Chapter 2 : Bound and Tied

*Arealla*

I turned slowly to the wolf that had just spoken.

There was still a part of me that didn't want to, that knew that I shouldn't. A part of me was screaming at me to just leave right now, while I still had the choice.

But a deeper part of myself knew that I had no more choice. I had lost it the moment I crossed onto this pack territory.

And I now belonged to the wolves.

It was a little strange to me to think of them as wolves. But I wanted to keep reminding myself of that fact. I never wanted to forget it; I never wanted to become complacent. These were dangerous beings that I was around.

The wolf that had just spoken had bright red eyes, and they were focused intently on me.

He was looking me over both like his life depended on it, and like he couldn't be more disappointed by what he was seeing. His shoulders heaved, and sweat glistened off of his muscled torso.

He was taller than Jason, taller than anyone I had ever met. His muscles were pronounced in the white shirt that clung to his frame.

"Alpha," Jason said as he turned around, bowing his head even lower.

If he went any further he would be touching the ground.

So this was the wolf that he had told me about. Warned me about. We weren't supposed to see him today, but I guess fate had other plans. I had never been sure if I believed in anything like that. But since meeting Jason, I had learned to suspend my disbelief.

If werewolves existed, then there really was no telling what else could exist.

Jason had been a surprise to me, both the man and the wolf, but I had thought that I knew him well enough to know what I was doing with him. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, his head was low, and there was an almost terrified look on his face.

I let go of his arm. I was already having doubts before this, and I felt them only strengthen now.

He had promised me that this would be easy. He had promised me that he would protect me, that I was his fated mate.

"Is she your fated mate?" the wolf with the red eyes, the Alpha, demanded from Jason.

His voice sounded strange though. Jason had told me that there would be a timbre in it, but this sounded like a very weird tinge. It sounded like there was so much more than just another timbre to it.

Jason took a long time before he answered, and he seemed like he was struggling to answer. I had no idea why he was struggling. It was such a simple question. All he had to do was answer what he had already told me. All he had to do was say yes. It was one word.

His mouth moved of its own accord, and he looked like he had tried to control it. It was strange to see. It was almost like something was forcing him to speak. Eventually, without lifting his eyes from the ground, he answered.

"No," he said eventually. "Not fated by the Moon; she was my choice."

I stared at him, my mouth slightly open in shock. That wasn't what he had told me. It wasn't even close. In fact, it was an absolute and total lie.

I swallowed hard. My instincts had told me not to trust him; they had told me to turn and run away.

But I hadn't listened. Instead, I had listened to the mystical creature with the sweet words. And I had a feeling that I had no idea how badly I was going to pay for it.

"The law only allows you to bring a human into the pack if they are your fated mate. Every other human is not allowed. You brought her here to die," the Alpha spoke again. "Explain yourself."

I waited for the explanation. I wanted to hear what Jason had to say more than anyone else present. I deserved to hear what he had to say more than them. It was my life that he had just played with.

But even as I listened to the Alpha speak, even as I watched Jason fight against him, against answering. I could feel confusion settle in my mind.

How could this be real? Was what the Alpha was saying true? Had Jason really just brought me here to die? Why would he have done something like this? If I wasn't his fated mate, and it was something that could be so simply discovered, then it seemed like it was the truth.

He had really brought me here, even though I wasn't what I said he was. Even though I didn't mean as much to him as I thought I did.

"I have no excuse, Alpha," Jason said again, and he seemed to be speaking a little more freely now. "I lied because I knew that was the only way to bring her in. I thought that because she was human, she was most likely not going to be the fated mate of any wolf in the pack. And I thought she could be mine."

There was very little comfort in the words that he spoke to me. And what was worse, I felt like I was being discussed as if I were property, not a human with her own voice.

"You were wrong!" the Alpha snarled at him.

And Jason did actually drop to the floor then. Well, he dropped to one knee, in any case. His head bowed so low that it touched his knee.

"She is mine!" the Alpha snarled again. "And you knowingly put my fated mate in danger. She will be Luna of the Pack, and you put the Luna in danger!"

"Forgive me," Jason whimpered.

I stared at him; I almost couldn't process the words the Alpha was saying. All I could see was Jason. He had been so strong back in the human world. He had ripped trees apart; he had lifted cars like it was nothing.

I had been so impressed by his strength. I had thought for sure that he could protect me.

But now, here he was, groveling at the foot of this other wolf.

But none of that stung as much as the realization that he wasn't even trying to fight for me. He wasn't even trying to claim me. He was just begging his Alpha for forgiveness. What about me? What about the love he claimed to have for me?

Was he just going to surrender me to this strange wolf? Was he going to hand me over like I was some kind of property, some play thing that he had wanted to buy but now saw as too expensive?

"Jason," I murmured softly, speaking without thought. What could I say to him? "Please," I murmured softly.

But Jason didn't answer me. He didn't even look at me.

"He isn't your mate!" the man, the Alpha, growled at me. "I am. You are human, and you don't understand. But that is just how our laws work."

I blinked, unable to believe what was happening right now.

"I'm not a wolf," I tried to reason with him. "I'm not even magic. I'm just a human."

I didn't know this man in front of me, this man who towered over me. I had no idea who he was or what he was capable of. I knew that he was the most feared wolf alive. And maybe I shouldn't be speaking to him the way that I was.

But I had no idea what else to do.

If I didn't speak up now, then I would be stuck with him, this wolf that was taking me like I was nothing more than a piece of property. I would only be in a worse situation than I had been before.

I had to say something.

But before I could speak again, Jason chose that moment to intervene.

"It doesn't matter," Jason said softly, already giving in. "He's right. You belong to him."

I felt tears prick my eyes as Jason spoke. Why was he doing this? Why was he just rolling over and playing dead? Wasn't he even going to fight for us?

We had been together for almost four months now, and here he was, just letting this other man take me away from him, when he had brought me all the way here, away from anyone else that I knew. Did he even love me?

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded an answer from Jason, grasping onto his shoulder. "Why are you just giving in?"

He still hadn't risen from the ground; he still wouldn't even look at me as he spoke.

"He's my Alpha," Jason answered softly. "He's ordered me. I don't have any other choice. You belong to him now."

It was more than that. Jason didn't want to fight for me. And I knew then that there was nothing else that I could do.

I belonged to this Alpha, and the only person that could get me away from him had absolutely no interest in doing that.

I was trapped here.

I turned to the wolf that had claimed me. And there was fury on his face.

"Let go of him," he spoke through clenched teeth. "And my name is Marcus. Remember it. That is the name of the one you belong to."

And when I didn't respond, he stalked over to me, and grabbed my hand away from Jason's shoulder roughly.

"You don't touch him," Marcus instructed. "He is not your mate. I am. And I won't have my mate just going around doing whatever she pleases."

His grip on my hand tightened.

"Please," I told him. "You're hurting me."

I expected him to let go. He didn't. He held on for longer.

"Do you understand?" he asked me again.

What was he talking about? My wrist was really starting to hurt then, and it was making thinking just a little bit hard.

"It–" I struggled to speak. "It hurts," I whimpered. I felt like he was going to snap it.

"Say you understand," Marcus instructed again.

"I understand!" I screamed, willing to say anything to make the pain stop.

Marcus held on for a moment longer, and then let go. I grasped my wrist gingerly.

"These wolves will be your guard," he said to me casually, waving to three wolves behind him. "You will be kept under careful watch. And you should know, it isn't just them. There are guards everywhere, and you are nothing more than a weak, human girl."

Marcus made a sign then, and the men shifted into wolves right before my eyes.

My eyes widened. They were bigger than Jason. They were all so much bigger than him.

One wolf snarled, and I flinched.

"I trust that you can see how useless it is to even try to escape," Marcus said, a smirk on his face. "You would never get anywhere away from them. But trust me, if you do try and run," he continued, turning to me with a snarl on his face, "I will chase you myself."