Riley
I shifted for the first time all on my own. It finally dawned that no matter what I did, the pack would never accept me. I wasn’t going to run. I still needed them. I needed to finish school, so I could get out of there one day. I hadn’t seen a single person for three days. They didn’t even care that I needed to eat. Thankfully, I found some sweets I hid after Halloween and they kept me going. My door was locked, which meant there was no getting out of there in any case. Just as I was about to wonder if they had completely forgotten about me, my door was unlocked, and I stood face to face with Caleb.
“Get your things! You are leaving!” He growled, and I gaped at him for only a moment. I grabbed only the things that were important to me and stuffed the last of the sweets into my backpack. He gripped my arm and escorted me downstairs. I had been locked away in my room for three days and my parents hadn’t even checked on me once!
As we ascended the stairs, I noted the formidable man standing in the foyer with his hands clamped tightly in front of him. He raised a brow at the sight of me and when he sighed deeply, I noted his broad shoulders. He was clearly older than Caleb, but not by much.
“She is just a child!” He growled, looking disappointed, and I glared at him. I knew better than to ask what Caleb was doing.
“Well, she’s yours now!” As Caleb said the words, I could swear that my heart turned into ice. I could have said a lot. I could have fought with him or begged my parents not to allow this, but I didn’t. The huge man softly took me from Caleb’s tight grip and shoved me into the hands of one of the men behind him.
“I’m going to have to reconsider p*****t since she is still a child.” The man growled, and I wasn’t surprised when Caleb nodded. That bastard! He actually sold me! He couldn’t stand the sight of me and sold me! My hatred for him grew by leaps and bounds at that very moment. Behind Caleb, I noted our parents and behind them were my so-called siblings. None of them did a damn thing to save me!
The man pulled out his wallet and paged through the cash which he handed over to Caleb before turning around and gripping my arm. He led me outside to where three black SUVs were waiting and put me in the back seat of the middle SUV before sliding in beside me. I thought I was in shock before, but my mind was just reeling after what had just happened, and I didn’t even know what to say.
Where did you begin when the people who were supposed to love and protect you sold you to some unknown guy?! We pulled out of the driveway and the man beside me turned to look at me. He had beautiful blue eyes, and they softened at the sight of me.
“I won’t hurt you.” He sighed deeply before looking out at the scenery passing by us for a moment. When he turned to look at me again, I could see his eyes turn cold. “I needed a mate, and you are clearly still too young. I might be many things, but I’m not that!” He spat the last word as if it was supposed to mean something to me and I nodded.
“Let’s start over. I’m Alpha Jeremy.” He held out his hand and I looked at it and then at him. It was as if I had lost all capability to speak. “Great! That little bastard sold me a dud!” He sighed, looking into the rearview mirror at the two men in the front and they laughed.
“I’m not a dud!” I glared at him. “My name is Riley.”
“It speaks!” He exclaimed as his eyes lit up and the two men in front laughed even louder. “Well, I’m very pleased to meet you, Riley. Unfortunately, the pack is expecting me to arrive with my future mate, so you will have to excuse their disappointment.” He smiled, but I didn’t reciprocate. I was still in shock that my pack had sold me! To an alpha no less. That made me wonder if they even knew what Jeremy’s plan was. Maybe they didn’t even know he needed me to be older, so he could have a mate.
Jeremy told me some things about his pack, but everyone in the county knew about the Moonshadow pack and its alpha. Not that I ever paid much attention to rumours! The main joke about him was that he liked variety and saw it as the spice of life.
“How old are you?” He frowned, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I swallowed hard to get rid of the huge knot that had started to form in my throat.
“Sixteen.” My voice sounded hoarse as I fought back the tears.
“Wow! Okay, I thought you were a lot younger. At least, that is good news. I won’t have to wait that long.” He smiled, but before I could ask what he had to wait for, the cars drove past huge iron gates marking the beginning of his territory. The drive to the pack house wasn’t far and he was right. His people were all gathered outside, and I was ready to just be swallowed by the earth.
“Hello, everyone. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the Luna didn’t make it. Sorry.” Jeremy held up his hands to the clear disappointment of his pack. He also didn’t introduce me as he quickly guided me inside and out of sight. An elderly woman met us in the foyer and I tried to take in as much as I could of my surroundings and where everything was. If I was lucky, I could escape if I needed to. My only concern was that I needed to finish my education if I was going to take care of myself one day.
“This is Anna. She is the housekeeper. She will show you to your room. Anna, they lied. Please find something for Riley to do while I decide what I’m going to do.” He sighed deeply, and the woman didn’t look happy with the circumstances as she nodded and started walking. I followed her to a room at the back of the huge house. She was just about to leave when I found my voice.
“What is going to happen to me?” The words were out before I could stop them.
“Dunno.” She shrugged her shoulders and left me alone to settle in.