5. Branding Touch

Yuri’s pov: 

After getting discharged the following day, mom didn’t bother stopping me when I said I planned to go to the university dorms. But she didn’t help me pack either.

I was unaffected by her cold behavior. After all, I knew where she stood. 

She did love me, in her own way, and wanted what she believed was best for me. 

It was just that she didn’t have to endure much, seeing as she was mated to Beta Rodney, as opposed to me, an omega. I packed my belongings alone. No surprise there as I didn’t have anyone I could possibly call a friend. Aurora had made sure, over the years, to make me the outcast of the pack. 

The fact that I didn’t have a wolf as of yet naturally didn’t help. I was nearly done packing when there was a knock on the open door of my room. 

Rodney, my stepfather, who often turned a blind eye to Aurora’s antics and scheming, stood there awkwardly. 

“Your mom told me you were leaving,” he began, to which I simply nodded, a small smile on my face. 

“It is high time I left the family nest,” I shrugged in response. 

“I couldn’t agree more,” he said with a curt nod, before handing me a card, “This should be enough to cover some essentials. But in case of emergencies, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.” 

My eyes misted with tears. 

“Thank you,” I let out in a strangled voice. 

“Also, I just wanted to tell you that when you fainted, the first person to spring into action was Alpha Leo himself,” he went on, a pensive look on his face. “Admittedly, he said he didn’t want you dying here, as that would tarnish the pack’s reputation. But I know better. I am sure that somewhere deep down, he cares. He just refuses to admit it.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” I told him off-handedly, shaking my head negatively. “He’s got a girlfriend, and I am not about to come in between them.”  

He opened his mouth, as if ready to say something else, but then opted for silence instead. 

“Thank you for everything, Rodney,” I let out sweetly after a beat. 

He opened his arms out in invitation, and I didn’t waste a second to step into his embrace.  That hug was everything I had needed and more. 

In this pack, where power and status mattered more than everything else, he never once made me feel inferior. Even though I was a loner, whom even the servants avoided, he enver failed to show me affection when I needed it the most.  And for that, I would forever be grateful. 

I was leaving the pack, my head held high despite the whispers and the jabs that followed me, my suitcase in tow. I inhaled deeply, ready to embark on a new journey, away from Leo’s stifling control and cold indifference, when a black sedan I only knew too well stopped next to me. 

Leo’s driver let out in a respectful albeit no-nonsense tone of voice, “Please get in.” 

I discreetly heaved a sigh. 

What did he want? I was desperately trying to stay out of his way, couldn't he do me the same courtesy? 

“I can walk, thank you very much,” I retorted acidly, rolling my eyes at that. 

“You have 5 seconds before I decide to throw you inside myself,” came the deep voice that once haunted my daydreams, but which had only the knack to make me shiver in abject disgust right then.  

I was doing my very best to walk out of this man’s life. Just why couldn’t he take the hint? 

I sneered and contemplated my options. 

I was leaving anyway, so I might as well just get this done with – whatever this was. 

The driver soon left the car, helping me put my suitcase in the trunk, before opening the backseat door for me. 

I hesitated. After all, I would have preferred to sit in the front. 

“Please don’t make this difficult for me,” he implored me in a hushed tone of voice. 

I begrudgingly got inside, but kept my distance from the powerful and simmering Alpha. 

No sooner did the driver start the car again, my phone went off. It was mom,and she sounded cheerful, “Yuri, I found the perfect man for you.” I opened my mouth ready to say something, ready to tell her once again I wasn’t ready to settle, but she beat me to it, “He’s a Beta from the neighboring pack.” 

“Mom, I don’t care for another blind date,” I let out in a weary tone of voice. 

“Don’t you understand that I am looking out for you? With a man in your life, nobody would suspect you of trying to win the Alpha’s favors again.” 

“Right,” I heaved a sigh. 

“Is that a yes?” She all but squealed in joy. 

“Yes, but this better be the last time you try to set me up,” I all but growled the words out at her. 

“I hope so, sweetheart,” she retorted, and I could almost feel her excitement seeping into the phone. “I’ll text you the details later.” 

“Sure.”

The line went dead before I could tell her not to get ahead of herself. I shook my head at mom’s antics, a soft smile stretching my lips, before I caught the dark look in Leo’s eyes. 

He looked positively murderous. Well, tough... Unless taking a phone call now counted as disrespect, I had no idea what brought the scowl to his face. 

He grabbed my wrist, and his hot touch all but branded me. Before I could react, he tugged on my arm, and in one fluid movement, I found myself in his arms, unable to move an inch, in a dangerously intimate position. 

It reminded me of what had happened between us. It reminded me of the way he had taken me like a hungry beast, never once stopping till we reached completion multiple times in a row, till I repeatedly begged him to stop. 

I put my hands on his chest, ready to push him away, when his hand reached out to my face, and I stilled. 

Instead of my face, he flicked my hair back which was purposefully down, “You dare to hide my mark? You dare to say you wouldn’t want my child when just a couple of days ago you were confessing your love to me?” 

Indeed, I recalled confessing to him as he brought me to the edge… I just hadn’t betted on him remembering that. 

“I didn’t,” I denied immediately, too quickly, my face aflame. 

“Sure, you didn’t,” he growled at me, and I remembered that he hated being lied to the most. 

It wouldn’t do to be stubborn with him, I realized after a moment. After all, I knew from past experience that it would only anger him more. The Alpha in him would never back down from a challenge. 

“Please let go of me,” I pushed at chest, but he was naturally too strong for me, and didn’t budge. “It was a mistake.” 

“You drugged me,” he drawled darkly, his eyes impenetrable. “You drugged me and had what you wanted. And now you want me to let you go? That’s not happening!” 

“You don’t understand…” I began to protest, only for him to capture my lips with his. 

The kiss was unexpected to say the least, and for a few seconds there I didn’t respond to him. How could I even respond to him? This was the man who had ruined me in my previous life. 

I pushed at his chest again, but he totally ignored my resistance, and kissed me more fervently.  Seeing as I refused to respond to his kiss, however, he ended up biting on my bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. 

This damned beast!