Grand hunt

Chapter 1

I was ready. I had spent months training for this moment. And I was ready. The annual Grand Hunt had finally come for this year. Until now, I couldn't be a part of the festivities because I was too young. The age for eligibility to participate was 24. This year, it was finally my year. I'd been training since before I even qualified. I would do it; I would win. For my family. I had to. I would restore my family name if it was the last thing I'd do.

My father had been best friends with Alpha Roman and well on track to replacing his aging Beta until all of a sudden, they had a really intense fight. No one knew what it was about, what caused it or how it started. But after that day, their friendship was no more. In its place, enmity rose. Alpha Roman shunned and ostracised my entire family and his arrogant son, Louis and the entire pack followed suite, even without knowing who was at fault. But today I would change that. Today I would come out the winner in this Hunt and claim my victory price; a favour from Alpha Roman. I would ask him to publicly acknowledge my family and welcome us back into the good graces of the pack. My father was against this idea but I didn't care. While he didn't want anything to do with the Alpha, I didn't want my little brother to grow up the way I did, ridiculed or otherwise ignored. So, I would do this. I would hunt and get the most spoils. I would emerge the winner.

"Angie, you don't have to do this you know. You hate killing other animals" my best friend Devon said. I stared at him from where I stood in front of my dresser. He was seated on my bed directly opposite my dresser and I could see him in the mirror without turning. I met his icy blue eyes with my bright green ones.

"But I do have to do this. It's the only way to make sure that we return back to the pack's good graces"

"But why does that matter? Why do you care what they think?"

"We've been over this Dev, I'm not going to let Lincoln grow up in a place where he's not accepted. We either get accepted into the pack or we change packs. Since we have deep ancestral roots here, I'm going for option one"

He sighed and made a fist. I knew he was digging his nails into his palms because that's what he did when he was nervous or upset. I was curious which he was at the moment.

"I don't want you to leave the pack"

He ran his hand through his thick head of dark hair.

"And I don't want to leave either. So I'll hunt and I'll win"

I finished tying my long chestnut brown hair into a bun so it wouldn't get in my way and stood back to examine my work. I was dressed in loose fitting shorts and an old tank top. I didn't need that much. After all, when I transformed, the clothes would rip. Not that I was planning to transform with them on. You could only rip so much clothing until you learned to simply take them off and stuff them in a tree where you could later retrieve them when you transformed back into your human form.

"Then I'm coming with you"

"There's no teamwork in this competition Dev, you know that"

"Yes but-" "No buts. It's fine. I've trained for this. You trained me yourself. I can do this"

"I know you can, I just don't want you to have to just to prove something to some jerks who don't even deserve to know you"

I smiled. "Let's go serve up some carcasses"

Devon burst out laughing despite himself. "God, you and your morbid humour"

He stood and we made our way out of my house. Luckily, we didn't run into my father; I couldn't stand getting his disapproving look, it made me feel little and I tended to back down.

"Okay, we all have different starting points so we split up here" Devon said.

"And surprise, surprise, mine is at the outskirts of our woods, furthest from where any animals hang out" I rolled my eyes.

"Just remember everything you've learned and good luck" he leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek, then turned away to go.

I turned around myself and met the disapproving eyes of my Pack members. Each of them stared at me with scorn, derision and varying degrees of disgust. I rolled my eyes, used to it by now, and began my trek to my starting line. When I was halfway there, something slammed into my body with bruising force and I stumbled and almost fell before I caught myself.

"How did you think you were starting without hearing good luck from me?!" Melissa asked. Well she thought she was speaking. She was yelling.

"Mel, what have I said about slamming into me?"

She smiled an innocent smile that would be very believable to the untrained eye. Melissa could look entirety innocent if she set her mind to it. With her thick blonde hair, baby blue eyes and rosy cheeks, she was the picture of innocence. Too bad she was a mischievous minx. When we were kids, she used to get us into all kinds of trouble and I would always get blamed for it because once she flashed those big blue eyes, no one could accuse her of any wrongdoing.

"To do it more often?"

I laughed, thankful for the comic relief. Despite my bravado and earlier reassurances to Devon, I was still nervous. As he said, I did not like to kill animals. Werewolves were actually peaceful creatures and we didn't hunt other animals asides from the Grant Hunt and the wolves who did it for sport. It wasn't banned or anything so they were in their rights. It just wasn't something I liked doing. For this reason, I was nervous. Plus, the Alpha's arrogant son, Louis was participating in this year's hunt which was alarming in and of itself. He'd turned twenty four three years ago but had never participated in the competition himself. He was always in other packs at this time, settling disputes and organising events. But this year, he was here. There were whispers around the Pack that he was the most talented hunter ever to be born into the Pack, if not the world. And he was my competition. The thought of that wiped the smile clean off my face.

"Oh come on, cheer up. You're gonna do great!" Melissa said, trying to bolster my spirits. She was always good at that and I genuinely appreciated the effort even though it wasn't working this time.

"I hope so Mel. I hope-" the sound of the horn that announced the beginning of the Hunt stopped me mid sentence. I gasped in shock.

"They aren't supposed to blow it yet. They're supposed to send people to make sure everyone is at their station"

Mel winced. "I think they did hon"

It took me a second to realise that they'd intended for me not to be at my post before they blew the horn. All part of their little ways to make my life miserable. Honestly it was getting old. But this time it was really important that I be on time! Damn.

"Mel I've gotta go! Bye"

I ran away from her and just heard her shouted goodbye before I dashed into the woods. Although she also just became eligible to participate, she chose not to despite being a very skilled huntress. She never gave me a reason and I didn't push.

I quickly pulled off my clothes and leapt into the air. As werewolves could jump really high even in human form, I reached the top of the tree and stashed my clothes, then quickly let my wolf take over so that I was in wolf form before my feet touched the ground. The snapping of bones and deformation didn't bother me anymore; I'd been transforming since I was fourteen, the normal age most werewolves had their first transformation. I dashed deeper into the woods and sniffed the air. I could smell a mule deer nearby. They were pretty common here in Colorado so there wasn't much points attached to them, it was five points at most, some bonuses for skill of kill. Regardless, I was working on an every point counts tactic so I paused and sniffed more to determine exactly where the deer was. It was about five miles away from me, give or take. I braced on my hind legs, then I dove, using the overpowering speed that Werewolves have, I was on it before it could even make a sound. I said a silent prayer for it and then sank my teeth into its throat, ripping its jugular and silencing it all before it could make a sound.

I said another prayer and backed away from the bleeding corpse, wanting to retch. That was probably why I didn't hear him until it was too late. The wolf slammed into me, making me tumble down a slope. Before I could get up, the wolf was on me, it's teeth at my neck. All I could think over the erratic pounding of my heart was 'Well, karma's a bitch'.

I kicked out and pushed the werewolf off of me and quickly rose before it could recover. I started up at it, yes, up. It was easily almost twice the size of my wolf. Only rogue wolves who'd been in their wolf form for long and had been feeding on raw animals could grow that big. Which meant I'd been attacked by a freaking rogue werewolf! What would a rogue be doing in these parts anyway? Even a rogue had the sense of boundaries and knew that if it crossed into another pack's territory it would be killed without a single thought and since it did not belong to any pack, it wouldn't cause a war.

I looked into its brown eyes which looked crazed and almost stumbled backwards. This wasn't a werewolf anymore. It was a feral, wild animal.

It dove for me again, swiping with its claws and I narrowly dodged the swipe and swiped at him with mine instead. I got its face but regretted it two seconds later when it looked up and I could almost feel the anger wafting off it.

'I don't want to hurt you. We don't have to do this. Just go away' I tried to talk to the wolf through the mind link all werewolves could forge but it was futile. There was no human left in this wolf so there was no mind to connect to in the first place.

It dove for me and as I rolled away, its claw caught my stomach and tore. The blinding pain was almost overwhelming in its intensity. I howled in pain and began panicking when I felt my hold on my wolf slipping. She wanted blood and I couldn't stop her from breaking out. I usually kept a tight leash on my wolf because of what happened to the Luna of our pack, Esther, Alpha Roman's wife. It was said that during a Grand Hunt, she lost control of her wolf and became feral. Her link to the pack was severed and she went rogue. After several attempts to get her back failed- although it had been a futile attempt, rogues did not regain their humanity- she had to be put down. It was rumoured that the loss of his mate changed Alpha Roman forever, he was simply never the same.

Because of this, I'd always kept my wolf side on a tight leash, only transforming when necessary. But now, my wolf threatened to break out and I could feel her taking over. I made to run away but turning my back on the wolf proved to be a mistake when the wolf tackled me. It gripped the wound it had made earlier and I howled in excruciating pain. And that was when it happened. I felt her taking over and my humanity receding. I felt like I was watching from afar as my wolf scratched an elongated paw down the wolf's face and made a wound so deep that blood spilled out to bathe my chestnut brown fur. Then she dug her claw into its stomach the same time it sunk it's teeth into her neck. That was like the wake-up call my body needed. I felt myself return and with it came the excruciating pain of having fangs tearing into my throat. I howled out in pain and then all of a sudden, the fangs were gone, as was the weight.

I opened my eyes and watched as a large black wolf wrestled with the rogue wolf. I wanted to go help but the speed at which they fought was overwhelming. If I went in, one of them would definitely finish the job the rogue started. So I stood aside and watched as they fought, praying my saviour would survive. From the bond I felt with the wolf, I knew it was a member of our pack, though I couldn't tell who. I never ran with the rest of the pack. The only people I went out on runs with were Melissa and Devon so I wouldn't recognize anyone else's wolf.

As suddenly as the fight began, it ended a few minutes later. The rogue wolf laid dead at the black wolf's feet. It looked up to me, light brown eyes narrowed in a severe expression I couldn't understand.

'You're bleeding. Transform so I can tend to your wounds'

I felt lightheaded when his words entered into my head, like his voice was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. I almost swayed with the weight of its influence on me. I didn't know why I felt this way until he spoke again.

'Transform, Mate'

My eyes widened in shock even as I began to slowly transform against my will. I realised two things. First of all, this wolf was my mate. Second, with the fact that his order came to me as a command my body unwillingly obeyed, this was an Alpha wolf. And since Alpha Roman's mate was dead and other Alphas wouldn't be in our territory without explicit invitation, it was safe to assume that this was Louis.

Louis was my mate! How could that have happened? Of all the people in the world, it had to be the most obnoxious werewolf who practically hated me.

As I was transforming, he was too. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"No. You can't be my mate"

"And yet here we are" I said, then gasped at the pain in my neck and stomach. I put my hand on my neck quickly to stop the bleeding. The rogue didn't hit a major artery but there was still a lot of blood and I still ran the risk of bleeding to death.

"I can't take you as a Luna. I won't. Get back to the village and dress your wounds. And not a word of this to anyone" and then he transformed and sped away. I stood there in shock for a few seconds.

I didn't even know why I was shocked. He'd said worse things to me. I felt my wolf crawling around inside of me, I felt her pain that threatened to drown out my physical pain. My heart clenched with the weight of it and my eyes stung with tears.

Our mate had rejected us. Of all the clichés!

I groaned and transformed again. I made my way out of the forest and back to where I stored my clothes. I couldn't hunt with the injuries I'd sustained. The animals would smell me coming from a mile away. Plus, with the way my wolf was mourning, I didn't think she would be up to it. So that was it, my dream had ended before it even began.

I leapt into the air, transformed mid leap and grabbed my clothes. After quickly wrestling them on, I ran to my house. Even in human form, werewolves were faster than humans so I got there in under a minute. I climbed up to my window, not wanting to enter through the front door with multiple wounds. My parents would freak. And I didn't want my little brother, Lincoln to see me this way.

I opened my window and stumbled in, then just remained there on the ground trying to breathe through the pain. I looked down to observe the stomach wound and noticed it was already healing. It wasn't as deep as I'd originally thought and it didn't hit any major organs so I would be healed by the next day. It was the scars of failure and rejection that would last a long time.

Personally I had no warm feelings for Louis. But his rejection still hurt. I felt the ache in my chest. It felt like a physical pain. Like I had lost a part of myself that I never even knew I had.

The sting of failure added to the pain I felt. I was supposed to come out triumphant, I was supposed to show them all, I was supposed to fix everything. And now I was nothing. I achieved nothing.

I dragged myself off the floor and into the bathroom to wash all the blood off me and bandage my wounds.

It was a painfully slow process. I had never gotten hurt when hunting before. Never. That was partly because I didn't hunt and partly because in all my practice, I was a silent killer. I never engaged in fights. I ambushed and killed. There were times when I felt guilty about that style, never giving the animals a fighting chance, but I thought it was better in the long run. They would still loose, werewolves were at the top of the food chain with the exception of Lycans, although they had died out so long ago that they were now nothing more than a myth. By attacking them and ending it quickly, I didn't give their brains enough time to catch up so they wouldn't feel pain at all, they would just be dead.

When I had bandaged myself completely, I walked into my room and froze in shock.

Chapter Two

"Hello, Anne," he said.

Personally, I was not a fan of just walking into my room and finding someone there. I'm sure a lot of people would relate. After all, it was pretty unnerving when someone just invited themselves over when you were in the shower!

I clutched my towel- which, though it fell to mid thigh, now felt miles too short with him in my room- to my chest and tried to calm the erratic beating of my heart.

"Louis, what are you doing here? How did you get into my room?" I asked when I could finally speak through my shock.

What astounded me the most was that he didn't seem at all perturbed about sneaking into my room uninvited, no. He actually had the guts to look irritated, as if I was the one intruding on his personal space.

"Have you seen to your damn wounds?" He snapped.

I shrunk towards the bathroom door and contemplated jumping in and locking the door but his glare and knowing look stopped me.

"What's it to you?" I asked, eyes narrowed, feigning bravado I absolutely did not feel.

"Just answer me" he snapped again.

"Well I don't think I want to answer someone who sneaks into my bedroom and yells at me"

A little petty, I was aware, but he couldn't just sneak into my room with no explanation and begin yelling at me. We weren't that close.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in a move I knew meant he was frustrated. I'd seen him frustrated with me enough times to know.

"Your pain is floating around in my head. It's irritating. Fix yourself and make it stop"

"Fix myself? How do I do that?"

"For one-" he reached for my towel, suddenly much closer to me than he was a second ago and I smacked his hand away.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "I've seen you naked Anne. I just want to check your wounds"

"It's different if we're in the forest and changing. This is my house, get your hand off my towel"

I slapped his hands away again. He stared at me as if I was the one being unreasonable.

"I could order you to drop your towel and you'd take it off in two seconds"

I raised a brow. "I think I can resist. Your command is stronger in wolf form and you know it"

"Doesn't mean it doesn't work in human form"

I shrugged. "I keep my wolf on a tight leash"

He nodded. "That explains it. That's why you aren't feeling what I'm feeling. Emerge" he whispered the command but I still felt my wolf fighting to come to the surface. I fought with all my might to regain control but a force much stronger than my hold over my wolf was pulling my wolf in a different direction, the force of an Alpha. And then I felt it. The desperate longing to be near Louis, to be wrapped in his arms. The need to kiss him, to hold on to him and never let go. It was almost overwhelming.

"You see why I came to see how you were doing now"

"Make it stop" I asked, just resisting the urge to lean into him, to warp my arms around him.

"It's stronger for you because you don't let your wolf breathe. Why do you do that?" He frowned in thought.

"I don't.. just stop it and get out of my room"

"Just let me look at your wounds and then I'll go. Did you treat them with alcohol?"

He reached for the towel again and I tried my hardest to get my hand to push him away but I couldn't. He used the towel to pull me even closer and the breath left my body.

He paused and looked at me with his light brown eyes dark with intensity. "I don't know what I'd do if I took off this towel Anne"

"So don't take it off" I said, almost wishing for the opposite.

"Recede" he whispered and my wolf retreated to the back of my head where I always shoved her. I took in a deep, cleansing breath, then shoved him away from me in shock. I was going to let him... Oh God.

"You need to get out of my room"

"Treat those wounds or I'll be back" and then almost faster than my eyes could see, he dashed out of the window, answering the question of how he'd gotten in here in the first place. I knew my parents wouldn't let him in unless he commanded them and I would be able to feel an Alpha command that close to me.

Finally able to breathe without his thick, mesmerizing cologne, I took deep, unsteady breaths. I'd even forgotten about the pain in my body, I'd forgotten everything once the mate bond took over, such was its strength. I wasn't ready just yet to go into the fact that Louis was my mate and the implications thereof so I put it out of my mind for the moment, one of my finer qualities if you ask me.

I gingerly took off my towel and then the bandages after shutting and locking my window and getting the alcohol in my medicine cabinet. I carefully cleaned and rewrapped the wounds, wincing all the way. Then I put on some pjs and sat on my bed, waiting.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in"

"I heard you come in" Lincoln, my thirteen-year-old brother said. From his tone of voice, I knew that wasn't at all everything he'd heard.

I sighed. "So you know?"

"What exactly? That you joined the hunt even though you promised me you wouldn't or that you got hurt?" He gestured to the bloody bandages in the trash beside my table. I sighed and patted the bed beside me. He got the message and came to sit beside me.

"I had to do the Hunt Linc, I had to try to restore our family's name"

"And did you succeed?" He asked, brow raised.

Sometimes it was unnerving how smart my little brother was.

"No I didn't"

"And you only got hurt for your troubles. It's not worth it Angie, please tell me you won't try next year? Please" the desperation in his voice cut through me like a hot knife through butter; I just wanted to appease him, to make that voice go away and a smile appear on his face.

I sighed. I didn't like to lie to my brother. I loved him and I wanted what was best for him. But that meant that sometimes I had to deceive him. Not that it did me any good, he always knew when I was lying. But I'd try anyway, if only to assuage his worries and put a smile on his face.

"Sweetie I have to do everything it takes to restore our family name"

"No you don't! Did it ever occur to you that I'm ok being alone? That I might even like it?"

I sighed. "It's ok to like being alone but what pisses me off is the way they treat you. I can't let that continue, I just can't"

"And I can't watch you hurt yourself for something we don't even need"

"I know they bully you Linc" I had the rare honour of seeing my brother shocked. He usually knew anything and everything. But this time I didn't relish the pinking of his cheeks, not over something like this.

"How did you?-"

"You're not the only smart one in the family. But I cannot let that continue or I will kill all of them" I felt my eyes flash with the anger of my wolf and watched Lincoln's widen.

"It's not your job to take care of me Angie"

"Well since dad is too wrapped up in his anger with Alpha Roman and mom is trying to retreat into her mind and pretend none of this is happening, it is my job now"

Just then, a knock sounded on my door and before I could answer it was opened. Melissa came in hot with Devon on her tail.

"What happened? They said you left the woods all bloody! No one knew the full story and we were both so worried!" Melissa yelled almost hysterically.

Lincoln waved me goodbye with a look that said we'd continue the conversation later and then he slipped out. He was always considerate that way; giving us space to talk because he could tell that Melissa and Devon really needed it.

"Are you okay?" Dev asked.

He walked to me and carefully traced the bandage that covered my neck.

"What happened?!" Melissa yelled again.

"It's a long story really. Not worth getting into" I said, remembering Louis's threat.

"Just tell us Angie!" She insisted, taking Lincoln's vacated spot beside me on my bed. Devon was perched on the edge of the other side of my bed.

"Who let you guys in? My mom or my dad?" I asked, trying to draw away their attention from the situation at hand. I don't know why I tried, it wouldn't work, not in such a serious situation.

"Your mom. See that's how you answer questions. Now you try" Melissa sassed.

I sighed. I wanted to tell them what happened, I did. But I didn't know how I'd explain the wounds without mentioning how I escaped from the fight which would bring Louis into it which was the last thing I wanted. Though he didn't use his Alpha command when he told me that I couldn't tell anyone, disobedience of a direct order from the Alpha or his family could result in severe punishment and they wouldn't hesitate to apply the punishment if I was the offender.

"Um..."

I looked away guiltily and prepared to lie.

"And why on earth do you smell like Louis? I swear if that bastard hurt you" Devon said, already getting up. I grabbed his fisted hand and pulled him back down. I slowly caressed it until he unfolded it to reveal the crescent marks made by his fingers. They would heal fast but I still didn't like him doing it.

"Calm down Dev. Louis didn't hurt me. He's um, he's my mate"

And there was complete silence.

To say my friends were shocked at my news was putting it lightly. They both sat trying to comprehend what I'd said. I got tired of waiting for them to talk and even began painting my nails. I had finished all three coats of my toe nails and was about to start on my fingers when Melissa finally spoke.

"You're mates with Louis Knights? How is that even possible shouldn't you have known since you're like 16"

"Yes but you know I keep my wolf suppressed. I think I may have released her by accident and she called out to him"

"Why did you release her? What happened? Does it have anything to do with why you were bloody and beaten?" Melissa asked. Devon had still not spoken. He seemed to still be processing the news. He had a dumbfounded look on his face and his eyes seemed to stare without seeing.

"Because I was fighting a rogue and I was hurt"

"A rogue? Where did a rogue come from? Did you wander outside the border?" Devon asked, finally snapping out of his shock.

"No. I was still in our territory. It came up behind me out of nowhere and attacked. It was like twice my size. I fought but I was losing because I was holding my wolf back. When I got really hurt she broke out completely and attacked but I regained control quickly. Before I did though, my pain called out to my mate and Louis came running"

"Wow. Oh my God, does this mean you're going to be our Luna?" Melissa asked excitedly.

My heart clenched in pain at the reminder of how untrue her statement was. Louis would never in a million years accept me as his Luna. Once more my father's fight with the Alpha had taken from me.

"Not exactly. He rejected me"

Both Melissa and Devon stared at me in utter shock again. I decided to continue my nails since I thought this would take long too but Melissa swiped the nail polish out of my hand.

"This is no time for doing your nails. What do you mean he rejected you? That's impossible. Right?"

"Wrong. Or at least it seems that way to me. He told me he can't be mated with me and left"

I tried my best to sound nonchalant as I spoke but I could hear the pain in my voice and if I could, my friends certainly could.

"Oh sweetie. I'll kick his ass!" Melissa said.

"I don't think you'd be very successful," I said and laughed a sad, slightly humourless laugh.

"It's worth a shot. He doesn't deserve you anyway!"

"I'm sorry this happened to you Angie" Devon said stiffly.

Melissa pulled me into a hug and I tried to hold back my tears. I couldn't let anyone see me cry, not for something I never even wanted in the first place. I had one goal in life, to fix what my father had broken and give my brother the childhood he deserves. After that, I would figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Hold on. If I wanted to get our name restored, what better way to do it than become Luna? Why didn't I think of this? It was forbidden by pack law to hurt, endanger or even mock the Luna. It was punishable by death. Her family was also included in the law. That meant that if I could manage to get Louis to accept me as his mate, all of my problems would be over. But that was easier said than done. Louis wanted nothing to do with me. He had made that very clear. But I would do anything for my brother, even give myself to a man I didn't want.

*******************

The next morning I was up early and at the pack training grounds. Well, near it anyway. I couldn't train with them because no one liked me but I needed to keep training. If the plan to get Louis failed, which I was almost positive it would, I had to rely on the Hunt, my plan A. I didn't want to train with Devon today though because I felt like for some reason, he needed more time to process what I had told them. So, I went alone, before everyone had come to train and I took off my clothes, stored them in a tree and transformed.

When I was in my wolf form, I grinned. I felt freer, happier. Even though I still felt the pain of rejection, it paled in comparison to the training course in front of me. Wolves may not be cannibals but they were still animals, they still liked action.

I cracked my neck and broke into a sprint. And that was when I slammed hard into someone and flew back.

'Watch where you're going!' the voice snapped in my head. Shit. I knew that voice. Of all the wolves I could run into!

'Sorry' I said and turned to leave but he was in front of me before I could blink.

'Little Anne, what are you doing here?' he asked. He seemed different today, angrier, more feral. I decided I wanted to stay the hell away from Louis in a bad mood. Louis in a good mood wasn't a piece of cake, imagine what a bad mood Louis would be like! I tried to sidestep him but he began circling me like an animal going in for the kill.

'You didn't answer me. Transform'

He didn't use his Alpha power, something I had found out the hard way that I could not resist even though I kept my wolf tightly bound.

'No. I don't want to transform in front of you'

'Why?' he asked. 'Afraid of what we'd do if we both didn't have the protection of clothing?' If I was still in my human form, I'd be blushing a bright red. An image of us in my bedroom with me almost screaming for him to take off my towel flashed in my mind. Shit, I couldn't let that happen again.

'No. I just don't want to' he stopped circling me and began to advance.

'Transform before I make you, Mate'

I stared at his almost crazed eyes and calculated my options. I made my decision in seconds before he was almost on me. I sprinted for the woods.

Chapter Three

My heart was pounding in my chest. My breathing sped up the faster I ran. I could feel every pound of my paws on the forest floor. The wind ruffled my fur as I picked up speed. A part of me was afraid, yes. I could hear his footsteps miles behind me. I could hear that he was not running as fast as he could, which meant he was toying with me. I'd never been a particularly fast wolf when compared to others like Melissa who was the fastest wolf in our pack, so I knew for sure that he could catch me. I just didn't think he would try. I underestimated his pride and anger.

'You should stop Anne. If I catch you myself you would not like what I do to you,' he drawled in my head. While I was panting, he sounded calm, as if we hadn't been running for miles. We had been running for almost an hour now, how could he sound so unperturbed?

I ignored him and pressed forward. He could order me to stop at any time and I wouldn't be able to resist as long as I could hear him, which was why I wanted to get as far away from him as possible, to escape his range. This was why packs had territories. Their territory signified the range in which their Alpha could connect with his or her members. Our territory was expansive because our Alpha was powerful and it was rumoured that it would be extended once Louis officially became Alpha because he was more powerful than his father. Fortunately for me, since he was toying with me and hadn't figured out that that was my plan, I would use that to my advantage.

'This is pointless and will only prolong your suffering. Stop' his voice had more power in it than I suspected he had meant to put in and I stumbled for a second before I regained control of myself and picked up speed again. I could feel it, my connection with him, with the pack lessening the farther I went. I would soon be out of range. Just two more miles, one more...

I felt the exact moment that he realized my plan.

And then he began flying through the forest at unnatural speed. I increased my pace. I would make it. I would!

He slammed into me just as I arrived at our border.

'Transform' he said with such power and anger that I transformed in less than a second without my brain even comprehending it until I lay naked under a very naked and very pissed Louis.

"You thought to go outside the border after being attacked at the edge? Are you crazy?" was he worried about me?

I struggled to stand up but he pinned my hands over my head.

"Please let me go," I said, my voice breaking with the fear I felt.

"I warned you, Anne. I told you to stop while you still could" he leaned into my neck and sniffed.

"I love the smell of fear on you, it's lovely"

I shivered. "I'm not afraid"

He chuckled. "Yes, you are little Anne. I can smell it; I can feel it"

"I'm afraid because you've got me pinned naked to the damn floor" I snapped. His eyes widened, then darkened as if just processing my statement.

"And what are you afraid will happen?"

My breath quickened. I tried to ignore him but it was hard when he was all I could see, all I could smell, all I could feel, and God could I feel him. I could feel every ridge of his muscles, every bend and dip, every single part of our bodies were intertwined. I could feel his erection pressing hard into me and I was working hard to keep from bucking into it, to keep my wolf at bay when all I wanted to do was submit, fall into his embrace, and let go. But I knew he was doing this because he was mad and bored. Once he returned to his senses, he would remember that my family was a pariah and that he'd sworn he wouldn't take me as his Luna.

"Answer me, Anne," he said. When I remained silent, he pressed closer, grinding into me and traced his lips lightly across my neck. "I couldn't sleep last night you know. I kept tossing and turning. All I could think about was you in that towel. And you out of it"

I was breathing faster and faster until I was panting. My hold on my wolf was loosening and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold on.

"Please" I whispered, unsure what exactly I was begging for. My heart raced and my blood boiled as his lips made their way to my collarbone and kept going lower.

"Please what, Anne?"

His tongue teased my skin and my hold snapped. I arched into his touch with a hungry moan.

"That's it" he whispered on my skin, then traced his way to my lips. Our lips connected with a hungry ferocity that surprised even me. He caught my lower lip between his and sucked in a way that felt like my lip was directly connected to my clit. I panted and pressed even closer to him if that was possible. He nipped on my lip, then soothed it with his tongue. His hand teased my skin, moving lightly across until I was arching in, trying desperately to get more, so much more.

"Oh God, please," I said again. This time what I was begging for was a little more obvious. More, I wanted more; I needed more.

" I told you you'd regret not stopping" he whispered against my lips. His tongue lightly teased my lips and then slipped in as I panted. Our tongues tangled in a battle of wills that left us both breathless. I couldn't think straight, all I could think of was him. The feel of his lips, his hand slowly inching up my body, his tongue wrestling mine, him, him, him.

The sound of a twig snapping brought us out of our trance.

Louis was up in the time it took me to blink.

"Get dressed!" he hissed. Was he serious? That was what he was worried about?

"What clothes? In case you didn't notice, we ran thousands of miles into the woods in wolf form. My clothes are back at the training ground"

"Well find something. The entire warriors of the pack are headed this way on their morning run and if they see you this way, I will slaughter every last one of them" The possessiveness in his voice made me shiver until I registered his words.

"What do you mean kill them? Wolves transform all the time; we see each other naked"

He growled. "Not anymore. If you don't get dressed in the next ten seconds, I won't be held accountable for the eyes I gouge out"

He was actually serious. I stared at him in shock for a second before I looked around frantically. Werewolves usually stored a lot of clothes on trees so that if we were ever in a pinch, we could get them. Almost every tree in our territory had clothes stored on it. I personally hadn't stored clothes in this part of the forest but at this point, I would take what I could get. Even though I hated every member of my pack apart from my family and friends for what they were doing to me and my family, I still couldn't handle someone getting hurt because of me, especially in such a gruesome way as the look on Louis' face suggested he intended.

I spotted some clothes on the highest branch of a nearby tree and hopped onto the tree. I was dressed and down in five seconds. Just in time too because the pack broke into the part of the forest we were in and paused in surprise.

One transformed immediately and Louis growled and shoved me behind him. What, he didn't want me looking at naked men now? That would be hard considering I was a werewolf surrounded by a freaking werewolf pack.

"Louis, what's happening? Is there trouble?" the man I recognized as the leader of the pack warriors, Caleb asked.

"No. Just leave" he snapped. Caleb glanced behind Louis and nodded in understanding. Shit. He could tell that we were mates. Worse, he could tell what we'd been up to. My cheeks heated up.

He transformed and led the wolves away and Louis finally released his grip on my hand.

"He knows," he said simply. He sounded furious and I felt my blush receding and being replaced by deep pain. I'd let myself get carried away. He didn't want me and he never would. It was a momentary lapse in judgment but now he was back to his senses and regretting the fact that someone knew about us.

"I'm sorry," I said bitterly, not sure why I was apologizing or whom I was apologizing to: him or me.

"Let's go" he said and began walking.

"Go? Go where?" I asked dumbly.

"Where else? Back to the pack. Try to keep up" and then he sped off. I groaned and followed behind him because he used a bit of his Alpha command and my wolf was still close enough to the surface that I had to obey. We sped through the forest at a pace slower than when we were in our wolf forms but still fast nonetheless. I could tell he was going much slower than his actual speed for my sake and I was grateful because I wouldn't be able to keep up otherwise. We arrived at his house and I halted in front of the door despite his command compelling me to go in.

"Why did you stop?" he asked.

"What are we doing at your house?" I asked. He stared at me with a raised brow.

"Get in," he said. He didn't use his Alpha command but he seemed so compelling that I stepped through the threshold anyway.

I had never been in his house before. I avoided it like the plague. He didn't live at the main pack house and had an entire mansion to himself. Although his father was often there so it wasn't exactly to himself. Regardless, I had no reason to come here because I wasn't wanted. And now I was waltzing up the stairs with Louis.

He stopped at a large brown mahogany door at the end of the hall and pushed it open.

"Get in" he said gruffly.

I walked in after him and looked around. His room was what I expected. Dark muted colours, and a glaring lack of pictures and personal paraphernalia.

"Take this" something hit me in the face and I hurried to grab it before it could fall to the ground. When I held it away from my face, I saw it was a large button-up shirt. Devon's button-up shirt.

"What is this for?" I asked, confused.

"Take those freaking clothes off, take a shower and put that on.

"What?" It seemed like that was all I could say today.

"You smell like someone else and if you don't take those clothes off and get that scent off you I will rip the clothes off and do it myself"

"You can't just-" "Strip" he commanded. Even though I fought his control with every aspect of my being, my hand still rose to my chest and began unbuttoning the shirt I was wearing. One by one until I was on the very last button. I was shaking with the effort to hold myself back from stripping in front of him. I didn't want to be naked in front of him again. Look how the first time turned out. I certainly didn't want a repeat.

His gaze heated my skin where he followed my fingers as if hungry for each inch of skin exposed.

"Stop, please" I begged desperately. I couldn't do this, not again. This time we were in his bedroom. What would happen if we didn't get interrupted this time?

I pulled open the last button and his eyes followed my hands as they pulled the shirt open.