Alpha Colt’s POV
I knew I had been close to finding her. I just didn’t realise how close when I called out to her. She would be eighteen anytime now and I tried to reach out to her through mindlink. I had felt her as we pulled up to the junction.
My Beta Linc slams on the brakes, narrowly missing a swerving car. From nowhere a truck slams into the same car with a force that no one would survive. The moment the truck hit the car. I knew Lilah was in there. I felt how scared she was, the fear, the pain. My heart thudded in my chest as I watched her body fly through the windscreen. Her limp body sliding across the tarmac.
For a moment I am speechless. Almost eight years I had been tracking them down. Searching the world for my mate. And just like that, she was right in front of me. Unmoving and with blood pooling around her.
“Is that…?” Linc trails off. He knew we had been close. He had been helping me hunt her down anytime he could.
I don’t say anything. I had waited for this moment for so long. Now it was here, I was speechless. It was rare for me to have nothing to say.
“Well go to her then.” Linc mumbles, half pushing me out of the van door. If he had been anyone else, I would have broken his nose. But Linc had been with me for a long time. He was the only one that I could trust.
Stumbling out of the car. I rushed over to her. She was on her front, her face away from me. Her long raven hair fanned out over her head. I could already see that her hips were dislocated. Her top, ripped in multiple places and stained with blood from the glass wounds beneath.
The moment her citrus scent hit me, my Lycan growled ‘MATE!’ I couldn’t even stop it from coming out.
Flipping her over on her back. I assess the damage. Surprised that her hips were the worst thing. When she cries out in pain, I find myself apologising. I had never apologised to anyone. Ever!
It was worse when I had to tell her that her mother hadn’t made it. I felt her wave of sadness. I felt sorry for her.
She doesn’t put up a physical fight, but she is very verbal. Even when I tell her to close her eyes, she answers back. I guess I would be pissed too if I couldn’t heal. But she was somehow alive and I finally had her.
Lilah eventually passes out and I find myself just watching her. She had changed so much since the first time I laid eyes on her.
Her small frame had been hiding behind her mother as the traitor argued with me. Her peculiar grey eyes would peer around her mother, focussing on me. She didn’t seem afraid, even when her father was shouting at me. Or when her mother was holding her back.
I had hated the fact that I had been mated to a child. And not just a child, a werewolf too. She was ten years younger than me. The whole idea sickened me, but after what her father did. I knew I needed to protect her. Even if that meant keeping her safe until she was old enough to be properly accepted as my mate. She would be slaughtered if the news got out of what her father did.
I would have killed her myself if she wasn’t mated to me.
I had tried to tell her father. I had repeated the words over and over, but Beta Wayne didn’t want to hear me. I promised him that I wouldn’t touch her. That I had no intentions of marrying a child. That all I would do was keep her safe.
When he threw that punch. I saw the mother take off with her. Anger had ripped through me and I tore him apart like he was a piece of paper.
He would have been sentenced to death anyway. But her disappearance is what started my reign. I was different from my soft touch father. There was no way these packs were going to get away with half the shit that he allowed.
The only person that knew of Lilah’s bloodline was Linc. He had vowed that he would keep it a secret. Because murder of a Lycan King was death. And death to everyone in the family. There would be a bounty on her head if news got out. She would have been protected under my care.
“We’re here!” Linc calls and I peer between the seats.
Luna Juniper was already waiting in front of the pack hospital. Not a single strand of her short black hair was out of place. She had her arms folded over her large chest. Her lips pressed into a thin line as her foot tapped on the grass.
“And just like everyone else, she is happy to see you.” Linc half laughs. But it was true, everyone hated my arrival. They knew that if they wanted their pack to survive, then they had to be on their best behaviour.
Pushing open the back doors, I climb out.
“Why are you here, Alpha Colt?” She wastes no time in questioning me.
“Juniper. It’s nice to see you too.” I snap, turning my attention to my passed out mate.
“That’s not what I asked!”
“Do you need to be reminded of who you are talking to, wolf!” I growl.
She drops her head. “Sorry. It’s just that we were not expecting you.”
“Well I’m here now, so deal with it! I don’t have to let you know of my arrival. Or is that a problem?”
She doesn’t answer my questions and peers into the van. Her eyes on Lilah. “Who is she?”
“My mate and if you lay a hand on her. I will have yours!” I glare at her, using my Alpha tone. She knew it was an order.
“Wyatt isn’t here yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. I require your best pack doctors and nurses.”
She nods her head and points to the pack hospital doors.
Carrying Lilah inside, a female doctor and a nurse are already waiting. They lead me to an individual room and ask me for details about Lilah. I realise that other than her name. Knowing that she is nearly eighteen. I actually knew nothing about her.
They exchange looks
“If you don’t ensure she recovers. You are all dead.” It wasn’t a threat. They knew what I was capable of. If she doesn’t survive. The entire pack would be wiped out.
They nod and quickly get to work, ushering me out of the room. It’s nearly an hour later that they tell me how badly broken her legs are. Because she hasn’t turned eighteen yet, they will unlikely heal properly. Not until her Lycan kicks in.
I look at the doctor, debating whether to tell her. I was going to have too. They knew what they were doing.
“She’s a wolf.” I mumble, staring at Lilah through the window.
The doctor stares at me. I didn’t need to hear what she was thinking. Her face told me everything I needed to know. She was wondering what it meant by me having a wolf as a mate. Something that I had questioned all these years.
They finally let me in to see her. She looked peaceful. They had braided her long hair back out of the way. I could see just how ill she really was. There may be injuries to her legs, but she had been suffering in other ways. Her collarbone jutted out, her skin pulled tight around her face. Her raven hair had been hiding how bad things were.
Running my finger along her jaw line, she smiles in her sleep. It was an involuntary movement, but one that showed we were bonded. That my touch reassured her.
Before the doctor agreed to let me in. I retrieved the handcuffs from the van. I had been prepared that Lilah would never come easily. But I had to be certain that she wouldn’t run. The moment she turns eighteen, she could disappear without any of us knowing. This way, she wouldn’t be going anywhere. I slip one end around her wrist, the other to the bed and walk away.
Lilah’s POVThe accident replays over and over in my head. How the pull on my heart had strengthened moments before. Was he already watching me? He must have been close enough to have called to me. Could he have had something to do with the crash? Was he responsible for my mum's death?The doctor pulls back the curtain and smiles at me.“How are you feeling today?” She was always so damn chirpy!“Like I was hit by a truck” I snap sarcastically.“Okay. I just need to do some checks if you don’t mind?”“Do I have a choice?” I looked at my wrist which had been handcuffed to the bed. I wouldn’t be going anywhere unless Alpha Colt had a say in it.She lets out a giggle and clips her blonde hair back. Were they all this stupid? Is this what pack life did to them?My mum had always been desperate for a pack to protect us. She thought it was our only option. Yet I was always secretly grateful when we were kicked out. I hated pack life, hated being told what to do by one person. Hated everyone
Lilah’s POV “Help!” I whimpered, as my legs began to spasm. The hospital was dark, no one seemed to be around. My legs were in agony, a fire raging through them. I couldn’t help but scream out in pain. The doctor comes running in. The hospital lighting up as the doctor tries to pump meds into me. But nothing helped. Nothing stopped the burn. “What’s going on?” Alpha Colt practically shoves a doctor out the way to look at me. “They are trying to reset.” I hear the doctor call out “Why now?” Alpha Colt yells back over the top of my screams. “It’s past midnight.” The doctor yells back. I was officially eighteen and my body was making me suffer. Instead of shifting, my wolf abilities had kicked in and my body was trying to heal. My bones were snapping and resetting correctly. “Then help her!” He demands. “We can’t, this is her wolf trying to correct everything.” “Make it stop!” I beg through the tears. This was worse than the car accident. At least I hadn’t felt the pain, just sh
Lilah’s POVI was mortified. My body had reacted against my wishes, crumbling under his touch. The tighter he held me, the more I craved him. I couldn’t stop it. Waves of desire rippled through my body. It was why I started kicking and screaming. I had to hide what my body was doing. I didn’t want him to know how much I hated it and enjoyed it.Alpha Colt ends up dropping me on the floor of the shower. My clothes were soaked from the water. Clinging to my body, no longer hiding how my bones stuck out. He doesn’t care. How could he? He was heartless. He throws a bottle of shower gel at me.Giant tears roll down my cheeks. I quickly wipe them away. Alpha Colt turns his back on me, shaking his head and walks out of the ensuite.I didn’t care if he could see me through the open door. I didn’t care that he was watching me. This man had ruined my life, he had taken everything from me.Hugging my knees to my chest as the water trickled over me. I no longer fight the tears and let them flow.
Alpha Colt’s POV Opening the door, I find the bedroom empty, the windows wide open. The curtains blowing in the wind. “Fucking moron!” I curse myself. I hadn’t handcuffed her again, believing that she was locked safely in the bedroom. It hadn’t occurred to me that the windows might not be locked. Leaning out of the window, I pick up her citrus scent. She was alone, no one had helped her. Though I was impressed that she had landed without hurting herself. Lilah wasn’t exactly in the healthiest condition and it wasn’t a small drop to the ground either. I call out to her through mindlink, just as I see a foot disappear into the forest. She doesn’t respond. I was both annoyed and surprised that she was already trying to escape. I thought she would have at least waited until she felt better. “Stupid fucking girl!” I mutter. Storming through the packhouse, I bump into Alpha Wyatt. For once, Juniper wasn’t hanging off his arm. “Is something wrong?” “Lilah has taken off!” “Oh! You’re
Lilah’s POVHis knock comes at the bedroom door. He musky oak scent wafting in through the small gap under the door.“Fuck off!” I shout, making it clear that I didn’t want him anywhere near me. He steps into the room, his eyes on me as he shakes his head.It had been three days since he had brought me back here. He had kept me locked in this room all day every day. If he wasn’t in here with me, I was cuffed to the bed. There was no way that I was escaping this time.We hadn’t talked about what he did. We had hardly spoken about anything. The only thing he had done was explain what a Rogue was. Mum had never mentioned them. You would think she would have told me about Lycan’s and wolves that are banished. Especially when she wanted me to look after myself.The lack of knowledge made me feel stupid. Alpha Colt tried to tell me that it wasn’t my fault, but it didn’t change how stupid I had been. Or how close to death I was. I should be grateful that Alpha Colt saved me. Instead, I could
Lilah’s POVMy mouth drops open. I knew I couldn’t. The Moon goddess had been so fed up of mates rejecting each other over the years. Over two decades ago wolves and Lycans began to discover they couldn’t reject each other. She had made it impossible for us to say those words. There was always a reason she chose the couple.“I…. I….” I try to say the words, but they don’t even form. “Can’t, can you?” He cocks an eyebrow at me.“Li….Lil….Lilah” I keep trying. Hoping that the words would start coming. I was stunned into silence. When I couldn’t even get out my whole name.“Trust me, Lilah. I tried. For the first year of you being on the run. I tried over and over to reject you, because you were a child. But I couldn’t. For some reason, the Moon Goddess wants us to be together. I know you hate it. I feel it with every fibre of your being. You make it more than clear that you don’t want to be around me. But I promise, I will never hurt you.” He smiles and shoots a wink at me “Not unless
Alpha Colts POV“A psychopath?” No one had been brave enough to call me that too my face.“Yes! That’s exactly what you are. A Fucking Psychopath!” She practically spits out the words.“Why would you even think that?” It’s not what I want my mate to think of me. I don’t want her to hate me. I don’t want her to fear me. But here, right now. She finally tells me what she thinks.“Mum told me everything I need to know.”“Your mother didn’t know me!” I fire back, trying to keep my cool. “She knew enough.”“And what was that, Lilah? What shit did your mother tell you?"“That you are a killer! You destroy everything. You hurt everyone around you.”“I saved you from that Rogue, Lilah. He would have eaten you and he wouldn’t have killed you first. He would have snapped a limb off. Just a little at a time. A finger. A thumb, maybe your hand. Would you rather I let that happen to you?!”She doesn’t answer me. Her grey eyes finally looked away from me. It was harsh, but it was the truth. I was
Colt “Traitors?” She mumbles. It was a harsh word in the wolf world. It was just as bad to the Lycans. It meant they had committed the greatest crime. A crime that meant only death was the answer. There was no coming back from it. There was no way you could ever ask for forgiveness. Everyone would want you dead. “Yes Lilah. They both were. You are the daughter of traitors. Do you understand now why I had to protect you?” “No, I don’t believe you. You have to be wrong.” Standing up, I hover over her. Deciding how to play my next move. I was done with skirting the issue. Sitting next to her on the carpeted floor. She doesn’t recoil, she doesn’t flinch even when my arm brushes against hers. “Lilah, how do you think I became the King?” I had never known a wolf to have so much denial. I had to find a way to make her understand how serious her situation was. How serious it still is! “Your dad would have died.” She mumbles, keeping her eyes in front of her. I let my hand fall on to h