Catherine's POV:
My mind got easily bombarded with questions as I felt Easton slowly change the position of his lips from my neck moving forward to my cheek. The stinging pain from Jessica's slap earlier instantly got replaced with a tingling sensation evidently caused by Easton's warm breath. I panicked. My body was shaking, my hands were sweating, I can't even feel my legs. Just when I wondered when this was going to end and where it would lead me, Jessica reappeared. And for the first time, her sudden appearance made me feel relief rather than fear or dismay.
"What the fuck are you doing with that little bitch?!" She screamed. I can tell from her eyes that she was about to explode with intense rage, threatening to pounce at me anytime.
I looked at Easton, and from the look of his calm expression I can't even tell if he was annoyed or at least worried that his chosen mate just caught him sniffing another she-wolf right under her nose.
He didn't turn his gaze away from me. Instead, he displayed a cocky grin and released my hands slowly as he turned towards where Jessica was standing nearby. I swear I saw him roll his eyes before facing Jessica who was merely two feet away behind him. I didn't understand why Easton would suddenly appear and grab me for no reason at all when he for sure kept his distance from me for the past couple of months. I was a confused lamb. His strange behavior and actions just now only added to my confusion.
"What are YOU doing so early in the morning honey? You shouldn't sneak up to other people's business just like that." Easton straight up answered her question.
Jessica's face and ears turned completely red after hearing what Easton just said.
"But i'm your chosen mate!" Jessica replied, her blue sapphire eyes threatened to burst into tears with the coldness in Easton's voice.
I stood very still in my position, not daring to move a single inch after what had just transpired between me and Easton.
"What is going on here?!"
I looked at the direction where the question sounded from. To my horror, it was Alpha Norman and Luna Grey of the Silver Moon pack.
The alpha's intensely domineering aura filled the entire room in that very moment where his presence was made known, and it made everyone freeze. We immediately lowered our heads in submission, as a sign of respect. He studied us as if trying to analyze the whole situation we were in. The luna, on the other hand, looked calm and collected as she stood elegantly by his side. Her face revealed no sign of emotion and simply stood there, watching.
I prepared myself for whatever pain and punishment was going to come my way.
I glanced at Easton whose face went from a cocky grin to a frown, all because of the sight of his own father.
"It's nothing to worry about." Easton said.
"What exactly is nothing?" Alpha demanded. His tone screaming danger and trouble for all of us.
Alpha Norman caught my stare and glared at me viscously with a dangerously threatening look on his face.
My heart skipped a beat. I swallowed.
Oh goddess. Everything seems to be going wrong this day.
He took a huge step forward, followed with more steps that quickly made their way towards me. I glued myself to the floor, completely unable to move.
"Slave."
The way he stated the word I was called by all of the wolves in the Silver Moon pack utterly sounded like he was referring to the most disgusting thing he had ever seen.
I slowly raised my head and look at him carefully in the eye.
"Yes, Alpha?" It took all the courage in me to give him a not-so-clumsy response. I don't want to mess this up. I'll hold on as much as I can until tomorrow, my eighteenth birthday, then I'll get the hell out of this stinking place.
PAAAAK!
I stumbled backwards letting my ass fall flat on the hard floor. At that same moment, I heard the sound of ringing in my ears, so loud and almost deafening. The impact I received from his painful strike must have caused the loud ringing sound which temporarily suspended my ability to hear. My eyes went blurry, and I was truly fighting the urge to just lay down on the floor and let them devour me, little by little, piece by piece.
But I can't. Not in this place, and most definitely not now that I am only hours away from my own freedom.
With a renewed vigor and strengthened resolve, I gathered my bearings and managed to get my feet to raise me up until I was facing the overbearing alpha of the pack that enslaved me since I was just ten years old.
He wasn't looking impressed with my renewed strength. Rather, he was looking even more pissed than he did only seconds ago when he showed up in the room.
My tongue suddenly caught a metallic taste which travelled down my throat and eventually settled in my stomach. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable inside in addition to the pain inflicted by the Alpha himself.
Only then had I noticed the blood that spilled from my mouth, brought by the unexpected violence I wasn't supposed to endure. I smiled inwardly, trying to be positive so as to encourage myself not to give up. Why am I even surprised? I should have been used to this by now. Jessica and the Alpha were not the only ones who treated me like dirt. In fact, I was constantly beaten up and made fun of by every single werewolf in this sorry excuse of a pack. Despite all that, I didn't break.
So why should I now?
Alpha Norman raised her hand and pointed his index finger straight to my face.
"I ask the questions, you answer."
I nodded in response.
"Was it you causing all the commotion?" He said each and every word loud and clear that his words might have even resonated across the entire room.
I thought deep and hard for what I should answer him. Why should I be the one to tell him his son was technically harassing me, a slave, a short while ago? My position is innocent.
"No, Alpha." I said truthfully.
"You fucking liar! She was the one seducing my mate minutes before I came in! Who knew if she would have forced Easton to sleep with him had I not been here to stop her!"
I looked at Jessica in utter disbelief. She clearly saw that I was struggling under Easton's grasp. She must have known it was really Easton who had been the seductive one. Instead, she decided to blame all this on me. Even the fact that Easton was being forceful.
Jessica met my stare and displayed a wide grin. What a hopelessly despicable woman.
The Alpha opened his mouth and was about to speak when Easton suddenly made a shameless remark.
"You're being too extra fucking dramatic about all this."
Alpha Norman raised his brows and revealed a frown. He turned to face his son, the next-in-line for the position of Alpha, and moved in close.
"Have you got something you want to say, son?"
Easton still looked as expressionless as he did before.
Jessica ran towards him and clung tightly on his arms, shoving me to the side forcefully in front of the Alpha. I moved to the far side away from her and Easton but I was still facing Alpha Norman where I stood.
"Go ahead, love. Tell Alpha Norman what that disgusting little slave was doing to you." Jessica encouraged Easton expectantly.
Easton furrowed his brows, looking annoyed with Jessica's clingy behavior. He did not seem to enjoy it.
"Shut up, Jessica."
Easton rolled his eyes then aggressively yanked his arm away from Jessica, whose face now resembled the color of a whole sheet of bond paper. She turns her head and stared daggers at me that I could feel her raging aura as she looked at me furious.
I was a bit surprised, but I was more surprised for the fact that what Easton did had actually given me a sense of satisfaction and relief deep inside. Seeing that he was straight up being mean towards Jessica oddly gave me mixed positive and negative feelings about the situation.
I shook my head, cringing at the positive feelings I admitted to have.
At this point of time I shouldn't be thinking of less important things. Instead, I should focus on the situation I threw myself in when I accidentally bumped to Easton's chest.
"She didn't do anything to me. I did. I just got carried away with her scent. After all, she is my mate. The moon goddess picked her."
All their eyes widened in shock, and so did mine.
Catherine's POV: ‘Mate…’ That single word echoed through my mind. Did I hear him wrong? Maybe that was my mind playing tricks on me. I wanted to burst out laughing, raise my hand, or say something in protest but couldn’t. My heart felt as if it was ready to jump out of my chest any second. I wasn't really ready with that bit of information, especially not from him. I am his mate? How could that be? Why would the moon goddess pick me to be his mate? She must have known better than anyone that I was just a mere slave. A no one. Nothing but a freak who lost her memories as a little child. Too irrelevant and weak to be mated to an Alpha’s son. I have been told by almost every single werewolf in this pack that my existence was never meant to be. That I wasn’t worthy of love from anyone. Let alone have a mate. I accepted that with an open mind and heart. I knew no one would want a mate as broken as me. Even if I did have a mate, he was the last pers
Catherine's POV: Thirty eight minutes later. I just finished cooking the eggs, bacon, toasts, some croissants, cheese sandwiches, and breakfast burritos for the whole pack. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to stuff a croissant in my hungry dry mouth or drink water as I was really really getting behind the clock. I quickly set up the tables and placed all the food that I cooked for breakfast. After several minutes, a bunch of hungry werewolves started sitting down on the pack table and instantly devoured everything at hindsight. The Alpha, Easton, and the Luna were there too, eating their own share of the bounty. While I stood in a corner nearby and silently watched as the food I just created vanished for a short period of time, having none for myself caused a severe pain in my stomach. Some werewolves who were passing by subsequently bumped me on my shoulders, threw water on my dirty apron, and kicked my foot intentionally. Nonetheless, I care little for the brutes, but the pai
Easton's POV: I noticed my mate looked as if she was feeling so uneasy in that dark corner where she stood every day during pack breakfast. I studied her face and tried to make out the meaning of her changing expressions as she stared at the mountain of food on the table. I just remembered my father forbade her to take a seat and dine with the other werewolves in every meal. I saw her hand travel down her stomach, clutching it tight. That small gesture made me know straightaway, she was starving. I excused myself from the breakfast table and stood up carrying my tray. Of course, I refilled all the dishes that was missing on the food tray so I would be providing a whole set of breakfast to my mate. "Done already?" My step-mother, also known as Luna Grey of the Silver Moon Pack, who was sitting at my right clung to my shirt, stopping me from leaving the pack table. I looked at her hand, secretly irritated at this shameless, beautiful woman who became my stepmum. "I just remembered s
Catherine's POV: Easton stopped walking midway to the exit and his sudden movement made me accidentally bump my forehead on his back. I didn't make a sound as he turned around to face me. Our eyes locked. His glowing amber eyes distracted me just for a second and I tried my hardest not to get lost in them. "Hey, it's just that, since you were a slave I never really knew your name." Ashamed of the word 'slave', I turned my head away to look at the wall to my right, not wanting any more to confirm whether there was disgust or loathe in his eyes. "Oh, it's Catherine." "Nice to meet you, Catherine. By the way, I like the sound of your name." He smiled. Unexpectedly, he stepped towards me, so slowly that it made me feel anxious enough to take a step back, wary of his every move.
Catherine’s POV: I woke up feeling a little bit dizzy. I didn't open my eyes because I noticed the intensely bright light that was peeking through my vision. Why is it so bright? More importantly, the smell of a comforting scent went up my nostrils easily as I continued to breathe. Although it wasn't that strong of a scent, something about it left me wanting more. My body also felt like it was literally floating in the air. It seemed that I was leaning on something like a hard surface. However, I noticed that my body was moving on its own to a certain direction. A hand trailed closely behind my neck, and another against each of my knee, legs closed. Gently and slowly, I let myself see everything that surrounded me. At the very first moment, I saw Easton. He was carrying me in a bridal style going to someplace, evidently far from the kitchen where I remembered myself getting beaten by a number of pissed and hungry werewolves only moment
Catherine's POV: I jumped up in fright. When my eyes searched the room, there was no one around. "Who is that?" I focused my senses to catch on any movement or any sound coming from inside the room. "It has been a long time since we merged. But then, I felt the seal that separated us for years break, " "Where are you?" I heard the voice chuckle. It was then that I realized, the voice I heard did not come from the room, but deep inside of me, in my mind and to the depths of my soul. "How could you not recognize my voice? I'm Raya, your wolf silly!" She giggled again. I felt my cheeks blush, embarrassed of my stupidity for not knowing my own wolf at our first meeting. "Sorry," I said, and my body shifted from being tense to relaxed with the knowledge of her presence. My wolf. I finally have my wolf. Knowing I was no longer alone made me quite a bit emotional, and I was feeling overwhelmed and thankfu
Catherine's POV: The delicious scent of fresh mint woke me up out of curiosity on where it had come from. As I opened my eyes and attempted to move, the instant pain around my wrists suddenly distracted me from going further to that purpose. I felt that my hands had been handcuffed to the metal frame of the bed I was currently lying on, and I looked up where I felt my hands were tied to in order to confirm it for myself. I tried wriggling the cuff in a bid to get my hands loose. Just then, I sniffed the same familiar scent back from the garden where I attempted my escape, and realized a horrifying truth behind it. The sound of footsteps approaching me slowly made me cautious and expectant of something evil about to befall me. I shrink back on the bed in fear. "Catherine, Catherine, Catherine, you never fail to surprise me every time," I flinched upon hearing the sound of his voice. "Easton. . ." I barely said his name through a whisper. "Well, it appears I have awoken my mate. Tr
Catherine's POV: "Aaahhh... Please... Stop..." I mumbled and moaned shamelessly in between the words I forced out of my mouth as I attempted to open my eyes despite a strange feeling that keeps circling around my insides like crazy. "Faster?" He spoke so suddenly and just after hearing his strangely familiar voice, he quickened his pace like a wild dog in heat. The tone of his voice makes me imagine his face, grinning. In. Out. In. Out. I felt like I was being crushed and my insides were being turned inside out with the same motion. "Aahhhhh... Stop... I can't..." I tried to get ahold of myself but just couldn't. I felt his hands move and his fingers wrapped around my legs as he spread them further apart. For a moment, I thought I felt my bones break when he opened me wider. I curled my toes and squirmed knowing my hands were handcuffed to the metal frame of the bed. With nowhere to run and no means to escape at all, I swallowed the ur