Chapter 1 The ending of a bond

"What have you done Gemma?" my father asked, staring at me, fear and horror evident on his aged face.

I twirled my fingers. His smell was still on me, I knew. I could still smell his woody pine scent clashing with my citrusy one.

I didn't know why my scent was unusual, but it had always made me feel unique and I liked smelling so.

My alpha had obviously loved it, I could still see the way his reddish lips had quirked up in a crooked heart stopping smile when he inhaled my scent.

Right now, my father didn't care about my unique scent, but for the other strange one on me that was so strong it almost overpowered mine. This meant one thing; I had mated with someone.

Usually, it would be a joyous thing as I was of age, but my father was livid and my mother was quite nervous.

"Father, he is my fated mate." I whispered with wide eyes.

"He is our alpha! Do you have any idea what is going to happen to us?" Eric, my father, was unrelenting as he yelled.

"Eric, come-on, you know how it usually is. She couldn't control herself." my ever gentle mother, Veronica, said, coming to stand beside her mate.

My father was obviously frustrated, he turned to his mate and grabbed her by the arm, his grasp gentle yet firm.

"This is trouble Veronica, it isn't a thing of joy anymore. Our daughter has bonded with our alpha. This could lead to our deaths." He whispered fiercely fear lacing his tone.

I flinched. I could taste the fear in his voice. It was raw, biting and chilling.

Finding a mate had been a dream for me just like every other female wolf, and even when mine had turned out to be the alpha of our pack, I still couldn't bring myself to resist him.

The dreamy feeling of his hands on every inch of my fragile body still persisted and for a moment, I almost got lost in the thought.

Bringing myself back to reality, I slowly got up from the floor where I sat and slowly approached my worried parents, my skirt swirling around me.

"Papa, I promise, I kept it a secret, he wouldn't know. I'll make sure he stays far away from our family." I assured him in a gentle tone trying to sooth his worries.

But it didn't seem to work, he turned to me, his eyes blazing. "He is the alpha. Don't you understand that? He has eyes everywhere." He snapped his fangs showing as his eyes flashed red the color of his wolf's fur.

"He has eyes everywhere, yet we'd managed to hide away from him for centuries papa. This is just meaningless worrying." I argued, my voice still maintaining its soothing tone.

My father tried to talk, but his wife reached forward and planted a slender, graceful hand that was slightly wrinkled on his arm, stopping him.

"Listen to her, Eric, she will be fine. Gemma has finally gotten one thing that makes her happy. Let's give her this, my love." she said, softly.

My eyes watered as I stared at my mother. She was a soft-spoken woman with long brown hair which was always in a tight bun, green eyes and a slender, elegant figure that deceived her real age.

I loved her dearly and wished her no harm. I hurried to my mother and held her by the arm gently as if I might break her.

My grip was just like my father's; strong and hard. And just like him, I was afraid of inadvertently hurting my mother.

"Mama," I breathed lovingly and placed my head on her shoulder.

My father watched us, the exasperated expression on his face softening as he retracted back his fangs.

At length he sighed haggardly and fiercely rubbed his palm over his face.

"Gemma, as much as I want to be happy for you, I can't bring myself to. This is trouble." he whispered with raw fear in his eyes.

"Eric..."

"Father..."

My mother and I called at the same time. Tears filled my eyes as my heart squeezed in pain, hurt by his words.

I knew and understood what he meant by saying this and I didn't blame him for it.

"I am sorry Gemma, I can't approve of this. This is pure danger for you. You're risking your life." my father said bitterly.

"I will hide it from him. He wouldn't find out." I whispered fiercely, my grip inadvertently turning strong on my mom's arm.

"Gemma... Eric." she winced and called out.

But none of us replied to her, we were too busy having a stare down.

"Listen to me daughter, this isn't about me and my wife any longer. It's now about you." my father said.

"I know, father. I am not dumb. I knew what I was doing when I accepted to be his mate." I replied, glaring back at him.

Eric frowned, his good looks turning dark like his jet-black hair.

"You don't kid, you don't know what you are doing. This could cause your death. You know what alpha Apollo hates the most are weak wolves." he growled at me.

I blanched. My face turned pale and I held my shaking fist in front of me, taking a few steps back as tears glistened in my deep green eyes.

My father's words had stunned me. And what made them all the more painful was that they were the bitter, unacceptable truths I have always wanted to hide from.

I loved Alpha Apollo who was now my mate, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him about this bitter unacceptable truth of mine.

"Don't call me a kid father, I know this is a risk... But I am not weak." I whispered to him in a pained voice and ran out of the simple room slamming the door lightly behind me.

I dashed across the terrace towards the surrounding woods without looking back. I sniffed, wiping my face as tears flowed out fast.

My waist length jet-black hair billowed behind me tangling in my swishing skirts as I darted behind a tree sobbing.

I crouched onto the floor not minding the mud clinging to my skirt.

Although I knew my father only watched out for me, I still couldn't shake off the hurt my situation has always put me in.

Our alpha was a dictator whose hatred for the weak was the most well known thing about him.

Although my family had the status of betas, we still made sure to keep our distance from the other members of our pack, especially any zetas.

They were the closest to the alpha, and they acted like his chiefs.

I sniffed again slowly getting to my feet to stroll through the forest. It was still early in the evening and I wanted to clear my mind.

"Gemma?"

A familiar voice called me and I turned to face my best friend with a large grin on my face as I held out my arms.

She dropped the logs she'd been carrying and hurried towards me laughing as we merged into a hug.

"Sri, I haven't seen you in days," I breathed wanting to tell her my bitter–sweet news.

Sri was one of the lowest in our pack, an Omega, yet she was stronger than me and had protected me one night when we were younger from a crocodile while I was swimming.

She was an orphan who wandered about and I had brought her to my parents who welcomed her warmly.

"I have been running errands. Hey, what happened to you? You are crying?" she whispered her voice concerned.

I smiled bitterly and was about to tell her everything when a crash through the trees interrupted us.

"Sri!" a stout looking woman called out in a harsh voice glaring at us.

Sri whirled around her short brown hair smacking her in her face as she nervously faced the woman.

I sighed, another bad employer it seemed.

"Go on, I'll catch up with you later," I told her and watched her leave with the woman who lifted the logs of wood with one hand and placed them on Sri's head without any care.

I strolled mindlessly through the darkening forest for some time and when it was starting to get cold, I retraced my steps back home picking flowers to pacify my father.

My skirts trailed the muddy floor but I didn't mind as I caressed the bouquet of flowers in my arms.

I needed to calm him down and make him see the reasoning. Maybe my Alpha could help me. I'd heard tales of women with issues like mine whose mate had helped in solving.

"Gemma!" a small panic filled shout startled me and I turned to see Sri peering wide eyed at me through an underbrush.

I scowled, my head cocking in confusion. Was she in trouble, again?

"Sri?"