Chapter 1

I let out a moan as I woke up and it was already and I had no idea what had happened the day before...

I gasped because I had to make the tea but then I realized it wasn't my room nor it was my bed... It was a large bed with a large sheet that was covering my body...

Speaking of which, I felt a little light underneath the sheet. I looked under and immediately I froze... Because I wasn't wearing anything...

Not even a single lingerie.

I gasped as I recalled every shard of memories from the previous day. My heart thumped and I felt my cheeks turning red. I did it...

I did it with Alpha Cedric...!

I had no clue that the mate bond was this strong that I had lost all of my control the moment he touched me. Even Adelaide, my wolf, hummed a merry tune as she groomed herself... We had finally found our mate and not to mention we did it several times that I lost count...

I had no idea that I was here in his room the whole day, yesterday... I slapped myself as I recalled the ways he did it with me. He was gentle, rough, harsh and everything as we were both enjoying ourselves and then suddenly my right hand went to my neck...

My heart thumped because he had marked me...

A small smile lingered in my lips as I released a breath. Finally, I found my mate and maybe now, I would be able to live in peace... Only my mate could give me that much calmness and peace... It felt like he was my salvation and I could feel his scent all over me as it made me so happy...

Now, my life would be different... A hope came across and flooded in my heart as I recalled the dreaded past of myself. My previous pack, the Spirit claws was nothing but a pack where I used to get bullied and beaten. It was my pack but after my father and mother were exiled for being the traitors, my life turned into a hell.

My parents were the Betas of the pack but the Alpha betrayed them. They were called traitors due to the selling information about the pack but I knew it wasn't true. My parents loved the pack to their hearts. They would never do something like this... They always stood behind the Alpha and his family to support them and devoted themselves to the pack.

But the Alpha was merciless enough not to cut their heads since the rules say that traitors are punished by death sentence. He let me stay there since I was only thirteen but I wished that my parents took me with them.

Because of being called the traitors' daughters, they started to bully me. I never had my coming of age ceremony to find my mate, all I got from the pack was insults, a bunch of bruises and more insults... I was tired when I turned 19 because by then I was losing my hopes of living and more than that I lost all the hope to find my mate...

Until The Blood howlers pack, Alpha Cedric's pack destroyed them when there was a dispute among the borders... My pack didn't stand a chance as they crumbled down before their feet. I wanted to laugh because that's how it should have been. They treated me like that all those years but now when they were being treated the same, it made my heart feel at ease even if it was short lived...

Because the next thing I knew was being a slave of the Blood howlers... They had captured most of the members and those who didn't want to surrender themselves, they killed them.

So, now I was merely a slave... However, things changed when I was tasked to serve into the Alpha's wings.

I looked beside but saw the bed was empty with only me... I was surprised to find that the place beside me was cold as if he had left at night... Where was he?

Why wasn't he with me? I thought we were mates so after that we would be waking up together cuddling to each other like normal mates...

Somehow my heart dropped that he wasn't there and the bed felt so empty as if it emptied my heart as well.

I shook my head and tried to think positively. Maybe he had some urgent work to do... Of course he had!

After all he was an Alpha... He must have been gone for that. He wouldn't leave his mate like that, would he?

I tried not to think much as I took my clothes from the floor and wore them. I wasn't sure what to do. I needed a shower as I was aching all over and I felt sore but as a slave I had to clean and wash the clothes...

But I was mated with their Alpha, would he still want to make me do that? Knowing so well that I was his Luna? There was no way they would do that... There was no way he would allow that... Maybe Cedric went to tell his men that I was his mate...

I heard heavy footsteps coming toward the room and butterflies fluttered in my belly as I imagined him to come inside with a large smile on his face.

But it was the opposite... The moment the doors opened, I saw an angry and irritated looking Cedric coming inside the room.

I stood there as I asked, "Cedric... Where were you?"

He looked at me with a look that told me he didn't like that I called him by his name without the honorifics... But last night, I had called him by his name countless times...

He scoffed and asked, "So, just a one night love made you this daring to call me by my name?"

I was stunned as I blinked... What was he talking about?

He came closer as I stood there with a stupid face and my eyes still watching him like I didn't understand any of these...

He said with a cold voice as his large structure intimidated me, "You were only allowed to call me by my name because the situation demanded it. Don't think you can just call me without the honorifics..."

My heart dropped as he added, "And I see you are still looking into my eyes... I guess I hadn't allowed a mere slave to look into my eyes..."

I said, my voice hitching and my tears threatening to come out, "B-but Cedric... We are m-mates..."

I was stunned but Adelaide was more stunned than me as she could not make any noise or anything. She was like a frozen statue as she looked at him through me. Just one look at her and I knew she was breaking from inside slowly...

I said to her, 'Adelaide... Don't worry. He must be joking...'

I knew how many days, weeks, years she waited for her mate. She hadn't lost her hope to find her mate like me. She used to tell me that she would be happy once she met her mate and she would get her own family... And it broke my heart as I saw her eyes moistened, her hopes crushing one by one...

Cedric laughed and asked in a mocking tone, "Mates? Do I look like I would need a mate who is a slave and end up being a laughing stock?"

My heart rumbled as my tears came around the corners of my eyes... I took large breaths as I clenched my teeth, not wanting to cry before him. I said, trying to calm my shaky voice, "You enjoyed... You even marked me..."

He looked tip to toe of me as he said, "That I did because it was hard to control the mate bond... And I certainly enjoyed it as much as you did."

Not a single word came out of my throat as he said, his voice harsh as if it had rubbed the hot iron on my back, "Just because I marked you that doesn't mean you are my Luna... Or, I have accepted you as my mate."

He came so close that his breaths fell on my face and he added, "In fact, I had plans to reject you from the start but I couldn't do so yesterday... There's no way a filthy slave could be my mate."

He took a breath as he ordered, more like threatening, "And be sure not to tell anyone about it or else..."

Funny how thirty lashes didn't feel so painful like his words did... His words cut deeper into my skin as all I could do was staring at him, my eyes blank as I knew what was coming in my way...

And the first tear drops fell from my eyes as he added.

 "I, Alpha Cedric Schultz, the Alpha of The Blood Howlers pack rejects you, Aurora Woodward of the Spirit Claws pack as my mate."