Chapter 3

Months passed by, and I lived my life on the beeps of a wolf alone. I was nothing but a shadow of myself in the past. The woods were very harsh to me, and only Nyx comforted me. Many times, I tried running from the angles of the territory ruled by the Silver Sword Pack. I was too scared to face either Damon or the Betas.

In the evening, I got too tired to move further. I was cold, hungry, and weak. Then suddenly, Nyx found a small cave behind a waterfall and whispered some words to me, "The cave is still a bit farther and colder, Annie… but it can be a shelter for you."

"I am too tired even to build a fire." I snapped, simply collapsing on a dry mat of grass.

“Take rest, and believe that you can be safe.” Nyx's voice was louder than mine.

I lived a simple and hard life: everything I was able to eat was berries and the small fish in streams. Many times, I ate the roots when I wasn't sure they were poisonous. On my back, I wore rags of clothes, while my face was spotty and skinny from all that falling and fighting.

The only thing that kept raging inside me was the cry of Nyx, my Inner Wolf, that sad, lonely echo inside my mind, one that was growing louder each and every day in my loneliness. The rejection by my pack was an ache in my chest, something slowly dulling and being decreed alongside another plan.

Clearly, there was a power forming inside me. I could feel it—the voice of Nyx, my wolf, whispering into my mind directly.

The cold was the worst. I could feel it crossing into my bones. I wished not for the first time that I could change into my wolf form. Just for the warmth that my fur would provide.

I slid into a deep sleep. I dreamed of running with the pack of acceptance. I felt the warm touch of the breeding bond. It was a wonderful but threatening nightmare.

Suddenly, I woke up.

As soon as I cleaned off my eyes with my hands, a big warm wolf was sitting beside me. I was too weak even to move, even too stressed to be afraid. My eyes flashed open. The light of the morning was passing through the cave.

A man was lying beside me.

His skin was like bronze. His body had hard, real muscles. He smelled pleasantly, like the trees after the rain. And there was a real power forming from his skin. The smell made my inner wolf voice out—a sound I hadn't heard in a long time. “Something is up again,” Nyx said, not feeling any touch of fright.

Totally naked, the man was outlining the shape of my hip with one hand.

"Who?" I whispered. My voice was rough. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

He smiled, a wide and assuring smile. His eyes were deep blue, not the gold of the Silver Sword Pack. The blue of an old glacier. “I’ve found you, little one,” he whispered, his voice loud just like thunder. “Why are you so cold, feeling alone here? Your scent called to me. A wolf who was abandoned but not broken,” he continued.

Before I could even think, he rushed into motion.

He kissed me.

It was not just a casual kiss. It was serious. He really wanted it and wanted a response. And my body, so long deprived of such a touch and the warmth of sex, gave it. All of my being was reaching out to him. 

"Fuck me, tear my pussy out!" I said, moaning with a deeply felt pleasure. 

"Cum!" Damon would say, thrusting his cock deep into my open hole, heating up my desire to the greatest height I never imagined. There was nothing like the nice and sweet love I had with Damon. It was my need, my desire. 

He was an alpha male, and I could sense that. He may even be more. My mind was too overwhelmed even to argue since my body was already responding.

He moved with a powerful carriage. There was no holding back. There was only the need, deep and true. I met that need with my own. Every touch, every gesture, was an affirmation to understand. I was still a woman, an attractive and able one.

When it ended, I sighed hard in his arms. Heat rested on my veins, and it wasn't just from the warmth of his skin. It was the feeling I'd had when I was still myself. Indeed, I'd been broken for so long.

I flinched.

Then Damon rested on one elbow, looking down at me. He put a hand of his softly through my unkempt hair. His sharp blue eyes were soft yet possessive.

“I enjoyed you, mate,” he whispered, a feeling of amusement filling his face. “You are powerful, Annie. You are now stronger than you realize. Now, sleep. Regain your strength.”

His words cut through the cold weather. "Wait!" I tried to help myself up, but my limbs were too heavy. "Mate, what's your name? What pack are you from?"

He chuckled, and the depth of his voice showed his seriousness, a sudden pound in his chest. "That isn't anything a little wolf needs to hear yet," he said. The tone of his voice turned. more serious, but he didn't mean anything evil by it. "But when the right time comes, I'll take what's mine," he added.

He leaned in and left a soft kiss on my forehead. "Be safe. Your life is about to change."

If there was any other word to express my stress, I would tell anyone it was exactly how I felt. I closed my eyes immediately. I couldn't fight it. The sweet moment of intimacy and my weak body had all weakened me.

By the time I woke up, the cave was empty.

The man was gone.

The spot where he lay was cold. Yet, the scent remained. The scent of pine and rain and powerful breeze hovered in the air, and my skin.

I sat up slowly. I felt. different. The deep weakness I'd felt the day before was gone. In its place was a newfound strength. My senses grew sharper. The colours in the forest outside appeared brighter. I could hear the short water drops in the waterfall.

But then, all of a sudden, a feeling of disgust hit me. I was still groaning. When I couldn't help it, I fell against the side of the cave. My stomach twisted and made a dropping sound, making me .

I looked down at my body, and I saw it.

There, on my pale skin, close to my thigh, was a mark. It was not a scar, not a wound spot. It appeared as a merely designed mark resembling a wolf's print. It was also dark blue, like his eyes. 

It must be the true sign of our powerful union. 

A cold shiver ran down my spine, inflicting me with fear, thicker than the rock floor I lay on. Then I tried to place my hand in order, trying to lay it on my stomach. 

I was alone and was banished. I owned nothing now. So soon after thinking with Nyx, I found out I was already pregnant.