Chapter 2

Waking up to a pleasant smell of sandalwood and cinnamon, I quickly stand up, comb my hair with my fingers, and straighten out my cardigan to look more presentable.

It's mate! You must go to mate now! Storm mind-links excitedly.

I know, Storm, I am ready. Let's go! I say to her.

Running down the stairs and the hallway, the scent is becoming stronger. It’s leading me towards the high-ranking bedrooms. I’m starting to become nervous and less excited.

We have never been in this hallway before. I mind-link Storm.

There! That's the room. Mate is in there! Hurry, go in! Storm says.

Standing at the large brown wooden door, I was about to knock, then lost my courage, taking a step back.

He is in there, go on, knock. Storm encourages me.

I'm sorry, Storm, I can't do it! I tell her.

I turn to walk away, and the door flings open. My eyes make immediate contact with Alpha Tate’s. 'Mate!' I say out loud in my trance.

Hearing a chuckle, a door down, someone was there. 'Are you kidding me? Slave is your mate, Alpha Tate?' Beta Sam asks.

I shake my head and break the trance from Alpha Tate’s brown eyes. He lets out a snarl and a growl at Beta Sam and me. I step back in fear, 'This can't be right,' I whisper.

'No, it's not right! You are not fit to be Luna or my mate! I won't accept this curse from the Moon Goddess!' he angrily says.

'I Alpha Tate of the Black Wood pack reject you Slave to be my Mate and Luna!' he spits.

We both instantly fall to the ground in pain. My eyes well up, and tears run down my face as I cry out in pain from the rejection.

Alpha Tate is holding himself up against the wall clinging to his chest, trying to contain the pain.

Pack members step out of their rooms to see what is going on. They are shocked to see the Moon Goddess has made Alpha Tate my mate but are happy to see I’ve been rejected.

Everyone smirks and laughs as I try to stand up. I have to use the wall to lean on as I flee the hallway and return to my attic.

I burst into tears as I lay on my mattress.

Mate rejected us! Storm says sadly.

'This is our fate now, Storm. We will never be anything more than "Slave" to this pack, and we will never know what it will be like to have a mate and what it’s like to be loved.' I sob.

A few months pass. During this time, Alpha Tate had new members join our pack who would torment and abuse me just as much as the other pack members would, especially Ava, who started sleeping with Alpha Tate.

I haven’t spoken since the day Alpha Tate rejected me.

It’s become rare to hear from my wolf since the rejection. I don't blame her, though. If I could hide away, I would too.

Never being able to ever shift into my wolf before, it gave the pack another reason

 to beat and bully me, saying I was a freak of nature that I couldn't even shift.

After spending the day scrubbing the floors, I was just about to finish when Alpha Tate and Ava walk past me, hand in hand.

Ava kicks the bucket of the dirty water over and laughs while Alpha Tate glares at me.

'How you ended up with this freak of a slave in our pack bewilders me, Alpha,' Ava says.

'Well, she was such a freak and abomination that her parents abandoned her as a baby in the woods to die. My father was Alpha at the time. A pack member found her by chance and decided to keep her as a pack slave.' he tells Ava.

Ava laughs. 'Fancy being so hated that even your own parents didn't want you!' she taunts.

Continuing to mop the water up, I try to ignore their hurtful words. Tears flood my face as I sob.

'Oh, the little slave is crying!' Ava says with a chuckle. Alpha Tate also laughs. Then as they leave, Alpha Tate slips on the dirty water falling on his back.

A loud snap is heard as Alpha Tate screams in agony, 'My back! My back! I think it's broken! I can't move!' he yells.

'Alpha Tate!' Ava screams and gets down on her knees, hovering over him. She then looks in my direction. 'Well, don't just stand there! Do something, Slave, this is all your doing!' she yells.

Dropping the mop, I run to the other side of Alpha Tate and gently slide my hand under his back to feel around. He flinches at the sparks from my touch.

But yells in pain as I feel the broken bone, 'It's definitely broken... It will heal, but it's a bad break. It might take your wolf a couple of days to heal it,' I whisper.

'I can't stay like this for two days!' Alpha Tate yells. I gently pull my hand out from under his back. He starts crying out in pain again.

'What did you do to him now!' Ava snaps.

'I didn't do anything.' I whisper, keeping my eyes down. Beta Sam arrives and pushes me out of the way, and I fly into the wall from the force of his push.

Alpha Tate lets out a growl at Beta Sam, and we all pause in shock for a moment.

The pack members slide the Alpha onto a board and take him to his room. I quickly mop up the rest of the water.

Walking outside to tip the dirty water out, I come back inside. Beta Sam is blocking the doorway.

‘Alpha Tate has requested your presence in his room.’

I drop the bucket in surprise and step back. Beta Sam grabs me roughly by the arm and drags me inside down the hall. We reach Alpha Tate's room and enter.

Ava glares at me, and the pack Doctor smiles. 'Well, I will leave you to it.' the Doctor says and leaves the room.

Beta Sam pulls me towards the bed and pushes me down into a chair next to Alpha Tate. 'You can go now, Sam... you too, Ava.' Alpha Tate orders.

'I am not leaving you alone with her!' Ava snaps.

'GET OUT NOW!' he yells with his Alpha tone. Sam and Ava leave the room, and now it’s only him and me in here.

Shaking, I have no idea why I’m here.

'I suppose you want to know why you are here?' Alpha Tate says. I nod my head.

'The pack doctor said I will heal much quicker having my mate here...' he says.

There’s an awkward deafening silence.

‘I don't want you here, and I know you don't want to be here, but I need you to place your hand under me again. Unfortunately, your touch lessens the pain,' he explains.

Nodding, I stand up and slide my hand under his back. He flinches, and his eyes turn black briefly from the sparks.

He lets out a relaxed breath. Even though I can feel him staring at me, I keep my eyes down. 'I want you to look at me, Slave,' he says.

My back stiffens, and he notices. I shake my head softly, declining his demand. I haven't stared into his eyes since the moment I found out we were mates months ago.

'I want to see your eyes,' he says. 

Why does he want to see my eyes? Why does he want to look at me at all? I become curious and slowly look up, making instant eye contact with him.

We stare silently into each other's eyes for a moment, and something strange happens. I feel a warm energy flow through my arms, and my hands emit a glow.

'Your eyes? They’re glowing silver, and your hands are glowing too! How are you doing this?' he panics.

I can't stop the glow. I’m not even sure what is happening. My hair flows behind me despite no breeze in the room.

The glow continues as warm energy flows through my body and then works its way out of the palm of my hand under Alpha Tate's back.

A crunching sound is made from his spine snapping back in place. Alpha Tate cries out. Then my hair drops back below my shoulders, The blue returns to my eyes, and the glow disappears.

Alpha Tate pales, his mouth partly opens in shock. He sits up in his bed and then looks at me. 'You-you healed me?' he says in disbelief.

Taking a few steps back, I look at my hands and begin trembling. How did I do that? I then peer up to see Alpha Tate standing before me, staring intently into my eyes.

'Mine!' he snarls, snatching me into his arms and holding me against his chest. Beta Sam and Ava run into the room, seeing Alpha Tate miraculously standing.

'Alpha! How did you heal so quickly?' Sam asks.

'What are you doing, Alpha? Why do you have the slave in your arms like that?' Ava yells angrily.

Alpha Tate is staring at me, oblivious to Sam and Ava yelling at him. I squirm in his arms and fall onto the ground.

Alpha Tate extends his hand to help me up. I stare up into his eyes. He rejected me. He has hurt me. Why is he looking at me with desire in his eyes? Why is he trying to help me now?

Standing up, I ran past Sam and Ava as fast as possible. I hear an angry growl come from Alpha Tate as I flee from the pack house to the small lake where I can be alone