Hello all. This is the start of Book Two of the Black Alder Series. I hope you all enjoy!
Synopsis
"In the second installment of the Black Alder Series, Kayla, a human on the run, finds refuge with a pack member in a new territory. But her past refuses to let her go. Promised to an abusive alpha against her will, she's desperate to escape. Fate intervenes when she meets Ethan and Aiden, Alpha Twin Lycan Vampire Celestials of the Black Alder Pack, who reveal themselves to be her fated mates. As they embrace her with open arms, Kayla's dark secrets and the danger that follows her threaten to tear them apart. Will the twins' love, and protection be enough to save her, or will she be forced to return to the hell she fled? Dive into the second book of the Black Alder Series, where love, loyalty, and survival are put to the test."
Chapter 1 - Arranged
Kayla Pov is 16 years old.
STUPID BITCH I heard a male pack member yell.
"I'm sorry, sir." I apologized, keeping my head down. I was charged with bringing Derek, Alpha of the Green Bay pack, some coffee, and due to the glass burning my hand. The Green Bay Pack is located in Savannah, Georgia. On the outside, our pack looks friendly. Our land is not huge. Their packhouse sits in the middle of the land, and it's surrounded by small huts for the mated families. There are a bunch of flowers that accent it all, and there is a forest further back on the land for their wolves to run wild.
I accidentally dropped the cup I was holding. It shattered on the floor, and coffee splashed on a male wolf, who just so happened to be picking up something from the floor at the same time. He wiped his face. Luckily, there were no bruises on his face, not that it would matter. He was a male wolf. He would heal quickly. I tried to walk to the Packhouse kitchen to get some napkins, a broom, and a dustpan, hoping he would see it was an accident and let me go.
The boy quickly walked behind me, grabbed my arm, spun me around, and slapped me. This was the first time since I've been here that anyone has slapped me in the last few weeks. I held my face to try to stop the stinging pain that would follow, and I looked up with tears in my eyes. It was the Alphas' son, Liam. Liam loved putting me in pain. Standing at almost 6 feet tall with chestnut brown hair and brown eyes, Liam was known around the packhouse for his nasty temper and torturous ways. He would bully a member of the pack that he saw fit. Being the son of the alpha makes him overconfident, and he is always full of a rage that never dies.
She-wolves here in the pack are constantly throwing themselves at him. One of them is probably hoping to become his mate. Bully for her if he finds one, but I pray their moon goddess does not give him one.
His father, who was his twin in every way, beat him up constantly, and since he would never attack the alpha, he took it out on me. Luna Kim was a human who died while giving birth to Liam, and Alpha Derek blamed Liam for the loss of his mate. The stories go that he became cruel, not caring about his son or the pack but leading them nonetheless. It's because he took most of his father's abuse that Liam is the way he is. Alpha Derek begins to hate humans as well, calling them weak, forcing Liam to accept that all humans are weak as well. I did my best to avoid him when he was upset, and, so far, I was staying out of his way, invisible. He hasn't noticed me in a few weeks, thankfully. Not until now. I looked into his eyes, holding my face, and regretted it instantly.
SLAP
"That's for burning my face," he yelled. People were gathering to watch the scene.
SLAP
"That's for looking at me," he yelled. He punched me in the gut, and I hunched over.
That's for being alive. NOW CLEAN THIS SHIT UP, and then he walked away. Onlookers didn't bother helping me as I staggered to the kitchen, attempting to catch my breath and get supplies for the mess. I cleaned up while seeing some of the pack members smirk at me, and I made another cup of coffee for the alpha.
I grabbed and held on to my necklace. It's a carving of the sun. I don't remember where I got it, but somehow it seems to always calm me down. I don't remember where it came from; I just know I've had it as long as I can remember.
"What took you so long?" he demanded when I reached his office, setting the coffee on his desk.
Liam was in there also and gave me an I DARE YOU TO TELL look, not that I would if I could. Alpha Derek never hit me, but he never liked me either. My adopted parents, Alpha and Luna of a neighbor pack, adopted me due to being unable to have kids and sold me away to the Green Bay Pack as a treaty between the two. They didn't like children at all. Everyone here has been less than friendly due to my not shifting yet. Since I was adopted, no one has been able to find information about my birth parents, so they raised me and sold me off to this pack, yet the reason why remains to be answered. On top of that, since I've never shifted before, everyone assumed I was human. Which is despised by this pack.
"Sorry, Alpha, I have no excuse," I told him, not looking up.
"It's good you are here, actually. I have something to talk to you both about." Liam turned to him, and I stood in my place, waiting for the news.
"Liam will be 18 tomorrow, and Liam, I am making your alpha of the pack." He tells us. Liam grins wide, and I'm still waiting to see what this has to do with me.
"As part of the treaty written by your parents, you will be getting married and will be recognized as his Luna." I looked up at him, horrified, and I saw Liam's big grin drop. He is as upset as I am.
ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? he yells
"Mind your tone, boy," the alpha commands.
"But, dad, she is human. She isn't fit to be Luna. She is weak. Look how pathetic she looks!" Liam sneers at me.
You're probably wondering what he means.
A chosen mate is picked by someone who has no mate yet. If they are to be an alpha, then once marked, a chosen mate has to be as strong as them for the pack to remain strong; otherwise, the pack will remain weak. The chosen mate must be able to defend themselves and protect the pack with their lives. As a human, I was known as the weakest in the pack. I could not heal extremely fast. I had no special wolf-like qualities or powers. I have no relevance other than securing an alliance with this pack. Everyone in this pack is a shifted wolf. Half mated. Half unmated. Any of them would have been a more suitable choice, but instead, I was chosen. Not by Liam, but by the current Alpha for him. It's because of some treaty he has with my parents, who are both wolves.
"The treaty with her parents is based upon her marriage to you. They are our biggest allies, one we can't afford to lose," he says.
I don't speak. This is ridiculous. Me. Luna. Married to Liam of all people. His pack hates humans; they won't accept me. As if reading my mind, the alpha speaks
"The pack does not like humans; it's true, but they will have no choice. Liam, to become Alpha of this Pack, you will take Kayla Summers as your bride, or I will kill you." He simply states that threatening his son is the most normal thing in the world.
Liam walks out of the office, seething.
I knew my parents would have done this one day. My parents are part of the Dark Lands pack a few packs away. I was found as an abandoned baby and was brought to them. They would have had me killed, but they knew I could be used by them. Growing up, they showed me no love. They kept me as a slave. They abused me. I thought it would change when I was sent here to this pack at the age of six, but if anything, it all just became so much worse. I often wonder where I come from. Even as a baby, I was hated enough for someone to just leave me on the ground the way they did.
"You're dismissed," Alpha says, asking me to leave his presence.
I nodded my head and walked out. I went around a corner, and Liam grabbed me by my throat, pinning me against the wall.
"Just because I have to marry you doesn't mean I won't make your life hell. I'll torture you every fucking day for the rest of your pathetic human life. I'll get many mistresses and fuck them, making you watch, and I'll watch them beat you too. Stupid fucking human," he says, then drops me to the ground and walks away. I grab my throat as a small sob escapes me and rush back to my room, crying. I get in bed and hold my necklace, trying to calm myself down as I fall asleep.