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CHAPTER FOUR

Author: Bella Lore
last update Last Updated: 2023-01-07 17:32:29

I run through the camp and to the alpha's den.

I walk up to him.

"What do you want?" he asks.

"My match is not what I wanted," I say. "I want out."

"It's too late for that," he says.

"What?"

"Your match is final."

"No!"

"It's final," he says. "You will be with Impala. Go back to your mate."

I turn away from him.

But he grabs me by the scruff of my neck and turns me back towards him.

"What are you doing?" I say, fearfully.

"When you go back to your mate, you will be submissive."

"But-"

"Go back to your mate."

He pushes me away.

I return to the den.

Cloud is waiting for me.

"Go away," I say.

"I can't let you leave," he says. “It’s not that simple."

"I'm leaving," I say.

"I will hurt you if you leave."

I look at him.

He looks so scary. I feel terrified.

It's not just him that I'm scared of.

I'm scared of being alone.

I'm scared of being in this new place with the foreign pack.

I'm scared of my small, pathetic match.

I study Cloud. His eyes are narrowed, and his mouth is pulled back in a snarl. I'm afraid that he might attack.

Impala comes outside.

"What is going on?" he asks, neutrally.

"He's trying to stop me from leaving," I say.

"I thought you were supposed to be watching her," Impala says. "Not pushing her around."

"I was watching her," Cloud says. "She was trying to leave. I was telling her it wasn't safe."

"You're an omega," Impala says. "It's not your place to make these decisions."

"I was watching her," Cloud says. "She was seducing me."

"I was trying to leave," I say, weakly.

"I was not your match," I say, to Impala. "You should have picked a different one."

"It's too late," Impala says. "You are mine now."

I stare at the floor.

"You need to leave," Impala says.

Cloud doesn't move.

"Cloud, get out of my den," Impala says.

"You're not alpha," Cloud says. "I don't have to listen to you."

I glance at Impala.

He's growling.

He's furious.

And it's scary.

Cloud is big and angry.

Impala is big and ready to fight.

His hackles are up.

Cloud takes a step towards Impala.

And Impala leaps.

He is on Cloud before I can blink.

Cloud is on the floor.

Impala is on his back, biting his neck.

Cloud shrieks.

I have never heard such a horrible sound in my life.

He thrashes on the floor.

Impala holds him still. He bites harder. Blood starts to flow.

Cloud is screaming.

Impala bites harder.

Cloud stops screaming.

He lies on the floor, breathing hard.

Impala flings Cloud aside.

Cloud winces.

He rolls over, onto his belly.

He looks at me.

"Impala," I whisper.  I move towards him.

Impala snarls. "Stay away from him."

"Is he dead?" I ask.

"No," Impala says. "But he should be."

I glance at Impala.

He is sitting on his haunches, watching Cloud.

"I am done with you," he says to Cloud.

"I am not afraid of you," Cloud says.

But he is lying.

His neck is bleeding.

He is afraid of Impala.

He's afraid of what Impala might do. We both are.

I thought he wasn't a hunter.

I was wrong.

He is a hunter.

And he isn't afraid to kill.

"Get out of my den," Impala says.

Cloud jumps to his paws.

I follow him as he leaves the den.

"Never come near her again," Impala says.

"I don't have to listen to you."

Impala growls.

Cloud backs away.

Then he turns and runs.

I find a private corner of the den and lie down on the floor.

I don't know what to do.

Everything is so confusing.

I stare up at the ceiling.

"What am I supposed to do now?" I say aloud.

"You are supposed to stay here," Impala says.

I look up at him.

He is sitting on his haunches, staring at me.

"Stay?" I say.

"Yes."

"I don't want to stay here."

"Don't be difficult."

"I am not being difficult," I say.

"You are being difficult," Impala says.

Impala pads forward and sniffs me. Then he starts to lick me. He cleans off my face and my neck.

"I don't like it here," I say.

"You have no choice."

"I could run away."

"You couldn't survive alone," he says. "The whole pack would hunt you down and kill you."

I feel nervous.

I keep expecting him to take his teeth to me.

I move away from him, towards the corner of the den.

"I don't want to fight you," Impala says.

"I don't want to fight you either," I say.

"Stop being so shy," he says.

He comes towards me.

I keep trying to move away.

But the den is small.

As he licks my face, he pushes me towards the wall.

I shove at him, but it is no use.

He is too strong.

Eventually my back is against the wall.

I am freaking out.

I don't know what to do.

I push at his muzzle.

He stops licking me.

Then he puts his head next to mine.

"You need to accept the match," he says. "You belong to me now."

"I won't accept that," I say. "I don't belong to anyone."

"You will," he says. "And you do."

He licks me again.

I feel a sudden sense of panic.

With one quick movement, I open my mouth and bite him.

He rears back, hissing.

I struggle to get away from him.

I have to get away from him.

He is going to hurt me.

He is going to kill me.

I run away from him. I hear him following me.

I don't look back. Instead, I run as fast as I can into the forest. I don't know where I'm going, but I know I can't stay here.

I have to get out of here, away from him, if I'm going to have any chance at a life.

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    MAXA scream leaves my lips. I run towards her, my heart racing, fear a bitter taste in my mouth.Victoria is sprawled on the rock, unconscious, blood seeping from her mouth and ears, her body limp. She is dressed in the mating robes and she had been probably waiting for m.I start checking for injuries but I see none. It is almost as if she was suddenly seized by an illness.I put my ear to her chest and hear a death rattle.Panicking and terrified for my mate, I pick her up in my arms and run all the way back the pack. The celebrations are still going on and they come to a screeching halt when I barge in with my unconscious mate. Shocked faces greet me till the Alpha forces his way from between the crowed, his voice urgent, “What’s going on, Max? What happened to your mate?!”People have already summoned the pack healer as I begin to recount how I found her. The pack healer is by my side within seconds and the first thing he does, while I’m still holding Victoria in m

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    MAX“Jacklyn wants me to have this?” I ask in disbelief, looking at Grace.Grace nods and her voice is filled with sympathy, “She is trying her best to come to terms with it, Max. With all of it. I know she messed up and she knows it too. But you have to understand, she’s loved you since we were all children. You loved her too.”My heart tightens at the memories.Grace sounds sad, “You were the one who found your true mate, not her Max. You’re happy and in love. Her heart has been crushed. I’m not saying what she did was right but Victoria could have given you two some time to work things out. She immediately rushed you into a mating ceremony-““I was the one who rushed her,” I say, sharply, looking at Grace. “Victoria has suffered a lot. I want to give her some stability. And I did talk to Jacklyn. I explained everything to her and she told me she had no hard feelings. Grace, this happens. Sometimes true mates do appear and you can’t do anything. Jacklyn should understand that.

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