"Emily, Emily," a voice came from a short distance away.
Standing under a tree, Emily turned to see Dolly running toward her as she dressed. Only a few moments before Emily had been running through the woods with her wolf. It was the first time her wolf had been seen, and she bore the beautiful name of Shirley.
Dolly panted and said to Emily, "They, they're coming to take you back."
"Who?" Emily asked curiously, "To take me back where?"
"The Alpha! He sent for you." Dolly said excitedly, "He must have come to take you back."
"Alpha?" The word echoed in Emily's mind, and it took her a few moments to process it.
"Why did he come for me?" Emily said coldly. "I thought he'd never lay eyes on me."
"But they insisted they're coming to bring you back," Dolly said, her tone turning respectful when mentioning Alpha. "You're Alpha's daughter, after all. You should return to him."
"Does he truly consider me his daughter?" Emily asked with a bitter smile. "I don't even know what he looks like."
Emily held deep resentment against her father, who had never acknowledged her existence. He had sent her to the remote border country from the day she was born, and during that time, he had never visited her.
One day, Emily learned the truth from Mrs. Power, who had been in charge of her care, that her mother had passed away during childbirth on the day of her birth. Believing Emily was the offspring of a cursed mother, her father ordered her to be sent to live in the country the day after her birth.
Soon after, her father married her mother's sister, and her aunt became the new Luna of the tribe. They also had children of their own.
All Emily knew about her father came from others' stories and some online news. She had never received her father's love, nor had she ever desired it. For he had forgotten her already.
"Emily, but this place isn't your home," Dolly persisted. "You're the daughter of the esteemed Alpha, and you have your rightful place."
"Let's go meet them," Dolly pointed across the river. "They're waiting over there."
"Alright," Emily straightened her hair and said, "Let's see what the hell they're up to."
Two black Mercedes-Benzes were parked by the roadside, with a couple of tall, bespectacled alpha males standing guard on each side of the vehicles. In the middle stood a middle-aged woman dressed as a housekeeper.
Dolly escorted Emily to the middle-aged woman and respectfully introduced, "Mrs. Nancy, this is Miss Emily."
"Hello, Miss Emily. I'm Alpha Robert's housekeeper. You can call me Nancy." Nancy acknowledged Emily with a brief nod and a quick, piercing glance.
"Alpha sent me to fetch you," Nancy stated.
"Fetch me where?" Emily asked.
"Home, of course," Nancy said, her smile revealing a trace of disdain. "You're Alpha's daughter, and this place is not your rightful abode."
"Why didn't he come and fetch me himself?" Emily couldn't fathom why her father would remember to take her home after eighteen years of neglect. It seemed absurd.
"He's busy," Nancy replied. "And it's not necessary for Alpha to do it personally."
"But it's a significant matter for me," Emily insisted. "He should have come in person."
Indeed, her father should have come to pick her up. He should have apologized to her face-to-face. Emily would have welcomed hearing his contrition.
"Do not disobey Alpha's wishes," Nancy's expression hardened. "You know the consequences."
"What are you trying to say?" Emily looked up at Nancy with defiance in her eyes.
"Emily, don't be like that," Dolly whispered to Emily. "Maybe Alpha is truly occupied."
"Save your words for when you meet Alpha," Nancy interjected, checking her watch. "Time is ticking. We need to be on our way."
Seeing Emily's hesitation, Nancy gave the Alpha Fighters a sharp glance. Instantly, a couple of towering alpha males encircled Emily, who felt a chill run through her spine.
"What's your game?" Emily scanned her surroundings warily, ready to fight.
"I don't want to have to resort to force," Nancy warned her, "You'd be better off coming with us peacefully."
"You can't treat Alpha's daughter like this," Dolly protested.
"Shut up, you little brat!" Nancy snapped at Dolly. "One more word and I'll give you a taste of my fists."
Nancy's eagerness made Emily suspicious, sensing that there was more to this than met the eye.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Do as I say," Nancy commanded.
One of the alpha warrior lunged to grab Emily, but she wriggled free, leaving him panting. The other warriors blocked her path and punched her in the face, and this time she had no time to dodge.
Blood trickled from Emily's mouth as she struggled to break through the wall of bodies. Just as two more alpha warriors charged at her, ready to strike, Emily prepared to transform into her wolf form for the fight. Then Nancy's voice rang out, warning her.
"If you don't want your friend to die, don't resist."
An alpha warrior had grasped Dolly by the throat, lifting her into the air, her face turning purple from suffocation.
"Release her, I'll come with you."
Emily relented in her defiance to save Dolly.
Nancy held the car door wide open, gesturing for Emily to enter. As Emily climbed in, two alpha males immediately joined her, taking seats on either side and holding her firmly between them.
"Let's hit the road," Nancy instructed the driver.
Emily felt uneasy as the car sped away from her familiar village, heading towards the city. Her wolf Mia growled softly, warning her of the unknown danger.
"Is this truly the path home?" Emily asked, but only her own voice echoed back in the car.
.....
Red Moon Pack
The car drove slowly down the green lane and, within a few minutes, passed through a gate and arrived at a white villa.
The car stopped, the doors opened, and two Alpha warriors escorted Emily out of the vehicle. Nancy stood beside the car and made a call.
"Yes, we're here," Nancy said to the person on the other end of the line. "Should we take her upstairs now?"
Nancy hung up and said to the Alpha warriors, "Take her straight to Alpha's study."
"Let go of me, I'll go on my own," Emily struggled, but the two Alpha warriors clung to her shoulders.
"Let her go on her own," Nancy said. Immediately after, the two Alpha warriors released Emily.
"You'll see Alpha and Luna later," Nancy whispered to Emily. "You'd better behave."
"I don't know what the rules are," Emily hated that they treated her like a prisoner.
"Stop talking nonsense, come with me," Nancy said sternly.
Nancy led Emily into the white villa, where they took an elevator to the third floor and walked down a corridor covered with a thick red carpet. Nancy stopped at the end of the corridor.
Outside the door stood an Alpha in camouflage. After Nancy glanced at him, the heavy wooden door was slowly opened by the Alpha.
At that moment, Emily finally met her father.
She felt that the man before her was not the same man she had seen before on the Internet. The man before her had thinning hair, was slightly stout, and he looked at her as he would have looked at a stranger.
Emily remembers seeing photos of Alpha Robert on the internet when he was on official business, depicting a tall, thick-haired man with a commanding presence.
Maybe it's been too long and he's changed.
Beside Alpha Robert sat a woman with elaborate makeup, dressed in a fancy pink suit, her fingers painted in red nail polish. She looked slender and pale, and though her diamond necklace sparkled, her eyes were extremely cold.
Beside the woman stood a girl around Emily's age, with curly red hair and a silver-and-white lace dress. Her eyes were fixed on Emily, scrutinizing her from head to toe, but she quickly turned her head away with disgust.
Nancy introduced Emily, "These three are Alpha Robert, Luna Katherine, and Miss Gina."
Emily looked at the three before her and remained silent.
"You should greet Alpha and Luna," Nancy said, nudging Emily's shin with the toe of her boot.
Emily almost stumbled forward as she turned her head to stare at the woman.
"Look at her," Katherine frowned. "This girl doesn't even know the most basic etiquette."
"Mom, she smells like a cow," Gina said, deliberately putting her hand to her nose after speaking.
"Your people brought me here like a prisoner, and now you talk to me about etiquette?" Emily sneered. "Maybe you're the ones who don't understand etiquette."
"That's enough." Alpha Robert's voice was deep and commanding.
"Emily, I'm here to make an announcement." Alpha Robert looked at Emily coldly. "You cursed your mother; I should have banished you from the tribe. But I have other plans for you now."
"You're going to marry Alpha Klaus of the Northern Wolf Clan."