Chapter 5

Isabella's POV

"Everyone who cares for you will forsake you,"

I stayed in the filthy hole-in-the-wall, looking up at the tiny window high above as those words echoed painfully inside my brain. 

Beyond this window lay the woods where I had perished so recently at the hands of that scheming little tramp.

Who could have imagined that even with the Moon Goddess's assistance, I'd revive only to endure the identical treachery! It had been he who had convinced me to be his chosen mate under the watchful eyes of the Moon Goddess! At 18, I told him how I felt. 

“Let’s call it, Damien; it’s not going to work long-distance. 

 We won't find joy together."

Those were precisely the words I'd uttered to him!

"No, Isabella, absolutely not! Screw the mate connection! I'll wed only you, Isabella; if not, I'll stay solitary forever."

I'd been completely stunned, able merely to whisper his name while embracing him firmly and weeping tears of joy.

I truly thought that despite not being destined eternally by the Moon Goddess, we'd still honor our commitments to one another throughout our lives.

What a pile of foolish illusions.

I scrunched myself up tightly, trying to stop myself from remembering those happy days with Damien, but the memories forced their way into my head uninvited.

The chill attitude of the man at the feast stood starkly against the warm man of my memories, and I wept in despair. 

"Isabella... Please refrain from crying." my wolf addressed me softly.

“It’s okay, Aurora, there’s no need to worry…”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t able to protect you.”

"Don't talk like that; I don't blame you." I said, straining every nerve to make her understand that it wasn't her fault. 

The sole individuals accountable for this entire mess were that idiotic slut and her disloyal partner.

That malicious little sorceress and Damien with his chilly apathy... heed my warning, I wouldn't let either escape unscathed once I escaped this.

I brushed the tears off my face and rose, abruptly detecting the subtle aroma of Cedar as I stiffened in position, the quiet enveloping me like a shroud, with solely my swift heartbeat for companionship.

What was occurring to me? My heart pounded rapidly, and Aurora appeared to sense it too. She was agitated, striding eagerly in my consciousness.

Then abruptly, she shrieked thrilledly in my mind. "MATE! MATE!"

"What are you talking about, mate? Is this a prank? How can you encounter your mate while I'm trapped in this humiliating predicament?"

Ignoring my embarrassment, the pulsating feeling went up higher and higher while the scent of cedar only became even stronger.

There was the sound of hurried footsteps echoing down the corridors of the dungeon, and when I raised my head, a large, muscular figure was standing outside the bars of the cell.

The moon shone down on his broad, muscular shoulders, hiding one side of his face in shadow, which made his chiseled jawline stand out.

Looking up, one finds a pair of shining golden eyes staring into their own. 

I regarded the distinguished man before me, my racing heart and Aurora's soft whimper indicating that this man... he was my destined mate.

I approached him instinctively, and through the bars, the man's hand extended, caressing my cheek with his palm as his coarse fingers delicately outlined my features. "My mate," he murmured nearly worshipfully.

"His wolf... Isabella, this man's might is exceptional!" Aurora declared enthusiastically.

"I know... even in our pack, such potency is uncommon!" I answered, just as astonished by the man who yearned to touch me.

He drew nearer, his heated breath wafting the cedar scent as it brushed my ear.

The sensation of his skin on mine was maddening, and I abruptly retreated to avoid acting entirely unlike myself.

"Don't fear, little mate," his laughing tone emerged from above, "I am Lucas Stormridge, Alpha of the Frostveil Pack."

He halted, his stunning eyes regarding me earnestly. "Are you prepared to accompany me?"

My thoughts were chaotic.I was lonely, abandoned, and betrayed just seconds before, and now, just like that, I was placed alongside the most powerful pack in the country, if not the world!"

I..."

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?!”

Before I finished my sentence, Damien’s angry voice interrupted it and He emerged in the passageway, guiding a sizable crowd toward me and Lucas.