Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 64

“Don’t let them see your weakness,” Genevieve Campbell said as she brushed out 7-year-old Nikini’s long dark silky strands of hair. “You stand tall, even when you feel small.”

Words from encouragement from mother dearest. Genevieve was gorgeous with the soft brunette curls that spun down in ringlets down her back and washed over her waistline. She was built like a perfect hourglass and only wore the best gowns that brought out her every curve. Her eyes were a soft brown with splashes of green that outlined the pupil. She had soft features and a kind smile for the public.

However, behind closed doors, she was as cruel as could be. She needed everything to be perfect, and if they weren’t perfect, her dark side would appear. Nikini knew better than to stand in her mother’s way when she got like that. She had scarring along her body to prove that.

Genevieve married Ezra Campbell when they were young; Ezra comes from a very rich family, and they lived in a manor inside of Wildtooth Shadows, located off the coast of Silverside. They were unable to have children of their own, so when Nikini was only 2 years old, they adopted her.

Nikini had asked about her family long ago and they had said she was unwanted by them. She was unloved and unappreciated. She was told that she should never ask about her birth family ever again because they don’t deserve to be a thought. Nikini did as she was told and never asked about them again.

Growing up, Nikini is always known to do things the proper way. “Do as mother says,” was always her motto.

When she aged into a beautiful teenager, Genevieve introduced her to Boris Conway. She was told that Boris was the one she was going to marry once she comes of age. She never had to make any choices growing up; they were all made by her mother. Even who she was going to marry.

“The Conway’s are a very wealthy family that reside in Silverside. His father is the Alpha, which means one day he will be the Alpha as well. The women in our family only marry Alphas. Anything less than that is gutter trash,” Genevieve had told her.

“What if I don’t love him?” Nikini pouted.

Genevieve narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

“What does love have to do with anything?” She asked, with humor lacing her tone. “This is about money and power. That’s all you need in life.”

Even as a young teenager, Nikini knew that wasn’t true. She didn’t want to marry out of money and power, she wanted to marry for love. But her mother found that so laughable, she never brought that up. She feared angering her mother, knowing exactly what her mother was capable of.

Nikini’s whole life she had to act fake, and she was sick of doing it. She just wanted to be a normal teenager with normal friends and a normal love interest. She wasn’t interested in being the richest or most powerful. She just wanted to be herself. However, at a young age, she quickly realized that was never going to happen.

She realized that Genevieve didn’t adopt her out of her love for children and wanted to have children. She was adopted as a publicity stunt; adopting a child looked good in front of others and Genevieve only ever cared about looking good in front of others. So, they decided to adopt a child to act as though they are loving wolves that want to make the world a little less terrible. One orphan at a time.

It wasn’t until Nikini turned 16 years old that she learned the truth. It was a few weeks after she was able to transition for the first time. Nikini was a beautiful dark brown wolf with streaks of black throughout her layers of thick, yet elegant, fur.

She was relieved when she was finally able to transition for the first time because now, she had an excuse to be able to escape home for a little bit at a time. It was a peace of mind knowing she was no longer stuck within the walls of the manor. She could now go off into the woodlands for a few hours and hunt until her heart’s content.

She found it peaceful and relaxing; she didn’t have to answer to anyone or be anything. She just had to remember to clean herself off before returning home. Genevieve didn’t like dirtiness, which included b***d from a hunting spree.

As Nikini hunted, she began smelling a scent she didn’t recognize. Her first instinct was that it must have been some kind of animal that she’s never seen before. But she realized it didn’t smell like an animal; it smelled like her own kind. But it definitely wasn’t somebody from her pack.

She didn’t think there would be other wolves lingering amongst their territory. She knew that hunting on other territories was forbidden unless the Alpha appoints access and granted permission to said wolves. However, she knew her father well and he would never allow for something like that.

As Nikini continued sniffing through the forest, following the scent, she came across the riverbed that sat in the center of the forest. Nikini came here often so she could clean off before returning home to the manor. But she wasn’t expecting a whole other wolf sitting in the riverbed. She was covered in b***d and appeared to be washing her light brown fur from the evidence.

Nikini watched as this woman transitioned into her human form; she had long brown hair with bangs that were pinned back. She seemed to have kind features and she looked old enough to be Nikini’s mother. Next to her was a young girl, no older than 13, that resembled the woman.

Nikini only assumed it must have been a mother and a daughter. The young girl was sitting at the riverbed, splashing her feet in the water as her mother spoke in a low tone to her. Nikini couldn’t hear what they were saying. She decided to transition back into her human form to make herself less known to them. It was harder to find a scent whilst in their human forms.

She watched as the woman started walking further down the riverbed and away from the young girl.

“Stay there. I’ll be right back!” She called to the girl.

The young girl continued splashing her feet in the cold waters when she heard Nikini approaching slowly from behind her. She turned and her eyes widened; she looked terrified, and she sprung to her feet.

“Hi!” Nikini said before the girl could start screaming out for her mother.

The girl stare at her for a long while; assessing her image and then their eyes met.

“Why are you in my town?” Nikini asked her; she was trying to not sound passive aggressive.

“We were just passing by,” the girl answered, her tone being low and soft. “We found this riverbed and my mother needed to clean herself.”

“Where did your mother go?” Nikini asked, curiously.

It’s been a long time since she was able to encounter another girl her age; Genevieve and Ezra have her homeschooled. So, she has a tutor come to her house daily for her lessons. She was never allowed to play with girls her age around the town because they were nothing, but “gutter trash” and the Campbell family was better than that.

“She went to grab some berries,” she said. “We saw some in passing and wanted to pick a few more. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s against the rules to eat and hunt on other territories,” Nikini told her. Her cheeks flushed a light pink color.

“I know. I’m sorry,” she said slowly.

“What’s your name?” Nikini asked.

“Jess,” she said softly.

“I’m Nikini,” she introduced herself. “My father is the Alpha of this pack.”

Her face fell as her eyes widened.

“Oh…” Jess breathed.

Nikini chuckled.

“No worries,” Nikini told her. “I won’t say anything. I’m not exactly on great terms with my parents anyway.”

Jess frowned.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jess said softly.

“Where are you from?” Nikini asked, sitting beside Jess at the riverbed.

She dipped her toes in the cold waters and sighed as relaxation began hitting her.

“I’m not really sure,” Jess answered, Nikini looked at her surprised. She had never heard that before. She thought everyone had a pack they belonged to. “We’ve been on the road for almost as long as I could remember.”

“You don’t have a home?” Nikini asked in awe.

Jess shook her head, her short brown hair flying around her features wildly.

“Well…” she paused to think about it. “When I was little, we used to live in this town I think it was called Riverside. But we left when I was 5 years old. I don’t remember much of it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Nikini whispered. “Maybe I can talk my parents into letting you guys stay here.”

Jess’s eyes shot up to meet Nikini’s.

“Really? You’d do that?” Jess asked. “You don’t even know us.”

“I know,” Nikini admitted. “But you seem like a nice girl. I don’t have many friends my age and it would be nice to have one.”

“You want me to be your friend?” Jess asked in wonder.

Nikini nodded with a timid smile upon her lips.

“I would like that very much,” Nikini answered. “If you want to that is.”

Jess smiled, but before she could answer they heard the sound of a small basket falling from nearby. The woman, Jess’s mother, stood there staring amongst the girls. Her mouth was dropped open and her eyes were bugging and huge.

She looked horrified.

Jess scrambled to her feet almost horrified and Nikini followed a pursuit. There was something familiar about this woman’s scent that she couldn’t quite shake. She knew this woman wasn’t from around here, but she still had a familiar scent to her.

“Jess…” the woman spoke in a slow and low tone. “Get away from her now.”

“No, mom it’s okay,” Jess tried to reassure her mother. “This is Nikini. She is my friend.”

“No, she’s not,” her mother said to their surprise. “You need to get away from her now.”

Jess, confused, took a step towards her mother hesitantly.

“What’s going on?” She asked; her mother reached a handout for Jess to take it, but her eyes never left Nikini’s.

For the first time in Nikini’s life, she felt shameful in front of a stranger. She was so used to people falling at her feet and worshipping the ground she walked on.

The woman turned Jess to face her and muttered something to her that Nikini couldn’t hear. Jess seemed hesitant at first but started to walk in the opposite direction, away from Nikini. She turned back only once, giving Nikini a sad gaze, and mouthed, “I’m sorry,” to her as she continued to walk in the direction her mother pointed into.

“I don’t mean to cause a frenzy,” Nikini told the woman. “I’m Nikini Campbell…my father is…”

“No you’re not,” the woman said as she started turning to walk in the direction Jess took off in.

Nikini stared at her confused, keeping her stance.

“Pardon?” Nikini asked?

“Your last name is not Campbell, it’s Davis.”

Nikini frowned; that didn’t make sense. This woman didn’t even know her; she had no idea what her last name was. Since she was 2 years old all she’s ever been was a Campbell; it’s all she’s ever known. Who was this woman to invade her town and tell her she’s not who she says she is?

“I’m sorry…but no…” Nikini tried to tell her.

“Stop lying,” the woman hissed, turning back to her quickly. “I can smell the Davis bloodline on you. We are leaving. Don’t come near my daughter again.”

She took off after Jess, leaving Nikini standing there baffled at what had just happened.

…

Back home, Nikini couldn’t get the encounter out of her mind. This strange woman yelled at her and told her she was part of the Davis bloodline, whatever that meant. She had never seen either of them before. The only thing she knew was that she wasn’t a Davis, she was a Campbell. It’s all she’s ever been.

Stepping back into the manor, she almost felt a sudden relief being back in her comfort zone. She never wanted to have another encounter like that again. She felt sorry for Jess that she had to deal with a mother like that. She also felt sadness for herself because she thought she was finally able to make a friend.

She couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“Mom?” Nikini said as she poked her head into her mother’s study. Her mom looked up from her desk, removed her glasses, and frowned as she stares around her daughter’s features.

“You know better than to interrupt me while I’m in my study,” she nearly barked. She hated being interrupted while she worked on an article for a client.

“I just wanted to ask you something,” Nikini said, keeping her voice as small as she felt.

“If you keep frowning like that, you’ll start getting frown lines,” Genevieve hissed.

It was nearly impossible to talk to her mother; she had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Or bursting into tears.

“I’m sorry, mother,” Nikini said, she tried to keep the sarcasm from oozing in her tone. “I met a mother and a daughter while hunting.”

Genevieve’s eyes shot up to her daughter, her frown deepening.

“They weren’t from here,” Nikini continued, ignoring her mother’s darting eyes.

“There are outsiders in our forest?” Genevieve shot to her feet, slamming her fists on her desk and making Nikini jump at the sudden sound.

“They are leaving,” Nikini tried to tell her, but her mother was already charging towards the door. “Mom, wait!” Nikini shouted, following her.

She was already alerting the guards that there were outsiders lurking in the woodlands; she was also linking Ezra and alerting him of the news as well. Nikini could feel the panic striking her; she didn’t want to get anyone in trouble. The point wasn’t to inform her of the outsiders, it was to ask her about the Davis bloodline and what that meant.

But Genevieve was so wrapped up in getting rid of the outsiders, she was no longer listening to her daughter. Not that she ever really listened to her daughter anyways; but Nikini was hoping for once she could get something else out of Genevieve other than utter disappointment and anger.

Tears were springing from Nikini’s eyes as she watched the guards changing into their wolf forms, one by one, and running through the yards of the manor, heading towards the woodlands. Her only hope was that Jess and her mother were already gone. From the looks of things, Jess’s mother didn’t look as though she wanted to linger much longer in the town. They were in a rush to get away from Nikini, so it’s only assumed they were also in a rush to get away from the town.

But still, Nikini couldn’t bear the fact that it would be her fault if they did get caught.

“Mom, please stop them!” Nikini begged.

But her mother ignored her, per usual.

Nikini never did ask about the Davis bloodline after that. In fact, her relationship with her mother and her attitude all together had changed drastically.

She lost a part of herself that night, and she wasn’t sure if she could ever get it back.