by H Q Kingsley
It took me a minute to gather my bearings. A part of me had expected to wake up in my old room with my father calling me out for dinner, Alpha Callum some distant memory of a bad dream.
But instead, I was staring up at the finely-crafted, off-white canopy held above the bed by ornate pillars. A luxury that assured me I wasn’t home on the island.
I let out a long breath. This wasn’t my home, and nothing that had happened had been a dream.
Another bang on the door jostled me fully awake. I slowly turned on my side, resting my head on the cotton pillow as I stared at a loose piece of string hanging from it.
I didn’t want to get out of bed, but there would be no choice here—I knew that now. This isn’t my world I’m living in anymore.
“Open this door, Iosefa, or I will be forced to break it down! And you don’t want to see what it looks like when I’m truly angry,” Alpha Callum said through the door.
I had seen enough of what he could do and the kind of person he made himself out to be; I didn’t want to experience any more of that.
“I’m coming!” I shouted.
I begrudgingly crawled out of bed, scratching my temple as I shuffled my feet across the floor to the door and opened it.
Alpha Callum stood on the other side, fully clothed, and wearing his usual mask of indifference.
“We’re meeting for basic training. You’ll be coming with me to meet the generals of my clan warriors and see them in training for combat.”
I leaned the side of my head against the door and narrowed my eyes on him. “I don’t see what that has to do with me.”
He grinned. “As I told you, you’ll need to understand the life I live and take things seriously. You can’t just relax under the sun like you did back on that island of yours.”
I jumped back, his words hitting me like a truck. “I didn’t just ‘relax under the sun.’ I worked. My people dove all day and exported resources to keep you in all these riches you seem to care so much about. Maybe if you took the time to actually get to know something about me instead of assuming and acting like you’re the boss of things—”
Alpha Callum cut me off with a harsh laugh. “I am the boss, Iosefa,” he said. He reached out to touch my cheek, but I pulled away before he could caress my skin, leaving his hand hanging in mid-air.
His eyes darkened and he stiffened. “I don’t have time to ask questions about the past of your backwater island life. Now get dressed and be ready promptly.”
He whirled around to walk away, but I reached out and grabbed him before I could think about it. He made me angry enough that it clouded my judgment, that it made me forget he was ruthless, twice my size and half crazy.
The moment his sharp gaze landed on me, I remembered it all. I could feel the power radiating off of him, and it made me drop my hand and cower.
I took a step back, regretting ever touching him in any way.
I dropped my gaze to the ground, feeling my inner wolf bow to his authority. I was ashamed that he had so much control over me.
Even more so when he realized it and a twisted smile painted his lips.
He tucked his finger under my chin, lifting my eyes to meet his.
My breathing stalled as he examined me, letting a long, silent moment pass as he looked me over, his wolf completely taming mine.
I swallowed, unable to say anything, do anything but cower before him. I didn’t think there was anything worse, anything more humiliating, until I smelled him. Until his earthy scent hit me and filled me with heat. Suddenly, my fear turned to white-hot desire. Every bone in my body wanted him. Wanted him to hold me, to strip me, to take me.
I was reminded of the graphic picture he’d painted for me the night before, and my cheeks heated as I felt him rattling around in my head. Could he see what I was thinking? Could he feel how much I wanted him?
I wanted to look away, wanted to crawl into the corner and die of embarrassment, but he wouldn’t allow me to move. Instead, I had to stay there, his finger tucked under my chin as he tinkered around in my head, digging through all of my secrets.
His smile widened and he reached out his free hand and gently grabbed a fistful of my hair.
I held my breath, waiting for him to make good on his promise to yank it while he fucked me.
But then, he let me go.
I let out a long breath as I was able to move again. But then my brows knitted together in confusion.
“I like the long hair,” Alpha Callum said. “Keep it down from now on.”
I looked up at him in confusion. There was something different in his tone. Something less cocky than usual… It bordered on sincerity. But I knew better than that. Alpha Callum wasn’t sincere. He didn’t care about me. It was all just a game.
“Get dressed,” he said, his usual callous tone back in place. “Don’t keep everyone waiting on you.”
I rushed through my shower and dressed in simple, comfortable clothes. I left my hair down, hating how much it pleased me to know that Alpha Callum liked it that way.
When I made it downstairs, he was already in the main entrance hall waiting for me.
“And not a minute too soon,” he called out when he saw me. “Let’s head out. Everyone should be there now.”
He looked me quickly up and down. “Very nice,” he said with a quick nod of approval.
I wanted to kick myself for the butterflies it gave me. Why the hell did I care if Alpha Callum liked what I looked like?
I followed behind him as he led us through a hallway filled with artwork and stared up at each beautiful, intricate work. A monster who collects things of beauty.
Alpha Callum escorted me out of the back of the mansion and down a stone path that led behind the house and into the forest.
The deeper we went into the forest, the more the sounds of birds chirping seemed to echo around us. The bright, blue morning sky was beautiful and helped me forget where I was. Being surrounded by nature, it almost felt like home. If there was any part of living there that I could get used to, it would be that. There was something calming and relaxing that I found in it.
“How are you this morning, sweet wolf?” Alpha Callum asked, shattering my brief moment of peace. “I didn’t get a chance to ask yet.”
I stared at him, arching a brow in suspicion. Even my wolf had his head cocked in puzzlement. Alpha Callum wasn’t exactly the ‘how was your day, honey’ type.
“I’m… adjusting,” I answered hesitantly.
He slowly nodded. “Good.” He let out a long breath. “It was wrong of me to shut you down as I did and disregard who you are and where you came from. I should not have insulted your family or made the assumptions I did.”
As we walked, I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling behind the poker face he almost always wore, or whether or not he even meant the words he was saying. Was this another part of his game?
“Um...thank—”
I was cut off by the loud sound of someone shouting. As we passed a large overhanging tree branch, I saw where it was coming from.
An open circular field, completely surrounded by the thick dense forest we’d just been walking through, spread out before me. On the outside edge, there were several men running, but it was the inner portion that pulled and held my gaze. For in here, there were men, in both human and wolf form, sparring with each other. Others were performing various exercises, climbing walls, or crawling on their bellies a hair’s breadth from razor-sharp blades above that glinted menacingly in the sunlight.
I gasped as we moved closer. This was them. This was Alpha Callums Clan. The most fearsome and infamous clan to exist. The Shadow Moon Clan.
I followed Alpha Callum down the hill and into the circle.
Anxiety built in the pit in my stomach when he started calling over the fearsome warriors.
My entire body went rigid and my wolf whimpered at the sight of them. They were killers. They’d burned down villages, killed
innocents, stolen land... and all without a second thought.
I forced myself to stand my ground, to bury my fear as deep as I could. As much as I wanted to look away, I kept my eyes on them as they hustled over to their Alpha.
Many of them had likely come from conquered lands. They didn’t share any of their Alpha’s features. His pale skin and red hair stood out amongst the collection of his people.
The only one I recognized in the group gathering around us was Dimitri, but that did nothing to ease the knot in my stomach. In fact, seeing him felt even worse when he didn’t bother to acknowledge my presence.
My mouth became pasty and dry, and I began to feel light-headed. This was too much. I had to get out of there.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard by now,” Alpha Callum started, pulling me out of my panic. “I went out to conquer yet another clan yesterday, but instead, I came back with something else...Someone else. It was quite unexpected, but, like many of our victories, I relish the unexpected.”
They all stood listening, at attention, their backs straight as steel with their hands clasped behind themselves. All with unreadable expressions on their hard, cold faces.
“...Meet my True Mate, Iosefa.” He gestured at me like a prize he’d won, and it made me feel even more nervous, more dehumanized.
I raised my hand, giving them an awkward wave. “Hello, everyone. It’s nice to meet you.”
I dropped my hand and chewed on my lip as no one said anything back. Instead, they all just stared at me like the intruder I was.
“Why don’t we get back to work?” Dimitri said, breaking the awkwardness.
I gave him a quick smile, grateful to him for coming to my rescue.
I crossed my arms over my chest, turning to my supposed ‘mate.’ Why hadn’t he said anything? Why hadn’t he come to my rescue? This was his clan. Wasn’t it his job to make them respect me? Wasn’t that his whole deal? Appearances.
“Can we speak Alpha Callum?”
He shook his head. “Later.” He gestured to a bench across the field. “You can sit over there in the meantime.”
I gritted my teeth, but there wasn’t much I could do but comply. I padded over to the bench and plopped down, pouting as I watched Alpha Callum command his generals.
They trained for hours, whether it was running in either their human or wolf forms, fighting one-on-one, combat sparring, or sword training. They were constantly in motion, constantly shifting. Honestly, I was exhausted just watching them.
They sweated profusely but did not cave under their Alpha’s hard gaze. He berated them, shouted at them, commanded them, insulted them—he was relentless. I felt guilty that some part of me took solace in that. At least he wasn’t just an asshole to me.
Is that what he wanted to show me? That in his world, people not only feared and listened to him but also respected him?
After the first three hours of watching them, I’d actually grown a little intrigued watching their dynamic with Alpha Callum. I’d even stopped blushing every time one of the soldiers shifted back from wolf form to their human form. Suddenly, the nudity seemed less important.
“Iosefa.” Alpha Callum looked at me, his tone as commanding and serious as with his men.
I furrowed my brow in confusion, wondering why he was calling me.
I climbed to my feet. “Umm...Yes?”
Irritation slowly started brewing on his face and his eyes darkened. All at once, I felt the power of his Alpha Call slam into me, making it difficult to breathe until it passed.
“I warned you when you arrived, mate, that you would show me proper respect. The correct way to address me at all times is ‘Alpha.’”
I swallowed, feeling myself bend to his will. “Yes, Alpha?” I corrected.
Alpha Callum nodded and crossed his muscular arms over his chest, a smug look of satisfaction on his face.
“Since you’re no stranger to work, I want to see you run a few laps with my men,” he said.
I raised my eyebrows and looked to where his clan members were running effortlessly.
“I never said it was forced labor,” I argued, feeling a knot form in my stomach. There was no way I could keep up with those guys. Pearl diving was arduous work, but this… this was insanity. “Shouldn’t the point here be for me to watch and learn?”
Alpha Callum shook his head. “You’ll also do.” He clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Now go!”
I stared at him, challenging him, but the stern expression he leveled back at me made my wolf retreat.
I sighed as I lowered my gaze and forced myself out on to the open field.
I’d lost count of how many laps I had run.
My chest burned and my heart pounded. My breathing was ragged and heavy as I forced myself to pick up speed. I wasn’t sure how long I had been running, but my vision had started to go blurry as sweat continued to drip into my eyes. My hair stuck to my cheeks, and I had to continuously push it behind my ear.
At some point, I’m not sure when my face ended up planted in the ground.
Several of the men circled around me, and on every last one of their faces, I could see their lips pulling into harsh smiles. When the ringing in my ears from the fall finally cleared, I heard them laughing at me. And of course they would. Compared to them, I was pathetic in every sense of the word.
There was a stinging sensation on my right knee, and when I looked down, I could see that it was scraped and bloody.
I pushed myself up with my hands and sucked in a sharp breath when pain shot from my ankle up throughout the rest of my body.
I hissed but still tried to get up as I heard the Shadow Moon Clan mocking me, calling me names. I don’t know why it even affected me, but my eyes started to burn as the tears collected, but I refused to let them fall since I didn’t want to give them one more thing to tease me about.
I had hoped Alpha Callum would say something, reprimand them, but when I caught him looking at me, he did... nothing. He hadn’t even moved.
Did he really care so little about me? Was he enjoying seeing me humiliated?
I managed to pull myself back up to my feet and trudged away from the training circle and back up the path towards the house. I didn’t want to be around them anymore, and I didn’t care what Alpha Callum had to say about it.
The only way I was going back to that circle was if he dragged me there by my hair.
I could still hear them laughing at how I was ‘too weak an omega for their mighty Alpha’ and I swiped at the tears now making a path down my cheeks.
My tears burned my face, and I was sure I had some new cut on my cheek somewhere, but I didn’t care. I kept crying, stumbling my way through the forest with my blurred vision.
I passed by the mansion, but I didn’t want to go in there. I didn’t feel welcomed or even comfortable inside.
I spotted the black limo in the driveway and recognized the driver who had first driven us from the docks.
He had just stepped from the car when he saw me.
He blinked at me in surprise, searching around, probably for Alpha Callum.
When he didn’t find him, he met my eyes. “Sir, should you—”
“Take me to the docks,” I said, my voice breaking when I spoke. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t be more humiliated than I already was. I couldn’t feel more worthless and low. I just wanted to get away from there.
The driver shook his head. “I don’t think I am allowed to do that without Alpha—”
I straightened. “And I’m his mate, so you have to listen to me!” I wiped at my cheeks and tried to sound more confident than I felt. “Do you want him to find out you denied my request?”
Fear painted the man’s face, and I instantly felt guilty. Goddess, I really was pathetic.
“R-Right away sir,” the driver said, rounding the car to pull the door open for me.
I slid into the car, guilt still twisting in my chest. “I’m sorry,” I said, fresh tears making their way down my
face as he shut me inside.
The smell of the salty air from the ocean wafted up to my nose and the cool breeze from the wind brushed across my cheek. Despite the soreness in my body and the crushing blow to my ego, I felt free standing on the white sand at the shore. It reminded me of home.
Granted, there were larger waves that crashed ashore back on Maehelio, but there was always something calming about the sea.
I frowned as I thought of my family, wondering what they were doing. Wondering if they missed me as much as I did them.
A sob escaped my throat.
Everything was different... Everything had changed... And I couldn’t do anything about it.
I let out a high-pitched cry, one I hadn’t even realized had been trapped inside me, and kicked at the sand with my injured leg. The pain shot up from my foot, but I ignored it.
I crumpled into the sand, dropping my head into my hands and cried. I felt more lost and helpless than ever.
I lifted my head as a familiar scent hit me. Alpha Callum.
I frowned. What the hell does he want now?
I didn’t want to speak to him. I didn’t want to see him. For once, I thought he might have my back. For once, I thought he might show me kindness when I’d needed it most, but instead, he’d embarrassed me. He’d let his clan talk down to me, laugh at me. Whatever fleeting moments of possibility I’d seen in him were completely over now.
I turned my back to his scent. “Go away. I don’t want to see you.”
The soft sounds of his footsteps grew closer.
“Go away!” I repeated.
I heard the steps stop and for a moment had an inexplicable feeling of disappointment when I’d thought he’d listened.
My heart jumped when he spoke.
“Iosefa, we need to talk.”
8
Elspeth Callum
“You’re lucky mates are able to sense one another so easily. Had that not been the case, things would have gone to hell pretty quickly,” I told Iosefa as I approached him on the beach.
