Chapter Three: He Killed Him!

Marise's Pov

We participated in a great event to represent the pack just one month before my 18th birthday. I was nervous to go, but I had Edira for support during the night. It occurred in a magnificent place, and the theme went in gold and red. Orfeo had bought me a gold dress that covered my body from head to toe, but a strip was tied around my waist to give it some form. It was a friendly atmosphere, and everyone attending was dancing, eating, and drinking together. Many of the top-ranking wolves were there that night.

Edira and I ran away from Orfeo and his family on our arrival. We hid in the back of the ballroom, drank champagne, and enjoyed each other's time. We had such a blast together, and I remember being happy for a while, forgetting my horrible reality. Throughout the evening, I felt a presence in the room seeking my attention. And soon, the air around me was filled with the fragrance of the first snowfall of the year, mixed with leather and jasmine.

It was so intoxicating, so addictive, that I needed more.

I began looking around the room when my eyes suddenly locked with a pair of dark hazelnut eyes full of desire. The bearer of the eyes was a tall, dark man with black hair. His hair was cut in a modern style, leaving him shaved on the sides and short hair on the top naturally curled.

He had a broad and powerful jaw and a short beard. A long scar descended to the opposite side of his nose, to his cheek. The guy looked dangerously sexy. All I could do was inhale that man. I gazed shamelessly at his broad shoulders and muscular body, and, oh my God, he made me wet my panties. Shit, I was so turned on by his appearance, and I felt my panties soaking in my juice and dripping on my thighs. This was not good. A few wolves were smelling me, and the man must have also noticed my excitement because I spotted something hard under his pants. His eyes became black, and he roared, with a loud voice,

"MINE!" A few men who had difficulty composing themselves by throwing themselves over me withdrew instantaneously. And I could sense a possessive side coming into my body, and I roared back, "MINE!"

The room became silent, and everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Unfortunately, this was the worst thing that could ever happen. Because in the next second, Orfeo shifted into his wolf and threw himself across the room the exact second he was about to approach me.

Many people shifted into their wolves in a reflex when Orfeo landed on my newly founded mate, pushing him down to the floor with his paws. And before Edira drove me away, I saw Orfeo tear my mate's throat out. Edira dragged me into the back of the building and yelled at me, but I didn't hear anything she said; everything I saw was my mate. The beautiful man is lying on the ground with Orfeo above him. <span></span><span></span><span></span><span>Ripping</span><span> him into pieces.</span><span></span><span></span><span></span>

This is where we became wolves and began to flee. Now I had a chance to win my freedom. But would I ever feel free again? My mate died, the man I was meant to be with, the man I would build a family with, reigning side by side.

Rona cried, howling into the dark night as we ran through the forest, mourning our lost mate.

Because nobody can outlive that, right?

One year later.

We crossed the border towards Spain and have not been followed for more than a month now; we have lost the dark hunters of Orfeo somewhere in Croatia. We found a little cabin to rent, it was perfect for us, and we had enough money to live and pay the rent for a year. It was smaller, one bedroom. But it was all that we needed. I hated sleeping alone, so we shared the bed anyways. It was a simple kitchen with a stove, and it was shyly furnished with a table, two pin chairs, and a small clock radio placed on the countertop by the window. The mint green wallpaper was a little threadbare here and there, and there was a spider web in almost every corner. But we got the place cheap, so we couldn't complain to the owner.

Edira called this "the healing year," I guess it was.

I didn't have a chance to give myself space to feel and work through all the events that had taken place the year before we ran. And I missed my mom. She decided to stay and try to give us a head start. They didn't mention their plans, my mother and Edira. I never knew they had placed out a bag with essential needs for our escape, but that was probably for the best.

Everything Orfeo did to me, my mate being killed, had broken my soul. My wolf and I mourned and wept for six months, and we still do on a bad days.

I'm strong, but everybody comes to a breaking point sometimes. And I had slammed mine really hard. But I know I will get up and heal myself because that's what an Alphas daughter does. She gets herself ready to fight, and she aims to kill!