Chapter 2 of The Alpha I Swore to Hate Is My Fated Mate

"Get out of the car, Camille," my father ordered as the town car rolled to a stop in our driveway.

I didn't move. The leather seat felt like a trap, and the cold reality of his words still rang in my ears. Marriage. To Scotty.

"I'm not doing it," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

"You are, and you will smile for the cameras on Monday," he replied, opening his door.

I scrambled out after him, the chilly night air biting at my bare arms. "You can't force me into a mate bond! We aren't even wolves anymore, Dad. We live in the city. We wear suits. We don't do arranged matings."

"It's a marriage of convenience," my mother corrected, stepping out beside me. "A corporate merger. The pack traditions are symbolic now."

"Symbolic?" I barked a laugh, following them up the front steps. "Tell that to the Montgomerys. They still run this pack like it's the dark ages."

"Enough," my father snapped, unlocking the front door. "You will pack your things this weekend. Scotty expects you by Sunday evening."

"He expects me?" I shoved past him into the foyer. "Did he even know about this?"

"Of course he knew. It was his father's idea."

My stomach plummeted. Scotty knew. He sat next to me all night, trading insults, fully aware that in a matter of days, he would own my life.

I turned on my heel and marched up the grand staircase.

"Camille! Where are you going?" my mother called out.

"To pack!" I yelled back, slamming my bedroom door shut.

I leaned against the heavy wood, my chest heaving. My eyes burned, but I refused to cry. Crying was for the weak, and I had learned long ago that weakness in this pack was a death sentence.

My mind dragged me back. Years back. To the night everything changed.

I was thirteen. The annual moonlight trials. The most important night in a young wolf's life.

The entire pack gathered in the clearing behind the Montgomery estate. Torches flickered against the dark tree line. The elders sat on wooden thrones, their faces painted with ash.

Every thirteen-year-old stood in a line, waiting for the moon to reach its peak. Waiting for the shift.

I stood between a boy named Liam and Scotty.

Scotty was already taller than most of us, his shoulders broad, his chin jutting out with that same arrogant confidence he wore today.

"Nervous, Millie?" he had whispered, nudging my arm.

"No," I lied, my palms sweating.

"Good. Don't embarrass yourself."

The head elder stood, raising his staff. Silence fell over the clearing.

"Tonight, we welcome the new blood!" his voice boomed. "Step forward and let the moon guide your true form!"

Scotty went first. He didn't even hesitate. He walked to the center of the clearing, stripped off his shirt, and dropped to his knees.

The transformation was brutal, but Scotty didn't scream. Bones cracked. Muscles tore and reformed. Within seconds, a massive, silver-grey wolf stood in his place.

The crowd erupted.

The wolf threw its head back and howled, a sound that shook the leaves on the trees.

"A true Alpha!" the head elder shouted, pointing his staff at Scotty. "The future of the Montgomery line!"

The pack cheered louder. Scotty trotted around the circle, soaking in the adoration. Even in wolf form, he was a show-off.

"Next!" the elder called.

It was my turn.

I walked to the center, my legs feeling like lead. The moonlight hit my skin, cold and sharp. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain. For the pull of the moon.

Nothing happened.

My skin grew hot. My heart hammered against my ribs. But the bones didn't break. The fur didn't sprout.

"Focus, Camille," my father hissed from the front row.

I squeezed my eyes tighter. I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. I tried to force it, trying to pull the wolf out of me.

Ten minutes passed.

The silence in the clearing grew heavy. The cheers died down.

I opened my eyes. The elders were whispering to each other. My mother had her face buried in her hands. My father stared at me, his expression unreadable, but his disappointment rolled off him in waves.

"She has no wolf," a voice muttered from the crowd.

"A dud," another whispered.

Someone laughed. A high, mocking sound from one of the other kids.

I couldn't breathe. The heat in my skin vanished, replaced by a freezing numbness. I turned and ran.

I didn't stop until I reached the edge of the woods. I looked back, just once.

Scotty stood in the center of the crowd, back in his human form, a blanket wrapped around his waist. People were patting his back, congratulating him.

He looked over the heads of the crowd and met my eyes. He didn't smile. He didn't laugh. He just stared at me, the silver Alpha, looking at the broken, wolfless girl.

That was the night the divide between us became a canyon.

I pushed off my bedroom door, the memory leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a suitcase, throwing it onto the bed.

I opened it, staring at the empty silk lining.

I had spent the last ten years proving I didn't need a wolf to be strong. I built my charities. I made a name for myself outside the pack's archaic rules.

And now, my father was handing me over to the very boy who had watched me fail.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I picked it up.

An unknown number.

*Pack lightly. I don't have room for your junk.*

I glared at the screen. Scotty.

I typed back furiously. *I'll bring whatever I want. And I'm taking the master bedroom.*

*Keep dreaming, Camille. You get the guest room down the hall. Try not to get lost.*

*I'd rather sleep in the hallway than share a room with you.*

*Good. We agree on something. See you Sunday, future wife.*

I threw the phone across the room. It bounced off the rug and hit the wall with a satisfying thud.

Sunday. Two days.

I walked to the window and looked out at the dark street. The Montgomery estate was miles away, but I could feel the weight of it pressing down on me.

I wasn't just marrying a man I hated. I was marrying the future Alpha. A man who had everything I didn't.

And he was going to make my life a living hell.

A knock on my door startled me.

"Camille?" my mother's voice was soft, hesitant.

I didn't answer.

The door creaked open. She stood in the doorway, holding a small velvet box.

"What is that?" I asked, my voice flat.

"A gift. From Scotty's mother." She walked over and set it on the dresser. "She wanted you to have it before the announcement."

I stared at the box. "I don't want it."

"Open it, Camille."

I crossed the room and popped the lid. Inside sat a heavy, silver necklace. A wolf pendant, its eyes made of small rubies.

"It's the Luna's crest," my mother whispered.

I slammed the box shut. "I'm not a Luna. I'm not even a wolf."

"You are his mate now. That's all that matters to them."

"It matters to me!" I shouted, the anger finally boiling over. "I have to wear this? I have to parade around pretending to be his perfect little mate when we both know I'm nothing to this pack?"

"You are a Gallagher," she said firmly. "You will wear it, and you will hold your head high."

She turned and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

I looked at the velvet box. The Luna's crest. A symbol of power I could never truly possess.

I picked up the box and threw it into the trash can.

Let Scotty explain that to his mother.

I walked back to the bed and started throwing clothes into the suitcase. Sweaters, jeans, dresses. I didn't care what I packed. None of it mattered.

My phone buzzed again from the floor.

I ignored it, grabbing a handful of shoes from the closet.

It buzzed again. And again.

I dropped the shoes and stomped over to the phone, snatching it up.

It wasn't Scotty.

It was Elena.