Chapter 2

Travis only stood there and watched Serena run away from him in the pouring rain. He was frozen, not able to move a muscle, but in his mind, he wanted to go after her and do what she asked of him. 

But, for some reason, he just couldn't make his legs move a step forward and run after his mate. It was like an unknown force had a tight hold of his legs and as much as he wanted to move, he just couldn't do it at all. 

He couldn't believe that what he had feared the most had come true. He thought that while he had Serena on a tight grip, she wouldn't leave. He did everything possible to make her stay, but he was wrong. 

His selfishness made Serena slip out of his grasp. 

He was so foolish... so damn foolish, it was surreal. 

"I really screwed up this time," he muttered, very disappointed with himself. The rain had drenched his clothes and the weight of it made him feel as though he was carrying the burden of the world. Right now, he felt what Atlas went through when he carried the world on his shoulders - heavy and a complete strain. 

It sucked. 

At this point, the rain was torrential now. Each rain drop plopped heavily on the forest floor and it emitted an earthy stench that Travis welcomed in his nostrils. Each intake of its musky scent filled his lungs and when the faint smell of his mate's scent entered his nostrils, he stiffened. 

Serena. 

That brought him out of his funk. 

Should he chase after her? 

Would he be able to catch up with her? 

With the rain, her scent would be washed away but... 

Fucking hell! Why was he hesitating? Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he should be searching for his mate, not stand there doing nothing like a moron! 

And then, there was his father and Carmela. 

If by chance he could get Serena back in his arms, what would he do? Could he go up to his father's face and say piss off? And adding Carmela, could he shove her prissy ass all the way to Timbuktu? 

Would he defy all odds all in the name of love and happiness? 

He made a decision. 

Screw Carmela. 

And most of all, screw daddy dearest. 

He wanted his mate back and he promised the world that he would claim her as his. 

She was worth the trouble he was about to get into. 

With renewed determination, Travis sprinted to the direction where Serena had took off. His feet pounded heavily as he seeked out his mate, and it worried him that the scent was growing fainter due to the rain. But that didn't deter him. He plowed like a bulldozer as he tore through the forest and with his Alpha blood running in his veins, his heightened senses were more advanced than those of a regular werewolf. Even if the scent was faint, he could still track that person no matter the distance. 

All of a sudden, the scent of his mate became strong, like it was still a minute old. 

Jackpot! 10 points for lover boy! 

Travis felt ecstatic that his mate was close. He followed feverishly on the trail and it lead to the border, where the territory of Crimson Moon pack ends. 

Fuck! 

Travis sprinted fast and hard for the border and from there, he felt like he had a whiplash when his mate's scent wafted at his nostrils. It grew stronger and stronger and when he made a turn and cut through an overgrowth that reached the border, there she was, only a few feet away from him, running and if his guess was right, she was going to cross the border. 

Hell no! 

"Serena!" he yelled out a pain filled cry. "Serena, wait!" 

Serena had almost came to a halt when she heard Travis' voice, but she kept on running. To be honest, she was shocked that he went after her, but now was not the time to dwell on this development. She was done listening to him; she had been lenient and understanding, but it had to end now. 

She wanted out. 

"Serena, please stop and listen to me!" Travis pleaded while he was trying to catch up to her. "Please baby, stop..." 

He realized now that he needed her like air to breathe and food to sustain him. From the fact that she ran away from him made him breathless, as though his air supply was cut off and now, he needed it back. 

He wanted Serena back. 

Serena didn't listen. She continued running and with two more final steps, she was finally out of the pack border. 

Step one of breaking the ties that bind. 

"Serena!" Travis screamed out desperately as he stopped at the edge of the border. 

Serena almost buckled at how sorrowful and pain-filled Travis' cry was. She wanted to turn back and run into his arms, but when she remembered the rejection, the anger worm its way back and that pushed her to run further. As she sprinted off to the unknown, she felt this burning sensation in her heart, and she knew that the connection was starting to wane. 

Goodbye, Travis. Please forget me. 

Step two. 

Travis clutched his chest and felt the burning sensation. He knew what was happening; they were past step two, and once she steps out of the territory, the connection would start to wane and the mind link would be disconnected. 

Then the start of step three. 

Step three was going to be the longest. If you are separated from your mate for a long time, you will never be the same again. You'd be a shell of your former self, just surviving, not living; hollow and dead inside. 

As Travis gazed up ahead, he could no longer see her anymore. 

It was over. 

Serena was gone. 

The rain pelted down his skin hard as he stared to where his mate had run off, never to be seen again. 

A sob escaped his lips as the situation dawned on him. As his father said, men don't cry. They took their pain in stride and continued to live life as though nothing had happened. However, Travis didn't care about this manly ego. He just lost his mate and he didn't know how he would survive without her. 

He was stupid to put his mate after his father's expectations. 

He was foolish for choosing Carmela over her. 

And now he had paid the price. 

This brought him to drop on his knees on all fours, dug his fingers on the muddy ground and broke down. He never cried this hard in his life; it was excruciating and a wave of heart wrenching sorrow ripped throughout his being, making his sobs heavy and ragged. 

Two halves of the same whole had just lost its other half. 

With his final thought, all he could say through his salty tears was... 

"I love you, Serena." 

                                                      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  

Serena was getting tired. She had been running non-stop for an hour now and the rain had made her skin prune and wrinkly. She needed to find shelter and rest for a while, but all she saw was trees and an endless line of trees. 

She knew she was in another territory, but so far, she didn't smell werewolves in the area. Maybe when the rain stops, that might be the time when she would get a better sniff on the area. 

Serena's running had turned into a slow jog. She was about to fall on her feet, but she needed a place to rest for a while, so she kept going, almost dragging herself on her feet. 

At each step, her vision turned blurry and unfocused. She blinked a couple times to make the blur go away, but it didn't help. In fact, it got worse. 

Seeing that it was useless to find shelter in this downpour, she might as well lean on a tree to rest her feet. The foliage would at least cover her from the pelting rain and when it slowed to a drizzle, that would be time to do what needs to be done. 

Up ahead was a big tree, its trunk thick and the foliage was wide and dense. She thought it was a perfect resting area, so she dragged her ass to the tree and when she got to her makeshift shelter, she slid down to the ground and let out a heavy sigh. 

'God, that feels so much better,' she thought. 

As she started to relax, she thought about what happened to her, back to where she was running from Travis. She never thought that he would come after her, seeing he had made a decision of living without her, but this brought questions into her mind. But, she shook thoughts away. He was a selfish bastard who only thought about himself, so she'd put it at that. 

She was starting to feel the effects of stage three. The connection she felt for Travis was slowly starting to wane and it scared her, but why should she? Travis made a choice and so did she but how come she felt so... 

She shook her head. She would deal with that later, so for now, she needed to have her strength back and concentrate on resting. 

Minutes past and the rain didn't relent. Apart from being tired, Serena felt sleepy and was longing for her warm, comfortable bed at home. 

Home. 

How could she be so stupid? Now that she had disconnected herself from the pack, how would she contact his family- not that her sister cares about her much, less her mother - but what about her father and older brother? They would be so worried! 

Stupid, stupid Serena! Good job! 

With a sigh, she'd sort that out later so for now, she needed to give in to slumber. Her eyelids felt heavy as her eyes started to close. 

When she wakes up, it'll be the start of her new life. 

A life without Travis. 

And it's going to be hard.