CHAPTER 2

Quickly, without hesitation, I moved out of sight from the window. My heart was racing fast and my wolf was jumping with joy. Whoever owned those captivating blue eyes was my mate. I wasn't ready for a mate yet.

Elara looked at me in a questioning manner, but I pressed my finger to my lips and shook my head. She nodded, although I knew she was wondering why I was behaving this way. I heard my mum calling for us to come down. Whatever had just happened, I couldn't ruin this chance for my brother.

Taking a deep breath, I headed downstairs with Elara by my side. I smelled an intoxicating scent, however, it seemed fainter than I imagined. Shaking it off, I saw the Black Pack sitting down in the living room, having a casual conversation with Leander and Freya.

As Elara and I entered, all eyes turned on us. Within an instant, someone said, "Mine." A blur rushed past me and I heard a squeal. I then realized it was Elara. My brother motioned for me to sit next to him, and I did. I was happy for Elara; she seemed really happy. After all, she did get what she desired from a young age, and she finally got it.

Her mate sat down again with Elara on the seat next to him. She sent me a smile, and I saw color rising on her fair cheeks. I sent her a smirk and a wink. Elara's mate cleared his throat, "Sorry for that, but I am so glad I've finally found my gorgeous mate, Elara. I am the beta of Midnight Pack, as you all know. My name is Alistair."

"Unfortunately, Alpha Black has gone for a run; he saw his mate in one of your windows, but she left. You don't happen to know who it is, do you?" Alistair asked, looking at Elara and then at me.

My breath caught in my throat. Crap! What am I going to do? My mate is Alpha Black. The one who kills for fun. I can't be mates with him. It must be someone else. Elara looked at me questioningly and put the puzzle pieces together. Her green eyes widened, but I silently pleaded with her not to say anything. She nodded at me, and I mouthed thank you to her.

I cleared my throat and said, "No, sorry. I have no idea who Alpha Black's mate is." Those words felt wrong coming out of my mouth and felt forced. Alistair nodded and gave me a small smile. I smiled back.

My wolf was pleading with me to go to our mate; she could feel his wolf's pain, and it was hurting her. Suddenly, she went in a frenzy. That meant one thing: he was here. I smelled his intoxicating scent, which made me feel warm on the inside.

Realization dawned on me. I got up and excused myself. Alistair went out to presumably give Alpha Black some clothes. I heard him growl and say, "She's here; I can smell her." His deep voice sent shivers down my spine.

Quickly rushing out the back, I ran into the woods. Luckily, I knew the woods well, so it wouldn't be a problem knowing where to run. I knew that Alpha Black would try to catch me, so I kept changing directions so that my scent was everywhere.

After a while, I stopped running and opened my mind link, which I had blocked. All at once, my brother, my mum, Freya, and Elara were all asking where I was, if I was okay.

I mind-linked Elara first, who told me that Alpha Black wasn't leaving until he found his mate, and all unmated females were being called. I swore under my breath and decided to go back. I would have to reject him. Yes, that was what I had to do.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle the responsibilities of being a Luna. I wasn't even ready for a mate, to dedicate my life to him. It was too soon for me; I wanted to live my life. So, I would have to reject him.

My wolf was howling, begging me not to do so. She tried to tell me how no one can love us like our mate and how we would be in so much pain from the rejection that it would be so difficult for us to live our life. Those words sunk in. I forgot how difficult and painful a rejection is.

My mate is an Alpha; would he even let me reject him?

I reached my pack house and could smell his scent straight away. I saw all the females lining up outside, and they were going in one by one. My mum saw me and ran up to me, crushing me in a hug. After I listened to her lecture about staying safe, I was about to go inside via another entrance, when my mum pulled me back and shook her head.

"You are unmated, Lenora. You have to join the line." I pleaded at her with my eyes, but she was firm, and I sighed. Great, I was going to see him soon. I had no idea what to expect or what I was actually going to say or do. On the other hand, my wolf was jumping for joy that we were going to see our mate. To say she was excited was an understatement; she was ecstatic.

I knew that Alpha Black could smell me, and suddenly, I felt myself getting nervous. My heart started racing fast, and my palms became sweaty. I tried calming myself down, but I couldn't. There were only 4 more girls in front of me. I cursed under my breath.

I had to get away somehow, but saw guards from my pack surrounding the forest, so I couldn't run and guards blocking every other entrance. I swallowed a lump in my throat. I heard him growl, which meant he knew I was close.

I heard his voice saying, "Bring all 4 girls in at once. I want her now." My breath caught in my throat. Guards ushered us 4 girls in at once. I thought about hiding behind the girls, but they were all shorter than me. My wolf was smirking at my inability to hide from my mate. I let out a silent groan of frustration.

I looked down at the floor, closing my eyes. I opened them when I heard feet coming towards me, but I still looked at the floor. I heard feet shuffling, and it was silent. My heart stopped when he touched my chin and sparks exploded. He lifted it up so my hazel eyes met his blue ones.

I gasped. The feeling of meeting your mate was one that nothing could compare to. I felt warm and happy on the inside. He growled, "MINE." I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

"Little mate, why didn't you want to be found?" His deep voice whispered in my ear. "I... I... I think you've got the wrong girl. I'm not your mate," I said, pathetically. Such an idiot.

His amused smile made my wolf purr. "Oh, really? You aren't my mate. I thought you were," he said, drawing lines on my arms, which made me gasp and shiver. He smirked when he saw my reaction and said, "So, little mate. What's your name?"

"Len... Lenora," I said. What's happening to me? I'm stammering now? This isn't meant to happen. What kind of effect is Alpha Black having on me?

"Sexy name for a sexy woman. I'm Alpha Black, but you, my sweet, can call me Valor. You don't know how long I've been waiting for you. Now that I've got you, I have no plans of EVER letting you go."

Valor. It suited him so well. His black hair was messed up, and his top was tightly fitted, so you could see his amazing muscles and how tan he was... Shit! I quickly shook my head free of those thoughts.

I saw Valor smirking at me, and I blushed, knowing that he saw me checking him out. I didn't know what I was going to do, so I tried to head out of the door, but of course, I couldn't due to me being held back by Valor. I tried to wriggle from his grasp, but it didn't work.

I heard Valor sigh, and he leaned down and kissed me, his longing lips meeting mine...