CHAPTER 004

Amira’s POV

The last thing I remembered before I passed out was the sharp pain in my head and the stranger that had grabbed Catherine by the neck. He was tall, probably a little over six feet and had short, wavy brown hair.

I guess it was the right time for my body to give up. I hadn’t eaten for two days in a row and with all the beatings I got. It was bound to happen.

I drifted half awake, slowly turning until a strong scent still lingering in the air hit me. It wasn’t familiar, but it sparked something deep in me like the first breath after being underwater too long. It was warm, grounding and unexpectedly calming. My wolf stirred, even though it sounded weak.

And then I heard her voice, louder this time, again.

‘Mate.’

What did she mean by mate? Last time I checked I was rejected and the matebond was snapped. Would the moon goddess just grant me another mate within the space of twenty four hours. There was absolutely no way and besides I had never heard of that.

I blinked my eyes open but the ceiling above me wasn’t the cracked, damp one from my usual quarters. It was white, and softly lit. I turned my head, wincing slightly as I noticed a soft beeping echoing beside me.

Machines? A clinic? Where…was I?

I glanced down to see a thin needle taped to the back of my hand, connected to a bag of IV fluids. The ache in my limbs was lesser now, numbed by something they must’ve given me. My skin looked pale and there were bruises still marking my arms.

A quiet knock sounded before the door creaked open and a man walked in. He was tall, broad-chested, but definitely not the man I’d seen before blacking out. This one had olive-toned skin, and wore a well-fitted black shirt with a silver crescent embroidered on the chest.

He hurried closer when he saw me awake. “We thought you were not going to wake up sooner. it’s been three days.” he said, in a low tone. “You gave us quite the scare.”

We? Us?

I tried to sit up, but I felt a sudden weakness zipped through me, making me slump down. And before I could try again, the stranger gently assisted in steadying me.

“You shouldn’t move too fast. You’re still healing,” he added.

I blinked at him, trying to make sure I wasn't dreaming. “Where is this place and who are you?”

“Oh, Pardon my manners. I’m Owen, beta of King Tyler of the Obsidian lycan pack. King Tyler had to bring you to a neighboring pack clinic close by since your pack’s doctor was nowhere to be found at that time.”

I stared at the Beta, his words echoing in my head. “The Lycan King?” My voice cracked.

He nodded once. “Yes. He was the one who found you during the Ceremony days ago, and if he hadn’t shown up when he did…”

He didn’t need to finish cause I knew exactly what would’ve come next. I would pass out, eventually wake up on my own again and walk back to my room like nothing ever happened. That scenario wasn’t new to me. Nobody ever cared.

The beta looked away for a moment, as if searching for the right words, then he continued. “King Tyler just left. He had some important things to take care of but he ordered that I take you back with me to the Lycan territory.”

No wonder his scent still lingered around. But wait?

“The Lycan’s territory?” I repeated, my voice barely a whisper.

Was I really the lycan’s king Mate? This should have been my cue and my only chance to finally leave the Blackridge Pack and never look back.

But my mind drifted back to the locket I had hidden deep beneath the rotted floorboard under my bed. My fingers instinctively twitched, remembering the picture of my both parents inside and the tiny engraved moon on its front.

It was all I had of them. I didn’t have so much of a property or belongings but that was the one thing I couldn’t ever leave behind. And If any other person were to find it, my Identity would get exposed and I wasn’t sure what that meant since the only words I had gotten from my mother was to never say who I was.

“I… I need to go back,” I said quickly, my voice firm despite the pounding in my chest. “There’s something important I need to get from there.”

Owen’s brows furrowed. “I’ll send someone to collect whatever belongings you have once you’re settled in. Right now, your safety is more important.”

My Safety? Getting it was the safest I could be.

“You don’t understand,” I pressed, trying not to sound desperate. “It’s necessary I get it myself. I won’t be long, I promise. You could come with me if you please.”

He shook his head. “This is going to be really hard but__”

I forced a weak smile and nodded as if waiting for him to say more, even as my wolf paced anxiously inside. Suddenly, his phone buzzed loudly in his hand and he glanced at the screen and muttered, “I need to take this. Stay put. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He stepped out, shutting the door behind him and the second it did, I ripped the IV from my hand with a wince, clutching my side as I rose. My knees nearly buckled, but I pushed through the pain clouding my vision as I moved quickly towards the door.

I peeked first as I watched the beta walking down on the other side of the hallway. I asked a passerby for the exit and hurriedly left. When I stepped out, it was night time already.

I looked around and luckily it wasn’t so far from the blackridge pack mansion. My legs ached with every step, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t know how long I had before the beta realizes I was gone but I knew he would come after me which gave me even more courage to push further.

The mansion was eerily quiet and I managed to maneuver through the patrol guards and used a back entrance to enter the lower level where my room was situated. My breath was shallow and my heart pounded like a war drum.

I got to my room and pushed the door open quietly. It felt like walking into a nightmare and as much as I wanted to be out of there quickly, I wasn't so sure anymore when I noticed my room had been scattered and turned upside down.

My shoulders slumped as I scanned the room and my eyes darted back to my bed. I quickly crouched down, wincing in pain as I brought out the small wooden box where I had kept the locket, underneath the wooden floor but when I opened it. It was gone. My locket was gone and the box was empty.

Tears streamed down my face as I clutched my dress tightly, with different thoughts flooding through my mind. How did they find it? Who could have taken it? Did they already find out who I was?

My feet suddenly moved on instinct, as I headed for Catherine’s room first. But fate was never kind to me. Alpha Cedric’s office door swung open first and he glared at me in both disbelief and rage.

“I—I just,” I stuttered as I cleaned my tears, trying to explain but his hand struck my face before I could finish.

“You ungrateful little thing!” he roared. “So King Tyler finally threw you out and you had the nerves to sneak back in here?”

“I just came to get something I left behind,” I managed through clenched teeth, fighting back tears. “I’m not here to stay.”

“You don’t get to come and go as you please!” His voice shook the walls, and I felt it deep in my chest. “Do you think I am not aware of how you seduced my son, Derek and now, you want to go for the lycan king and make a fool out of us?”

Before I could respond , someone yelled out from the hallway and my body froze as his footsteps echoed down the hall.

“Alpha Cedric!”

For a split second, I forgot how to breathe. He looked even more unreal. He was broad-shouldered and effortlessly handsome, dressed down in a black henley and jeans. It wasn’t his stature or his perfect symmetry that had me frozen. It was the stormy look in his gray eyes and the way my soul recognized him before my mind could catch up.

His eyes locked on mine first as he walked straight toward me. “You should’ve waited.”

Alpha Cedric immediately straightened, with panic written all over his face. “My King—I didn’t expect you—”

“Clearly,” Tyler cut him off, “Is that why you dare to strike my Luna yet again.”

“Your Luna?” Cedric stammered. “You must be mistaken. Amira is just a cunny omega. I was only making sure to discipline her due to her shameful misdeeds.”

“From what I’ve gathered, she doesn’t belong to you or this pack. She only returned here to pick up her things,” Tyler replied. “She is under my protection now.”

His gaze moved back to me. “Are you okay?”

My mouth opened, but no words came out. My hands were shaking and my heartbeat raced faster. I wasn’t sure if I was okay or not.

Being called his Luna or having to know that my identity could be exposed at any time?