05

Aiden

"Huh? You did not hear about it?" Sam slurred on his words as he rested his elbow on my shoulder.

"I have no idea what you're going on. Explain better," I probed, my arms folded and a frown on my face.

Sam chugged down a few more drinks before he spoke. "You see that mute, yeah, her name is Kayla. Apparently, she came out of nowhere one Dar claiming that she got raped by not just on man, but multiple men."

My eyes widened as his words hit me. "Multiple men? That sounds horrible. But we have never had a rape incident in this pack before."

"Precisely," Sam continued, "No one believed her naturally. Who knows if she really got raped? People were saying that she only did it to attract attention to herself, and of course, she was shunned. If word got out that something like that had occurred in our pack, then, it would ruin our reputation."

That was when something clicked.

I began to recall, vividly, a conversation I had with my father about a girl that lied about getting raped. My father was very riled up by her atrocities claims, as he said. He said that it was impossible for someone to get raped in this pack. That it was a safe place for omegas, even during the heat periods.

Other packs have rape cases, where omegas were taken advantage of during the heat periods, but none has occurred here. I could see why my father was enraged by her claims, but I could not shake off the feeling that she spoke the truth.

Her green eyes held sincerity in them and I could not imagine her telling such a lie to gain attention in the pack.

"But why are you so concerned about this girl? She is not an important person, and I would advise you to stay away her," Sam said as he gave me a pat on the back.

Stay away from her? My mate? That was an impossible request. The connection I had felt with her was string, electrifying. I wanted to feel that again. I wanted to get to know her better.

I brushed Sam's hands off me and glared at him.

"I will not stay away from her, as she is very important to me," I announced.

Sam shrugged and grinned at me, bus eyes droopy. "Suit yourself man, I'm going to find some hot chicks to get into my bed tonight."

I let out a sigh. To think that I used to join him to commit frivolous acts. I did not want to partake in such a night. My mind was only filled with her. I needed to find her.

I roamed around the crowd a bit more, my eyes scanning each person and each corner, but after my desperate attempts to find her at the party, I had come to the realization that she was not here anymore.

Had she gone home?

I desperately began to ask around, if they had seen the mute girl, and each person's response was the same. They either looked with disgust, or scoffed, and they said they wanted nothing to do with that defected human.

I had only heard about the mute and stealer girl, but I never knew she was suffering such stigmatization. I couldn't care less about her, until I had seen her up close. Her beauty had captured my heart, leaving me speechless. I could not believe that this was the same girl everyone hated so much.

I could not imagine what she had faced in the past. I wished I could have been there to protect her, but it was too late to mull over the past. All I had to do was protect her now, and I was going to use everything in my power to do that.

But first, I needed to know where she lived. I needed to see her.

As I made my way to the crowd to the entrance, I felt a hand grab my wrist tightly. I spun around and my eyes fell on Cynthia . She had a smile on her lips and her eyelashes fluttered as she gazed at me.

I yanked my hand out of her grip and frowned at her.

"What do you want?" I asked harshly.

Cynthia took a step closer to me and linked our fingers together. "That's such a harsh question to ask your fiancée, don't you think?"

I wrinkled my nose at her words. As I opened my mouth to dismiss her words, she spoke up first, cutting me off.

"I have been looking for you everywhere. Like your father said, we need to get to know each other more, seeing as we would be wedded to each other in due time. And," she grinned. "I am very much interested in you alpha."

I yanked my hand away from her, my eyes void of any emotion as I gazed at her.

"I do not have any intention of getting to know you better, or getting married to you. Now if you will excuse me, I have more important things to attend to."

"What?!" Cynthia exclaimed, her eyes so wide, it looked like they would fall out of their sockets.

I ignored her, making my way out of the building. I stumbled into the main road, and gazed at it for a few seconds. The whole area was tranquil, and the cold air blew by as I began to make my way down the road.

Where was I going?

I wanted to find her, but I did not know where to start. As unbelievable as it was, I was inclined to believe her story about getting raped. It could be my bias towards her, but I could not stand to see her suffer so much.

I was going to protect her, even though it costs me everything. As I walked around the road aimlessly, my nose picked up a scent. It was her scent. A smile crossed my lips.

I could use this to track her. I followed her smell down the road, until a small cottage came into view. I gazed at it for a while before walking up to the front porch.

The porch was dainty looking, having a long wooden bench on the side. There was a bulb at the top, which flickered once in a while. The front door was a golden brown, and I could tell that it was made from cheap wood.

How could she live in this place?

Her smell but me again, and seeing as it was heavily concentrated here, I was positive that I was at the right place.

I was suddenly beginning to feel nervous. What if she found me strange for tracking her all the way to her house? What if she looked at me like some kind of weird stalker? I did not want that.

But I could not back down now. My eyes scanned the place for a doorbell, until I found one. I pressed it, but it made no noise. I concluded that it was broken and decided to knock instead.

I hit my knuckles lightly on the door, and after waiting for a few minutes there was no response. I peered through the window, but it was too dark to see anything. I knocked again, but then, I began to hear something.

I could hear muffled sobs coming from inside. Was it her? What was going on in there? I was flared up as her muffled sobs got louder.

"Hey! Are you okay?" I yelled as I banged my hand on the door.

There was no response and I was getting worried by each minute. I had no choice. I broke down the door, letting myself in. Right before my eyes was a large man, hovering over her.

My mind became filled with rage and rushed over to them, pushing the man away. The man groaned and fell to the ground. I hovered over him, my fists clenched.

"What on earth were you trying to do to my mate?" I growled.

"A-Alpha Aiden?" He stammered.

I clicked my tongue and turned my eyes away from him, and towards her. Kayla's cheeks were stained with tears and her body was trembling.

My heart shattered into a million pieces from just seeing her in this state. I wanted to hold her in my arms, comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you in any way?" I asked as I took several steps forward, towards her.

Kayla's eyes flashed with hostility, and she took a few steps back. My heart ached that she acted like this towards me. I had imagined that she would be happy to see me. Her reaction was unexpected.

Did she think I was going to hurt her and lay my hands on her like those men had done?

"You don't have anything to worry about, I won't hurt you," I said, trying to reassure her.

Kayla eyes me suspiciously.

I let out a sigh. "That man must be your father, but he did that kind of thing to you. How can you live with such a man?"

Kayla's eyes filled up with sadness, and she began to move her hands to communicate with me.

"I do not have a choice," it read.

"But you do," I stretched out my hands to her. "Come with me, leave this horrible place. If you do, I will make sure no one ever touches you again,"

I watched as Kayla gazed at me, an indecisive look on her face.