In front of me stands Timothy Johnston. His father is next to him while mine is next to me. Both Timothy and his father, Duke, have dark brown eyes. Eyes that show nothing but maliciousness; eyes that don't care about who they trample down to get to the top. They have eyes that scare me.

Timothy lifts a hand to run through his curly, black hair. My eyes follow the movement, making sure that hand doesn't come near me. When I look back at Timothy's face, he's wearing a smirk as if he's mocking me. We both know what will happen on my twenty-first birthday which is in less than a week.

Before I turned twelve and couldn't shift, I was treated like a princess. Technically, I was because I'm the daughter of the alpha who's like the king of our territory. So, I had friends and one of those friends was Timothy. Afterall, it's normal for the beta and alpha's child to bond and create a lifelong friendship. They would be partners for life, or until they retire. It was only natural that Timothy and I had been the best of friends.

When I turned sixteen, I learned about the arrangement my father and his beta had made. Because my father and Duke Johnston had always been best friends and because of my shortcomings as an alpha female, they decided that I would marry Timothy to make up for it. It's not something I wanted or currently want because after my failure to shift, Timothy has treated me like I'm nothing but a piece of dog feces on the bottom of his shoe. Him and everybody else.

Now, my father and his father are going over the plan for my birthday. All the while, Timothy is staring at me as if I ran over his pet. To my younger self, I could never understand why he seemed as if he hated me the most. We had been best friends, but it seems that wasn't enough for me to stay in his good graces. My parent's betrayal had been the worst, but Timothy's is a close second.

It hurt to know that someone I considered like a brother could turn on me so fast.

"During the morning of her birthday, Sophia-Grace will be crowned alpha," my father says to Duke, pulling me away from my thoughts. It also allows me to look away from Timothy, though his eyes are still drilling into the side of my head. They cause me to shudder involuntarily.

Duke makes some sort of whistling noise as he winces. "The pack won't be happy," he states, his tone warning.

I watch my father as he straightens his shirt: a blue, plaid button-down. This is the shirt my mother bought him five Christmases ago. It's a bit surprising that it still fits him.

"Yes, well," my father starts, "they'll be happy when we announce that she'll be mating with Timothy the same night. That way he'll surpass her and become alpha while she remains luna. Of course, we'll have Sophia-Grace relinquish her title to him. It's the only ethical way to do this. Let's keep it as by the book as much as possible."

This plan is one that I never understood. Why involve me at all if I'm so repulsive that I don't even live in the pack house anymore? What's the actual point? They could just as easily announce Timothy as the alpha without me having to mate with him. Mates are meant to be sacred, not something to use as some sort of bargaining tool. It's ridiculous and I hate how they're blatantly throwing out werewolf traditions as if they mean nothing. Especially since I've been shunned for ages now because I'm not a traditional wolf.

"Three days from now..." Duke turns to his son. He places a heavy hand on his shoulder, causing Timothy to stumble forward lightly. He's always been a bulky man and I'd hate to be on the receiving end of his punches. "You'll be alpha. I'm so proud of you."

There's nothing Duke should be proud of. Not when they're forcing a teenage girl to mate with one of her tormentors and stripping her of her birthright.

Seeing that the conversation is finished, I start making my way up the stairs. The only reason they're allowing me in the pack house is so everyone can get accustomed to seeing me around. That and apparently I've been living like a savage, so I'm meant to learn how to live among people again. If that makes any sense.

Shaking my head, I open the door to the smallest room in this house. I imagine that this room could be used as a nursery, The walls are bare and only a full sized bed is inside. There's nothing on it but plain, white sheets and a thin, white comforter. The only upside to this room is the window. From it, I'm able to see across the vast field in front of the house. If there's one thing about the Amster territory, it's that it's nice. This is the greenest grass I've ever seen despite the fact that I've never been out of our pack lands. Our land is covered in trees that surround each individual home along with the packhouse. I know that it makes things easier if people trespass. We know these woods, they don't.

My door bursts open, making me jump. Once I'm turned and facing the door, I see Timothy slowly walk in. The same sneer from earlier is on his face. I can't help thinking that if his personality weren't so ugly, he'd actually be handsome. But the only person on my mind is Rory who's been locked away in the cells for almost a day. The only way I can see him is by sneaking down when everyone is asleep.

"What, Timothy?" I ask, placing my eyes to the ground submissively. I've learned my lesson on not looking into the eyes of those above me. A lesson that involved cuts and bruises.

"You hear that, runt?" My eyes are glued to his feet as he steps forward again. "In three days, your pussy is mine."

His words cause my head to snap up. With an agape mouth and wide eyes, I stare at him in sheer distress. He's never said something so vulgar to me before. I'm used to the typical insults he throws my way and the occasional shove or slap. But Timothy Johnston has never once shown any romantic interest in me, not even an ounce of lust. So, hearing these words come from him is a disgusting and terrifying surprise.

"Nothing will be yours!" I snap suddenly and accidentally. Usually, I'm better at reigning my temper in, but what he said disgusts me too much to not speak up.

Timothy takes another menacing step forward. His lips are curled in disgust and his eyes reflect anger. My gaze gets drawn to his fists as he clenches them. That small action lets me know that he's aching to use them on me. Knowing I'm much weaker, much slower, terrifies me. If he actually does attack, I'll be defenceless.

"Wanna say that again, Gracie?" he growls as he takes one final step. We're chest to chest and I know he's looking down at me. I can feel his huffs as if he's a raging bull.

Hearing this old nickname breaks my heart into pieces. This nickname symbolizes a time in my life that I'll never get back. It's a time that I miss dearly, but I know that even with a million apologies, I can never forgive my pack. They did what a pack isn't meant to do; they turned their back on me.

"No," I whisper, shaking my head. It'll just be easier to submit.

"No? Why not? I'd like to hear it again because it sounded like you were denying your alpha." His taunts do nothing for me. If anything, they make me sink into myself more. Timothy believes that he'll get a fight from me, but he won't.

I shake my head once again and step away from him. "No, Timothy. I don't have anything else to say, I'm sorry."

Behind him, I see someone walk past my door. Their curious eyes glance inside before we make eye contact. I watch them scurry away like their ass is on fire. They would have never stopped. They never do.

When I had failed to shift at twelve, the pack had failed to be there for me. Rather than comfort the adolescent who assumed she was defective, they congregated together and against me. It wasn't bad at first with only the occasional side glances and whispering behind my back. It was only when my mother and father began falling apart that things went downhill. Once they started to show an ounce of uncaring for me, the pack took that as the greenlight to forget about me and my feelings. Instead, they took pleasure in their ill attitude towards me.

Timothy sniffs. "That's what I thought, Gracie. You don't want to cross me. I'll be alpha soon and you'll be my luna. Fuck, just imagine the strength and respect I'll receive."

Slowly, my eyes widen in horror. His words are the truth. Once people mate to natural born alphas, they become gifted with the strength of an alpha. That's how all these power couples form, because alphas are naturally strong and their mate only becomes stronger upon mating and marking. If I'm going to be forced to mate with Timothy, he'll receive power that he doesn't deserve. Power to do no good because he's not a good person.

"Don't look so down," Timothy says before he lightly knocks his fist against my chin. "I'll make sure you come at least once, but just know one thing: my needs come first always."

As he turns to walk away, my throat tightens with the formation of my tears and burns with the rise of bile.