NEUTRAL GROUNDS

ZARA

I lay on my bed with my eyes open. I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep, not with the storm brewing inside my heart. I had once heard that the only way to be free from the mate bond was to reject one's mate.

Brandon had done it and that explains why he had no attachment to Avery, his mate whom he rejected. It was different for her though as she had refused to let go of him. She kept clinging to him despite a series of rejections and it makes me wonder what is so special about him.

Perhaps this was why I was so restless. I needed to reject my mate so I could be free from the mate bond. I knew Viola would be devastated and I would be in pain for a while but this was for the best. I could not afford to let everyone down, especially my father.

I began to feel hungry and decided to have my dinner. However, after placing the food in front of me, I lost my appetite. I could not eat, I could not sleep, and neither could I focus on anything else other than the lycan. I needed to meet him as soon as possible. Could he be at the boundary? But even if he was, I wouldn't be able to do anything because some of our warriors were there. Even though I was going to reject him, I couldn't let anyone in my pack know that I was once mated to a lycan.

The neutral grounds!! My eyes lit up when I recalled the neutral grounds. It was the safest place to meet him since other werewolves and lycans barely passed through there because it was quite some distance from both packs. I didn't know for certain if he would be there, it was a long shot but one I had to take to stop myself from going crazy before the night came to an end.

It was already dark outside and my father was in his bedroom with his luna while my loser of a brother was asleep already. It was the perfect time for me. When I got to my door, I recalled that warriors were stationed at the gates at night to protect the pack, how would I get past them without arousing suspicion? An idea suddenly occurred to me and I smiled. I was Zara afterall, who could stop me from doing what I wanted?

What I did not count on though was the fact that Brandon would also be keeping watch at the gate; talk about taking your job too seriously. Yes, he was in charge of security but he didn't have to be at the gate. Anyways, I couldn't let that stop me.

He was surprised when he saw me at the gate and walked up to me, "where are you off to at this time, Zara?"

I smiled, "I think I slept too much and now I need to make up for it with some exercises."

"Why does it have to be outside the gates," he asked with a hint of doubt. "Look, Zara, it isn't safe out there, especially tonight. We already shot two lycans and I'm not sure they would survive the poison from our arrows. A lycan also got killed by crocodiles today in front of you so that makes it a total of three losses for the forest mountain pack.

They will surely be out for blood tonight and I don't want anything to happen to you."

I laughed, "thanks for the concern, Brandon. You sound like I am a helpless damsel in distress. Need I remind you that I am Zara? I am not afraid of the lycans, they should be afraid of what I can do, especially with my bow and arrows which you can see with me."

Brandon didn't know what else to say as I had successfully shut him up. I asked for the gates to be opened and a warrior quickly did so. Brandon kept staring at me as I jogged out of the gates. I didn't trust him to let me go so easily so I hid in a corner and waited.

True to my expectations, he came out soon and began to jog as well. I watched quietly while hiding in the leaves until he was out of my sight. Fortunately, there were so many roads outside the pack. Brandon went the way he did because he had seen me jog in that direction so many times.

A few minutes after he left, I entered a different road and began running back to the neutral grounds. This time, I was determined to shorten my journey to two hours so I ran faster than I had ever done in my life until I finally arrived. If werewolves weren't blessed with night vision, I would have surely lost my way due to how dark it was.

However, when I arrived at the neutral grounds, I realized that the moon and stars were shining brightly and it wasn't as dark as the forest. I smiled, marveling at how beautiful the white mountains and hills looked at night.

It was the first time I was at the neutral grounds at such an hour. The smile on my face soon disappeared when I recalled why I was there. I had come in hopes that I would meet the lycan and reject him. Now that I was here, it seemed like a foolish plan. Why would he be here at this time?

I had just wasted a few hours of my life and now I had to go back the same way I came. I was all alone and the only sounds I could hear were those of the owls who enjoyed hooting at night.

I got on a hill and sat for a few minutes, thinking about how I was going to spend the rest of my life as Brandon's mate. After a while, I got down and decided to go back home.

Right at that moment, I smelled the same scent from before and thought that my mind was beginning to play tricks on me but then, I heard a voice ask, "you came too?"