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'When we were kids, I decided to play this prank on Caesar. I blindfolded him and got him to drink three glasses of milk to see if he could taste the difference between the lid colours. Anyway, he drinks the first two, no problem. The last one is actually orange juice and, when you're not ready for the acidity, it makes you gag.'

My eyes widen as I hear what Ismena did to her brother.

'Anyway, Caesar doesn't just gag, he projectiles the milk all over the kitchen counter.' She pauses to laugh hysterically. 'It was honestly one of the best moments of my life.'

'Oh, wow,' I mumble and let out a small laugh.

That does sound funny, actually.

'I hear my idiot brother killed your alpha,' Ismena says with a wince. 'I'm sorry about that. I hope you weren't close with him.'

'I hadn't seen him in years, but he used to be good to me,' I tell her as we walk side by side through the trees. 'My pack doesn't have capital punishment, his execution was a shock.'

Ismena nods sympathetically.

'It's different for every pack, but I know that it must be particularly hard if you've not be raised with death as a punishment. It's a controversial subject for our kind, isn't it?'

'Definitely.'

'My brother is a good person. He looks after the pack and he makes the hard choices that no one else will make. I know you probably didn't start on the right foot, but I'm hoping you will get to see a better side of him.'

I don't reply to that, I'm unsure what to say. This is all far too soon and sudden. I feel emotionally exhausted after today.

Ismena shows me around the pack and points different buildings out to me. After an hour, she takes me back to the house. Caesar comes out of the kitchen, looking stressed.

'Dinner with the pack in one hour,' he tells us. 'Please can you give Camisa something to wear?'

'Of course,' Ismena replies happily.

'Great. Thanks. I've got to run and get things sorted, see you in a bit.'

He leaves the house and I stand in the corridor, completely bemused.

'Dinner with the pack?' I ask dumbly.

'Yeah, we do it every weekend. He probably wants them to meet you.'

Does nobody understand the day I've had?

'Don't you think that's a little...soon?'

She shrugs. 'Why? Do you not feel up to it?'

'Um, not particularly, no.'

Ismena pulls a face. 'Damn, okay. I can speak to Caesar, see if you can sit this one out...'

She takes me over to her house and leaves me in her bedroom whilst she talks to her brother. She must call him, because I hear her pacing up and down the corridor outside her room. Her walls are thin and I hear everything she says as she argues with him.

She walks back in with a sheepish look on her face. I sigh with defeat, already knowing that she didn't convince him.

'I'm sorry, Camisa. The pack have already been informed and are excited to meet you. I've asked him not to make a big deal about it in his speech.'

'His speech?'

Fantastic.

Ismena nods. 'Yeah, he needs to update the pack on today's visit.'

Right. The one where he killed my alpha.

'I just want to lay in bed and pretend none of this happened,' I tell her glumly.

She rubs my shoulder and then throws open the doors of her wardrobe.

'Come on, honey. We'll pick you something nice to wear and that will make you feel a bit better.'

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Ismean does my make-up and convinces me to put on one of her dresses. The fabric is soft and it fits me perfectly. I'll admit, I feel slightly better about being forced to go when she is done with me. I feel less 'I've just been in a car crash'.

The cut on my head is pretty much healed and Ismena whips the plaster off with a flourish. She walks me over to the pack hall, which is already bustling with people.

There are long tables with loads of people seated at them. Immediately, I feel intimidated.

'How many people are in your pack?' I ask Ismena as she leads us up to the front table.

It is at a 90 degree angle to all the other tables. Caesar is already sat in the centre with no doubt his beta at his side. I recognise him as one of the ones who chased after me.

'About a thousand. There will only be like half of them here tonight, though.'

Because five hundred people is so much less intimidating...

I follow Ismena up to the main table. Caesar smiles and gestures to the empty seat next to him. I take the seat and scan the crowd in front of me. Ismena sits to the right of Caesar's beta.

The first course is served and, I'll admit, the food calms my stomach slightly.

Caesar leans towards me, giving me a whiff of his enticing scent.

'Your suitcase has been brought back and I had someone unpack your clothes,' he tells me.

'Unpack?'

I feel a little violated that someone has been through my suitcase and touched my things. Someone I don't even know.

'Yes, all of your things are in our bedroom.'

I turn to face him, shock and disbelief evident on my face. 'What?'

He frowns. 'What's wrong?'

'You think that I'm going to share a room with you?'

His frown deepens. 'Of course, we're mates. That is what mated couples do.'

'When they know each other! Hell, when they like each other!' I exclaim dramatically.

Caesar looks around self-consciously. A couple of pack members have looked over because of my raised voice.

'Lower your voice, please,' he hisses at me.

I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm upset.

It's a dangerous combination.

I push back my chair and get to my feet. Caesar's eyes narrow and he looks up at me.

'What are you doing?' He asks me, his voice sounds deceptively calm.

'I'm leaving,' I tell him and push my chair in behind me.

He reaches out and grabs my wrist. 'No, you're not.'

I glare at him and tug my arm free of his grip. 'Yes, I am,' I snap.

Caesar stands up, towering above me. He leans in close so that others can't hear.

'You are making a scene. Sit down and finish the meal, we can talk about this after,' he says warningly.

I don't like his tone.

I look him right in the eye and shake my head. 'No.'

I turn to leave and he grabs my wrist again. When I try to pull my arm free, he holds me tighter.

'Get your fucking hands off of me,' I spit the words at him angrily.

His grip tightens until it is almost painful.

'Do not disrespect me, mate,' he threatens. 'Pack members end up in the cells for swearing at me.'

'Good thing I am not a member of your pack then, isn't it?' I retort.

My words piss him off even more. He tugs on my arm, yanking me towards him so that I bump against his chest.

'You are part of my pack, you are this pack's Luna and you need to start acting like it.'

I say the worlds slowly and clearly so that he can't miss them. 'Fuck. You.'

'Camisa!' Ismena gasps my name, shocked.

'I warned you about disrespecting me,' he says lowly.

'Lock me in the cells, see if I care. It's better than sharing a room with you,' I tell him boldly.

He turns and nods to his beta, who quickly gets to his feet. I can feel the eyes of every pack member as the beta takes my wrists, holds them behind me and frog-marches me to the cells.

I don't look back to see if Caesar is looking, I can feel his eyes burning into the back of my head.

It's cold outside and I shiver as they march me over to the cells. The beta doesn't say anything as he opens one of the gates and gently nudges me inside. He closes it with a click behind me.

Once I'm locked in, he and the two other men disappear. There is no one else in the cells from what I can tell, just me by myself.

I look around the basic room, taking in the little toilet, sink and thin bed. It is a 2 x 2 prison cell. I sit down on the bed and curl my knees up to my chest.

I can't believe that, on the same day I meet my mate, he kills my alpha and throws me in a jail cell.

Some pairing.

With nothing else left in me, I burst into tears and cry myself to sleep.

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