Chapter Two

The family had gathered round the grand dining table that was adorned with fine silverware and was impeccably set with fine crystal glasses and pristine white linen. Athena, flanked by her two brothers was enjoying her meal while her family sneaked little glances at her from time to time.

Earlier today Beta Charles had told them about the king's word when he came back from his outing with Athena. They knew they couldn't disobey the king because disobeying his order meant execution and if they happened to do so, then Athena would be taken forcefully and there would be no one to check up on her from time to time. Each one of them tried to control their thoughts and reign in their emotions, they didn't know how to break the news to her. Her mother's face glistened with unshed tears, her dad tried his best to smile at her from time to time while her brothers did a good job coating their emotions, they would feed her or put food into her plate from time to time and whisper something to her making her giggle.

The study was quiet and each member of the family sat down immersed in their own thoughts. They had just finished having dinner and made sure Athena was asleep before coming up to the study to discuss.

" We need to do something" Leonardo, the first son of Beta Charles spoke up. He sat on the armchair in the ridiculously big study with an emotionless face. Leonardo always seem serious, he is tall and commanding , he took after his father's physique exuding power. With his broad shoulders and a muscular frame sculpted by years of training with his father, he always carries himself with confidence. His deep penetrating eyes, a mesmerizing shade of hazel reflected a blend of intelligence and determination. His accentuated chiseled jawline makes the female gender swoon alongside his dark wavy hair, which was styled with precision. It complimented his striking figure. He was known as one who never smiles in the pack and someone who all girls wants to be mated with but one look from him makes the girls go home in fear. Athena has witnessed this scenario countless times which made her wonder if his mate won't be chased away by his scary demeanor to which he would always reply that she was the only girl he needed and all others were troublesome. He was always amazed and irritated at how even the most powerful men were all turned to weaklings in front of their mate, his mum would only smile and shake her head not wanting to remind him that he was the same in front of his sister.

" I'm scared" Ivory, their mum wept , " who knows what that monster would do to my baby once she falls into his hands. Can't we beg him? There must be something that can be done about this" she turned to her mate as she spoke. Beta Charles wiped her tears with his fingers and kissed her forehead which made Leonardo cringe. He was always marveled by the fact that his father, one of the most powerful men out there was like this In front of his mate and daughter and he wondered if this was what would become of him if he found his mate. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Don't cry mum. What if he really treats her well. Maybe he might cherish her since he doesn't have a mate" Ryan, the second son comforted, it was rare to see him this serious he was someone who always has a disarming smile on his lips. Ryan was a striking figure in his own way. He inherited his father's handsomeness and his mother's gracefulness, his approachable demeanor draws people in, his golden-brown hair, tousled in a carefree yet purposeful manner, adds a touch of youthful charm to his appearance.

" I don't believe he would change his cruel ways just for her when there is no mate bond between them" Ivory sniffled and Beta Charles massaged her shoulders to calm her down making Leonardo cringe once more. Ivory continued " let's do something about this, we can hide her away, I don't care if we're going to be executed for this, we can send her far away from here "

The study was silent for sometime as they looked at each other with silent agreement.

"I'll do it" a tiny voice spoke, they froze as they heard the voice and turned to the direction of the voice. A small head was poking into the room.

Ivory's heart skipped when she saw her daughter "Athena!"

" I'll go" Athena repeated and entered fully into the study.

" How long have you been standing here?" Her dad asked.

" Since you guys started. I heard everything" she bowed her head meekly and ruffled with the hems of her dress.

" were you pretending to sleep? How did you know we were going to discuss something important in the study?" Leonardo asked sternly Athena almost cried when she heard his stern voice. He's never used his stern voice on her, he always use it on other girls and not on her. why was he harsh on her now? Was it wrong for her to listen when it was about her?

" I noticed everyone's mood during dinner and I was wondering what was wrong"

"You noticed?" Ryan was surprised. They had all tried their best to cover up their emotions during dinner. He stood up and led her to sit between him and his brother.

" of course I would notice" why wouldn't she notice? They were her blood and flesh. The people she have been with all her life, she always knew whenever they were hiding something or worried about something but she would try her best to pretend not to know since they didn't want her to know in the first place. She was no longer a child but they kept treating her like she was, trying their best to hide her from the worries of the world " why won't I notice?" her voice was low now like as if she was holding her tears " I'll go dad" she said bravely.

" No you won't, I'm not letting you live with him. He only wants you to stay with him because he finds your eyes similar to someone. Do you know what that means? It means you're going there as a replacement" Beta Charles said and Athena shrunk in her seat.

" But if I don't go you will be punished for disobedience" Athena stood up and said bravely "if you don't let me go I'll… I'll … I'll starve myself and I won't eat whenever you feed me hmph" she folded her arms around her chest and looked away from them sulking. If they weren't talking about something important they would have found her cute but this was too important and they wouldn't let her play with her own life.

"Athena" Leonardo called looking at her sternly " are you threatening us with your health?" he asked slowly and quietly, emphasizing each word.

Athena shrunk, this was the second time her full name was mentioned twice in a row, she looked around and saw her family's eyes on her "n..no" she said, the courage which she tried to gather diminished and she sat down meekly

" don't said that Thena, you know how bad your stomach gets when you skip a meal " Ryan told her and held her hand. She had a bad stomach since she was little and so skipping meals was a no for her.

"pack your things Tee, we're living here tomorrow" Leo told her.

"Where to?" she asked.

" Leo is taking you far away from here. I know someone in Emerald pack, you can hide there till we settle everything here" Beta Charles said.

" And how will you settle everything? By being executed? You want to send me away so that you can be killed? I'm very sure you won't call me back to the pack when I go back to Emerald pack because you would be executed by then and what would I be doing? Spend my days waiting and hoping you would come and pick me up? Or spend the rest of my life living in guilt when I find out the truth?" Athena spoke up for the first time in her life and this made them amazed.

"Athena!" Beta Charles roared.

"Father!" she roared back they stared at each other till Athena backed out " I'm going to my room and I'm serious about going on a hunger strike" she scurried out and when she was sure she was out of the warzone she breathed heavily and held her racing heart. It was so scary going against her parents and her brothers especially Leo, she almost fainted when her father roared her name. But she couldn't let them take the fall for everything. They've been protecting her all her life and it was time she did the same .

In the study the gloomy faces stared at each other.

" she's serious" Leonardo told them because he knew fully well that they wouldn't believe her.

In the dimly lit underground chamber, a man sat on a chair whom he takes as his throne the darkness covering his face so no one knows who he is, a black werewolf with red eyes that glowed in the dark comes in.

" shift" the man in the shadows commanded and immediately the black werewolf shifted to his human form. "report"

The Man bared his neck, his face was pale and his eyes were wide with fear. He approached the man and bowed his head respectfully.

" My Lord, the Alpha King wants her to be his bride" he said in a trembling voice.

The Man in the shadows was silent as the messenger tried as much as possible to minimize his existence because even the slightest breathing can make the man go berserk and he didn't want to be the target of his anger, at least not yet.

" Just one encounter and they are already getting back together again?" the man in the shadows finally spoke and his voice made the servant bow even more deeply, he really didn't want to become a target of this man's anger.

"yes my Lord"

The man smiled, a cruel smile that sent a chill down the servant's spine " I see, seems like what we did last time wasn't enough. This changes our plan. Is your master still working for the king?"

"yes my Lord"

"Good. Tell him that on no account should they be together at all time or the spell would be broken and that he should wait for my orders"

"yes my Lord" the servant said and shifted into his wolf form and fled to deliver the message or more like fled for his life.

The man in the shadows watched the servant go, a sinister smile on his face. He knew that the servant was afraid of him, and he reveled in it. He loved the feeling of being feared. His eyes narrowed, he had a plan, a very dark one.