Chapter 5

(Amber's POV) "What is she talking about?" I asked furiously, my tone holding a dangerous edge to it. "Don't worry Amber, Daddy found the perfect match for you," My stepsister's voice rose gleefully as she clapped her hands in excitement, "You should be happy that he went out of his way to find such a good match for you, especially after your public disgrace." She tittered as I growled lowly. "Are you for fucking real right now?" I scoffed angrily as my father's face darkened, "You hold me in a dungeon for three years, subject to the horrors of the guards that your bitch of a wife personally handpicked to punish me and now you retrieve me only to marry me off to goddess knows who?!" I could feel Rae's rage building at a far faster rate than my own and it took everything in me to stop her from wrenching control from me and surging towards these two conniving little bitches that directed everything behind the scenes. "Your sister is right. After what you did at your Bar Mitzvah..." my father roared, "It's been long enough! If it weren't for your madness three years ago, I wouldn't have had to spend time covering it all up... Otherwise you wouldn't be suffering in the dungeon." "Sounds like I should thank you for your kindness. Thank you for not treating me like a whore and giving me away to another pack three years ago," I sarcastically remarked, as Rae started pacing back and forth in my mind. I can't stop my teeth from chattering at the mere utterance of that fact, and it's as if I'm in pain with Rae all over again, back to that bloody birthday party where my partner died in agonizing pain in my arms. I clenched my fists, calmed by the stinging pain of my fingertips, which I jammed into my hands to calm my anger. "Amber..." My father's eyes darkened." I hope three years in prison has taught you that I am your father, but I am even more your Alpha, and no one can disobey an Alpha's orders, don't you understand?" With that, he cut off a piece of steak from the bowl as cleanly as if he was cutting off my head. "Hmph... Amber, don't be so ungrateful... the man dad has chosen for you is the most powerful Alpha of all the packs in the East... And he is a very experienced man. She announced, her eyes gleaming with malice. Then she added in a whisper, "I've heard that he's had six brides! You will be the seventh." "Seventh?!" I yelled incredulously as I turned to my father, "So instead of allowing me to live with my true mate peacefully, you'll happily marry me off to someone who goes through women at the same rate your fucking wife spread her legs for favors?!" "That's enough Amber!" my father yelled as my stepmother gasped in horror. "That's nowhere near enough Father, and believe me, I'm only just getting started!" I hissed furiously. "Amber, you shouldn't be so pessimistic, your beauty might make that cruel and ugly Alpha have mercy on you..." my stepsister snorted. "Do you see?!" My stepmother raged, "Even getting you in such a state this vile little bitch is satisfied with..." "ENOUGH ALL OF YOU!" My father roared, his fangs elongating as his wolf pushed forward furiously. Secretly I was pretty impressed that he had reached his breaking point and lost his cool... and not even with me. The ghostly white pallor of my stepmother's complexion and her shaking hands told me that never before had she been spoken to in this way and that alone gave me a small sense of triumph. "Whether you like it or not Amber, this marriage has been arranged and as your father and Alpha, you will obey me." He said in a voice filled with deadly calm. "This arrangement is your opportunity to repay us for all those years that we have taken care of you and your mother. Your sister cannot be allowed to marry him. Unlike you, she has pure Alpha blood running in her veins and the purity of my bloodline must continue in at least one branch of my offspring." he sneered. "Taken care of?" I murmured in disbelief, "I've been treated like a slave since I got here. What more do I have to repay you for?" I took a deep breath and smiled helplessly, "Actually, I just came to inform you that I'm taking my mother with me. I'll find a way to pay you back for those medical bills." My father gazed at me cooly as a sly smile curled at the edges of his lips. "Take her?" "How about I let you see her first?" He clicked his fingers towards one of his men standing at the sides of the dining room and gestured to the television. I turned towards the screen as it flickered to life as the image of my mother in a hospital bed surrounded by machines that monitored her was displayed before me. "Mom..." I moved towards the screen and fought the urge to sob loudly. As much as this sight broke me. She looked so vulnerable and weak with tubes in her arms and in her mouth, and the unsettling sound of the ventilator working as her chest rose and fell impressed upon me just how dire the situation was for her. As if in a trance, I found myself reaching for the screen, laying my hand against the image of my mothers face, as if by doing this I could touch her in person. This was the first time in years that I had seen her and honestly, it broke my heart. "As you can see, she could die at any moment." My father's cold voice came from behind me. I turned my head to look at him as he grabbed his cell phone from the table and dialed a number sharply, flashing me a snooty grin. In the pit of my stomach, a cold sense of dread was slowly creeping in. "Amber..." Rae panicked in my head. "No... he wouldn't..." I answered, not entirely convinced of my own reply to her and as I listened to his conversation, a paralyzing fear washed over me. "Take her breathing tube out..." My father said into the phone callously. "NO!" I screamed as I looked back at the monitor to see a doctor enter the screen and begin detaching the wires and tubes. "I didn't mean to be so cruel, Amber. Her care is expensive, but our pack's businesses are out of money. I also asked you to get married to save your mother. This marriage will open up the finances and provide a much needed injection of cash, not to mention access to his business partners to fund new ventures." My father stated nonchalantly, It's as if he's really worried about me and my mother. This evil bastard had always been the same and I doubted that he would ever change. In the pursuit of power and extending his pack's little empire he would sacrifice anyone and anything to get what he wanted, even if that someone was his fated mate and daughter. He would never acknowledge that he was the cause of my mother's physical deterioration over the years. He chose to reject her, his destined mate, and instead took a chosen mate that expanded his power base and married the only child of another powerful Alpha. Once that Alpha died, his pack would be absorbed by my fathers, effectively tripling the size of my father's territory and doubling his pack's population. Because of him, my mother was dying and the only reason he kept her alive was leverage over me and the fact that her death would weaken him considerably. "I'm not going to force you, Amber, it's your choice." He smirked "Your mother's life or your rejection of this marriage?" There's that trick again, making me make this choice that I already have an answer for. "I'll fucking kill him!" Rae roared in my head as I fought desperately with her to prevent her from shifting fully. We really had no choice left to us. I would not sacrifice my mother's life for my own selfish desires, as devastating as agreeing to my father's wishes would be for me. "Listen, Amber, all you have to do is marry the man, what you do after that is up to you. This alliance will bring huge benefits to the pack as well as the family. If you can't do this for the honor of your family name... at least do it for the members of the pack that depend on us." He coaxed as he saw my resolve wavering, "If you do this, I'll make sure that your mother is well taken care of for the rest of her life." My eyes narrowed as Rae pushed forward and her blazing eyes burned brightly in place of my own, letting him know in no uncertain terms just how furious we truly were. "If I do this, you better make sure that you take care of her," I hissed as my voice melded with Rae's husky tones, "If you relinquish on our deal and I hear that she has come to any harm at all, then I will return here and exact my revenge, even if it is the last thing that I ever do."