Chapter 20 Twenty

Calista’s POV

The pack erupted into chaos. The news of Alpha Cletus' insane proposal travelled across packs.

Whispers grew as the news spread throughout the pack like a virus.

Others began spreading false rumors and labeled me as the Luna of the Wild Pack.

My grandma grew anxious.

Ray didn't leave my side for days.

And finally the pack elders called for a meeting.

To discuss the ridiculous proposal from Alpha Cletus.

He was one of the most powerful alphas in our world, but his shortcomings were too insane to be overlooked.

His mountain of crimes.

Snatching mates of pack members. Slaughtering his own warriors over minor offences.

Owning a brothel full of women for his personal needs.

There were also rumors of him sharing his females with his warriors.

Ruling the East didn't mean he could stumble on everyone he desired.

With little to no choice, every alpha or pack in the East was forced to bow to him like a fucking god.

He cared for no one.

Now he was asking to be my mate or I challenge him in a death battle.

To men like Alpha Cletus, females were nothing but possessions that could be used and discarded.

The elders think being asked by Alpha Cletus himself to be his mate was an honor.

Honor. Yes.

They preferred I accept his offer and be his whore.

A plaything for him and his filthy warriors.

They claim to have the pack's best interest at heart.

But no, they just want to get rid of me.

A female alpha has never existed in werewolf history.

They would rather send me to a man like Cletus than watch me rule over them as their alpha.

The conspiracy.

The eagerness to get rid of me.

And the hunger to see me suffer in that monster's grip was all burning in their old, fishy gaze.

"This is an opportunity to rewrite the pack's history," one of the pack elders said as if I was the one stopping history from being written.

I was only building what my father left, yet they called me the enemy.

"If this mating pulls through, our pack will be unstoppable," another elder said.

He meant the pack would have a male alpha.

Alpha Cletus would lead in my place as alpha once I mate with him.

He automatically becomes alpha of my pack without breaking a sweat.

And that was exactly what Alpha Cletus desired.

My pack.

My father's legacy.

He wants to strip me off my dignity, the name I built right from the mud.

Men like Alpha Cletus only know how to destroy what they never built.

"Alpha Cletus is powerful. Since none of the other powerful alphas has noticed you, it's best you grab this chance and become his Luna."

He meant his whore. Sex toy.

"Having a mate is what every female deserves. You deserve that too and since you haven't found your fated mate, Alpha Cletus will be a good match."

Meant to say the perfect person to put me in my place.

"If you are worried about the pack, I'm sure Alpha Cletus has good plans for us."

He surely does, but not under my watch.

My fist tightened and I stood up from my seat.

"You can't refuse such a generous offer, Calista."

My eyes snapped to the man sitting beside Elder Marcus and he shivered under my gaze before dropping his head in panic.

His wolf obviously submitting to me.

I have never showed them my true form nor used my alpha aura.

Because my father didn't want me to, but now I was done listening to them talk down on me.

It seems I have tolerated for too long.

He called this a chance?

Really?

I stepped out of my seat.

My heels clicking the hard marble floor with each step I took, circling the seven men who were supposed to stand behind me and support me but were rather trying to dismiss me.

Erase me completely.

My steps deliberately slow yet cold.

My eyes burning in their sockets.

My wolf was howling in my head, begging to be let out.

I walked past each elder, letting my gaze brush briefly on their stiff backs.

I could sense their sudden fear.

Who did they think I was?

A weak alpha blood?

The silence was terrifyingly cold.

Isla was irritated by their comments.

Each of these elders had been with my father throughout his years as the alpha of this pack, yet they wanted to push his only daughter into the hands of a monster.

"Elder Marcus." My voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"You haven't shared your thought. Tell us, what do you think about Alpha Cletus' ridiculous proposal?"

I halted beside my seat and sat down.

For five years I have been ruling this pack and defending it with everything I have.

I have sat with each of these elders in the same room. To discuss plans.

Made policies.

Reviewed proposals and none of them once called me incompetent, but the moment a male shows up they began to lecture me about what a female deserves and doesn't.

Why didn't they tell me the same thing when I was fighting rogues, trying to keep every member alive?

Why didn't they reject me when my father told them I was his heir?

They sided with Darius to remove me. The same man responsible for my father's death.

But they have overlooked one thing, that I was my father's daughter and this pack was my birthright.

I was alpha before my father passed.

And I would rule right after him with his blood in my veins.

Wealthy or unwealthy.

Male or female.

I was his blood.

His only descendant.

His daughter.

Heir.

And only child.

Fate itself couldn't fight me or force me to give up on what was meant to be mine.