There was complete silence between us except for his labored breathing.
I slowly opened my eyes and tilted my head up. It was then that I saw the most beautiful blue eyes I’d ever seen. I felt a mate bond snap into place as my gaze zeroed in on him. The whole universe around us vanished. It was just him and me. And as crazy as it sounds, for the first time, I felt secure. And complete.
“Mate...” His voice snapped me back to the present.
He really had a sexy voice, but I wish he would smile. His face showed no emotions at all, but regardless of that, his hands on my back—under my shirt—gently caressed my skin.
A slow smile crept onto my lips as my head tilted backward. I reveled in the sensual way he was touching me. I closed my eyes and let the sparks he was giving me rule my whole being until I couldn’t hold back my whimpers anymore. “Mate... Mine.”
Chapter 2
RILEY.
What would you doif the only female you’ve ever cared about chose someone else over you? How would you react if you saw her being marked and claimed right in front of you?
Nothing. There was nothing I could do but swallow the pain.
I averted my gaze away from them the moment Caspian, the Alpha of the neighboring pack, dipped his mouth into Andrea’s neck.
I didn’t need to see more. I knew he was about to mark her.
Her—Andrea.
She was the only female I had ever taken notice of, and for a period in my life, I thought we would end up together. But she chose him.
Yet here I was, doing my best to fight off my own men, blocking and shoving them away from Andrea—still protecting her with all my heart.
She went into heat the moment her eyes locked with Caspian’s, and the mate bond between them bound them together. Her heat smell affected every unmated male around her, including me. But I’m Alpha. I could control my urges.
The pain in my chest was enough to keep my senses to fight off my own desire to take her away from Caspian. I tried to block off any emotions as I kept doing what I needed to do: steer away the unmated males around us so that Caspian could fully mark and claim her.
I thought I was okay with letting her go. I didn’t know it would still hurt. A part of me was dying.
Andrea being marked was a reminder that I no longer had a hold on her, that I would be treading this world on my own. Alone. Without a mate.
I watched as my men slowly woke up from their trance and ended up in a bewildered state. I took a whiff of the air and no longer smelled Andrea’s alluring heat scent. She was marked. The air was already swirling with the mixed scent of her and Caspian—the fated mate scent.
I didn’t need to look back at them or anyone else. My work was done.
I gathered myself and turned on my heel while holding my breath, not making a single noise. Then I shifted into my wolf, Hunter, and blocked off everything from my mind.
Hunter ran in the opposite direction while howling at the full moon, letting the Goddess know of our agony. And instead of running back to our territory, he headed off to the wilderness of the neutral forest.
I didn’t stop him.
I always let myself control us, but tonight, I didn’t feel empowered to take over. So I let my wolf lead me to where he wanted to be while I wallowed in my own pain.
Hunter kept running, and I didn’t care where he was going. I wasn’t scared at all. Meeting rogues or hunters was nothing new. If I meet any of them tonight, they should be the ones scared because I didn’t think I would let them die without torturing them.
The love I felt for Andrea wasn’t as strong as before. I knew this for sure because I tried, but even after seeing her with almost nothing on, I didn’t find myself having any desire to touch her or even kiss her.
Nothing. It felt like, in an instant, everything I felt for her had just vanished into the air. All because of one scent—my mate’s scent.
I scented my mate almost three weeks ago, and everything changed. Andrea didn’t seem interesting anymore. If anything, she felt like a trophy I wanted to have to prove to anyone that I had someone with me.
But I knew I would be letting her go. I only needed time to be sure I was handing her to the right person and that Caspian was a good man.
But why did I feel pain when she ran to him? Was it because I was never good enough for her? Or for anyone? Because despite being a strong Alpha, I was never anyone’s first choice?
