Klaus
“Since you’re the direct descendants of the Moon Goddess, it shouldn’t be that tough for you to understand the importance of the mating bond,” I started, peeking at Xavier with a fierce gaze. “The Moon Goddess gives us a mate for a reason and I suppose we should respect it.”
Amber’s grip on my hand loosened as I finished my words, probably she didn’t expect me to say that but life doesn’t go according to your expectations.
“You bastard, how dare you to reject my sister? Are you even a man if you back off from your word,” Alex spat at me, his body on the edge of shifting into his wolf. His face got covered with the black furs of his wolf.
“Language, Alex.” My grandfather roared, not accepting my disrespect.
“Damien Nelson,” Xavier snarled. “You can’t raise your voice at my family. Don’t forget your rank.”
Everyone was scared of this fight from the day I declared my intentions of not marrying Amber.
Six years ago :
“It’s not a joke to call your engagement off, Klaus, there will be a war and we can't afford that,” my grandfather shouted at me when I asked him to break my engagement as a birthday gift on my eighteenth birthday.
An inner voice always told me that Amber wasn’t my mate and they were ruining my life by setting me up with someone who wasn’t my mate which turned out to be true when on my eighteenth birthday, Todd couldn't feel anything in Amber's scent. I protested every time but they ignored me saying that I was a kid and didn’t know right or wrong.
Since then, my only hope was my eighteenth birthday when I’ll turn into an adult and take the decisions of my life into my hands. I kinda felt relieved when my grandpa asked for my birthday gift but his response broke my heart.
“Mom, you promised me that if Amber won’t be my mate, you’ll break this preposterous engagement,” I begged my mother whose teary eyes and suppressed lips showed how helpless she was.
My father seized my arms and pulled me away from my mom. “Be a man, Klaus. You aren’t a kid anymore. You’ll thank us when you will give attention to the benefits we’ll be getting from your marriage.”
“But I don’t want anything, I just want to live with my mate happily like everyone else. It’s not a benefit, it’s a curse, Alpha Elbert,” I screeched, retracting my arms back. “You guys are ridiculous and the worst. How can you make a beautiful and sacred marriage a business? Have you ever thought about me? What do I want?”
“Jenny, out,” my father pointed to the door of his office, Jenny obeyed without questioning anything. “Evelyn, get out of my office. Have you forgotten that you can’t enter my office?” He stared at my mom skeptically, making her feel regretful.
My mother threw a pitiful glance at me before stepping towards the door but she ran back to me and pulled me in a hug. “Please, Elbert. He’s our child, don’t behave like a monster to him,” she screamed out in pain. It ached her heart to see me that way but my dad never cared for her or me in that matter.
He yanked her hair and pulled her away from me before slamming her into the door. “Hopefully, you’ll remember this the next time you will crave to call me a monster or disobey me, dear Evelyn.”
Clenching my jaw and fists, I controlled my anger and the urge to slam my father against the wall and punch the shit out of him. I always doubted that he didn’t treat my mother nicely but never in my worst dreams, did I imagine him hitting my mom.
“Let’s have a man-to-man talk, son.” My father walked back to me after throwing my mom out of his office and I offered the scenario my blind eyes and deaf ears.
Leaning into his office chair, he gestured for me to sit next to him. How could my grandfather keep his mouth shut when my dad did that to my mom? My eyes questioned him but they could find only helplessness in his old eyes.
“Mates and love and everything else are just stories made up by some stupid women so men would be afraid and treat them right. The thing that matters is power, if you’ve power, everyone would be scared of you, they’ll obey you, otherwise, no one will respect you,” my dad divulged what ran into his narrow mind.
My grandpa chimed in, “indeed. You’ll understand this when you’ll grow up and see how your status, rank, and power matter more than your mate and stupid love.”
“And mates are just to satisfy your physical needs. You can keep your mate as your mistress and she’ll be grateful to you for keeping her as you’re an Alpha and not everyone is lucky enough to get an Alpha mate,” my cruel dad emphasized the word Alpha to remind me of my status but did that matter when you’re destined to live a life without a mate?.
“Your marriage will bring not only a status to our pack but the dowry, too, and it’ll help us to solve our financial issues.”
“Amber is a beautiful girl, you’ll eventually fall for her. Not all the werewolves get the blessing of having a mate so we don’t know if you have a mate or not and we don’t want to miss this golden chance, now do we?”
They kept blabbering and my mind couldn’t help but wonder if they were my family. How could they do that to me without even feeling guilty for a second? They were just giving me excuses for ruining my life, enlightening me about the fortune that my marriage would bring to our pack.
Banging my hand on my dad’s desk, I got up from my chair, kicking the chair. “You guys are ridiculous and I’ll never disrespect my mate, unlike some Alphas who think that power is everything. Moon Goddess shouldn’t bless such people with a mate, they deserve to die alone,” barking to their faces, I turned my face to leave.
Grabbing the knob, I glanced at my dad. “I’ll marry her, not for you or any ridiculous power but our pack members so they can be saved from war. You know, what’s the worst part? You made the biggest decision of my life without my consent and you aren’t even guilty. I wish I would die anyhow and this forceful marriage would end with me.” Closing the door with a loud thud, I walked away from his office with a broken heart and hope of ever finding my mate and love.
End of flashback.
“You’re alive because of me, Xavier Forbes. Don’t forget how I saved you at the cost of my life,” my grandpa reminded him of the favor he did to Amber’s grandfather decades ago.
Xavier chuckled sarcastically before standing up from the couch. “And you shouldn’t forget how devious you were to get my granddaughter’s hand as a reward for saving my life,” he scoffed, taunting my grandpa. “Unfortunately, I didn’t know how scheming the lower-ranked Alphas could be.”
Rising from his couch, my grandfather looked at him scornfully. “I didn’t force you.”
“Oh,” he sneered. “As if you didn’t know that Forbes are known for keeping their word no matter what. I had already promised to give you whatever you’ll ask for but you were the one who became opportunistic and here we are.”
I kept my mouth shut and peered at my mother and sister’s helpless faces.
“You can’t blame me for whatever happened. It was a mutual decision, Xavier and as you’re the Moon Goddess’s descendants, you should call this wedding and engagement off,” my grandfather suggested, surprising me.
Alex shifted into his wolf completely, followed by Harold. They charged at my grandfather.
“Ladies, out,” roaring, I let Todd take over, shoving Amber’s hand off my arm.
Todd grabbed Alex’s throat and kicked Harold which caused him to thud with a wall and the ground beneath my feet shuddered.
“Leave Alex, Klaus, otherwise, you’ll pay for it. Not just you, your whole pack,” Xavier threatened me which worked in his favor. I couldn’t harm my pack members.
Shifting into my human form back, leaving Alex's neck, I gazed at Xavier. “Why are you doing this? Amber deserves a mate who’ll love her and keep her happy.”
“I know that and that’s the biggest regret of my life to give my word to such a scheming person,” he retorted, looking at my grandfather who had his head lowered. “But being a Forbes brings a burden to your shoulders. You can’t ruin your ancestor’s name by going back on your word.”
“What’s my fault in this?” I asked, reading guilt in his eyes.
“You can reject your mate and the Moon Goddess might give you Amber as your second chance mate or you know the consequences already. A war will be knocking on your doors as soon as you choose the second option,” Xavier avoided looking at me while speaking.