4.

Without the slightest clue of the storm heading her way, Natalia groaned as she finally opened her eyes, feeling a dull ache in her body. She blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling, then remembered the event last night.

"Oh my god, I need to be Vitale to greet the pack!" She gasped, yet a sheepish grin marred her face as sat up abruptly. That was when she realize she was in a different room than their matrimonial room, the one she had entered with Vitale, her mate and Alpha.

Natalia sucked in a deep breath, craving the scent of her mate, but she was met by an unfamiliar smell.

"What's going on?"

Her hand automatically went to her neck, feeling the bite marks V had left on her skin. They had mated, finally. She had waited for so long for him to accept her as his Luna, his equal and partner. Although a little confused about the smell, Natalia smiled, feeling a surge of happiness and love.

She got up from the bed, wrapped a sheet around her naked body and walked to the window, looking at the view of the forest that has witnessed all her struggle from a lowly orphan to pack's very Luna.

Until some noises outside caught her attention, people were shouting and running. Natalia frowned, wondering what was going on. Pushing open the window, she sniffed the air, trying to catch any clues from the scents. But the only thing that stood out was fear, anger and hatred.

"Raven?" She called her wolf. "Raven, are you there? What's going on?"

The words barely escaped her lips when a sudden pain hit her chest. She gasped, struggling to breathe as the air failed to reach ger lungs. If was as she was drowning, her wolf whimpering inside her mind, tried to inform her that something was wrong.

"He rejected us, Vitale rejected us!"

"Impossible!" Natalia shook her head, refusing to believe it as she steadied herself against the wall. How could he reject her after they had mated? How could he break their bond so cruelly? She felt tears sting her eyes, as she clutched her heart.

She looked at the window again, as if she'd find her answer in the sky. But instead, she saw a group of warriors running towards the house, carrying weapons and shifting into their wolf forms. They looked furious and bloodthirsty.

"There she is! The traitor! The bitch! Get her!" One of them yelled.

That was when she realized how messy things have gone. A surge of fear engulfed her heart, realizing they were coming for her. Natalia didn't understand why they were after her, she had done nothing wrong, except love Vitale with all her heart.

She turned around, looking for a way out. The door leading to the bathroom caught her eyes and she ran towards it, hoping to find another exit. But as she twisted it open, the bedroom door burst open as Gia ran in. She was carrying with her a bag and a coat. Gia was the pack nurse that catered for her upto the age of eight, and her only friend in this hostile place.

"Talia, thank God you're awake! Listen to me carefully, you have to run! Now!" The middle aged woman shoved her into the bathroom and urged her up the window, sparing her no explanation nor listening to her protests.

Natalia landed outside the large building, but instead of running into the trees and towards the border, she turned towards the pack house. Whatever happened, she needed to see V first. But the warriors she had seen earlier had already arrived, they intercepted her, halting her movement, but no one dared to approach her. She wasn't the beta just in name.

"What do you think you're doing?" Natalia asked, wrapping the coat around her as she tried to ignore the pain in her chest.

"Why don't you ask the alpha yourself? That's if he would still be willing to see you." Roberto spat, staring at her with contempt. He knew the bitch was no good ever since she was chosen as Beta instead of him.

But Natalia was used to Roberto's hostility towards her, so she ignored his jab. She wondered if something had happened to Vitale. Her eyes searched the crowd for her alpha, but she didn't need to search long when his deafening howl pierced through the air.

Natalia's heart stopped as she met her mate's murderous gaze. He looked like a beast, a monster, a demon. He looked like he hated her with every fiber of his being, and she didn’t know why. What had she done to deserve his wrath? How did his warm gaze turned so ferocious over the night?

Just a night ago, they had blissfully made love to each other, savoring the warm summer night and the festive atmosphere. She had been honored to be Vitale’s mate, the alpha female of the Sanguinari pack. She had devoted herself to earning his trust and respect, and to helping him lead the pack with wisdom and strength.

But now, everything was shattered as he charged towards her, his eyes blazing with anger and betrayal.

V roared, but she couldn’t hear him over the noise. She only saw his lips form one word: traitor.

A cold dagger pierced her heart. Traitor? How could he think that of her? She loved him more than anything, and she would never do anything to hurt him or the pack.

Natalia tried to reach out to him, to explain, to apologize, but he was too fast.

She only saw his blurry figure as he pounced on her, his claws extended, ready to rip her throat out as she stood frozen in place.

Natalia barely escaped his attack, dodging as her body moved reflexly, his hot breath grazing her neck. She stumbled back, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.

She looked around, hoping for someone to help her, to tell her what was going on. But all she saw were hostile faces, accusing eyes, angry growls. The pack had turned against her, and she didn’t know why.

Until a hand reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her away from Vitale’s reach.

"Look at me, Vitale!" She turned, only to see Alessio holding him in place. "Stop! I know what you're thinking, but you're not in your senses right now. If you kill her, you'll only turn yourself into a feral rogue remember?" Alessio glanced at her with pity and sadness, but his attention was on his brother, trying to keep him away.

"I don't care, as long as she's dead, I don't care!"

"No! You do care. What about your pack? What about your responsibility? Is she worth it?"

V sucked in a sharp breath. It hurts, but he clenched his fists and shook his head. He shook off Alessio's hold on him, but prevent himself from charging at Natalia again.

"Leave, Natalia." He said his voice hard and cold, mirroring the storm raging in his eyes. "If you still value your life, leave and never come back. If I ever set eyes on you again, trust me, that would be your last your last day alive."

Natalia flinched, at both the pain in his eyes and her chest.

"You're not my mate. You're not my beta. You're not welcome here. You're banished from this pack, now and forever."

“Run, Talia,” Gia hissed in her ear, Natalia had no idea when the woman arrived. “Run and don’t look back.”

Natalia shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “No, please, Gia, tell me what’s happening. Why is he doing this? Why does he hate me?”

The nurse shook her head too, her expression grim. “I don’t have time to explain. You have to go, now. He’ll kill you if you stay here.”

He shoved her towards the edge of the clearing, where the forest began. “Go, Natalia. Go and never come back.”

A surge of pain hit her chest, as if someone had ripped her heart out. She wanted to stay, to fight for her mate, for her pack, for her life. But she knew it was hopeless. She had no allies here, no one who would believe her or defend her. She was alone, and she was in danger.

She ran.

She ran as fast as she could, ignoring the shouts and curses behind her. She ran into the woods, hoping to find some refuge, some safety, some peace. She ran until her lungs burned and her legs ached. She ran until she couldn’t run anymore.

Natalia collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. She had lost everything she had spent years building and was back to square one. She had no future, no hope, no reason to live.

Curling up into a ball, Natalia hugged herself tightly. She wished she could wake up from this nightmare, that this was all a bad dream.

But it wasn’t.

It was real.

And she didn’t know why.

As the pack erupted in chaos, a mysterious man stood from a window on the top floor of the pack house, watching the drama unfold below. He was a stranger to this pack, a lone wolf who had arrived a few days ago, along with all the guests that came for the union. His brows creased in deep concentration as he watched the rejected beta running for her life. It was amusing how crude life had treated her.

He smiled wickedly as an idea occurred to him.

"This would certainly be interesting."

He grabbed his coat and headed downstairs, ready to make his move.