Chapter 003

It was the run of shame, and thankfully, the sun was not completely out yet. Raine slunk around the corridors of the packhouse like a ghostly shadow, barefoot, trembling and reeking of sex, and regret.

Her dress was a pitiful mess on her body, hastily zipped up, and her hair was even worse. She could feel the scent of the older alpha clinging to her body, basically pouring out of her pores.

Every step she took sent an ache through her core, a reminder of what she’d done last

She had sex with Matthias Draven. A man more than twenty years older than her. She was 22, and if she remembered properly, he was approaching 45. The man was Ronan’s father. He’d probably even carried her as a child.

Not only had he knotted her, but their wolves had bonded. Fuck, what was she going to do?

How would she ever look herself in the mirror again. Raine’s head pounded, her muscles screamed as she staggered towards the back door, hoping to slink back to the motel and disappear forever.

But fate wasn’t done punishing her yet.

The moment she stepped outside, Raine smelled him before she even walked straight into him.

Ronan.

Ronan froze, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. Raine blinked up at him, eyes wide, as Ronan stared down at her in shock.

In the dim morning light, he was a sight to behold, all sharp angles, artfully tousled hair, bare chest and sweatpants that hung low on his hips. He's beautiful.

His hands were slightly red at the knuckles, and a light sheen of sweat covered his skin. He must have just come back from training.

Raine swayed into him, unable to help herself, as Ronan’s golden eyes trailed over her, his nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent. And then his entire body stiffened. His gaze darkened in anger.

“What the fuck?” He growled, grabbing her arm and dragging her painfully against him. Raine cried out in pain, his hold a bruising band on her arm.

“You reek.” He snapped, his voice sharp like the scrape of broken glass, his eyes flashing yellow as his wolf rose close to the surface.

Raine whined, fighting to urge to submit in the face of her ex-mate. “Ronan–”

“Shut up!” he growled again, fingers tightening. “Why are you back at the pack house, and why do you reek? What are you up to?!” His nostrils flared again, searching her scent, and Raine felt fear seized around her heart.

She didn’t want him to discover who she’d been with. It was bad enough she’d been disgraced by him once. If he found out what she did with his father, Raine didn’t know what he’d do to her.

Ronan’s jaw clenched tightly, his teeth grinding against each other as he caught her scent again. Raine’s knees trembled, and it was only Ronan’s grip on her arm that kept her upright. He stiffened, and then he laughed, a sharp, shocked sound that was full of mockery and disgust.

“You’re fucking pathetic.” He spat the words out. Raine flinched. “So you came crawling back after I rejected you, so desperate to be wanted that you spread your legs for the first man who looked your way.” He leaned in, voice dropping until it dripped with venom. “He smells like he was an alpha. Tell me, was it worth it being that cheap?"

Raine jerked back from the cruelty in his voice, choking on the sob threatening to claw its way out of her throat.

His eyes glinted with satisfaction of seeing her in a pathetic state.

“Please,” she gasped out, barely able to breathe past the lump in her throat. Ronan scoffed, staring down at her in disgust.

Ronan shakes his head like she’d gravelly disappointed him. “You begged me that night, do you remember? And now you’re begging me again after having sex with another man. No wonder I rejected you. Your wolf is a spineless, sniveling creature with no backbone. No match for mine.”

Raine’s eyes burned with tears, and her chest heaved as she fought back her sobs. How could Ronan talk like this to her? Just months before, he’d been telling her how much she meant to him, and now he was like he had never even loved her.

She wrenched herself, staggering back from his hold. Ronan watched her struggle to get her balance, staring down his nose at her like he didn’t know her.

“Go.” He said, his voice cold and flat. “The next time I see you here, in this pack. I will hurt you.”

And that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Raine’s tears spilled over, and she looked at the man she had promised her life to, who had promised his in return. All she saw was a stranger.

Raine sucked in what was left of her dignity, and she ran.

For the second time that morning.

◆◆◆◆

She stayed in the motel for days before she mustered up the courage to move into the next town properly. She needed clothes and proper food. She couldn’t stay cooped in her room forever, and no matter how much her wolf yearned and ached for Matthias, she certainly couldn’t return to the pack.

She kept her head low, and her gaze averted as she made her way into a convenience store. She could smell there were shifters around, and she didn’t want trouble. If any of them smelled her scent and realized she was a rejected, unmated wolf, she would be prey. She felt it was best to stay out of everybody else’s business.

Raine turned to aisles for toiletries, hoping to pick some things up for herself, when she slammed straight into a familiar scent.

Her wolf perked up, preening with pleasure as the familiar scent hit her nostrils.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she glanced up and saw him, the man who had stirred up something she never knew existed, the man she had spent the best sex night of her life with, standing at the far end of the aisle, frowning down at a shampoo bottle.

Matthias Draven. A walking contradiction of a man.