CHAPTER 18

HAZEL

While our mate carried us away, my wolf was grumbling. 

‘Mate is so weird. He always wants to be in control.’

She glanced back to find him panting heavily, his tongue hanging out like a faithful old dog.

‘How can I resist when my mate is so adorable.’ she purred proudly.

I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway. 

My wolf went back and forth so many times. One minutes she would be complaining about him, the next minute she would be gushing over him. I just couldn't blame her though. The mate bond was working its magic and it was hard to resist. 

I just wish that Thaddeus' would accept it,

My heart felt like someone had crushed it everytime I thought about it. I didn't think that he understood the value of a mate after he lost his very first mate – he had lost the feeling of how no one can love you more than your mate can and make you feel the way you do. 

I had learned my lesson about mate the hard way. 

My parents and Cosmo had set a clear example, and I, too, had made a grave mistake at seventeen. I thought that if I couldn't find my true mate, perhaps I could settle for this man, who had been deeply hurt by his own mate. He was undeniably sweet, kind, and I never questioned his sincerity.

Looking back, I was wrong, and I now fully acknowledge that. 

He was slick, dangerously slick. Every cancelled date, a new, elaborate excuse rolled off his fucking tongue. The moment I'd try to turn the conversation serious, his lips would descend all over me, a calculated move to silence me. And those smirks he'd exchange with his friends as we passed—a silent, mocking commentary on our relationship.

But then, I was very stupid and naive. 

His betrayal and humiliation finally opened my eyes to the reality of his love, or rather, the lack thereof. I recall that day with painful clarity.

FLASHBACK

The pastries, a gift from my mother for the Luna of our pack, weighed heavy in my hands as I rushed towards the packhouse. A strange sound, a hushed murmur, drew my attention behind the cabins. Intrigued by the hushed voices, I paused my journey to the packhouse. Noah's voice, clear and urgent, piqued my curiosity. I couldn't resist the urge.

I quickly dropped the box on the island and went to greet him. Before I could turn the corner though, he said something that instantly halted me in my step. 

“I have told you guys, It would happen eventually. She hasn't given me her virginity yet but she would eventually give in because she admitted that she loved me. So pay up. You guys owe me five hundred bucks each.” Noah voice uttered. 

There were a few chuckles as my heart cracked. 

“Are you going to break the relationship thing off? Or are you going to wait to pop her juicy cherry before you dump her?”

“It doesn't really matter honestly. I’m already fucking Sylvia and do you know what? She is damn great in bed, I get pretty satisfied. I plan on breaking things off with her in few weeks or something unless she decides she's ready to have sex with me. Then, I might probably drag it out some more. 

There was a loud roar of laughter. 

I put my hand on my mouth to keep my sobs from escaping my lips.

How could I have been so clueless? How could he do this to me? Was I seriously that stupid?

My heart had felt like someone squeezed the life out of it. My eyes were watering with every word he said. My head was spinning and pounding very hard.

I tried to breath, but I just couldn't.

Suddenly, there was some shuffling, and I came face to face with Noah. His eyes widened when he saw my tear striken face.

“Hazel,” he breathed out. “Uhh—what are you doing here?”

I swallowed the huge lump in my throat harshly. 

So this was what heartbreak felt like. 

“Does it even matter?” I whispered hoarsely. His friends were exchanging shocked look while some of them were staring at the ground in guilt. 

They only felt guilty because I caught them in their stupid betting act. 

I turned around and started walking away from Noah when he grabbed my hand. “Hey, I would explain everything to you.” 

I shook him off and ran towards my house. I couldn't even stand in his shitty presence any longer. I knew that I just needed to be alone. 

‘I’m so sorry’

My wolf had finally stirred in my head after she had ignored me for several months of not allowing her to shift. 

‘He isn't even mate, I’m sorry that he did that to you. Now do you see why I want you to wait for mate? He is the only one who can love us.’

'You’re right. I was stupid to think I could ever have a relationship with someone else. I’m going to wait for my mate no matter how long it takes. 

FLASH BACK ENDs.

Even with the promise I had made to my wolf that day, we still broke that promise when Cosmo appeared in our life. 

My thoughts where caught short as I noticed four wolves growl in our direction, they where lunging at Thaddeus.

I hold my breath, my heart beating chaotically in my ribs.

But Thaddeus snarl comes out above the rest, his body moving with a power that instantly made my knees go weak. 

I had tried to throw the Alphas off my path by moving through the stream to distort my scent. I even rolled in a dirty mud. But he found me far faster than I ever could have anticipated.

he had instructed that I wait on the tree.

It was something that actually pleases my wolf to no end. She's practically doing a flips inside me, telling me to fall from this tree and lay prone on the ground for him to take us. She is not worried about him at all, even with the furious sound coming from the fight below.

Two wolves were already laying on the ground unconscious, the throat ripped out from Thaddeus teeth. 

It's a gory sight, one that should make me queasy and irritated. 

Yet my legs clench with unhindered need. 

I’m on fire despite my pounding heart beneath my chest. Every part of me burns for him. 

Not for him, but for Them. 

Because I can also hear Sparrow, too, his howling piercing my sense and calling to my inner wolf. My wolf knows them. I don't understand how, and I'm beyond questioning why. 

My Instinct are leading me now, just as they have from the moment I had turned. I’m embr

acing my animal wholeheartedly and allowing her needs to become my own.

I was no longer planning on suppressing her. No more fighting the urge to shift or to run. 

My pack had taken all of that from me.

And I'm taking it all back now.