Torn between two mates

Aria’s POV

“Tonight, you become the Alpha in my stead. I am so proud of you, my son,” I hear my father say from his studies.

I know he is talking to my stepbrother.

Proud? Proud of David?

My father is proud of his illegitimate son, whom he had with the pack’s whore. But me? His daughter and the daughter of the beloved Luna, the daughter of the one he killed in his rage and blames me for, hate me! I am the most hated she-wolf in this pack.

I should become the Alpha of the Blue Mountain Pack! However, in their eyes, I am only an Omega, and a wolf less one at that. I am mated to my brother’s soon-to-be Beta. However, Ethan Steward hates me just like the rest of the pack does. My light brown hair and pale blue eyes do not make me the most beautiful she-wolf either, and it does not help with this whole mate situation. Not that I want a mate I love. I hate Ethan, although we are fated mates.

“What about Aria? Some pack members still believe she should be Alpha. Your wife never wanted to accept me as her son, and therefore, some of the members of this pack will never see me as their Alpha,” David growls.

I move quietly in the shadows, trying to keep out of my father's and brother’s way. David is an evil little brat. He knows that my friends and even my family rejected me a long time ago.

I would have run away when I turned eighteen, but where would I go? I have nowhere to go. If I leave this pack, I will become a rogue. When a werewolf becomes a rogue, you have a target on your back.

“That pathetic thing does not even have a wolf! She is useless to our pack! Tonight, we kill her! She will never be a problem for you again!” my father says.

I do have a wolf, but I never wanted them to know. I have had my wolf since I was sixteen, but I am hiding her. I know she is strong, stronger than my father’s or David’s wolf.

I have seen David’s wolf. It is a normal brown wolf! He does not have a black wolf like most Alphas do.

My father calls me pathetic, but he knows nothing about me! David is no Alpha! His wolf is pathetic!

However, my wolf does not talk to me. I know the time is not right. She is hiding herself and her scent from this pack. If she comes forward, the pack might detect her.

I was always afraid my father and brother would kill me as soon as they found out I had a wolf.

I smile bitterly.

They are going to try to kill me anyway.

It is time for me to run. I need to run to my freedom and get as far away from this pack as possible.

Ethan, my so-called mate, never touched me. He never wanted me. He thought he was strengthening his position as the pack's Beta by marrying me.

“I would love to kill her. Alpha, you do not have to worry about that. She would be happy if I visited her tonight! She always begs me to honour our bond,” I hear Ethan say.

It is a lie.

I never beg anyone for anything.

Marrying Ethan was a mistake. I wanted to be part of the pack, and I married someone who I knew hated me, although he was my fated mate. Besides, I never wanted to love or have a real mate and meet the same fate as my mother. I made a mistake marrying him, and I hate him! He and my step-brother love to torture me.

I know it is against all the rules of the Moon Goddess not to love the one she chose for you, but maybe he is not the one she wants me to be with. Wouldn’t my wolf come forward if her mate were here with her? Can I hate the one I am supposed to love? Nothing makes sense.

I need to escape death.

I am still too young to die.

I never wanted a real mate. All I want and need now is freedom. I need to run and never come back.

It is late, and the ceremony will start when the moon rises. I need to grab my few belongings and get the hell out of here.

The small room where I have lived since my mother died is tiny, and I do not have many things.

My uncle, my mother’s brother and the only one who still loves me, comes running into my room. He is my father’s Beta, and I know he came to warn me.

"I see you are all packed and ready to go, kiddo. Good!" my uncle says with a sad voice.

“Yes, Uncle John, I am ready to go. As soon as the ceremony starts and everyone is too busy, I will make a run for it. I heard them talk about killing me tonight,” I answer.

I am tense because I know that if they catch me, I will die tonight.

"I will miss you, kiddo, and remember all the things I taught you. They might come in handy when you are a rogue. I wish it could have been different. I wish it were you who was becoming Alpha tonight. The title is rightfully yours, and in my heart, you will always be my Alpha,” my uncle says.

Tears stream down my cheeks as I say my goodbyes to my uncle, the only one in this pack who actually stood up for me and defended me when people treated me badly.

But I also feel tears of joy because, for the first time in my miserable life, I will be free.

I am the only one not invited to the crowning of the new Alpha.

I hear the ceremony start and jump into my dad's pickup truck, driving away into the night. I do not switch on the lights. My eyesight is good because I am a wolf, and I do not want any attention until I leave pack territory.

I am using the pickup because I do not want them to know I have a wolf. They will still think I am a weak human.

Just as I leave our territory, I hear the chants from the pack:

“Long live Alpha David!”