Chapter 1

　　Prologue

　　I am standing here in my room wearing a bridal dress, something I always imagined of doing. I always wanted to get married once I find my mate but what I never thought was that I would get married to someone who isn’t my mate and no it’s not what you think. I am not in love with him neither am I pregnant with his child, I am forced to take this decision because I don’t have another option. I can’t see my loved ones suffer, I can’t be selfish especially when they have loved me always and made sure I am happy.

　　I miss my mom a lot and I know somewhere everyone knows this, Melissa has made sure that she is with me all the time, I think she has done everything my mom would do for me. I know she is not happy with my decision too because she knew I wanted to find my mate, I wanted to go out exploring other packs in search of my mate, but here I am leaving everything behind, everything I thought of doing and getting married to someone I haven’t even met once. He is a stranger for me and he is going to be a stranger all my life, he had threatened my pack, my family, and I don’t forget or forgive people who do it, I officially hate my to be husband and that’s not going to change no matter what happens. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door, Melissa opened the door, and dad and Fabian walked inside, they looked at me and their eyes filled with tears.

　　“You look beautiful princess” dad said kissing me on the forehead

　　“She does, doesn’t she” Melissa said looking proud of herself

　　“Yes sweetheart, you have done a good job here” dad said patting her head and smiled warmly at him

　　“Princess are you sure?” he asked and I sighed because I don’t want them to worry so much about me

　　“Yes dad, I am sure. Just don’t worry so much and I will be fine” I said with a smile and he nodded his head

　　“If you say so” he answered and wrapped in a hug, my eyes filled with tears but I blinked them away

　　“Will, you don’t have to do it” Fabian said looking at me, he is the only one who calls me by my second name

　　“I know, but I want to. I want to do something for my family and pack, this is my only chance” I answered and he shook his head

　　“Fab is right Vio, you don’t have to do this, you have all of us with you, this is your only chance to back out. I know what he is trying to do but believe me nothing will happen, we will find a way out” Melissa said and I walked to her giving her a hug I spoke

　　“I know Lisa, I know I have all of you, but there are so many lives that are depending on my decision and I can’t risk the lives of my pack members, they have always loved me and have always been ready to lay their lives for me. How can I not think about them?” I said and she sighed nodding her head reluctantly

　　“I understand” she said and I gave her a small smile

　　“Princess, it’s time. Are you ready?” dad asked and I closed my eyes taking a deep breath, I turned to face dad and smiled at him

　　“Yes dad, I am ready” I answered and he smiled extending his?arm and I wrapped my hand around it

　　We walked out of my room and made our way towards the alter, I heard the music playing indicating they are ready for our arrival. We walked towards the alter and as the door opened an intoxicating scent filled my nostrils and I immediately felt excited, I know what this meant, this meant that my mate is here. I was suddenly hopeful that I will be able to save my pack and family without having to do anything because he can’t get married to me if I find my mate. I looked ahead and I was looking at men standing at the end of the alter, my eyes locked with the one standing at the front.

　　His emerald green eyes turned a shade darker as soon our eyes met, he was honestly the most handsome man I have ever met. His green eyes pulled me in his direction and his hair was black in colour and they looked so soft I wanted to run my fingers through them, his thin straight lips were a beautiful shade of pink and they looked so soft that I wanted to feel them against mine. I was just a few steps away when everything started registering and I realized what was happening. I just found my mate and who my mate was and that made me stop in my tracks just as I was about to reach the end of the alter, this made a growl erupt from his chest and he extended his hand pulling me in his embrace, sparks erupted and electricity ran through my body as soon as we made contact.

　　“Mine” he growled wrapping his arms possessively around my waist

　　I was coming back from my morning run to reach on time for my training, I didn't want to be late otherwise I will have to run an extra hundred laps. My brother is in charge of the training today and he is very strict, he doesn't treat me as his sister when I am on the training ground and that's what I love about him but today I don't want to get punished because I have a lot of work to do and that is preparing for his Alpha ceremony. I have to make sure everything is ready and everyone is invited, I don't have a lot of time left, it's only two days later. I heaved a sigh of relief realizing that I reached just on time, I looked around to see almost all of the pack members have arrived and it made me laugh a little at how worried they looked. They must have been worried about the same thing, my brother is indeed very strict and the no one in the pack wanted to get punished by him because his punishments are really brutal. He does that intentionally so members wouldn't come late and even if they do the punishment makes them stronger.

　　My name is Violet Willow Wade, I am the daughter of the Alpha Grayson Wade of the Dark Moon Pack, my mother had died in a rogue attack when I was five years old. Ever since it has been our dad who has taken care of us, Fabian is my elder brother and the next in line to be the Alpha. It's his Alpha ceremony, he is finally taking over at the age of twenty one and has still not found his mate, I am going to be an acting Luna till he finds his mate. Well, there are people who believe that mates are a myth, but we know it's not true, in the history of our pack there has never been an Alpha who didn't find his mate. It's just that people don't want to go visiting packs in search of their mates, looking at how the count of wolves finding their true mates is reducing the werewolf council had made a tradition where a male wolf can choose his bride. There were people who opposed the tradition, so in turn, the werewolf council announced the male wolf especially the Alpha's can purchase a bride of their choice. People have been following this tradition of purchasing their chosen brides since then in form of pack treaties/alliances.

　　I am completely against this tradition because it doesn't allow the female wolf to chose the one she loves, they are forced into a marriage without her consent. I wouldn't allow someone to force me into a marriage, neither will Fabian, it will be our decision to marry someone and not because a stupid custom said we have to. Both Fabian and I want to find our mate, I am nineteen years old but haven't found my mate, I have decided that I will go and visit packs once Fabina finds his mate to look for mine. I want to spend my life with the one I am destined to and if mates have indeed become a myth then we will choose the one we love to spend the rest our lives with them. We are one of the strongest pack in the United States, we make sure to protect our pack and train hard every day so we can be prepared for every situation. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard my brother clear his throat to get our attention, everyone turned to listen to what he has to say attentively.

　　"Good Morning Pack" he shouted from where he stood and everyone greeted him in response

　　"Today we are going to practice everything we have learned so far in combat. You will be fighting one of our instructors, we will call every one of you one by one so be prepared" He announced and everyone nodded their heads in understanding with a chorus of "Yes Alpha"

　　"Rules are pretty simple, you apply all the techniques you have learnt and defeat your trainer, this is going to be healthy competition so no one attacks to draw blood or aim to kill anyone. Keep your wolf under control and remember we are not fighting, we are practising with our own pack members. Do you understand?" he said firmly and again a chorus of "Yes Alpha" was heard

　　"First up, Stephen" he announced, I stood in a corner as I watch Stephen fight with one of our instructors

　　The fight didn't last for a long time as our instructor James pinned Stephen to the ground in minutes. Fabian announced the end of the fight and James looked at Stephen with a proud smirk, I really wanted to kick his balls because he is very arrogant, I never attend his training sessions because I hate people who are so full of themselves. Fabian called for another warrior and just like the previous time he pinned the warrior down on the floor, I rolled my eyes looking at Fabian as I shaked my head in disappointment. He smirked at me, he knows how much I hate arrogant people and I immediately knew that my brother was up to something.

　　"Next up, Violet" he announced with a huge smirk on his face and I had a wide smile on my face

　　I walked up to the arena standing in front of James, he looked at me with his smirk and I wanted to break all his teeth. He looked at Fabian, then at me, I know what he was thinking, he thinks I am an easy target just because I am a woman. He is wrong here, I might be a woman, but I have trained all my life to become a warrior and I am not a normal wolf, I am an Alpha female so he is very wrong to underestimate me. I wanted to teach him a lesson for looking down on the pack members and I am going to make sure that he knows not to mess with me again. Fabian blew the whistle indicating the start of our fight, we started to circle each other, he was being very careless because of his arrogance. I didn't want to be the one to attack first so I waited for him to start, he smirked at me as I looked at him observing his movements.

　　"I thought I was going to have fun and fight with some real warrior, but the Alpha seems to be in a casual mood. He has been joking with me today, first he sent warriors who were on the ground in minutes now he sent you, a woman, does he not care about you?" he asked and I rolled my eyes at him

　　"I don't have to tell you what my brother thinks about me because it's known by the whole pack except you" I answered and he laughed

　　"Really? But then why would he send his sister to get insulted in front of the pack?" he taunted and I smirked

　　"Aren't you full of yourself? If you really think I am weak then why don't you attack and see for yourself? Oh! I know, you are afraid of me" I taunted and he glared at me, he didn't even realize that I just used his trick against him and it worked

　　He lunged at me trying to punch me on the face, I easily dodge his attack, he growled and lunged for me again, this time I step aside and kicked him in the gut. He groaned in pain as his face turned with anger, he was letting his anger consume him, he jumped on me trying to attack me again. This time I turned around and kicked him in the back and he landed on the ground face first, I pinned him to the ground as I placed my knee on his back keeping him in place as I wrapped my arm around his neck. He desperately tried to get out of my hold but he made sure he wouldn't escape, I put a little more pressure on his neck and he tapped the ground accepting defeat.

　　"Never ever disrespect a pack member or regard a woman as weak, you might be a great warrior but you are of no use if you can't respect your pack mates" I said releasing him from my hold and walked to Fabian who looked at me proudly, I could see James lunging on me from the corner of my eyes and I turned around grabbing him by his neck

　　"I thought the lesson I just gave you was enough but it seems that you don't want to understand" I growled as I felt my wolf Willa fighting to come forward to punish him

　　"I--- I---- I am s--so---sorry" he stuttered

　　"Your sorry can't save you this time James, we had already warned you before to behave yourself, but you didn't want to listen. I thought you will learn your lesson through this competition but you clearly don't want to change. Besides, you just tried to hurt the Alpha's daughter, a female Alpha and that can't be ignored, take him to the dungeons" Fabian growled and immediately we had a few warriors who dragged a begging James away to the dungeons

　　"Are you ok Will?" Fabian asked turning to look at me with concern and I rolled my eyes

　　"Of course Fab" I answered and he shook his head

　　"Is the training over for today?" I asked with a smirk and he laughed

　　"Yes, it is" he answered

　　"Then I am going to go because I have a lot of work to do" I said as I walked away from the training arena in the direction of the packhouse