Chapter 5: I refuse your rejection

Gwendolyn's mind spun crazily the moment she felt the sparks of the mate bond. The pull was intense, and she felt her wolf howl with excitement in her head.

She looked up sharply, her gaze clashing with his as realization dawned on them both.

It couldn't be. She waited twelve years to find her mate only to discover he was her sworn enemy? The moon goddess had to be joking.

She watched Kieran snatch his hand away, like he had been burned.

"I don't believe this." He muttered, a frown marring his arrogant face. "You're my mate?"

One of the Wildings landed heavily on the ground and walked forward until he was standing beside Kieran. He had the same build; long hair, wide enormous wings and blood red eyes.

His eyes scrutinized her darkly, then he turned to Kieran.

"You're mated to her?" He asked harshly. "Are you sure?"

"I felt the mate bond, Kane." Kieran muttered.

Even now, he could feel the pull, the strong urge to go close to Gwendolyn and touch her. The more he tried to suppress it, the stronger it became.

"Maybe you're mistaken." Kane continued. "History can't repeat itself, not after what happened the first time."

Kieran glared at Kane for a moment, and something dark flashed in his eyes.

"I feel it, Kane." He said coldly. "And she feels it too. As much as I want to deny it, I can't. She's my mate."

"Goddess above." Kane scoffed. "What are we going to do now? We can't take her back with us to Nightshade."

"That's exactly what we're going to do." Kieran said.

"You've got to be kidding." Kane snapped. "You want to bring her with us? Have you forgotten how she treated you the past two years? If it hadn't been for the blood moon, you wouldn't have escaped and we never would have found you."

Gwendolyn listened as they argued. So it was the blood moon, she realized. That was how he escaped, and how he communicated with his kind.

"She is my mate, Kane." Kieran yelled. "As much as I hate her and her kind, it doesn't change the fact."

"Then kill her."

Kieran turned sharply and pinned Kane under his hard glare.

"What did you say?" He muttered.

"Kill her." Kane repeated angrily. "With her death, you will be free from the mate bond. You can't take a lycan as your mate."

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!" Kieran snarled. "If I kill her, then there's no difference between us and her kind."

"Then let me kill her." Kane's claws emerged and he took a threatening step towards Gwendolyn.

Suddenly Kieran grabbed the hem of his wings and shoved him backwards violently.

Kane crashed to the ground, and as he tried to get up, Kieran slammed his foot on his back and pinned him in place.

"You wouldn't dare touch her." He growled. "She is my mate, and if anyone is going to kill her, it will be me. Whoever dares to hurt her will face my wrath."

He raised his head and glared at the other Wildings gathered around. They averted their eyes, and no one dared speak up.

Gwendolyn was amazed at the raw power exuding off him. She felt it, a wild savage aura that made the air tingle. Not even the most powerful lycan had that aura.

Afterwards, Kieran stepped away from Kane and turned back to her. With a wave of his head, the stray strands of silly hair flicked backwards and she could see his eyes again.

"You're coming with me." He muttered. "When we get to Nightshade, I will decide what to do with you."

His words snapped her back to her senses and she glared furiously at him.

"It will be a cold day in hell before I agree to this bond." She snapped.

That familiar mocking grin she was used to appeared again, giving him a sardonic look.

"You don't have a choice, princess." He murmured. "I won't give you the satisfaction of killing you now. It will be too easy."

He turned and gestured to one of the Wildings.

"Dom, bind her arms and feet." He ordered. "We leave for Nightshade immediately."

He started to walk away when he heard Gwendolyn's clear voice.

"Kieran Anubis." She called out.

He slowly turned around until his gaze met hers.

"I would rather die than be your mate." She muttered. "I, Princess Gwendolyn Bowen, sole heir to the Earth Realm Pack, reject you Kieran Anubis, as my fated mate. I break the mate bond."

Kieran felt a sharp prick in his heart, a sign of the mate bond straining. If he accepted her rejection, it would snap, and the bond connecting them would be severed.

But he would be damned if he let Gwendolyn go freely. Rage burned through him for how he was treated the last two years. Despite the pull of the mate bond, he would make her suffer for it. There would be no escape for her.

"Nice try." He muttered. "I refuse your rejection! You are bound to me for all eternity, and nothing will change that. Except death."

Gwendolyn felt her heart race rapidly. She knew the hell she would go through if Kieran took her back to his pack. She couldn't let him.

"Then death it is." She whispered. Before anyone could stop her, she whipped out a dagger from her dress pocket, the same dagger her father gifted her.

She raised it high, aiming for her chest.

Suddenly Kieran moved. His figure blurred out as he closed the distance between him and Gwendolyn in insane speed.

He appeared beside her and snatched the dagger from her grip before she could lower it, before she could even realize what happened.

She gasped, shocked at how quick he moved. Then her eyes widened as he wrapped his hand around her throat and lifted her.

"You won't rob me of the satisfaction of killing you, princess." He snarled into her face. "When the time comes for you to die, I will be the one holding the dagger. Get that into your messed up mind."

The sparks of the bond tingled wildly at their contact, and for a moment, they stared at each other silently.

Then he shoved her away and turned to Dom.

"Bind her now."

Dom moved towards her, holding a thick, black vine. He looked different, with a shaved head and darker skin.

"Sorry." He muttered unapologetically as he took both her hands and wrapped the vine around it.

Gwendolyn looked around the pack in horror. The burning houses, the dead bodies ripped apart, the carnage, blood and gore.

The Earth Realm Pack was gone. Her home was gone. She failed her people.

Then she remember Julian. Where was he? She looked around, her eyes scanning the dead bodies frantically. If Julian was dead, then it was all over.

Suddenly a growl echoed nearby. She turned towards the sound and watched as Kane dragged Julian out of the spot he had been hiding.

"Julian!" She screamed and rushed towards him, but Dom pulled her back viciously.

Kieran stared at her, then at Julian, and the look in his eyes turned murderous.

"Where did you find him?" He asked Kane.

"The bloody mutt was hiding inside the castle." Kane answered. Then he raised his head and grinned at Gwendolyn. "What a coward! He stayed back, leaving the princess to fight on her own."

"Let him go!" Gwendolyn yelled. She turned to Kieran and tried to plead with him. "You have what you came for. Me! Julian hasn't done anything to you."

The fact that she was worried over another man more than her own life didn't sit well with Kieran. It angered him.

"So you care about this... boy?" He asked. "Who is he? Your lover?"

Gwendolyn stared at him like he had grown a horn in his head.

"You have no right to ask me that!"

Kieran nodded, his gaze pinned on hers. Then he turned to Kane.

"Kill him!" He ordered.