Chapter 2

Vladimir:

The girl looked away from me as she abruptly stepped back, trying to hide, wanting anything but to be where she was.

Her green eyes met my blue ones for a brief second, and it wasn't until she processed that she was looking up at me that she lowered her gaze to the ground.

"You were running, are you okay?" I asked, my voice softening as I feared scaring her. I didn't know what it was that she was trying to escape, but whatever it was, no one was following her.

"I'm fine, I apologize, I got lost as I was trying to get back from the forest." She said, and I nodded, watching as she turned to leave. I looked down at her dress. It was torn in a few places, but I could tell that they weren't new. The dress was an old one. I looked at Arturo, my beta, and the man smirked, shaking his head at me.

"What's your name?" I asked, and the girl froze.

"I don't have a name." She said, making me frown. I looked at my beta for a second and I could tell that he was just lost as I was.

"What do you mean 'you don't have a name'?" I asked, looking back at my family as they approached the pack from the doors. My mom was displeased, even I didn't like the place.

"I don't have a name." she repeated before she walked away, rushing out of my sight.

"What was that about?" Arturo asked, and I shook my head, just as confused as he was.

"If this is where we are putting my sister to marry the fucking prick, then we are going to step back. The last that I want for Liana is to be in such a dirt bag." I said, and he nodded. We walked toward the pack where we were received by the pack Alpha, Marcus Del Gardi, also known as Capo dei Capi when it comes to humans around. His Luna Amelia stood by his side, and she smiled, looking at us as her son stood, looking both nervous and annoyed. Liana didn't approach as she stood a few steps behind me.

"Alpha Vladimir, it is a pleasure having you here." The Alpha said, and I nodded, knowing that the man didn't care about having us here. He only cared about this alliance, an alliance which I saw no benefit to, at least, not for us.

"We'll see if it is a pleasure, Alpha." I said, and he nodded, looking down at his feet, avoiding my eyes.

"Please, right this way." He said, nodding at us to follow him toward his house. I looked around the pack members, most were sitting, others talking, not much were practicing. They were known to be weaker than others, and if Ryan was going to be taking charge of the pack after his father, then the pack was going to go downhill anyway.

We walked toward the living room where we were approached by different maids. Each maid had a tray in hand, either drinks or appetizers. And I couldn't help but find myself noticing that the woman who we ran into wasn't around.

"Liana, you look lovely." Luna Amelia said, choosing to be the first to address my sister. Ryan didn't speak to her, instead, he seemed to be distracted with whatever had in his mind. My sister nodded at the Luna, but didn't speak to respond. I knew that this was not something that she wanted, she made it obvious that she didn't want it.

"So, Vladimir, how are things going with you?" Alpha Marcus asked, changing the subject, noticing how tense the room was. I looked at him at the man, turning my attention from his son who wasn't paying my sister any attention. The woman who I saw outside didn't escape my thoughts. The way she looked at me, frightened and worried as she was. I could tell that she was trying to run, but from what? I didn't know.

"Things are going well." I said, snapping myself out of my thoughts. Whoever that woman was, I was going to find her, only that was going to happen later. For now, I had these people to deal with. "I trust that you know that we came to discuss the engagement."

Liana, despite her normal calmness, scoffed, shaking her head at me. I looked at my sister and mom raised an eyebrow at her as she fought back a laugh.

"Of course, we want Liana as a bride to our son Ryan. We can't find a better suit as a bride for him. She is beautiful and strong, and we know that combing our bloods is going to come as beneficial for both of us." He said, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Two Alpha bloods, and with my son not having a mate and your sister without one…"

"I am sorry, but my daughter is not going to marry your son simply because your son doesn't have a mate." My father said, stopping the Alpha who looked away from me. He straightened, knowing that these were wrong choices when it came to his words. He knew not to challenge my father. The man stepped back from his position as Alpha simply because he wanted to rest with his mate. He taught me that when it was time, when my son grew older, I was to give him my place while I stepped back and guided him from a distance.

"Alpha, that is not what I meant, I apologize if I sounded like I was…"

"I know exactly what you meant, Marcus." He said, stopping the Alpha whose eyes dropped to the ground. He looked at his Luna and the woman tensed as she glared at her son. Her posture seemed stiff, and I knew that this night was not going to end well if this was how it began. "My daughter is not going to be mothering your children simply to give you heirs. I can see where your pack is going and I am not going to have my name, my daughter's name and pride to be dragged to the ground."

"Whoever said that it would be, Alpha, I assure you that they are liars. Your daughter is going to be treated like the queen and Luna that she is meant to be." Luna Amelia said, and my father scoffed.

"Is that why your son didn't bother greeting my daughter? Is that why he didn't even drop his ego and balls to come and approach her? Or did he expect her to be submitting to him by being the one to drop whatever she knew to bend the knee...?"

"She is to be my Luna, Luna Myla. I am to be the Alpha and her superior." Ryan said, choosing to speak, and that was when I raised a hand, stopping the man from saying another word.

"Then you can find yourself some whore to screw or a lower rank to force into submission. The woman, my sister, is a queen, she is to be treated like the queen and Luna that she is. And I don't think that you would expect me to allow you or anyone to treat her otherwise." I said, and he looked away from me.

"Why did she come if she wasn't willing to submit? She is to be the wife of an Alpha, her Alpha blood should mean nothing to her or me for the matter. She is going to be MY wife, and she would be submitting to MY rules." He said, and I let out a warning growl as my father went to stand, clearly ready to punch the man in the face.

"What my son is trying to say…"

"What I am trying to say, father, is that the girl seems to be too spoiled to accept that she is not going to be living the same way that she lived in her home, with her father and brother. She is going to be under a different Alpha and for that, she is going to have to act like it." He said, stopping his father.

"Then we can call of the marriage, engagement, and whatever bond that you intended to build." I said, raising an eyebrow at the man as I caught the fresh love bite that he had on his neck. "And next time you have a woman coming to see you, coming for a marriage agreement, I would recommend that you get ready instead of fucking a different one before she does."

My sister looked at me, but I kept my eyes on the man who froze, processing what I said as all the color drained from his face. "You reek of sex, and I think that it would have been at least decent of you to take a shower. You know, we aren't humans that would miss the scent of your…"

He got up from the couch and I rolled my eyes before getting up from the couch. "I am going to take my leave, Alpha."

"Alpha Vladimir…"

"And consider the engagement off. I am not going to have my sister marry a man like your son…"