Chapter 5 No.5

Erika's POV

It was a masculine and handsome face with defined features. I liked his cleft chin. His brown eyes alarmed me the most. At this moment, I forgot about everything that Charles had said during the meeting. I was hypnotized by him and couldn't take my eyes off him until Orsen tugged at my sleeves. I recovered myself from the stupor and averted my gaze.

However, Derek walked directly at me and didn't stop until we were so close that I could feel his breath. I could smell mint. Being stared at by a man so close to me made me feel uneasy. I lowered my head and was about to step back a little bit. Because I could hardly breathe.

Suddenly, he called me "mate".

I lifted my eyes and looked at him in shock.

His mouth was already tightly shut. But I heard it. Everyone heard it and their jaws dropped.

The single word froze me on the spot. Sure, everything didn't feel right today. I should've thought of it.

Suddenly, he reached out his arm for me. I didn't know what he wanted to do, but I hit his wrist with my elbow before he could touch me. He grimaced and withdrew his arm. I took the opportunity, stepped back, and got away from him until I felt safe.

The people present all turned around and looked at me with their eyes wide open. Charles looked at me and mouthed "What the fuck". Orsen seemed totally at a loss. As a new Beta, he couldn't understand what just happened. Derek's men were all alarmed at my movement. They quickly ran in front of Derek to protect him and glared at me, poised to attack me.

Derek soon resumed his serious look. He flexed his arm that had been attacked by me, raised it up, and waved at his men. At his gesture, his men stepped back immediately.

So he could still raise his arm after the hard blow on his wrist. The change in his face also proved that it must hurt badly. I thought he wouldn't be able to raise his hand for at least one minute so that I could get rid of him. But it didn't seem to make a difference.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out the possibility of defeating him.

"Walk over and apologize for your rudeness, mate," he growled.

"Should we get her, Alpha Derek?" One of his men asked.

Derek's face darkened. He glanced at the people present and snarled, "Don't touch her!" He was not only saying that to his men, but also to the members of my pack.

My heart sank. He sounded so possessive and dominant, just like all Alphas. No, he was the most savage and cruel Alpha that had ever existed. Being possessed by such a control freak would be a nightmare worse than death. I would be trapped in his backward pack forever. I would rather die than live that kind of fucking life.

Why did the Moon Goddess do it to me? I didn't want an Alpha! While I always thought that I was born to be a fighter, I happened to be the mate of a cruel and possesive Alpha. That was so unfair!

No, I wouldn't be his mate. I was not some pushover woman who accepted her fate easily.

I took off my gloves, clenched my fist, ready to summon my weapons.

"Erika!"

"What do you want to do?"

Charles and Orsen both changed their faces when they saw my movement.

Sorry. I mind-linked them.

I threw a volley of daggers at Derek and his men. Hopefully, my daggers could hit them. At least I could buy some time to escape.

I turned around immediately and ran in the opposite direction as quickly as possible. I ran to the forest, which I thought was the safest place. It was like a maze and people unfamiliar with it would definitely lose their way.

I heard people calling my names and running after me. Charles and Orsen tried to mind-link me and asked where I was. I didn't reply to them.

Soon, they lost trace of me.

I ran into the depths of the forest. Thinking that I had got rid of Derek, I sat on a stump to take a rest, thinking about what to do next. Was I going to be a rogue? I sighed.

While I was lost in thought, I was alarmed by tiny footsteps. Someone was creeping on me. It must be a rogue. I turned around without even standing up.

However, I was startled by what I saw! About ten feet away, under a tall tree stood Derek. He stared at me fixedly with half of his body hidden in the bushes, just like a predator who was about to hunt. I looked at him up and down. No blood stains on his body. My dagger didn't hit him.

He noticed my gaze and sneered, "Disappointed that I wasn't hurt by you, right? I don't want to get violent. Walk over and I'll forgive you," he said as he stepped forward. The next second, he was in front of me and looked down on me.

It seemed that a fierce fight was inevitable. I stared at him fixedly, thinking about attacking strategies. Would I have a better chance to win if I shifted into wolf form? I gave up the thought immediately. Shifting into human form naked would only be much more humiliating if I lost it. Honestly, my legs felt weak because I was pretty sure that I had never met such a strong fighter.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fist. I would rather die than be his mate!