Chapter One
“What exactly do you want from me?” Poppy Davenport asked. She stared at the alpha’s only son, and anger filled her. She had never felt this way about anyone else. Klaus Demon was a nasty piece of work, and she … hated him. He was cruel, manipulative, and just horrible.
The fact that on her first transition, which was a grand whole eight months after his, he discovered that she might, by a tiny slither of possibilities, be his mate, was just ridiculous. What was more, he wouldn’t leave her alone. This had been three days ago.
In the past three days, she’d seen more of Klaus than she ever cared to.
“You know what I want from you, Poppy. Stop being a fucking jerk already.”
She spun around to face him and glared. “I’m being the jerk?” She pointed at her chest. “How do you figure that out?”
“Why haven’t you told anyone?” Klaus asked with his arms folded.
Poppy continued to glare at him. The more time she spent in his company, the more she disliked him. She’d spent over a decade trying to avoid him.
“Why would I tell anyone?”
“Why not tell anyone? Come on, this is a big fucking deal.”
She gritted her teeth and counted to ten in her mind. This guy. He thought because they were in some way mates, he believed she’d be happy. No one had seen them three nights ago. The way their wolves had been connected—it was this instant, undeniable attraction. It was fucking scary just how strong that instant hit of lust had been. Poppy hated it. She knew who Klaus was, and it hadn’t taken her long to realize what all of this actually meant.
Her bully, the guy who made her life hell at school, throughout the pack, and just any chance he got, was her mate.
This wasn’t fair.
She hadn’t told her mother. No other pack member, certainly not the alpha.
The alpha was known for his traditions, and he believed that mates should be together. If he knew the truth, there would be a ceremony, and she’d be with Klaus for a period of time. The alpha always asked his people to give their mating a chance.
“How is this a big fucking deal to you, Klaus?”
“You’re my mate. After all this time, we’re in the same pack. There’s nothing dividing us. We have found one another, and we both know that shit is rare.” He looked so excited.
The truth was, she was utterly disappointed.
“Poppy, the whore’s daughter. Fat Poppy. Fat Poopy. Look everyone, duck and cover, Fatty’s in the room. Whore. Slut. Bitch. Ugly cow. Do you need me to go on?” Poppy asked.
The name-calling had started when she was young. Mainly because of her mother, who wasn’t a bad person. No, her mother, Anna, was complicated. Her only mate died many years ago, when Poppy was a young girl. So young that she didn’t even remember being near him or enjoying the experience of being a daddy’s girl, or having a father in her life.
From what she remembered, her mother had mourned. For a long time, the full moon would be a painful experience for her only living parent.
Poppy recalled sitting at her window each full moon and hearing the painful howls of her mother. Knowing deep in her heart, that her mom, even in wolf form, was crying. That deep-seated pain had never gone away.
Until one day, she found comfort in one of the unmated men. Then another unmated man. There was never any constant lover or boyfriend. They were never married or mated. The men who were with her mother enjoyed a casual hookup. Of course, the pack knew of it, and it caused trouble for Poppy at school.
They figured her mother was a whore. She wasn’t. There was never any money swapping hands. No negotiations of price. Just an encounter. A moment together. They never happened at home. Poppy was aware of the men, but they never happened at home, and if they ever did, her mother clearly snuck them out.
She loved her mother so damn much. After hearing those howls every full moon for months on end, Poppy didn’t begrudge her that kind of happiness.
The main person to make her life a living hell was standing right in front of her. Klaus. The egotistical bastard who had made her high school life insane.
She hated him. There was no way she ever had a crush on him. Not even a little bit.
Many young women had found him attractive and would kill for the shot at being his mate. Not her. She was never in line to see him in the hallways. Hated how he entered a room and they’d swarm around him like he was some big, hot-shot celebrity.
She had never told her mother about the names she got called. Never told her mother about the bullies either.
“Shit, Poppy, I didn—”