"Get packed and ready to leave in thirty minutes," Lucinda had hissed as she left my room a few minutes ago, or was it an hour ago?

  The concept of time meant nothing to me now. All I was conscious of was the never-ending pain that went on and on and on. A door slammed shut somewhere in the house and I figured it was time to go. I picked myself off the floor, pushed to my feet, and shuffled over to my suitcase. I emptied its contents and mechanically began to fold and pack my clothes.

   My door creaked open, but I didn't look to see who was there. I simply concentrated on the motions of packing, while I wished I had something to numb the pain.

 "You are finally leaving." Erina's voice came from the direction of the doorstep. My jaw clenched as I bit back an angry retort. Of course, she would never miss an opportunity to gloat or torment me. This was the last chance she was going to get before I was whisked out of her reach forever.

 "I can't say I am sorry to see you go," she continued. "You are weak, a freak, a burden, so I am sure that I am not the only one who will breathe more easily around here with you gone."

  My teeth ground against each other as I yanked at a blouse so hard that it split along the seams. I flung it away.

 "Ignore her. Ignore her," I chanted under my breath.

 "What was that?" Erina cocked her head to the side. She was so close now that her skin nearly brushed mine. She let out a derisive peal of laughter.

 "You are talking to yourself now? Only crazy people do that, you know. Don't tell me you have added insanity to your... condition. Oh well, even if you are actually crazy, I suppose it won't matter now. Someone else will be responsible for you from now on."

  "Get out of my room!" I ground out. Erina's painted lips curved into a cruel smile.

 "Finally," she crowed. "For a moment there I was concerned that you had gone deaf as well as dumb." She snapped her fingers impatiently at me when I just stood there, glaring at her hatefully.

   "Go on. Pack! The sooner you are done, the sooner you will be out of here."

  I didn't want to, but I heard the car start up and stop somewhere close to the front of the house. If my father came in and saw me... I packed my stuff faster. Erina heaved a sigh.

"That is better. I am sure Jason will come visit more often when he finds out you are gone for good. It is hard for him to be around here when you're always moping about, looking like something the cat dragged in..."

The rest of the words were drowned by a roaring in my ears. At the mention of Jason's name, I saw red. Rage tasted like metal on my tongue. My voice shook with anger when I said,

 "Keep Jason out of your mouth."

 "Or what?" She smirked and tipped me a conspirational wink.

 "Honestly, it is hard to literally out of my mouth, especially when he is kissing me like I am"

  With a choked roar of rage, I lunged at her. Laughing, she took a step back and wagged a finger at me.

"Easy there, princess," she said.

"That better be the sound of packing I hear in there, Kiara," Lucinda called from somewhere in the house. "Or would you like to leave home without any clothes?"

 I took several deep breaths, forcing the anger back down. Going to Alpha Ryder's pack with only the clothes I had on my back would be terrible.

"Were you about to hit me?" Erina questioned. "Because of Jason? Get over him, already. He never wanted you. Never will."

"That is a damned lie!" I yelled back at her.

  She raised one finely arched brow.

 "Is it now? I hate to break it to you, but Jason fancied me even when you two were dating. It is  not my fault that you were too blind to see the signs."

"You're a backstabbing little-"

"Language, Kiara. Language."

  "You betrayed me, took what is mine. But I promise you, Erina, karma will catch up with you," I said to her.

 "Karma is a concept for fools like you to believe in to make you feel better, dear stepsister. Life is not fair or didn't you get the memo?"

 "Why aren't you done yet?" my father asked, glowering at me from the doorway.

 Erina twiddled her fingers at me and sashayed out of the room. Under his watchful eyes, I threw the rest of my things into two suitcases and carried them out.

"We want to talk to you," he grumbled and jerked his head towards the living room.

"Finally." Lucinda sighed theatrically when she saw that I was ready to go. My father took his place at her side.

"We only think it is fair to let you know what you are up against," he said. "Once you get to Alpha Ryder's pack, you have to be on your best behavior. He is a hard man. You have to do what you are told without hesitation, understand?" I nodded numbly.

He started to turn away, but Lucinda, with her eyes fixed on me, pulled him back.

"I don't think she understands yet," she said. "Alpha Ryder is a ruthless man. He expects respect and immediate obedience at all times. There are rumors, terrible rumors..." She paused dramatically.

 "Of what he does to people who make him angry. I am tempted to believe that all those rumors are true."

I couldn't suppress a shudder. I too had heard dark rumors concerning Alpha Ryder.

  "I think she has got it now," Lucinsa said happily. "Let's go."

   In no time at all, I was in the backseat of the car. The next moment, I was having a last glimpse of the house I had grown up in. The image was tainted with the sight of Erina waving cheerfully at me from an upstairs window. I curled in on myself as I watched the road unfold before us.

  When we got to the borders of my pack, my father accelerated, making the car go even faster. We were on the road for hours, and then I began to perceive strange, unfamiliar scents that told me we were nearing another pack. Finally, he came to a stop at a spot with a thick expanse of forest on either side of the road.

"We are here," he said to Lucinda.

As though his words had called them forth, three heavily built men detached themselves from the muted browns and greens of the forest. Lucinda and my father were already out of the car before they got to us.

 "She is in there," said my father with a nod in my direction. As one, the men turned their flat, back eyes to me. It was then that I lost my nerve. I stumbled out of the car, fell painfully on one knee, got to my feet, and made a beeline for the forest. My one thought? To get away.

"Get her," I heard Lucinda shriek. I didn't even hear them come up behind me. The next thing I knew, my hands were pinned behind my back. I looked into the merciless eyes of one of my captors. As I opened my mouth to scream, something hit me in the back of the head, knocking me out. 

Kiara

Something wasn't right. I knew it long before I opened my eyes. Something bad, something I didn't want to remember, had happened and it was waiting for me on the other side of wakefulness. And though my subconscious tried to protect me from the pain that waited for me on the other side, my body was already resuming its normal functions without any prompting from me.

My eyes sprang open. I immediately squinted at the bright lights overhead. I sat up quickly, too quickly. The room spun for a moment, then steadied. I groaned as my fingers touched a raised bump at the back of my head. The bump immediately brought everything into clear, sharp focus.

I remembered trying to run away from the huge men. I remembered Lucinda screaming for me to be caught while my father looked on. I remembered being grabbed and knocked out cold. I whimpered in fright. That meant I was in Alpha Ryder's pack now.

I took in my surroundings. I was in a small room, sitting on a single sofa. The only window here had bars. Was I some sort of prisoner then? Was Alpha Ryder already angry with me for trying to run away? Lucinda's words echoed in my head.

  "Alpha Ryder is a ruthless man... There are rumors, terrible rumors of what he does to people who make him angry."

  I put my hands in front of my face and saw that they had begun to shake. But there was no one in the room with me. Perhaps I could still escape. My gaze darted to the door and just before I could make a move towards it, it opened.

 The biggest man I had ever met walked in. Apart from his build, his face was breathtaking. Nearly overlong lashes framed his vivid green eyes, while a tousled thatch of glossy, black hair framed his handsome face. We stared at each other for a long moment.

  "Finally. You're awake," he said in a deep rumbling voice only a man of that build would have.

  Seeing him sucked my breath away. I was transported back to the night of the mating ceremony. I felt an inexplicable pull towards him as though my life had been leading to all this moment. My wolf stirred within me, claiming him as her mate. I gasped at the realization that this man, whoever he was, was my second chance mate.

   "I was beginning to think that my people hit you a little too hard," he continued. "You may have guessed who I am, or maybe not," he amended as he took in my still-wondering expression. "I am Alpha Ryder." I gasped again. I didn't think I was capable of normal speech just yet. Ryder? This was Alpha Ryder? I had heard of him. Everyone in my pack had heard of him. Everyone said he was a savage, cruel man. How could a man everyone thought of as a beast be so devastatingly handsome? And why was he acting as though he couldn't sense our mate bond? I was curling my hands into fists to keep from launching myself into his arms.

 So far I was succeeding, but my wolf was by far harder to control.

   "Alpha," I said breathlessly. Then I paused as I tried to marshal my thoughts into words. He merely raised a brow, watching me struggle. Apart from the fact that he was completely disregarding our mate bond, he was also more than a little intimidating.

   "Alpha, don't you... feel it? The- the bond? The mate bond?"

 He was quiet for a long moment and I thought he wouldn't answer.

  "I suppose I need to make some things very clear," he said. "Firstly, you are not here to relax, to be at ease." He looked meaningfully at the sofa I was still sitting on. "Secondly, you will be working in my pack as a slave to pay back the money your father owes me. Yes, a slave," he acted, reacting to my startled look.

   He kept looking me over, like I was a particularly good species of cow he wanted to trade. "As for the bond you mentioned, it is quite laughable that you would think for a moment that I would claim you as my mate. Kiara, you aren't even worthy to be a member of my pack in the first place. Did you get that?"

   I simply stared at him, as my brain desperately tried to play catch-up with my ears.  

   "I said, did you get that?" he repeated a note of menace in his voice. He took half a step towards me. His eyes flashed and burned. It was at that moment that I knew why people referred to him as a dangerous man. Fear pooled in my stomach. I nodded twice jerkily.

   "Yes, Alpha," I squeaked.

 A muscle in his jaw jumped as he stared down at me.

  "You will find that I expect prompt answers whenever I ask you a question. And like I said, completely erase the notion of a union between us because that will never happen."

 He was almost at the door before he turned once more. "I hope for your sake that you are physically strong enough to work. I have no patience for weaklings." The door clicked shut behind him and the tears I had been desperately holding back spilled over.

   I buried my face in my hands as I wept uncontrollably. What was wrong with me? I had been rejected by my first mate and turned into a slave by the other. What had I done in my past life for the moon goddess to punish me so cruelly? I nearly fell off the bed when I heard the door open again, thinking Alpha Ryder had returned. I quickly wiped my teary eyes and looked up.

  Another devastatingly handsome man had walked in. He was staring right at me. For the third time, I felt that this stranger was a missing part of me, the part that kept me whole.

 'Mate,' my wolf screamed.

Kiara

What could be happening, what is going on within me? Here stood a man, a stranger who wasn't Alpha Ryder, and I felt the very same attraction to him.

 "I'm sorry if I startled you," he said, looking at me straight into my eyes. Does he feel it too? The same way I felt. Does he feel the same flame of neediness I feel just by looking at him?

 "Oh, no you didn't. I thought it was Alpha Ryder since he just left," I answered him. Trying as much as possible to sound composed. I couldn't lose my cool the same way I did with Alpha Ryder. I couldn't tell him how I felt or ask if he felt the mate bond too.

What if he rejected me, the same way Apha Ryder just did?

"I can't handle any more of being rejected. I have to keep it pushing like I feel a soul nothing for this man standing right in front of me," I muttered to myself.

 "You alright?" I heard him speak again. I was completely lost in thoughts I forgot I had him standing in here with me, enclosed in the same space.

"Yes, I am. Maybe, I'm trying to get used to being in a different setting my apologies sir," I responded immediately. I didn't want him to warn me about making him repeat himself.

  "Please don't call me that," he let out a soft chuckle. "My name is Brandon. Call me Brandon," he continued.

"I'm here on Alpha Ryder's command to help you settle in, show you around, and take you to the head of the chores department in the park. I hope you are ready for today's journey," he said to me.

 Was I fully ready to become a slave? No. But was I willing to spend my day with this fine-looking man staring down at me? Definitely. I could use the distraction.

 "As long as I am glued to you all day, yes I am ready," I said to him.

 I could see his eyes turn dark after I made that statement. His chest rose and fell at a quick pace, he looked at me like he could take me right here in this little room. I am sure he feels it too, he feels the mate bond.  

  After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes, like he was trying to blink away his emotions if he was trying to be under full control. When he flicked his eyes open, the desire was gone, hidden beneath his pupils.

   "Let us get going then, Kiara," he said to me. I nodded in response and tried to flatten my dress with my palms. Walking towards the door, closer to where he stood, before I could reach out for the door, he had already helped open the door.

 "Thank you, sir-Brandon," I said to him. He flashed his pearly white teeth and bowed his head in a gentlemanly gesture.

  He showed me around the park, explaining each route to me. He showed me the gardens, the playgrounds for little pups, and he explained to me how I could get to the river in case I would want to soak in the moonlight. He was kind and gentle with his words. I listened to him speak, without uttering a single word or giving little answers. I love to hear him speak. His voice was soothing to my ears, calm to my nerves, and dangerous to my wolf.

 We arrived at the lady who rules the park's administration as it was time to know my designated chore for the month. After all, I'm nothing but a slave in this park.

 "She has the eyes of the forest angels, why is she here to work," the last turned to Brandon, expecting an answer from him. But he didn't speak.

 "I am here to pay off my father's debt to Apha Ryder," I answered without meeting her eyes.

As much as those words were hurting, as bitter as it was while rolling off my tongue, it was my reality.

 "Hmm, I see," she answered.

"For starters, my name is Madame Agatha, I know Brandon would have filled you in on why you are standing in this office, and what post I hold in this pack," she continued speaking.

"Yes Madame, he did," I answered.

"That is great. We need more hands in the garden, and since you come across to me as if you belong right with the flowers, I would assign you there for this month. You would be moved constantly to other parts of the park each month, be diligent with your work," she said to me.

 "I am glad I got the garden, it doesn't sound so bad," I said to Brandon as we made our way out of Madame Agatha's office, and back to the home of Alpha Ryder.

   "I wouldn't be happy if I were you," Brandon responded. Moved my shock and felt a deep pit form in my stomach, I asked,

"Why is that?"

He replied, "Well, everyone knows the garden is as precious as the head of the ruler of the opposition park to Ryder. He wants the garden as beautiful as always, regardless of the season." He paused and then continued,

 "His mother started up the beauty of the garden bit by bit, with her own hands. And when she was killed with an arrow that passed through her heart, the last words she said to Ryder were to keep her flowers blooming. And ever since then, it has been so."

  This shocking realization made its way to my heart. Rather than having the fear of Alpha Ryder define me, I would put my work into this garden, and make sure I keep the flowers blooming for the past Luna. It was a form of admiration for her and I was ready to do that for my queen, Ryder's mother.