Riley pulled back from Kent, shifting so she could see Alma and Patrick more clearly. She ran both hands over her face, taking a deep, shuddering breath.
“I met Paul on my eighteenth birthday. The pack had a tradition that all women had to go through the warrior barracks on their eighteenth birthday in case they were mated to a warrior. I was going towards the barracks to present myself when I ran into Paul. He was the beta of our pack. He was ten years older than me and he had taken a chosen mate three years ago.
“It was not a secret that Paul didn’t want to take his chosen mate, but the alpha forced it. Paul had been messing around with the alpha’s younger sister and she ended up getting pregnant. When the alpha found out, he forced Paul to take her as his chosen mate. By the time I me
