Mate-less

Maya’s pov

It was almost like my heart was ripped out of its enclosure. It was strange because I never liked Chad like that, but he was my soulmate. 

“Well, I am waiting.”

I was still gasping for breath, but the Chad was awaiting the confirmation of our bond’s breakage. Despite the pain, I nodded my head. 

“I accept... I accept your rejection.”

I whispered in between my gasps of breath. I couldn’t look at him to see if my acceptance caused him any pain. Perhaps it didn’t because he didn’t wait much longer after I uttered those words. I was drowning in sorrow when he marched towards the exit. With every step he took, I felt my dreams were shattering. The dreams of my mate saving me from this hellhole. The dreams of starting a family and the dreams of being finally happy. They were all gone.

“I have already chosen a suitable she-wolf as my luna from the pack. I was hoping she would be my mate, but apparently fate chose to play a dirty trick on me. Anyway, I will announce her as my chosen luna tonight. You better treat her with respect despite all this nonsense destiny had in store for us. It is in the past. You and I have nothing.”

I glanced at the exit, wondering what the motive of his words was. Was it to add insult to injury? Well, he executed it perfectly if that was the case.

He slammed the door shut, leaving me alone. I heaved a deep breath. It was over. All these years I was holding on to the sliver of hope of being saved by my mate. Without it, I felt so lost. I sat on the floor, thinking it was a bad dream. How could fate be so cruel? Did I deserve all this? Was the reason I came into this world to feel pain and nothing else? 

I reached out to my pillow and stared at the title of the book. Tell Me Your Dreams… Dreams? I dreamt that I was mated to someone who would save me. There was no point in holding on to Chad. Apparently, he didn’t want me because I was a traitor’s daughter. 

Oh, and I wished that I wasn’t the traitor’s daughter. Was that too much to ask?

I covered my face. Tears had stained my face after so long, but I wasn’t going to cry over him anymore. I couldn’t blame him for rejecting me. Who would want to have the traitor’s daughter as their life partner? No wonder the pack members loathed me. They knew something I didn’t. Holding on to dreams was a waste of time. Someone like me didn’t deserve to have dreams. I was unsure of what hurt more, though—being rejected by the one destined for me or finding out the truth about my parents. If I wasn’t feeling bad about myself in the past, I now had a good reason to. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse, it just did. 

Feeling dejected, I stood up and walked towards the door. I no longer felt like reading or staying indoors. I knew it was dangerous in the woods, and that a feral rogue could attack me while I was alone, but I had to leave. I was feeling suffocated in the pantry. Perhaps a walk could help. Everyone was busy with the event, anyway. No one would notice that I was gone. Not that anyone would care. So I walked towards the door and stepped outside. Despite my logic screaming at me not to peer at the stage, I did, just in time to see Chad holding Alana’s hand on the stage. 

I forced a smile and swallowed a sniffle. Alana was a pretty blonde and, according to the rumours I overheard, Chad’s girlfriend. Well, the pack deserved someone better than me as their luna—someone better than a traitor’s daughter. 

***

I walked away from the rejoicing crowd. Hearing the merry laughter, blaring music, and the people congratulating Chad on the microphone bothered me. Although tears no longer streamed down my face, my heart was in turmoil. Not just because of the rejection. Learning the truth about my parents felt like a tight slap to my face. I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t, as it explained the bitter resentment of the pack members. Heck, no one in the werewolf world would like me or want me to live with them. It was the bitter truth. I was lucky that they didn’t exile me from the pack. 

I began to feel a little better as I moved farther away from the noises of the revelry and the peace of the woods encircled me. I just had to make peace with the fact that I was going to die alone, without knowing what love felt like. 

For some strange reason, I didn’t feel bad about being alone. I doubted anything worse could happen to me. In addition to the rejection I have already experienced, my parents were traitors. What could surpass that?

I was preoccupied with my own thoughts when I became alarmed by the sound of a dry twig breaking behind me.  Who would want to follow a loser like me, I thought as I peered into the darkness. I saw nothing noteworthy behind me. Once more, I began to walk, but this time I was extremely vigilant. 

There were footsteps. This time, I was sure of what I heard. My eyes widened and my heart raced. I doubt that whoever followed me into the woods did so with good intentions. I ignored my anxiety to the best I could and looked over my shoulder. This time, I was sure I saw a dark figure hiding in the shadows. A huge lump obstructed my throat. The shadowy figure looked so much like Nathan. Seeing him was the last thing I wanted. 

I broke into a sprint, not knowing where I was headed to. My intention was to return to the packhouse. Nathan definitely wouldn’t try anything drastic with the pack members around. Even though I was running as quickly as I could, I could hear heavy footsteps catching up. Nathan was a skilled warrior with extensive training. How could I, an untrained, unshifted she-wolf, outrun someone like him? 

Taking hold of my hair, he pinned me to the closest tree trunk. I screamed, but I knew no one would hear me. I was too far out into the woods. 

“Let me go!” I demanded as I struggled against his firm grip. 

“Why would I do that? It has been so long since I wanted to catch you in a place like this,” he grumbled and started to rub his nose against my cheek, sniffing my scent. “Mmm. You smell so pure… so fresh… I can’t wait to feel this…”

A chill went down my back. I knew what he wanted, but I wasn’t going to let it happen, at least not with ease. I wriggled against his hold, using all the strength I could muster. He was strong, but my determination was stronger. Even if he managed to get any satisfaction from my body, I refused to make it easy for him. 

“Let me go, you creep!” 

“Uh, uh. If you resist, it will only hurt you. Just let me do this, and I promise it will feel good. No one will know. This will be our little secret.”

I glared at him. What part of the word ‘no’ doesn’t he understand? To my horror, he grabbed my bum and started to massage it before ripping my shirt with the other hand. My blood boiled. He didn’t have any right to rip my clothes or lay his filthy hands on me. I may be mate-less, but I wasn’t a slut. I refused to sleep with random wolves, especially married ones.

I balled my free fist and punched his throat as hard as I could. He started to cough. Without giving him time to recover, I grabbed his ears and headbutted him. 

A massive breath escaped his lips as he staggered backwards, but somehow he was still standing. Nonetheless, it gave me time to escape, so I made a run for it. Once again, I didn’t know where I was headed to. I sure hoped I was running in a direction where I would come across some warm bodies. However, I was too slow. He caught me again, and this time, he showed me no mercy. Snarling like an animal, he picked me up and aimed at a large tree. 

The last thing I could remember was flying in the air, and then everything went black.