CHAPTER FIVE

My heart pounds as the pack’s colony of cabins come into view.

It looks like a trap as Violet and I approach it. I want to run away. I want to be free of the pack and everything that comes with it. I need to be with Lance.

“Hey love,” Sebastian says as he walks over, having caught a glimpse of us while he was walking around outside. That’s his pet name for me. As if I might start to love him if he says it enough.

“I knew you’d come back.” He beams as he hugs me. It’s so difficult to be close to him like this now I met Lance. It feels all wrong. He looks at me with those green eyes that aren’t so alluring to me now.

“I’m sorry for getting so upset,” he says. “I know this is all a lot for you. You’re about to turn eighteen, about to shift into your wolf form, and we’re going to get married soon. It makes sense for you to be a bit confused and emotional.

“You will love me though; I know you will. I’ll help you through all of this. You’re my mate. You’ll see that soon enough.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Violet interrupts. Sebastian steps away, dropping my gaze to meet her smug one.

Violet raises her voice, drawing in the attention from everyone in the pack. “When Rachel ran off, I followed her into the woods. I didn’t want her to get hurt or anything. And I hoped that maybe I could help soothe her, woman to…” she looks at me with scorn, “young girl. Like a mentor.

“What I saw though…” she shakes her head. “Well, it was shocking. She was talking to a rouge. Not just talking though. She was close to him. Too close. They were about to kiss before I came along.”

I can feel my cheeks heating up as everyone looks at me. I hate it. I know it’s a dead giveaway. My feelings for Lance are just too strong to bury though. I’m sure they play out on my face, sealing my fate.

Sebastian turns to me with a heartbreaking look in his eyes.

“Rachel, tell me this isn’t true,” he pleads, desperately wanting me to love him.

“It is true,” Violet interrupts him. “I saw it myself. That’s probably why she’s been so hesitant to marry you. She’s been with him all along.”

Now Sebastian blushes, which I know will only add to his fury. He hates the fact that I can’t say I love him yet. He doesn’t want anyone to know about it, let alone the whole pack

“Clearly, the engagement needs to be broken,” Violet continues. “Not just broken though. She didn’t just betray you, she did it with a rouge. She betrayed the whole pack. That’s one of the most traitorous things she could do.

“She needs to be punished for that. They both do. The rouge needs to be hunted down and killed. Rachel needs to be killed as well.”

Silence falls over the pack, all of which have congregated around us to hear if these ridiculous rumors are true. They all stare at me. I’m so new, and now I’ve become an outsider. A betrayer.

“Are you the alpha of this pack?” Sebastian asks, turning his glare to Violet. She shifts under the intensity of it.

“Well, no,” she admits. “But…”

“Then you don’t decide what must and must not happen,” he replies through clenched teeth. “I do.”

“Of course.” She takes a step back and bows her head in respect.

Sebastian turns to me. “Is this true?” he asks me.

I shift under his gaze. I can’t meet his eyes. I need to lie to protect Lance and I both. But how can I deny my mate?

Sebastian shakes his head. “You know what, I’m not going to have this conversation out in the open with you like this,” he decides. “We need to talk in private. We need to handle this ourselves.”

Some of the tension fades. I don’t want to have this conversation with him at all. But it’ll be better to do it privately. Maybe I can convince him…

“I do believe there is a rouge around here though,” he says, turning to face the pack. “I don’t know what kind of interaction Rachel had with him, but I will get to the bottom of this.

“We all know how dangerous they are. We take such threats seriously. We can’t allow him to prowl our grounds like this. We must put a stop to this before anyone from the pack gets hurt!”

“I want my strongest fighters to hunt this rouge down. I want the surrounding areas searched; scents followed. I want you to pay attention to anything out of the ordinary. We will find him.”

Nods are shared around the pack. Violet steps forward to tell them exactly where she saw Lance last. Sebastian turns to me, a war of emotions battling across his features.

“Let’s go,” he says. “We need to talk.”

I look back out at the pack. I want to stop them. I need to stop them.

Sebastian steps towards me and lowers his voice. “Don’t make a fuss,” he growls. “It’ll only make things worse. Let’s go.”

I nod and follow him away from the others. My fear demands I do something to stop this. But I know I can’t. He pauses when he notices how upset I am. He turns back to the pack.

“When you find him, kill him,” he demands. “Bring his body to me. I want to ensure our territory is free of rouges. That is of utmost importance.”

“No!” I cry out. “You can’t kill him!”

In that moment, I sense the shift within the pack.

I cringe inside. I should have kept my mouth shut. But I couldn’t control it. Now, it’s too late.

They know and they hate me for it. Sebastian’s fists clench, and I realize I’m at the mercy of a man fueled by anger and jealousy.

I don’t want to even think about what they’ll do to me now.