Chapter 3 What happened to me

REINA'S POV

"Who– who are– who are you?" I stuttered, but I was hit with a deafening silence. The figure just stood still and watched. My eyes struggled to map out the features, but they remained concealed in the darkness.

As I charged forward with one bold step, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a woman shrouded in a black hooded cloak. She dashed further and deeper, moving swiftly into the opposite direction of the woods.

Minsi quickly pursued. I struggled to restrain my wolf. I had never been that weak at keeping her at bay. My strength could only do so little, but I managed to stop her from emerging.

Something was making her rage.

"That's not a wolf, Reina," Minsi panted as we chased after the woman, scattering through the woods.

She was fast. Too fast, or I was just extremely slow for her.

Suddenly, without warning, an overwhelming power halted me, and I found myself pinned against a tree trunk.

"Reina!" I heard my best friend scream.

"Corolla?"

I asked surprisingly, as we both tried to catch our breaths. I didn't realize Corolla was running after me the whole time while I chased... where was it?

Where was this non-wolf figure I was pursuing? The woman in the black hooded cloak. She had vanished without a trace.

Minsi's voice repeatedly cried out, "That's not a wolf Reina, I don't know what it is, but it's not one of us."

"Why were you running? It was your cue to come in 15 minutes ago," Corolla scolded, oblivious to the fear that had taken hold of me.

"Wait! What?" I asked, shoving her question aside, "You didn't see?" I looked in the direction I was running to before she caught up with me and pinned me to the tree.

She gave me a confused stare and took a glance in the direction, scanning the area. Then her blank gaze landed on me, she shook her head.

"See what?" she asked hysterically.

"I swear I saw someone," I blurted out.

Corolla only nodded and asked me to follow her back to the right direction and to where everyone was waiting.

I agreed and said nothing else as I trailed behind, trying to calm Minsi down as she continued to growl softly. If our secret dared to come out, it shouldn't be on a day like this.

"What was it?" Corolla asked curiously, and I shook my head and said it was nothing.

I hastily collected myself, no matter how disturbed I was by what I thought I had seen, I wasn't going to let anything or anyone ruin my night.

The clear opening was surrounded by the members of our pack and Woodwick's.

This was the man chosen to be my mate. Ruthless Alpha Van Killian. I was standing in proximity to him. Somehow, my troubled heart relaxed from the tension it was feeling earlier.

"Is that him?" I asked Minsi, "he doesn't look ruthless. Anything but ruthless," I smiled.

What a hunk! I could see his muscles flexing in his tight hugging shirt. A perfect body like that of a Greek god and a handsome face carved to perfection.

His brown curls and elegant presence clouded my mind, his scent lingering like sweet rose petals and everyone around seemed to have faded away, leaving just the two of us.

I was drawn to him in a way that was new to me, a way that made everything else irrelevant.

"Mate!" Minsi interjected amidst my thoughts.

"What?" I asked shockingly, "he's my fated mate?"

"Dummy, can't you feel it?" Minsi laughed ferociously, and I could feel her wagging her tail out of excitement.

I had given up on searching for my fated mate, but destiny had brought him to me. I stood next to Van and smiled at him, but he just looked away, dismissively.

My smile suddenly turned to a frown. He was ruthless after all.

Tauriel stood next to my father with a smirk on her face. I couldn't sight Gina. Corolla noticed I was anxious and gestured to me to remain calm.

"Reina, there's something wrong," Minsi began to grumble, but I dismissed it without a second thought.

Obviously, everything was wrong. I was getting married to a ruthless Alpha, fated mate or not, he stood tall and wicked.

The priest chanted some words, invoking the power of the moon, and I waited for Van's vow. He turned, facing me and his hazel eyes pierced into my eyes. I wasn't sure what to do.

My face froze in shock. I couldn't believe what I just heard. I demanded to hear it again and, with no regret, he unapologetically obliged.

"I, Alpha Van Killian of Woodwick, reject Reina Grayson of the Moonlight pack as my mate."

His words felt like a knife to my heart, cutting and slicing every bit of me. Minsi was groaning in pain. I felt like my heart began to bleed.

I knew Van felt the same pain, the look engraved on his face gave him away.

My guts twisted in agony, as my ears picked up every murmur that enveloped the pack members. They all seemed to be against me.

"She deserves it. We all know she's weak and wolf-less," a voice said.

And another admitted saying, "The Alpha needs a strong Luna."

What was happening seemed like a nightmare. Minsi was right, something was clearly wrong.

Suddenly, Gina emerged from behind the crowd and slowly walked forward, standing beside Alpha Van with a triumphant smirk on her face, and her arms placed on his shoulder possessively. She leaned over to me and whispered softly into my ears, saying,

"I'm sorry, sister."

I didn't want to believe that she planned this all from the start. To let our father choose me and then disgrace me and take my place. He always listened to her.

No, Gina wouldn't. She loved me, she would never. I tried to discard those thoughts, but the truth was staring at me right in the face. My sister betrayed me.

The world started to spin. My blood coursed through my veins agitatedly like a raging storm as flashbacks of recent weeks flooded my brain.

So many questions I wanted to ask, but my voice was lost. I felt my back fall on a hard surface and everything began to shatter.

I heard Minsi's sad wails, I was losing my grip on her, I was losing myself. Distorted faces were hovering over me, their voices asking,

"Is she alright?"

I also wanted to know if I was alright. Nothing felt real.

Why did Alpha Van reject me even after knowing I was his fated mate?

What was happening to me?

Tears streaming down my pale face, I watched in tremendous horror as my fated mate chose my sister as his mate. Corolla's voice kept screaming for help, as I laid there dying, but nobody paid attention to us.

Then I heard a mournful howl pierce the cold air and impulsively everyone shifted into their wolf form, and howled in unison. My eyes sifted the full moon above just before I drew my last breath.