The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger by Ejiofor Dorcas

Chapter 2: The Gala from hell

Lyla

I stood at the foot of the grand stone steps, my heart hammering against my ribs. The pack house loomed over me like a fortress, its cold walls whispering memories of a life I had been cast off from.

I couldn’t believe three years had passed since that fateful night when my parents had sent me away in the dead of the night. I had felt like a thief, banished without explanation or warning and nothing but a thousand dollars, clutching a single bag that was my clothes forcing me to vow never to return.

But now I was back. I swallowed the knot in my throat, steeling myself. I didn’t want to come, but my father’s command was not a request. The annual werewolf gala was tonight and I was to attend. I had no choice.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the heavy oak door, and the rush of familiar scent filled my lungs, bringing with it a flood of childhood memories both painful and good.

I had barely closed the door when my mother’s voice reached me.

“You’re late,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing as she took in my appearance. Her sharp eyes flicked over me as if she was inspecting something unpleasant on the bottom of her shoe. Beside her, my sister, Clarissa, gazed at me with a look that was somewhere between pity and disdain.

“I see you still haven’t learned to control yourself during your heat,” Clarissa scoffed. “Father, it’s not a good idea for her to go like this. She reeks…”.

“You think if we had a choice, I would have driven four hours to go and get her,” My father hissed “The invitation had stated that every family must send a representative that is 18 and above and ripe for mating. I had no choice. She was never an option, to begin with.”

I flinched, “I’m sorry,” I began but my mother cut me off with a sharp gesture.

“Save it,” she snapped “We’ve been doing so well without you and we want it to remain that way. Just remember, you’re here because we had no other choice. Don’t disgrace us today. If you cause a scene, or so much as draw unwanted attention… we will remove your name from the family register and disown you. Do you understand?”

my throat was too tight to speak. The last remnants of any affection my family had for me had vanished a long time ago buried under shame and disgust. I had never been enough for them,

“I understand,” I whispered.

sister “Give her one of your wigs too. It’s enough that

Mom,” Clarissa nodded and indicated that

tears behind my eyes but refusing to let them fall. I followed Clarissa, my hands trembling as

one of the pack warriors dropped me off in front of the grand ballroom, my father had

and pure werewolf dominance filled the air as I reached the

a

betrayed me again and my pheromones spilled into the air announcing

turned, their noses wrinkled in

“Is she… in heat?”

locked up and not here. Or is she trying to snag a

I just ignore them… everything will be fine. But then, a sharp voice cut through the murmurs and I saw Cassidy Thorne

didn’t realize they let mutts attend this year,” Cassidy drawled loud enough for everyone to hear. Cassidy Thorne – was the epitome of werewolf beauty and elegance. Everyone dreamed their daughters would be like her… there was a time when I wanted to be her so badly. “I

look away and moved to a quiet corner of the room, my hands shaking. I hated how

back tears when I felt a strange prickling sensation at the back of my neck.

He had amber eyes, that were sharp and piercing like molten gold. He was devastatingly handsome, with chiselled features and an air of quiet strength…but more than that, there was something in his

and all I could see was him. There was something about his eyes that held

Who was he?

Darius standing in front of me, his lips twisted into a sly grin. He has taunted me since I was a