CHAPTER 4

JAXTON’S POV

 

It’s been a couple of minutes since Charlene left the pack house. I couldn’t sense the trail where she last went. It’s really a whole lot different when her cheerful presence isn’t around. My shallow heart kept on being torn apart during the entire time that I strangled her, scared that I’d end up killing her like she said.

 

But what I’ve done still can’t be compared to the sin that she committed.

 

From the garden, I saw Beta Jeremiah fast approaching me. He seemed to be furious; his eyebrows were too close to each other, to the point that his eyes were almost not visible.

 

"Alpha Jaxton, what’s going on here? Is it true that your mate agreed with your order?" he asked in a straightforward way.

 

I nodded my head. "She chose someone else over me. That’s all there is to it, Jeremiah. Don’t you dare mention Charlene as my mate ever again," I coldly replied.

 

Jeremiah clung to my arm, leaning his body closer. I could feel the warmth in his body and soul. "Come on, Jaxton. I know that you didn’t mean to force her to conduct an abortion. Can’t you somehow —"

 

I pulled my arm away from him as aggressively as I could. "You’d never understand how I wished to dislocate all of that man’s bones that night and make a pool filled with only his blood, Jeremiah. You have Lizbeth on your side for years; don’t act as if you've already experienced worse than what I’ve been through," I said without removing my stern gaze from him.

 

Lizbeth was Jeremiah’s mate, and she’s the Female Beta of the Vicious Shadow Pack. She rarely goes outside since she prefers to support Jeremiah with his business in order to show how devoted she is to him.

 

"Your mate—Charlene—she’s the only woman who treated you right since you were a pup. She was there for you even before the moon goddess tied a red string to your relationship. She defended you against everyone else whenever no one took your side. Charlene is not the kind of person who’d cheat on you, Jaxton."

 

That was the last message that I heard from Jeremiah. He left the garden and disappeared right away. Jeremiah was the type of person who possessed high intellect aside from being built powerfully. He has a strong sense of justice, and he was always the first to solve the mysteries within our territory. And for over a decade, Jeremiah was never mistaken in the things that he declared, especially when it was an important matter like this one.

 

I returned to my room, where Charlene’s scent was everywhere. The image of her crying flashed back through my mind. I sat on the sofa and let my head rest while my legs were crossed.

 

I promised her that I’d break the neck of anyone who’d dare to make her cry, so I can't believe how I was the cause of her tears.

 

The scenery of what occurred that night was still clear in my mind, as if it only happened recently.

 

***

 

My phone buzzed inside my leather jacket. When I picked it up, I saw an unknown number calling me. I frowned before I decided to accept the call, then waited for the caller to speak.

 

"Is this Charlene’s mate?" a man's voice asked.

 

My eyes slightly widened. "Yes," I shortly replied. I fixed up my posture as I ran my fingers through my hair.

 

While waiting for his response, I heard a faint voice of a woman. I shook my head to ignore the possibility that it was her.

 

"Charlene… Can you fetch her over here in the Scarlet Edge Hotel? She passed—"

 

Without any second thought, I ended the phone call, cutting him off. Running outside of the mansion, I entered my car and drove as quickly as possible. My hands gripped the wheel tightly, and one of my fingers was unstable.

 

Moments later, I stepped on the break when I was near the Scarlet Edge Pack. It was the only place where both werewolves and humans were able to live in harmony. Their peace would never be ruined, as they have the guidance of the moon goddess herself.

 

"Charlene, where the hell are you?" I annoyingly asked her through my mind as I kept on running back and forth to check where the pack’s hotel was located.

 

Fortunately, a mortal was kind enough to teach me the exact direction, so I arrived at the said place after a minute. I didn’t have to ask for the specific floor and room number. I sniffed a couple times, which led me to figure out where Charlene’s scent was strong. I entered the elevator, and once it opened, I immediately stopped by the first door.

 

I held onto its knob, then gently pulled it open. It was quite dim inside the room, but I could sense two people inside.

 

My heart felt like it broke into pieces when I saw a man embracing Charlene the exact second that I switched the lights on. She wasn’t wearing the dress that she wore when she left the house. I saw her silky dress lying on the floor, filled with blood and dirt.

 

"Bastard…" My breathing was heavy as I approached the two of them.

 

Charlene’s facial expression clearly tells me she’s astounded. Not by the mere fact that I arrived here quickly, but by the fear that I wouldn’t believe any word that she’d say. My right arm shifted. I pulled the man away from her with my gigantic fingers. My claws buried themselves into his bare skin, and I saw how his blood dripped from it. My mind was filled with nothing but the desire to take this man’s life.

 

"Ahh!" A woman yelled from the other side of the room. I glanced at where I heard her and realized that there were a lot of people watching me.

 

I clicked my tongue as I threw the man into the corner of his room. His head banged against the walls, enough to make him lose consciousness.

 

I managed to revert my arm back to normal when I finally got Charlene captive in my arms after I dressed her up. 

 

It was already late in the evening when we returned to our very own pack. However, I didn’t go straight to our room. I dragged Charlene, with both of her wrists locked up together, over to the underground basement where our cells were. Just like how I threw the man earlier, I pushed her to the ground made up of stones.

 

"J-Jaxton, it’s not... It’s not what you’re imagining, trust me!" Charlene knelt as she tilted her head to meet my eye. She repetitively rubbed her hands to beg me to believe her. "Xavier’s innocent. He just helped me change my—"

 

"Screw you, Charlene! How can you let a man touch you like that?" I couldn’t prevent myself from shouting at her.

 

She shrieked because of how loud my voice was. I never raised my voice like this to her, even after all of the arguments we had before. This was the first time that I was completely anguished by her actions.

 

My vision turned dark. It’s like something other than my wolf is taking over. I unconsciously knelt in the same place as her, then pinned both of her shoulders to the wall. Charlene instantly looked the other way, which made her hair cover her gorgeous face.

 

Charlene was sweating heavily when I began to let her feel my breath through her ears, which I nibbled softly.

 

But I received the opposite reaction than I anticipated. Rather than feeling aroused by my presence above her, she tried to escape. She continuously kicked the air as she successfully got away from my grasp.

 

Dismayed, I got up from the ground and gave her the hardest slap in the world.

 

"You let that bastard fuck you, and you wouldn’t even allow your MATE to do so?"