2

The next morning, I didn't want to leave the hut, but suddenly the door banged again. With a grimace on my lips, I knew those bastards had come back to bother me, but just as I opened the door, my eyes widened when I saw Daniel, the Alpha, standing in front of me.

“Chloé,” he said, looking me up and down.

“Alpha, do you need something?” I asked with a confused look on my face.

“No... I mean, I just came to make sure you were okay,” he said, leaving me stunned.

What the hell? This man has treated me terribly for years, and now he comes to see if I'm okay?

“Yes,” I replied coldly. I turned to leave, but just as I was about to take a step, Daniel grabbed my arm and spun me around.

My chest was pressed against his as his arm wrapped around my waist and his warm breath hit my face. For a moment, his simple touch sent a strange sensation through my entire body.

“I need you to answer me...” he said before placing his thumb on my lips, making me gasp.

“What... What do you want?” I asked, feeling my heart pound.

“What do you feel when you're around me? A smell? A tingling sensation...” he asked.

In fact, ever since Daniel had returned, I had been starting to feel a strange attraction to him, but how could I not? He was the sexiest man in that whole awful place.

“Yes,” I said dryly.

His huge, muscular chest pressed against mine as my back hit the wall. I had never been so close to a male before, so I didn't know if what I was feeling was normal or not.

However, as I was thinking about that, Daniel let out a deep sigh and squeezed my chin.

“Chloé, it's been a couple of months since I came back to the pack, and when I saw you yesterday... I... shit... fuck, you're my destined mate,” he said.

Hearing that, a look of contempt formed on my lips. It was obvious that it was just another joke from those bastards.

But, in the middle of my thoughts, I heard Daniel's voice again: “You're my mate, but you'll never be my Luna. I already chose a mate, she's stronger and more beautiful,” he said.

For a long time, I endured Daniel's abuse and insults, and they never hurt me, but now, something in his words made me let out a pained snort. “It's your decision. It's okay, alpha,” I said, enduring the pain inside me.

When he heard my words, Daniel's eyes widened in surprise. “Doesn't it bother you that I'm rejecting you? Aren't you happy to be my mate?”

A mocking smile appeared on my lips as I stared into his eyes. “My feelings don't matter. The pack is what's important, alpha.”

Daniel sighed deeply at my response. “Listen to me, even though we're no longer bonded, you must stay with this pack. If anything happens to me in the future, you have to help me,” he said.

I didn't even say a word, I just nodded. In fact, alpha males are possessive of their mates; even if they don't want them, they don't want another male to have them either.

Not even a second passed before Daniel placed one of his hands on his chest and took a step back. “I, Daniel Falwer, future alpha of the Red Forest pack, reject Chloé Darsy as my mate and future Luna of this pack.”

I thought my body would collapse in pain, but contrary to that, I was completely fine. On the other hand, Daniel's breathing was ragged, lost in the breaking of the mate bond.

“I, Chloé Darsy...” Try to reject him

But before I could continue, Daniel intervened. “You mustn't say it. The bond is already broken. But I warn you that no one can know anything about this," he said before walking away without saying another word.

With a sigh, I turned around and went back to my cabin. I had suffered my whole life, I even knew that my mate was going to reject me, so I just took a shower and went out for a walk.

However, just as I had entered the forest, I heard a couple of voices in the distance.

Shit, I knew that voice, it was Adam. I quickly hid in a willow tree and saw Adam with his friends, who seemed to be heading straight for my hut.

“We have to kill her. Tyron said he'd pay us good money for it.”

However, when they broke into my cabin, a roar came from one of the boys. “Guys, she's not here,” said Adam with a grimace.

Amidst laughter, the boys began to destroy everything: the fragile walls, my bed, my kitchen...

“As soon as we see her, we have to kill her. Otherwise, she'll go to Daniel and we'll be in trouble,” Adam said with an angry growl.

After destroying everything, they left. Seeing all the wreckage, I felt my chest sink, but it was clear that I had to get away from that pack.

With a lump in my throat, I slung my bag over my shoulder and started walking through the dark forest.

Suddenly, I remembered that Daniel had asked me to stay with the pack, but how could I? I didn't even have a place to live, and everyone was trying to kill me.

***

I walked for a couple of hours, watching the terrifying forest. Everything was so quiet and dark, yet a kind of fog began to cover my feet when suddenly two huge wolves appeared in front of me with their fangs dripping with blood.

Damn, they both smelled of old blood and lust that made me back away. “Get away now!” I shouted, feeling my wolf fighting to get out.

How could I let her face these wolves? We were weak, they would kill us!

“Well, well, look what we have here,” said one of the wolves.

But just then, a third wolf appeared and grabbed me by the arms, pushing me against his chest.

“No! Please! Let me go! Let me go!” I screamed over and over again.

“Shut up, you'll make an excellent slave for our alpha!” said the wolf.

For a moment I was about to reply, but one of the wolves just lunged forward and, grabbing my chin, hit me hard on the head.

Everything went completely blurry, when suddenly I felt darkness invade me. Something inside me was fighting to get out as my eyes closed.

/Damn it!/ A loud roar came out of my lips when suddenly screams flowed from one side to the other.

My body moved from side to side as my claws dug into each of the wolves, whose lifeless bodies fell to the ground in their own pool of blood.

What the hell had happened? I had killed three large wolves? But how? My wolf was the weakest of them all!

Not knowing what had happened, I simply ran until my chest began to hurt and I collapsed in the forest.

***

Bradley

(One hour earlier)

Damn it, I didn't know what was happening to me. Ever since I arrived at this pack, I had felt nothing but anxiety.

In fact, for a few years now, my werewolf had been nothing more than a damn wild beast that only wanted to kill anyone who dared to bother me.

After all, only blood and pain could calm my werewolf, but it was getting harder and harder to control him. The only thing that could calm him down was meeting our mate.

Given that, I felt that the best way to keep myself busy was in this damn pack, where I had to take care of a couple of things for the celebration of their new alpha's title.

“Come on, buddy, I know you hate this pack, but we'll only be here for three days until Daniel's coronation,” said my beta, Victor.

“That damn Daniel...” I said, clenching my teeth.

How I hated that damn bastard. In fact, the last time I saw him was when I murdered his older brother, the most detestable of that entire damn family.

Without thinking about anything else, I just wanted to jump out of that hotel window and run away to the forest. With that, I looked at my vampire friend, Wesley, and then at Victor.

They were both worried about me, but I nodded to them and walked over to the window.

“Damn it, man, don't do it. We have to be at the alpha mansion early,” Victor said, knowing my intentions.

“I'm not spending another damn hour in this hotel. You can run with me or stay, I really don't care,” I said with a dismissive gesture.

Without even waiting for their response, I circled the window railing and jumped, landing on my two lycan legs.

My whole body was covered in dark fur as my red eyes stared intently. As an alpha, my lynx is huge and powerful. Without thinking about anything else, I ran, finally entering the forest.

I ran for almost thirty minutes until a strange scent flooded my nostrils. In a matter of seconds, my whole body froze and I heard my lycanthrope say, “Something's wrong here.”

With my claws ready to attack, I looked around me, feeling my paws surrounded by a thick fog.

“What the hell is this?” I asked myself as my vision darkened