Chapter 4: Alpha's Reborn Mate

"It is the first time Alpha Hadar defends a slave. Does it mean he loves her?" One pack member asked someone, standing a bit far from my direction.

Sometimes, they glanced at me, but I tended not to look at them, pretending I hadn't heard any single detail they were talking about.

"I am not certain, but I hope not. She looks like she is not a slave. Something is off about her."

I continued to broom the dried leaves outside, with the air continuing to brush my skin, and a loud shout of pups who were marching in the training ground, as well as the shout from the audience of the duel. It made me more uncomfortable staying here after the Alpha saved me from death. Yet, right after that day, I hadn't met him personally to thank him. That night, I was about to knock on his room, but guess what? I heard a loud moan.

That made Alpha Hadar a walking red flag, not a perfect mate for me. I mean, it was at least half-proven that he was indeed my mate when he saved me, but he wouldn't admit it.

"Hey, slave!"

Out of my overthinking, I returned to my senses when someone called me, not by my name, but by my rank with the pack. I looked behind and found a group of pack members, maybe the same age as me. They immediately laughed at me as if something were on my face. The last time I checked, I was presentable, and there should be no dirt on my face.

"Is there anything else I can do to you all?" I politely asked while I stood, holding the broom, and eyes kept staring at them.

One tall man moved closer, crossing his arms on his chest. He said, "We want you to stay away from this pack now. You don't deserve to be here."

"And guess what? What I've heard is that she's the Alpha's favorite now!" The other girl interjected and pushed me down to the ground.

My ass bounced on the ground, making me stay there for a minute.

"What are you guys talking about?" It made me wonder who the hell scattered that information where I almost rarely saw the Alpha. He was too busy, and I couldn't approach him.

"What's worse, you're a spy and came here to make the Alpha fall for you, right?!" The girl still insisted I was a bitch.

They didn't know my experiences before I landed here, and it wasn't intentional I reached here. If someone were to blame, that would be the Alpha, not me.

"What?! I'm not!" I responded, wanting to explain my side, but the girl pushed me again and stepped on my stomach.

It triggered Nila to come out and scratch their faces, but I stopped her. I couldn't handle it myself and should not let my anger rule me.

"Remember this: you are not beautiful and can't seduce the Alpha….You can never have him!" The guy attempted to kick me, but I heard the girl whisper that the Beta saw them.

"Let's go!"

The two of them ran away without even trying to look back. Right after they were gone, I stood and saw the Beta indeed saw them as he was approaching my standing.

"Hey, are you alright?" The Beta asked me while checking my body. "If they do that again in the future, don't hesitate to tell me, hmm?"

I cleared my throat and nodded my head. "Yeah, but I think there's no need. I'm a slave—"

He didn't let me continue as he suddenly interrupted, "You're not just a slave. You are here for a purpose."

He winked at me, about to walk away, but suddenly stopped and looked back at me. "By the way, I'm Beta Andrew. Just call me Andrew."

Afterward, he left and didn't even dare to stare back at me.

"Alright. Will he not ask my name?" I murmured as he faded from my sight. "Anyway, why would I even tell him I am Luna Nyla?"

****

A night came, but I couldn't sleep. And there was something in my mind telling me to escape from this pack. I didn't belong here.

"Oh, dear, where are you going?" Marga asked me when I met her in the hallway. "You tell me you're tired. So why are you going out again?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I am tired, but I need to breathe some fresh air, you know."

It was a lie, but hopefully, she would believe it. She was the type of person whom it was easy to detect someone was hiding something. And even my real existence as a Luna, I felt she knew it, the reason she always told me to stay in the pack. It would be safer, away from chaos. Yet, I felt differently. I felt threatened and would die if I stayed longer here.

"Please, I know it. But if you change your mind, listen to me." Marga held my hand and tapped my shoulder. "But I know you are grown up enough, aware of what is good and wrong. Don't always follow what's in your heart. Think about it, too."

She then bid goodbye to me and went inside the pack's mansion while I went behind and headed to the nearest woods. I had looked at the map here and saw a border in the west. It was a less risky area.

'You should not be doing this, Nyla. Our mate is in this pack, come on!' Nila wanted to stop me from going, but I was unstoppable. Although, Nila even wanted to control my body.

'Stop it, Nila. This is for my own sake and yours too,' I replied.

'When will you understand how mate works? Are you that dumb?' Nila went furious.

'Call me whatever you want, but I'll keep doing this.'

Minutes later, I reached the border, and I could smell my freedom already. However, before I could step out, I sniffed a familiar scent. And I knew I had smelled it before in the pack.

"It's from the Alpha," I mumbled when I could assure it was him.

I hid in the nearest tree while trying to sniff where the scent came from. Before I could locate him, I heard someone crying and concluded it was the Alpha.

Why would the Alpha be crying out of nowhere? Was there someone who hurt him?

To answer all the questions that lingered in my mind, I tried to peek at the left side. Because there were not many trees surrounding the area, the moon's light shone around, making me glimpse him standing alone.

'Why did you leave me? You told me you will be reborn to love me again, but where? I still haven't seen you, my love ...."

I hadn't heard exactly the next thing he said as he almost whispered it, and only he could hear.

Out of curiosity, I tried to unlock the puzzle of who his lover was. As far as I know, he had no wife and was yet to be married to someone, but she ran away, just like I did.

"Does he already have a lover before?" I asked, yet I also couldn't answer that. Only he knew.

It was too rare to see an Alpha crying. It must be a genuine love.

I was about to step closer to hear what he whispered, yet I mistakenly stepped on dried leaves, which created a sound. It widened my eyes and made the Alpha pause at his standing.

"Shit."

For me not to be caught, I leaned on the trunk, hoping that he would see me. And remained not moving for minutes until I decided to peek again.

My soul almost moved out from my body when he moved closer to me using his werewolf strength and placed his hand on my neck, almost making me unable to breathe.

"A—Alpha…." I could almost not say it. "Can…you…please…move your hands away from my neck?"

Alpha Hadar didn't listen. His eyes turned red, and I felt he was too furious. The next thing I knew, he removed his hands from me and sighed.

I coughed and held my neck. The pain remained.

"What are you doing here? Escaping, huh?" He questioned. "Didn't I tell you I can no longer escape?"

Instead of answering, I eyed the Alpha and witnessed his eyes turn into his normal ones, and I still saw him crying.

"Sorry, but I heard you are crying," I was hesitant to tell her, but I was curious, so I needed to. "I assume it's your past lover who promised you to be reborn and love you again. Did I hear it correctly?"

Instead of hearing a response, the Alpha darkened his stare like he could kill me any minute. I regret opening my mouth, and I should have kept it in me.

"I understand—"

"Don't you ever mention it again! I am not crying and didn't mention anything, you understand?!" He asked me. "And if you ever tell that to someone in the pack, I won't hesitate to kill you."

I blinked twice and was too afraid of his threat.

"But I bet you can't kill me, as you also feel like dying if I do….."