with excitement. I didn't manage to reply before he ran out of the tent. "I'll let Lucian know! Wait for me!" His voice was already so far away. It took me a while before I tried to lift my leg. I thought it would be easy since my back was fully recovered, but somehow I just couldn't lift my legs. I was a bit nervous. I concentrated and tried again. Still, nothing happened. I used my hands to pinch my legs. They both hurt. I wasn't paralyzed. That was a good sign. But why I couldn't lift them? I used my hands to push my upper body up. Eventually, I sat up straight. The blanket that covered my upper body slipped down when Lucian walked into the tent. In a panic, I pulled up the blanket to cover my chest. But when I lowered my head, I froze. T
Lucas' POV Fucking bitch. I thought to myself when I walked into my tent. I threw my sword on the table. It made a loud bang and all the maids in the tent kneeled in front of me, trembling. When I was furious, I would normally whip them to release my anger. But on that day, I wasn't in the mood. "Get the fuck out of my tent! Leave me alone!" I yelled at them. All of them disappeared immediately. I was in distress. I couldn't believe my mate would be a girl who looked so tiny and weak. Just like my mother used to be. The thought of her made me so disturbed. I couldn't think or do anything properly. I guess that was the mate thing they were talking about. It was something dissolved in the fluid inside my mother's womb, permeating through my skin and into my veins and marrow, even before I was born. It was my primal and innate need, the most sacred part of a wolf's life. It was written in my destiny. But, no. I wouldn't give in to my destiny. If
Lucas' POV "She's too weak." I shook my head and said, "She's weaker than my mother used to be. If I accept her, I'll be weak, just like my father. She's a plague, Lucian. She'll ruin the whole pack.” Lucian said, "You have never told me anything about your parents. I only know that they passed away when you were very young.” "I have never mentioned them to anyone for a reason." I said. I had always been known as a fatherless demon. The cursed one. "Was that because of your mother?" Lucian asked. I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling of the tent. Then, I closed my eyes. That fucking she—wolf. I could still see the scars and bruises on her chest. Her thighs twitched and tensed when I touched her. The way she bit her lips and complied. Everything. She reminded me of my mother. I fucking hated my mother. "My mother was weak when she met my father. Her weakness and vulnerability evoked my father's compassion and sympathy. He married her to be his Lun
Lucas' POV "Is that fair for him?" Lucian ignored my warning and continued. Yeah, he did that all the time as well. Ignore my warnings and shit. Fucking douchebag. "You're a very formidable person. That's why a lot of people don't like you. But your wolf is completely another story…" "You liked me when you saw me." I sat up and looked at him. "Yeah, that's because I like everyone." Lucian said in a matter-of-fact way. I lay down on the bed again like an unplugged balloon. I just didn't know what to do with this man. I obviously couldn't kill him because he was a nice guy. He had been around in my life for more than 20 years. He was like an elder brother, or sometimes, a mother, to me. "What do you want me to do?" I rolled my eyes. "Let your wolf meet her and see how it goes." he said, "I can tell that she kind of like big furry animals. Hopefully, he'll be able to talk some sense into that girl. As far as I'm concerned, she's madly in love with you, but she couldn't realiz
Louisa's POV I didn't remember how long I had slept. When I woke up, Leo was gone. I was left alone in the tent. I could hear the music and hubbub in the distance. It seemed people were celebrating. Then, I felt it again. The strong impulse of mating. I couldn't control it. Alpha Lucas' sapphire blue eyes appeared in my mind. His macular arms. His ripped torso. My mate. I was born to be taken by him. Ah. The thought made me moan silently in the darkness. Before I realized it, I was starting to touch myself. Then, a dark shadow appeared at the entrance of the tent. I heard Leo's voice, "Alpha, she's still asleep." "Leave, Leo." "Yes, Alpha." My heart was pounding fast. It's Alpha Lucas' voice! But he didn't sound like he was sober. I quickly sat up and saw him walking towards me. He had already changed into a loose white shirt and a pair of grey pants. As he walked towards me, I noticed a strong smell of alcohol. "Alpha..." I said in a low voice, quickly covering