PROLOGUE

ANNA'S POV

"Wait."

"Shhh..." He places his index fingers on my lips to silent my protests, his tongue licks from the slope of my shoulders upwards, stopping at my ears, where he bites the lobes with his sharp fangs. "Don't ruin this, little one." His fingers squeeze my hips sending jolts of electricity up my spine.

My eyelids falls shut as I gulp and tilt my head to the side, giving him the free access I know he needs to my neck. I had already marked him, he is going to mark me in front of our audience.

The impatient murmurs are growing from the members of our pack who are everywhere in the large hall. I can't see their glamorous outfits and fake practiced smile because Jace, my best friend shields me with his huge body.

"Jace..." I breathe out slowly, my heart pounding loudly against my chest, I'm surprised it hasn't dropped out of my chest. I don't know if I have the audacity to do what I'm about to do, considering my status as an orphaned Omega.

Reject the heir to the entire Westward pack.

"Yes, little mate." He licks around my neck in a circular motion, his teeth scraping in it's wake for a vein to drink from. He continues palming my ass and making liquid pull between my legs.

"Say it." My wolf Nadia yells in my mind.

"But I can't. How do I reject the only guy who ever bought me flowers?" I reply through my thoughts.

"Flowers, really flowers is what you are thinking about? Wait still the guards of the alpha arrives here at your bonding ceremony with the bad news, then, I swear you will get flowers...on your fucking grave!!" I can feel her anger vibrating through my mind.

I have to stop Jace from marking me. Reject him. I know exactly what my mate is talking about. I can't remain here till the guards reach here, I don't know if they have found out about... their alpha who is now resting peacefully in his chambers.

"But you can't fucking risk staying here whether or not they found out. Reject him and run!!"

"I didn't fucking do it." I scream at my wolf in my head. "He...made me..."

"You want to explain that to Bloodmoon pack when you are 6ft below, probably buried beside the alpha?"

My wolf is right, I have to reject Jace and now was the time. I open my dazed eyes to stare at the beautiful boy in front of, so oblivious to my inner struggle, I'm glad he hasn't marked me yet, so he can't read my mind. Tears cling to my lashes as I bite my lips, feeling his fang tear slightly into a vein, I should let him draw out my blood, I should let him suck me, I should let him mark me before I run away.

"You fucking stupid or what?" My wolf yells. "You want to run away as a free girl or with a freaking mate bond on your neck leading Jace's soilders to you?"

I lift my hands to his chest and push him backwards but he barely moves, he only redraws his fang from my neck. I swallow and drink in the features of my mate for the last time. His silver hair falls at his nape, neck that is so strong and perfect to hold onto during an orgasm, his kissable lips and pointed nose, chiseled jaw and angular face just makes him too handsome, that it hurts to stare away. For a young age, he has the body of an athlete, muscles rippled beneath his tuxedo that shows years of devotion to the gym.

Jace opens those beautiful eyes that I'm never going to see again, grey that pierces into my soul, I almost feel he can read my sins. Will he forgive me if I go on my knees and confessed my sins now?

"No. He may be your best friend, the only guy who ever bought you flowers." My wolf, Nadia makes a show of puking in my head. "But it's Alpha Stepping CruelHart we are talking about here, Jace loves his father more than anything in this world you inclusive."

"Everyone is waiting, Anna." He rubs his thumb on my button lips.

"I can't do this." I whisper, my voice croaked.

"Then don't do anything." He leans into me again. "Just be here with me, I will do it for the both of us." He clasps our right hands together and attempt to resume where he left off.

I push him heavily this time and scream. "I, Anna Fairchild reject you Jace CruelHart as my mate." I curse myself the moment the words falls from my lips. The whole hall goes quiet. I look at my feet unable to look at the face of the one I had just betrayed.

"Where has it ever been heard that an omega rejects an Alpha blood?"

"Those gold and sequins on her body are courtesy of the Alpha's family. They took her in when..."

I squeeze my ears shut and close my eyes, tuning the audience out, I know the story. I know my father abandoned my mother with pregnancy, I know my mother wrapped me in swaddling clothes and abandoned me at the boundary of Bloodmoon pack. I know...it all. I reopen my eyes and focus on the one person in this room who never abandoned me but who I'm about to abandon.

Those expressive grey eyes turn dark, threatening a wicked storm. He rubs his fingers through his hair before hitting his both knuckles on either sides of the wall, imprisoning me. "You can't fucking reject me. I won't accept it."

"I'm sorry."

Trickles of blood rolls down from where his knuckles had connected his knuckles to the brick wall. He hurt himself. I knew he would be this way, he had always been so possessive of me since we were kids, since he found out I was his mate.

"You can't leave me. You know I will go crazy. You're the only one who knows my... condition." He hits his fist very close to my head and I freeze, cold fear flowing through my veins. He was always aggressive and angry but never at me...

"The guards are coming. I can sense them and they bear bad news." My wolf cries. "Your head is going with them to their Alpha's grave."

I wipe at my eyes. "Please accept my rejection?"

"Why?" He scoffs. "I won't."

"My life is on the line. I...did something awful please."

The whole hall bursts into angry murmurs.

"I'm going to mark you, my little mate, so don't fight it, you know how it is meant to be, you and me here. You can't leave me."

"No, please you have to let me go...my life. if you don't want anything bad to happen to me." I run my fingers along his jaw. I'm here acting all love sicked like I don't give a fuck but my life is at stake right now. "If you love me, Jace, you will accept my rejection."

That line is low, I know considering what I had just done to his father... what his father made me do to him. I didn't do it. But judging from the way my mate's adam apple moves as he gulps, I know I had struck the right cord.

He licks his lips. Plump lips I'm yet to taste because we are just too traditional, we believe any sexual acts between us no matter how little before the mating bond will jinx the ceremony. He shakes his head and his wolf whispers in my head. "I don't want to do this."

"If you truly care about me, this is the time to prove... accept my rejection."

"I, Jace CruelHart accepts your rejection." He grits, pressing his teeth too tightly, I can see his jaw strain from the effort, his arms vibrate from where they are placed on either sides of the wall beside me. He moves away from me and clutch his neck forcing his body not to shake violently. I want to go to him but...

Heavy footsteps rush into the hall, chairs clatter together as attendees hurry to their feet, heavy distress etched on their faces. I look around trying to find the source of their distress and when my eyes land on the entrance of the beautiful hall, my heart drops. The king's guards.

Three hulkish men with warrior marks on their faces and shinny skin cut hair. Chapped lips and malevolent beady eyes beneath thick, bushy eyebrows scan the hall. The metal edge of their sword glitter with sharp perfection, knives and arrows perched on any free spot of the animal skin they proudly wear on their body as brave soilders. I can only imagine how vicious their wolves will be.

"Run." Nadia screams in my head. "Run. Now!" I want to run. Hell, I know I should run but somehow my legs have betrayed me, they seem too heavy to move.

"The king is dead!" One of the guards growl and the hall falls in dead silence.

"Somebody killed him." The second guard says as he aggressively redraws the sword hooked on his shoulder.

My legs finally obey me, and I start moving back slowly.

The guard with a taste of blood moves to the Beta who calls his attention and then their eyes falls on me. "She was the last person with the king."

I tear my attention from the guard to my mate who is bending in front of me and clutching his neck. He lifts his head up and looks at, something evil and unrecognizable crosses his features. "If you are going to run little mate, make sure I never catch you." He straightens and steps aside. What is he doing? He can capture me now, I'm a suspect for his father's murder, and he is letting me run? "You have a headstart." He purrs.

I step away slowly from him with my eyes still glued to his now stormy grey eyes. I pack a fistful of my dress, it's too long and annoyingly impossible to run in, I rip off the sparkling layers of the dress changing it into a short ball gown. I turn on my heels and I run like my life depends on it, because it does.

"Seize her!"

Heavy footsteps paddle against the marble floor running after me, I push away drinks, and servants in an attempt to make it away from here. Where will I go from here? I found a stupid map in the Alpha's chambers that I believe will lead me to my mother's sister.

But if the Alpha knew my family all along while didn't he ever return me.

"What if they don't want you? To your left!" Nadia directs.

I duck my neck to the left and a poison knife flies straight ahead almost splitting my skin. I pick it up and continue running, almost there I'm almost at the door. A giant guard appears from nowhere. He lifts his sword to attack me. I'm no warrior but the level of adrenaline in me right now, I feel like I can do anything. I lower myself and awkwardly cut the poison knife through his legs, he stumbles forward and starts convulsing.

"Behind you!" Nadia cries.

I redraw the knife and without turning back, I clumsily swing it behind me, a heavy grunts resounds as it connects with the belly of the second. I feel like a one woman wrecking train right now... But heavy fist hits my head painfully and I fall to the ground, I struggle to tear his neck with the poisoned knife. it's only a temporary effect for the warriors I can tell because they seem to be healing fast... This is bad

"She is the cursed child." Metallic voice that sounds like howling of wolves and lightening of thunderstorm booms over the hall. The high priestess of the moon goddess is staring at me from the center, shimmering purple and blue lights of celestial bodies hovers around her, highlighting her golden skin and Greek goddess-like attire.

Me? A curse?

"Only the blood of the one that loves her can...

As much as I want to stand and listen to the message from the moon goddess, from my right I can see an army of over two-hundred angry, and bloodthirsty soilders running towards me, and from my left another set. I look back at the crowd, a blur of faces until my eyes land on the only boy in the entire werewolf realm that my heart beats for, Jace CruelHart, his eyes is an expression of sadness, it changes to anger and the last expression I see on his handsome face before I look away is hatred.

He hates me now but somehow I can't blame him. I tear off my cloth with a growl. "Nadia how fast can you?" I ask in my head.

"Try my speed." With the adrenaline flowing through my veins, she takes over my physical form locking me in her mind as we take to flight. Jumping over gallops and flying over trees, hitting ourselves on heavy tree trucks in a bit to dodge wolfsbane poisoned arrow and knives...We have to survive.

We are about to cross boundary park, I know it's illegal I will get killed but if I remain in Bloodmoon pack I will also die, so I chose the lesser of the two evils.

The high priestess voice resounds in my head.

"She is the cursed child...."

I'm under a curse? What is the curse and when will it manifest?