The bar was rowdy and filled with people. Different shades of lights dazzled the entire area. The music was blaring, and the ground shook every time the DJ tuned his equipment.
Raven looked at the barman, who was busy attending to other people seated at the counter, as she raised her glass. "One more bottle, please."He looked at her before his gaze flickered to the now-empty bottle of tequila. She could easily tell he was worried, seeing her finish a whole bottle herself and still ask for more. But she couldn't be bothered to care about keeping faces at that moment. He also seemed to consider that he was making a profit, and instead of convincing her otherwise, he brought out another bottle for her.She took yet another glass of tequila, feeling the burning sensation down her throat, and her eyes welled up with tears. She couldn't even be sure if it was due to the strong taste of the drink or if she was just too sad and needed to cry."Aish..." She whispered, her body swaying on the chair due to the several shots she had taken.The series of events that had unfolded in the past week had been enough to make her want to cry into a bucket.First, she had found out who her mate was and then got rejected by him. And then, she had no idea how the rest of the pack members found out, but the bullying and harassment she had to face in the days that followed were incomprehensible.And then, to top it all off, her so-called mate had found her the night before after ignoring her and treating her as if she were invisible the past few days, only to try to sleep with her. When he was rejected, he had offered to make her his sex slave in exchange for protecting her.It was the final straw for her. Nothing hurt more than her rightful mate wanting to take advantage of her and make her his mistress."Fuck..."She was disgusted, heartbroken, and frustrated by everything that had driven her out of the pack house and into the streets dominated by humans to get some fresh air. She didn't know how she had ended up in the bar, but the drinks seemed to be doing well as a distraction from her issues.While she was quietly brooding, three men suddenly appeared beside her and took their seats around, enclosing her in the middle. At first, Raven was too far gone to notice their motives.But when one of them suddenly said to the barman, "Get this beautiful lady another drink. Her bills are on me."She looked up at the man before moving her gaze around and noticing that the three of them were strange. She lifted a hand, slurring as she rejected, "No, thank... you. I'm... good."The men laughed and didn't force her. Instead, the one on her right tried to strike up a conversation."Pretty lady, why were you here drinking alone?""Are you heartbroken? Did your boyfriend jilt you?" Another asked, and they laughed.Raven could sense that something was wrong, and she didn't say anything in response. Instead, she looked toward the barman, feeling her head swaying with every moment. She was getting uneasy."How much is my bill?" She asked."Two hundred bucks," he replied, and she dug her hand into her pocket for her card. She had saved some money up in the past two years, so she wasn't completely broke and had something to fall back on."I'll pay for it," the man insisted, but Raven still brought out her card, and the barman took it.She stepped down from the chair she sat on, staggering immediately as she was not yet balanced, and nearly fell off the platform. But she managed to stand up straight, narrowly avoiding the outstretched hands of the men who were now trying to grope her as their eyes scanned her figure.They had noticed Raven from the moment she entered. She was quite beautiful, that was for sure. It was something even Lucas had noticed in her despite his presumed disgust and hate. And it was the reason Nadia hated her guts despite always looking down on her.She was fairly tall and had a slender figure with ample breasts, and a perky bottom that seemed to jiggle every time she moved.The men were immediately enticed, and they set their gaze on her. She was a good catch, especially since it was clear she was a novice in the bar and wasn't quite aware of the dynamics.Even though she resisted them, they weren't deterred, as they were convinced they could handle a club geek like her.Raven stumbled toward the exit, ignoring the calls from the barman to get back her card. She stumbled, half-drunk and half-conscious, toward the parking lot that led to the open roads, intending to get a cab.But before she could do anything, she was grabbed by the men who had quickly followed her out and were now trying to corner her in a deserted parking lot."Let... go!"Raven immediately tried to resist as she shook off their strong grips, but she couldn't go far for long, as she was thoroughly drunk and stumbled on her steps again.Werewolves usually didn't get drunk easily, as they had better immunity compared to humans, but Raven was an omega, and she had come to the bar with the sole reason to drink away her sorrows. She was far gone and couldn't even summon her wolf, not to mention fighting off three strong men."Little sister, don't struggle so much. We're not going to hurt you."Another one quickly quipped, "See, you're so beautiful. Why would we want to do anything bad to you?""You're so drunk. Let's help you. A pretty girl like you shouldn't walk around the streets alone at night.""No. No need," Raven stuttered as she tried to break away from their grip. But she couldn't even fight them off no matter what."Help me!" She wanted to shout as she caught sight of a figure coming out of the bar, but the men quickly covered her mouth tightly."Shut up, you little bitch!" One of them growled as he reached out to slap her, but his hand was grabbed from behind and the next moment, he was thrown over someone's shoulder.A few kicks here and there, and all three men were on the floor with broken ribs and jaws. They screamed in pain as they looked at the tall masculine figure that had suddenly appeared and was glaring at them angrily.The man approached them once again, but before he could do anything, they quickly scrambled off the ground and limped away, howling as they went. The man watched them as they left, seemingly wanting to chase after them but deciding against it as he looked back toward her.Raven had long fallen flat on the ground, losing her balance, and now had her eyes closed as she dozed off. The man stared at her quietly and sighed, both speechless and amused as he reached out to carry her in his arms and walked toward a black Ghost parked across the street.When Raven woke up again, she was now in the passenger seat of a moving car strapped to the seat with the belt. The man beside her immediately looked toward her when he heard her stir. "You're awake," he said as he returned his gaze forward and continued to drive.Raven was currently confused as she looked at the man. He was unfamiliar, but she remembered him saving her a moment earlier. She still wasn't fully conscious, and her head felt as though it was detached from her head and sinking into water. She also had a headache and a hard time wrapping her head around the situation."You..." She wanted to speak, but due to her parched throat, it hurt whenever she tried to speak."Don't talk," he warned as he looked at her. "I'll get you a room at a hotel. You should sleep there for tonight."And without another word, he continued driving but not without taking another glance at the open cut of her dress where the top of her breasts could be seen even clearer now that she was so close t
Tristan's POV:I felt the sun rays hitting my face, stirring me awake. It was morning, and the sun was already high in the sky. I hadn't slept this long since four years ago.I had never felt so free; it was as though all my burdens had been lifted from my shoulders, all thanks to her.I sat up in bed instantly, and when I looked at her side of the bed, it was empty. She had left. Her clothes were gone, and even the side of the bed where she slept last night was straightened out. It was as if I had slept alone.Just then, my cell phone, which was on the bedside table, rang. It was my beta and best friend, Ethan.As I picked it up, his panicky voice resounded in my ears. "Hey, are you okay? Where are you?"I scrambled out of bed with the phone in one hand as I stepped closer to the window. There was a swimming pool across the way, and from where I stood, I could see countless people swimming."What's wrong?" I asked. "Did something happen?""You suddenly disappeared. Didn't you find a
RAVEN'S POVThe glass in my hands slipped, crashed onto the marble floors, and broke into bits. I could feel countless eyes settling on us, boring into my back as though they wanted to see through me. However, at the sight of the face in front of me, I froze, and I didn't even realize I had just disrupted the meeting.'Why... why is he here?' I thought.It was as if seeing his face tapped into my memories, and all the memories of last night came flashing through my mind in torrents. I shivered unconsciously as blurry memories of him leaving his marks on my body, as I came undone in his arms, took away my senses. It felt as if I had returned to last night, and I was sensitive all over.I couldn't help but wonder why I still remembered every moment even though I was completely drunk last night.But his warm fingers on my wrist brought me back to reality as I realized I wasn't meant to be standing there dumbfounded and disrupting the meeting. It had been a chaotic week, and I really didn
TRISTAN'S POVSeeing how her lips clamped shut, I could tell that was what she was truly about to say, and it only served to make me feel worse than I already felt. Was it the way she was being treated by those people inside the most irritating, or how she had hoped last night would be a one-night stand? I couldn't decide. But both options were getting on my nerves.The shock that I felt, confirming it was really her earlier, knew no bounds, as I was not even expecting to find her so soon. I had thought it would still take a while for Ethan to retrieve the CCTV from the hotel and find her, not expecting she would be in this pack.Thankfully, I didn't decide at the last minute to pull out of the meeting today. Otherwise, I would have missed her altogether.She was still cornered against the wall by me, but she was still trying hard to prove she was not intimidated. Her brows were tightly drawn as she tried to look serious, but whatever image she was hoping to convey in my eyes was fail
TRISTAN’S POV:As I stepped into the room, a hushed silence fell over the crowd. I could sense the covert conversations and plotting, but I chose to keep it to myself. I returned to my seat, my hands clasped, offering an apology for the interruption. Judgemental glares met my words, their grievances unsaid but palpable. In any case, I wasn't in the mood to get angry today.Out of nowhere, Lucas, seated across from me, grunted disapproval. "Leaving a meeting without a proper reason isn't fitting, Alpha King," he admonished. I met his challenging gaze, but I had no intention of engaging in a power struggle. Instead, I apologized, maintaining eye contact. It was clear he was disgruntled, not expecting me to yield, yet he chose silence."Shall we continue?" I inquired, directing my attention to Alpha Odette, the acting female alpha of the Peak Ocean Pack. "Alpha Odette, please proceed with your pack's report.""Yes, Alpha King," she responded swiftly, opening her file, and the meeting res
TRISTAN’S POV:I found myself lurking by the curtains, peeping at the Moon Peak Pack army out on the field through the window blinds that were conveniently up. The spectacle was the pack's army training, and I couldn't resist evaluating their skills.Now, don't get me wrong, they were decent, and Lucas seemed to think they were the bee's knees. He wanted to flaunt his army's prowess to the rest of the pack. But let's just say, they were like amateur hour compared to my pack's Iron Army. Those guys were specially trained to tackle formidable opponents, and I can confidently say no other pack in the country even comes close to them.Only someone like Lucas would think he was so important.After a few more minutes of observing their formations and tactics, I sighed and plopped down on my bed, fishing my phone out of my pocket.My messenger was flooded with messages, and my email had an inbox brimming with reports, business proposals, messages from friends, group chat mentions from the fa
AUTHOR'S POVAlpha Odette, one of the guests of the treaty negotiation, was in the lounge assigned to her, standing by the window. She held a binocular in her hand as she watched the figures in the building across from her. There were two men there, discussing. It was Tristan and his beta, Ethan. She watched them for a while, unable to hear what they were talking about, but it seemed rather serious, as his face soon turned solemn.But even so, she didn't seem discouraged and continued to stare at him, clearly intrigued. It wasn't hard to tell she was interested in him. But just then, her assistant entered. He bowed, clutching an arm to his chest in greeting, "Alpha."She looked up from the binoculars and glanced at him over her shoulder. "How is it?""I found out some things, Alpha," he announced, approaching her.She paused in what she was doing upin hearing that and moved away from the window. She settled on the couch and crossed her legs, clearly interested. "What did you find?
RAVEN'S POV:As Nadia strolled into the room, the girls who had me in their clutches loosened their grip, and an eerie silence took over. She sauntered over, wearing a snobby expression."What on earth do you think you're doing? Do you realize you're making a mess in the kitchen, and we have guests to serve?" she reprimanded sharply, her furrowed brows showing her irritation. "Don't ever pull this stunt in the pack's kitchen again. If you do, there will be consequences."But it was obvious she wasn't chastising them for tormenting me; she was more concerned about the location of their antics.Despite her seemingly stern tone, I could see a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. I couldn't help but wonder if she had something to do with Camille learning about my encounter with Tristan.Camille, trying to appease her, quickly apologized and signalled her minions to leave. Just as they were about to depart, she turned back and issued a warning, "Consider yourself fortunate this time, Raven.