“I no longer felt the effects of the heat, two days later.
Somehow, it ended in three days, even without the use of herbs.
I had never gone into heat before, my father carefully managed both mine and my sister’s cycles, giving us the pills as soon as our bodies began to emit the pheromone, stopping them. But I’d heard it usually lasted seven days,
If Fenrir wasn’t sterile, I might have started to consider the possibility of pregnancy.
Still, there was another point. I was mated, and perlups that was the reason for the early interruption,
Either way, i
, it was a relief not to feel like I would melt into a puddle every time the male was near.
I wandered through the forest multiple times, as if taking a stroll, analyzing the vegetation, I discovered that the sound of water I had heard on the first day I approached belonged to a lake close to Fenrir’s house.
I knew someone was always spying on me, watching me. Fenrir didn’t trust me; he didn’t know who I was or which pack I belonged to. That’s why I was always being monitored.
However, I noticed that at night they left me alone, And that was the only chance I would have to escape.
My backpack was ready, packed with a few pieces of clothing, herbs, and some food 1 managed to steal from his pantry. The plan was already articulated, ready to be executed.
I looked through the large dining room window, staring at the low branches of the trees swaying with the wind.
I was alone in the house. Fenrir hadn’t yet returned from wherever he was. He made no effort to talk to me or even try to maintain a semblance of coexistence. Every time he looked at me, I saw shame, guilt, and anger reflected in his gaze. And now, I knew it had to do with Catalina, his ex–fiancee.
1 sighed heavily and rested my chin on my bent knee.
On top of all his disdain, I still had to deal with Marilyn, that wretched bitch. A nickname I had affectionately given her.
She was a frequent visitor to the house, as if she wanted to mark her territory. She came, hurled sharp words at me, and then left. It wasn’t hard to figure out that her relationship with Fenrir went far beyond friendship. They were lovers, and she hated me for having mated with him.
I didn’t care about that, anyway.
I just wanted a life with my sister. A life where I could finally be happy. Maybe find a boyfriend who truly loved me, who would propose to me because he enjoyed being with me, not out of obligation. Then, maybe, I could think about having pups and never again worry about being rejected, deceived, or despised
It was such a simple desire, yet it seemed like such a distant dream.
I wished things could be different. But they weren’t. I needed to get used to it and learn to mold them.
I was too lost in my daydreaming when the front door swung open with a loud bang.
My eyes widened, and I jumped off the couch, my heart hammering in my ears, racing.
Fear crawled over me, infiltrating my muscles and freezing me in a mere second.
But then, the scent of fresh pine and damp earth wafted toward me. I didn’t even have time to sigh in relief before a large, strong hand closed around my neck, lifting me off the ground. My feet dangled in the air as my breath caught in my lungs.
Fenrir’s cyrs shifted betw
tween blue and gold.
“Do you think I’m an ided, buttle wolf?” he snarled, his warm breath tanning my face.
Hage poured from every pore of his body, filling thr om. And for the first time since I’d met him, I was truly afraid. Afraid of him, of what he could do to me, of the sheer strength radiating from him, even if he seemed unaware of it.
“W what?” I gasped through the narrow passage of my compressed throat.
He was killing ane, suffu ating me little by little.
1/3
13
“You showed up suddenly in my territory, somehow made me mate with you, and now, for the first time in a long while, my pack is under attack – His fingers pressed harder around my neck. “I want the truth. Now,”
I clawed at his arms, digging my nails into his skin as I writhed, desperate to break free from his grip.
“P–please…” I whispered.
Black dots danced before my ey
eyes. I was on the verge of suffocating to death. And this was not how I planned to go.
I blinked as everything around me grew distant and silent. My heartbeat roared in my ears, the faint breath through my throat barely sustaining me. My hands, clutching his arm, slackened. The skin I had scratched began to heal, closing almost instantly.
Wolves tended to heal faster. The stronger the wolf, the quicker the healing. And that told me a lot about Fenrir.
He let me go. I collapsed to my knees, coughing and gulping down as much air as I could, filling my lungs. My body trembled, and tears streamed down the sides of my face.
Fenrir frowned, looking down at me. He could feel what I felt, and he didn’t seem to like it. I was scared, terrified, and…burt. Not physically-
1 leaned against the couch, Inees drawn up, still struggling to breathe. The tears running
“Who were the wolves, Savannah?” he asked, and I noted a hint of despair in his voice.
“You’re a bastard,” I growled, my throat burning and voice hoarse.
A malicious smile curved his lips.
“You’ll answer my question right now, I’m your alpha; you must sul
down my
face 1
weren’t just from fear. Not anymore.
submit to me.”
his back straig
like all the oth
“You will never be my alpha,” I snarled.
He arched an eyebrow.
He seemed to grow taller before me, his back straightening, chest pulling, releasing a low growl that grew louder.
“I became your alpha the moment you set foot in my territory, and we mated. You owe me respect and obedience, like all the others,” he hissed. “You may be immune to my pheromones, but not my command.”
1 shook my head, refusing to plead with him any further. I knew how it hurt, how horrible it was to be subdued by an alpha’s orders.
“No.” I whispered.
His growl rumbled, loud and grotesque. He bared his teeth, golden eyes fixed on me.
I tried to resist, to keep control of my body, but I couldn’t hold out, I gasped, arching my back and lowering my held in submission. Everything in me hurt. It was a deep pain, tearing through my muscles, exploding from within.
As an alpha, he compelled submission, while I fought with all my strength not to yield, failing miserably.
Tears prickled in my eyes, my fur bristled. I clenched my teeth so hard I tasted blood in
mouth.
My breathing turned labored and heavy, as if his hand was still around my neck, pressing down.
Lhated him with every fiber of my being.
My body trembled; I swallowed the stream of pain, refusing to show him how much it hurt, how much he was making me suffer. His power lashed through the air, buzzing in my cata. I pressed my forehead to the floor, squeezing my eyes shut, completely reverent to him.
The tumble in his cheat silenced.
“Who were the wolves?” he repeated.
I managed to lurrak fee of the invisible chains. I kneli, dizzy and unsteady, my body reacting to what had happened.
An alplaa’s command was absolute; there was nothing one could do but yield and succumb to their orders. Beyond humiliating, the pain was
excruciating.
2/3
He took a step closer. I finched, and he stopped.
“Who
Hunter?”
I took a deep breath.
Hunter is my ex–fiance. He was the one I was running from in the forest when we met.”
I kept my gaze on the ground. Blinking furiously, I tried to hold back the tears, but for every one that fell, another followed.
“And which pack did you belong to?”
I didn’t want to tell the whole truth, but I didn’t have the courage to lie. Not after how he had treated me.
I cleared my throat, feeling the burn in it.
“I was from the Eastern Twilight pack. And Hunter was from the Eastern Eclipse pack.”
I turned
my face to the window and gazed at my reflection. The bruises on my neck were already fading, disappearing from my skin.
