Chapter 2

| Lydia Moore | 

Defeated, Lia sits on her bed while her eyes seem to burn holes in the wall. A wall that is covered with posters of different places in the world. Dreams that she had. Dreams that now don't seem to become reality.

Why?

She lets out a frustrated sigh and lets herself fall back on the bed.

Why?

The only thing she can think is that it's not fair. It's not fair at all. Lia doesn't want to go with Alpha Marshall. She wants anything but that. The stories she's heard about the man are scary enough, let alone the few minutes she was alone with him and the impression she got from him then.

Because Lia is so deep in thought, she doesn't hear my mother knocking on the door. 'Lia, darling?' 'Mom,' she mumbles and then presses a pillow against her face, hoping to hide her red eyes from crying.

'Darling,' her mother sighs in a broken voice and walks into the room. She sits down next to Lia on the bed and pulls her daughter tightly against her.

'Dad is doing everything he can, but Alpha Marshall is stubborn,' Lia's mother says softly. 'Why?' Lia manages to say with a trembling voice and her eyes fill with tears again.

'I don't know, Lia, I really don't know.'

'It's so unfair,' Lia sobs and nestles a little closer to her mother, completely absorbed in the arms of the familiar feeling. 'Baby. Everything is going to be okay,' her mother says softly as she runs her hand through Lia's hair.

They spend the minutes that follow in silence. Lia has closed her eyes and fervently hopes that this is a very bad dream that she will wake up from at any moment.

'Eva?'

'I'm upstairs!'

The heavy footsteps of Lia's father echo on the stairs and the small spark that Lia had slowly begins to fade. Lia's father enters silently. His dejected look speaks volumes and none of the women say anything.

'He wants to talk to Lia,' Lia's father says with horror in his eyes as he sits down on the bed next to his wife and daughter.

* * *

With clenched jaws, Lia looks at Alpha Marshall, whose lips are curled into a devilish grin. 'No,' she says then and stubbornly crosses her arms. The Alpha's grin immediately disappears and a cold look returns.

'No?'

'Indeed, no. Do I have to spell it out for you? N-o.' Lia could kick herself for not thinking a little more about how she was going to present this, after all, she's talking to an Alpha. Not friends from primary school that she's known for years.

In one simple movement, Alpha Marshall is out of his chair and has Lia pinned against the wall. 'So disrespectful,' he hisses, disapprovingly, and moves his left hand to her throat. In this way, he manages to hold the woman in front of him with only his right arm.

Lia swallows, but tries not to give Alpha Marshall the satisfaction of showing him her fear. 'So selfish-,' Lia blurts out, but is cut off halfway by a deafening growl.

'Watch what you say Lydia,' he sneers and tightens his grip on her throat, making her head feel lighter and lighter.

'No air,' Lia manages to say and tries to get Alpha Marshall's hands off her throat with her own hands. Her legs start to thrash wildly in the air as Alpha Marshall watches in amusement, '-so?'

'No,' Lia repeats for the last time. Then she feels her eyes grow heavy and close. Darkness surrounds her.

* * *

"Who's that, daddy?"

"Nobody, you go play now and leave me alone."

"Can I play with her?"

"I told you to leave me alone!" the man shouts loudly.

A loud bang resounds, followed by sobs.

Lia opens her eyes in shock and jumps up. Not yet fully recovered, Lia searches in confusion for the cause of the sound. A crying child. However, the only thing Lia sees is a dark room with a bed in the middle.

A bed in which she finds herself.

She quickly climbs out of bed and walks around the room as quietly as possible. Almost automatically, she moves her hand to the doorknob, but before she can turn it herself, the door flies open.

'Follow me.'

With narrowed eyes, Lia looks at the older woman in front of her. Lia tries to ignore the deadly look that is given to her, but she still finds it difficult. 'Madam, hey -wait a minute!' Lia calls after her, but the old woman doesn't listen and continues walking undisturbed.

'Then not,' Lia mumbles irritated. With those words, Lia closes the door to the room again. Lia wants to walk towards the bed to crawl back under the warm covers, until she realizes the following.

The old woman from just now is not in her packLia immediately scans the room with her eyes, and of course; the room does not look familiar to her. To be sure, Lia takes a deep sniff and her suspicions are confirmed; all sorts of different scents, of unknown Wolves, surround her.

Shit.