ASHANTI'S POV.

"Hello, you've reached Conrad's cell phone, please leave a message." A loud beep follows the voice and I instantly end the call, sighing heavily.

"Come on Conrad!" I cry in frustration as I pick up my purse and rush out of my bedroom.

I've been trying to reach my boyfriend for hours and it's frustrating the hell out of me.

He hasn’t called or texted to check on me either since this morning, which is unusual of him. This has never happened before.

I need to go over to Conrad's apartment and check on him to make sure everything is alright. We are supposed to go on a date today and he said he would come here to pick me up.

As I descend the staircase, I try to call him one more time and it goes straight to voicemail again. I almost shoot my phone against the wall.

"Ashanti!" A familiar voice calls my name as I'm about to exit the living room.

I signed inwardly and turn to look at her.

"Yes, mum." Everytime I address this woman as mum, I almost swallow my tongue.

I hate to do it, but my father keeps forcing me to do so.

"Go get Rhea for me. There's something I need to tell her." She instructs and I look at her in total disbelief.

"Can you send one of the servants to do that, please?" I ask as politely as I can. "I'm about to go out and it’s kind of urgent."

“Are you trying to disobey me?"

"No, I'm not… I'm just trying to say…"

"Wait till your father hears about this." She gives me a wicked look before walking away. If I let her walk out of that door and go to meet my father, she'll tell him something I never have done which unsurprisingly my father will believe in her and it would never end well.

"Alright fine!" I surrender. "I'll go get her." I make sure not to look at her because the smile of victory on her face will make me snap.

I head back to the staircase. My thoughts travel back to Conrad and I dial his number one more time, but I get the same annoying voice mail message.

This has never happened before. I'm scared.

As I stop at my half-sister’s room, I heard unspeakable sounds coming out of it.

"Yeah… Oh…" I hear a moaning voice emanating from Rhea's bedroom. It's hers. I stop in my tracks to listen more and her voice rises. Chills run down my spine when I finally figure out what's going on there. "Oh my God… yeah… fuck! You are going to make me come!"

Well, of course it’s hers and she’s doing THAT at this hour already.

This is no news, but why does she have to be so loud?

It's a good thing our father never comes up here or he'll be heartbroken to hear his favourite daughter screaming in such an unholy way.

"Why don't you break up with my sister and date me instead? I am father's favorite daughter. If you marry me, you stand a higher chance of becoming Alpha than if you marry Ashanti." I stop walking and try to process what I just heard Rhea say.

My head is unsteady. My heart is pounding in my ears.

"I'm not doing this because I want to become Alpha someday, Rhea."

That voice!

That smooth baritone voice.

It belongs to no one else, but my boyfriend, Conrad!

"I just love who you are. Your personality intrigues me. You are the one I want to be with."

“Stop it. I know it’s because I’m good.” Rhea giggles, making me want to puke.

Conrad’s last words hit me like the worse kind of physical pain. My chest is rising and falling, my breaths are coming in too hard. I am hyperventilating.

For a split second, I want to listen to my heart that’s telling me to turn and leave, but my mind wins the war and I barge into the bedroom, fuming in anger.

Both Conrad and Rhea jump in fear when their eyes fall on me. Conrad is looking at me like I suddenly grew two heads.

"Oh yeah?" I ask with a shaky voice. Tears are burning behind my eyelids and I have to blink many times to prevent them from escaping my eyes.

I’m not going to cry for him.

He’s not worth it!

"Ashanti, please I can explain!" Conrad begs as he tries to step down from the bed, but he can't because he's stark naked under the comforter.

"Ashanti, what the hell are you doing in my bedroom?" Rhea screams at the top of her voice and I drag my eyes from Conrad and plaster them on her face. She doesn't look scared or guilty at all.

She looks angry.

"Your mom asked me to bring you downstairs. And what the heck are you doing in bed with my boyfriend?" I ask raising my voice at her as well.

""I just fucked him. What are you going to do about it?" She folds her arms over her chest and smirks at me. Her bluntness gets me speechless.

Her confidence immediately makes me understand that this isn't the first time they are sleeping with each other. They have been doing this for a while now behind my back.

"Come on, Conrad." She nudges his arm with her elbow. "Why don't you tell her to her face right now that I'm the one you want to be with because I'm better than her?"

She's doing it again. She's trying to take what's mine as always. Rhea has been the favorite child in this family since her arrival. Our father loves her to bits and he let's her have anything she wants, but it seems she only ever wants what I have. Since we were children, she would steal my friends by turning them against me just to prove to me that she is the more popular one in the pack and now, she has moved on to my boyfriend.

She had stolen my boyfriend the same way her mother stole our father from my mother. My mum and dad used to be happily married, but one day, my stepmom showed up out of nowhere with Rhea in her arms. That's when my mother found out that my father had been having an affair with another woman. She couldn't take it, so she left her family and her pack. They didn’t allow her to take me with her. My father claimed he’s the Alpha of the pack and my mother was not mentally stable enough to take care of me.

Father did not denounce my mother as a traitor, but he never went to find her either and since then, neither of us have ever heard from her.

You might think my father loved me so deeply that he kept me by his side, but the way I got treated by everyone in this family made me feel like I was the intruder.

A stubborn tear escapes my eye, but I furiously wipe it away and suck in a deep breath. I train my eyes on Rhea who is smirking at me. I wish I could cripple her cockiness with the back of my hand.

"You really are pathetic Rhea." I chuckle in pain. "You like stealing other women's men like just your mum. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?" Her gaze darkens. The smirk on her face wipes off and is replaced with a scorn.

"You and your mother are losers who can't keep their men! Men always know who are better."

"Oh really? Or is he with you just because he wants to be the alpha one day?" I am trying hard to hold myself together and get through with this confrontation. My breaths are coming in too fast and my heart feels like it has been stabbed by a hundred daggers.

"That's exactly the value I can provide and I'm proud of it. What about you? What can you offer him if he stays with you? Ashanti, you are nothing! Can’t you see that? All this time you thought you were better than me because I came here later, but guess what? It has been proven time and again I'm better than you. I'm dad's favourite child, your friends love me better, and your Conrad is having a happier time with me. You have no value and that’s because you always fuck everything up!” Her mean words slap my face like a hundred hands.

This is not the first time she’s gaslighting me. She does it all the time and it always hurts. But I need to stay strong and not let those words get to me.

I look at her evil face.

I still can't believe this is happening. This has got to be a nightmare. I should be able to wake up from this.

"Ashanti, please you have to listen to me…" Conrad starts talking again, but I cut him off.

"There's no need for us to have any talk, Conrad. I can see you've made your choice. Congratulations."

What’s the point of keeping pretending? I’m the less favoured kid, and Rhea will help him become the alpha with her sweet words by my father’s ears. He already got what he wanted, didn’t he?

"I…" His words are cut short by the sound of footsteps resonating in the bedroom. We all turn to look at the door and there's a maid standing in the doorway.

"I've got news from Alpha Anderson."

Our father.

We all pay attention to her.

"The Beta of the Lunar Crescent Pack and his men have arrived and Alpha Anderson needs the two of you in his office immediately!" She reports and Rhea immediately jumps down from her bed and bolts into the bathroom at the speed of light.

My heart starts pounding because I know that's not good news.

Something is about to go wrong.

ASHANTI'S POV.

Eerie, pin-dropping silence has been the state of this office ever since Rhea, Conrad and I walked in and greeted the Beta of the Lunar Crescent Pack.

Everyone is well-behaved, including my stepmom who never knows when to shut up. Even my father doesn't have the right to say a word unless permitted by the Lycan Beta. Everyone acts respectfully in the presence of him and the other Lycan soldiers he came along with.

The tension in this room is suffocating.

"Alpha Anderson." The Beta's thunderous voice sounds throughout the room and everyone looks at him. My heart starts beating fast.

"Yes, Beta Ronald." Father bows to him and I cringe.

It feels weird to see my father acting like a subordinate and not a leader to a Beta.

"Is everyone who's supposed to be part of this meeting, present?" His voice is calm, but carries so much power and authority.

If the Lycan Beta makes me tremble as such,I'm surely going to faint the day I'll meet face to face with their Alpha.

I hope that day never comes.

"Yes, Beta. We are all present." Father replies humbly.

"Good. I'm going to go straight into introducing the purpose of my visit." He looks around with searching eyes. I keep making sure my eyes never meet with his. "I am here to enforce the Concordat Ritual." He announces and my mind goes into a frenzy.

The Concordat Ritual.

I've only heard of that from other older members of our pack who said that in the past, every few years, Lycans would go to various packs to pick out girls for their Harem, but that ritual stopped when their previous Alpha, the father of their present Alpha, died. Everyone thought the ritual had been abolished by Alpha Reagan.

"Your pack has been bestowed the honor of presenting young maidens for the ritual." I glance at Rhea and she looks as horrified as I am.

What the hell does he mean by that?

"If you need a girl from this household,” my stepmom suddenly speaks up, startling me，“we will be willing to offer you our eldest daughter, Ashanti. She will be the perfect candidate because she is an intellectual and a very brave fighter. What I mean is, she always has very high grades in school and takes first position in her class every academic year. She has won many academic awards and competitions. Everyone in our pack knows she’s a brain box and for her fighting skills… oh, they are impeccable. She’s so strong and brave! She is a daughter I am very proud of.” My stepmother praises me with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

I'm staring at her in awe, completely amazed by her ability to lie through her teeth so smoothly.

She is an amazing actress.

I see Rhea grimacing and I feel all of this funny. She was basically telling the truth except for the last part that she was proud of me.

But telling the truth already hurts my poor little sister. They had been ignoring my achievements all the time. My stepmom always tried to prove Rhea is the smarter one through her own fabricated narratives even though all the facts prove otherwise.

I know she's only making me look perfect in the eyes of the Lycan Beta so he can choose me and she'll finally get rid of me like she has always wanted.

Everyone knows this Concordat is no honourable Ritual even though people are too afraid to admit it. When a girl is picked from a pack, the pack receives a fortune and protection from Rogues and other enemies from the Lycans. However, the chosen girl will be serving the men in Lunar Crescent Pack and we all know what that means. Any girl who refuses to go with the Lycans will bring a lot of trouble upon her pack.

"Who is Ashanti between these two?" The Beta demands and my step mother quickly stretches her index finger in my direction.

"The one with pitch black hair. She's my beautiful Ashanti." I nearly fall over when the Beta makes eye contact with me. I feel like my organs are falling from my body.

"Hmmm." He murmurs quickly and I release my breath when he looks away from me. His eyes stop on Rhea.

"What about her?" He nods in Rhea's direction. All the color drains from my stepmothers face.

"She…she…" My stepmother stutters nervously. She turns to look at my father, but he kept his eyes on the Beta and mouth tightly shut.

"I have found my mate already." Rhea blurts out and my eyes widen in shock. I snap my head to look in her direction and the serious look she's wearing ignites fireworks in my body.

What bloody mate?

She's not mated to anyone.

Yet!

"Have you?" The Beta asks quietly, giving her an intense look and she calmly nods her head.

"Yes I have. The guy sitting over there." She points over to Conrad. My soul walks out of my body. "His name is Conrad and he's my mate." The office is filled with gasps and murmurs from other elders who are aware of the fact that I'm the one who's in a relationship with Conrad.

Rhea has done so many daring things before, but this tops it all.

She just lied to the Lycan Beta. That is an offense punishable by death if she's caught!

The elders are still murmuring, my gaze travels over to Conrad and for a millisecond, I see a flicker of nervousness in his eyes. The expression on my stepmother turns from worried to relieved, and it becomes proud. I'm sure in her heart, she's congratulating Rhea for coming up with such a brilliant plan under such high pressure.

For my father, his expression is blank.

Even though this about the safety of the whole pack, he still breaks my heart by not standing for me even once.

I look back at the Beta and notice he's fully examining Rhea with his eyes and I find myself wishing that he has the ability to read minds so he knows she's lying.

"I don't see a mark on your neck, which is a clear sign that the two of you haven't mated yet. So, why haven't you two mated when you have already exceeded the mating age?" the entire office goes dead silent.

My stepmother looks like she'll burst into tears anytime soon and Conrad definitely wishes he had the power to evaporate from his seat.

“Anyway…” Beta Ronald breaks the silence and it looks like he’s letting it pass. “We have been preparing to…”

I can’t take this anymore.

I have always thought it doesn't worth it to fight against them, but treating me as a fool in front of my face and all these people to a whole other level is beyond me.

"He hasn't been able to mark her because he has been busy dating me for the past two years." I cut him off, darting a glare to Conrad whose eyes grow wide open in shock.

My words are powerful and heavy with conviction.

The Beta's eyes glow with genuine confusion.

I just opened a can of worms.

ASHANTI'S POV.

If looks have lethal power, I'd be dead and buried by now because of the deadly glares I'm getting from my stepmother and stepsister.

"Can someone explain to me what is going on here?" Beta Ronald asks with searching eyes.. The look on his face is no longer funny. "How can you be mated to one sister, but dating another?" I shrug my shoulders and crease my brows as I try to solve the puzzle myself.

"Uh… Beta, Ronald." Conrad calls respectfully with a light bow. "It is true that I have been dating Ashanti, but I become confused after having to see her sister, Rhea, very often. However, right now, I am sure that Rhea is my mate." His perfectly crafted lie slaps my face like a hundred hands at once.

I have never been so shocked before.

And the look on his face is completely neutral. There's not a single trace of fear or nervousness.

"Yes, Beta Ronald." Rhea confirms his words. "I am well aware of this. The truth is, Conrad and I have been worried about the situation. We didn't know how or when to tell her the truth about us being mates because none of us wanted to hurt her feelings." She keeps spewing lies. Both Conrad and my stepmother are nodding their heads, giving her the go ahead to keep telling lies to Beta Ronald.

I close my eyes against the pain and dizziness that's threatening to take over my body.

I am disgusted by their hypocrisy.

"You know what, Rhea,” I shake my head, amazed by the level of shamelessness they can have, “you know I'm not the type of girl who insists on being with a man who doesn't belong to her. It's been one year since you turned eighteen and if you and Conrad were truly mates, then it means you two have known the truth for one year. So tell me, wasn't one year enough for the two of you to think of how to tell me the truth? It doesn’t seem to be this hard when when I found him in your bed 30 minutes ago!”

I hear someone shriek and I don’t need to take a guess to know it’s my stepmother. “Or did you just decide to be mates right now because you don’t want the Lycan Beta to take her to the Lunar Crescent Pack?" I ask boldly and they all look at me like I have lost my mind.

They weren't expecting me to stand up for myself so strongly. This could put our pack in grave danger, but they should have known that before telling such an absurd lie to the Lycan Beta.

I'm not the type to let people trample all over me.

"What nonsense!" My stepmother exploded. "Everyone knows it's the greatest honour to be picked by the Lycans. I gave this chance to you instead of your sister, and you ought to appreciate that. Why are you so ungrateful, Ashanti?" She asks with a shaky voice and I fight my urge to roll my eyes.

"Hold up!" Beta Ronald finally speaks after a long time. Pin-dropping silence spreads throughout the entire office as we all patiently wait to hear what he has to say.

"I think you all are mistaken here. I never said we were picking one. We are taking both of them." He announces and my body vibrates like I've touched a live wire. Rhea shrieks in horror.

I turn to her and the look on her face is priceless. She looks like she's fighting her urge to scream but surprisingly smart enough to keep her mouth shut. Her mother is so close to bursting into tears and for Conrad, all hope is lost for him.

There will be no me or Rhea for him to marry and become the Alpha of this pack. It looks like he has finally been brave enough for the first time in his life for nothing

Serves him right.

"But… but…" My stepmother stutters with a tiny voice as she gives the Beta a careful look. "What about the fact that Rhea and Conrad are mates?" She asks timidly.

"According to the rules, as long as the She-wolf is unmarked and not mated yet, she has to be taken to the Lycan King." I turn my face to the other direction and chuckle in silence. "Also…" I look at him. He's glaring at Conrad who looks like he just pissed his pants. "If I find out that you lied about being mated to this girl, just know your punishment will be death because you have insulted the Lycan King and other members of the Lunar Crescent Pack."

A loud, shattering sound fills the entire room, making me tremble on my seat. Everyone turns to look in the direction the sound came from.The glass in my father’s hand has broken into pieces, causing blood to ooze from the cuts in his big palm.

His face is dark with anger.

"Alpha Anderson. Do you have a problem with this arrangement?" Beta Ronald asks when he sees the dissatisfied look on my father's face.

"They are my only children and you want to take both of them away from me?" Father's voice is serious and he sounds hurt.

My heart is in pieces on the floor.

When it seemed like I was the only one who had to be picked, he was well contained. He never even stood up for me when everyone was fabricating lies to exempt Rhea from being chosen, but now that she seems to be involved, he can’t take it anymore.

"Are you trying to show disobedience to the Lycan King?"

"No, I'm not." Father shakes his head solemnly.

"I thought so too. This Concordat Ritual is to look for a potential mate for the Lycan King and it is an honour for werewolves to be chosen. You should be proud that two of your daughters have been picked for this ritual."

Nobody in the office is happy about that arrangement, but no one dares to cry or utter a single word. Father is fuming in silence, Rhea has clung to her mother's arm like she never wants to let go and Conrad looks like a beaten dog.

I'm the only one who doesn't mind and to be honest, I'm kind of happy because for the first time in forever, Rhea is getting into the same mess as I am and there's nothing our father or her mother can do to save her.

"Rhea, Ashanti." Beta Ronald calls. We both look at him. "You have two days to pack your things."