Isolde POV

Being a latent sucked. 

Getting rejected for being a latent sucked even more. 

That was the case for me three days ago when I found my mate, Trey Blackwood, the alpha of the Raven pack. 

He was allied with my father and had come to the pack for a meeting. 

I happened to run into him, and when our eyes met, I knew he was mine. 

I had been dreaming of this day to come, for my mate to take me away from this hell of a home. 

But instead, he looked at me like I was filth and didn't hesitate to reject me, shattering my hopes and heart simultaneously. 

I've been recuperating in my room since that day. 

But all of a sudden, my father asked to see me, and I knew it wasn't for anything good. 

I reached the front of my dad's office, where I met his personal bodyguard, Silver. 

He was a bulky man with a face full of beard and an ugly scar. 

I had never heard him say a word, and it wasn't because he was deaf; he just didn't like talking. 

He was my favorite person in the pack since he was the only one who didn't look at me like I was filth. 

"Is he in?" I asked Silver, and he gave me a complicated nod—a familiar gesture that told me my father had a visitor. No, a whore. 

I shook my head disappointedly. As I opened the door, the sound of moaning hit my ears, and I frowned. 

My father, Peter Coleman, was making out aggressively with a female--one I hadn't seen before. 

It was a new one every day. 

"Alright, enough of that," I said, interrupting them. 

My dad clearly didn't appreciate the intrusion, judging by his frown. 

The lady got off him, straightened her clothes, and turned toward me. 

I recognized her right away.

She was the new healer of the pack, Nancy. 

The female my father had brought in to take my position as the pack healer, even though her healing ability couldn't compare to mine. 

I knew it had hurt his pride to rely on me to heal his injury dealt by a rogue who had tried to kill him. 

He couldn't accept relying on a latent, so he found another healer—another whore. No surprise there. 

"Rude of you to interrupt," Nancy said with a sneer. "You should have just waited till we were done." 

I blinked slowly giving her a disregarding look. "Seriously, men your age can't satisfy you anymore, so you're going after dinosaurs now?" 

"Who the hell are you calling a dinosaur?" my dad chipped in. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant Grandpa," I corrected. 

"You crazy b*tch, how dare a latent be rude to the alpha?"

I lazily tilted my head. "It's exactly because I'm a latent that I dare be rude. I simply do not care."

Nancy didn't seem to like the reply, and she drew close, entering my personal space in an attempt to intimidate me. 

Way too close for my wolf, who flexed her claws. 

"Back off. You're making my wolf feisty," I warned, and she scoffed. 

"Do you even have a wolf? I bet you're just faking it."

Oh, I do have a wolf, and she was pricking at me to let her out so she could rip the b*tch's throat. 

But even though I wanted to, I couldn't. 

So I sated her by showing that I wasn't to be messed with. 

I abruptly moved my head as if taking a bow and struck her on the nose. 

Nancy winced in pain, clutching her nose, and staggered backward. 

With tears coming out of her eyes, she glared at me, her neck corded. 

"You… ah… I'll kill you!" she threatened, but I shrugged. 

I did warn her. 

"Quit whining. You're supposed to be a healer. No need to sulk over an injury this small."

Nancy limbered up her shoulder, and I could sense she was ready to lunge at me, but my father interrupted. 

"That's enough. Leave my office now!" 

Nancy gritted her teeth, unwilling, but she obeyed regardless. Bummer. 

"You'll pay for this," she said and left the room, leaving me alone with Peter. 

He stared at me, not saying a word, and I frowned. 

If he was going to yap about me getting rejected, then I'd rather just leave. 

I was in enough pain about the situation as it was.

"So what's this about? I doubt you'd ask to see me for a staring contest." 

Peter sighed heavily and pressed his lips into a tight grimace. 

"I think it's about time you leave my pack no?"

"Wow…" I drew out.

Not that I was surprised. 

He had made it clear I was unwanted. 

I mean, the first word he said to me when he found out I was latent was "Useless." which doesn't exactly translate to "you're needed and loved."

Also, he had already gotten someone else to replace me so it wasn't all that shocking, but I had a feeling what was coming next would be far worse.

"Have any idea who Tao Beaumont is?" he asked, and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

'Tao Beaumont?'

I've heard things about him, alright. Certainly not good things. 

He was an alpha werewolf who was to take his father's position as the alpha of the Sunless pack with a habit of torturing females for the fun of it.

I saw him during the General Pack Meeting hosted three days ago. 

Weird guy with a fake smile. Gave me an eerie vibe.

He was definitely someone I steer clear of. And it bothered me that Peter mentioned him.

Something wasn't right.

"When he came for the pack meeting, he saw you, and strangely, he quite liked what he saw," Peter said, giving me a look that made me uneasy. 

I furrowed my brow, trying to figure out where he was going with this. 

Then it hit me, and my eyes widened:

"There's no way."

Peter continued:

"Tao has made an offer to take you as a mate for an alliance. And as your alpha, I have accepted the proposal."