Chapter 1 Espitle 1

Ariana's POV

I have had a lonely life growing up. One would think living in a pack as powerful as the Crescent Moon Pack, being the Beta's daughter, surrounded by people and having a brother and a sister, I would never feel alone. But sadly, this is not the case.

My father has never bothered or cared about me for as long as I can remember. To him, it was like I never existed. He never blinked an eye if I was being beaten or maltreated by fellow pack members. Instead, he relished in my pain and he took every opportunity he could to punish me thoroughly.

While I suffer silently in the pack, my older brother Jeffrey is honored and cherished highly in our pack. He is the trophy child of the Beta family. My father makes sure to put all his efforts and resources into Jeffrey, who will soon take over his position. However, his aim is for Jeffrey to become the Alpha of Crescent Moon Pack by getting mated to Sheila, Alpha Stanley's daughter.

Just as Jeffrey is the pride of the Beta family, my little sister-or should I say stepsister, Chloe-is the princess of the Beta family. And just so you know, she hates me with so much passion, and for what reason? Because we have different moms, and her mother, Ursula, hates me as well, so I guess she passed that hatred down to Chloe as well.

As for my father, he loves his little princess unconditionally, he cherishes and appreciates everything she does, no matter what she does. To my father, Chloe and her mother were always right and he always took their sides.

My brother also never really cares about me. He is always too busy thinking about himself. He thinks he's better than me, although he never really says much to me, and he never allows anyone to bully me in his presence, but I think just like my father and everyone else in the pack, he blames me for my mother's death. Sounds crazy, right? Yeah, I know. Imagine being accused and held responsible for something you have no control over.

Chloe is fifteen years old, while I'm sixteen, and to be honest, the age difference between us always amazes me. To me, it seemed like it didn't take my father long to move on after my mother's death, or maybe he was already cheating on her-I don't know. Somehow, people didn't care about that but instead, they focused all their energy into bullying and blaming me for her death.

"Your father requests your presence," one of my father's warriors said as he looked at me with a disgusted face. Yeah, I know you might be surprised that I said my father's warrior. Well, unlike many other pack Betas, my father has his own warriors, although they weren't as strong as those of the Alpha. I believe the reason my father was given such privilege was because he's the richest man in the pack and also the Alpha's best friend. However, I believe his wealth is the main factor here.

"Where is he?" I asked, equally looking at the guard with a disgusted face.

"In his office. It is a family meeting," he replied and walked away.

I left the dishes I was doing and wiped my hands on my worn-out jeans as I made my way to my father's office. I reached my father's office and knocked on the door softly. I do things carefully to avoid being yelled at or beaten. When I hear "come in," I open the door to find my worst enemies.

It wasn't like I wasn't expecting to meet them there, though, and since they said it was "a family meeting," which I wasn't usually invited to, I knew they were all going to be there. My father sat behind his desk; Jeffrey sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk, while Chloe and her mother sat on the couch close to the window.

"I was told you called for me, Father, I said respectfully.

"Take a seat, Ariana," my father said, gesturing to the second chair close to Jeffrey.

I took my seat confused and wondering what the hell was going on. My father hardly calls me by my name except when something bad is about to happen, and judging from the wicked smile on Ursula's face it's definitely not good for me.

"I will get straight to the point without wasting anyone's time," my father began after he cleared his throat. "Ariana, there is a powerful Lycan King from the north who has requested a breeder in order to sign a peace treaty with us and become one of our allies. So I have discussed it with Alpha Stanley, and since you're of Beta blood, even though you're a useless one, we believe you could give the Lycan king amazing and powerful heirs. In two months, the Lycan king will be coming to take you to his pack. I'm telling you this in advance for you to prepare yourself."

What the hell did I just hear? I can't marry a Lycan. I'm still sixteen for goddess's sake and I haven't even met my wolf or my mate and they were already planning to sell me?

"Why me? Why not Chloe? I'm sure the Lycan king would not want the useless daughter of the Beta family."

"Ariana you have to understand that you're older than Chloe and you're not doing this for us but for the pack. Ariana, if you agree to this it will make Crescent Moon Pack one of the strongest werewolf packs in the world," Ursula said, trying to act all nice.

"Why should I care about people who never cared about me? Why would I want to make the pack whose members bullied me for years become one of the strongest werewolf packs? None of you give a damn about me, so why should I save you? Why should I help you?"

"Enough! Ariana of course we care about you. You're my daughter and I love you." My father replied.

"You love me?" I scoffed. "Wow, I can't believe Beta Adams just called me his daughter and said he loved me. For years I have been bullied by pack members, and you never did or said anything even in your presence. At home, they hit and starve me, and you don't care about that either. So I don't consider myself your daughter; why don't you sell your actual daughter to the Lycan King as a breeder? I can't believe you're even considering something like this, and my so-called big brother is aware and is okay with it. Mum would be turning in her grave right now; she would be ashamed of both of you and the kind of man you, Jeffrey, turned out to be."

"That's it, Ariana I've heard enough and trust me you know nothing about your mother," my father growled.

"Well I don't know a lot about my mother but I know you never cared about her. Because you were already sleeping with her replacement even before her death," I sneered.

"Dad, do you think we are doing the right thing? And I believe Ariana is right. Mum wouldn't have liked this. We can just tell Alpha Stanley to negotiate something else with the Lycan king or give him someone else," Jeffrey replied before my father could reply.

"Jeffrey, I know your mother wouldn't have liked this, but as a leader, you have to make certain sacrifices, and this is just one of those sacrifices you make for the greater good. Also, you know we need this to boost your chances of getting married to Sheila and becoming the Alpha Crescent Moon Pack. If I tell the pack that this was your idea, it will make them back you more, and Sheila and Alpha Stanley will respect you for your fast thinking and your leadership spirit. They will believe you're willing to make the necessary sacrifices to move the pack forward."

"Yes Dad," Jeffrey replied sadly.

"With all that being said, Ariana, you'll be getting married to the Lycan king in two months, and that is final. It is not up for negotiations," he said firmly.

"And if I refuse?" I said defiantly. I don't care if they beat me to a stupor; my body was not for sale.

"Looks like you have forgotten your place," my father growled loudly, causing me to flinch back.

"And that's the man who said I'm his daughter and he loves me," I scoffed.

I saw my father's eyes glow, meaning he was mind-linking someone, and a few seconds later, the door burst open as three warriors entered. One of them grabbed me and was about to inject my neck with wolfsbane but Jeffrey stopped him.