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Chapter 1
Aubree slid down the hallways of the packhouse almost silently. She knew every board that creaked, every nail that stuck out of the walls, and every little hidden nook. They were the only things she’d seen for the last three years after all, and nothing within them had changed.
She was being extra careful today though, taking every precaution to not be seen with the new guests arriving for the summit here this week. The last thing she needed was for another man to take an interest in her. It would infuriate her alpha and she would end up paying for it.
He never left a bruise where anyone might see them, but he put them on her. More times than she could count in the last three years. It was why she was now forbidden to attend any event, especially if there were guests about.
If a man showed any interest in her, even talked to her and her alpha saw, she paid the price. He never blamed the men for coming onto her, not realizing that she wasn’t yet eighteen, but knowing entirely well they weren’t her mate. No, it was her fault for tempting them ‘with her beauty’ as he put it.
She used to love her appearance. When she was little and her father still alive, she could remember him bringing her puffy dresses, her mom making her little crowns of flowers, declaring her the prettiest girl in the world, calling her their little princess. Now, whenever someone commented on her looks, she cringed, backing away certain she would find Alpha Josh right behind her with his belt.
It didn’t help that she truly was a people person as her mother called her. She loved meeting new people, talking to them, hearing their stories. But that was long over, and she knew she’d never get the chance after her birthday. Alpha Josh was counting down the days until it, until he could claim her as his, ‘show her she existed only to please him’ as he’d put it.
A wave of disgust flowed through her, bringing bile to her throat, and she hurried into the bathroom, trying to stop herself from being physically ill. The last thing she needed was to be sent back to the medical ward because someone heard her being sick. They would run every test they had to ensure she was in perfect health for their alpha and she hated being touched. She wouldn’t begin to let them near her if she could fight it, but Alpha Josh loved to remind her she couldn’t deny him anything. That as her alpha he could take whatever he wanted from her.
She pushed all thoughts about him and his repulsive smell from her mind, knowing she still had another eight days. Eight days in which something could happen. Stop him from forcing his claim on her.
Not that she really believed it, but there was a slight possibility that something could happen during the summit to injure him—kill him setting her free. It was awful to think it, but she knew nothing else would stop him. Not even someone else within the pack being her true mate would stop their alpha from taking what he wanted and that unfortunately, was her.
He ruled their pack with an iron fist. No one dared go against him, question his decisions, which was why she was trapped in this packhouse, unable to even go outside for a run. Her wolf hated that, wanted to be free to romp and frolic, especially under the full moons. She wanted to run through a field of flowers, feeling the sun on her skin again. She wanted anything other than the revolting life Alpha Josh had planned for her come next week.
The idea of his hands touching her skin made her cringe, let alone the slightest thought of any other part of him touching her. Having his pup…
Aubree slammed her thoughts down on that fast, knowing it would make her not only sick, but send her into painful spasms as her body fully rejected the idea of it.
She drug in deep breaths through her nose, exhaling through her mouth to calm herself as Dr. Tina suggested to her the last time her anxiety made her physically ill for weeks. She was the only doctor in their pack that Aubree could stand. The only one that didn’t approve of Alpha Josh’s treatment of her—his expectations of what was to happen when she turned eighteen.
For the last three years she’d been thankful the day was still in the future. It was her only safety. He couldn’t touch her until then. Not unless he wanted to lose his place on the shifter’s council if he bred her. There weren’t a lot of things that could get an alpha in trouble, let alone get a council member in trouble, but breeding an underage shifter was one of the few that would not only get them barred from the council, but have their alpha status revoked. And if the alpha challenged it, they had to face the alpha regent, and no one came out the winner against the alpha regent or his men.
Her entire pack had been forbidden to do anything to help her. They couldn’t talk about her or the situation to anyone, which meant she couldn’t even beg one of them to get word to their territory alpha for help. She’d tried more than once to get someone to go against their alpha, but no one was either able to refuse him or were too scared to even try. Leaving her stuck in this hell, wishing for someone to attack or lose their cool and kill their alpha.
She should feel bad about it, about wishing someone would die, but it was her only chance to get free from him. He would end up killing her if not, either by his hands or her body shutting down, refusing to keep food down to keep her from having to give the disgusting man an heir.
Finally, she managed to get herself under control and quickly washed her hands and face, letting the cool water slosh over her wrists to calm her still slightly racing pulse. The bathroom door pushed open as she dried her hands and Aubree stepped back to keep Ellen from running into her. The woman was nearly twice her size, but only because she was small, especially for a shifter. Ellen despite being an omega, was still five-nine and about a hundred and eighty pounds, whereas she was barely five-one and not quite a hundred herself. She fluctuated between ninety-five and ninety-nine pounds depending on what she could keep in her stomach.
It came from her parents both being half-human, the doctors believed, making her only half herself as well. Despite that, she could shift, had been able to since she was seven, but even her wolf drew attention. She was small in wolf form as well, unlike most others, but her wolf’s fur was pure red whereas the rest of the pack was filled with grey and black wolves. Now, she could only shift in certain areas of the packhouse, and it didn’t satisfy her wolf at all.
“Oh, my stars, I’m sorry, Aubree,” Ellen said, reaching out to grab her shoulders to steady her. The touch made her muscles clench, and she was grateful that Ellen dropped her hold almost immediately. “I didn’t mean to run over you.”
“It’s alright,” she said giving her a half-smile. “Are you okay? You look…flustered,” she added which was completely unlike Ellen. Even when their alpha was shouting at the omegas, she could always keep herself together.
“I was putting away the clothes for the alpha I’m assigned to for the week,” Ellen said letting out a shaky breath. “He came in while I was handling his…undergarments and he was just…I’ve never met an alpha with energy like his.”
“That bad?” Aubree said a bit in surprise. They’d had plenty of alpha visitors through the packhouse over the years and she’d never seen the woman like this.
“He didn’t even say a word, but I felt like I should be on the ground begging to not be punished. Then I confounded it by stumbling into the potted plants in his room, which made a mess on the floor, which meant I couldn’t just scurry out of there. I couldn’t even hold the dustpan properly because my hands were shaking so badly. Alpha Josh will not be happy if I request a change of assignment, but there’s no way I can take him a tray of food up without dropping it I’m certain.”
Aubree gave her another smile, curious about the man that was causing the calm woman so much worry, and her curiosity got the better of her.
“Let me take it,” she suggested making the woman’s eyes widen. “Technically you’re not disobeying any orders. You’ll still be bringing whatever he wants up you’ll simply be passing it off to me for final delivery and no one but us ever has to know.”
“I don’t know if that’s wise considering the man is nothing like anyone we’ve had here before,” Ellen said, her lips pressing together for a moment before she continued. “I heard him and the two others from his pack here with him talking outside before he came in. He was telling them to make sure they kept Danielle away from him.”
Aubree’s eyes widened in surprise. Danielle was the alpha’s cousin, tall, leggy, with the perfect face and body. All of the unmated alphas that had come through in the past wanted her, wanted to make her their mate when they saw her, despite her not being their true mate, because she was gorgeous. She never turned any of the men out of her bed which always made Aubree shudder in disgust.
“Maybe he already has a mate then, which would mean he wouldn’t bother me,” Aubree offered, even more curious about the man now.
She and Ellen argued it for a few more minutes before the woman relented, giving her a nod when she added, “If you knocked over the potted plants, that means he’s in the easterly suite. It’s the most private, which likely means he’s higher up on the council as well, which means no one is going to just barge into his room to find me there rather than you. I can stay in the little nook just around the corner from it so you can stop in there, drop off whatever it is with me, and I’ll take it on into to him.”
