The Beta's Queen

Arora

MY MOTHER DIED THE DAY I WAS BORN. I always believed that my father blamed me for her death. I had heard stories of how kind he once was. The man I knew, however, was cruel. I heard through the whispers that my mother was his destined mate and when she died it broke his heart. All my life, I lived knowing that she died because I was born.

Once the worst of his heartache wore off, he declared that no wolf in our pack would ever be allowed to choose their destined mate. I didn’t live in the world the people whispered about. I lived in a world where love was a weakness. I knew from a very young age that my father would choose my mate for me. It was just the way things were. It was my punishment for killing my mother.

My father wanted someone he could declare his heir. He didn’t see me as the right person to rule in his stead. My father’s treatment of me was the driving force behind who I wanted to become. I didn’t have the love of a parent to guide me. I had people around me who cared for me. My father’s Beta and best friend cared most of all. He was always there making sure I had everything I needed. The females in the castle took care of everything else.

I only saw my father at events when he wanted to introduce me to people. I spent the first couple of years of my life in my nursery. As soon as I was old enough to behave like a lady, I joined my father on official events. When I wasn’t being used as a show horse, I spent time with my tutors. When I had some free time, I snuck out of the castle to train with the warriors.

I was going to prove to my father that I could rule our kingdom entirely on my own without a man by my side. Not that I ever thought he would actually see the real me. So, I had hid who I was. My father’s Beta, Luke, however, saw how talented I was. He knew I was secretly training. Of course, he did. He was the head of the guard. He ordered the warriors to hide the fact that I was training from my father.

My life wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough for me. On my birthdays, my father would roll out the red carpet for the entire kingdom. He would always give me some expensive gift. He wanted to show the people that he cared for me. I never saw love in his eyes when he did that. I never felt love in his embrace when he hugged me. I was just the jewellery on his arm whenever he had to impress someone. When I was little it bugged me. As I grew older, I grew used to it. I no longer cared.

I went through a stage where I had convinced myself that I understood why he felt about me the way he did. If I hadn’t been born, my mother would still be alive. All I could do was to try and show him eventually that I was worthy of the crown.

With my birthday coming up, I couldn’t train as much. I had to go for dress fittings and make sure everything was ready for the ball. This time around it was a big one. I was turning sixteen and I was going to meet my wolf for the first time. What I didn’t know was that this would be the night my entire life would change.

THE BALL ROOM LOOKED stunning as usual. The air was filled with the scent of food. People were walking around talking and looking happy. If you looked in from the outside, you would never have guessed that my father hated me as much as he did.

I played my role to perfection. I mean, I have been doing it my entire life. Hanging on his arm like a damn Yule decoration and smiling politely. Only speak when I am spoken to. Not giving him any reason to glare at me. We had just greeted the last of his important guests when my father turned to me and frowned.

“I will be making an announcement tonight and I want you to be on your best behaviour.” His words were cold. A shiver ran down the back of my spine at the threat hidden in his words. My father had never physically harmed me in any way. However, people in this place talked. A lot. Just like the stories about my parents being in love floated around the castle, so did the stories of how cruel he could be. I nodded and we walked to the centre of the dancefloor where he cleared his throat.

“Friends! If I may have your attention, please.” He softly growled and the conversation died down. “The time has come to meet our newest member.” He looked at me and smiled. It didn’t go all the way up to his eyes. He looked up and I followed his gaze. As soon as I looked at the moon, I felt a bolt of lightning run through my entire body.

The women who took care of me tried to explain what it felt like to shift the first time without scaring me. They warned me about the pain. I have also seen it happen so many times. I knew it would be painful. That didn’t bother me as much as what might happen if I didn’t shift. It was a well-known fact that some females weren’t capable of shifting. Not all females were strong enough to withstand the pain. Some even died.

I breathed deeply as I felt the first bone crack and I resisted the urge to cry out. The pain shot through my body. It felt as if it was taking forever. As if each bone took its time to snap and then move into its new place. Doubling over. I watched my hands turn into paws. Black fur started to cover them. I couldn’t hold out any longer. My canines started to protrude. It felt as if someone was taking my eyes out with hot pokers!

Then out of the blue it all stopped.