Have a lovely week

Sold

Charity lay on the floor of her room in a crumpled heap, her sobs had long since tailed off to slow dry heaves. She had promised herself years

before that she would never let them see her cry, never let them know of her

pain, as they relished in it, it drove them to greater and greater heights of

cruelty.

Her mother had died when Charity was only 5, leaving her heartbroken father to try and raise her alone, after a few years he had felt that she needed the

love and support of a mother figure and had remarried to a local widow who

had 2 children of her own. At the beginning, her stepmother Aurora was

covert about her hatred toward Charity, only belittling her when her father

was out of earshot, but once her father passed away in her early teens she

was left to suffer the constant cruelty of Aurora and her children

Bartholomew and Rebecca. Treated as nothing more than an unpaid slave

she was beaten and ridiculed until she was a mere broken version of

herself.

The door of her room suddenly swung open hitting the wall with a loud bang, the forbidding silhouette of her stepmother filled the doorway.

sneering at the dried tear stains on her face, Aurora snapped 'get your things

together quickly, and be downstairs ready to leave in 10 minutes'

'Where am I going?' stammered Charity, suddenly fearful, though this life was nothing but humiliation and pain, it was her home, and the thought of

being made to leave filled her with dread.

Aurora looked down at Charity for a few minutes before saying 'after a long LONG search, I've finally managed to find someone who is willing to take you

off my hands, you are to be married, they will be here shortly to collect

you, now move' she ordered as she let a grim smile cross her face as she

looked down at Charity's shocked face before turning on her heel and marching

out of the door.

Charity lay on the floor whimpering, anything that made her stepmother smile with regards to her could never be a good thing. Knowing better

than to keep her stepmother waiting, Charity quickly grabbed the few items

she had and stuffed them in a small split backpack she found under her

bed.

Taking a last look around the small bare room that had been hers, devoid of anything but a bed and a broken set of drawers, she lifted the backpack

onto her shoulders and opened the door making her way downstairs to the front

door where a car stood waited.

Upon stepping outside she noticed her step-siblings staring at her with obvious glee, \'do you know where I\'m going?\' she asked them quietly,

careful not to let her stepmother hear. Rebecca cackled \'oh, you are

going to LOVE your new home\' she grinned sadistically, \'you are going to be

married to the son of the Alpha of the Silver Cross Pack.\' Her grinned

widened as she watched the colour drain from Charity\'s face, she knew, as

did everyone, of the Silver Cross pack, the stories of their violent murders

of those that opposed them were whispered around kingdoms as far as you could

travel. Greatly feared by all and she was being handed to them like a

lamb to slaughter.

Charity looked around as her stepmother emerged from the house, she ran to her \'please mother, please, don\'t send me to the Silver Cross\' she begged,

grabbing hold of Auroras dress in desperation. Aurora\'s disdain was

evident \'unhand me this instant\' she hissed, \'you will go to the Silver

Cross pack, and you will whore yourself out in any way that Prince Aaron

desires, The Alpha has paid a reasonable price for your worthless body and

you will go and do exactly as you are told. They can whore you out to

the pack, slave you, beat you, kill you, whatever, I don\'t care, you will no

longer be my problem now get in the car.\'

Shakily Charity clambered into the car and jumped as the door was slammed behind her. The driver started the engine and made his way down the

driveway away from everything she\'d ever known and toward a future filled

with fear and strangers.

The Pack

\'What do you mean you\'ve married me off!\' he roared, throwing his chair as he pounced to his feet, anger radiating off him in waves. His father

looked up unimpressed, \'I bought you a wife Aaron, yes, she will be here

within the hour, as next in line to be Alpha you need a wife, you know this,

and as you have refused to entertain any of the she-wolves in the pack I had

to look elsewhere for a mate for you.\'

Aaron stood in front of my father\'s desk, chest heaving, trying to reign in his anger before he shifted and disrespected the Alpha. The young

heir stared down at his father, eyes glowering as the Alpha carried on calmly

writing at his desk, \'I won\'t love her father, I do not want her! I want

nothing to do with some reject, so unworthy her own family sells her!\'

His father looked up at his son sternly \'regardless, you will marry her Aaron, or are you refusing the follow the word of your Alpha?\' Aaron

subconsciously stepped back from the table and lowered his eyes to the floor

in submission \'of course, not Alpha\' he muttered angrily. \'Good\'

replied his father gruffly before returning to his papers.

Taking this as his dismissal, Aaron stormed out of the office and down the stairs toward his room. Once inside he roared with anger, rattling the

windows with the sound before smashing his balled-up fists into the walls in

frustration.

His bedroom door opened to reveal Justin, his best friend, and Beta. \'Not a good meeting then?\' inquired Justin with half a grin as he plonked

himself down into the chair by the desk that was still covered with the

school work Aaron had been doing before being summoned to his father\'s

office. Aaron snarled and said \'he\'s only gone and fking got me a

wife! some slag of a girl I\'ve never even met!\' he grabbed a book from the

desk and threw it at the wall in temper.

Justin sighed \'he did warn you, Aaron, you are 22, you need to pick a mate, it is your duty as heir to the pack, he warned that if you didn\'t

hurry up then he would choose for you! The Alphas heir must have a

Luna\' seeing that Aaron wasn\'t calming down he stood up \'come on\'

he cajoled, \'let\'s go for a run, clear your head and prepare you for the

inevitable.\'

Grudgingly Aaron nodded, letting his Wolf out and allowing him to run free would calm his human self down and clear his thoughts

\'Hopefully, I can try and remove myself from this fking awful situation before I am tied to the rejected bride for the rest of my fking life\' he

thought angrily.\'

Once outside, Aaron stripped from his clothes and with a shimmer brought his wolf forward. Tall, muscular with deep black fur, he was a striking

symbol of his species and he knew it. His piercing blue eyes had had

every unattached She Wolf vie for his attention and the comfort of his bed

since his 16th birthday but none had pulled forth the word of \'MATE\', and

nor did he want them too. Aaron growled as he remembered that his bride

would be arriving shortly, he turned, raised his head, and howled before

setting off at speed into the surrounding forest with Justin at his

heels. Through the trees they ran, bounding over fallen logs and

boulders that scattered the forest floor before slowing as they approached

the cliff that signalled the edge of their boundary.

Looking over the edge they could see the narrow winding road that hugged the side of the cliff like a protective mothers arm which snaked its way from

the distant village round to the entrance of the Silver Cross pack\'s

land. In the distance, they could hear the faint sound of a car engine

getting louder as it followed the precarious road to pack territory.

Justin looked toward his future Alpha and nodded as if to say \'we need to

go\', before turning tail and running back into the trees toward the pack

house. Aaron sat for a few seconds longer until he could just make out

the deep silver of the approaching car before following his Beta and racing

back to meet the woman whose life he intended to make miserable until she was

forced to leave him.

The beginning of a new life

Aaron and Justin arrived back at the pack house just in time to revert, redress, and hurry inside before the gleaming dark silver car pulled up in

front of the main doors. Staring out of his bedroom window, Aaron saw

the chauffeur step out smartly and walk around to open the rear door before

stepping back and allowing what could only be described as a beautiful

goddess to emerge from the vehicle.

Aaron\'s eyes raked over this vision before him, her long blonde hair that reached to her waist was tied back in a loose braid while small curls framed

her heart-shaped face. She wore a simple off the shoulder summer dress

that fell to just above her knees and as she turned, her wrist glinted in the

sun as the rays of light caught a thin silver bracelet.

Aaron\'s eyes darkened, he would not be swayed by this pretty face, she was still some bi*ch that had been sold off by her own family! He glowered to

himself, \'is this all I\'m worth, some other family\'s trash?!\' before

stalking toward the door knowing he would be summoned imminently

*************************

Charity stared wide-eyed up at the enormous mansion that towered before her, whilst still trying to take in the magnitude of the pack house she heard

a voice clear in front of her, looking toward the sound she was greeted by the

sight of a middle-aged man dressed in casual jeans and a plain T-shirt that

did nothing to hide the powerful frame beneath it. The man stepped

toward her with his hand outstretched, \'Lady Charity I presume?\' he

inquired whilst looking her straight in the eye. Charity flushed a

subtle pink as she extended her own hand to be shaken, \'its just Charity\'

she murmured smiling shyly, overwhelmed by the confidence and masculinity

that exuded from the man in front of her. \'I am Jared\' the man

replied, smiling down at her, \'I am the Beta for the Silver Cross pack and

am here to welcome you to your new home. I will summon one of the

she-wolves to show you to your quarters where you can unpack before she will

take you to meet our Alpha, Alistair.\' He looked toward the chauffeur

expectantly, a few awkward moments passed before Charity realized he was

waiting for her suitcases, she held up the small backpack, \'this is all I

have with me\' she whispered trying not to make eye contact and see the pity

that she knew would be housed there.

If Jared had been surprised at her admission, he covered it well, smiling down at her, he took her backpack from her hand and gently led her toward the

large oak front doors. Charity snuck a glance at the Beta as she walked

beside him, all the stories she had heard of the infamous Silver Cross, she

had not expected a friendly welcome at the door and was unsure what awaited

her within the building in front of her.

Stepping through the doors it took a moment for her eyes to adjust after the bright afternoon sun. Slowly the grand entrance came into view, to

the left was a sweeping staircase that she presumed led to the packs living

quarters, to the right was a heavy set door which looked like it would lead

down to a lower level, in front was various open doors showing a large dining

room, a sitting room with many comfy sofas and chairs and a small corridor

that she assumed led to the kitchen.

Turning to her right, she discovered Jared was looking at her smiling and she quickly shut her mouth that she suddenly realized had fallen open at the

grandiose laid out in front of her. \'So you like the entrance Lady

Charity?\' he asked with a low chuckle, Charity blushed again, \'It\'s

beautiful\' she stammered, \'it will be an honour to work for you, Beta

Jared.\'

A slightly shocked look crossed Jared\'s face \'work for us?\' he inquired, \'you are here to marry the future heir to the pack lady

Charity?\'

Charity started to panic, worried she had offended the pack\'s Beta \'I\'m sorry Beta\' she stuttered, \'I was informed by my family that I had been

sold to Alpha Alistair and as such, I was to do his bidding, I assumed that

would include the work deemed below those of the pack.\' Jared looked

at Charity curiously for a few seconds before throwing his head back and

laughing, \'oh little one\' he sighed wiping his eyes, \'we are a Pack

family, we do not have servants, bought or otherwise, we all work together to

keep the pack house running., Alpha obviously has his reasons for your

presence but I can guarantee it is not to serve us. You will attend

college with the other pack children, learn our ways, spend time with, and

eventually marry our future Alpha.\'

A knot that she had been unaware of, suddenly unclenched from Charity\'s stomach, could the Beta be telling the truth? was she really not here as a slave?

Before she could work through her train of thought, Jared gave a piercing whistle and a young girl of about 17 rushed down the stairs, her brown hair

flying along behind her as she took the steps two at a time. Skidding

to a halt in front of Jared she bowed her head and said \'Beta, how may I

assist you?\', Jared looked down at the girl smiling, \'Charity, this is

Chloe, she will be your roommate for the time being, Chloe, this is Charity,

a new member of our pack, please show her to your room and help her get

settled. Alpha will request her presence in his office this

afternoon.\'

Chloe bowed her head again, \'yes Beta\' she replied, before taking the rucksack that Jared held forward, grabbing Charity\'s hand and dragging her

toward the stairs talking animatedly. \'I am so excited!\' she bubbled,

\'I haven\'t had a roommate since Sarah found her mate and moved to the mated

quarters!\' dragging her up the stairs, Chloe headed down a corridor to the

right and then through the 4th door on the left. Charity looked around

at the bomb site that was Chloe\'s room, clothes were everywhere including

the spare bed. Chloe unceremoniously gathered them up and threw them

into her already overflowing wardrobe, shouldered it shut, before plonking

herself down on her bed and looking at Charity expectantly.

Settling In

\'Soooooo\' Chloe grinned, \'tell me all about yourself! don\'t leave anything out, I want to know everything!\' she threw herself down on her

elbows and stared at Charity, giving her best, I\'m completely listening to

you, pose.

Charity couldn\'t help but smile, Chloe\'s friendliness was infectious and having spent so many years being beaten and broken she ached for the

friendship that exuded from Chloe as she lay on her bed looking

expectant.

\'There isn\'t much to tell\' replied Charity, lowering herself onto her own bed and gasping at how soft it felt beneath her, \'My mother passed away

when I was five years old, my father tried to raise me alone but felt I

needed a woman\'s input so remarried a few years later, my father passed away

when I was in my early teens leaving me with my stepmother and her children,

she found Alpha Alistair and they agreed to me coming here\'

Charity purposefully glossed over the horror that was her life, having only just met Chloe she didn\'t want to scare her off with her story, especially

as she was the only person to show her friendship in years.

Chloe smiled, \'So are you full werewolf? or half?\' she asked, \'I\'m full\' she boasts before hurriedly saying \'but it doesn\'t matter if you are

half honest!\' Charity eyes dropped, \'i\'m human\' she replied,

suddenly worried that this would be a huge issue. A still silence

followed her words before a shriek filled the room, \'NO WAY!\' Chloe

squealed, \'I\'ve never met a full human before! mum would never let me

anywhere near, cos you know. .\', she tossed her hair over her shoulder and

said in a high pitched scolding voice. \'humans just want to kill us, and all

that jazz.\' Chloe rolled her eyes and then laughed before bouncing off the

bed and hugging Charity tightly, \'this is so awesome, I can\'t believe I got

picked to have the human roommates! I expect you to tell me all about humans

and what you do, where you like to go for fun, and the BOYS! are they dishy?

do you just melt at their gaze? do you have that pull when you find your mate

like us?\'

Charity burst out laughing at the eagerness written all over her new roommates face and held up her hands to calm her down, \'OK!\' she giggled,

\'I promise I\'ll tell you what humans are like, but I guarantee it\'s not

that interesting, I\'m sure living with werewolves is much cooler than us

boring humans, you do fight training and are all super fit and . . you can

turn into wolves . . \' she whispered the last part, suddenly feeling in awe

of the young girl in front of her that she suddenly realised had the ability

to turn into a creature that could rip her apart in the blink of an

eye. Obviously sensing her sudden unease, Chloe smiled soothingly,

\'hey, we do all that, but we don\'t just like attack people! and never our

own pack unless that person does something so terrible it cannot be forgiven,

like I don\'t know, attempt to murder the Alpha, even those that go against

the pack get banished rather than like killed!\'.

Charity blushed, realising her thoughts must have been obvious and was relieved that Chloe didn\'t seem to have taken her hesitancy the wrong way.

\'Thank you for being so nice\' she said looking at Chloe, \'I was really

worried about coming here and being so different to you all that no-one would

want me here.\' she looked down at her hands so that Chloe couldn\'t see the

tears that had suddenly sprung to her eyes. Charity was suddenly

overwhelmed with the realisation that she had literally had no-one for all

these years, and to suddenly have a girl who was so different to her accept

her and befriend her with no qualms at all broke down part of the wall that

she had built around herself all those years ago. Before she knew it,

Charity was sobbing like her heart would break, Chloe gasped and ran to her

bed, throwing her arms around her protectively. \'It\'s OK\' she whispered,

\'you are safe here Charity and I will always have your back, we are roomies,

that means we are best friends . . BESTIES!!\' Charity couldn\'t help

but laugh through her tears at the vehement way Chloe had shouted besties

like she was binding it in a blood ritual or something. \'Besties\' she

replied, \'i\'d really like that\'.

Suddenly the bedroom door crashed open causing both girls to shriek in shock and Chloe to topple backwards into a heap on the floor, arms and legs

flying. Gathering herself up she glanced toward the door and yelled

\'Kimmy! how many times! you are to knock before you come in! I could have

been getting changed!\', a young girl of about 12 years old with long brown

hair tied up in a ponytail, had entered the room looked completely unbothered

by the older girls shouting, \'what?\' she asked, feigning innocence, \'it\'s

not like you\'d have a boy in here is it . . . mateless!\' and then laughed

and dodged out the way as Chloe threw a pillow at her head. \'Get out

little miss can\'t shift before I come over there and make you\' she glowered

and when the young girl didn\'t move, started to walk menacingly toward the

door until the child squealed and ran.

Laughing, Chloe shut the door again, \'sorry about that,\' she said grinning, \'little sisters, can\'t live with them . . yeah, that\'s pretty

much it, you can\'t live with them!\'. Charity smiled, \'she\'s your

sister? that must be such fun, is she your only sibling?\', Chloe smiled and

replied, \'nope, There is Connor, my eldest brother who is 19, he and his

mate Melanie live in the married quarters, then me, my sister Christine who

is 15, then my brother Caleb, 14, and finally Kimmy who is 12, I think my mum

ran out of C names by the time she came along\' she laughed before plopping

herself back down on her bed. Charity just stared at her, imagining how

wonderful life would have been if she had so many siblings with her.

A loud knock startled her from her thoughts, \'come in\' called Chloe and sat up. The door opened to reveal a tall athletically built man with

short rugged black hair and a powerful jawline, he stepped in and said

\'Chloe, Alpha has asked that you take the new girl . . \'his voice trailed

off as his eyes connected with Charity\'s. . .

Charity felt her heart skip and her skin raise in goosebumps as the piercing blue eyes of the stranger met her own, from somewhere deep in her

mind she heard a single word

\'MATE!\'

MATE!

Aaron stood in the doorway holding on to the handle, staring at the vision in front of him, the smell of sandalwood and lilies filled his nostrils,

\'MATE!\' his wolf cried, and he felt the pull of the bond dragging him

toward her like a magnet. \'no\' he thought, \'no no no! I don\'t want a

mate! It can\'t be her! she\'s an unwanted weak human thrown away by her own

family!\' His wolf growled angrily at his thoughts. \'you speak that

way about our mate? this goddess before us? you sully her with these

thoughts?\' he growled

Fighting for control, Aaron dragged his eyes from Charity and continued \'umm, Alpha wants you to take the new girl to his office before dinner time,

I\'d hurry, you know he doesn\'t like to be kept waiting.\' and then turned

on his heel and left without a backward glance.

Charity felt as if her world had just crashed around her at his leaving, what was wrong with her? she didn\'t even know him and it felt like her best

friend had just died!

She was pulled from her thoughts by Chloe\'s hands pulling her off the bed, \'come on!\' she said nervously, \'we have to get to the Alpha\'s quarters

for your meeting, Aaron is right, he doesn\'t take kindly to being made to

wait!\'.

\'Aaron\' Charity thought as she hurriedly followed Chloe through countless corridors and up numerous stairs, as much as she tried to concentrate on the

chatter coming from Chloe, she couldn\'t seem to get the tall rugged man who

had entered their room moments earlier, out of her mind.

******************

Skidding to a stop outside a large wooden door on the 5th floor, Chloe took a moment to smooth her hair and dress, before taking a deep breath and

knocking smartly upon the polished wood.

\'Enter\' came a deep authoritative voice from within, Chloe grabbed the handle and ushered Charity inside ahead of her. \'Alpha,\' she

stuttered bowing her head in respect, \'I have brought the new pack member,

Charity to you as requested.\'

Alpha Alistair glanced up, smiled at the young girl briefly, you could tell he was quite fond of her, \'Thank you, Chloe, would you wait outside until I

have finished my conversation with Charity and then you can show her to the

dining room for dinner.\'

Chloe bowed her head again before backing out of the room and closing the door with a small click. Charity\'s heart was thumping in her chest,

this was the man who owned her, had paid for her life, what did he want with

her other than as a wife for his son?

Alistair looked at the tall quiet girl stood before him, studying her with his piercing blue eyes, finally, he cleared his throat and motioned for

Charity to sit in one of the 2 chairs in front of his grand ornate desk.

\'I hope you are pleased with your current living conditions Lady Charity\'

he said in a low voice that resembled a growl. \'Ye - yes\' stuttered

Charity, not lifting her gaze from her hands that were clasped tightly in her

lap. \'Chloe is really friendly and - and the . . the bed is very

comfortable\' she blurted out lifting her gaze to meet the Alphas eyes before

dropping them again.

Alistair looked at her intently, reading the fear that was radiating from her, \'A damn sight more comfortable than where you came from I will bet\' he

growled, more to himself than to her. Charity snapped her head up in

shock, that he had any notion of her background, she couldn\'t imagine her

aunt had been forthcoming with her treatment. The Alpha, continued to

gaze at Charity with his piercing gaze, that seemed to also hold a hint of .

. she almost thought, sympathy, but that couldn\'t be right, the Silver Cross

Pack were notorious for their ruthlessness, the Alpha would not have sympathy

for some human that was unwanted surely.

\'Child\' Alistair rumbled, \'I have brought you here not just because I wanted too . . \' Charity looked up at him again, scared but also intrigued

as to his reasoning behind buying her, unconsciously she edged forward on her

chair.

Sighing deeply Alistair continued, \'I had heard about a strong young lady who was being treated badly by her family, among a pack, family is sacred,\'

he slammed his hand on the table at the last words, causing Charity to jump

and cower back into her chair, Alistair\'s eyes softened as he saw her

reaction, \'do not be scared child, it is not with you I have anger,\' he

said smiling at her until he saw her body relax a bit. \'Now I had a

choice to make\' he continued, \'one, ignore the information that had reached

me, which is not possible, as I said, family is sacred. Two, visit the

family of said child and teach them, in my own way, the sanctity of family\',

the look in Alistair\'s eyes left no doubt to Charity how that lesson would

be taught. \'this was also not ideal, Human / Wolf relations are already

strained, to have a pack visit a human settlement in . . . anger . . . .

could cause more problems than it solved. So I was left with option

three, make the family an offer they couldn\'t refuse for the young lady and

bring her here. I was also intrigued by you Charity, there is something about

you, that I cannot put my finger on, but I am sure you are meant to be here

with us\'

Charity\'s mouth had fallen open, she gulped and swallowed, trying to hold back the tears that had suddenly sprung to her eyes, before she could say

anything though a smart authoritative knock emanated from the door.

Charity saw the Alpha roll his eyes before calling out \'Enter son.\'

Charity found her mouth falling open for a second time as non-other than the ruggedly handsome frame of Aaron, the man who had come to her room

earlier, entered the office, shutting the door smartly behind him with his

foot.

\'Charity\' intoned Alistair, \'this is my son Aaron, your betrothed\'. Charity just gazed at Aaron, unable to believe that this

was the man she was supposed to marry. Her heart was pounding so loudly

in her chest she was surprised the Werewolves couldn\'t hear it, her skin was

tingling from the electricity that seemed to radiate from him toward

her.

Without looking at her, Aaron gruffly said \'we\'ve met\' before throwing himself into the remaining empty chair in front of his father\'s desk.

Confused, Charity continued to stare at Aaron, who didn\'t seem at all

interested in her and was obviously unhappy with this arrangement.

\'I - I\' she stuttered, unsure of what she was going to say but Alistair cut her off. \'Aaron!\' he roared, making the young man flinch and

Charity squeeze herself into the back of her chair trying to get away from

the sudden powerful explosion that was the Alpha in front of her. \'Look at

Charity, we treat people with respect here, greet her now!\'

Aaron\'s face darkened slightly before he stood from his chair, faced Charity, and extended his hand toward her, \'It\'s a pleasure to meet you

Lady Charity\' he intoned. Charity stood from the chair and took his

hand, \'It is a pleasure to meet . . \' she started to reply before a gasp

escaped her lips from an Electric current that ran up her arm and infused her

body from his touch. Unable to stop herself she raised her gaze to his

and was surprised to see a raw hunger there as his eyes locked on to

hers.

They stood like that for what felt like an eternity before Aaron wrenched his eyes away from her and crossed his arms over his chest, resuming his

sullen angry stance. Looking toward the Alpha, Charity was sure that

she saw a glint of victory in the older man\'s eyes, but as soon as it was

there, it disappeared again.

\'Aaron, you and Charity will need to spend time together to get to know each other\' he growled at his son. As Aaron started to protest,

Alistair held up his hand to silence him, \'Son, Charity knows nothing of our

ways, our values . . or the dangers she could face should she try to leave

the territory unguarded\' he finished, the last sentence seemed to have an

affect on Aaron as anger flashed through his eyes and a growl escaped his

lips. \'Fine, I\'ll show her around\' he replied grudgingly before

storming toward the door. With his hand on the handle, he stiffened

before turning and bowing his head to his father. \'Alpha\' he said

before curtly walking out.

Alistair sighed heavily before calling out \'Chloe?\', the head of the young chatterbox appeared round the door immediately, \'yes Alpha?\' she

breathed, Alistair smiled again and said \'take Charity and get her some

food, make sure she eats plenty!\' he added as he gave Charity another

piercing gaze.

Chloe bowed her head, \'Yes Alpha\' she said before starting to usher Charity out of the door. Charity stopped just before the thresh hold

and turned to Alistair who looked at her with surprise, pulling herself up to

her full height she bowed her head and quietly said, \'Alpha, I thank you for

what you have done for me.\' then she allowed Chloe to continue to

usher her from the room and close the door behind them.

Fighting the feeling

Aaron stormed around his room, he couldn't get her out of his mind! her smell, my god she smelt like heaven! Sandalwood and lilies. He

groaned as the image of her face flashed in front of his eyes, 'WHY!' he

bellowed at the walls before throwing himself on his 4 poster bed, which

immediately made things worse as his mind wandered to the sleek curves

beneath the flowing dress she had been wearing and what he could do to her

between these sheets. His wolf growled intensely, urging him to go find

their mate, claim her for their own.

Shaking his head angrily he pushed his wolf back down, 'no!' he growled, 'we will not force ourselves upon her!', his wolf growled before replying

'you are right, we must win her! she is delightful, we must prove our worth

to her!'. Aaron sighed, that wasn't what he meant but as his wolf had

receded into his mind he didn't feel the need to further clarify his

thoughts.

Standing up again he became aware of the tight bulge within his blue skinny jeans, sighing again, he stripped off his clothes and headed toward his

bathroom for a cold shower. damn that woman! she was already causing

his body to react in a way he didn't want it too!

*************************

Chloe chattered away happily as she led Charity down the maze of staircases toward the foyer before taking a sharp right and pushing open 2 heavy double

doors to reveal a large room with rows of long polished wood tables that each

sat at least 20 people. To the left, there was a dresser that held

piles of plates and cutlery. Chloe walked over to the dresser and

grabbed 2 plates, shoving one into Charity's hands before grabbing 2 knives

and forks and walking over to a buffet-style serving station that had heating

lamps to keep the mound of food available warm.

Charity's eyes went wide, she had never seen such an array or abundance of food in her life! Though her stepmother had not exactly starved her she

was never fed well and had often gone to bed hungry. To see so much

food on offer was overwhelming and she had to fight with herself not to grab

some of everything she saw.

Slowly she picked up the tongs and placed a single small steak on her plate and a few roast potatoes and green beans before starting to turn away.

From behind her, Chloe chuckled, 'nuh-uh!' Chloe scolded, 'Alpha said to make

sure you eat, that is nowhere near enough food!' Charity turned to

Chloe to find her peering at her over the mountain of food on her plate. 'Hold

this' said Chloe forcefully, before snatching Charity's plate and piling it

with everything within reach. 'no-no!' whispered Charity, 'that's too

much food, this needs to feed everyone doesn't it?' Chloe snorted, 'trust me,

this is hardly any amount of food when you see the boys come in, and besides,

there is more food back in that kitchen than you could possibly imagine!',

she shoved Charity's now overflowing plate into her free hand before grabbing

her own, dolloping a last big portion of mash potato on the top and leading

her to one of the large tables that were already filling with other pack

members.

Once seated, Charity tried to remember her etiquette drilled into her by her stepmother and daintily cut the smallest sliver of meat from the bone,

turning her head slightly, she was greeted by the laughing eyes of Chloe,

'you are not on ceremony here' she giggled waving her hands to encompass the

room. Letting her eyes wander, Charity saw everyone just shovelling

food into their mouths, laughing and joking with each other. Some were

already scraping back their chairs to head back to the buffet for a second

helping. Looking down at her plate, she let her hunger win and delved

into the food with gusto while Chloe cheered next to her before joining

in.

20 minutes into their meal with Charity just nodding as Chloe talked, pointing out members and telling her who they were, as she was too busy

fitting as much food in her mouth as possible, the sudden musky smell of

rosewood filled her nostrils drawing her eyes upwards. Stood in front

of her was none other than Aaron, who was staring at her intently as she

ate. Blushing profusely, she quickly swallowed her mouthful and stared

at her plate in embarrassment, wishing a hole would open up and swallow her

whole.

'Well, at least you know how to eat a proper meal' Aaron suddenly said, 'can't stand those girls who eat like a single piece of bacon will kill

them'. Someone from the queue called him and he turned on his heel to

join them before returning a few minutes later with a plate piled double the

size of Chloe's and plonking himself down across from her. Charity

stared, Chloe hadn't been kidding when she said the boys knew how to eat! she

had never seen so much food!

A second male joined them and sat down next to Aaron, he smiled warmly at Charity, 'I'm Justin' he said offering his hand, as she reached forward to

shake it a low growl emanated from Aaron, Justin looked to his right and

rolled his eyes, 'dude! I'm just saying hello!' he scoffed before returning

his gaze to Charity, giving her hand a short shake and letting go. 'I'm

Aaron's Beta' he carried on, then seeing her confused look, 'every Alpha has

a Beta, a second in command and a Gamma, who is third. We support the

Alpha, have his back and kick his a*s when he needs it.' he concluded with a

sly smile toward Aaron who growled again and muttered 'like to see you

try'. The meal carried on with mostly Chloe and Justin carrying the

conversation whilst Charity tried to continue eating despite the constant

feeling of Aaron's eyes boring into her skin.

Suddenly a tall skinny redhead with honey-coloured skin appeared at the table, 'Hey Aaron' she purred whilst draping her arms around his neck,

Charity felt her stomach clench involuntarily and had to suppress the rage

that had rapidly built within her, urging her to jump over the table and rip

the claws off this woman. Aaron visibly stiffened at her touch, 'Hey

Gemma' he replied, his eyes narrowing as he studied Charity, who wondered if

she had not been as smooth covering the unexplained emotions she was

feeling.

Gemma looked between Aaron and Charity and a frown creased her forehead, 'oh! I heard we had a new recruit' she smiled, though her eyes revealed she

was less than thrilled at Charity's arrival. 'This is Charity' replied

Aaron, he then abruptly stood, almost knocking Gemma over, and growled 'c'mon

Justin, we need to train' before grabbing his plate and marching off.

Justin waved at Chloe and Charity, 'see you around new girl' he teased,

causing Charity to blush again. The resulting growl that came from the

doorway had him out of his seat and sprinting after Aaron.

Chloe stood too, 'c'mon Charity' she said, picking up both their trays, 'let's go back to our room, have a bit more girly chat time' before steering

Charity away from the table and out the door whilst depositing their plates

on a small table that was towering with dirty dishes.

Once outside the doors, Chloe gave Charity a sideways glance, raising her eyebrow, 'soooooo, looks like you are stepping on the queen bee's toes already'

she whispered her face alight with mischief. 'What? I haven't . . I'm

not trying . . 'Charity gasped. 'It's OK, no-one likes Gemma anyway,

but watch your back with her, she's been after the Luna spot for years,

everyone knows that she has warned more than one she-wolf away from Aaron,

she is not happy with how much interest he's paying to you' confided

Chloe. Charity gulped, 'but I'm betrothed to Aaron!' she whispered,

fear gripping her heart, why would the Alpha bring her here to marry his son

if Aaron already had a mate? Chloe stopped dead and turned toward her, 'You .

. WHAT!' she almost screamed, causing Charity to jump with fright, before

lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, 'You never said that you were

here as his intended! when were you going to spill that? why didn't Aaron

introduce you as such?' she mused. Charity looked at the floor, 'I

don't think he's very happy about the arrangement, his father brought me

here' she confided sadly, 'please don't tell anyone, I'm not sure if anyone

else is supposed to know!' she asked as she turned pleading eyes to her new

friend. Chloe made a cross across her heart and the scout sign, 'I

swear' she replied solemnly before bursting into excited giggles and grabbed

Charity's hand to drag her toward their room.