CHAPTER 2

Amaya’s POV

Under the full moon, I watch my mate get mated to someone else. I should feel relieved, since Alpha Darian is the man I plan on killing. But I find myself clutching onto my chest even harder.

The pain hasn’t gone down. It is insistent, as if forcing me to pay attention to every single thing that will happen from this point.

I try to take a deep breath as his fingers graze Evelara’s waist, as he pulls her flush against himself while the rest of the pack cheer, as the words of the ritual fall from their lips and remain stuck in the air.

His gaze falls on mine as Evelara is pronounced the Luna of the Grayhide Pack, but I cannot bear to keep watching. So, I slip away from the crowd, edging towards the woods where I know no one can find me.

They won't even bother looking for me in the first place since no one will realize that I am gone. I am the most invincible slave in the pack house, and maybe I should be grateful for that, too.

I keep walking, allowing my tears freedom for the first time today. They slip down my face, keeping me company in the silent woods.

“I told you not to let me look for you,” an angry voice shot out.

A gasp escapes my lips as I turn around at once. Alpha Darian is standing mere feet away from me, still dressed in the ceremonial robes meant for Alphas during their mating ceremony. But he is alone, without Evelara clinging to his side.

I stop walking.

“Why did you leave the ceremony?” His deep voice sounds cold, like rods of steel being tossed at me.

At first, I think of staying silent, but the deep growl that follows makes me think twice about it. "I couldn't bear to watch," I whisper, hoping that he will let it go.

Instead, he takes a step closer to me, his eyes searching, holding mine like they can see through me. “Why couldn’t you?”

I am torn between intense hate and want in this moment. How can someone who killed every single person I love be my mate? How can he easily regard me as if none of that matters? I watched my best friend fall to the ground, her lips parted in shock, her eyes losing their life. Worse is the fact that I stood there, unable to do a single thing about it.

"I…" My lips part, but my tongue refuses to work. Amusement works its way into his eyes as he shakes his head slowly.

“You should have watched, Amaya.”

He knows my name.

“Then, you would have seen the very reason why this cannot be. Evelara is from a respected pack, whose alliance the Greyhide Pack needs. We are on the verge of war, and killing our enemies brings the same result as making long relationships."

The pain is back, but I try to ignore it. I should be angry. Why is it so difficult for that emotion to find its way to the surface?

“And my pack…”

“They were enemies. My enemies. They had to go.”

"Then, your warriors should have killed me too!" I bark, a fresh bout of tears pouring down my face unbridled. "Then, I wouldn't have had to be a slave to your Luna, and take it as she constantly abuses and maltreats me."

Saying those words out loud can get me into trouble, but I don’t care anymore. If Alpha Darian allows me to live, that is going to be his greatest mistake, because from now on, I am not going to sit back and do nothing.

Mate or not.

“I agree,” he mutters, planting himself directly in front of me. I can’t tell what he is agreeing to.

“Why did you follow me?”

“I ask the questions here, Amaya.”

I swallow. He reaches out, catching a bead of tear on his thumb. It is suddenly difficult to breathe as he keeps moving upward, his warm skin grazing the sides of my face. He pays it so much attention, as if it were the most important task in the world.

Looking up at him from this point, I notice that we have the same colour of eyes, a piercing grey that holds secrets as their bay.

He pulls back, planting his hands by his side.

“I, Alpha Darian …”

“What are you doing? Darian?”

“…of the Grayhide Pack, reject you, Amaya of the rogue pack, as my mate.”

“You can’t do that!”

“I just did!”

And then, he stalks off as quietly as he appeared. I lean against the tree behind me and slide down to the floor, closing my eyes. Darian’s rejection should make things easier for me, because now, I have no reason to hold back as I exert all my hate and anger on the Grayhide pack for ruining the home I once had.

So, why does it hurt so bad?

A twig snaps in the distance, and a part of my wolf jerks in excitement, thinking Darian has changed his mind. But after a few seconds, Evelara appears.

I resist the urge to groan out loud. What do they all want from me?

“Really?” she scoffs, shaking her head at my crumpled form on the ground. “Is this because I hit you?”

I shake my head, pulling myself to my feet.

“Better, because I would do it again right now if you do not tell me why Alpha Darian wanted to see you.”

I know better than to tell her the man she has just been mated to is, in fact, my mate. That would only put me up on the list of people she wants to kill, and I intend to kill her before she gets around to doing it.

So, instead, my lips stretch in a slight smile as I stare above her head. “I don’t know,” I answer, shrugging. “Why don’t you ask him? After all, Darian is now your mate.”