Chapter Three

Kaya’s POV

“Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to dear Sara….

Happy birthday to you”

The sing-song voices of a group of people echoed in the open field as they wished the tall blonde a happy birthday. A handsome brunette stood beside holding her by the waist and the couple seemed to be caught up in their world. He bent to whisper something into her ear causing her to flush and he throw his head back in a booming laughter of delight.

Sara had found her mate right before she came of age, most of the pack members within the age of eighteen had found their mates. I could feel the happiness in the air and sadly I couldn’t associate with it.

Bile rose up in my throat as I couldn’t recall any childhood memory of my birthday celebrated or even getting a birthday cake and wishes.

My eighteenth birthday was yesterday and life was still unkind to me. The hopes of my father showing up on my birthday had dwindled at this point. I was utterly alone.

As I watched the display of affection, rage swelled up inside of me. Not out of envy for their happiness but out of the fact that it seemed all hope was gone in finding mine.

Even my wolf was a no-show on my birthday. Sometimes I wonder if she too has deserted me. And without her, I definitely will not find my mate. As I thought this through, the idea of self-harming myself came flooding in again, this time more intense but I refused to give in. Instead, I placed my hand on the locket gifted to me by Mother and the pain was alleviated. Somehow this was the only thing that gave me a feeling of connection to her.

“Did mother nature have to be so unkind?” I inquired.

Well… at least as I came of mating age, mother nature became a little kind. I woke up one the morning of my birthday and did my usual morning ritual only to look in the mirror to see that my hair shone brighter, my skin somehow became more olive than pale and I seemed a bit taller.

That moment of giddiness was very fleeting as my birthday came and passed still, I hadn’t found my mate.

Even if I do, chances are my mate would reject me for being the pack’s hermit.

I sighed and made my way towards the lake. On my way downhill, I heard the voice of whom I despise the most in the park, it was Luta. He was amongst other wolves chit-chatting. I attempted to sneak past him unnoticed but failed. He somehow picked my scent causing him to halt his discussion.

“If it isn’t Kaya the Hermit” he teased

I pretended I didn’t hear him and beelined towards the path leading downhill.

Instantly, he appeared beside me pulling my hair so tightly, I felt my legs leave the floor. My body screamed due to the intense pain I felt deep inside me. I didn’t know why but I started to chuckle deeply such that my whole body shook and tears rolled down my eyes.

This seemed to anger Luta more. He grabbed my hair tighter and yanked me to the floor. I felt a tickle of blood roll down my forehead and I took the ache all in. At this point, Luta was furious and his eyes turned from a yellow glow to a bright blue glow. It seemed he was about to shapeshift and I braced for the worst. Luta kicked me so hard that felt my body break on the inside.

“How dare you ignore me, you bitch” he spat.

“You need to learn that there is a hierarchy in this park” retorted Danni

I attempted to get up but got knocked back down by one of the boys,

"Maybe she wants more beating, her laugh says it all" Luta whispered close to my ears.

My eyes met his wild eyes and he graced me with a deadly smirk

With this, I spat on the floor to show my disgust and this aggravated him more

Right before my eyes. Luta shapeshifted ready to pounce on me.

"Luta..." Jeremy warned. I could hear slight concern laced in his voice.

I tried once again to make a run for it, hoping some miracle would happen and I would outrun him but this earned me a kick to the stomach. I huffed, clasping my abdomen.

"No one would care about this disaster," he said, with a snarl as his gaze met mine once more, he inched towards me only to be stopped by Jeremy.

"That's enough you don’t want to face the consequence of what might happen to her, would you? Remember what Tyler said" Jeremy stated forebodingly, reminding him of the incident at the lake.

With this, Luta seemed to cool off. His glowing blue eyes dimmed returning to their original colour while he shapeshifted back to human form.

“Scram Hermit before I change my mind,” Luta said regrettably.

With every strength I could muster, I slowly got up and made for the lake. 

At this point, I was grotesque. One side of my eyes was shut from swelling and bloody spit drooled over my slack jaw. I edged ungracefully towards the lake and let my body dip into the water.

Moments had passed and the sun had started to set. I let myself float on the water while I admired the scenery. As I drifted off, a cologne filled my sense making me alert.

“not again ” I whispered hoarsely as I felt a body dive into the water, gliding towards me.

“I owe you nothing Luta, let me be” I voiced. I had no strength left in me to plan a route of escape, not this time. Then it hit me, that wasn’t Luta’s cologne. It was familiar but I couldn’t recall who’s. It was a mixture of vanilla and sandalwood and it was intoxicating. I felt a strong pull toward this scent, towards him and it unleashed a certain kind of burning sensation inside of me.

I have never felt such a strong pull before, it was as if I felt my mate. This was impossible. Could Luta be my mate? Maybe the beating I received caused some damage to my brain or maybe it was the lack of oxygen from holding my breath for too long.

I squeezed my eyes shut more hoping this was all a nightmare. As I did, I felt a well-toned body behind me, grabbing my throat.

“I know you love how badly I treat you” Lutas’s irky voice sent shivers down my spine and impulsively, my hands went up to Luta's that wrapped around my throat, choking me fiercely. This time it was different, it was as if he derived joy from every attempt I made at escaping.  After a moment, I gave in, allowing him to have his way as I had no iota of strength left in me. But, I knew this was it for me,  my end.

In an instant, there was a loud snap and I was hurled into the water. No matter how hard I tried to move or to swim, my muscles didn’t budge. Apparently, my body had had enough so I let myself sink deep into the water embracing my faith. Dying wasn’t that dreadful after all I thought, I would finally have peace.

As my body hit the bottom of the lake, a glimmer of gold caught my gaze, I focused my gaze and my eyes met with that pair of golden eyes I couldn’t stop dreaming about, it was that of Alpha Tyler. I heard a voice in my head loud and clear,” Mate! ” and then I sank into oblivion.