The Alpha's Forbidden Bond

Adrianna's point of view

"Name?"

"Sonya." I lie bluntly.

"What's your full name ma'am?"

"Um... Cruz. Sonya Cruz ." Another lie.

"Pack?"

"Huh?!"

"What Pack are you from?" The guard repeats his question, angrily this time.

"Graydale pack," I say with hesitation as I paste on a big smile to mask my nervousness. Quickly, I dropped my smile when his cautious gaze lands on Samantha who has been beaming with plastic joy and twirling her hair flirtatiously the whole time. "You ladies enjoy the ball." The guard tells us after a minute and we both make our way through the double golden doors that were held wide open by two sentinels from the Nightshade pack or should I say Rivalton pack. Haha! I've been meaning to use that one for a while now. I call them Rivalton pack because they're our biggest rivals here in California, it's quite a long story though, one that prohibits me from being here. The consequences of my actions haunts me. One mistake, and I could be discovered- then, the man who gave me life would kill me, chop off my head and throw my lifeless body into a damn lake. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but can you blame me? Have you met my dad when he's pissed? he's like a freaking beast possessed by the devil. A beast that is surely going to devour me if he learns that I went to the mating ball against his orders. You see every single year, the werewolf council appoints any pack they deem worthy to host the mate ball: a once-in-a-year ceremony where unmated werewolves from different packs gather together for basically one sole purpose- to scout out their fated mates. Fifteen years ago, my pack; the Blackmoon pack under the rule of Hector-my grandpa, had the honor of hosting one of the grandest mate balls in history. This year, my father was looking forward to following in his father's footsteps and hosting the mating ball but unfortunately, things didn't go as he planned. The Nightshade pack as always were ahead of him, somehow they had convinced the council on authorizing them to host the mating ball for the year and this didn't sit well with my father. Do you know what he did next? He gave an decree, stating that no one in the pack should step foot into the Nightshade territory as well as think of attending the ball; anyone found guilty would be punished severely. Can you believe that? The man's out of his damn mind if he thought I was just going to leave things as they were, no way. I was this close to finding my destined mate or preferably he ends up finding me first and I wasn't about to let that dream of mine go just like that. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up because I...um...don't have a wolf...yet. Yeah, I know, I'm an embarrassment, a freak, some would say but I was born that way-wolfless. Most werewolves get their inner wolf at age thirteen and I'm already seventeen so what hope is there for me? Imagine my father's disappointment when he discovered I had no wolf. The man was crushed both emotionally and physically, he couldn't even look me in the eyes, I was a failure to him. His only daughter whom he slightly favoured above his other children was...different. Mom says it's totally normal for werewolves my age to get their inner wolf much later than the others and that I might be a late bloomer. However, I'm not entirely sure that was the case. I know it's wrong to jump to conclusions but sometimes I get the feeling that my wolf is gone... like dead-gone. Or could it be that she's just waiting for the right time to reveal herself to me, I mean she could be imitating me for all I know. All through my life, I've waited patiently for basically everything. But not anymore, that ends now. Despite not having a wolf I'm quite an optimist that my mate will find me someday, maybe that would happen tonight, and maybe my wolf would be unleashed when he marks me but all that won't happen if shield myself from the rest of the world like my dad wants me to. So I did what I had to do. And that was to sneak out of the house with Samantha, my best friend, and boy did it feel so good. Hate to admit but Sam's delinquent personality has started to rub off on me. I don't think I'll be here, at the mating ball if it wasn't for her, the entire sneak-out plan was all her idea and I just went with it. Hopefully, I won't regret my decision. Two minutes melted down like nothing. People strolled by, and each time, their eyes shifted to us. I could see the questions in their eyes, questions that they didn't dare to utter. Could it be that they recognized me already? No, hell no, they must be staring at Sam, she's the pretty one between us. Trust me I'm not the recognizable type and I have my dad to thank for that. He saw to it that I rarely attend these sorts of gatherings for reasons best known to him. I bet some people didn't even know that the all high and mighty Alpha Jaxon Lockwood of the Blackmoon pack even had a daughter who he had kept on a tight leash all her life.

"Hey, smile will you? You look like you're attending a bloody funeral." Samantha's cheerful voice, laced with worry came from right beside me.

"Huh?" A flustered panic shot through me.

"Smile, people are going to think you're in mourning." Hearing those words, I let out a long sigh before conjuring a fragile smile.

"Yeah, that's much better. This is a happy occasion, so let's try to have as much fun as we can. Speaking of fun, those cute guys over there look like fun. I think we should split up for the time being, something just caught my eye."

"Um... wait Sam!"

"It's only for a while, we'll meet back here in an hour." She said flashing a pretty smile. As friends, you would think that we both share a lot of similarities but that wasn't the case, we were totally different. Samantha was more outspoken, daring, bold, crazy and mostly irrational while I was the complete opposite of her but we still got along perfectly. Her dad, Devon, was my dad's beta and adviser, so it was kind of mandatory that we became best of friends. Samantha was very pretty, maybe even more than me but who's checking. She was about 5'4" tall, with pure hazel eyes, short dark hair, a button nose, and a doll-like face while I on the other hand was an inch taller than her, I had a pair of ocean blue eyes, chubby cheeks, a pointed nose and blonde hair which I got entirely from my mother.

"Sam... I'm not sure about this. I shouldn't be here," I finally admitted taking in the vibrant crowd of unmated werewolves. If nervousness was a disease, I probably was suffering from it and by the way Samantha was staring at me my nervousness was too painful to behold.

"If it's about the dress, it looks gorgeous on you and the heels are just your size."

"No, it's not the dress." I sighed. I was wearing a backless red gown that showcased my slender figure more than I had wanted, it exposed everything I always tried to conceal underneath my oversized clothing. And I wasn't comfortable with that one bit.

"I shouldn't be here, we shouldn't be here and you know why."

"What happened to Miss 'damn the consequences', huh? Did she chicken out eventually? Well, It's too late for that don't you think? We are already here, you should have said all that before we snuck out of the pack house, stole my brother's car and drove all the way here." Sam snapped, pouting her glossy lips like a little kid. The last time she did that was when we had that petty fight about who was more handsome between Justin Bieber and Nick Jonas. J.B obviously, that's a no brainer.

"But if my dad finds out I went to the ball, I'm dead!" I said, panicking.

"Would you chill, how would he find out, he's not even at the pack house remember? My dad and yours had pack business to handle and your mom has better things to do than worry about your whereabouts." She stated harshly.

"Ouch," my heart twisted a bit.

"Truth hurts, darling. You can still head back home if you're not interested in finding your mate!"

"You know I am!" I said, giving her a what-the-hell look.

"Then suck it up and let's have a good time."

"But doesn't it bother you that-" I paused as I was left talking to myself. Samantha was nowhere to be found. She does this every time she's fed up with a conversation, disappear. Just great.

"Very mature, Sammy." I weave my way through the crowd, searching for my friend who I find in the arms of a brown-skinned stranger, obviously having the time of her life. "Well, that was fast." I scoffed at the scene. Typical Samantha, being attracted to pretty boys and them to her. She's so lucky. I sigh, running my fingers through my blond hair as my blue eyes explored my surroundings. From where I stood, I could see the lustful eyes of several male wolves ogling me from head to toe so I decided to move to a spot with fewer people, ignoring the male wolves who tried striking up a conversation with me. The only clear thing I needed right now was a drink to calm down my taut nerves. Silence befell the entire room when a man I guessed was the Alpha of the Nightshade pack stepped forward, drawing the attention of everyone.

"Good evening distinguished ladies and gentlemen. As you may have all know already, I am Alpha Adam Sinclair." The alpha of the Nightshade addressed the large audience with a warm smile as I helped myself to a glass of wine, unbothered by the show of pretense that being was displayed to the crowd.

"It's nice to see everyone's having a great time. These are my children; Rohan, April and...Nik–" He halted his sentence, looking around confusedly, until the man he addressed as Rohan stepped forward and whispered something to the Alpha.

"Well, my son Nikolas had something important to take care of, he'll join us shortly, hopefully before the wine finishes!" The Alpha added, disappointed and the crowd roared into a fit of laughter.

"Enjoy the ball everyone." As he exited the stage with his children tailing behind him cheers and claps as well as music filled the room.

"So do they only serve wine here or..." Looking around, I spotted the buffet on the other side of the room. My Goddess, has it always been there? I couldn't believe that has been there all this while I was starving to death and I didn't notice it. Even from afar, the food looked so enticing and delicious, just wish it tasted better than it looked. There's only one way to find out right...

"You've got to be kidding me!" Startled, I turned to the familiar voice. Fear washed over me when I identified the owner of the voice to be Blake Anderson, Sam's super-overprotective, obnoxious older brother who also happen to be the pack's soon-to-be beta and best friend of my brother, Tristan.

Damn! What was he doing here? Did he follow us? My father must have ordered him to go undercover and fish out those who despite his orders still attended the ball.

Isn't that just great? I'm so fucking dead.

"Heeeyy, Blake." I said awkwardly as though I had just been caught stealing candy from a toddler. Despicable. Deep down I knew this was worst than that, maybe it wasn't the same as stealing but either way it spelled only one thing - trouble. Trouble if the news reached the ears of my parents that their beloved, obedient little princess who had never once in her life gone against their wishes was seen in the one place she was instructed not to go- the Nightshade pack. Yup, my life's officially over. Blake examined me from head to toe, making me feel more awkward than I already felt. His grey orbs sparkled when they met my face and with a half smile he complimented, "You look gorgeous by the way." My eyes widened at how fast his demeanor had changed, just a moment ago it seemed like he would run off spilling the news he had just gathered to my parents so he could earn some points in their good book. After all, he was always such a loyal dog, been like that since he started hanging out with Tristan. Gathering back my lost composure, I smiled back at him. "Thanks," I mouthed.

"Anna relax, I won't tell on you. I'm no snitch," Blake said sharply with a mocking grin. Goddess, I hate it when he called my name in short form. Knowing Blake well enough, I could bet he had something off his sleeves, everyone knows he doesn't do anything without getting something in return. So what could it be? I stared at him, wondering what he could be planning and how I fit into it.

"Careful there, I might just think you're into me." Ew, me into you? Not even in your dreams. I wanted to tell it to his face but decided it was best I stay on his good side. And suddenly he grabbed me by the hand. "Come on, let's dance." My body trembled at his sudden action at first, then relaxed when he pulled me towards the dance floor.

"Sure," I said. I didn't have a choice but to decline, he was already grooving to the beat and I wasn't about to do anything that would annoy the guy. It was a slow song, and we stood at arm's length. I had little to zero experience when it came to dancing, so I counted the steps in my head a bit desperate not to step on his nicely polished shoes. And it seemed to have boosted my confidence.

"So where's Samantha?" He asked in between sways. "You couldn't have sneaked out of the packhouse all by yourself, now could you?"

"And what makes you think that?"

"Please I know you enough to know that this possibly couldn't be your idea."

Ouch, that stung. I can't believe his impression of me. Is that what he thinks of me? I'm I so pathetic that I can't even make my own decisions? How I hate the way people perceived me. Everyone around me would be like: Adrianna can't hurt a fly. Adrianna couldn't have done this all by herself. Adrianna can't think for herself. Adrianna is so fragile. Adrianna is just a kid. Adrianna is inexperienced. Enough! I'm so sick and tired of everyone thinking that about me. I'm not fragile, I can make my own decisions. And it was high time I let them know.

"You're hoping to find your mate, aren't you?" He gushed out and I nodded at his foolish question. He was starting to get on my nerves. Why else would I risk attending the mating ball if not to find my fated mate? "Mind telling me how you plan on doing that, with no wolf at all." I frowned at his statement. Something in his tone didn't sit well with me. He was mocking me. What the hell was he implying? That I won't be able to find my mate without my wolf. There were thousands of werewolves just like me who were yet to have a wolf but regardless, they still found their fated mates. Why would my case be any different?

"I don't think I owe you any explanation, so why don't you leave me the hell alone" I fumed.

"I'm just..." He started just seconds after the song ended and I thanked the Goddess for the perfect timing. As I drifted towards an empty table to rest my feet, Blake yanked on my arm.

"Listen, I wasn't done yet!"

"Well, I am!"

"I wouldn't use that tone with me if I were you!"

"Go to hell!" I sparked in annoyance.

"That's how you want it, huh? Thirty minutes. I want you home in thirty minutes or Alpha Jaxon gets to know what you've been up to. Tick-tock, princess." He smirked deviously, before vanishing into the crowd. Yep, that's the Blake I know. Such an asshole. With Blake far gone, I settled down on the nearby table and let my eyes wander around my surroundings for a second, in search of Sam but suddenly I flinch as I catch a tall figure standing in the dancing crowd, staring directly at me. Strange, I thought, anxiously glancing back in hopes I was mistaken and he was staring at someone behind me. But no one else was there apart from me and as I shifted my eyes to him he disappeared, vanished. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Blake, keeping an eye on me. Yeah, he was creepy like that. No wonder we never got along. As I said earlier this was a mistake. A mistake my parents didn't need to know about, so I guess the smart thing to do was to head back home before Blake make good on his threat. But come to think of it, if Blake rats me out wouldn't it be the same as rating out his sister? unless he has something else in mind. I would try to figure out what that was but that would be a total waste of my time, one can't figure out what goes on in Blake's little mind. I guess I'll just take my leave.

Urrggghh.

I huffed in irritation, standing on my tired feet, my heels were killing me.

"Don't tell me you're leaving already? The worst part of the ceremony hasn't even begun." A virile voice observed. My blue eyes wandered around for a while before setting on a guy, two tables away from mine. Did I forget to mention he was drop-dead handsome? This stranger no doubt was the most handsome man I'd ever seen, and to my surprise, he was heading my way. Well, the night just went from boring to slightly interesting.