Chapter 4

6th of October, 2014

Alpha Xavier and I were locked in a staring contest. The scent was too close for me to ignore anymore, and I gave a soft moan of pleasure. He moved a step closer to me and my knees almost gave out. He smelled like Christmas and Thanksgiving combined. Why was I feeling like this? Then I remembered.

It was my birthday. I was sixteen.

As I looked into his eyes, I fell deep into them. It was like being transported into another world, and I didn’t want to come back. When his eyes darkened, I snapped out of my trance.

Stupid.

That’s what I was.

I was staring into the eyes of the Alpha of the second biggest pack in the world. I took a step back and lowered my head in respect. “I- I apologize Alpha.” I muttered. When he said mate, he was probably calling out to Thalia.

Yes, that made sense.

Alpha Xavier moved closer to me and I took another step back. My back hit the wall and I was trapped between my Alpha and a hard place. My breathing was erratic and so was his. His calloused fingers gripped my chin in a tight but not painful grip and shivers ran down my spine and spread across my body.

He pushed my chin up to look at him. I closed my eyes tightly, a reflex action. I could never look my Alpha in the eyes. “Look at me.” His voice was velvety and soft, it was like I was swimming in pleasure. I peeked at him through my eye lashes and noticed that his eyes were pitch black.

His wolf was in control.

My wolf couldn’t take control because she was too weak, so his left. The look of lust immediately left his eyes and he let go of me like I was on fire. He took some steps back, I stared at the ground, waiting for the punishment.

It never came.

“Pack your stuff and meet me at my house after school.” He grunted, and I watched his feet leave the kitchen. I didn’t have anything to pack, so I simply did the dishes.

I was scared beyond my wits.

There was no possible way that Alpha Xavier was my mate. It just wasn’t possible.

I glanced at the clock again. It was 8:57. I had 33 minutes to get ready for school. Thankfully, everyone else usually left the pack house before me, so I could take a bath.

After a cold shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and picked out the most decent piece of clothing I could find from the rag pile, which was a dress that was owned by one of the pack member’s grandma before she died.

It was really big on me, especially since I was abnormally thin. I ate once in a few days if I had the chance to, so I didn’t exactly have any food to make me chubby.

By 9:32, I arrived at school.

Thankfully, there was an assembly that day instead of first period. I rushed into the main hall, keeping my head down. I wasn’t really listening to anything that was being said, because I knew I wouldn’t be included in it; but for some reason, immediately Alpha Xavier steeped up on stage, my head shot up against my will, and our eyes connected.

He stared at me like he could see into my soul. I tried to force my head down, but my body wouldn’t listen to me. He broke the eye contact and started speaking.

“Today, I found my mate.” Those four words caused an uproar, Girls started screaming their heads of and guys cheered. Someone yelled ‘Get her out here’, and Alpha Xavier looked at me again, then shook his head. “Unfortunately, I can’t call her out here. She’s… under advisement, if I can say.”

Who was Alpha Xavier talking about? It couldn’t possibly be Thalia- she was perfect. The exact depiction of what a mate should be. Smart, beautiful and funny. People yelled at him and started chanting to call his mate out. Alpha looked very uncomfortable, like he didn’t want to be there.

The things that happened next were so fast I almost missed them.

His eyes turned so black; charcoal would have been jealous. His wolf was taking over. He looked directly at me, and people started to follow his line of vision.

Why was he looking at me?

I lowered my head and started to walk out of the hall. I had to be quick. My fingers were only inches from the doorknob when I felt someone grab my arm and turn me around.

There was complete silence.

Pin-drop silence.

It felt like someone was gripping my throat and suffocating me. I couldn’t breathe. The smell of peppermint consumed wholly and I couldn’t help but let out a soft moan. He pulled me towards him and wrapped his hands around me.

I needed air. OXYGEN-

There was a rumble deep in his chest till he finally growled out, “MINE!”

CAN’T BREATHE. CAN’T BREATHE. CAN’T-

Then it all went black.

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I woke up on a soft bed and my back hurt; it had been years since I’d slept on anything but the floor. My eyes fluttered open then shut quickly. There was a bright light staring down at me. My bones creaked as I moved to get up from the bed. As soon as my feet touched the cold floor, I glanced at the worn-out pink sneakers beside them. My sneakers.

The room was messy and smelled like Alpha Xavier. It didn’t have any pictures and it was simply painted grey and black. Clothes were littered everywhere, so I decided to help him clean up.

After about thirty minutes, the room was spotless. It looked a lot bigger since there weren’t piles of clothes littered around it. Alpha Xavier hadn’t come so I decided to go and help the kitchen staff with their meal. Cautiously, I walked out of the room and made my way through the corridor- but I stopped when I heard my name.

“Her name is Evelyn.”

“I don’t want her as a mate, dad!” I heard someone growl out. “How do you think the pack will react if I introduce her as their Luna? They treat her with contempt! They’ll never respect her!”

“Xavier-“

“No dad! I don’t want her as my mate!”

“XAVIER!” The other voice stopped talking. “You will have to keep her. It isn’t right to reject a mate. Besides, there are ties that bind you.”

“What ties?” The voice I was sure was Xavier’s cried out.

Alpha Xavier was my mate.

Alpha Xavier didn’t want me.

My chest hurt so bad, I couldn’t take it anymore. The hurt, the pain. Shaking my head furiously, I wiped away the tears from my face, but I was surprised when my hand came back dry. I wasn’t crying.

I was done.

If Alpha Xavier was my mate, and he didn’t want me, then I wouldn’t stay. Backwards, I walked, till I found the doorknob of Alpha’s room. There was a window there that led into the woods, so I climbed out of it, gripping the still. Thee building was high, at least 3 stories.

A burst of strength rushed through me, and I let go of the still and landed on my feet. I felt the ground shake.

It was exhilarating. The feeling of freedom. I was free from Thalia.

My feet moved into a quick jog.

Free from Ajax and his horrible friends.

The jog turned into a light sprint.

Free from Elena

The sprint wasn’t enough, so I ran. I ran as fast as my feet would take me. The wind blew in my hair, and I felt bones start to crack.

But I didn’t stop running.

I couldn’t.

I screamed out loud. For my mother. For my father. For my siblings.

And lastly, for my mate, Alpha Xavier.

By the time I was at the border, I was on all paws. I had changed into my wolf. This was the moment that would change everything.

So I crossed the border and broke my connection to the Photia pack.

Then I heard a deep growl that sent shivers down my spine.

And it all went dark again.