CHAPTER 2

Noah~

I opened my eyes to see Tyrene standing above me with tears in her eyes and the ugliest expression I had seen in a while. 

“You have such an ugly cry face.”

“Noahhhh!!” She said, wiping her snot filled face as she moved closer to me but I quickly put my hand in between us. 

“Ty, I'm not in pain and you know it so why do you want to hug me with all of-” I made a circular motion with my fingers as I pointed at her face “that. Could you please wash your face and be less of a blubbering mess?”

She nodded and went to the bathroom. I quickly got up from the bed and checked if I had any scars from the beating. While that was unlikely to be because unlike the other wolves, I seemed to heal faster but that only gave those sick and twisted sons of bitches the urge to hit me more. 

I heard a flushing sound and Tyrene walked out of the bathroom with her tear swollen eyes and I felt a wave of guilt for making her cry so much. 

“There, there. I don't even know why you wasted those tears anyway. I'm all fine and ready to go with you to the mate thing.”

“Really?!”

“On the condition that there are absolutely zero makeovers. Please, no one is going to look at a male omega twice. It's disgust–”

“Don't even.” Tyrene said with a warning glare and I kept shut. The last thing I needed to do was anger her. 

 The walk to the neighbouring pack was quieter than I expected. Tyrene kept glancing at me every few seconds like she thought I might suddenly change my mind and run away. However, I simply ignored her, keeping my hands tucked into my sleeves as we got closer to the crowd gathered ahead.

 When we finally stepped into view, it was exactly what I had expected. Different packs, stronger wolves, people who actually had a reason to be here.

I didn’t.

“See? Not so bad,” Tyrene said, nudging me lightly.

I gave a small hum, neither agreeing nor arguing, because there was no point doing either. I had already come and I needed to get out the moment I had a chance. 

We moved through the outer part of the crowd, and for a moment, things were fine. No one paid attention to us but however, that didn’t last.

“Well, if it isn’t my daughter.”

Tyrene stiffened beside me and I already knew who it was before I turned. Her father stood a few steps away as his gaze moved from her to me, and whatever neutrality had been there disappeared almost immediately.

“What is he doing here?” he asked, his tone filled with disapproval.

“He came with me,” Tyrene replied quickly.

“That was not the question.”

The silence that followed was uncomfortable. His eyes settled on me fully now, and I didn’t need to guess what he was thinking. The disgust written plainly across his face.

“You will stay out of sight,” he said, his voice lowering slightly. “There has never been a case of an abomination like you attending something like this.”

Tyrene stepped forward. “Dad—”

“Enough.” He didn’t even look at her this time. “Do not let him disgrace this pack.”

I lowered my gaze slightly, not because I was ashamed, but because there was nothing to gain from picking up a fight with him. “Understood,” I said quietly.

That seemed to be enough for him. He turned away immediately, already dismissing me as if I had never been worth the attention in the first place.

Tyrene grabbed my arm the moment he left. “Don’t listen to him,” she said, her voice tight. “He’s just—”

“It’s fine,” I cut in gently, giving her a small smile to stop whatever she was about to say next. “I’ll stay back.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway. I stepped away from her after that, moving toward the far edge of the gathering where fewer people stood. 

For a while, nothing happened. I simply stood there, watching till all of a sudden, something happened. The noisy hall became very quiet, movements slowed, and people began to turn toward the same direction as if something had drawn their attention all at once.

Mine followed without thinking and then I saw him.

The Lycan King.

Adrian Laurent. Even from where I stood, he was impossible to miss. He stood taller than everyone around him, easily reaching above the rest. His dark brown hair framed his face neatly, and his features were sharp in a way that made it difficult to look away once you started.

But it was his eyes that held me. They were an enchanting deep blue that made me want to get lost in just them or have his attention on me alone. People moved aside without being told. I swallowed slowly, something tightening in my chest without warning.

It was a weird sensation and it spread quickly, warm and made me feel queasy but in a very good way. Pulling at something deep inside me in a way I didn’t understand but couldn’t ignore.

My fingers curled slightly as my breathing shifted.

“No…” I muttered under my breath, already shaking my head like that alone could stop it.

It couldn't fucking be. This had to be a joke from the goddess herself. 

The pull grew and before I could think it through, my body had already reacted.

I stepped forward and again. The crowd blurred around me as I moved, the noise fading into something distant as that pull dragged me closer and by the time I realized where I was, I had already reached the front.

“My mate… mine.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Silence followed immediately as every head seemed to turn at once. Adrian stopped walking and turned to stare at me. 

For a moment, everything felt still, the pull I felt got stronger and his scent was all over the room. I only had to look at him and I knew he felt it too. His eyes narrowed slightly as confusion flickered across his face and soon ended, it was replaced by an expression I knew all too well. 

Disgust 

For a second… I thought—

He moved away as if my mere presence was an eyesore and immediately said, “No. I reject you.”