Chapter 3 LOST LITTLE BIRDIE

I cried myself to sleep on that bridge. It wasn't until morning came that I got up and made my way back home. As I passed, I stopped by the Alpha's office. I knew I should've kept going. He didn't want me, and there was nothing I could do to change that, but I felt like I had to try at least one more time.

The office door was already opened and I entered. What I saw made my chest boil. Jacob was seated on his chair and there was a girl there straddling him, with her hands locked in his hair. She was the daughter of our old Beta.

But why did she have her hands on my mate?!

"Jacob!"

He saw me in the doorway, and his expression changed.

"You know what? I was wrong about you. I shouldn't even have bothered" My voice was weak and cracked from all my crying. I stormed out of the office, and Jacob followed me.

"Iris, Iris wait"

"No! Because I had this image in my head of who I thought you were but you're the exact opposite. You reject me and you have another woman in your hands a few hours later"

A crowd had begun to form around us, and Selene, the beta's daughter, also came out. She had a devious smile on her face.

"Oh... she's your mate that you rejected?" She spoke deliberately loud, for everyone to hear. I looked around me as people murmured.

"She really thought she could be the Alpha's mate?" I heard someone remark.

I felt completely humiliated. Now the whole pack knew I'd been rejected by the Alpha. Once again I was just a pathetic little girl.

A part of me still hoped that, deep down, Jacob cared enough to stand up for me, but I was mistaken. He just stood there, looking down at me like he didn't even know me.

"I hate you, Jacob. So very much"

I turned around to run but some held me back.

"Hey, I heard you've turned 18 now, are you still a wolfless runt?" One person asked.

"Your father will definitely disown you now," another said as I struggled against their hold

"Hey! If your father kicks you out, you can come to stay with me and keep me company"

I turned around to stare at Jacob with tears in my eyes, but he seemed unaffected.

"Let me go!" I yelled, pulling myself away from the crowd as I continued to run.

My head was in disarray by the time I reached home. I was sore, sweaty and heartbroken. I curled up on my bed as my body was shaken with my tears.

How could Jacob have stood there and watched some be humiliated and ridiculed like that? I'd told him I hated him, but I didn't think I could muster the strength to do that. While I was still shedding tears, my mother came into my room.

"Iris? What's wrong?" She came to sit beside me on the bed. I wrapped my hands around her as I began to sob more and more.

"I found my mate, and he... he... he rejected me, mum. He didn't want me," I cried my heart out to her as Jacobs's words continued to replay in my head. How could I complete him if I wasn't even complete myself?

"Oh, honey... I'm so sorry" She caressed my hair as I let out all my tears and my pain.

"Who was it? Your mate?"

"It was Alpha Jacob"

My mother pulled away, looking alarmed. Before she could speak, my father walked in with a stern expression.

"So you went and let yourself be mated to my enemy and what worse is he rejected you? You pathetic girl!"

My father grabbed me, dragging me out of the room by my hair.

I screamed and struggled but it wasn't enough. My mother's pleas were becoming lost to me as I felt myself begin to fade away. My father let go of me finally before he slapped me again.

"You're useless. That man must feel so proud of himself after completely humiliating this family..." My father hit me again. He was unleashing his own rage on me.

"Ragnar, stop it!" my mother screamed, holding him back, but he pushed her away, and she fell back.

My father kicked me again and again.

"No son of mine would've been so completely useless. All you have brought us is shame and embarrassment. Enough. I've arranged your marriage with the Lycan King. He'll come for you tomorrow and I'll finally be rid of you"

"W-what? The Beast Lycan?" I stuttered; my father's words hit me like a block of ice.

"Precisely. He could kill you like his other wives for all I care. Good riddance"

My father looked at me one last time, his eyes filled with disgusted contempt before he walked out of the house.

My mother rushed to my side with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Iris... your father told me last night, there was nothing I could do"

I was frozen in place as my life flashed before my eyes. The Lycan king was termed the beast Lycan because of his infamous reputation. He'd been married five times and all his wives had gone missing within months. The rumors were that he was cursed and he'd killed them, or worse, eaten them.

I couldn't believe my father hated me enough to practically sell me to the beast. Was this how my life would end prematurely?

"I'm not going to get married," I said in a low voice, and I meant it. I'd been weak for too long, let people walk over me and insult me. Enough.

I wasn't going to sit back and allow my father to sign me the death penalty. I'd rather elope than wait for that to happen.

"There's nothing we can do dear... The man will arrive to take you by noon tomorrow."

"I won't be here by then"

"What do you mean?" I didn't say anything more to my mother as I rose off the ground, holding back the grunt of pain from my father's beating.

I locked myself in my room all day. Didn't eat, didn't leave. I busied myself with packing some essential items. Some money, a few clothes and some other important items. I had to travel light so I wouldn't get caught easily.

I waited for my father to come back and go to bed then I left the house. I ran through the estate, making sure no one would see me. By the time I made it out of the gates, I felt relieved, saved. I didn't know where I would go, but anywhere was better than my pack, where I was unappreciated.

I walked through the forest, wishing my father had been kind enough to get me a car for easier transportation. I just hoped it wouldn't take me too long to reach the nearest pack.

My pack was a bit more Conservative. We'd chosen to live away from most packs and we still followed a lot of old customs and traditions. It was expected, considering the old Alpha is someone who beats his wife and daughter and is still depressed because he didn't have a son, considering that it was his genes that decided that.

I'd traveled for what felt like a few hours, and I sat back against a tree to rest for a bit. My body was still sore. I opened a bottle of water and drank it. I closed my eyes for a bit; soon, I started to hear some rustling. I ignored it at first but it got louder and closer.

I stood up with my bag, looking around me. Then I saw a group of people coming out from the bushes. There were three men and one woman. Immediately, I knew they were rouges.

"Well, what do we have here?" The woman said as they approached me slowly.

"Are you lost little birdie?"

I was greatly outnumbered. There was only one thing I could do.

Run.