CW01
CORA'S POV:-
I was standing in front of the bedroom of the future Alpha of the pack. I knocked a few times but no one answered. Shrugging my shoulders, I stepped into the room. Roden was not in the room. As always, his room looked like someone might have trashed it. I picked up all his clothes off of the floor and threw them in the laundry bucket. Then I cleaned up his room. I was just a slave of the alpha's mansion. My mother brought me to the alpha's mansion when I was only 12. I had no idea why she left me there. I had hardly seen my mother since then. She only came once a week with a bunch of treats she cooked for me.
When I was little, Alpha asked the caretaker, Valentina, to give me small chores. Back then, I only fed the animals alpha's daughter had. As I grew up a little, Valentina asked me to clean up the rooms of Alpha, Roden and Grace, Alpha's daughter. I gasped as a hand covered my mouth. I closed my eyes and I was wrapped in a warm hug again. The same one I always loved. "I thought you wouldn't come to clean up my room today. Where have you been all day? You didn't even go to school." Roden asked me as he rubbed his cheek with mine. I had no idea how he could even look at me when my own mother hardly looked at me.
The Moon Goddess had bound both Roden and me in the mate bond. Roden felt the bond as he had his wolf. I just fell in love with him. Since he was one of the very few people in the pack to treat me well. "Let me go, Roden. You can't sneak in while I'm working and hug me like this. If Alpha finds out, he will send you away." I ignored his questions and whisper yelled at him. He pulled away from me and turned me around. The worried look on my face made him pull me in another big hug. His arms were the best place in the entire world. I felt safe around him. Maybe it was because I also believed that he was my mate.
He pulled away from me after a few minutes. He pinched my chin lightly and guided my eyes towards his. "I am not a child anymore. And he is a werewolf too. Be can understand that a mate bond can never be denied. And if he sends me away this time, I will take you with me. I promise you that. So don't worry about it." He replied to me in a gentle tone. A small smile appeared on my face as I heard him. I nodded my head and rested my head on his shoulder. I couldn't help but think if Alpha would ever agree upon our relationship. I was merely a weak human slave working in alpha's mansion.
After finishing my work, I walked towards Alpha Alvin. It was my eighteenth birthday. And I wished to see my mother. Although Alpha Alvin was a kind wolf, my hands were still sweating because of the nervousness. Despite the fact that I was just a slave, he still got me admitted in the school. I was not bright at all. Because my wolf never woken up. After all these years, I started to think that everyone was right about me. That I was never born with a wolf. It was hard for me. Since childhood, I was bullied because I was different. And when my mother gave me to Alpha as his slave, I was nothing but a laughing stalk for all my classmates.
I didn't take any part in physical activities once I accepted the truth that I was nothing but a human. My mom was not a human. I had never seen her wolf. But she told me that she was a werewolf. About my father, I didn't know who he was or where he was. "Do you have something to say to me, Cora?" Alpha's voice pulled me out of the oceans of my thoughts. I blinked my eyes a few times before I realised why I was actually standing in front of the Alpha.
"I wanted to request you to let me go home to my mother tonight. It's my eighteenth birthday." I asked him in a low and nervous tone.
I knew Alpha wouldn't be mad at me. But I never made any requests like that. I tried to be happy with whatever I had. It was the first time. That's why I was nervous. "So you have turned eighteen today. Did your wolf wake up today by any chance?" Alpha asked me in a low tone. I quickly shook my head.
"No, Alpha. Maybe everyone is right about me. I am not like the others. Maybe I am just a human. Or my wolf would have woken up by now." I replied to Alpha in a low tone. I couldn't hide the sadness in my voice. I felt like everyone would have respected me too if my wolf had woken up. It was never easy for me like the others.
Hearing my response, the alpha nodded his head slowly. "If you are done with all your chores, you may go. I think you deserve to be granted one wish since you hardly made any requests since you came here." Alpha said as pushed one of his hands in his pocket. He pulled a 100 dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to me.
"Here, take this. Buy something for yourself and also for your mother on your way back home. Consider it a present from your Alpha." Alpha added as he placed the hundred dollars bill in my hand. It was actually the first time anyone would have given me money. With a huge smile on my face, I bowed my head in front of the Alpha. I was grateful that he considered me part of his pack. I walked out of the mansion and ran in the direction of my mother's home. It had been years since I last saw that house.
RODEN'S POV:-
I was in my bedroom, staring at the picture I took on my phone. It was Cora's picture. I never had any of her pictures with me. And it was the very first time she agreed to let me take her picture. Her green eyes were so lively. Whenever I felt down, all I had to do was look into her eyes. Her emerald green eyes brought happiness and joy in my life.
I wanted her to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with me. I wanted to take her out. To spend time with her all alone. But then she said that she wanted to celebrate her birthday with her mother.
Although I was a little sad and I didn't want her to go. I didn't stop her either. She never really complained about anything at all. She did whatever she was asked to do. She never once made any requests. I thought it would be unfair to stop her from that one thing she wanted to do. But I promised her a gift for her birthday. I didn't tell her what I was about to give her. I couldn't ruin the surprise. I knew she had been waiting for that moment all her life. I just knew what would make her happy.
A light knock on my bedroom door pulled me out of this dream I wanted to make real. I sighed and crawled out of my bed. I went towards the door and found my annoying sister standing in front of the door. "What's wrong? Why did you have to show your face to me at this hour?" I asked Grace in an annoyed tone. She rolled her eyes as she heard me.
"I was also not dying to come and see your ugly face. Dad has asked me to call you. He is waiting for you in his study. He wants to talk to you about something important." Grace conveyed Dad's message to me and left without even waiting for my response.
It wasn't like I was going to say no or refuse to see my father. I sighed again and stepped out of my bedroom. I went straight to my father's study. I knocked on the door and waited. "Come in." I heard his reply. I opened the door and stepped into the study. He signalled me to come and sit. Nodding my head, I walked towards the chairs and sat down on one of them.
"How have you been, son? How is your training going? It has been a while since I last asked you how you have been." My father asked in a low tone. I was not sure if I was hallucinating or something. But I felt a hit of nervousness in his voice while he was asking me those questions.
I ignored that feeling I had inside my stomach and smiled widely. "Yes, I agree. But I am not blind, dad. I have been noticing you working hard day and night to keep the pack and its people safe. It's alright if you didn't get the chance to ask me how I have been. Because you made sure I am fine." I replied to my father in a low tone. It was true. My father was a hard working man. He never let his guards down. Since the rogue attacks had increased since the past three years, dad had been very busy making sure no one would get hurt. If I couldn't understand his job, how would I ever be able to take his place as his sole heir.
Hearing my response, a wide smile appeared on his face. He nodded his head and looked down on the table. He grabbed something he had in front of him. A piece of card. No! It was a snap. He slid the snap towards me. "I think it is the right time when you start thinking about your future. You can never become an Alpha unless you have your Luna by your side. This is Saliha Garrettson. You know, my friend, Henry Garrettson's only daughter. And our neighbour pack Alpha." Dad said in a serious tone. I picked up the snap and looked at it. Saliha was beautiful but as compared to my Cora, she was nothing.
With an awkward smile on my face, I turned my head back towards my father. I was about to ask him what he was trying to say but he shushed me. "I want you to meet up with her tomorrow and ask her out. Henry and I both want to turn this friendship into a better relationship. Perhaps, a marriage can strengthen our relationship with their pack." Dad's words were like bullets that went through my chest. He never forced his decisions on his children. I just didn't understand why he was suddenly doing something he never did before.
"Dad! What are you talking about? I have found my mate. And I want to be with her. Cora is my mate. And I want to spend my life with her. I know that you have been aware of my feelings towards Cora." I tried to talk to Dad about Cora and I. There was no other woman in this world who I would ever want in my life.
Hearing my response, dad held his index finger on his lips. As if he was asking me to shut my mouth. "This was the first and the last time I am hearing this nonsense. Saliha is coming tomorrow morning. And I want you to be with her. If anyone gets to be your wife and the future Luna of my pack, it will be Saliha. That's the order from your Alpha. Not your father." My father almost yelled at me as I tried to tell him about Cora. Without waiting for my response, he stood up and walked away from me. I was just staring at his back as he left me alone after assigning a punishment for me.
