Shattered

Ansel's POV

Her lips were trembling, fear etching all over her but I couldn't help but smile. 

I could hear the rapid beat of her heart, matching the pounding going on in my chest. 

Her eyes showed evident fear as she took a step back, but I wasn't here to cajole her. I'm never going to allow any she-wolf to treat me like shit. 

Asher's gaze narrowed, he gritted his teeth and reached for Raven, taking her hands in his.

Asher's desire to protect her was clear. He has always been free-spirited, willing to give anybody their space but I didn't budge. 

Raven's gleaming eyes full of defiance were enough proof that she wasn't as innocent as she looked.

And I refuse to be caught off guard.

I threw some training pants which I had brought with me, recalling she came here with nothing. 

“Quickly, change to this! We don't have all day.” I said, boring my gaze onto her.

“In this pack, you must be strong to protect yourself and as our mate, you are not allowed to be weakling. I voiced out.” venom dropping in my tone. 

My mind went back to the day we met Raven that cold evening in the woods, we were being hunted by allies, the person I trusted the most. 

The oppressive silence in the woods was replaced by the loud howl of the wolves closing in on us. 

At first, we wanted to fight back until suddenly, feral-looking wolves emanated from nowhere, their eyes wild, their jaws and teeth moved with a chilling precision. Their eyes fixed on us, ready to tear us into a million pieces.  

With a profound and flawless formation, we were outnumbered and that was our cue to run for our dear lives. 

My eyes darted to the ceiling, as though staring into the past. My shoulders stiffened, and my breathing fastened, a shallow low gasp escaping my lips as though I was reliving the past. 

My skin prickled, creeping as though the very thought was alive and crawling beneath my flesh.

My fiance, shit, ex-fiance Layla was the mastermind. My face twisted, as memories of Layla surfaced, haunting me.

We were high school sweethearts. She was my first love, our first everything.

I proposed to her after school as she had everything I was looking for in a mate. How stupid I was. 

Anger stirred within me and my face turned pale, my eyes blazing as the memories overwhelmed me.

My mind recoiled how I begged with my knees on the ground for time to pass fast so I could make her Luna, but she betrayed me when she told our rival pack about our secret plan to fight them.

“How do you love and trust again when the person you trusted threw away all the memories you've shared for years?”

It turned out that the alpha of our rival pack was her fated mate, and he had promised to make her Luna if she told on us.  

The events of that day flooded me, as I recalled how, together with my brothers, we planned a surprise party for her birthday only to be ambushed and almost killed on our way home. 

I thought I knew Layla, but I was wrong. Dead wrong.

The sounds of howling wolves, the feel of dirt underneath my paws and the smell of blood that filled the air all came rushing into my mind with full force.

If we hadn't trained for years, we couldn't have escaped.

We ran to the lake, catching our breath. The cool breeze calmed our racing hearts. We rested on the base of a tree and planned for a comeback.

Fate took a drastic turn when we heard emerging footsteps. Startled, we turned, and Raven appeared from the underbush.

One wolf for the three of us. 

The thought of it sent a pang of despair through me. The moon Goddess must be sleeping. “Why would the moon Goddess do this to us?”

This certainly was a cruel joke!

I love my privacy. The sense of being alone.

But with Raven, that feeling of solitude has been shattered, replaced by her constant presence.

The idea of sharing a mate with my brother's made my skin prickle. To add to it, she was weak. As I looked at her fragile petite body, my body tensed up from disappointment. 

Her slender frame was nothing compared to the fuller figure I wanted my mate to have.

For the second time in a row, I tasted bitterness in my mouth as the weight of my past came bearing down upon me.

“What was I supposed to do with a mate as petite as Raven?” I mumbled, caressing my face with my hands as though it would replace the anguish I was feeling. 

“How do I move from having a mate all to myself to sharing her with two brothers?”

“What the hell!”

A low scream escaped from my lip, snapping me back to reality as I met Asher and Raven's intense glare at me; it felt like I was staring into the face of my vulnerability.  

I pushed the memories away, and with the emotions still simmering, I took a step closer, looking straight into Raven's eyes. 

“What are you staring at, you fool!” “I blurted out, my voice rougher than I had intended it to be.

“Change and move to the field for training. Don't keep me waiting.”

Asher's countenance changed abruptly, he stepped forward, his gaze locked on mine.

“What do you think you're doing? He asked, his tone full of concern. Is this necessary? She just got here. Give her a break.” He muttered, pointing at her. 

“I'll not have you meddle in my affairs. Stay off this,” I replied, a firestorm boiling within me, the sound of my ragged breathing filling the room.

“Need I remind you, Ansel; she's not your property; she's our mate we're talking about, our mates! He said, Stretching the last part.

“I don't care!” My body's heat was rising, and I could feel the heat trickling down my spine. My body felt as though it was on fire and almost unbearable; my anger boiled over, consuming all my rational thoughts.

In a bit of rage, I turned to Raven and dragged her out on the field with Asher following us.

I felt her soft skin brushed against mine and my frustration bubbles. “You need to toughen up,” I yelled, pushing her, not intending for her to fall, but she did and hit her face on the hard floor.

I waited for her to get up, but she lay down, sobbing which only infuriated me more.

*How pathetic you are!” “You don't have a single stamina,” I said in a mocking tone.

Asher's face darkened, his fists clenched, stepping closer to me with his eyes boring into mine.

“Ansel, you're crossing the line! You better stop this smelly attitude or you risk destroying the peace that has existed between us.”

“Oh, shut it! You're defending her already, you barely know her.” I replied, my jaw clenched so tightly that it seemed to tremble with restrained anger. 

“You both are weaklings, fluff!”

Asher gave me a menacing look, but it didn't last, he reached for her hand, helping her get to her feet. 

Her eyes were red;, and she lifted her face as though staring into the sky in a bid to control the tears begging to fall.

Without a break, I continued “ You are not just weak, but also lazy”

Get ready; let's finish this up,” I said, gesturing with my hand for her to get in line.

 Ansel! Ansel! I heard someone yell, and I quickly turned, facing the direction the call came from.

It was Rowan. The second of our trio. He's good at hiding himself, and I wondered what he was doing in the field as he always trains alone. 

He walked up to us, his face expressionless.

“What are you guys up to? Were you planning to have training without me?” He asked no one in particular.

“We have a guest.” He said as he took notice of Raven, who was standing beside Asher.

“What's that look on her face? Ansel, what have you done this time?  Rowan asked, frown written all over his face.

But I said nothing. “You have no right to question me,” I muttered to myself.

Raven heaved, staring at each of us, her arms crossed, across her chest 

Rowan, Ansel is being a jerk… but he was cut short when we saw a figure running towards us, shouting at first, his words incoherent 

But as he drew closer, we could hear him 

Rowan, Asher… your father has taken a turn for the worst

We all darted out…leaving Raven at the spot.