011~ FAR FROM HOME

Vaelra

My nails dig into my palms as I stare at the closed door, my mind refusing to accept what just happened.

Fine.

If he doesn't want to reject me, then I'll just leave.

Scanning the room desperately, I search for anything I can wear. My eyes land on a shirt draped over the edge of a chair.

I snatch it up and pull it over my head. The damn thing falls almost to my knees. I hate that I can smell him on it, but it will do for now.

I grab the heavy fur cloak lying across the bed and throw it around myself, fastening it as best I can before rushing toward the door.

The moment I step into the hallway, my mouth drops.

What the hell?

The place is enormous. Stone walls stretch in every direction, broken by towering arches and dark wooden doors. The ceiling above me is so fucking high I have to crane my neck to see it. Massive chandeliers hang overhead, their flames throwing golden light across polished stone floors.

How many rooms does this place have?

I race down the stairs, the cloak bouncing around my legs as I descend.

I barely make it across the entrance hall before a man's voice stops me.

"Oh. You're awake, Miss Howler."

I skid to a halt.

A blonde man in a dark fitted tunic, leather trousers, and polished knee-high boots stands nearby watching me with a polite smile.

"I was just about to announce lunch."

"Too bad I won't be staying," I say and keep walking towards the enormous doors.

Shoving one open, I freeze as I notice the ground outside isn't brown but white as far as I can see.

Cold air rushes over my face, through the thin shirt beneath the cloak.

"Where the fuck am I?"

The man behind me answers. "Blood Moon Pack."

Blood Moon Pack??

I spin around.

"Forgive me for my rudeness." He gives a bow. "I am Beta London Bashal. Welcome to the Blood Moon Pack, future Luna."

"I'm not going to be any fucking Luna."

"Then leave." A sharp feminine voice cuts through the entrance hall.

The sound of heels against stone grows closer, and I turn towards it.

The shewolf who sat beside Raze at the Moon festival walks toward me with effortless confidence.

She's wearing a crimson floor-length gown with a deep red, fur lined cloak hanging from her shoulders and trailing behind her as she walks, carrying herself with the powerful, aristocratic air of a Luna.

She looks every bit a Luna while I, on the other hand...

My oversized shirt hangs from my body, the cloak wrapped haphazardly around my shoulders, my bare feet are dirty from walking across the stone, and my hair is a bird's nest.

Her gaze sweeps over me, lingering on every humiliating detail.

I do everything I can to keep my toes from curling beneath her scrutinising gaze, my fingers tightening around the shirt as I stare at the woman looking down at me like I'm a bug beneath her feet.

Then, her lips curl as she continues. "No one wants you here anyway."

But I'm not about to let her think she can break me.

I lift my chin and force a cold smile.

"In case you didn't realise, I didn't come here on my own two feet. Your Alpha kidnapped me."

"And trust me," I add, "I want absolutely nothing to do with that lunatic or this fucking pack."

She chuckles, stepping closer and folding her arms.

"Good. Because a wolfless omega from a minor pack doesn't deserve to stand beside the Alpha of Blood Moon."

My fingers curl into fists as anger rises in my chest, hot enough to burn through the cold.

I take a slow breath before smiling again. "Yet your Alpha refused my rejection."

Her smile falters.

"It seems the almighty Alpha of Blood Moon has a thing for wolfless omegas from minor packs and not..." My gaze drags slowly over her from head to toe. "...things like you."

Her face twists ugly as she raises her hand. "You insolent little—"

"What's going on here?" Raze's voice comes from behind her.

He's standing at the entrance of the hall now dressed in a long black robe tied loosely around his waist, his damp hair falling over his shoulders.

Speak of the damn devil.

The shewolf immediately turns.

"Raze." She says his name sweetly as she crosses the distance between them and slips her arm through his, pressing herself against his side.

Why did he drag me here when he already has a Luna?

That strange, heart crushing feeling I felt when I first saw her sitting beside Raze comes rushing back.

I hate how much his whole thing is affecting me.

Raze's gaze moves from her to me as he reaches down and removes her arm from his before taking a step away from her. Then, his eyes travel slowly over my body, a satisfied smirk touching his lips when he notices I am in his shirt.

"Planning on running away dressed like that, Wildfire?"

His eyes drop to my bare feet. "Without any shoes?"

"I didn't exactly have time to pack."

He chuckles. "No. You didn't."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to be on my way home."

I expect him to stop me, but he doesn't. He just stands there watching me as if daring me to try and leave.

I turn toward the open door and stare at the white landscape beyond it.

How the hell am I supposed to get back to Crescent Moon? I don't even know how far away I am. And I doubt they would tell me if I asked.

The moment my bare foot sinks into the white stuff, I suck in a sharp breath.

It's fucking cold, colder than what I imagined when other wolves from other packs talked about the snow. I was curious about it but didn't think my first time seeing one would be at my kidnappers territory.

I take another step, then another, as the cold quickly creeps up my legs, numbling my toes until I can barely feel them.

I should have stolen some shoes even if it was that lunatic's.

But I can't turn back now.

The cold wind bites into my exposed legs, raising goosebumps across my skin, and my teeth begin to chatter.

I rub at my arms, trying to create some warmth, but it does nothing.

I haven't even walked twenty steps, and my legs suddenly give out, and I drop to the snow.

"Fuck!"

"You couldn't handle staying in the water for long back in your own pack," Raze says behind me. "How exactly did you think you were going to handle the northern cold?"

Of course, that lunatic was following me.

I scoop up a handful of snow, spin around, and throw it at him.

The snow hits his chest and falls apart.

"Very threatening."

"Fuck you."

"Trust me," he says as he walks toward me, "I've been dying to."

I try to push myself up, but my legs don't cooperate.

"G—et away... from me." The words come out between chattering teeth.

Instead, he crouches in front of me, and before I can protest, he takes one of my feet into his hands.

I flinch at the sudden warmth of his palms. He begins to rub my frozen foot between his hands as he tries to bring the feeling into my toes, and I almost sigh in relief.

"Stop being stubborn."

"Stop... trying... to lock me up here."

I try to pull my foot away, but his grip tightens, then one arm slides beneath my knees and the other around my back and lifts me off the ground.

"Hey!"

I push weakly against his chest, my fingers trembling from the cold. "P—put me down. I need... to go home."

"You need to go inside," he says, already walking back toward the estate.

I keep struggling, but the warmth radiating from his body is already seeping into me, and his scent is screwing with my senses so badly that I am leaning into him instead of fighting.

"I hate you," I murmur against his chest.

Damn him. I hate how good this feels.

"I know."