Prologue

Roselia's youth began and ended with him.

Long before Roselia's betrayal, her childhood was intertwined with a boy. The catalyst to her punishment. 

Roselia forgot how long she was imprisoned for. She lost count. She abandoned hope of seeing in the darkness. Her eyes never adjusted, and she blamed it on being a wolfless werewolf. Her prison cell was in the darkest corner of the dungeons, where not even moonlight or ceiling lamps reached through the cracks.

Roselia accepted her new reality. She went from being the perfect Alpha's daughter to the pack traitor. 

During her first weeks, the air had been pungent and burned her nostrils. She grew accustomed to the stench. She guessed she was their only prisoner. For all of eternity.

This was Roselia's punishment. The crime? Love. 

"A…B…C…D…" Roselia would force herself to recite the alphabet to exercise her voice, but at times, it felt useless. 

Roselia hugged her knees tighter. Her stomach had stopped grumbling within the first few days. She was used to starvation. Her limbs were weak and weighed down by thick chains on her ankles and wrists. She tried to crawl everyday to exercise, but barely made it far due to surviving on one meal and a glass of water a day. 

Lately, Roselia discovered there was another prisoner somewhere in the dungeons. They were frequently tortured, their screeches filling every corner of the hallways. She almost welcomed the sound amidst the silence that nearly drove her insane. 

In the distance, Roselia picked up a sound. Footsteps. 

"She's alive."

Roselia was blinded by the abrupt light that exploded in her vision. She crawled back into the corner, covering her eyes.

"She smells horrendous. My nose hair is about to be burned off by her disgusting scent," another man spat out in disbelief.

"Shut up, it's Alpha's orders. Just because she's been in solitary confinement for so long doesn't mean she's deaf. Stupid, maybe, but not deaf." 

The cell doors clicked. Rough hands yanked Roselia to her feet, dragging her against the floor when she struggled to stand. 

"Get up and walk!" they barked at her.

Clink.

Roselia squeezed her eyes shut, the pain from the sudden brightness and sound felt like needles digging into her pupils and skin. They yanked her up by the armpits, her feet dragging behind her. She burned with agony as if her limbs were being torn apart.

Clink.

Roselia's chains rattled behind her obnoxiously. She tried to think of a way to escape, but it was impossible. Her attempts were futile and she'd always end up in solitary confinement as punishment until it became permanent.

"We're here, straighten up in the presence of Alpha Kerpan!" one of the men demanded. "Show some respect." 

They flung her onto the ground. Roselia hissed as pain burst from her limbs. She was brittle as glass, her skin throbbing from the harsh impact. Her palms trembled when she tried to rise and she rubbed her eyes to adjust her vision. 

"You're dismissed," Alpha Kerpan informed the guards. They scurried outside, frightened by his presence. 

Alpha Kerpan towered over Roselia, forming a large shadow over her pathetic position. His wrinkled face was as menacing as she remembered him to be. A heinous scar ran from his chin to his scalp, his left eye still covered by a black patch. 

Roselia blinked.

Alpha Kerpan glared.

"How dare you!" Alpha Kerpan seethed, kicking her roughly in the chest. 

Roselia doubled over, choking on the air, and shaking with agony. 

"Lower your gaze, you're just a mutt," Alpha Kerpan growled in fury. He huffed and puffed like some big bad wolf, but Roselia saw him for what he really was—a coward.

Roselia had expected his anger and abuse. After everything she did to his only son, he was the first person to seek vengeance. He got his revenge by being her prison warden, except, he wasn't allowed to torture her. 

The Supreme Council of Werewolves had made their decision over Roselia's crimes. As punishment, Roselia was to be stripped of her title as Alpha's daughter and sentenced to five years in Alpha Kerpan's territory. Not even Roselia's father could save her, not that he wanted to. Her Papa was disappointed and shamed by the loss of reputation caused by his daughter.

"You should be grateful to me," Alpha Kerpan snarled, using the tip of his shoe to raise her chin at him. 

Alpha Kerpan sneered down at her. His working eye lingered on the thin rag barely covering her body. He licked his lips, especially when he saw his son's mark on her neck. A big fat "K." 

Roselia's stomach twisted with his leery stare. He was the father of her ex-lover. In a different life, she could've been his daughter-in-law. Alpha Kerpan was older than her Papa, but here he was, practically drooling over her.

"Instead of wasting away in my cells," Alpha Kerpan stated. "I've decided to show you mercy." 

Roselia nearly scoffed at the idea. Mercy? When he was the man demanding to keep her as prisoner the very day she was sentenced by the Council of Werewolves?

"Get up," Alpha Kerpan growled. 

Roselia tried to stand. Her body screamed in protest, but she managed. Her stance was shaky and her knees wobbled. She hugged her stomach, glancing around to see they were in the foyer of his pack house.

Her freedom was right behind her—the doors leading out of this hell hole.

"The Council of Werewolves has agreed to pardon your imprisonment for a lesser punishment…" Alpha Kerpan eyed her from head to toe, his attention lingering on her bosom. 

"What is their decision?" Roselia asked, her voice hoarse and weak.

Alpha Kerpan smirked. "You are to marry me and sire as many heirs as I please."

Roselia wanted to puke. If she had any content in her stomach, she'd empty it all over him.

"But I have to give you the option to run for your life and into your father's territory," Alpha Kerpan sighed. "If you succeed, you're a free woman. If you fail, you're to be my wife."

Roselia almost leaped with joy at the opportunity, but she wasn't stupid. There was no way she'd make it to her Papa's territory, despite it bordering Pack Kerpan. Roselia's pack was ten miles away from here. She would know. She used to sneak onto Alpha Kerpan's territory. 

"Not even a normal werewolf can run that long without taking a break," Roselia realized out loud.

And for Roselia, who never gained a wolf? This was a death sentence.

"So?" Alpha Kerpan shrugged.

"Does my Papa know of this?" Roselia demanded.

Alpha Kerpan glared, raising his hand to smack her. Roselia flinched, turning her head and bracing herself for the impact. The pain never came. 

Roselia took his anger as an answer. No. Her Papa did not know.

"Or, you can save yourself the trouble, and just marry me right now," Alpha Kerpan seethed, noticing her palling face. "The Council of Werewolves granted me the opportunity, for it is the least you can do after you left me childless and without an heir."

"I'll run," Roselia gasped out, shaking her head. She'd rather run through the forest barefoot and die on the soil she was born in. If Alpha Kerpan was going to marry her, he'd have to drag her corpse to the altar.

"Stupid, stupid, girl," Alpha Kerpan spat out. "I'll enjoy catching you with my bare hands, Roselia."

Alpha Kerpan motioned for the guards, and they came forward. Roselia jumped back in fear, her entire body on high alert. To her surprise, they unlocked the chains on her wrists and ankles. 

"Go on," Alpha Kerpan gestured to the doors that slowly opened behind her, revealing the forest behind his backyard. "I'll give you a head start."