Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
He winked, and I leaned closer.
“What do you know about the shadows? You have them too?” I asked, but he didn’t get a chance to answer because my mother dragged me off to the girls’ side of the raised wooden platform. Dad took Lucas to the other.
I looked over, but he was getting a stern look from my father, pursing his lips in return. I looked at Mom, who tugged at my hair.
“You should’ve braided it, dear,” she said, fussing with the straying strands.
I shrugged. “We both know they won’t be looking at my hair.” I sulked.
My mother sighed and pulled me a little away from the other girls.
“Honey, I know this is hard, that it seems like silly traditions, but they have kept us alive all these years. We can’t risk changing anything, especially when dealing with volatile creatures such as the wolves. Please.”
Her voice trembled, her chin wobbling as she fought back her own tears.
“Just please try to give this a chance. You may not be in love at the start, but that love can grow, like it did with your father and I. You just have to be willing to try,”
she pleaded, and it broke my heart to see her try so hard to please my dad when he should love her anyway.
She was amazing, and I needed to do this for her. I rolled my shoulders back and took a deep breath.
“Yeah, Mom. I’ve got this, I’ll behave,” I promised, and she smiled, sniffling a little, then hugging me.
I hugged her back as if it was the last time I would see her, then pulled away.
“Good girl. Once you’ve been chosen, we’ll be allowed to see you.” She smiled, then left off the platform as my father left my brother.
My eyes caught Lucas’s, and I smiled. He gave me a tight one back and nodded. I nodded back. We were okay, we were going to do this.
I smoothed down my dress, then went to wait with the other girls as the mayor of the women’s village and the mayor of the men’s both fronted the crowd, who were all standing around the bonfire.
Mr. and Mrs. Cranshaw had been the mayors and on the council since I was born and were ridiculously old. I wasn’t even sure whether they aged anymore, just stayed old with wrinkling skin, gray hair, hunched backs, and annoyingly slow speech.
“Welcome.” Mrs. Cranshaw smiled. “To tonight’s choosing ceremony.”
Everyone clapped as I fiddled with the strands on my sleeve, looking down.
“Tonight, we welcome back our offerings, thank them for their sacrifice, and reward them with a union of marriage,” Mr. Cranshaw carried on, and I fought not to roll my eyes.
Yes, make it sound desirable, that’d help.
They rambled on about the werewolves and the territory, and I tuned out, waiting for the bit that was making my heart race. The choosing part.
Finally, the mayors started calling names forward of the men. They showed them off, gave them each a speech of accomplishments and body description. Then the girls.
Mine was embarrassing, humiliating, degrading, but I hadn’t expected much, being who I was.
“Daughter of our very own general, Mr. Valarian, we have Lorelai Valarian. She is five feet ten with a slender build and full breasts. She has dabbled in various village activities but prefers solitude.”
I had actually said I like my space more than people, but they had taken liberties.
“She is winter born but was a carriage one nomination for the offering night, chosen by our very own alpha. That being said, she has been marked by the alphas and is promised generous compensation. Lorelai, everyone.”
Barely anyone clapped; it had been silent since the winter born thing. I stepped back into line and looked down, going back to my own mind, to my happy place that now consisted of three alphas.
I ignored all the choosing that began happening, the names getting called out as the men wrote the names of their first picks on pieces of paper.
The first round of choices was read out. My name wasn’t said once. I was okay with that, but my mother looked heartbroken.
The double ups had to barter coin, land, and goods to win the woman they wanted.
Perfect Portia’s family got another farm, some coin, and even a mutual family agreement on first baby names.
The ceremony had only just begun when a loud bell rang through the village. I froze. I knew that bell.
“The alphas! The alphas are coming!” one of the military men on security screamed down from the watch tower, ringing the bell that signaled the alphas’ presence.
I scanned the crowd for my mom and dad as Lucas ran over. Everyone was panicking, running to hide, to do whatever they thought they were meant to, but I stayed there.
“The alphas never come down more than once a year. The offerings, that’s all they ever take from us,” Lucas said over the chaos as the mayors failed to calm everyone down.
My heart raced, but not the same way as everyone else’s. I was excited. I got to see them again.
I ran down from the platform and over to the road that led to the city, waiting.
Lucas followed with a smirk.
“Something tells me those marks you wear were not given without invitation.”
“I never said they were.” I smirked back.
He nodded, a smile on his lips.
“Then you are the reason they are coming. They’ve never marked an offering. It violates our agreement, and they’ve never come down after the offerings before,”
Lucas said, putting his hands in his pockets.
“I should be so lucky,” I scoffed, but he looked at me knowingly. I hoped he was right.
My father came up behind me then, followed by my mother.
“Come, Lorelai, we’ll wait for your father and brother at the hut,” she said, trying to pull me away, but I shook my head.
“I want to stay,” I said, and she gasped.
“They’ve done enough to you, dear.” She trembled, her eyes going to my hidden neck and body.
But I’d had enough.
“They didn’t do anything to me!” I shouted, and some of the chaos quieted. I took a deep breath. “Nothing I didn’t want them to.”
My mother looked at me like I had grown an extra head. My father looked like he would have slapped me if we weren’t surrounded by people, or like he was still considering it.
“There is no time for this. We must greet the alphas as normal.” Mr. Cranshaw finally got his shit together and started rallying everyone back into position as the alphas’ carriage stopped before the center of the village.
I stood my ground, ready to face them, whatever my dad had said to them to get them to come down.
The door opened and Nikolai’s eyes found mine, that deep green making me smirk.
He got out, followed by Braxton and Derik. They were fully dressed this time, all in devastatingly well-fitting black suits with ties the colors of their respective areas and a gold Werewolf Territory pin.
We were deep green, Brax was blue, and Derik an earthy brown. Their respective emblem was on the bottom of the ties, and each one of them exuded power. No bullshit, stern faces. Nothing like they had been with me.
My body grew hot at the sight of them, my eyes finding Nikolai’s again. I saw the smile that played on his lips before he tore his gaze away. Everyone was silent as their shoes crunched over the concrete toward my family.
“I believe we owe someone compensation for our horrible mistreatments of her body last night,” Nikolai growled.
Nobody moved. The roaring of the bonfire was the only sound. My father cleared his throat and stepped forward, smoothing down his own clothes, standing straighter.
“Yes, well, we believe that is fair for the consequences of those indiscretions,” my father said, and I had to give it to the man, his spine was straight, he didn’t cower under the alphas’ glare.
“Consequences?” Braxton prompted, his voice much deeper than the one I’d heard last night. His hair was in a topknot, the blue braid wrapping around the base of it.
I wanted to untie it again.
“Not a single suitor has come forward. Her name was not called.” My mother trembled, and she sounded as heartbroken as she looked.
I grabbed my mom’s hand and rubbed it with my thumb. “It’s okay, Mom. That’s not the alphas’ problem,” I said, but she sniffled, and my father clearly disagreed.
“It is their problem. No markings, that was the deal. You have broken the contract,”
he snapped, and Derik stepped forward.
“Indeed. And we have a solution.” He smiled in a conniving way.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?