Chapter 3

“Engagement?” I directed the question at no one in particular.

“Yes, engagement.” Lilly answered with glee.

An incredulous laugh escaped my lips. “Engagement.”

Kylan spoke up finally. “Look Maya—”

I cut him off. “You asked for a day to sort things out and instead you got engaged? In twenty-four hours?”

I felt sick. How did I always have the worst possible luck?

“Maya this is what is best for the pack. As the Alpha, it is my responsibility to make our pack stronger.”

My emotions were dangerously mixed and bubbling at the surface. Anger, disappointment, embarrassment and sadness all roared in my head and my voice shook as I desperately tried to understand what I was hearing.

“We are werewolves.” I stated, “We have our fated mates for a reason. You can’t just pick any random bimbo and claim to be engaged like the humans do!” My voice rose with each word.

“Who the fuck are you calling a bimbo, Maya?”

I pressed on, ignoring the sly wolf that was trying to steal my mate. “’ What is best for the pack’? How does this have anything to do with the pack? It’s now you want to claim your responsibilities? Maybe you should have tried to be a better leader who listened to the needs of your people, not just the elders and the higher-ups.”

At my sharp words, Kylan’s expression grew icy and he looked at me with pure contempt.

It was true. Not once had he gone around the pack to listen to the petitions of our pack members like our past Alphas normally did. When he inherited the title from his father, all he cared about were the opinions of powerful werewolves like himself.

Even though we had already broken up, I used to purposely ignore all these flaws of his. However, right then, as I stared at the scowl on his face, it dawned on me that the only person Kylan Greene truly cared about was himself. I was stupid to believe otherwise.

“There is no way around this, Maya.” Kylan said. Gone was his false apologetic tone, in its place was a hateful one I had never heard before. “Lily’s father is the Alpha of Grainjer pack, one of the most powerful werewolf packs. Our union has been blessed by him so our pack will benefit from his support and protection. I will not let you ruin that because of your petty selfishness.“

“Petty selfishness? I’m the selfish one here?”

It all felt like I was stuck in a fever dream.

“Kylan love, let’s get this over with already. You have nothing left to say to this lowlife, severe the mate bond. Do it now.” Lily demanded and I could see where this was leading.

No way. There was absolutely no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of rejecting me.

“Fine.” I said. “Have it your way. I, Maya Renshaw, reject you, Alpha Kylan Greene, as my mate. I never want to be the mate or Luna of a manipulative bastard like you.”

Kylan stepped forward angrily but Lily held his arm.

“She isn’t worth your time.” She said.

I was angry enough to be reckless. “Your little toy is right Alpha, I’m not worth your time. Accept my rejection so that I can get out of your sight forever.” I sneered at him between the excruciating pain that the severance of our mate bond was causing.

Kylan stared at me for a beat and I almost thought he would refuse the rejection.

“I accept your rejection.”

The quick pain that passed through me felt like something was being ripped from me. Next, I felt utter anguish and I knew deep down that I would never feel complete again. Kylan stumbled, he felt it too.

I moved to leave the room but first stopped close to Kylan.

“I hope you feel this pain every fucking day,” I whispered venomously. “And when you do, I pray you hate yourself as much as I hate you now, for what you’ve caused us to lose. Never in my life will I forgive you for this Kylan Greene, remember that.”

I brushed past Lily to leave the room, banging the door shut behind me.

The pack house felt suffocating now. A building that I had found stunning only hours ago now felt like a wretched prison.

I turned the corner blindly and stumbled into Delta Ron.

“I am to collect you and return you home Ms Renshaw.” He said in his usual monotonous voice.

My words burst out of me before I could stop them. “I’m not a freaking object for you to collect! And doesn’t a Delta have better things to do than play driver all day?”

I immediately felt bad for my outburst but the thought that the kind Delta who had stood up to Selena for me was also in on Kylan and Lily’s plan made me feel worse.

“I’m so sorry, Ron.” I apologized then took a deep breath which did nothing to calm me down. “Don’t worry about it Ron. Thank you for your help but I’d rather walk back home.”

The huge he-wolf waited for a beat them turned on his heel and left.

Finally alone, I mulled over what had just happened. I had just found and lost my mate in less than seventy-two hours.

“I guess my life really is pathetic.” I mumbled.

I felt like I was drowning in my own skin and the unwelcoming thought of returning home made me collapse on a bench in the little garden beside the pack house. The shrubs around it thankfully blocked me from others' view. Leaning back, I closed my eyes and tried to settle the turmoil in my head.

A piercing scream jolted me from my sleep.

“Shit!” I had fallen asleep on the bench and from how dark it had gotten, hours had gone by. My boss was going to kill me.

I scrambled to put myself together and raced out of the garden when another scream tore through the darkness causing me to stumble. That was why I had woken up– the scream. I paused to observe my surroundings for any sign of danger.

My vision adjusted to the dark but I could not make out anything out of the ordinary. A sniff of the air however, and my heart plummeted.

Smoke.

“What do I do? What do I do?” Panic gripped me and my feet led me back to the pack house. All around, bodies rushed back and forth. Some ran out of the pack house to escape while others ran into the building to try and help.

My hand landed on a ghastly-looking girl trying to escape. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“North wing. The North–the Alpha’s wing is on fire. Someone did that, it wasn’t a fucking accident. They set the Alpha’s quarters on fire!” She rambled on, fear evident in her eyes.

What?

“No, no, no! Fuck no! I have to get out of here.” For the first time in my life, I was truly terrified. Not because of the fire but because of how this seemed.

If this fire was not an accident, I would be Kylan’s first suspect. He would think I did this to get back at him.

Swiftly, retraced my steps and ran out. I was grateful for the confused crowd as I discreetly made my way away from the house area.

“You! You did this!”

Oh no, I knew that voice. I increased my strides.

“Maya Renshaw, I will fucking kill you, you good-for-nothing bitch!.” Lily’s voice resounded and I broke into a run.

Multiple footsteps pounded closely behind me. My breath came out in short puffs as I rounded a corner to lose Lily and her cronies while praying to the Goddess that the garbage cans beside me masked my scent. I remained crouched in my spot listening as their footsteps slowly faded in the opposite direction

My relief was short-lived though. A rustle alerted me of the incoming threat a second too late as a menacing figure moved towards me with such speed that I had no time to run. A hefty hand smashed my head into the wall.

Excruciating pain was all I felt as darkness crept slowly into my vision. Another person joined my attacker and I felt my body being lifted but I didn’t care. For the first time in my life, I welcomed the blissful numbness.

Maybe, just maybe, I would get to meet Dad again. That final thought brought me joy as I slipped under.

****

“What part of 'knock her out' did you not understand?”

“I did that–“

“You did what? You freaking killed her!”

“Quit being dramatic. It’s just a lot of blood, she’s still breathing.”

Who? Me?

Were they talking about me?

The throbbing pain in my head jogged my memory.

The Rejection. The fire. Lily. My attack.

“You are going to get us both killed. Alpha Chase said not to harm her.”

“Well you definitely harmed me, I can tell you both that.”

Their conversation stalled while I forced my eyes open. Two pairs of eyes stared back at me from across the room. I had been placed on the bed at the centre of yet another foreign room.

“Did Kylan put you up to this? Or was it Lily? I wouldn’t put it past her.” I asked as my vision focused and I sat up.

“Neither of them. Hello again, Maya Renshaw, how are you feeling?” A monotonous voice asked.

I instantly recognized that voice. “Ron? What the fuck! You almost fucking killed me!”

“Nah, that would be me. The name’s Henry” The he-wolf that leaned forward had the build of my attacker and was handsome even with the jagged scar that ran across his face. He gestured to Ron. “Gentle bear over here can’t harm a thing. I took my job a bit overboard– I’m sorry about that– but Ronny wrapped you up and you’ll heal up quickly anyways. So no hard feelings, yeah?” He spoke so fast and light-heartedly, one would think we were talking about the weather.

“Ronny?” I asked. I felt like Alice in Wonderland.

“Ron, explain. Just fucking explain what this is about and why my head had to be jammed into a freaking brick wall for me to get here. Today has been way too long and my patience is painfully thin.” That was a threat I was very willing to make. I was fed up and ready to shift when Ron spoke up.

“I understand. Like I said, you’re presence here is not the doing of Kylan Greene or Lily Camper. I was given orders to retrieve you and bring you here.”

“Orders from? Bring me where?” I ignored the word “retrieve”, there were bigger things to take care of.

“Our Alpha of course.” Henry answered happily. “Welcome to Drakor pack, Alpha Chase is on his way.”

“Drakor pack?” Drakor. The name of the pack rang a bell but I could not remember where I had heard it before.

“Chase will tell you why he wants you here.”

The door swung open and immediately I was enveloped by the enticing scent of almonds and the forest rain.

“Here he is now.” Ron said.

Alpha Chase came into sight and it clicked in my head why Drakor pack rang a bell. They were the most powerful pack because of their Alpha. The rare he-wolf who stood before me now.

A lycan.

He stared down at me silently while I looked into his eyes. I should have been afraid but he had me intrigued. Everything about him left me captivated—from his warrior-like grace to his dangerously handsome features.

The brows above his gorgeous amber eyes furrowed as he addressed my captors.

“Why does she have blood on her?”

“An accident happened.” Henry replied with a nervous laugh.

“I think we’ll leave you both now.” Ron said, grabbing Henry by the collar. “Isn’t that right, Henry?” He tugged Henry away before he could reply and shut the door behind them.

I was left alone with Chase and suddenly I wanted the traitorous Ron back by my side.

“Maya Renshaw.”

“I’m really tired of people I don’t know saying my name like that.” I was a fat liar. My name rolled off his tongue so perfectly, I wanted to hear him say it over and over again.

He cocked his head to the side and sat down beside me on the bed. My thigh brushed his finger when I moved and tingles travelled across my skin.

Why was I reacting to him?

A silent moment passed between us as he studied me.

“Why am I here?” I asked after summoning up some courage.

“Well, Maya, that’s because you are the mate of Kylan Greene if my sources are accurate.”

I guess Kylan had managed to get himself a very powerful enemy. I scoffed inwardly, I honestly could not care less. “Sorry but your 'sources' got it wrong.”

A well-arched brow rose. “You aren’t his mate?”

“I severed the bond.” I shrugged. “We were mates for like what? Seventy-two hours? You see, I only just found out myself and then I had to reject him. So...”

Chase stared at me in confusion.

“Yeah, you kind of just wasted your time and energy bringing me here.” I rambled on nervously.

“Why...?” He trailed off, his intense gaze stayed fixed on me.

I shrugged again “Because he’s a conceited liar and cheater with–“

“No, not that.” He cut me off. His eyes has frustration in them as they roamed my face. He leaned closer to me and his hand closed gently around my neck.

Was he going to kill me now that I was no longer useful to him?

His grip was light and almost a caress but my mind played through all the worst case scenarios. My thoughts came to a screeching halt and my attention snapped back to him when his thumb brushed my lower lip.

Excitement stirred in me and my wolf became restless as he brought his face closer to mine.

“What are you doing?” My question was a breathless whisper.

“Checking something.” He replied softly.

“You do—”

Chase’s hand moved gently into my hair and he drew me to meet his lips. My protests died as he captured my lips in his agonisingly slow yet utterly intoxicating kiss. My wolf howled for joy and around me the world shrunk, all I wanted was to be surrounded with him. The possibility of what this could be filled me with hope and that scared me.

Panicking, I shoved him and scrambled away from the bed. Away from the he-wolf I had just met whose touch unlike Kylan’s didn’t just light me up, Chase’s touch made my whole being burn deliciously and I never wanted the feeling to stop.

He stood up but remained fixed in his place.

“You’re my mate.” He growled lowly.

On his face was a look I could not decipher. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, if we were thinking the same thing.

Instead, I stood across him and watched his fists tighten, the muscle in his jaw ticking. Suddenly, I was too afraid to find out what was running through the head of my second mate.