Chapter 0002

~Tamara~

My head pounded as I woke to the blinding sunlight outside the window. I fluttered my eyes open and realized that the curtains were wide open, and I saw my clothes tossed beside the bed. I rubbed my bed and reached for my left side, hoping that I would touch the desk that used to be by my bedside, but my hand met with a strong arm.

What is going on? I thought and rose from the bed. “Oh my!” I placed my hands on my head. “I am in trouble!” I muttered as I jumped out of the bed.

The room was not mine, as it looked like a luxury room. The bed frame was gold, and a chandelier hung at the center of the ceiling, which my room did not have. Also, a strange man was lying half-naked beside me.

I stared down at my body and realized that I was naked. “Oh, Goddess!” I rubbed my forehead and thought about what happened the previous night. I met a man at the club, and we both drank. “What happened after then?” I stood up and started pacing before the bed about what happened the night before. The strange man and I kissed, and he asked me a question.

“Would you like to spend the night with me?” His voice resounded in my ears.

I had agreed shamelessly, and he bought me here. I almost screamed out loud when I realized that I had lost my virginity to an unfamiliar man. “I am a fool!” I muttered again and then quietly walked around to pick my clothes on the ground, wore them, and sneaked out of the room.

“I am a fool!” I cried out. “I don’t even know his name, yet let him sleep with me!”The worst thing about everything was the fact that I didn’t remember how the sex was, but I felt sore between my legs. I couldn’t even remember the whole thing, which was a shame because I couldn’t remember the first time.

“Damn! I am such an idiot,” I groaned out in frustration. I remained in the hallway for ten minutes, thinking about the man I slept with. I wasn’t even the type to sleep with other people, but because I was stupid, I fell for his handsome face and slept with him. ‘’what have you done, Tamara!’’ I screamed at myself as I walked out of the hotel.

Once I reached the front of the hotel, I quickly hailed a taxi and entered it. “Town street,” I told the driver and laid my head on the car seat. My phone beeped inside my purse, and I brought it out to see that I had missed calls from Mark and different messages, but the one that stood out was a threat from an unknown number. My phone suddenly rang again in my hand, making me gasp.

For a moment, I was scared until I saw the number again. It was from an unknown number. With shaking hands, I picked up the number.

“Hello,” I said into the phone.

“Listen to me. You have five days to pay up the loan you borrowed, or else I’ll remove your heart and sell it at a great price,” the person on the other end of the call threatened. I didn’t know if I should be afraid of his threats or his hoarse voice, which made my heart race.

“Who…” I tried to ask for the caller’s name, as I have countless people from whom I borrowed, but the call ended abruptly, and when I tried calling the number again, it was unavailable. “Who could it be?” I pondered on the various loan sharks I had borrowed from. “ Is it Mr. Fish?” I shook my head at that idea. Mr. Fish and I were on good terms.

While pondering my debts, my phone beeped multiple times with countless messages, and I heaved a sigh as I went through the messages. Most of them were from loan sharks, and the hospital where Connor, my little brother, was admitted reminded me that I had bills to pay, but the text that stood out was a message from an unknown number.

Remember, you have five days to pay my money, or else I’ll sell your organs.

Your worst nightmare.

I visibly gulped when I finished reading the message. It was from the same number that had just called. I bit my fingers when I thought of who I was owing and couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t me because it had to be Mark who had used my name to borrow money. ‘’Oh, goddess!’’ I sighed, touched my forehead, and rubbed it gently.

“Are you okay, miss?” The taxi driver asked me, and I nodded in response.

I turned to face the window and saw a billboard showing the news about the Lycan king.

At that time, the car stopped because of the red light. I looked through the window, and my eyes almost popped out when I saw the person in the news.

He was the man I drank and slept with. The headline mentioned his name, and he became the Lycan king. The one nicknamed the ruthless king was like a ghost that was hardly seen. I couldn’t believe I was with him the night before, making me wonder if I was dreaming or mistaking him for someone else. I rubbed my eyes to see if I wasn’t dreaming but realized I wasn’t. He was Alpha King Axel.

“Oh my goddess!” I screamed out loud.

The driver was startled, and he quickly turned to face me. “Are you alright?” He asked me, and I nodded in response and cleared my throat.

I was not okay. I had slept with the alpha king. “Oh no,” I whispered and continued to watch the news. It was talking about him and the success of his new project. “Why me?” I sighed and continued staring outside the car, even when the light turned green.

While thinking about why my life turned out like that, my phone rang in my bag, and I picked it up. “Hello,” I answered the call without looking at the caller’s name.

" Where the hell are you? ” It was Mark. ” You didn’t come home last night. I have something I need to tell you!”

I didn’t reply to him and ended the call. How could he dare call me after what he had put me through? I groaned, placed my hand on my neck, and realized that my necklace was gone. “What?” I roamed my hand around my neck, but it was bare. I touched my head and flashed back to when I had given it to the Lycan king.

“I have had this on since I was born. My mum said that I was a special child, and she gave this to me.’’ I yanked the Necklace from my neck and handed it over to him.

“No!” I gasped and quickly covered my mouth when I noticed the Driver staring at me. After all the different attitudes I displayed that morning, he probably thought I was crazy. I placed my head on the seat and closed my eyes.

My life was officially over because there was no way someone like the alpha king would be with someone like me, and I had lost my virginity to him.

“We are here,” the driver announced, but I was too busy thinking to realize that I was on my street. “Ma’am,” the driver shouted at me to gain my attention.

“Yes,” I cleared my throat as I exited the car and headed toward my apartment. Once I reached the front of the apartment, I rubbed my hands together and heaved a deep sigh, and I opened the door. The cake was still on the table where I left it, and I could hear laughter coming from my mark’s and my bedroom. I walked towards the bedroom and chuckled when I heard my best friend’s voice coming out.

" When are you going to reject her?” she asked. “There is no time to waste, Mark.”

“I already called her, and she will be here in a few seconds,” Mark told her, and I took that as my Cue to open the door. I expected them to jump in fright after seeing me, but they remained how they were before, unfazed by my presence.

" You both are shameless!” I shouted at them. How could you do this to me? ”

My best friend chuckled and climbed out of bed; then she walked towards me. ‘’I won’t say I am sorry, dear Tamara, but it is not my fault that you are a boring girl. Mark said that you were boring and you were keeping your virginity until you got married, and he was bored, so he had to go for me!’’

I clenched my fists angrily and heaved a deep sigh as I tried hard not to react. She didn’t look bothered about what she had done. This was someone I had taken as my sister, and yet she had betrayed me without thinking about how it might affect me. I should have seen the signs and realized she was not a good person, but I was too stupid not to realize that she had always wanted to be around Mark. The late-night calls and hugs he usually gives him should have proven that she wanted him, but I had been a fool not to realize.

Mark also stood up and wrapped his arms around Ferida’s waist. ‘’I am sorry, dear mate, but I can’t be with someone like you because you are too boring and a nobody. Ferida’s father is an alpha, and my future is secured with her, as is Tamara. I have to do this.’’

My heart raced so fast that I thought it would burst at that moment. I knew what he was about to say: ” Wait. You don’t have to. ”

“Are you begging?” Ferida asked and laughed. Aww, you must love Mark. Too bad he doesn’t see you that way.”

I lowered my head, thinking about how I had wasted all my life trying to be Mark’s perfect mate. We had met in high school, and when I found out that he was my mate, I was happy, but now, it would all end—five years wasted on nothing.

‘’I mark….’’ he paused, pulled away from Ferida, and walked towards me. ‘’why do I smell another mate on you? Have you been sleeping around!’’ he shouted at me and rushed to grab my throat. ‘’you whore!’’ he screamed at me and pinned me to the wall, then he slapped me hard across the face. ‘’you wouldn’t let me sleep with you, but you have been whoring around, and that was why you didn’t return home last night!’’

I chuckled as I looked at him. ‘’it’s hurting you, right? You and I both cheated, and yet you are angry that I slept around,’’ I laughed at him. ‘’you and Ferida have been fucking around for years, and because I did it now, you are whining around like a baby!’’

‘’Bitch!’’ Mark shouted at me and slapped me across the face again. ‘’how dare you compare yourself with Ferida and me! You are just a girl that I took pity on because you were my mate, but now, I can see that there was no reason to pity someone as despicable as you!’’ he yelled and pushed me to the ground. ‘’I, Mark Knight, reject you, Tamara Henderson as my mate.’’

I sniffled as the tears streamed down my face, thinking about the promises that Mark and I had made to each other when we were mated. We had both promised to cherish each other forever, but now, everything would end.

‘’Accept the rejection, you bitch!’’ Ferida shouted at me. ‘’He doesn’t want you anymore!’’

I chuckled as I stood up from the ground and then faced Ferida. ‘’you are definitely going to regret what you have done to me, and you are also going to cry like I did!’’ I yelled at her. ‘’you will cry!’’

Ferida tutted and then proceeded to kiss Mark in front of me. ‘’he is mine,’’ she claimed him possessively. ‘’there is nothing that you can do about it!’’ she shouted.

I laughed and clapped my hands. ‘’Good for you,’’ I told her, then closed my eyes as I decided. This was what the moon goddess wanted, and I would do it. ‘’I, Tamara Knight, accept your rejection!’’ I screamed at him. ‘’leave my house!’’

Mark pointed to his luggage at the entrance of the bedroom. ‘’Gladly!’’ he said and held Ferida’s hand. ‘’Goodbye, you whore!’’ he sneered and threw something at my foot, and I didn’t bother to look at it. When I heard the door slamming, I tore the letter open, and the content made me scream and jump to my feet as I rushed outside the house, hoping to catch up with them.

I only had a week to leave the house as I was behind on rent.

“Mark!” I screamed as I got outside but saw their car driving away. I screamed as I ran after them and stopped halfway when I realized I would never reach them. I fell to my knees in the street and burst into tears.

Why me?

Two days ago, I was a regular werewolf, having no idea that I would be someone who would meet the Lycan king and even sleep with him. My mate cheated on me, different loan sharks were chasing me around, my brother needed money for him to stay alive, and as if that was not enough, my mate had not been paying the rent for months.