Chapter 3. Just Like Animals.

Maya could not sleep. After that confrontation with her parents last night, she half expected the alpha to storm into her room and force her into submission. But nothing of that nature occurred. If anything, the party continued through the night as if she didn't matter. As if she didn't just find her fiance cheating on her with her sister. 

But could she call it cheating? He was, after all, her sister's mate. Not hers.

The mate bond was sacred, and it was considered an abomination to come between them. Even if she wanted to, Maya couldn't stop Ayra and Merlin from loving each other. But it was the betrayal that Maya couldn't forgive. To think that Merlin had been using her all this while pained her the most. And now, she had to participate in the wolf king's bride selection? The universe must be against her. 

Everyone knew the wolf king. He was the strongest of their kind, hence his title and the admiration. However, he was as cruel as he was handsome. He is a capricious tyrant who hosts a yearly bride selection to choose lovers, potentially bankrupting the palace with his whims. 

Maya was not deluded into thinking her parents wanted the best for her; they probably wanted to get rid of her, knowing how much the Alpha hated women like her. There couldn't possibly be two daughters in this family; the one with the true potential as the candidate was, in fact, Arya. Maya was just going to make Arya look good.

She had had enough; being born wasn't her mistake, so why should she suffer for it?

With what happened yesterday, Maya wanted to strike back at her parents, and she knew the plan.

Maya went to her parent's room and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” 

She tentatively stepped into the room, her earlier confidence fading as soon as she met her parents' stormy ones. However, a lot was at stake here, and she gathered her courage to say, “I'm sorry for last night, Alpha, Luna. I must have been out of my mind to attack my sister like that.”

Her mother snorted, and as if finding it hilarious, she finally came to her senses.

“You are right, and I have no right to fight against the bond, which is why I give them my blessing,”

Maya could tell her parents were shocked by how their eyes widened. They probably never expected that she would give in that easily.

“I would attend the alpha king's bride selection. But for tonight, I plead to be excused from leaving. With everything that has opened so far, I think I need to clear my head,”

For a moment, Maya thought her parents would deny her, but Luna waved her away, saying, “Do whatever you want.”

Maya leaped in joy inwardly, knowing this was the beginning of her plan.

At once, she returned to her room and dressed quickly in case her parents decided to change their minds. Maya wore a cozy, deep green sweater with dark wash straight-leg jeans. She added classic brown ankle boots and a simple silver pendant to complete the outfit. Her makeup was natural, and she let her dark hair loose for an effortlessly stylish appearance.

Although she had not gone over the top with her dress, some of the pack members who saw her outside were still shocked at her appearance; it was not every day that she got to dress up like this. She was seen out infrequently. With the constant mockery and disdain from the pack members, she was practically a loner who kept to herself and spent most of her days locked in. Merlin was mainly the one who took her on dates and helped her socialize with the pack. Ultimately, he had an ulterior motive, and everything was a lie. 

Her parents could not have let her go just like that. Maya suspected they were monitoring her movements, and that was confirmed when she caught a figure subtly tailing her from the corners of her eyes. So, for the rest of the day, Maya walked about the pack with no destination, intentionally tiring them down. Maya suddenly cut through an alleyway when their guards were down and hid behind the wall. Several minutes later, about three werewolves passed by, looking for her.

“Where did she go?” 

“I can't find her.”

“Let's spread out and look for her.”

Hearing that, Maya hid further, waiting patiently until there was no sign of them. Now, she was free.

******

Maya sat alone in the notorious bar, the clinking of glasses and low murmurs around her barely registering in her mind. This was why she had intentionally slipped away from her guards; they would never have allowed her to end up in a place like this. The bar's reputation was as dark as the alcohol she was drinking. But she didn’t care. She was too far gone to care.

Each sip of the burning liquid burned her throat, and she took more, seeking some sort of relief, to feel numb. To no longer feel this pain. However, the pain refused to fade. Instead, it grew with every swallow. Tears welled in her eyes, but Maya stubbornly fought them back, unwilling to let them fall. She was not weak, and she would not cry for that bastard.

The more Maya drank, the duller her senses became, yet her heartache intensified. It was as if the alcohol had opened a floodgate inside her, and now the tears she had been holding back for so long streamed down her face uncontrollably.

She cried, not softly or quietly, but with a raw, unfiltered anguish that filled the space around her, yet no one approached her. 

Perhaps they were too used to the sight of broken souls in this place, or maybe her despair was so poignant that it kept them at bay. So she continued to drink, glass after glass, until the world around her blurred. All she wanted was for the pain to stop, but with each drink, it only seemed to grow stronger, consuming her completely.

Unfortunately, the drink only made her sick, and she found herself committing, nearly falling from her seat only for a solid arm to wrap around her. 

“I got you.” someone said, pulling her up to her feet, and she slumped against his chest. Still slightly drunk, the most delicious scent hit her nostrils.

“Mate.” her wolf screamed in her head for the first time. 

fuck. 

She just found her mate. 

Maya lifted her head to stare at her mate, but he was busy throwing orders, and her alcohol-ridden Brian was not helping matters. The next minute, he was wiping Her mouth, and she slumped back against him, her face buried in his chest. She inhaled his scent once again, driving her mind into an overdrive. His scent was a deep, earthy blend of pine and cedarwood, with a touch of dark amber and danger. It made her wolf whimper with need. She wanted him.

He cleaned her mouth and was still mouthing orders when Maya pulled him closer and kissed him. The gods helped her; he tasted better than she thought. At first, he was too stunned to respond, but he grabbed a fistful of her hair in a second and deepened the kiss. Fuck her. Heat so potent slammed into her. Maya had never felt anything like this, and she kissed him back with the same ferocity.

Nothing else mattered then except the feel of his lips against hers. Maya took the time to run her hand over him, feeling the hard planes of his taut abs. He wa\rippled. Her mate was perfect. 

When they broke apart, Maya's chest was heaving, and she could see the same need reflected in his eyes with the way it had darkened. He reached, rubbing his thumbs across her lips, eliciting a shiver. “You are mine now, little mate. You're not going anywhere.”

To be honest, everything else happened in a blur. One moment, they were in the car, the next in an unfamiliar room, and then his lips were on hers. Whatever sense she had left slipped away like smoke. The need between them flared, their lips never parting as he stripped away their clothes. In the next instant, her back hit the bed, her mate's irresistible body pressing against hers as he made love to her. Maya lost count of how many times she came that night. He had taken her so thoroughly that she couldn’t tell where her pleasure ended, and he began. All she knew was that he made sure she was completely exhausted before they collapsed, falling asleep together.

****

Maya woke up with a groan. Fuck, she was going to die. Her head was killing her, and why did she feel so sore? A frown at once creased her features, and she sat up at once. And, Oh god, what has she done? Her sight fell on the fine specimen of a male sleeping beside her. 

Fuck. fuck. Fuck! She had to get out of here!

Without a word, Maya quickly yet quietly slipped out of bed and dressed up. By some luck, she found the man's wallet and found quite a lot of bills. “I'm sorry,” she muttered and took enough before leaving the room. 

Once outside, Maya felt a sense of freedom, and that was when she made up her mind—she was going. She was joining the werewolf community to leave it behind.

Fuck Merlin.

Fuck Arya.

Fuck her parents. 

She would make a new life for herself in human society.