Wanted By Dos

Beginning Of The End

Clarissa

"So it's tonight, the night you have been waiting for all your life," Noelle teased me as she wove lilies into my hair. I sat on the only chair in my room, unable to sit still. Excitement seized my entire body and my cheeks burned from smiling a lot.

"Not all my life," I snapped back at her cheerily and made her lose hold of a braid. She sighed meaningfully and I tried to remain in a spot so she could finish putting my hair in order. The red locks were courtesy of my mother who had been a legendary beauty in her day. Sadly, she had died during childbirth to a baby who would have been my baby brother.

Father followed some years later, suffering from severe depression after losing his mate suddenly. Mother had been the core of his existence once she had died, he could no longer see blue skies. He would sit alone for hours, staring at nothing in particular. He left me finally when I was eight, a mere child.

Noelle had been my best friend forever but after my parents died, our friendship was not enough to convince her parents to take me in as a foster child. That was when the pack as a whole decided to adopt me.

"Yeah, right. Everyone knows you have been crushing on Clyde since high school. You weren't very subtle with your constant staring at the new Alpha. At last, you will get what you have always wanted." She raised her brows at me comically through the mirror and I pressed my hand against my open mouth.

Everyone knew? Was I that obvious?

Growing up in the same household as Clyde Drelock had been maddening. At first, I had just been a scared pup, grateful to be adopted by the then Alpha, Clyde's father, Alpha Terry. Falling in love had not been on my agenda then; finding a home had been my priority. They were kind to me and treated me fairly.

Trouble started when Clyde became a senior and began to fill out his clothes more with bulk and muscles I had not seen before. He became a man faster than I could catch up with and I was determined to be useful to the pack somehow. As a female, I was strong and driven to make a difference and Alpha Terry made me Clyde's Delta.

His friends made fun of him for having a female Delta instead of the conventional male. I doubled my efforts to assure Clyde that he could count on me to have his back. Unfortunately, he had me covering up for him when he was out too late or unwilling to do his duties. With stars in my eyes, I did whatever pleased him, hoping that one day, he would see me in a different light.

However, it took Alpha Terry's death for Clyde to transform into a complete man. I still remembered that night like it was yesterday. I had got out in the rain to find Clyde after he had run off, destroyed by grief. He and his father had been very close and it was a big blow to him. I had found him in an open field, bent over on the floor and bawling his eyes out.

Unable to stay away, I went to him and gave him a tight hug despite how wet he was. I held on stubbornly until his hands went around me in return. We remained that way for half an hour, comforting each other and getting drenched further. His laughter broke the ice and we ran out of the rain together. Since then, we had been inseparable.

"I have waited long enough to have him," I muttered to no one in particular, patting my hair to find out if Noelle was done. When she slapped my hand away, I got the message. It was taking too much time. Clyde would think I had changed my mind and become worried.

"Brides are supposed to keep their grooms on their toes by arriving fashionably late and looking good while at it," Noelle insisted, trying to decide if the beads in my hair were enough. I felt like an exotic peacock but I kept my mouth shut. She was helping me get ready for the most important night of my life and Goddess knew, I couldn't do it myself. Hanging out with Clyde a lot had turned me into a tomboy.

"And done!" she announced like a professional magician finishing his final trick. Noelle was a brunette and her classic beauty -jet black eyes, full bust, and average height- was driving males crazy. We were both twenty-five though she was older by two months but Noelle was nowhere near ready to get settled down. She had not brought half of the males in our pack to their knees yet.

"Not everyone is destined to be mated to a handsome Alpha," she would tease me whenever I brought up her dating life. I gave up on her and let her be.

When she moved away from the mirror, I saw my reflection and I could not believe it was me. I looked. . . beautiful and the flowers in my hair made me look like a wood fairy. My usually riotous hair was tamed into lovely plaits and woven around my head, entwined with stems of flowers. Werewolves had an affinity for nature and while we ate mostly meat, we knew more about plants than any other supernatural species, except the witches, of course.

"Clyde will be blown away when he sees you. I am so happy for you, Clarissa!" Noelle exclaimed, enveloping me in a careful hug. She took care not to ruin all her hard work and I glanced at the mirror one more time to be sure it was me. It was and I was dazzling in my happiness. I was the luckiest female in Wardwick Pack and I knew it.

Suddenly, a rude knock rapped on the door of my room. We broke our hug, standing apart as we stared at the door. Whoever was on the other side was clearly in a hurry to get in. I immediately took a battle position, ready to take on any intruders. Noelle upon my signal opened the door and stood aside. My defenses relaxed when I saw who it was until I heard his next words:

"That's the traitor! Guards, seize her and bring her to the public courtyard!" My Alpha and soon-to-be mate, Clyde Drelock commanded in a loud voice and my world fell apart.

Banished Beta

Clarissa

"What is the meaning of this, Alpha?" Noelle asked in my defense but the gruff guards pushed her aside to get to me. I fought back, taking down at least two of them before I was outnumbered. My arms were twisted behind my back roughly and I was pushed out the door. My plaits were beginning to lose but they were the least of my problems. What was going on?

Just yesterday, I had snuck out of Clyde's bed despite his seductive appeals for me to stay till the morning.

"We will be mated tomorrow anyways so it won't matter. Stay, 'Rissa," he whispered in my ear, pulling me back into the safety of his powerful arms.

"What would people think of us? We should have waited till our mating ceremony before having sex. The maids have been talking about our escapades and everyone would know what we have done," I tried to convince him, unearned in fighting him off.

"I am the Alpha, baby and no one will dare say anything against the woman the Goddess has chosen to be my Luna." I found his arrogant confidence so sexy that my head swam from his mere words. By the time he had his hands underneath my clothes, I gave in to his will and went on my back for him. It was expected of a female to be submissive to her mate and I wanted to give him everything.

It secretly hurt me that he had not called me the woman he loved. He had never said the words I was yearning to hear even in the throes of pleasure. It could be that he saw me as a means to an end, a warm body deemed his right by the Goddess and he did not feel the need to make any grand declaration of love. Still, it wouldn't have killed him to say it if he wanted to.

What had happened between the hours of leaving his bed when he had fallen asleep and now?

"Clyde, what have I done?" I implored his mercy, as I was dragged along like a common thief. The guards had no respect for their Beta and future Luna, it seemed.

"You will refer to me by my title!" he bellowed from somewhere behind me. "I am the Alpha, not your childhood friend anymore."

I held my tongue to keep from crying out at how low he had described our relationship. We were first friends, then colleagues, and finally lovers. The first time Clyde had made love to me was on his twenty-first birthday. I had been seventeen and had been overexcited when he kissed me savagely, pressed against the olive tree in the backyard. When his roaming hands suggested what he wanted, I forgot reason and obliged the object of my desires.

My eyes began to mist from barely held back tears and my lower lip wobbled from the strength it took. He had called me a traitor back in my room and I was yet to know why. Since Alpha Terry had made me Clyde's Delta, I had lived for him by making his path smoother. I tackled difficult assignments on his behalf and learned to fight so I could fight side by side with him if the need ever arose.

Once we arrived at the public courtyard, I saw that a large crowd of pack members had gathered and my shame was completed. If things were going as planned, those people were supposed to be witnesses when my mate and I would say our vows of faithfulness under the moon. Instead, Clyde took his seat on his throne and I was forced on my knees.

It was clever foresight on Noelle's part for insisting that I wear my bridal dress after getting my hair done. It would have been my mother's immaculate dress cleaning the dusty floor indiscriminately. Hands grabbed my shoulders to keep me on my knees though I was too shocked to fight back anymore.

"What have I done, my Lord?" I muttered amidst the gasps of surprise from the crowd. Everybody knew me because I belonged to the pack. When Alpha Terry had adopted me, he had made it clear that I owed the pack my service. I had never defaulted since then, cautious of my every decision. What wrong could I have done?

"Silence!" he shunned, hearing me. An extraordinary sense of hearing had its perks. "Calm down the crowd, guards!"

If there was anything Clyde was good at, it was delegating duties. He preferred to avoid interacting with his people and used my position as Beta to make me a middleman between him and the people he was supposed to lead. The guards shoved the crowd backward and created a chain formation to keep them at bay.

"In a few hours," Clyde began when silence reigned. "I know you all are expecting me to recite vows to Clarissa Emmerdale before you and the Goddess. It was all I could think about since waking up this morning but unfortunately, the mating ceremony has been canceled."

Gasps and murmuring broke out from every corner and I raised my head, mentally begging Clyde to look my way. I wanted to see his eyes and know that it was he who was doing this to me.

"My bride has been keeping a big secret from me all this while and it took my best friend, Grey to open my eyes to the truth."

Grey came out from wherever he had been hiding, smirking and looking pleased with himself. How could Clyde be so blind that he could not see the conspiracy against me?

Grey had been disappointed when Clyde's father presented me as his son's Delta instead of him. He was closer to Clyde in age and was a good fighter but he and I had never gotten along. He hated my guts and further despised me when Clyde named me his Beta. The role of a Beta was traditionally meant for the closest person to the new Alpha and conventionally, it was reserved for his male best friend.

"The woman I had elevated to the position of my Beta is conspiring with an enemy pack! Here is the proof!"

He gestured towards a guard who came forward with a tray loaded with various items. On the tray were maps of different types, some knives, and something wrapped in a cloth.

"On these maps are strategy points where our pack territory is weak and the carving marks on the knives belong to Fawnhide Pack, our rivals. The worse of all, she was planning on taking our pack treasure, the Luna rock to them!"

The surprised gasps turned to shouts of anger. The crowd pushed against the barriers, anxious to get through.

"Traitor! Traitor!! Kill the traitor!!!" they cried angrily.

I begged for Clyde to listen to me, screaming but their voices overpowered mine. I was being framed, possibly by Greg and Clyde knew me better than that. I had other opportunities to betray my pack but I hadn't. Why would I do it now that I was about to become Luna?

"I am as hurt as you all are," he resumed, a pained frown marring his handsome face. "But as much as I want to, I cannot kill a child adopted by the pack. She has immunity granted to her by my father and I cannot harm her. However, I reject you, Clarissa Emberdale. You are hereby banished and you are to leave my pack at once. The day you return is the day you die!"

Unholy Alliance CLARISSA The sun had set hours ago but I kept walking with no destination in mind. The pack guards had escorted me to the boundary, wanting to be certain that I was gone for good. No one listened to my explanation.

The Alpha had spoken and his word was law. I was not allowed to take anything out of the pack because according to Clyde, I belonged to the pack, and by implication, I owned nothing.

I had given my time, my youth, and almost my life for Wardwick Pack but when it was time for them to defend my honor, they had rejected me. My fate had been decided even before the mock trial. Having eaten nothing, I stumbled through the dark, dizzy and weak.

The urge to throw up kept hitting the back of my throat and I had to stop now and then to steady myself. Soon, I could no longer see where I was going despite my werewolf abilities.

My mouth was dry and my stomach ached.

Somehow, I made it to the side of the tarred road and lay there, resigned to my fate. I was too tired to go on and death seemed appealing at that moment.

Suddenly, bright headlights came on and shone on me. I blinked weakly, the lights partially blinding me. It was a vehicle for sure and someone was slamming the door shut. "Hey, are you alright?" a heavily bearded man asked me, his voice gruff because of his thick accent. He was old and his grizzly hair was hidden under a ball cap.

He wore a shirt with cut-off sleeves although the night was cold or was it just me who felt the bone-deep cold? "Miss, can you hear me?" he continued asking questions but I could not lift my tongue in response. He pressed the back of his hand against my forehead and it was then I knew he was human. Werewolves and werecats had a double pulse count, one for ourselves and the other for our inner animals. Humans had just one and were more vulnerable because of that. I opened my mouth but no words came out despite the busy activity in my head. "Woah, you are burning up, miss.

How did y- well, you have not been answering any of my questions so why bother asking more? Here's what I am going to do." He explained that he would drive me into the city so

I could get medical attention. He wanted to know if I was okay with that. I grunted as my answer and he took it fairly. With a strength I had not suspected he had, he picked me up, cold fingers behind my neck and knees. "You will be fine," he whispered as he secured me in his truck.

But for the seatbelt, I would have slumped forward, probably banging my head against the seat in front. He didn't know me yet he had come to my rescue.

He kept murmuring under his breath, kind words of reassurance as my eyes spun... If only he had known what I was, he would have left me to die by the roadside. Humans had an unending feud with supernaturals. To keep the peace, the boundary had been created to prevent them from interfering in our communal life and us from trespassing into their lands.

The feud had been revived when the new mayor of Rosedale, Craig Hurdle complained that the werewolf community had more land than the humans. He was making some big plans and I had begun my underground investigation. I had stolen the maps and knives.

Clyde found in my room from the mayor's office after a successful stakeout.

Fawnhide Pack had struck an unholy alliance with them on the condition that they kept their land and ours to themselves.

It was Alpha Ivor of Fawnhide Pack who had pinpointed our territory's weak points because we had done battle with them on countless occasions. The truck jerked, throwing me forward roughly. I groaned, clenching my teeth together.

"Shit. Sorry about that," the old man apologized, slowing the car down to check on my progress. "Damn Mayor ain't doing anything about this bloody road. Too busy dragging land with animals. Bastard," he added, resuming his driving. I winced at his insult, too weak to correct him.

Werewolves were animals first before we were people so he was partially right. However, we were much more than that. We were a close-knit class of people with various gifts and abilities.

My head ached from thinking nonstop so I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I didn't know if I was safe with the human but I decided to put my life in his hands. *** "The doctor will see you now, Miss Clarissa. Try to cooperate with him," the pimple-faced nurse advised, smiling at me with sympathy shining in her eyes. It was early in the morning by the time we got to the city. The old man whose name I had heard from the nurses had driven me to a general hospital. At first, they had assumed Mr Taylor was my father but he immediately rectified their assumption. He had to go home and let his wife know he was fine but he promised to come check on me.

After depositing some money for my treatment, he left me in the hands of the nurses. My head still felt like it was full of wool but I fought to stay alert. Soon, I discovered that coming to the hospital had been a big mistake. I had to distract the nurse from checking my pulse by breaking down into fake tears and pretending to be asleep when they came to ask me some questions. Not like I was not genuinely tired but I had gotten some rest in Mr Taylor's truck. The nurse finally ran a few tests on me and went to fetch the resident doctor. "Is somebody giving the nurses a hard time?" the doctor joked as he slipped into my room. His voice was low but carried enough power to draw my attention. His face was slim and a pair of reading glasses bracketed his narrow nose. He hovered around me, checking my face for signs of strain. "I am fine. I would like to leave," I demanded and my body chose that minute to counter me.

I launched out of bed and ran into the bathroom, emptying my guts into the bowels of the toilet. Clutching the seat hard, I dragged air into my lungs, gasping when it hurt. It was like someone was hacking at my innards. The doctor appeared from nowhere, pulling his glasses off and helping me rinse out my mouth. He bound my hair with a rubber ring and mopped my neck with a warm towel. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw a sick, old woman looking back at me instead of the beautiful bride I had been yesterday. I noticed something else: a pair of golden eyes glowed from behind me.

"Yes, I am a werewolf too, Clarissa but that is between us. Congratulations, you are pregnant."