THE WORLD BEGAN to spin out of control, the mind of the youthful woman faltering beneath the words that echoed against her ears. Her tongue tied in metaphoric knots as the men before her conversed, their statements seizing the delicate heart that rested in Dakota's chest.

Her father had shielded her from thousands of men, and a million dangers. His appearance seemingly intimidating amongst those who ventured near or even relatively lingered. But something made this man different, something had put a spark of fear in her father's heart.

Settled in the living room, Dakota felt small, almost nonexistent to the company of the two men. Their singular attention focused on one another, rather than the woman it was over. Dakota's gaze nonchalantly watched the Alpha, who deemed it necessary to sit across from her on a wooden coffee table; her father graciously made.

"Dakota," The Alpha of Norma Mountain whispered, his haunting grey eyes drifting from her fathers' emotionless features to settle on the brunette. "I assume you know the fundamentals of the tradition?" He asked with that gravely tone, his eyes examining her features once more before he turned to look at Ben.

Ben, the father of both the girls seemed rather hesitant as he sat on the couch beside Dakota, his hands shaking within one another with a fit of nervousness. A look of angst laid hidden against the mask he wore, the muscles beneath his skin tensed with alarm. The man held a distant look in his eyes, one that seemed so foreign on a man of pride. "No, I haven't told her anything about it."

Dakota pulled her attention away from her father glancing toward the Alpha, her eyebrow-raising in a questioning mannerism. "If it has anything to do with you, I will happily decline the invite to this tradition." She murmured, her warmed breath gifting the atmosphere around them with an building tension.

The Alpha simply smirked in response to her chosen words, pleased with the feisty behavior of the young woman. "You can't decline the tradition, or hide away from your fate such as you are now. The tradition will involve me, and it will also involve a handful of Alphas and a couple rogue leaders. You are the firstborn shifting female in three hundred years, this isn't just a tradition, but a right of passage."

Dakota almost snickered beneath the man's words, her lips lifting in a smile of disbelief. "A right of passage? Are you Shakespearean now? I can decline what I want when I want, and a bastard like you-" Dakota began, her statement cut off by a sudden slap to her cheek.

The action was unseen, the movement alone brisk without hesitation. It was almost as if the wind itself had slapped her across the face, claiming her stinging cheek as it's target. "You will not speak to me in such a way," The Alpha began, his hand being the culprit of such a malicious attack. "Don't make me hit you again, darling?" He whispered, his hand reaching outward to brush a strand of brown hair away from her face.

Dakota seemed to freeze, her eyes widening with an visible bewilderment. Without hesitation the woman pushed his hand away, her teeth bared beneath her lips. Had he struck her? And on what accord? A simple movement of her tongue.

What surprised her the most was the silence of her father, his voice unheard through contact. "Are you not going to do anything?" Dakota voiced, ignoring the statement of the Alpha, her head snapping toward her father.

The Alpha couldn't resist the smirk that danced onto his lips, his hand pulling back toward his bent knees. The man appeared happy with her question, his masculine figure seeming to glow in appreciation.

Ben focused on Dakota, his gaze flickering back toward the man who occupied the coffee table. "Don't speak back, Kota. It is a simple rule, one I should've taught you long ago," He voiced slowly, glancing back toward the Dakota. "Please listen to what he has to say." He added briskly, taking the constricted gaze of the Alpha in with an understanding twist of his tongue.

"Ben, would you mind packing Dakota's things for her? I'm sure she will appreciate the help, maybe even have your youngest help?" The Alpha mused with a sickening smile, his grey gaze drawn toward a silenced Dakota as her father obediently moved from the couch.

There were so many things storming through her mind, from the affairs of her burning cheek, to the actions of her father. But there was only one she was willing to ask, one that she yearned to know. "What have you done to him?" She asked with a demanding seethe, ignoring the stinging pain that rested against her cheek.

The Alpha shifted forward toward the brunette, his knees held inches away from her own. "I haven't done a thing," He admitted, his hands reaching upward to absently run through his black hair. "Other than threatening him with the death of his youngest daughter. That may have done it, no? Now, shall we finish our talk about the tradition?"

Dakota couldn't move, her eyebrows knitting against one another as she listened to him. It was almost comical, those words that left his lips. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to speak, for the shock that ran through her veins overpowered the stinging of her skin. The man was a monster, one that was far more malevolent than those beneath her bed.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Dakota whispered under her breath, her dainty figure moving deeper into the couch in an effort to escape the contact of the man.

"Because you are rightfully mine, by birthright, my dear."

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A/N: I apologize for the long wait, I had the biggest writer's block!

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I for one enjoyed writing it.