CHAPTER TWO: THE SHADOW IN THE WOODS

LAILA

My name is Laila Ashwood. I am a dark blonde headed, blue eyed twenty two year old.

Few days ago I met Alpha Kieran when my pack held a meeting with regards to the festival of harvest.

-Flashback-

I sat on a big rock by the river behind the pack house.

My eyes were red from crying. My cheek hurt where Damien had hit me.

I touched it gently and winced. It was going to leave a purple mark.

"You're so stupid, Laila," I said to myself. 'Why can't you do anything right?'

That's what Damien always told me.

Every day he found new ways to make me feel small and worthless.

I am twenty-two years old. I am supposed to be happy because three months ago, I found my mate.

In the werewolf world, finding your mate was like finding your best friend forever.

It was supposed to be the most wonderful thing that could happen but Damien wasn't wonderful at all.

"You can't even shift into a wolf," Damien had yelled at me today.

"What kind of werewolf can't turn into a wolf? You're broken, Laila. Maybe I should find a better mate." He yelled and hit my face.

I pulled my knees up to my chest. I am the only wolf in my pack who can't change into my wolf form yet.

All the other women my age and younger can run through the forest as beautiful wolves. I could only watch and feel sad.

"Maybe he's right," I whispered. "Maybe I am broken."

The moon was getting bigger in the sky. It was almost full. I always felt strange when the moon was full, like something was trying to wake up inside me but nothing ever happened.

I don't know how long I sat here till I heard footsteps behind me. I quickly wiped my tears. I didn't want anyone to see me crying.

"There you are." It was Damien's voice and he sounded angry.

"I've been looking everywhere for you."I stood up and turned around.

Damien was walking toward me. He is tall and has brown hair. Most girls think he is handsome but I only see the mean look in his eyes now.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I just needed some air."

"Don't lie to me," Damien said. His voice was getting louder. "You ran away because you're a coward. Just like always."

"I wasn't running away," I said softly. "I just—"

"Shut up!" Damien grabbed my arm hard. I gasped. His fingers dug into my skin as he growled at me.

I should have been used to his aggressive abuse by now but every single time he hit or abuses me, it hurts worse than before.

"You embarrassed me today in front of the whole pack. When Alpha Theodore asked why you still can't shift, what did you do? You just stood there like an idiot."

"I didn't know what to say," I whispered.

"Of course you didn't. Because you're useless." Damien's grip got tighter. I tried to pull away, but he was too strong.

"My friends all laugh at me because I got stuck with a broken mate. Do you know how that makes me feel?" He shouted.

Tears started falling down my face again. "I'm trying my best—"

"Your best isn't good enough!" Damien shook me. "Maybe if I scare you enough, your wolf will finally come out."

He raised his other hand. I closed my eyes and waited for the hit but it never came.

"Let her go." The voice that stopped him from slapping me was deep and authoritative. It made my whole body tingle in a strange way. I opened my eyes and gasped.

A man stepped out of the shadows between the trees. He was the biggest person I have ever seen. His hair, as black as the night sky. His eyes, silver like the moon.

When he looked at Damien, his face was very angry.

"Alpha Kieran, what are you doing here? Your lodge is the other way" Damien asked but I could hear that he was scared and his hand loosened on my arm.

"I know," His deep voice echoed.

Alpha of the Shadow Ridge Pack. I felt my heart jump. Everyone knew about Kieran Blackthorne.

He was the scariest Alpha in all the lands. People said he never smiled, that he could kill with just a look and that his heart was made of ice.

But why wasn't I scared of him now, why did it feel like I wanted him to be here with me? Why did I feel pulled to him? I already have a mate so what is wrong with me? I think it's just because Damien is hurting me.

"This is a family affair," Damien said, trying to sound brave. "It has nothing to do with you."

Kieran took a step closer. His silver eyes moved to my red cheek and the finger marks on my arm. Something dangerous flashed in his eyes.

"When I see a male hurting a female, it becomes my business," Kieran said. His voice was like thunder. "Let. Her. Go." he growled and it was the lowest growl I'd ever heard.

Damien's hand dropped away from my arm immediately. I rubbed the sore spot where his fingers had been.

"She's my mate," Damien said quickly. "I can discipline her however I want."

"Discipline?" Kieran's voice got even scarier. "Is that what you call hitting someone smaller than you?"

I watched as Kieran walked closer to Damien. The scary Alpha was so much bigger than my mate and Damien was big but right now, he looked like a little boy next to him.

"I wasn't hitting her," Damien lied. "We were just talking."

Kieran looked at me. His silver eyes were softer when they looked at me.

"Is that true, little wolf?" he asked.

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I was supposed to protect Damien. Mates were supposed to stick together. But my cheek still hurt. My arm still hurt.

"I... I fell," I whispered, looking down at my feet. I heard Kieran growl again.

When I peeked up, his eyes were angry again, but not at me, at Damien.

"You fell," Kieran repeated. His voice said he didn't believe me. "On your face. While leaving finger marks on your arm."

Damien stepped forward. "Look, Alpha Blackthorne, I respect you and the fact that we're alliances, but this really isn't your concern. Laila is my mate. She belongs to me."

"Belongs to you?" Kieran's eyes flashed with silver light. I felt power rolling off him like waves. It made my skin tingle again.

"She's not a toy, boy. She's a person."

"She's a weak person," Damien said meanly. "She can't even shift. What good is a mate who can't be a proper wolf?"

I felt my face get hot with shame. Even in front of this stranger, Damien was telling everyone how broken I was.

Then something I'd never seen happened. Kieran looked at Damien like he was something disgusting on his shoe.

"A male who has to hurt his mate to feel strong is not a proper wolf," Kieran said coldly. "He's just a coward with fangs."

Damien's face turned red with anger. "How dare you—"

"I dare because I am an Alpha," Kieran said. His voice was quiet, but it felt like a roar. "And you are nothing but a coward"

I watched as Damien's face went from red to white. Everyone knew you didn't argue with Alpha Kieran Blackthorne. Not if you wanted to live.

"Come," Kieran said, looking at me again. "I'll walk you home."

"She doesn't need—" Damien started but Kieran turned his scary silver eyes on Damien.

"I wasn't talking to you."

Damien shut his mouth fast. I looked between the two men. I was confused and scared, but I also felt... something else.

For the first time in months, someone had stood up for me. Someone had told Damien he was wrong and it felt nice.

"Thank you," I whispered to Kieran. "But I should go with Damien. He's my mate."

Kieran studied my face with those strange silver eyes. It felt like he could see right into my heart.

"A true mate would never hurt you, little wolf," Kieran said softly. "Remember that."

Then he turned and walked back into the shadows of the trees. In seconds, he was gone, like he had never been there at all.

Damien and I stood by the river in silence. I digesting the shock, Damien fuming.

Eventually, Damien roughly grabbed my hand.

"Don't ever embarrass me like that again," he hissed in my ear as we walked home. "And don't you dare tell anyone what happened tonight."

I nodded but as we walked away, I kept thinking about silver eyes and a deep voice that had called me 'little wolf' like it was something precious.