CHAPTER 2: SECOND CHANCE MATE!

Thalia's POV

My father wanted me to die.

There was no other explanation. Of all the Lords and Alphas, how could he sell me to Alpha Ryker?

Did it have to be him?

I started pacing the room as my shock slowly turned into fear so deep goosebumps appeared all over my skin.

Alpha Ryker Ashenwood was the King of Darkfire pack and the supreme ruler of all werewolves. Fearful whispers of his ruthless deeds ran rampant through the pack, and I heard them all.

He killed at whim and fed his slaves to rogues.

I have even heard stories of how every woman he slept with became addicted to him like a drug till it slowly killed them.

And it did, for there were rumors of him killing his women after getting tired of them.

Alpha Ryker was a monster. Everyone knew that.

I could never survive him.

I stopped pacing as an idea came to my mind. I had to speak to my father. He had to change his mind. I was his only child. He couldn't gamble with my life like this.

My father was not always like this. He loved and cherished me.

Yes, I was an omega but he believed my pure silver wolf was special. He was certain that it had divine qualities related to the moon goddess.

He thought it would always surface when we all needed it the most.

But when my mother got brutally murdered, and my wolf didn't surface, his feelings toward me changed.

I became nothing but a burden to him.

But he was still my father. That love he had for me must be somewhere within him. I had to speak to him.

I made a beeline for the door but it flew right open before my eyes, causing my feet to stop.

"Good evening, Thalia," Aisha and Sandy chorused as they stood fiercely by the door.

"I need to speak with my father," I said but the two women in front of me didn't move. "Aisha, I need to—"

"Save your energy, princess. The Alpha has instructed that you take a shower and prepare for your new owner to come to take you away," Aisha said in a stern voice.

"And you can only leave this room after we have dressed you up," Sandy finished for her.

I couldn't move past them even if I wanted to. They were much stronger and their loyalty to my father was like a curse. I could only do as they wanted and then I would get my freedom.

"Okay," I mumbled.

I stripped out of my clothes and scurried to the bathroom. My heart was drumming and my head was constantly ringing. I refused to think as I scrubbed myself clean.

In record time, I stepped out of the shower and Sandy offered me a bathrobe.

Wrapping it around my body, I made my way to the vanity chair. I sat down and allowed the two women to apply makeup on my face and fix my hair.

Once that was ready, a white dress swayed in front of me and Aisha helped me get into it. If this was a different situation, I would have thought the dress to be beautiful but I couldn't bring myself to admire anything.

Everything looked bland and dull. Life lost its colour when death was knocking.

"You may go speak to your father now," Sandy said, offering me a small smile.

I knew they were just doing their job but sometimes they did more than they were instructed. But I didn't blame them —who would be nice to a common Omega like me?

"Thank you," I muttered as I burst out of the room. Despite the restrictions of the tight fitted flowy dress, I made it to my father's office in one piece.

"Father, please you have to reconsider!" I said the moment I got in.

His eyes left the papers he had been staring at and met mine. There were no emotions in them. Not even remorse for what he was about to do and I knew then that I was doomed. There was no saving me.

He let out a sigh as if the very sight of me was a burden too large for him to bear. "Thalia, I have told you before, Ryker is the best thing that can happen to you."

"But father, he will kill me..." I cried out as the tears resumed their assault on my face.

"Maybe he will. But your survival can be prolonged if you surrender yourself to him —all he wants is an heir. Give it to him and you will live," my father said.

I felt another thunderclap explode in my chest. Alpha Ryker was going to be the first man I have ever been with.

Blood drained from my body and my legs slowly retreated out of the room. There was no point talking to my father. He had already made up his mind.

"If it makes you feel any better, Alpha Ryker just sent word that he will not get here tonight anymore. He will be here in the morning," My father's voice reached my ears, torturing my soul.

I couldn't control my tears anymore. They flowed out of me in buckets before I got to my room. I curled on the bed as my head calculated the outcome I was going to have with a man like Ryker.

I couldn't let him take me.

****

The moment the first rays of light passed through my window, I got off my bed and moved to my door. They all thought I was so weak, I couldn't save myself, but they were wrong.

I would not sit here and wait for the most ruthless Alpha in all the lands to take me away!

I held the edge of the white gown and ripped it open on the side, to give my legs easy access to move.

Gently, I cracked my door open and just like I thought, no one was guarding it. I watched the corridor closely and as soon as the coast was clear, I stepped out and started walking to the back exit.

I didn't run, but I didn't move slowly either.

It was still too early. The sun was just peeking through the sky. I would be long gone by the time my father sent Aisha and Sandy to help me prepare for my death.

Luckily for me, the maids in the kitchen were too busy to pay me any attention. I slipped past them and got out.

As soon as I stepped out, I took a deep breath and let my body give in to the transformation as my wolf took control. My bones popped as they rearranged into my wolf. Then I broke into a run.

The tree lines were just a couple of yards away from my house, all I had to do was get into the forest and make it to the next town. Adrenaline coursed through me and my legs moved faster than I had ever pushed my body before. Soon enough, I was in the forest.

The cheerful chirping of the birds and crickets welcomed me and I smiled because I thought I was going to make it. Almost thirty minutes into the forest, I heard the sound of the royal trumpet announcing someone's arrival.

Alpha Ryker was here.

The realization made me break concentration and my right limb hit a lying log at a dangerous angle.

My wolf got launched forward and I toppled over at the force.

The loose bun on my head fell, letting my blonde hair cascade down my back. My silver fur was now filled with dirt from the forest floor but I was less concerned with that.

Suddenly, the forest fell silent and the cheerful chirping of the birds and crickets ceased. Then, a deafening howl pierced through the thick silence and soon, I could feel the earth thundering beneath me.

I could feel evil approaching. My father didn't just send his guards after me. Someone else was coming, someone evil. A formidable presence that could tear me apart in seconds —Ryker himself.

I had to keep moving.

I struggled to my limbs, ignoring the pain in my right ankle. I continued running.

"Thalia..."

My name resonated in the forest and my heart stopped. He was close.

I could feel his dark presence around me and there was no way I could outrun him. But I refused to give up just like that.

I pushed my lungs to their limit. My wolf was whining in defeat but I refused to listen to it.

"I have to survive," I whispered harshly to myself.

I tried to run even faster, but my limbs were starting to feel heavy, weighed down by exhaustion and fear.

Only two sounds filled my ears —my pounding heart, and his dreadful paws closing in as he charged his way towards me at a speed only an Alpha could muster. My vision became blurry and panic grew within me. He was unstoppable, like a vicious predator hunting down its prey.

I dodged trees and leaped over fallen logs, trying to put some distance between us. But a step from me was twenty of his.

I had no chance.

The air suddenly got knocked out of my lungs and once again my body flew into the air. I thought I had tumbled again but my wolf was pushed against a tree with such power, I was forced to change into my human form.

Ryker caught me.

"Thalia..." He breathed down on my face but I refused to look at him. My eyes squeezed shut as my body trembled with fear.

His large arm was on my neck pinning me against the tree trunk. I had nowhere else to run.

"Hmmm," He mumbled, and I felt a finger brush a portion of my tattered hair away from my face. "I am going to have so much fun killing you..."

A gasp escaped my lips at his words and then I made the mistake of opening my eyes.

My breath —the little he still allowed down my throat —got caught as our eyes met.

His azure eyes drew me into him. Tingles sizzled around us and my wolf surfaced. The fear I felt a second ago was gone and the bond forming between us brought a feeling of safety instead.

My eyes almost popped as I realised I was also looking at his wolf.

He was my second chance mate!