One

RYLEE

Startled by the knock on my front door, I sat up in bed. I had been trying to get some sleep for the past few hours, but sleep seemed to have evaded me. Maybe, it was because my new apartment still felt unfamiliar. This was my first night in my new apartment in a different town. The knock on the door continued and I let out an exasperated sigh, hopping out of bed. My gaze rested on the clock, my brows furrowing when I saw the time. 11: 23pm.

I wondered who my visitor was. I didn't know anyone in town. Cautious, I grabbed the lamp holder and made my way to the sitting room. I switched on the front porch light and walked towards the front door.

Hesitant, I reached for the door knob and unlocked it. Then, I pulled the door towards me. Clutching the lamp holder tightly, I peeked out of the door, my eyes widening when I saw the man leaning by my front door. He had a mane of black hair that covered his forehead, eyes and the upper part of his nose. There was something else I noticed. He was tall, really tall and muscular.

"Who are you?" I said, hoping he wouldn't notice the trembling of my voice. He let out a groan and stumbled towards me. I gasped when I smelt the blood on him. The front of his shirt was almost completely soaked with blood.

I swallowed hard. I couldn't leave him there.

He was injured and totally out of it. So, I looked around to make sure no one had followed him to my house. Convinced that the coast was clear, I helped him into my house. He was as heavy as he seemed. Once I laid him down on the floor, he passed out.

While I cleaned him up and dressed his wounds, he stirred. I brushed his hair away from his face. He was drop dead gorgeous. For a moment, I stared. The man was a piece of art. His dark brows were suddenly furrowed in pain. I snapped back to my senses and started to clean the bloodied gash on the side of his face.

Just as I wrapped the last of his injury with gauze, his eyes flew open. I found myself staring at electric blue orbs. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down towards him. Then, he sniffed at the crook of my neck. I stiffened, my cheeks heating up. His grip on my hand went lax and when I pulled away, I realized that he'd passed out again.

Inhaling shakily, I placed a pillow under his head and covered him with a spare blanket. I wondered how he'd sustained his injuries. Exhausted, I rose to my feet, letting out a yawn. I trudged to my bedroom and laid down on my bed. I fell asleep almost immediately.

...

I awoke with a start, my cheeks damp with tears. I bit my lower lip as the tears made their way down my cheeks. I had dreamt of Nathan, my bestfriend and mate. I had dreamt of how he'd died. My heart ached at the thought of him. Fate was cruel to me. I'd lost my mate on the night of the mating ceremony. Certain werewolves had murdered him because of what he knew. I was aware of this because of the things I'd heard from Nathan, days before he was murdered.

I had tried to tell the council that werewolves from the neighbouring pack had killed my mate because he knew about their secret plan. They didn't believe me. My pack, the Red River pack was close allies with the Crescent Creek Pack because they were one of the strongest and largest packs.

My pack believed that the peace treaty they had made with them was still valid. Perhaps, it was the fear of going to war with the neighbouring pack that made them accuse me of being a liar. They accused me of killing my mate as well. Without further ado, I was banished from the town.

No werewolf pack would accept an exiled Omega like me. It's why I moved to a new town for a fresh start. I wanted to keep my status a secret, as long as possible.

I began my morning routine and went to check on the injured stranger in the sitting room. He was still unconscious. So, I placed a hand on his forehead, to check for a fever. His temperature was normal, I knew he was going to be okay.

I got dressed with the intention of going out to fish for a job. I went to a coffee shop and sure enough, there were werewolves there. I kept my distance from them. But, I couldn't pretend that they weren't staring at me. It made me so uncomfortable, I left. I visited different restaurants as well, but there were werewolves there as well. I didn't want to talk to anyone just yet. So, I went home, disappointed. I had no job. When I walked into my apartment and took off my coat, I noticed that the stranger was gone. I shrugged nonchalantly. I had other things to worry about. I'd done my part by helping him anyway.

Feeling depressed, I made myself a cup of consolation tea and sat by the fireplace to warm myself up. It was cold out, especially since winter had finally arrived. I took a sip of my tea and rubbed at my chest to ease the pain that came at the thought of my situation. Everything had been happening too fast. I hadn't been able to stop for a moment to cry or mourn over everything I had lost.

Unable to hold it back anymore, I lowered my cup of tea and broke down in tears. I was a mere Omega but I had once been loved and cared for, by my family. It was sadly funny how that family of mine had turned their backs on me. I hadn't received any call from my parents since I was exiled. My grief was so heavy, I cried until my eyes were swollen and sore.

There was a knock on the door of my apartment, but I was in no mood to answer. So, I ignored it. When the knocking didn't cease, I went to the door to open it. As soon as I opened it, something hard collided with my head and it all went black.

...

My head was hurting so bad as I came to. I wanted to curl into a ball. I opened my eyes and through blurry vision, I saw that I was in an unfamiliar hall. I blinked to clear my vision and to my horror, I realized that there were so many unfamiliar people there. I could smell them. They were all werewolves. I knew I was in trouble.

"Since you're awake now, you should stand up" one of the men said.

I stumbled to my feet, the chains around my wrists and ankles weighing me down. Fear raced through my veins and I started to panic.

"We are the werewolf council members of this town. Who are you? What is your business in this town?" another man said and I almost had a heart attack.

This was my nightmare coming true. I thought I'd been careful. Tears pricked my eyes as I thought about how my life had gotten to this point. I had been exiled by my pack and at the moment, I was about to be executed by another pack.

"Do we need to force you to speak?" A woman asked and I swallowed hard, my limbs trembling.

"M-my name is R-Rylee Shaw" I stammered, the tears now crawling down my cheeks.

"What is the name of your pack?" the first man who'd spoken to me said.

"Red River pack" I stammered.

"You were exiled, weren't you?" Another person asked and I swallowed hard. All I could think of was the fact that they could kill me. I parted my lips to speak, but was interrupted by loud footsteps heading towards us. Everyone turned to look at the newcomer. I couldn't look. I didn't have the courage to. My gaze remained fixed on the ground.

"Alpha Vincent. Nice of you to grace us with your presence" I heard them say.

"Who is she?" I heard an unfamiliar deep voice say.

"She's an intruder in this town. We suspect that she'd been exiled"

I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart feeling like it was going to explode. Footsteps were drawing closer until it stopped in front of me. A man's hand cupped my jaw and roughly tilted my head backwards. I kept my eyes squeezed shut.

"Look at me" the man said. Slowly, I peeled my eyes open. My eyes widened when I saw him, the injured stranger. He stared at me with a blank look on his face. If he recognized me, he didn't show it.

Realization set in within me. If the man standing in front of me was the stranger and was 'Alpha Vincent' as well, it meant that I'd brought a werewolf inside my apartment. More importantly, how was it possible that I hadn't perceived his scent?

"You were exiled?" He asked and I nodded subtly.

"I'll take her" he said and I froze.

"What? She's an exiled Omega, Vincent. She's probably unmated as well. She must have done something terrible" one of the council members said.

Alpha Vincent looked at me with a cold look in his eyes.

"I know. That's why she'll be coming with me....as my slave"

My blood froze in my veins as fear paralyzed me. I knew I was in trouble.