Chapter 2 Broken trust

"Sri? What are you doing here?"

I asked concerned, seeing the fear in her wide brown eyes.

"It's... it's the alpha." Sri whispered unmovingly.

At the mention of my mate, I flushed scarlet and let out a wide grin.

Then I bounded towards Sri, like a pup my skirt flaring with the movement.

"He's here? Oh, how do I look, Sri?" I questioned excitedly.

But Sri couldn't share in my joy. She stared at me in confusion and shook her head.

My grin widened as I prepared to tell her about the news she probably didn't know, but she suddenly grasped me by the arm, her grip unusually strong.

Her brown eyes peered into mine and she shook her head vigorously.

"Gemma...no," she whispered and I stopped my excitement vanishing as I felt something was not quite right with her over the top reaction to the alpha's visit.

Then, it clicked in my enthusiastic mind. Although we were part of the pack with my father, a normal citizen, we lived in quite a remote part.

People rarely reached our farmlands where we lived, talkless of the alpha. This was because of our family secret. Father had done all he could to protect us... but now, it seems.

The bouquet of flowers crashed out of my hands to the floor and I took a step back, my green eyes widening in my pale face as tears welled up in them.

"No, no, no." I gasped dashing past Sri towards my father's home, my jet black hair billowing in the wind.

Sri hurried after me following closely her weak abilities as an Omega wolf activated.

I bolted out of the ominously calm forest into the wide terrace shrouded in stormy twilight.

With my chest heaving, I watched from my position as a group of people progressed towards my father's cottage with burning torches.

I gasped squinting. No, they weren't ordinary people, they were the alpha's warriors.

My body shook, trembling like a leaf as I staggered backwards, my eyes wide open with uncertainty.

No, it couldn't be what I am thinking. The alpha couldn't possibly know my family's secret. It was safely kept away from the public.

"Gemma... you have to go now, the alpha... he is mad!" Sri yelled to me, appearing from a group of dark trees.

I shook my head, tears threatening to spill down my heart shaped face.

"I won't leave. How does he know about this, Sri? He wouldn't do this to me. He loves me." I ranted to Sri who'd already reached me and pulled me into an embrace.

"I don't know Gemma, you can't go to him. He'd kill you. He knows your secret." Sri said vehemently to me, her voice holding a tone of confusion.

She didn't know I'd already mated with him, she didn't know what she was saying.

Alpha Apollo wouldn't hurt me.

I trembled harder with uncertainty, my eyes widening as I shook my head vigorously, turning to glare at my best friend.

"He is my mate! I can't leave him. He wouldn't kill me." I yelled out suddenly.

Sri gaped wide mouthed at me. She lowered her voice to a whisper, "you mated already? No wonder you smell so... like him." she whispered suddenly, realizing the new scent on me.

I paused wondering how she knew what he smelled like, but then again, Sri was like a hand maid to everyone in the pack.

She'd probably encountered the alpha once.

I nodded sure of my conviction as I sprang out of my friend's embrace and leapt towards the path that led home.

"I must go save them. The alpha would listen to me."

Sri didn't follow me immediately, and I didn't blame her for it. Meeting the alpha as a weaker wolf, would have it peril.

Dashing into the small fence that marked our house, I spotted my alpha sitting on a horse looking so forbidding yet appealing to me.

He was everything I'd dreamt my mate to be. Tall and lean with a mane of long dirty blonde hair and pale blue eyes. His facial features were chiseled and perfect with a straight nose and well shaped lips.

"Alpha Apollo!" I cried, slowing into a walk when I got to my father's home where a crowd had gathered outside.

He stopped turning towards her. His long hair whipped around his face in the stormy wind and my breath caught in my throat when he turned his icy blue eyes on me.

I flinched at his gaze that had suddenly turned so cold that I could almost feel the hate radiating through.

He looked nothing like my gentle lover who'd whispered sweet nothings to me when we bonded two days ago.

Instead perched on his horse in his war attire, he looked like he'd murder me any second.

I shook my head mentally, trying not to think of that possibly as my heart thundered in my chest.

I opened my mouth to speak, but at that moment, a well known Zeta, one of the most powerful, Troy approached him.

"My lord, it is confirmed that beta Eric Wood has sinned against the pack." he reported in his deep steady voice and I blanched turning pale.

Outrightly ignoring me, Alpha Apollo turned his icy blue gaze towards his right hand man,Troy.

With a single nod, I watched him give the command and I screamed out in fear before dashing towards him.

"No, please, look at me! Look at me Apollo, my love-" I cried clutching onto his leg that was accessible to me in the stirrup.

Panic clawed at my insides as the thought that my father's fear about my union with him filled me with fear.

A hard unexpected smack across my face shut me up and I burst into fresh sobs as the sweet, metallic taste of my blood flowed into my mouth.

"Shut up, twat." Troy growled down at me.

I glanced up wide-eyed at the alpha hoping to see a reaction and was shocked and heartbroken at his cold and unfeeling demeanor as he watched his right hand man hit me.

My gaze turned desperate as I tried to clutch onto his leg again, but Troy snapped at me and blocked my path.

"Restrain her and set fire to the house. Burn Eric and his trash alive." The alpha gave his command in a low tone and upon hearing this, I started a new wave of screaming and pleading.

Tears ran down my face as I paled beyond comparison. Fear made me strong as I ran towards Troy, shoving him aside in my grief to get to Apollo.

However, Troy quickly regained his self and smacked me hard across the face again gritting his teeth.

I didn't feel the pain of the slap as much as I felt the choking pain of seeing my mate turn away from me without any care for my feelings.

"No, Apollo...no don't do this..." I screeched, clawing against the guards who'd pushed me back, in a bid to get his attention.

He glanced at me, disappointment etched on his face before turning to Troy.

"Please... no, don't do this... don't kill them..." I cried tears and snot streaming down my face as I pushed harder against the guards.

"Grab her, force her to watch and give the order." Apollo ordered, heartlessly growling at me, his pale blue eyes I icing cold.

"Yes sir."

I watched with my heart racing as the soldiers obeyed the sharp command and rushed towards my father's house where they'd locked my parents in.

"No..." I screamed hastily trying to get to my feet to run into the house.

Sri ran out just at that moment and pulled me back just as the first fire lit arrow was shot at the wooden building.

I heard my own gut wrenching scream as my father's house became engulfed in a blazing inferno that consumed all.

Sri held tightly unto me, but two of the guards marched forward and forcefully pried us apart.

I wept bitterly the wind carrying my broken voice as I felt the bond between me and my parents weaken and fade slowly away as the time passed.

Then with a sudden taut pull, the snap echoed in my mind marking the demise of my beloved parents.

As if suddenly empowered by this, I screeched trying my hardest to yank myself out of the Alpha's guards iron grip.

Out of the corner of my reddened eyes I noticed Apollo growled, his eyes flashing blood red but I didn't care, the grief of losing my parents consuming me.

I yelled my lungs out for a long time until the house was nothing but smoldering embers and soon collapsed in a heap of weeping grief.

The area had turned silent asides from the howl of the wind blowing through the trees and the crackle of the embers.

The guards walked away from me, but I didn't care as I said on my haunches sobs wracking through my body.

I'd stubbornly gotten my parents killed.

"Alright get up," a familiar voice that sent shivers down my spine called and I winced yelping when Troy yanked me up by my long hair.

"Bring her along," I heard the alpha's cold voice followed by the canter of his horse leaving.