BRANDONI watched Zara walk away from me at the neutral grounds and controlled my emotions, "Zara, you belong to me and I'm going to prove it to you." I knew something had changed. Yes, Zara never gave me any guarantees but she had never blatantly rejected me either. She was not so opposed to the idea of being my mate, only hesitant. I had thought she needed time, that she was going to come around.At twenty-five, I was quite older than her so I tried to tolerate her immaturity but Zara was different now. I smelled another scent on her when she spent the night outside the walls of our pack.I knew the scent belonged to a male. Zara didn't have friends and did not like it when people touched her. If she got so close to someone that I could perceive his scent on her, then their relationship was not simple. If the werewolf she had spent the night with, was her mate, she would not have hesitated to let everyone know about him, especially me.I wished she would though, so I would kill him
ZARAAfter Brandon ruined my moment with Anders, I left and went to the boundary and there he was, the love of my life, looking as charming as ever even while catching arrows. The warriors in my pack were attacking him and it made me so angry but I tried not to let my anger show. Even if Anders was skilled at catching the arrows, it still did not minimize the risks that came with being shot with one. All our arrows were made with the addition of poisonous plants, the chances of surviving an attack from one were very slim. How could I quietly tolerate it when one mistake on Ander's part could take away my will to live?I wished we could read each other's thoughts, I would have loved to know what he was thinking at this point. I briefly stared at him and noticed that his expression was not good. Was he okay? I couldn't make eye contact with him for long because I didn't want to give myself away.I was trying to set the warriors in my pack straight when Brandon arrived and took my side.
BRANDONFrom the moment I saw the mark on Zara's clavicle, I was determined to find out the werewolf she was so desperately trying to hide. After she walked away from the boundary, I did some thinking and finally came up with a plan. I was going to follow her routine, no matter what, I would catch this werewolf whom I was convinced was an omega.The first thing I did was to mask my scent with plants so Zara would not be able to smell me from afar. I knew she went to the boundary as early as five every morning, so I waited outside at four-thirty. I hid in a way that I could see her when she headed to the boundary in the morning. I believed that if I followed her all through the day, I would get what I was looking for.Just as I had expected, she came out a few minutes before five and began running to the boundary. I followed her stealthily until I was able to see her at the boundary. I noticed her waving at someone on the other side and was shocked. I knew without a doubt that the oth
ZARAI stayed at the boundary with some of my pack's warriors while Anders was on the other side with some of his. I knew he was only there so we would get a chance to stare at each other but that did not happen. There were too many eyes.He probably became bored just as I did and decided to go back home but before then, he risked one last loving smile at me and my heart skipped a beat. I watched him say goodbye to his fellow warriors from the corner of my eyes and also wanted to leave.However, I didn't want to leave immediately he did, I couldn't make it obvious so I stayed back for a while. Our arrangement wasn't so bad afterall. In the mornings, I could stare at him without any interruption, which could get me through the rest of the day.While I was still planning to leave, I heard the sound of our drums and was surprised. I had not heard it in a long time since the werewolves in my pack barely committed any crimes.After such a long time, I was going to see my father being the m
ZARAI stared at my dad as more tears fell from my eyes. Everyone was waiting for me to speak, including Brandon. Rejecting Anders? How was that even possible?I shook my head, "I am sorry, dad. I cannot swear before you all because I cannot let go of Anders. I tried it before, it's not something I can do."My dad's expression changed to one of anger and it made me afraid. Previously he wasn't happy but I could tell that he was hopeful. However, the emotion I saw in his eyes broke my heart even more. My dad had never looked at me in that manner. I did not blame him, it wasn't his fault. It wasn't my fault too that I was mated to a lycan but I blamed Brandon for causing a rift between my father and me. I hated him more than ever.My dad gritted his teeth, "should you refuse, Zara, you will lose everything. This is your last chance so make the right choice."I stared at my stepmom and brother, they were both smiling. I looked at the crowd, the warriors, and finally, at Brandon, he seem
ZARAI heard Brandon say, "I want her alive," and I kept on running until I got to the gate. It was unfortunate that I had dropped my bow but I still had so many arrows stacked at my back. Fortunately, my dad had not asked the warriors to disarm me earlier, escaping would have been much more difficult if that were the case.The two warriors at the gate wanted to stop me but I held two arrows in my hands and aimed one at them. Not as effective as using a bow but just a prick was all I needed to get them out of my way. Seeing that they could easily get poisoned by my arrows, they both moved to the side. My saving grace was the fact that Brandon wanted me alive, obviously to humiliate me and satisfy his lust but I would have died before letting him touch me in that way. If the warriors chasing me were shooting their arrows at me, I might not have successfully made it through the gate.Once out of the gate, I ran with all my might, to the only place that I knew could serve as a haven for
ANDERSI left the boundary and went back home. It had felt weird because they were too many lycans on my side and werewolves on Zara's side, we could not even stare at each other. I knew the warriors in my pack were shocked that I was there in the morning and still came back in the eveningIf they kept seeing Zara who was usually only at the boundary in the morning, would they figure it out?Zara was taking precautions so it was best for me to follow suit. I could not afford for anyone in my pack to find out about our relationship. If they did, the worst was going to happen.At the very least, I would get the chance to hold Zara close and speak to her in three days. When we meet, I would talk to her about not meeting in the boundary in the evenings. It was better we met only in the mornings when we had privacy and avoid when the boundary was crowded with our pack members.The moment I opened my tent, one of the warriors informed me that the Alpha wanted to see me.I quickly went to hi
ANDERSI quickly opened my tent and began to run. I knew I was able to hear Zara's howl because of our bond.As I ran toward the neutral grounds, I wondered if Zara was okay. The lycans at my pack's gate had stared at me in surprise when I asked them to open it for me. It wasn't the first time so I did not understand why they were surprised.I knew Zara was strong but I hoped that she was not wounded or in danger. When I got to the neutral grounds, I could not perceive Zara's scent but I knew she was there because the pain I was feeling became stronger.I began to roam the mountains searching for her and I was shocked when I saw her lying face down on a hill but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that there were two werewolves slowly approaching her with their arrows. The more I got closer, the more I saw them clearly. From the way they dressed, I could easily tell that they were from Zara's pack. Was I seeing a movie? Why would werewolves from her pack be aiming their arrows a