PIPER POV

I snapped my eyes open from a bad dream. I sat upright right on my bed and was breathing fast. The dream wasn't like the other dreams I used to have. This was different. This was terrible. I couldn't imagine what this meant again.

I saw myself being auctioned. I didn't know how I got there, but I saw myself there. This was scary because whenever I had dreams like this, they always came to pass. I didn't know what was about to fall upon me, but one thing was clear: I needed to be prepared.

No one knew that I had dreams like this one. No one knew about it. This was something I kept to myself. The only one who had an idea was my favorite maid, Elsa. She was the only one who knew me so well.

Right on time, there was a knock on the door. I had to sit upright, not wanting any of the maids to know that I was in a bad mood. Dad had already instructed them to keep a close eye on me. He wanted everything I did to be reported to him.

"Come in."

The door was opened, and Elsa and another maid walked inside. They both held something. Since no one knew that I was so close to Elsa, I had to act like a boss since she was with someone else.

"Why did you two have to wake me up?" I snapped at them. This is what I did to make them feel scared. This wasn't who I was, but Dad had made it compulsory that I turned this way. He wanted me to be respected, according to him.

He said if I was being too friendly with them, they might use the opportunity to hurt me. That's something I didn't believe, but then, since he had warned me never to be friendly with the maids or even the guards, I'd decided to pretend to be mean.

Yeah, that's the story of my life. I'm labeled as the spoilt brat. They all see me as a spoilt brat. I hated that name so much, but I didn't have a choice. I had to keep the act going until I saw it fit for me to leave this pack. It was so tiring staying here with all the maids treating me like a child.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We brought this to you. It's an instruction from the Alpha."

I furrowed my brows, confused. "What is it?" I asked Elsa.

Elsa handed me a long envelope. I took it from her and saw the content inside. The other maid dropped the food she brought and waited behind for Elsa. I didn't want to tell her to leave while Elsa was still here.

The extra maid might suspect that something was going on between Elsa and me, so I said to them, "Leave." They nodded and left immediately.

I opened the envelope and found a letter inside. I was confused about what this was all about, but then I guessed I'd find out once I read the content. I took my time and realized what it meant. A huge smile crossed my face. This was the best news anyone could give.

This was my letter informing me that I had just been admitted into the best college in town. Yeah, this was great news because I wanted to further my education, and Dad had been so supportive. This was something no one knew about. No one knew that I applied for this, and then now I was being selected.

There was a knock on the door again. "Come in."

This time around, Elsa walked inside with a huge smile on her face. "What is it about? I see you're very happy."

"I hope no one saw you when you came inside," I asked, and she nodded her head. "No one saw me."

I heaved a sigh of relief. "Guess what!"

Elsa furrowed her brows. "Please tell me already. Your happiness is contagious, ma'am."

I gave her a look. "I told you already to stop calling me ma'am whenever we are alone. You don't need to do that. Call me Piper."

Elsa nodded. "Okay, Piper." That sounded better and normal. Yes, normal. I didn't think I'd lived a normal life since I was born. The only time I felt normal was when I was with Elsa.

"I just got admitted into my favorite school," I said to her excitedly.

Elsa's face dropped. "Why are you too happy? You know the Alpha won't let you go. He wouldn't want you to be far from him."

I gave her a look. "He is aware that I applied."

She shrugged. "Yes, but you know he only pretended like he was cool with the idea, but the Alpha will in the end stop you from going."

I stared at Elsa, wondering why she was saying this. "I expect you to be happy for me. I didn't expect you to say all of this to me." I felt so bad.

Elsa heaved a sigh. "I don't want to lie to you, ma'am"

"Piper," I corrected.

She nodded. "I don't want to lie to you. The other day, I heard your dad telling your brother he won't let you go to that school. I didn't want to tell you because you wouldn't be too happy about it."

I scoffed. "That doesn't mean I can't convince Dad. I can."

Elsa nodded. "I'm sure he might listen to you if you talk to him."

The whole thing makes me want to talk to him. "I need to see Dad right this minute," I said to her.

"You haven't had your breakfast," Elsa pointed out. I rolled my eyes and went ahead to take my bath.

I headed downstairs to speak to Dad, but then I didn't meet him; I met Orion instead. My big brother. "Look who finally came downstairs," he said to me.

I rolled my eyes at home. "Where is Dad?" I asked.

"He had a meeting to catch up on. What's it about?" He asked me.

" I need to talk to him about something very important"Orion looked up from his phone. His eyes met mine, then he asked, "Is it about the school?"

He knew? "You knew?" I asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "I was the one who accepted your letter. What do you expect?"

I scoffed. "It says I'll be resuming soon."

Orion let out a sarcastic laugh, and then he said, "You're going nowhere, dear sister. I'd advise you to prepare yourself because you'll be getting married soon."

I thought I heard wrong. "What did you just say?" I had to ask again.

Orion used to be all smiles, but as he looked up at me, there was no sign of play on his face. "You'll be getting married to Gideon. I'm sure you know him already. That's who Dad wants you to get married to."

Those statements hit me like a rock. How can Dad do this to me?

"No... this can't be. I need to speak to Dad. He promised to always go along with what I wanted. Please, that's a lie. I know you only said that to make me scared."

Orion shrugged. "You think I have all the time to lie to you?"

I scoffed. "I need to speak to Dad. I need to speak to him."

"Look for him if you can," Orion said and left me alone.

I stared at his retreating in disbelief. This can't be happening to me. They can't marry me off to someone I don't like. He isn't my mate, for fuck's sake. Why would they do this to me? I made my way out of the mansion. I needed some air. I needed some air right this minute.

I changed into my wolf form as I got to the woods. I raced as fast as I could to the river deep inside the woods. I needed some quietness. I needed some time to myself. I changed back into my human form and wore my clothes back. I sat down there and allowed myself to cry.

Yes, I cry a lot. It's times like this I miss Mom so much. If she were here, she would have fought for me. She wouldn't let this happen.

I don't know how long I was there, but then something strange happened to me. I felt a sting on my neck area. I looked behind me to see if it was a bee, but to my surprise, I found a figure staring back at me while holding a syringe close to my neck.

I was about to let out a scream, but another hand covered my mouth from behind. I tried to fight, but I couldn't. Whatever they injected in me made me drowsy, and I was losing focus. I couldn't fight anymore, so I allowed darkness to rule over my body.