Chapter 3

Horland had never seen this beautiful young lady before and it could only mean two things. 

One, she either came into the town in hopes of meeting a supernatural creature as the rumors were quite popular to people outside the town. And the town's name did not really help clear the rumors. It only made it seem more true. 

Two, she was new in town. 

They barely had people who were new in town but he had heard of three. A male from the Commoners pack, a wandering werewolf that had been helped into the pack and the weird Goldington girl that showed up claiming to be the ex Alphas daughter. 

"Who are you?" He asked, trying to ignore the strange pull he was feeling towards her. His heart raced for no reason and his senses were heightened. 

His wolf threatened to break free but he held the leash on it and tried to maintain his composure. 

"Can you drop the gun please? It is kind of scary." Ava says taking a bold step towards him. 

Horland hid the gun behind his back. She was definitely one of them judging by her scent. Although, it was very faint. Perhaps she was trying to hide her scent but why would she if she didn't have anything to hide. 

Despite his wolf's plea to be set free, he kept the leash on it and tried to control how he was feeling. His heart thumping at her smile and his senses enjoying the little things she did. Like how she bit her lower lip and stared at the ground, obviously shy. Or the way she kept trying with her slender fingers. 

It slowly began to come to him. The way he was feeling strange and weirdly attached to a lady he just met.

'Mate!' His wolf finally growled and he had no choice but to release an animalistic growl from the base of his throat. 

'She is my mate?' He questions wanting to be sure. It was obvious from the way he felt excited and the way his heart thumped upon seeing her but he had expected it to be more grand. He didn't expect it would happen in the middle of the forest and with this lady that seems shady. Finding his mate has been something he looked forward to ever since he became the head warrior. To find that lady he could feel safe with. To melt in her arms and be brought alive by her magical touch. To experience that feeling of wanting to be inside of her every moment he could get. 

"I…I just found out…"

"That we are mates?" He completed the sentence taking a step forward. She was gorgeous, he had to admit. Her slender figure would fit right between his arms and those lips, he could bet they were soft and succulent. "Horland Green." He introduced. If the sparks weren't flying around enough, they would simply work towards it. Afterall he already felt more than attracted to her. 

"Ava Goldington." She shly replies tucking her hair behind her ears. 

He paused in his steps the moment he heard her name. The Goldington girl? "The abomination?" He asked and Ava felt as if her heart had been into two. 

"No. That isn't true. I can explain it…"

He raises a hand to stop her and glared at her with a disgusting look. "I would rather be mateless than be known as a mate to your kind." 

Not knowing how to explain, she tried to move closer. To let him feel the sparks and see that the lovely pull they had was better than a silly myth but he pulled out his gun on her. 

"One more step and I won't hesitate to shoot you. They are filled with silver bullets." He adds so she could know just how dangerous the gun was. 

Ava tried to say something but her mouth couldn't find words and her mind was blank. Tears filled her vision and she hurriedly turned around, refusing to be seen as a miserable desperate for attention lady by a stranger who just rejected the moon goddess choosing her as his mate. 

Giving up was for the weak. So Ava decided she would visit Horland everyday and make him see just how they were made for each other. She managed to get a spot in the kitchen and cooked some food. Packed it nicely and started her trip to the forest. What gives him the right to reject her when he doesn't even know her? 

She got to the forest and met Horland with three other men discussing the security of the town from the Clawcrest packs side. 

When they noticed her, they all were quiet and she saw Horland facepalm himself. 

Ava had put extra thoughts into her dressing and appearance. She was wearing a flora printed corset dress. Her lips were glossing with the strawberry scented gloss she was wearing and her eyelashes were thick and dark. She knew that she was gorgeous enough to make him hers, he just needed the time. Besides, being accepted by Horland would go a long way for her. He could help with the townspeople, protect her and help her get to the bottom of her parents death. 

"Hello." 

"I told you never to come here again." He repeats in a hard tone but it doesn't faze her. 

She took a step forward and stretched the lunch box out to him. "You didn't even give us a chance yet." 

The other men stared at Horland like they were hearing wrong things. 

He waved them off and explained. "The crazy lady here thinks she is my mate." He rushed forward, grabbed the lunchbox and threw it far into the forest. "I made myself clear. Never come here again." 

She opened her mouth to speak but he pointed his gun at her again and she immediately turned around, her heart as heavy as her feet. 

Ava tried different tricks in the days that followed but Horland simply despised her more. She finally stopped, accepting her fate and hoping she could quietly live among the pack. Maybe one day, they would realize she has done nothing wrong.

Another week passed by and the second full moon finally arrived. Ava had spent her time in the training ground that was spacious enough for her to have her second transition. It was painful and quite slow but she did it. She howled at the moon and watched as the other wolves around separated themselves from her. To them, she was still an abomination. 

Back in her human form, she was too weak to even move a muscle. She had barely spent two minutes in her human form when she heard screams coming from around. Ava crawled from her state and sneaked to the heart of the training ground. 

Some wolves were tearing others apart, their teeth sinking into the neck and feets digging into the space where the heart of other wolves was. Some people who had changed into their human forms were the ones that were easily attacked. They left them no chance to even switch back before attacking the poor souls. Taking their lives in the blink of an eye. 

The rest who were in their human forms, managed to run out of the mansion though the Northern gate and the ones in their wolf form rushed forward into what seems to be chaotic. Ava knew they were under attack. There was nothing she could do but run. If she stayed, she wouldn't be able to help as she was already too weak and no one would protect her. Infact, they might even try to kill her and make it look like it was done by the invaders. 

She rushed to the small room she was using in the North, grabbed her bag and her fathers journal and left using the Northern gate. Her body was weak but she ran into the deep parts of the forest, her legs weakened from the transition. When she heard animalistic growls behind her, she picked up pace but was still slow. She knew it was a wolf coming after her. The wolf nudged her forward and threw her against a tree. Her back met the tree with a harsh impact that sent stars into her vision for some seconds. 

Groaning, she tried to stand up and leave but her body was too weak and her brain was slowly falling into an unconscious state. The wolf slowly walked towards her, its growl coming from the base of his throat and its eyes ferocious like that of a killer. It reminded her of the night she had watched her father die. The wolf's intention was clear. To kill her. She couldn't even tell if he was one of the invaders or a member of the pack who saw her as bad luck. 

Just as the wolf was about to attack her and Ava had given in to her ill fate, she suddenly saw it being thrown aside by a weird force. A pair of white eyes came into her view but her vision was too blurry to make out the face. 

Although the scent it carried was strong and heavy. The aura it brought made her feel relieved. As if she had found fate.

Soothing.

She managed a weak smile as she watched a hand reach out to her, the warmth covering her forehead before she finally fell into her unconscious state. 

Was the person an angel sent from the moon goddess? She would never know. But one thing Ava was sure of- he was definitely the light at the end of her tunnel.