ANDERS I hurried back home as usual to meet my baby but I was surprised when the atmosphere seemed off. I did not get the loving welcome I was hoping for, and all I could see was guilt in Zara's eyes.I locked my tent and took her in my arms, "whatever it is, Ruby, don't be so sad. I can't bear to see you this way."She proceeded to tell me everything that happened and I stared at her in shock unable to believe that she had exposed herself after everything I told her."I am so sorry," she cried. "I tried to ignore the screams but I just couldn't. I wasn't able to."I sighed in frustration, "why didn't you try harder, Ruby? That omega is Riley's slave, there's a reason I asked you not to get involved with her affairs."Seeing that Zara was feeling so bad, I calmed down and took her in my arms again, "I am sorry, baby. Are you in any pain?"She shook her head, "I am fine, Anders. I already healed."I got up from the bed, "I never knew Kyle as someone who was capable of rape but how dar

BRANDONI had been waiting at the boundary for a while but there was no sign of Zara. The alpha's daughter had said Zara would be there before sunset but I was yet to see her.Did Zara not take the bait? She wasn't someone who was that easy to manipulate or control so it was possible that things had not gone according to plan. No matter what, the alpha's daughter had promised that Zara would be exposed if she refused to flee so that gave me a little bit of hope.Even without that, I was willing to wait at the boundary until it was morning because we could not afford to let Zara slip off our fingers once again.With each passing moment, I became more anxious. I kept thinking about all the ways I was going to punish Zara. I knew she must have given herself to that lycan and it hurt me so much. I had wanted to be the first to taste Zara. For so many years, I patiently waited for Zara to become ripe and when she did, I still waited for her to come around. I wanted to be the first man to

ZARAThe alpha asked Anders to kill me and he turned and stared at me. I smiled reassuringly at him which was in contrast with how I had earlier cried. I knew there was a storm in Anders' heart, having once been in a somewhat similar situation.I wanted him to know that it was okay, no matter what happened in the end, it was okay. Even if we did not make it out because we were outnumbered, it was still okay.He turned his attention back to the alpha and his warriors. He tried to tow the path of peace even though the possibility of it was slim."I am very sorry, Alpha," he apologized. "Zara is my fated mate and I cannot live without her. I understand that what I did was very wrong, I was desperate and I took advantage of your love and trust. Please, forgive my deception. For the sake of the relationship we shared in the past, please, let Zara and me leave peacefully. I promise that we will never appear in front of you again."The alpha's eyes darkened and the anger in them was unmistak

ZARAWe ran out of Anders' pack as quickly as possible without looking back. I touched my face where the alpha had punched me. He had scratched me with his claws as well and the pain had been sharp but my face had healed and I could feel my smooth skin when I touched it.That was more than I could say for Anders who was slowing down due to the injury on his right belly. He was bleeding and it made me worry. I knew how dangerous it was for a lycan to push himself when he was injured.Lycans needed to rest after severe injuries until their wounds had healed otherwise, they may not heal at the right time. Some unfortunate lycans had been known to spend months healing because they pushed themselves too hard when their injuries had not healed.I stopped moving and stared at Anders. He wanted us to keep going but I took the bag he was holding and said, "your injury will not heal until morning and it's risky for you to keep running so fast with it. Let us hide somewhere for now, we can leave

ZARAAnders and I ran away from the werewolves and were heading toward the river so I could get my weapons. However, Anders suddenly stopped and said, "go ahead, Zara, I will buy you time." "No," I refused. "You're injured and not in a condition to fight them all. If their arrows touch you, that's the end. Please don't make me leave you."Anders nodded and we continued running but he asked, "do you trust me, Zara?""More than anything," I replied.He stopped and said, "I promise you, Zara, that no arrow will touch me. Take these arrows which I caught and protect yourself, go."Anders quickly ran into the bushes after speaking while I took a curve and continued to the river.I turned my back and stared at the bush where he entered, I was so afraid for his life but I knew that the best way I could help him was if I were with my bow and arrows so I increased my speed and stopped looking back. I soon arrived at the river and went to the side as I dropped the bag that hung on my back. I q