“What are you doing?!” I yelled, panicking.“Be quiet!” Kaden barked, tightening his hold on me. “Don’t move and don’t look back!”Why shouldn’t I look back? What was that? What was chasing us? I looked back, hearing the low growls coming from the shadows behind us. It wasn’t just one sound and it sounded like it was coming from different sources. Deep, snarling and animalistic noises that sent fear rushing through every part of my body.I clung to Kaden without even realizing it, too stunned and scrared to struggle anymore.Whatever was in those woods wasn’t and didn’t sound normal. I squinted my eyes again, thinking maybe I was just imagining things, maybe my fear was playing tricks on me but when I looked again, I saw that dark shapes were surrounding us. Big, scary shadows moving fast through the trees.I held onto Kaden’s shirt tightly, my fingers digging into the fabric as I pressed my face against his chest, too afraid to look. I wanted to ask him what was going on but befo
Kaden stood in front of me, crossing his arms. “Your friend is worried about you, Seraya. So let’s just go back,” he said again when he noticed I wasn’t moving.I narrowed my eyes at him. “Did Tess tell you I was here? Did she tell you I was planning to leave?” I asked, hoping, praying that he would say no.“I wouldn’t say she told me exactly,” Kaden replied with a small shrug. “But no one can lie under an Alpha’s command and also she didn’t do a great job hiding her emotions either. Her face said it all.”I sighed, heart sinking. “Whatever.”Bending down, I tried to gather the fruits from the ground and stuff them back into the torn bag, but they kept slipping out and rolling away. My fingers were shaking, and the more I tried, the more annoyed I became.I let out a deep, frustrated sigh. Then suddenly, I heard a chuckle from Kaden. I turned sharply to look at him. “Did you just laugh?” I asked, shocked.Kaden actually chuckled again, like he found something amusing.I stared at him
Tessy stared at me like I had lost my mind. “You can’t be serious,” she said slowly. “Seraya, where would you even go? Do you know how dangerous the outside world is for someone like you? Especially now that you’re pregnant?”I didn’t say anything. I just stared at the ground, thinking.“I get it, I really do. You’re tired and you’re hurt but running into the wild won’t solve it. This pack may be messed up, but it gives you shelter and safety.“What if you leave and things get worse?” she asked. “What if you end up in a place where people treat you even worse than here? What if you’re all alone and you go into labor in the woods? Or what if you’re found by people who want to hurt you and take your baby?”“I have to try and leave first. Whatever happens later, I’ll deal with it. I just can’t stay here and let myself fall apart. I don’t want to live in sadness for the rest of my life. I need to go. Tessy shook her head slowly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Seraya,” she said, her
“Tessy…” I whispered, feeling my throat tighten as the body hugged me even tighter. I could her feel tears soaking into my shoulder. She was crying so hard, and it made me feel sad a little. “How could you just leave me like that, Seraya?” she cried out, still holding me close, her voice was shaking and I gently patted her back, trying to comfort her, but it felt a little awkward. So much time had passed since we last saw each other. Tessy wasn’t really my cousin by blood, but she had always been like family to me. After her parents died from fighting wars as both of them were warriors in the pack, everyone started treating her differently, as if being an orphan was something to be ashamed of. I couldn't remember how we became close but I knew that it was because of how she was treated by others. We had always been close. I used to visit her all the time and stay with her when she was feeling down. I gave her the title of my cousin so that no one would look down on her again. I wan
Elder Zac had to slam a gavel hard on the table to get everyone to calm down. The loud bang echoed through the hall, and slowly, the noise began to die down. People stopped talking over one another, and all eyes turned back to the front where Kaden stood.Kaden saying my name had thrown the entire room into chaos. Everyone was shocked and even I was shocked too. Why point at me in front of everyone like that? Why would he do that? Did he forget everything he had put me through?Once things were quiet again, Elder Zac spoke, turning to face Kaden. “Very well then, Alpha Kaden,” he said in a calm tone. “You say you’ve found your mate, but let’s not forget that she has been gone for a long time. The bond you shared might already be broken. Time and distance could have weakened or even severed it. So, tell us, what do you plan to do about that or you don’t plan to do anything about it?”Kaden didn’t even pause to think. He just looked straight at me. “Then I’ll have another mating ceremo
“Quiet, everyone!” Elder Zac’s deep voice echoed through the hall, and immediately the room went quiet. The noise from the crowd stopped, and all eyes turned to him. He stood near the front, right in front of the elders’ table, facing the crowd with his face looking serious.I recognized him easily because he was one of the most respected elders in the pack. When he spoke, people listened.He looked at the big clock behind him and nodded slightly before speaking again.“We’re here today because something serious is happening in this pack,” he began, his voice loud and clear. “And we can no longer ignore it and the reason we’re all gathered here today concerns the future of every single person here. I could literally hear a pin drop with the way everyone was quiet and I could feel the tension in the air.“As most of you know, Alpha Kaden has not been himself lately,” Elder Zac continued. “And many of us have tried to stay quiet, hoping things would go back to normal but the truth is,