INTO THE ALPHA'S GRASP; CLAIMED BY THE LYCAN BEAST

CHAPTER ONE

Anabella's pov

“You sure it's safe for us to be out here. I really don't feel it's right,” I pulsed out, knowing the exact reply I'd get, but I couldn't help the adrenaline of fear that kept coursing through my veins.

“You've asked that too many times today Ann” Theron sighed, his gaze holding me in a trance.

“What’s wrong, Mi amor?” His hands gently rested on my cheek, forcing me not to avert my eyes as I planned to.

“I'm scared, Theron. What if it all goes wrong? What if the pack never accepts me? What if my wolf never awakened? What if you end up rejecting me and not accepting me? I've read that in so many books, Ron, I'm scared.” I breathe out, letting all my thoughts out as my gaze lowered yet again to the floor.

I dunno why I feel like this isn't gonna last that I'd never be mated to Theron. I was a lowlife without a wolf and he was an Alpha.

“None of that would happen, Ann” His hands cuffed my cheek as he forced me to stare at his emerald eyes, which was undoubtedly shining under the moonlight.

“You're my mate, Ann…You're mine to claim and You're my Luna to be…Okay?”

“You're my love…my life, the essence I breathe. No one would ever replace you or come between us, Mi amor” My cheeks heated up as he pulled me closer and claimed my lips.

My hands got entangled in his hair as the warmth of his lips engulfed me.

He broke free staring into my eyes as if I was his most prized trophy and my heart fluttered.

“The sacred grove ceremony is starting now. All participants are advised to move to the courtyard.” An announcement thundered through the manor, snapping us out of our trance.

“I should go,” I muttered, pulling away before I made my way out.

I pull at my sleeves trying to ignore the sickening feeling in my gut. Attending the sacred grove ceremony wasn't the best decision ever. I just had to attend as it was the last chance I possessed of proving I had a wolf .

The cleansing is carried out annually and I even had to convince Theron to make today our mating ceremony.

I might be nuts, but maybe just this time, I will prove to everyone that they are wrong. I will prove to my father, I was to be Luna and not just a last best to my twin Isa.

"And where do you think you are going, young lady?" I bit down on my lips staring at my father and knowing what was to come next after that question.

I was standing at the courtyard gate and why didn't it cross my mind that my father would be standing dusk at the door. He was the Gamma and in charge of the ceremony after all.

"I'm here to attend the ceremony, Father, before my mating ceremony." I bowed my head slightly to show respect.

"For what, Anabella?" I squeezed my eyes shut at his question, clearly knowing what was to come next.

“This is a ceremony for the young to find their wolves and for those that already found theirs. Not for a disgrace like you, whose own wolf deemed unworthy of her presence" my fist tightened on my dress as I tried to force back the clog at the bridge of my throat, threatening to break my resolve.

His words might hurt a bunch, might hit my bull's eye but I wasn't giving him the satisfaction of knowing that.

"Look at your sister Anabella, look at how the moon goddess blessings dwell in her, while you look like a cursed vampire. A disgrace...just like your mother" His words burned down my lungs, especially the last part. My mother was most definitely not a disgrace, she was indeed without a wolf but she sacrificed everything for this pack.

She was a great warrior, the best among the best. But it seems everyone here forgot about that, most especially her mate. Looking up at the good-for-nothing...goddess-forsaken fool, that's unfortunately, my father standing in front of me, I wonder what the moon goddess was thinking, giving my mom a mate like him. A mate that did nothing but ruin her!

My gaze trailed toward the ceremony, just enough to see Isa walking toward the cleansing water, her golden curls cascading down her back. Her pale lavender eyes shimmered beneath long lashes and her flawless skin seemed to glow against the ivory gown that hugged her delicate frame. Her face looked like a perfection and she wasn't even wearing any makeup. The gamma was right about one thing, no stranger would believe we were twins. She was undoubtedly perfect, not me, who kept passing as a flaw.

"There you are. Tell me, do you enjoy adding to my misery? It's your mating ceremony in four hours and you're buzzing around...don't you know that..."

"Good morning Gamma Dion...forgive my manners, I didn't see you there" Hailey choked out, bowing her head slightly, while still giving me one of those stern glances of hers.

"Take her, and the two of you rid me of your presence now," he ordered. Hailey grabbed me by the arm and before I could utter a word, she already dragged me to my door, tossing me into my room.

"You are fucking irresponsible...annoying...aaaarrrrgggghhh!" She yelled out her lungs and I couldn't help but laugh at her frustrated self.

"You know if a stranger walks past, they think you're bullying me." Even I could feel my lips curving into a smirk.

Hailey was a sweet soul, she was the only one who stood by me through thick and thin, long before I met Theron. She was my best friend. Always standing up for me, even when I get belittled or mocked about my wolf.

She wasn’t, and likely never would be, great at controlling her anger or holding back curses—especially when she was frustrated. I used to think no one would understand me, but she does... both she and her wolf, Rhea.

Hailey let out a deep sigh before making her way to the door, clicking it shut and turning in the lock.

"What are you doing?" I arched my brows at her. Instead of replying, she walked up to me and gently handed me her napkin.

"Stop the façade, Ann, you can't fool me” Hailey grunts.

“Cry your heart out, it's just us two now" She muttered.

"I do not wa…"

I heard everything your father said to you, Ann. Every word," Hailey murmured, her voice thick with anger. "I don't know what else others might've said, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to tear their heads off for you. But right now... I can't stand the pain I see in your beautiful eyes, Ann. So cry it out—for me."

I locked eyes with her, and in that moment, the dam I had built inside me shattered. The tears came rushing out, unstoppable, as her words unraveled the walls I had fought so hard to hold up.

"I do so much for them, Hailey. I want to be perfect too, like Isa. I'm trying—really trying—but why does he never see my effort?" My voice cracked, the weight in my chest unbearable. "Even the Moon Goddess seems to hate me. I'm scared, Hailey... What if they never accept me? What if I become an even more pathetic Luna?" I broke down, unable to hold it in any longer. Hailey’s arms wrapped tightly around me, pulling me into his embrace as I cried my heart out.

Suddenly, she pulled her napkin away from my grip and slowly wiped away my tears. She handed it over to me,afterwards and I immediately wrapped it around my nose, blowing it hard into it.

"My napkin!" Hailey's voice pierced through the room and I almost choked out laughter, at her scrunched facial expression. it was her favorite napkin after all.

"I'm so going to get you for that, Ann" I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore.

“There is that lovely smile of yours” She gushed and I felt my cheek heat up, embarrassed.

"Now your highness, let's get you ready for your mating ceremony" She pulled me up to my feet and led me to the chair and I gave her a cute smile, to go ahead and make this ugly face of mine, beautiful.

-----------------------------------

The crowd began to gather around the ceremonial circle at the pack ground as I approached slowly, trying to blend into the sea of bodies.

My mating ceremony was in full swing already. The day…the moment I've been waiting for. I'd finally be mated to my mate.

Rumours kept flying and I couldn't care less right now, not until I heard his voice amidst the voices. Elder Kieran, Theron's father.

"I still can’t believe he’s choosing her. She has no wolf. He should have picked her sister instead, not her sorry self."

His voice was low, but I caught every word, like they were carved straight into my chest.

Tears threatened again, but I swallowed them down. I stood straighter, lifted my chin, and kept walking. This was my moment. The one I’d earned through every bruise, every insult, every lonely night spent wishing I’d been born different.

I locked eyes with Theron as he stepped onto the stage, with a smile. His expression didn’t falter, not even when I joined him, his smile only grew wider.

His fingers reached for mine as my heart fluttered despite everything. Maybe this was it…maybe all the pain was finally worth something.

Theron's gaze met mine, as he stared into my eyes and I almost jumped with joy.

“I Theron Sinclair, Alpha of the Knighthood pack, hereby ac…” Theron's voice suddenly hung in his throat as he stood frozen as if he saw something, and then, slowly he dropped to his knees completely still and collapsed.

One second, he was standing tall beside me. The next, his body convulsed violently, like he was being torn apart from the inside.

The screams around us blurred into one loud, panicked roar. I dropped to my knees, reaching for him, but I was pulled back even before I could. I looked up to see who it was, it was my father. He gave me one last look before tossing me away.

"He’s seizing!" Someone yelled.

"Don’t let her near him!" Elder Keiran snapped.

My world spun. My mate…my Theron was dying, and I wasn’t even allowed to hold his hand.

Suddenly, the healer pushed past me, kneeling beside him, her hands glowing faintly as she whispered spells I didn’t recognize.

Her eyes widened. "This isn’t natural," she breathed. "This…He is cursed."

"What does he need?" Someone asked.

The healer stood, trembling. "The Lycan King. He’s the only one powerful enough to break this. No one else can save him now."

Shock rippled through the pack. The Lycan King was a myth to most, a core not to reckon with, but not to me.

I touched the pendant around my neck, a jagged wolf fang, stained in blood that had long dried but never faded. I’d carried it for seven years. Proof that I’d once stood before the Lycan King and ran away alive.

"I’ll find him," I said aloud, stepping forward.

Gazes shifted to mine and the disdain, mockery and doubt in them, was all i expected

"You?" someone barked. "You can’t even shift!"

"She’s delusional," another muttered. "Just like her mother was."

I didn’t flinch. Let them mock me. Let them doubt. They always had.

But I knew the truth.

Gaston might be proclaimed as ruthless but he was my knight in shining armor. He once saved me without knowing who I was. This time, I’d find him, make him help and forgive me. I'd save Theron, even if it meant losing everything else along the way.

My grip tightened on the chain as I turned and ran out of the pack, my mind set for one mission. Get to the Crimson Hood pack and find Gaston.

Soon, I was outside the pack’s borders, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I pushed my body beyond its limits. Not even the guards tried to stop me as I fled into the woods, my feet pounding against the ground, my limbs burning with each step. I could feel the weight of exhaustion creeping up on me.

If only I had my wolf, things would have been easier.

Faster.

My heart ached at the thought. But without her, I was losing strength, my vision starting to blur with every passing moment.

Then, out of nowhere, my foot snagged on a piece of wood.

I stumbled, falling hard onto the cold ground. The impact jolted my head into a stone, and pain shot through my skull. A weak, desperate whimper escaped me, the sound of it raw and full of fear for my life.

‘I can’t stop…’

I screamed the words in my mind, trying to push back the fog clouding my thoughts.

‘Theron needs my help.’

I forced my hands into the earth, my fingers digging into the dirt as I dragged my battered body upward, one agonizing inch at a time.

Suddenly I felt a towering presence over me. I managed to lift my eyes, and they met those pairs of the most beautiful ocean-blue eyes I had ever seen. They were piercing, filled with a power that both startled and calmed me. It was as if I had looked into the depths of the ocean itself.

“G… Gas…ton,” I breathed, my voice barely more than a whisper, but it was all I could manage.

Without a word, he bent down, his strong arms wrapping around me with ease, lifting me effortlessly from the ground. His touch was steady, his presence overwhelming, yet strangely comforting.

“Rest now,” his deep voice echoed in my mind, soothing and commanding all at once.

And in an instant, the world around me faded, slipping into darkness as consciousness abandoned me.