Chapter 5: "Don't pretend you didn’t hear me. You are engaged.”

Selena was seated at the balcony stairs while appreciating the view of the forest and some young members from the pack playing with some wooden sticks. She couldn’t stop thinking about Lucas and what he had said to her at the bar. She tried so hard to pretend she was unaware of his presence, but him, out of everyone, was the one that noticed.
 She was so consumed by those thoughts, that didn’t notice someone getting closer. It was Gerard, a middle-aged man that she liked a lot. He was close to an older brother to her.
 “Hey, Sel. Bryce asked you to go see him.” he said, with an empathetic smile on his face. “He asked or he commanded?” she replied ironically. She got up on her feet and smiled at him. Gerard smiled back and passed his arms over her shoulders and accompanied her to her father’s office. “Try to stay calm, okay?” he begged. “I don’t think it’s good news for you.” Selena looked at him, starting to get a little nervous. Gerard knew her, and for him to say that, she would definitely not like what her father had to say. “Can’t I do anything about it?” she asked. “I don’t think so.” he said, and pushed her through the open door. Her father office had a wooden decoration and was very large, since he used to do pack meetings with the members there. Bryce was seated in a chair behind a big table, with an ugly face. Not that he was an ugly man. He had gray hair, brown eyes and a very strong body. But about his personality, Selena could never understand how her mother ended up being with someone as cold as her father. Although she hadn't had a chance to meet her mother, Selena couldn’t believe that she would be someone that would agree with his behavior. “You wanted to see me, father?” she asked politely. Bryce raised his head and looked at her. “Yes.” he replied coldly. He put the papers on the table and got on his feet, with his arms behind his back. Selena inhaled strongly, trying to keep herself calm for whatever he had to say, and raised her chin, showing confidence. Although she had the feeling that he could see right through her. “An Alpha from an enemy pack of ours asked your hand in marriage. And I said yes.” he simply said, like he was stating the fact that it was a cloudy morning that day. Selena blinked a few times before she could form an eloquent sentence: “What did you just say?” She couldn’t believe it. Her father promised her to some strange Alpha? She wouldn’t accept that. “Don't pretend you didn’t hear me. You are engaged.” Bryce repeated. “I won’t marry anyone!” she screamed. How Gerard had the courage to ask her to stay calm? Did he even know what that meant to her? She was already a 20 years old woman and was very capable of making her own choices. It was her life after all. But her father didn’t seem to think like that. He always despised her. He never treated her well and was very abusive, always treating her like she was some sort of freak. Selena’s mother had died giving birth to her, and in his twisted mind, her father put the blame on her, a baby at the time. How could she be guilty of something she didn’t have any control of? Selena was always eager to prove that she didn't need anyone to protect her. She wanted to be a powerful and strong werewolf. Also an independent woman. That’s why she never liked to receive orders from her father. He was a totalitarian leader and an awful father. He never cared about her well-being, he never asked her if she needed anything, he never came to see her every time she fell ill. Not to mention the first time she turned into a wolf. She knew it would be a hard and painful moment, but she expected he would be a bit more sympathetic to her at that time. But he wasn’t. So she gave up waiting for him to show some sort of affection towards her. And now he wanted her to marry with someone she didn’t know, for his own purposes. “I won’t be used as a pawn in your games.” she gritted her teeth. “You don’t have a choice in this matter. I don’t know why you thought you had.” Bryce said sarcastically. He sat again on his chair and restarted to look into the papers. When Selena was about to start protesting again, someone broke into the room all of a sudden. The door knocked on the wall behind it, making a loud noise. Selena jumped on her feet, and Bryce looked up with a concerned glance. “What is it, Gerard?” Bryce asked, getting on his feet again. “Some members got into a fight. We need to send some backup.” Gerard said, out of breath. “Tell Darius to go with Selena and the twins.” Great! Even if her father didn’t suggest that she’d go, she would volunteer. She was angry and wanted to kick some wolves a***s.