Chapter 5

Zarek's POV 

I stayed still, my eyes wide in shock at the statement from my wolf. I’d never heard him speak before, but now, he wouldn’t shut up. 

“That’s our mate, Zarek! Go to him!” My wolf ordered, but I couldn’t move from the spot I’d been in for the past hour.

The Alpha approached me, making me shuffle further into the corner. I didn’t trust the Alpha in front of me, and mate or not, Alphas only ever granted me one thing, and that was pain. 

“Alpha, they're not surrendering! We’ve basically defeated them, but they’re not backing down!” I heard a familiar voice call.

“Leave them. We’ve got what we came here for.” The Alpha surged forward and picked me up despite my whines and attempts to break free. “Good work, Akiri.”

Akiri nodded, standing in the doorway to Ryker’s room. “Of course, Alpha,” she said, and my eyes widened in betrayal.

I thought Akiri would protect me, but instead, she gave me up to another Alpha. All my life, I’d wanted to find my mate, but now that I was face-to-face with him, all I felt was dread.

The Alpha would never accept me as a mate. He’d reject me and treat me just like Ryker had. There was no way any Alpha would want to mate with someone who had given himself to another Alpha out of fear.

I was terrified. The scent of my fear filled the air as I struggled, but the Alpha wouldn’t let me go. 

“Calm down, love,” he murmured, his calming pheromones attempting to soothe me. “You’re safe now.”

“Trust mate,” my wolf ordered.

I mentally scoffed at my wolf. “You ignored me my entire life and you expect me to listen to you? Every time I have, we’ve ended up getting hurt!”

My wolf whined pitifully. “I’ve been trying to protect you,” he said, making me shake my head in frustration.

“Liar. You shifted and ran, leaving me to take the punishment you caused.”

“I could feel the pain too! We’re connected!”

I didn’t want to hear it. I shut him out, turning my attention to the Alpha who looked at me with concern.

“Why are you fighting with your wolf?” he asked, his voice full of curiosity.

I growled. “You snitched to his wolf?”

“I had to! You’re not listening!”

“He’s an Alpha! He’ll hurt us!” I thought helplessly, shocked that my own wolf couldn’t see that Alphas had always been the ones to hurt us. “You’re being irrational!”

My wolf growled, struggling for control. “Stop fighting me, Zarek! I want to talk to my mate!”

I ignored him, continuing to squirm and escape the Alpha’s grip. We’d finally made it outside the mansion, and I could see a car ahead, its doors wide open. The Alpha was carrying me straight toward it.

There was no way I was going to be taken willingly. Not by some random Alpha and certainly not by Akiri, the traitor.

The North River pack was mostly destroyed, if the fire in the sky and the growls and yells around me were any indication. That meant I was free from them. I could run and escape. Maybe I’d stay human, leave all of this behind, and join their world. Anything to get away from being owned by another Alpha.

“Hey, what’s going on?” The Alpha’s voice came, realizing I was fighting even harder to get away from him. “Calm down, love.”

I snarled, showing my teeth. I didn’t care that I was challenging an Alpha or that it would most likely result in a public rejection. I just wanted to be rejected so I could escape the hell the packs had made my life.

The Alpha didn’t put me down or growl back. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and kept walking toward the car.

“Put me down!” I growled, furious that the Alpha was ignoring my attempts to escape. “I can walk on my own!”

“You’re in preheat,” he stated matter-of-factly. “I can smell it all over you. I’ve been around enough Omegas to know that cramps happen during preheat, and it’s a lot of work to move. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

My wolf sighed dreamily. “He’s so smart.”

“I’ve walked during my preheats before, and I can do it now!” I argued, trying to kick at him. “Put me down!”

The Alpha continued to ignore me, walking toward the car and placing me inside.

I immediately crawled to the other side, trying to unlock the door and escape, but it opened, and Akiri climbed in, wrapping her arms around me to keep me from running.

I hissed and struggled, but she was much stronger than I was. She glanced at her Alpha, clearly communicating through their pack link, before moving her hand to the back of my neck. She gently applied pressure, forcing submission from me and making me tired and dazed.

“Alpha Kaidon! You have no rights coming onto my pack’s grounds and taking what belongs to me!” Ryder’s voice rang out as he appeared from the chaos of North River and Blood Moon wolves fighting in both human and wolf forms.

Kaidon, the Alpha who had taken me, turned to look at Ryker.

“Do you speak of the Omega?” Kaidon asked, his voice low and intense.

Ryker sneered. “Of course, I speak of the Omega. He belongs to me!”

Kaidon raised an eyebrow. “Then why did my wolf hear a distress call from his mate? The same mate who happens to be intertwined with the Omega that you claim belongs to you?”

“Don’t play games with me, Kaidon!”

“I’m speaking the truth, Ryker. That Omega is my mate, and I will not have him treated like an object by you. Your pack is strong, but it needs correcting in the way you treat Omegas.” Kaidon paused and looked around at all the wolves, all of them now frozen, watching the two Alphas. “Surrender now and we leave your pack. If not, I’ll send my warriors in to correct your pack.”

Ryker growled, pacing in frustration. He was silent for a few minutes before finally glaring at Kaidon again. “Leave my pack and take your slut with you,” he spat.

Kaidon growled at the insult, but didn’t respond. Instead, he called, “Blood Moon pack members! Get back to our territory!” As his pack shifted into their wolves and ran into the forest, Kaidon climbed into the car beside me, taking me from Akiri’s grip and holding me close.

It was different from how Ryker held me. Ryker always nearly crushed the life out of me, showing off his dominance and leadership. But Kaidon didn’t try to suffocate me. He held me gently, his fingers soothingly running up and down my spine, releasing calming pheromones into the air.

“You’re safe now, mate,” Kaidon whispered, burying his nose in my hair, breathing in my scent. “No one will treat you like he did ever again.”

My wolf swooned, but I didn’t react. I didn’t trust this Alpha. I refused to relax in his hold.

He may have promised good treatment, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he hurt me too.

*******

Kaidon kept his arms around me, humming softly as we drove. The rain had started, the drops pounding down on the car, and I couldn’t help but shudder.

I’ve always hated the rain. It always brought thunder and lightning, and I despised those natural phenomena even more.

When I was a pup, only six years old, I’d been running away from a pair of Alphas in the Red Claw pack and ended up outside. It had been cold, and I lost my way home, which meant I was trapped in the pouring rain.

The thunder rumbled around me, and flashes of lightning made me cower against the base of a willow tree. I lay there in the mud until the Alpha came out and brought me back inside.

First, I was scolded for running off, then I was lectured for bringing mud into the house. That night, I received my first severe beating, one that went beyond slaps and menacing words.

That night, I had to drag myself back to the Omega room to cleanse myself of the bleeding wounds.

“Are you okay, pup?” Kaidon asked, noticing how tense I’d gotten when the first rumble of thunder echoed overhead.

“D-Don't call me that,” I said, hating the way he was slowly approaching me.

Why wouldn’t Kaidon just reject me and get it over with? Why couldn’t he just leave me alone and let me fend for myself?

I knew he’d get tired of me and beat me at some point, so why was he acting friendly and patient with me, the Omega?

"Don’t call you that?" Kaidon asked, amusement in his voice. "What should I call you then?"

“Not pup or love or any other stupid nickname!” I growled, and immediately my wolf shuddered. I couldn’t believe I was actually growling at my mate.

“What’s your name then?" Kaidon asked, his eyes trained on the sandy hair in front of my face since I was still staring at the floor of the car.

"Alpha Leon just called me Omega,” I mumbled, not understanding why Kaidon even cared to know my real name.

I was pretty sure Alpha Ryker didn’t even know my real name.

“I don’t want to call you Omega,” Kaidon said, gripping my chin and tilting my face until our eyes met. "I want to know your real name."

"Why doesn’t Akiri tell you?" I snarled, glaring at the traitor. "She knows, and she’s betrayed me once already."

Tali frowned. "How have I betrayed you?" she asked in surprise. She must’ve thought I’d be happy to see my mate.

"I told you my mate would hate me, and that I didn’t want to meet them! All I wanted was to escape!" I yelled, finally reaching my breaking point. "You led my mate right to me, knowing he’d reject me and not want me!"

Kaidon growled slowly, and the sound made both Akiri and I freeze. I saw the fear in Akiri’s eyes, and I was sure the same fear was reflected on my face.

"Look at me,” Kaidon ordered.

His tone was terrifying, so I instantly lifted my head, making sure my neck wasn’t exposed. I wouldn’t bare my neck to him yet, and I’d fight back if it was forced. I didn’t want to meet his eyes, so I stared at his shoulder, much like I did with my old Alpha.

“Why would you think that I’d reject you?" Kaidon asked, irritated that I was too scared to meet his gaze. "You’re my mate. The moon goddess made us for each other. So why the hell would I reject you?”