I was almost at the border of the Pack, on my way out of the territory when I was stopped by two security men. They were armed, claiming to be searching for one of the girls from the Breeding Selection process who had escaped after registering.
After spending time trying to convince them I was not the one they sought, I realized they would never believe me. So, I made the stupid decision to run. I was chased down—skipping over twigs, breaking branches, falling several times on my knees, even straining my ankle at one point. Still, I was caught and chained, so the next time I tried to run, escape would be impossible.
They threw me in a cell, saying I would be joining the other girls tomorrow for the Breeding Selection process. I spent the entire night awake. This was a nightmare. All I wanted was a life outside the Pack. But now, not only was I back—I was tangled in something I never wanted, and would never want.
The next morning, the guards dragged me out for a test that would qualify me for the second round. The woman in charge was strict and powerful, wife of the Pack's former gamma. I couldn't afford to lie to the questions she asked, so I answered truthfully—and passed the round.
The second round… well, it was much the same, only this time they read my thoughts to hear my answers. I passed again, and unfortunately qualified for the final round alongside two other girls.
For the final round, I was escorted out by a guard and a woman clad in the Pack house's servant uniform, taken straight to a bathhouse. I was cleaned thoroughly with bathing soap and oil. The woman washed my hair with shampoo and smoothed oil through it. It was the neatest bath I had taken in a very long time.
As the woman guided me out of the bathhouse and back to the dressing room, I heard my name echo.
"Bambi?"
I turned. Sable.
She was dressed in that bodycon dress I had bought for her, her blonde hair tied back into a sleek ponytail. She looked like a completely different person.
Her face dropped instantly—from shock, to disappointment—as realization sank in. She too was being led out by another stone-faced servant.
The woman guiding me tightened her grip on my arm and forced me away. As we walked out of the bathhouse, away from Sable, I looked back.
Her expression wasn't just disappointed—it was hurt, angry, and disgusted.
"Do you know her?" the woman asked as we reached the dressing room.
I cleared my throat quickly, trying to recover. "Y-yes. S-She is my friend."
The woman reached for a vanilla-scented body cream. "You should know, ma'am. You don't make friends with people like her as someone from a high-ranked family."
I froze.
High-ranked? That was impossible.
"W-what do you mean?"
"That lady is an Omega and couldn't qualify for the final round because she is low-ranked. You should protect your reputation and stop mingling with such people."
My lips quivered. "I—I—I—"
"Your father told me you tried to run away," she continued, reaching for the clothes hanger to fish out a dress.
"M-my father?"
"Yes, your father. The Alpha's late father's best friend."
Confusion clawed at my throat, clouding my head.
What was she talking about?
"Are you not Bambi?"
"Yes. My name is Bambi."
"Then why are you shocked I know your father?" She straightened a black mini dress to my body, checking the fit. "Your father is a good man. Of course people will know his daughter."
My lips parted, but no words spilled out.
When those men stopped me at the border, they had asked my name. I said Bambi. They wouldn't stop questioning me, even when I swore I wasn't the girl they were after. Now this woman was saying I was the daughter of the Alpha's father's best friend?
What was going on?
My head spun, my tongue trapped.
She finally picked out a light pink silk mini dress with tiny straps. "This will do," she said.
The dress was far too revealing—something I could never wear. But my tongue was too tied in shock to protest.
I was mistaken for another Bambi. The daughter of the Alpha's late father's best friend.
How much worse could this get? Why was this happening? All I wanted was to escape this life. Now I was not only trapped back in it—I was trapped as someone else entirely.
I should tell her.
My lips parted to speak—but she beat me to it.
"You'll be meeting with him tonight. If you want to become the chosen one, you have to present yourself perfectly. Okay?"
I blinked. "Who is him?"
"Who else, honey, if not the Alpha?"
My breath caught. "Meeting him? Why? Tonight is a full moon. A mated man cannot meet with an unmated woman during full—"
"That is the whole point."
"The whole point of what?" My voice rose, panic clawing my chest.
"You are meeting on a full moon night because you are to have sex and satisfy him—for the final and last round."
My world tilted.
"I—I don't understand."
The woman smiled warmly. "Honey, I know your mother is no more, but didn't your father employ a mating teacher for you? You are set to be his Breeding mate. The only way he can make his choice is to have sex with the final three girls."
"But that's nonsense! I don't want to have sex with anybody!"
"It is the rule. I'm sure your father told you this before forcing you into it."
"Can't I choose not to? Please—I can't afford to let a stranger take my innocence!"
Her hand suddenly clamped over my mouth. She looked around swiftly, checking if anyone had overheard.
"You do not address the Alpha as a stranger. That is blasphemy—and it can cost you your head."
I slapped her hand away. "I'll rather my head is cut off than lay down and let a man I do not love take me!"
"Well, you lost the right to make a choice immediately you were registered."
She forced the silk dress in my palm. "You have thirty minutes to get ready. You are meeting him in three hours, immediately the full moon is up." She says and walked out of the dressing room, leaving me to my aching heart.
This is not possible. I don't want this!