Chapter 4

Just when she thought her life was finally getting better, that was when fate decided to trick her once more.

Jasmine recalled her promise to protect her baby. She gathered all the strength she had left in her and while the man was frantically undressing himself, Jasmine slapped him hard, she then pushed him off her and dragged herself up.

She wanted to run away but got caught by the other two men. 

Jasmine tried fighting them off, she screamed at the top of her lungs; asking them to let her go, but instead she got slapped by one of them.

The other man whom she had hit hurriedly stood up, he roughly grabbed her hand and turned her to him, then he also slapped her.

“How dare you, bitch!” He thundered.

Jasmine was crying bitterly. She hated herself for being so weak. If only she had a wolf, then she would have been able to defend herself from these rogues.

“I was thinking of going easy on you, but since you want to do this the hard way, I'm going to make sure you regret your actions.” The man seethed before roughly pushing her to the ground.

Just when he was about to get on top of her, they all heard a low growl that was enough to send shivers down their spine. The men slowly turned in the direction from which the growl came from. A large figure stood only a stone throw from them, his identity was unclear, except for his glowing red eyes indicating his fierce and commanding presence.

In a wolf pack, only the strongest alphas are known to possess red eyes.

The rogues need no soothsayer to tell them that the man standing in front of them was an alpha. They each shared a worried look, wondering if they should engage him in a fight or just flee this area.

The unknown alpha stood completely still, his red eyes blazing with fury. He let out another threatening low growl, but this time, it was more like a warning to the rogues, and they seemed to get the message because they weren't willing to risk their lives by challenging an alpha, one with this kind of dark and powerful aura that was enough to bring them to their knees.

The rogue that was going to rape Jasmine immediately grabbed his clothes from the floor, and they all took to their heels, choosing not to risk their lives for a mere omega.

Jasmine, who was still shaking with fear, looked at the alpha, his eyes weren't glowing red anymore, they seemed to have returned to their original color.

The man took slow strides towards her, and that alone made her move back in fear, as she was still in shock.

“It's okay. I'm here to help.” He said calmly. “I promise I won't hurt you.” He added, and for some unknown reason his voice seemed to calm her nerves down and magically made her feel so relaxed.

The man finally got to where Jasmine was, he offered her his hand, and she only took it after a brief moment. When their skin came in contact with each other, they both felt this spark like an electric shock but in a comfortable way.

The man helped her up, and the moon seemed to have focused its light on them, letting them get a clear view of each other's faces.

For what felt like ages, they could only just look into each other's eyes.

The man's eyes slowly widened as the realization hit him hard.

“Mate!” 

Jasmine immediately took a step back when he said that. “What?” She asked, confused. “Mate? We're mates? How can I be mated to you? It's not possible.” She shook her head, refusing to believe it.

“I… I don't know, but…” He trailed.

He looked at her for a little longer. “You're my mate.” He confirmed. 

He has no idea how this happened or why the moon goddess chose to give him a second chance mate.

The Alpha in front of Jasmine is Alpha Nicolai. Alpha of the Crescent moon pack, which also happens to be one of the strongest packs in the land. It's a pack other neighboring packs wouldn't want to mess with, as they've never been known to lose any battle. Only a few people know what Nicolai looks like, but based on the story told to them, they call him the devil, a man who lost all humanity when he lost his mate.

Nicolai had lost his mate to a fire accident and didn't know the moon goddess would give him a second chance mate in such a situation. He had been invited to the party and had come into the woods for some alone time when he heard Jasmine's scream for help, at first, he had wanted to ignore and mind his business but the more her screams echoed through the woods, the more restless he became, so he decides to track her down and help her, not knowing she was his mate.

Nicolai sighed deeply, he really doesn't want a mate because he was so sure he'll never be able to love her, not when he can't forget his late mate. And because of this, he didn't think he'll be able to accept her.

“What are you doing in the woods? Why are you all alone here and how did you get yourself in this situation?” He asked.

Jasmine wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her hands up and down to combat the chill. She didn't even know how to explain her situation to Nicolai, so she simply kept quiet.

Nicolai could tell she would rather not answer him, and he wasn't going to force her to. He noticed she was cold, so he took off the jacket he was wearing and wrapped it around her.

Jasmine looked at him. “You don't have to do this, I'm fine.” She attempted to take off the jacket, but he stopped her.

“Then do you expect me to let you freeze?” Nicolai asked. “You've been through enough for one night, so just keep the jacket.”

“What about you? I would rather not be a bother to you.” She replied calmly. She still can't get over the fact that this man is her mate, it's so difficult to believe, but she would rather not think too much about it. Her priority is getting away from here, she doesn't care about her new mate because her ex mate has definitely taught her a lesson she'll never forget. 

She'll rather remain mateless than have a second chance mate.

“You don't have to worry about me.” Nicolai answered. “Where's your pack? I'll take you back.” He offered.

When Jasmine heard that, her blood ran cold, and she moved back even more, surprising Nicolai. “I… I can't go back there.” She said fearfully. “I'm not letting you take me back! I'm not going back!” She turned to flee but got caught by Nicolai.

“Let go!” Jasmine struggled to push him off, but he wouldn't let her go.

Nicolai didn't know the reason for her sudden reaction, but he did his best to calm her down. “It's okay. It's okay.” He said. “I won't take you back there if you don't want it. I promise you.”

“If you would rather not return to your pack it's fine, but I can't let you wander through the woods on your own, so please let me help you.'' 

“How?” 

“You have nowhere else to go, right?” He asked. Jasmine nods in reply.

“Would you like to come with me to my pack?” Nicolai asked. Even though he couldn't accept her as his mate, it doesn't mean he's not going to help her, especially when he's seen how scared she was of going back to her pack. It wasn't clear to him why she left her pack, but he's going to find out soon.

“Can I do that?” Jasmine asked in surprise. “And why would you want to help me? If it's because I'm—”

"It's not that.'' Nicolai interrupted, knowing what she was about to say. “It's so obvious to me that you need help, so I just want to help you out.” 

“Thank you.” Jasmine was filled with so much gratitude.

“My name's Nicolai.” He introduced himself.

"Jasmine.''

“Jasmine.” He repeated, loving how her name sounds.

If only they had known that their meeting was just the start of something great and magical.