Of Love And War

Chapter 1

Rain

It's too hot here in the sun of mid- summer. I'm wearing all black at my brother's funeral. He had been the last of my family after my parents died in a car accident. We stood side by side and went about our lives day by day, fighting and working to get a decent life- we didn't need any one but each other. And now he's gone, stupid Jake left me alone in this world without a shoulder to lean on, no matter how much I thought that there are no tears left in my eyes- two big tears seemed to glide down my cheeks and under my chin.

The funeral and burial were finally over- I watched them lower my brother's casket to the ground and whispered a silent "goodbye" to him before I closed my eyes and turned around to leave. I honestly didn't know where to hid now- my legs seemed to carry me somewhere away from everything, I walked and walked till I reached a local park- I finally stopped and sat down on a bench, despite the hot summer wind I felt a chill run down my spine- and I knew that this chill had nothing to do with being cold, it was because my mind had finally set on the fact that now I have no one left..I was all alone, no mother, no father, no brother- no Jake, and then my heart swelled and I felt a suffocating pain in my chest as I suppressed a sob – I felt my face crumble and my tears ran down my cheeks- I couldn't stop myself from sobbing again and then I let go.

Apparently I had cried myself to sleep- I guess it was ok, but then I realized that I am sleeping on a bench..in the park, and it was night- eerie silence and darkness surrounded me. I slowly began to set up , I raised my hand to my head- it was throbbing because of all the sobbing and crying that I did before. I needed to get home- but then just as I stood, I heard a twig snap behind me- I froze, thinking that maybe it was just a stray cat or it was just my imagination, but when I moved again I heard another twig snap, I turned around just in time to see a werewolf standing right in front of me- I was surprised and stunned by it's huge form- these days werewolves were not a legend anymore- scientific researches that indicated secret underground experiments that focused on mixing human genes with other living creatures' genes in order to produce new species- for God knows what reason. The location of these labs turned out to be on remote islands far from the country, and the location was chosen so that if one of the "specimens" was a failure it would be demolished and thrown into the depths of the ocean. 

Among the most successful experiments was wolf genes mixed with human genes, though the first specimen was kept in the lab in order to study it more- a group of nosy teenagers who were actually nerds that believed in all superstitions and conspiracies had actually found the island and breached into the labs underground, they took photos and videos of everything in the labs and somehow managed to get back home without being noticed- they gave all the evidence to the government who immediately gave the order to destroy and bury all the labs. After the labs were destroyed, the human-wolf specimen managed to break loose and run away. Three years later more and more mixed creatures began to appear, sightings of cameras, photos, stolen pictures all showed what was called werewolves- because they lived deep in the wild forests- at least that was at the beginning, because now they live between forests and civilization, by hiding in their human forms.

After it was official that werewolves actually existed, people went crazy- there were so many opinions , rage , compassion towards the animals and people used in the labs, people who claimed that this was a unholy- an abomination that defied God, others were actually thrilled by the idea and offered themselves as new experiment specimens. And just like that war broke, the government released an order to the army to destroy all werewolves- the first try was a huge failure, so many young soldiers lost their lives- werewolves are very strong creatures- they reach 3 meters in height, some actually reach 5 meters, standing on two strong legs, they have human torsos and hands with very long curled sharp claws, their heads simulate a regular wolf head, except a werewolf's head is much bigger- strong jaws that bare huge sharp canines, pointed ears, eyes that are actually human but they do glow in the dark, and their fur covers their bodies – but mostly at the nape on the neck and the head which makes them look like actual wolves standing on two feet but with more human like muscular torso and wide shoulders.

After the army had failed- the government decided to create a new squad- the Rise Against Werewolves or the R.A.W was created one year after the war broke out. The men were trained day and night, brutal training that aimed to make them as strong and physical as the werewolves, they practiced hunting in the most difficult climates and circumstances, the ones that showed any weakness or dared for a second to give up were punished by being starved for a week or getting a beat up by the others. Their psychological health was thrown to the bottom of the main list- no one cared for how they felt, the government wanted to create monsters out of those men- no soft sides, no compassion, no love and no emotions- their aim was one and only- KILL.

For the past two years the werewolf sightings within the city had lessened, the R.A.W fought them and caused them to back off to the woods- the first werewolf that was killed was presented to the people live and on TV, their numbers started to drop and it became very rare to see a werewolf. 

But now- here I stand less than 5 meters away in front of a werewolf, I have to admit- seeing one up close is event more terrifying, but as I stare at it and it stares back, I notice that it is a male- by the way his shoulders are slightly hunched forward, the wide shoulders and the flat muscular chest and abdomen and the- well- thing down below that is covered in fur but still obvious. A female werewolf is much smaller in frame- it is almost as big as a normal human female, plus the curves and the breasts that would be covered in fur as well. 

The werewolf snarled at me, causing me flinch and step backwards, I contemplated turning around and running away- but I know better not to trigger the wolf into a hunting a prey, I simply lower my gaze as a sign of surrender, suddenly the werewolf growls and comes closer.

I stand there waiting for my death, well now that I have nothing left to lose- I welcome death with open arms. But the damn werewolf isn't doing anything, it even stopped growling. After what felt like an hour I sensed something wet on the top of my head 

*sniff* - my eyes widened, he's sniffing me, he just bumped his nose to the top of my head, but then his snout lowers to my shoulder and I can't ignore how big those canines are as he runs his tongue along the side of his mouth- I tremble and he stills, my head is still low and I am only glancing sideways at his head when he suddenly locks his gaze with me- the side of his head against the side of mine, eye against an eye.

Chapter 2

Rain

As I look intently into his eyes, I notice that they are truly human eyes- slightly bigger than mine but they are beautiful. Bright yellow with dark green on the edges- his pupils widen as he seems to study my eyes as well, my eyes are hazel, and my hair always seems to have it's own opinion- one day it's wavy and the other it's curly, some days it's just a mess.. I can't concentrate now that I notice how huge this werewolf's form is as I look straight ahead again- my vision is blocked by it's huge shoulder- and I realize that he's almost leaning down on his hands- or paws- in order to reach my height. I must say that I am not short- I stand at 1.71 cm- but this guy makes me feel like a dwarf, I'm curious what he looks like when he's in human form.

Suddenly his movement drags me out of my thoughts- I stiffen harder as I see him get lower on his hands and continues to sniff me- he sniffs my neck, my abdomen and then he reaches my private area- when he sniffs again I suddenly feel so awkward and embarrassed that my body suddenly acts on it's own- I jerk backwards and my hands flail in the air as I try to hit him while my eyes are closed- but then I stumble on a small rock and fall right on my ass. All the while my eyes are closed- when I hear nothing I slowly open my eyes again, I see the werewolf standing straight again but this time he isn't snarling or growling- I hear a huffing sound coming from his chest- "huff huff huff huff"… is he? Laughing at me??

At that moment I feel my body relax- for some reason I forget for a moment that I am sitting right there on my ass in front of a monster, because the way he's looking at me with now softer eyes and that huffing sound- is just adorable. Hell if there was a dog that would make these huffing sounds I would adopt him right away- except that a dog wouldn't be so huge and human like and dangerous.

I feel a smile forming on my face and I allow myself to laugh a little- I mean if I was gonna die anyway, at least I should have a laugh before I do. The werewolf stops huffing- he lowers himself to the ground so that he would be level with me, then he stares at me in the eyes as if trying to tell me something, I squint my eyes trying to read what he's trying to say- his hand reaches towards me, and when I see his claws I tense again, scared that they would slice me in half- but then he places it on the ground and pats it twice.. I look up at him again and the question slips out of my mouth in a squeaky voice "stay here?"  he nods at me and I huff a smile, astonished at my ability to understand what he is saying or trying to say.

Curiously I stay seated on the ground and I lay back on my arms to show him that I am not going anywhere, as if reading the message, he nods again and straightens back up- he then turns around and walks toward the trees vanishing behind them, I hear a faint sound of something like cracking bones, and it made my skin crawl, but then there is silence, I sit up in anticipation – and when I see him emerge again, my mouth falls open. This time he comes out in his human form- his huge body that was covered in grey fur is now completely human, his skin is pale , his muscles are hard and defined, his stance is the same as when he was in wolf form, when he starts walking towards me I notice his gaze, filled with determination and something else… that I can't put my finger on.

He stops in front of me, completely naked, and I am sitting down there chilling while trying so hard not to look at his dangling member right above my head, he is tall, but at least a normal human male height- still he is taller than me. He reaches his hand for me and I take it as he helps me stand up. He keeps hold of my hand as he looks down at me with intense gaze- and my God isn't he the most handsome guy that I have ever seen- he has high cheekbones, a strong jaw, a wide masculine neck, his nose is straight- his eyes are the same as in his wolf form- yellow with dark green on the edges, his hair is dark and disheveled- and his mouth is perfect, lips that aren't too full but aren't too thin at the same time- he screams muscularity, and then when I take another breath, I catch his smell, he smells like the woods after the morning rain, sandalwood and a faint smell of wild flowers. At this point I was pretty sure that I smell like sweat and stupidity, and I must be drooling.

I clear my throat and try to take a step back – he releases my hand but then he sneaks it around my waist and drags me forward -causing my hand to raise to his chest as I look at him shocked.

"what's your name?" – his voice is deep and it makes me close my eyes as I feel my head swim, but then I open them again to see him staring at me, waiting for my answer. "Rain" -I say my name and then I realize how hoarse my voice is. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back as he takes a deep breath..why is he doing this strange thing? Suddenly I feel uncomfortable and I step out of his hold- his eyes fly open and he looks at me again- "Rain…your name is beautiful- just like you.." I feel my cheeks blush, I hate it when I blush because I look just like a tomato, but then he chuckles, it sounds adorable, so I meet his gaze again and I ask him "and what's your name?" he keeps his white toothed smile- I notice his canines are long even in his human form- he answers me with a nod "I'm Zevrus". 

"Zevrus" I repeat- and I didn't mean to sound so breathless- but it caught his attention and his smile faded back into a serious face. We stand there awkwardly staring at each other, then I wake up from my haze and stand back, he straightens his back and tilts his head "why are you scared?" , his question came out as if he isn't a big bad wolf. Yet I push my shoulders back and tip my chin at him "I am not scared"

"ok, then why are you stepping back from my hold?"

"well, first of all you shouldn't be holding me at all since you and I are complete strangers and we don't know each other- second of all this is called sexual harassment"

He raised his eyebrows and let out a small laugh- it was deep and hot, it made me wobble on my feet.

"well if it is sexual harassment then you are as guilty as I am- I don't recall you not touching me here" he pointed a finger towards his chest where I put my hand earlier "and here" he pointed another one on the other side of his chest, and then he said something that made my face burn "and you are ogling my body even as I speak to you right now- hey, eyes are up here" he snapped his fingers in front of my face- which made me cut my stares from his body back to his face.

"well I suppose you are right- well you did touch me here" I mimicked his movement by pointing at my hand "and here" I pointed at my waist, "and you sniffed my neck, my tummy and my.." I stopped right then because I realized I was babbling away and I had to shut up before I put myself into another embarrassing situation- but he gave me a wolfish grin and licked his lips "go on" he ushered with his hand "where else did I sniff?", I turned even redder and took another step back- I had to change the subject, why the hell was I standing in the middle of  the park having this conversation with a handsome stranger while no one else is around, suddenly I realized that I am actually all alone, if anything happens to me no one would know- if I scream no one would hear me. Slowly I felt myself panic and I started to take another step back then another- he looked at me surprised "what's wrong?" I thought that he would come close but he stood still watching me with those eyes "I should go home" my voice came out with a shiver and just as I turned around to walk away I heard another growl, this time it came from another direction- I froze and my eyes started to dart around the darkness around me, in a flash Zevrus was in front of me in his wolf form, another werewolf emerged from trees, this one was all black and if it weren't for his bright yellow eyes he would be invisible in the darkness. The werewolf came closer and stood in front of Zevrus, he stared at him and then his gaze turned to me, I swear I felt my heart was going to beat right out of my chest- I took a step toward Zevrus, right now he was the only protection I have, because for some reason this wolf did not look as friendly as Zevrus.

As they stood there staring at each other in silence, I noticed that they looked like they were telepating, every once in a while one of them would make a noise like a grunt or a growl and they moved their ears back and forth as if expressing disagreement. Finally they broke the silence, the black wolf barked and I jumped and moved further toward Zevrus, at this point I don't care if I had to even climb over him just to be safe because suddenly there were more werewolves surrounding us, I stared around at them with wide eyes- some of them were huge, larger than Zevrus, they looked at Zevrus and the black wolf  who were staring at each other again as if continuing their silent talk- suddenly a growl erupted from Zevrus and I gasped as he reached his huge arm and yanked me in front of him- I stood in front of the black wolf who towered above me, I had to raise my head to look at his face, he stared down at me and growled- Zevrus started to growl again    and the others joined- but now they all had their glowing eyes on me, I started to shrink under their gazes, especially the one in front of me that obviously seemed to be their alpha- this time he barked again and in a blink of an eye all werewolves charged at my direction.

Chapter 3

Rain 

 I let out the loudest scream that I could ever manage- my legs gave up underneath me and I fell to the ground with my eyes shut and my hands on my head. It was a weak move to protect myself from the sharp long claws and canines that seemed to be as long as my fingers. While I sat there with my eyes shut I could hear all the yelps and growls, flesh tearing, howls- and when I smelled the familiar iron I knew it was blood, so I made sure not to open my eyes yet. Suddenly everything fell quiet again, I gathered my courage and opened my eyes slowly, I saw Zevrus's naked legs covered in blood, I looked up slowly until I reached his face- his chest was heaving and he was looking down at me, he was covered in blood and his eyes were glowing. "Zevrus, are you-" my voice was cut when I heard a growl from behind me, in an instant I felt jaws clamp at my shoulder and the pain was hot white- so bad that it made me let a blood curdling scream out, then I was flying in the air and for another second I felt myself hit a tree, I hit it so hard that it cut the breath out of my lungs and I fell to the ground with a loud thud.

My vision started to blur, I blinked a few time as I lay there on the ground- I saw Zevrus and the black wolf staring at each other, then the black wolf started to shift in a human form, when he finished he looked at me with a scowl and a sneer of disgust- then everything went black.

Zevrus

I stared at Rain lying on the ground- limp and unconscious, I started to boil and I looked at my brother

"Cedric, what the hell is wrong with you? What was that for?"

Cedric was my older brother and the alpha of the pack, he looked me up and down then he looked at Rain -then he nodded once and looked at me again "I am making sure that you, brother, don't get that human tick all over your ass", I scowled at him and looked at Rain again as I spoke "the girl is safe- she didn't show any aggression or attempt of an attack, we just talked-" I was interrupted by Cedric's hollow laugh "talked? About what? Since when do we talk to humans Zevrus? Have you forgotten that they are only food and play toys to us?" Cedric had a special hate for humans- his mate was captured by a group of R.A.Ws who surrendered her to the scientists, they made several experiences on her, she ended up going wild and nuts and in the end they had to put her down and throw her in the heart of the ocean.

Being a werewolf's mate is like being a second God who walks on two legs. Cedric loved and worshiped his mate Tyla before she died, after her death he transformed into a blood thirsty beast, he never showed mercy and he started to hunt and eat humans- werewolves usually kept their distance from humans, we only fed on wild animals like deer and boars- but Cedric's mate's death affected not only him but also our whole pack who also loved and respected their deceased luna.

I  shook my head and sighed , this is gonna be hard "Cedric, it's been 3 years..you need to let go and forgive- I understand your anger brother, but this human girl over there has nothing to do with all the shit that happened with the R.A.Ws and the scientists" Cedric was quiet, but he looked at her direction with wide eyes and anger, he sure wasn't gonna lay off. Finally he took a deep breath and returned his gaze to me "Zevrus, we need to leave before a patrol comes here, I don't want my pack to be exposed to danger just because of a human bi-" I couldn't stop the growl that erupted from my chest "don't" I warned him.

Cedric was a little surprised and confused, he stared hard at me and then back at Rain- he was quiet and I could tell he was thinking hard about something, he clenched and loosened his fists a few times then he lowered his head and closed his eyes "Jacks!" he called for his third in command -Jacks has the reputation of being a complete animal, especially with human females and she wolves alike. He stepped past the other wolves who are now in human form and looked at Cedric with a sober look, Cedric still had his eyes closed when he spoke "go get the girl, we are taking her with us- you boys should play a little, it's been a while since you had some fun", I froze and at Jacks who suddenly widened his eyes and his face broke into a sinister look when he gazed toward Rain- she was laying on the ground on her back, her face was facing the other way exposing her long delicate neck, her wavy hair was splayed all over her head, arms at the sides of her body- but then I noticed her legs, the black dress she was wearing seemed to glide dangerously up exposing the white pale flesh of her long legs all the way up to her thighs. 

I looked at Jacks who was staring at her with wide eyes and a grin, he licked his lips and walked towards her- I growled as I stared after him, he stood there looking down at her as if looking at a feast, then he bent down and reached an arm under her thighs, he slid his hand under them then grabbed a hold of them while the other arm sled under her neck- then he yanked her up as he stood- her head fell back, letting down a curtain of wavy hair, her eyes were closed and even from where I stood I could see her dark long lashes closed over the top of her cheeks, her lips were slightly parted, and her neck was now fully exposed to everyone- Jacks eyes were travelling down her body and studying her cleavage which thankfully was covered, but the problem was that her dress gilded even shorter now that Jacks was holding her up- her underwear was showing and exposing the bottom of her ass.

When I was done looking at how beautiful my mate was- I caught Jacks' gaze- and he was looking at me with that shit eating grin, I growled warning him not to do anything rational other than following his alpha's orders- but Jacks was Jacks, so he yanked her again making her body jump in his hands, and this time one of his hands was on her ass- that sit me up, I took two steps towards him and with an unhuman growl I said "put her down", Jacks didn't budge, instead he squeezed her ass with his hand- at that point I lost control and charged at him, but before I could reach him Cedric stepped right between us- he growled at me "calm down" I kept staring at Jacks with a warning look "put. her. down. NOW!"

Cedric glanced behind his shoulder at Jacks and nodded once, Jacks hesitated but then he started to lower Rain down- everyone else started to groan in disappointment , looks like they had high hopes for tonight, tough shit- cause this is my mate not just some hooker ready for a gang bang.

Cedric was looking at me intently while I watched Jacks put Rain down, of course the fucker had to tease me -when he finally put her down, he reached a hand and patted her breast. I sure as hell was thankful that Rain was unconscious because Jacks has already violated her body with his looks and touches.

Cedric cleared his throat so I would look him in the eyes "Zevrus,what aren't telling me?" He waited for me to answer, but when he noticed that I hesitated he took a deep breath ,closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose- apparently he knew what I was going to tell him and now he was praying that he's wrong. I pull back my shoulders and tip my chin proudly "the girl's name is Rain, and she is my-" Cedric finished the sentence for me "mate, of course, of all the options my brother's mate would be a human, a fucking filthy human, an ENEMY!" he punched a tree next to him creating a hole in it, I wasn't fazed by his anger- but the others backed off a little, they knew better than to approach Cedric while angry.

I took a deep breath "Cedric, this is not another human, she is my mate and you know what that means- she has to be close and protected not only by me but also by the pack" 

"I don't need you to teach me the law, why the hell do you think I'm pissed? It's because I don't want a human in my pack! It's wrong and it's not fair for Tyla! Humans killed her!"

"But those humans weren't Rain!" I lost my temper at the thought of Rain unprotected and disrespected by my brother and our pack.

"Fine, you want to be with your mate- you go to her place, I am not having a human girl in my pack" Cedric pointed at Rain and glared at me.

I was going to shout back but a sound of a siren cut through the park- it was the police, SHIT. I looked at Cedric and immediately our pack started to retreat to the trees -we can't risk being seen , if the police sees us they would send a message to the R.A.Ws and that would expose our pack and the others in the area. I stood there hesitant as the last of the wolves disappeared into the bushes- now it was only my brother, Rain and I there, Cedric had ducked down and his eyes were rolling and darting around, he looked at me and hissed "come on, what are you waiting for?! Let's go" he ushered with his hand, but I stood my ground - his eyes widened with anger and confusion then he looked at Rain, he understood my silent message I'm not going anywhere without my mate. Cedric looked at the ground and started to look around as he thought and calculated then he looked back at me and nodded- that was all I needed, immediately I walked towards Rain and ducked beside her, after a quick check of the surrounding I noticed the two cops with the flash lights were retreating to their car- I slid my hands under Rain's body and lifted her up, she was light and felt good in my hands. But there was no time for those thoughts, I ran fast with Cedric on my tail and we vanished into the darkness towards our compound.

Chapter 4

Rain

 I woke up feeling horrible, the throbbing pain in my shoulder had woken me up from my deep sleep, I started to move but that made a fresh wave of pain serge through my shoulder and my back- I groaned and whimpered as I raised a hand towards my shoulder, it hurt like hell- a fresh smell of wild flowers and sandalwood hit my nose, and I knew who that was-Zevrus- I started to open my eyes and blinked at the light coming from the window, when my vision cleared I saw Zevrus sitting on a couch , dressed up in dark jeans and a fitting T-shirt that stressed all the lines of his muscles- I had to admit it was a sight that I was glad to wake up to. He sat with his legs apart and his elbows resting on his knees while he crossed his fingers and leaned his chin on them, he looked fresh like he's taken a shower- when I looked at his face his eyes were fixed on me and his hair was combed back ,wet from the shower- he cocked a brown and his lips curled up in a knowing smile he's looking at me with concern in his features "done staring?" I blush and look away, I notice that I not at my apartment and just like that I panic, I hurry out of bed and stand up-  very very bad idea because I feel dizzy and stumble back, but Zevrus is by my side holding my elbow to steady me "Rain, why did you do that? You should've sat up first" I look at him and my head starts to throb, I moan in pain and raise a hand to my head "Rain, let me help you sit" he pulls me gently back down the bed where I laid before, I sit and close my eyes so that I could gather my thoughts ,he releases my elbow and goes to sit back the couch - and I look at him , my voice comes out groggy and I hate it "Zevrus, where am I? How did I get here? What hap-" he cuts me with a gesture of his hand "whoa, slow down, I'll tell you everything but first I need you to promise me that you will listen to the end and not panic, ok?" I look down with hesitation, but I do want to know what happened so I look back up at him "ok", he studies my face then nods, he takes a deep breath and rubs a hand over his face, for some reason I feel like what he's going to say isn't exactly good. "Rain, you are my mate".

I froze at his words, mate? I heard about werewolves having mates but I never understood why it was so serious, so sacred. Zevrus studied me again and continued talking "mates are connected by fate- just like meeting a soul mate and  marrying, except we don't cheat and we don't desire other females- the mate bond could be broken only if one of us dies, that's why male werewolves have the strong instinct of protecting their mates" he paused, and I was processing his words in my head , so apparently I am going to be stuck with a werewolf, a man that I just met in a local park in the middle of the night and whom I really don't know. I felt lost- but then I hissed as the pain in my shoulder strikes again- Zevrus tried to reach for me but I lifted a hand "it's ok, I just can't remember what happened last night- 

I remember hearing a growl from behind me and then being thrown and hitting a tree..." my words trailed off as he stood from the couch and sat right next to me, he wrapped an arm around me and suddenly I was covered in his smell like a warm blanket or a warm summer breeze hitting my face- I felt myself relax, and he relaxed as well. Then realization hit me I looked at Zevrus "the black wolf! he was-"

"The one who crashed you into a tree" I froze as a deep voice came from behind me, slowly I turned my head to look at him- standing at the door was a tall bulky guy, he was wearing all black just like his wolf, black jeans, black biker boots, and a black tank top- his arms were crossed just like his ankles as he leaned on the door frame, I looked up at his face, he looked like Zevrus but this one had a sharper jawline, his lips were a little full, his nose straight, and his hair was dark blonde, his eyes were a shade of yellow and brown and my God he looked both handsome and dangerous.

I flinched when he moved to step into the room, he smirked when he noticed- so he was a sadist I guess, loving the fear he causes to others. He stopped right in front of me and reached his hand out to shake mine- "I am Cedric, the alpha of the Steel pack and the brother of this foolish idiot who's sitting next to you" I was surprised but I shook his hand, when I tried to pull my hand back he didn't release it, instead he squeezed it hard, at this point I felt uncomfortable and Zevrous stood up glaring at his brother, "Cedric, that's enough" but Cedric didn't let go, instead he squeezed a little harder and I had to suppress a whimper "you know why I called my brother an idiot, human?" He squeezed my hand and I looked up at him , he stared at me with so much hate "because he chose a human as a mate- and the minute I have you alone I am going to snap you in half" I stared at him with wide eyes and he squeezed my hand harder, it felt like It was crushed with a hammer and I cried out , Zuvrus pushed his brother with so much force he flew across the room, I stared at my hand witch was white due to the cut of the blood circulation- it hurt and my tears started to roll down my cheeks. Cedric stood up and dusted himself, he glared at Zevrus "is that the kind of mate you want by your side? Look at HER! so weak, so fragile, you deserve a strong mate - a true wolf! You know how many she-wolves would kiss your feet to be with you- and this" he gestures towards me "this is what you choose? A fucking filthy human bitch!" at his words, something inside me snapped, did he just insult me?

I stood up and wiped my tears, Cedric tilted his head and gestured towards me again "and here she is, looking at me in the eye as if I'm not the alpha" I swallowed hard but couldn't contain my anger any longer "well, you make a shitty alpha" Zevrus turned to face me with wide eyes and surprised horror look- and I knew I fucked up, in an instant Cedric was in front of me holding me by the neck, I coughed as he squeezed, the anger in his gaze felt like fire burning into my skin "what did you say? SAY IT AGAIN!" I flinched at his yell, but the stupid thing that I made next was surely the death of me "you call your brother's mate a bitch, you don't know me, you can't throw insults at me like that- at least respect your brother" Zevrus was holding Cedric's hand so hard as he growled, Cedric looked at his brother and then back at me "so you know, now you are going to use this as a weapon against me? " he chuckled, "how about I end you now and be done with it" this time when he squeezed my neck again I really started to choke I saw stars and black dots but then the pressure on my neck was released, I fell to the floor and started to cough while I touched my sore neck, this is defiantly going to leave a mark. I looked up and saw Zevrus and Cedric fighting and blowing punches at each other, I stood there thinking- I never got hit by anyone in my life, Jake would never let anyone touch me like that, and I was safe all these years until he died- funny how the same day he died I was sexually harassed, hit and almost died. My tears started streaming down my face and my neck- I had to leave all this werewolf crap and go back home to my apartment, so I headed out of the room only to bump into a hard chest, I stumbled back and I hand reached for my arm- I looked at the huge hand, and my eyes travelled through the muscular arms to the shoulders and chest and finally to the face, I gasped and pulled my arm away as I took a step back from the huge guy standing at the door, he was huge and his face had a huge scar stretching from his right eye all the way down to his mouth, his eyes were light green and his hair was black and combed back, he smirked at me and looked towards the two brothers who crashed the whole room with their fighting "it's ok, don't be scared, I got this" he stepped into the room and looked at me behind his shoulder "I'm Jacks by the way".

Chapter 5

Zevrus

I punch Cedric across the face then he punches me back, if he hadn't been my brother and my alpha I would've ripped him apart by now for insulting my mate and hurting her- I hated to see her tears go down her face with the pain that hand shake caused her, but I had to reign my wolf and be patient with my brother-even if he almost crushed her hand in his and even if he had insulted her, deep down Cedric is a good guy- he has a big heart , but being an alpha taught him to never show it. Suddenly I heard Jacks' voice telling us to stop, Cedric took two steps back and I froze in my place. He was a mess – the punches I gave him created cuts and bruises on his face, he was bleeding and breathing hard- his eyes were fixed on mine.

Jacks reached towards the closet and pulled a towel, then he handed it to Cedric, he took it while his eyes never left mine and whipped his face and head. Jacks cleared his throat "alpha, you need to calm down" he pointed back at Rain who stood there crying "the way the girl looks I believe the fight is over her" Cedric chuckled "the fight is not over her the fight is BECAUSE of her, this is the first time my brother and I engage in a physical fight and the girl is here since what? Yesterday?", I looked at Rain as Cedric continued to wipe his face and curse silently- she looked at me with a look of guilt and I knew that the situation was only going to get worse.

She stepped forward she closed her eyes with mine and nodded- I didn't know what she was planning until she spoke, this time she looked at Cedric who was looking away from her "Cedric –" Cedric's head whipped around and he glared at her "it's alpha Cedric to you human!" she looked at him with fear and wide eyes then she bowed her head "alpha Cedric, I am sorry for all that happened, I surely did not plan for any of this to happen- this is all weird to me and I can see that it is also hard for you to accept, I may not know the reason for your hatred towards me and it's ok, I will not stand and watch you and your brother or anybody else get hurt because of me. This all started after I irresponsibly fell asleep on a bench in a damn park after my brother's funeral- if I had gone home back then- I wouldn't have met Zevrus" she looked at me with soft eyes then she bowed her head again "and I wouldn't have met you".

she raised her head- and as she looked eyes with me she spoke again "Zevrus, it was a pleasure to meet you, and I know by now how sacred the mate subject is to you- but I am sorry, I am leaving you" I tensed and felt my heart shatter as she took a step back, I tried to reach for her but she raised a hand and shook her head "I've never met a werewolf before, I've never even seen one up close- but werewolf or not, I will never be the cause of a rivalry between brothers, not that I know how hard it is after I lost mine" she shuddered and took a deep breath "if you respect me I wish you would respect my request- do not follow me and don't search for me, just find yourself a true she wolf that would suit you" I glared at Cedric when she quoted his words, then I tried to speak again but she shook her head, then she stepped forward and kissed me on the cheek, and as she looked at me with those hazel eyes that welled tears she smiled softly and said "goodbye Zevrus".

One month later

Rain

 I stood under the shower head after a long day at work, relishing at the sweet calming water streaming down on me- I've been working in a hair salon for some time now, and I still can't get used to standing up the whole day- my arms, my back and my legs are killing me!

After the shower I brew some coffee and sat on my couch, I turned on the TV and switched multiple channels- I settled on a food channel and put the remote aside, I wasn't actually watching- my eyes roamed around the room, I started to think how boring and empty my life has become, with Jake around we used to go out, have fun and laugh all the time- but now he's gone and I'm all alone with my daily routine, I'm starting to feel like an old lady.

I take a sip from my mug- I must be a coffeeholic, this is the tenth cup for today. I put the cup down on the table, then I close my eyes and push my head back against the couch- I think about Zevrus, how handsome he is, his sad look when I left him that day... it was all for our own good- that's what I have been telling myself since that day, he's just a handsome stranger who I met at the park, and after I met his brother, I understood it was bad news for me, I've really become convinced with the idea of not giving it much thought and just moving on, but something inside me kept nagging at me about him- for some reason, I missed him.

I must have dozed off on the couch, I woke up feeling a chill run down my body- I don't remember forgetting a window open- but then it hits me, we're in summer, I'm not supposed to feel a chill. I moved slowly- my face was facing the inner part of the couch so I tried to maneuver myself to turn to the other side, but when I did – my eyes landed on a dark figure looming above me with bright yellow eyes staring down on me. I opened my mouth to scream but immediately a large hand clasped over my mouth, I started to jerk around but a second hand reached down and held me down by the hip- I whimpered and closed my eyes to keep my panic tears from falling but then I heard his voice "shhhh, it's me, it's Cedric" my eyes went wide with surprise but the I started to panic, my thoughts raced back to when he bit me and shoved me into a tree- his canine marks are still visible on my shoulder- they turned into scars, and now he's back to finish the job and kill me for good. This time my tears fell down to his hand- I could see his face in the moonlight now that he's closer to my face, his facial expression was sober with no feelings in it- he spoke again with his teeth clenched "there's no need to panic, I'm not here to hurt you- I came here to talk. Now I'm gonna remove my hand from your mouth... don't scream, aight?" I stared at him and then I nodded twice, slowly he removed his hand and I took a shaky breath through my mouth and exhaled through my nose as I closed my eyes, I was trying to calm down- my heart was beating so fast it hurt. The I opened my eyes again and Cedric was still standing with his hands by his sides- I sat up and fixed my shirt- and then realization hit me, I was wearing a huge shirt with only underwear beneath it, my face burned with embarrassment.

I had to say something to break the awkward silence, I looked down into my hands and cleared my throat "I wasn't expecting to see you in like a million years, is something wrong?" when he didn't respond I looked up at him and pointed towards the empty seat across the room "please have a seat so that we could talk" I sounded very different from my usual self, maybe it was an instinct to speak to someone dangerous with such bravery, Cedric looked at the seat, he hesitated but then he went and sat in it, his body was relaxed, his long legs wide apart and his elbows rested on the seat arms while his fingers were threaded together under his chin, he looked like a Greek God and I swallowed loud- he stared at me with a cocked eyebrow then smirked "if I'm not mistaken- I smell the stench of arousal in the air" my face turned even redder and I looked down at the floor like it was the most interesting thing ever. But then he cleared his throat and his tone turned serious again. "Zevrous has been missing since the day you left" I gasped at the mention of Zevrus's name and looked up at Cedric "is he okay?"  I asked with a shaky voice, Cedric shook his head and sighed "I don't know, I can't find him- I 've been looking for him for a month now, I sent wolves around the area and spoke with the other alpha's- no one saw him"

I nodded "tell me what happened exactly that day, the day I left, please?" Cedric sighed again "when you left Zevrus just lost his mind, he broke the whole house and then he left to have a run- he came back later that night , he looked tired and upset, he didn't say a word to me- I came back to check on him the same night but he wasn't there… since then I haven't heard of him". The feeling of guilt nudged my heart, if I hadn't left that day Zevrus wouldn't be missing- but I left because Cedric didn't want me there, I glared at him "it's your fault", he nodded "I know, that's why I want to fix it, I came to take you back to the pack with me".

I was taken aback by his answer, out of all the things that I expected to hear from him, this was the last thing. He came to apologize and take me back to the back so that Zevrus would come back- as simple as it sounded there was a very big no in my head "Cedric I can't come with you" he frowned and glared at me "why not? You don't want my brother now? Don't tell me you found another human to share the love with" I shook my head at his rudeness- even when he needed my help he still spoke rudely. "I have a life here, I have a job and friends- I can't just pack my stuff and leave as if It's nothing, eventually someone will notice that I'm missing and they will call the cops… I don't want to cause any more trouble" Cedric looked thoughtful as he stared at the floor, then he looked back up at me "well, they wouldn't try to search for you if you were dead" I froze as he stood up suddenly and walked towards me , I scrambled back to the corner of the couch as I stared at him in horror, but then he stopped and reached a hand for me to take, I stared at his hand and then I looked up at his face with confusion "w-what are going to do to me?" he chuckled and I was even more surprised- it was a soft deep chuckle that made my heart do a flip "get up and pack your bag- I have a plan" I hesitated and kept looking at his hand "I told you I'm not gonna hurt you- we are going to turn this very room into a crime scene- but in order to do that I'm gonna need some of your blood. Trust me".

I don't know what's become of my mind, but eventually I ended up packing a small bag with some clothes and undies in it along with some shoes and feminine hygienic stuff, when I walked back down to the main hall, Cedric was standing there leaning against the wall with his arms crossed "are you ready?" I took a look around the house, I'm going to miss this life so much, as boring as it was, at least it was normal. I had texted my boss and told her that I quit, then I texted some of my friends that I will be moving to another state. Now all that was left was to fake my death so that no one would look for me, I closed my eyes and sighed "there's no going back once I'm outta that door is there?" Cedric chuckled "who said anything about a door? We're going outta the window", I gazed at him "you know what I mean" Cedric turned serious again "no, there isn't- but as an appreciation of this sacrifice of yours, I give you my word that I will not harm you or let anything happen to you- as long as I'm alive". I studied his face; it was expressionless but I knew he was speaking the truth. I nodded and reached out my hand for him to take- he bit my hand and blood came pouring down like water- I bit my lip and covered my mouth with my other hand in order to suppress a shriek, once he released my hand, I started to feel dizzy- my vision blurred and I saw his mouth moving, he was speaking but I couldn't understand anything because I felt like I was underwater- then a sharp pain on my cheek made me focus again "HEY! Don't faint on me now, we need to hurry up" I stood up and he tugged at my arm to move me across the room, we stained the couch, the chairs and everything that we could, then Cedric started to move furniture around and threw small objects across the room. I watched him as I sat down on the stairs waiting for him to finish. Finally, we got out of the window of my back yard- when I saw how dark it was, I understood how easy it was to sneak around my house without even me noticing- Cedric nodded at me "ready?" I nodded back "yeah, I guess I am" Cedric took a final look around "alright, let's go" he walked past me and I followed him into the darkness.

Chapter 6

Rain

I walked behind Cedric in the thick darkness of the deep forest, we had passed civilization an hour ago. I stumbled twice, almost falling over and bumping into Cedric's back, Cedric walked over leaves and twigs silently, I wonder if he could see in the dark. Thinking about what Cedric said I decided to break the silence "So... what changed your mind?" Cedric sighed "Zevrus is my brother, he's the only family that I got- besides the pack"

"I know that, but what about me? What changed your mind about me?"

Cedric stopped suddenly and this time I bumped into his back and fell on my butt-talk about a solid wall. He turned around and faced me "I lost my mate three years ago; I know how much it hurts- it's hell. but I wouldn't imagine how painful it would be to know that your mate is alive but you can't go anywhere near her... if my mate was alive, I would be devastated to see her, let alone touch her". I studied his sincere look, for a moment his face saddened and he looked away and closed his eyes with his hands on his hips. If a guy as strong as Cedric can be affected this much by a loss of a loved one- I can only imagine how hard it must be for Zevrus.

I was lost in thought for a moment, but then Cedric reached a hand to help me stand back up, I looked at his hand "the last time I put my hand in yours it almost got crushed-no thank you" Cedric raised his brows and chuckled "don't worry I won't do it again, I give you my word to never hurt you again". I noticed that his facial expression softened while he still had his hand reaching out for me, for the first time I relaxed and smiled at him softly while I took his hand and stood up.

Just as we started to walk again there was a rustle sound , Cedric pulled me to his hard chest and that had me surprised I looked up at his face with wide eyes but he put a finger over his lips and shook his head, we kept quiet and listened carefully for any sound -I strained my ears but there was nothing but silence , Cedric was looking intently at the far dark distance, I opened my mouth to speak but there was a loud scream suddenly I jumped I started to look around ,searching for the person who screamed, there was a small clearing ahead of us, the moon light loomed over it and a man appeared suddenly from the darkness of the trees, he was running and panting while he looked terrified , the next thing I heard was a loud howl from behind him-the man froze and whipped his head back towards the darkness of the trees, two werewolves appeared and the man fell back on the ground - they walked slowly towards him, their eyes glowed and their teeth were showing as they growled at him , the poor guy started to crawl back in fear , from where I was standing I saw his shoulders shake as he trembled- I looked up at Cedric , he was watching with a cold expression on his face , I tried to break from his hold, I wanted to do something to help the guy, but Cedric held me tighter and shook his head. Suddenly a loud piercing scream came out of the guy as the two werewolves charged at him, I saw clothes flying around and blood splashing all over the grass as the guy continued to scream, one of the wolves bit his arm and jerked it causing it to tear right from its place , I felt my mouth open to scream but Cedric's hand clasped over it tightly , I continued to watch as the guy released a gurgling sound and went limp, the wolves started to tear more parts of him and ate in silence - at this point I couldn't breathe any more, with Cedric's hand clasped over my mouth it was even harder, I started to feel dizzy, my vision blurred and my legs turned jelly, I heard Cedric say 'shit' before everything went dark.

When I began to regain conscious I felt two hands carrying me, my head was hanging back so it was hard for me to raise it, I groaned as I tried to move and opened my eyes, "good, you're awake" Cedric stopped and helped me get to my feet, I stumbled slightly as I tried to focus, when I opened my eyes again I looked around, we arrived at the pack territory, I looked back at Cedric ''how long was I out?" He shrugged "about an hour or so" he carried me for an hour, I felt bad for him , as if he could read my mind he said "werewolves have high stamina, and you aren't that heavy- it's ok" I blushed slightly and looked away, suddenly the sight of the man screaming and being torn apart , I couldn't hold back the bile rising in my throat and I ran aside and threw up.

When I was done, I walked back towards Cedric, he stood with his arms crossed and studied me "you ok?" I nodded "better, the guy back there-" Cedric interrupted me "don't think about it, just forget it"

"But he was-"

"A human I know, you should know by now that humans are on the menu when it comes to werewolves".

I shivered, but there was nothing I could do anyway , If had stepped from the darkness, the wolves would've attacked me too, even if Cedric was alpha he would still not be able to take two wolves alone. I took a deep breath and nodded at Cedric, he nodded back and tipped his chin towards the main house and started walking "let's get you inside, you should rest. Tomorrow I'll send two wolves of my pack to search for Zevrus and let him know that you're here- meanwhile you'll stay with me-for your own safety" at his words I froze he stopped walking and looked back at me, he sighed and rolled his eyes "for the last time- I am not going to hurt you, I gave you my word " then he turned around and continued to walk towards the main house - I remember walking out the day I left Zevrus, the compound had other smaller houses, more like wooden cabins, which apparently belonged to the other wolves of the pack.

When we stepped into the house there were some guys sitting around and chatting, they fell silent when they saw us - they nodded at their alpha and then focused their gazes on me- their gazes made me feel naked as they studied me from head to toe , Cedric spoke with a harsh tone "as you all know , this is Zevrus's mate, no one come near her, no one talks to her, no one looks at her and certainly no one touches her-unless you wanna be castrated", the others looked at each other then back at their alpha, they nodded and bowed their head silently. Cedric moved again towards another room that seemed to have a large wooden desk , I guessed it was an office. When we stepped in Cedric looked to the side and nodded.I followed his gaze and stopped , sitting there looking at me with a creepy grin- was Jacks.

Chapter 7

Rain

Something about Jacks makes me uncomfortable, Cedric makes me nervous but if I had to choose to be alone with either of them, I would choose Cedric. Jacks waves his hand at me and I snap out of my thoughts "well look who's back, how are you doing human girl?" I decided to act normal. "I'm good, and you Jacks?" his grin goes wider, he stands up and walks toward me- meanwhile Cedric is busy with something and he had his back to us, Jacks stops beside me facing the opposite direction towards the open door- he looks at me and licks his lips as he looks me up and down then he leans in and whispers in my ear- "I would be a lot better if I would get the chance to hold you again in my arms baby" then he sniffs my neck and I jerk back with horror, what the hell does he mean AGAIN? When did he hold my body? When did he touch me, and where was Zevrus?

Jacks chuckles and heads outside the office- I stand there frozen with fear, I stare at the floor and try so hard to remember something, anything about what he said- but now I know there's an obvious threat. and it's simple- all I had to do was stay as close as I could to Cedric, he wouldn't dare come near me if Cedric's there. 

My thoughts are cut when Cedric clears his throat and turns around- "here is the map of the area, I marked the places we searched so far, only a few ones are still- are you okay?"

I snap my head up towards him, his face darkens "why are you frightened? I can smell your fear" I take a deep breath and shake my head "it's nothing- just worried about Zevrus". He studies me for a moment, then he nods once and turns back towards the map on the table "come look at this, I'm showing you the map because I need you to know where our compound is located and how far I would be in the next couple of days" my heart stops for a second and I feel the color drain from my face, I walk slowly towards him and the map , he continues explaining and pointing at areas that are located around the compound which is in the middle, I'm scared of what might happen next "um, Cedric, you said you are going- where are you going exactly?" he cocks a brow at me "well, to search for Zevrus" I close my eyes and put my hand on my forehead "but you said you sent two of your wolves to search for him and give him the message that I am here" Cedric leans on the table and crosses his arms "yes, but it doesn't stop here, we've been doing patrols and rounds around the area for a month now, as I showed you the northern areas are mostly covered, now we only have the southern areas to cover".

Suddenly I'm too tired of standing up, I take a seat next to the table and run a hand through my hair "okay, well how far are the northern areas? I mean how long will it take to cover them", Cedric takes a moment to think as he traces his finger across the map "about two to three weeks, it's an area with a huge radios". I stare at him with wide eyes – "you're going to leave for three weeks?" Cedric shakes his head "of course not, I'm only joining the others on the first two days- I can't leave the pack for longer" I exhale with a shudder, two days aren't going to be easy either but I'll take that instead of two weeks. Now I had to find a way to be out of Jacks' sight, but then an idea occurred to me "can I come along?" Cedric raises his eyebrows with surprise "what? Why?" then his expression settles into amusement "I'm starting to think that you'll miss me while I'm gone, what's wrong princess? Can't sit without being bitten and thrown around?" I blush so hard and bow my head- I hear him laugh, his laugh is actually adorable and it's the first time I see Cedric relaxed since I first met him- maybe he isn't that kind of a monster after all.

"you know- since you're my brother's mate and I'm going to see you around a lot now- I'm thinking maybe I should know your name" I raise my head and stare at him "you don't know my name? hasn't Zevrus told you?" he squinted his eyes and made a thoughtful face "hmmm, maybe he did and I just forgot, what's your name again?" I like the playfulness in his voice and movements and I feel more relaxed, I smile at him "I'm Rain". He studies my face for a second then he smiles back "nice name", I blush and look away, but then I see Jacks standing at the door – he has that creepy grin on his face again and he's leaning on the door frame while his gaze is fixed at me, how long has he been standing in there? "nice name indeed". Cedric stand straighter from his position "Jacks, good you're here- I wanted to talk to you, come sit down", Jacks comes inside and settles on the chair across mine, he slides further down and spreads his legs wide, I can't help but notice a bulge between his legs, when he catches my eye he gives me a wolfish grin and winks, I feel my face burning with embarrassment and I look away, all the while Cedric studies the map with his back to us, and I start to feel uncomfortable as I look away, because in the corner of my eye I can see Jacks staring at me.

Cedric finally moves and sits in the chair on the other side of the desk, I turn my face towards him and he lifts a brow at me "Rain? Is something wrong?" I put on my best fake smile and shake my head "no, nothing I just feel hot, that's all" Jacks chuckles "of course you do, I feel hot too", Cedric turns his gaze towards him and talks in a serious tone "Jacks, I would appreciate it if you keep your tongue to yourself, especially when you're around Rain. Now as my third in command and beta Zevrus is gone- I need you to know that I will be going with Cyprus and Jud on the first round towards the northern areas starting from tomorrow, I will be gone for two days- I need you to look after the pack while I'm gone, course you'll be staying in the house here with Rain, I need to know she's safe while I'm gone" at his words I feel my throat start to dry and I can't breathe well, Jacks nods at Cedric and looks at me "my pleasure", I start to struggle to breath and lean forward, Cedric stands up and comes near me "Rain, what's wrong? Take a breath, breathe- slowly" I look at Cedric and try to plead him to stay with my eyes, he looks at me confused and shakes his head, then he looks at Jacks "what's happening to her?" Jacks grins at me "maybe she's too excited for the next couple of days that are coming". He stands up and brushes his hair back "now if you'll excuse me alpha, I need to gather the guys and prepare them for the next couple of days" Cedric nods at him "you're dismissed".

When Jacks leaves the room I start to find my breath again, slowly I calm down and my heart beat returns to its normal rate, , I close my eyes and cover my face with my hands and I sigh- now what am I going to do? Cedric stands in front of me and studies me carefully "are you going to tell me what's wrong? Let me help". I contemplate telling him for a second, but I don't want him to baby sit me while his brother is alone out there even as we speak now, God knows where Zevrus is now- is he safe? He could be dying or suffering or worse- so I shake my head "it's nothing, really I'm okay Cedric" he shakes his head back "no' I know you're lying- are you scared of me?" 

"what?! No! not anymore, I trust you" I give him another fake smile, he narrows his eyes at me in disbelief "I know something's wrong and I'm gonna find out sooner or later" he sighs "for now let me show you where your room is, maybe you could freshen up and rest, you had a rough night". He walks towards my bag and picks it up from the floor, he loops it through his shoulder and gestures for me to come along. We walk outside the office and up the stairs towards a small hallway with multiple doors around on both sides, I guess they're guest rooms. "Which one do you want?" I think about taking the first one-the closest to the stairs, just in case I had to run or something goes wrong, I point at it and he nods and gestures for me towards the door "ladies first". 

Chapter 8

Rain

I stepped into the room, it was big- it had a bathroom, a king-sized bed, a closet room and a huge glass door with a small porch outside, "so? Do you like it?" I turn my gaze around towards Cedric and smile "it's very nice- looks warm and comfy". Cedric nods with a satisfied smirk "alright then- I'll leave to freshen up and rest, daybreak is coming soon and I need to leave then" he steps back to the hall and points towards another door at the far back "if you need anything that's my room" I nod and we say goodnight to each other, when Cedric leaves I close the door and lean against it- as I'm looking around the beautiful room I can't help but feel gratefulness towards Cedric, he almost killed me before, he insulted me and degraded me, but that was past- now I truly appreciate the new Cedric who gave me a warm home to be in , instead of being lonely in my own home.

After I admire the beautiful bathroom that has a big mirror with shelves and different soaps and shampoos I take a bath, a warm long relaxing bath- when I'm done I reach for my duffle bag which Cedric had put beside the door when we came in, I pull a pair of yoga pants and a tank top- then I brush my hair then I tie it in a ponytail and twirl the ends. I crash into bed, and the comfortable mattress and pillows welcome me into a heavy sleep.

My comfort doesn't last long, I kept having nightmares and woke up multiple times, each time I managed to calm down and fall back asleep until I had the last nightmare- I was standing in a clearing in the woods, the air was warm and heavy with humidity, "hello?" I called out, but no one was there, then suddenly a hand grabbed my ankle, I jerked around and saw the man from before , torn and shredded to pieces with blood and gore- he looked up at me with his dead eyes and screamed , over and over he kept screaming like he didn't run out of air, I panic and start running , but then I hear growling and snarling behind me- I try to run faster but then I hit a hard chest and two huge arms grab and shake me, I scream and start to shove and hit at the hard chest- "Rain! Wake up!" I stop moving, then I slowly open my eyes and pray silently the bad wolf in my dream is gone, then I see Cedric , shirtless - sitting beside me on the bed ,he's holding me by the arms and breathing hard, his forehead and chest are glistening with sweat , then I realized how attractive he is with all those muscles and low cut cotton pants, he clears his throat and releases his hold "you were having a bad dream, I could hear you say weird things all the way to my room- you okay?" I stare at him "it was the guy from the woods, and the wolves" he sighs and shakes his head "you shouldn't have seen that, for now stop remembering it and try not to think about it anymore" he glanced at the glass door, the white curtains were closed but the light was starting to come out, Cedric stood up and I could see the full view of his six pack and broad chest, I shuddered at the handsomeness of these guys, it wasn't fair to look that good. Cedric doesn't seem to notice me ogling him because he walks to the glass door and opens the curtains slightly to look outside " it's daybreak- I have to go prepare myself for leaving," he turns to me "it's still early, try to go back to sleep, I will try my best to come back with Zevrus by my side", I nod at him "take care and be careful" Cedric nods back and walks across to the door , before he goes out of the door he stops and looks at me behind his shoulder "you take care of yourself too, Jacks will be here later today" and with that he leaves ,shutting the door behind him- and just like that , my anxiety and fear came back. 

I couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to explore around the house and the compound- since I left my job and my friends there I got nothing to do, and if I lock myself in the room, I'll go crazy with all the worry about where Zevrus could be. I get out of bed, wash my body and get dressed- it's mid-summer and it's hot as hell, so I decide to put on a pair of jean shorts and halter top, I check myself in the tall mirror in the closet then I head to the mirror in the bathroom, I pull my hair loose and comb my fingers through  it until it looks decent.

When I leave the room, I notice the house is silent- I strain my ears and listen to any sound or voice but I'm alone, looking towards Cedric's room I wonder if he'd already left, I contemplate checking over him but then I decide against it-I don't want to invade his privacy, instead I walk down the stairs , on my left is the office room, on my right is the kitchen, in front of me is a lounge with a huge TV screen, then there's the main door- on the other side is a second lounge with a round coffee table in the middle- the house is simple but huge, I imagine it's because this is the pack's main house , maybe they gather in it when there's a meeting or something.

I head to the kitchen, I really need caffeine now so I start to look around the cupboards for the coffee machine and the powder, when I finally find them I set the machine and start brewing coffee- meanwhile I turn to the huge fridge and open it in search of the milk- the fridge is stacked with bread and different kinds of food, I fumble around with the stuff until I finally locate the milk bottle in the back of the fridge. After I finish preparing a big mug of coffee, I hold it in my hand and head outside the house, I'm immediately welcomed by the bright sun and humid air, I squint my eyes and start to look around, there's a clearing and far small houses that seem to be close to each other, then there's the line of trees. I get curious about what scenery might be hidden behind those trees- maybe a beautiful landscape or a pond- God with this summer heat I'd die to throw myself for a swim in a lake.

 After I decide where I'm going, I start walking with my coffee mug still in my hand, I walk slowly, taking my time to finish it while enjoying the morning stroll, I keep myself in the tree shade as much as I can, the last thing I need is a red sun-burned skin, unlike the others, I don't get a tan I get cooked.

I pass a few guys and pack members along the way, and I awkwardly say hello or wave my hand towards them as I pass- they either keep a poker face or look away.

When I reach the three line- I feel overwhelmed, this is a nice walk and an opportunity to process everything that's happened so far- though I already made the decision to give me and Zevrus a chance, I mean if we put the werewolf thing aside, it's just a handsome cute guy who's interested in me and now that Cedric and I are getting along I'll have a good brother-in-law.

I walk into the trees, it's quiet except for the birds and the different wild life- the air is full of wild flowers smell- it reminds me of Zevrus, and then there's a smell of Vanilla and cinnamon which reminds me of Cedric, I sit on a fallen tree log and close my eyes for a minute, taking in all the sounds and smells of the woods. For some reason, I believe now that even before the mixture of wolf and man, the human side had a liking to mother nature just as much as the wolf.

I smile warmly, then I stand up and continue on my way, I keep walking until I break from the trees and the sight that is in front of me has me surprised and excited- a huge lake, it's water is crystal, two deer drinking from it on the other side, the green grass and the blue clear sky- it looks like some computer background, I glance around for anyone at sight, when I'm sure no one's there I strip out of my clothes, I embrace mother nature with my naked body as I walk slowly towards the water, the sun is higher in the sky now and the heat is unbearable, I touch the water surface with my foot, it's cool and perfect so I continue to go in the water until it reaches my neck, I sigh with joy as I start to swim around the lake, I swim with my face up so I could look at the beautiful clear sky and to be alert in case anyone walks by because Afterall I'm not that far from the pack area, as I reach the other side of the lake , the two deer are still there and there's a third smaller one that's heading my way and looking at me with curiosity- I put my arms up and lean my chest against the grass as I wait for it to come closer, it has brown fur with white dots on it, cute black round eyes and a button nose, it's so cute that I reach out a hand to pet it, to my surprise the little dear comes closer and boops it's little nose to my finger, I smile at it and boop my finger back at his nose. The heavenly moment is suddenly broken by a deep voice "what a beautiful sight huh?" I scream and quickly go back under water again, I look behind me and there stands Jacks with a creepy grin on his face, his hands on his hips as he stares down at me, I look at where the deer had been- it's gone along with the two others, probably got startled and scared and ran away, lucky them.

 

I glared at Jacks from where I was- he saw my naked backside and my face burned red at the thought, especially when he said it was a "nice view"- God I hope he really meant the deer family and the scenery. Jacks stood at the side of the water with his hands in his pockets-I looked at my pile of clothes that I left at the far side of the lake then I swallowed, how am I going to get there and get dressed up without this pervert staring at me hungrily? Apparently, it was something I had to figure out as I swam back, I start to move when he chuckles "you know, I've already seen everything so there's no need to be shy and all" I thought my face couldn't get any redder but it did and I think my whole body flushed red, I kept looking away at the pile of clothes, but I could see him still staring at me in the corner of my eye.

 

As I swim as fast as I can to the other side of the lake, I can feel Jacks' eyes on me while he walks by the lake side. I am so ashamed of the idea of a strange man seeing my body, especially when I led myself to this situation after I decided stupidly to take a dip, naked, in a huge lake in an open area. Never again!, 

I finally reached the other side of the lake and I felt exhausted. I think I set a new world record. I reach my arm out and grab my clothes, then I glare at Jacks who's still grinning, I narrow my eyes at him "I need some privacy if you don't mind" he shrugs "well, sorry but I can't get you outta my sight- alpha's orders".

Chapter 9

Rain

I gape at Jacks "ok, I already understand you're a pervert- you couldn't've made it any clearer, but you don't have to use the alpha's orders as an excuse to stare or watch me get dressed, so for the last time GET. LOST." He throws his head back and laughs as if he heard the best joke ever "you're feisty, I like that- alright, I guess I could stand in another spot while you get dressed, but make it quick- we are already on the border between our pack and the other pack's territory" he turns around and starts pacing away. The minute I see him far enough I jump out of the water and bolt towards the thick trees, I hide behind one and quickly get my clothes on, after I'm done, I step back outside of the tree line and look around for Jacks, not that I missed him or anything- but I'd rather know where he is rather than not.

After a few seconds Jacks doesn't show up, so I decide to call it a day and head back to the main house so that I could shower and crash between the covers of the comfortable bed, I walk slowly, enjoying the beauty of nature and the warm breeze, the smell of wild flowers is overwhelming, it reminds me of Zevrus- I wonder where he is now, is he ok? Is he sick? Does he miss me and my goofy persona? I feel like I miss him- and it's strange, because I barely know the guy but I guess it's connected to all the mate bond thing. My thoughts draft to Cedric- this is the first day of the expedition and the sun is already starting to settle, I guess tomorrow will go by in a blur and then Cedric will be back and I won't be alone with Jacks, something about this guy creeps me out.

I hear twigs snap and I stop in my tracks, the warm breeze I felt before disappears and I feel a chill run down my spine, suddenly I feel uneasy, like I'm being watched- for the first time I hope it's just Jacks, but something tells me it isn't him, I close my eyes and try to calm myself down-but then I hear another twig snap and a growl, it is so deep that I feel it vibrating in my chest, it's like you're standing next to a Harley bike. I freeze and swallow loudly as I start to walk slowly forward, one second I'm walking the other I'm shoved into the ground, some dirt gets into my mouth as I gasp in surprise, then I feel a strong hand grab my arm and flip me around as if I'm some steak being flipped on a barbeque, the whole time my eyes were closed, now I open them slowly, only to be met with another pair of huge amber eyes and a long dark snout with sharp bared teeth, a werewolf that I don't recognize it snarls at me and I can't hold back my scream, a werewolf is huge and it has its own dominance and presence and it can cause even the strongest man to burst into tears.

The werewolf's eyes darkened and he opened his mouth to attack, I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side as I whimpered in fear- this is going to hurt. I waited for the pain to strike but nothing happened, suddenly I felt the heaviness of the werewolf's presence disappear.

I opened my eyes to find another werewolf fighting the one who attacked me, their fight was furious and I could hear the flesh being torn by their razor-sharp claws and canines. After what felt like forever the one who attacked me fled away and I was left with the other one who's color was white with strokes of grey. I was sitting down on the ground watching my savior who was facing away from me to the direction where the attacker ran, his chest was heaving while he breathed heavily and there was blood on his hands and all over his neck, it didn't look like it was his blood though. I moved slightly and a rock rolled beside me - the werewolf's ears perked and it whipped its head towards me, I froze in horror when I saw his teeth while his mouth was agape like a dog, he must've realized it because he tilted his head slightly and then closed its mouth, then he stepped closer and I started to crawl back, where the hell was Jacks when I needed help? The werewolf stopped and bent down, he patted the ground twice signaling for me to stay put, just like Zevrus did, I nodded and relaxed while the werewolf retreated to the tree line, I heard the familiar cracking noise and minutes later a guy emerged from behind the trees. He strode towards me completely naked- my poor virgin eyes can't take that much of man-nakedness in such a short time, but it looks like werewolves aren't bothered by it. 

I looked at this guy's hair which was blonde, he had facial hair and bright blue eyes, in his wolf form he looked like a husky. My eyes roamed his body and he chuckled, I turned crimson red, did I just ogle the guy while he walked right towards me? Yes, I did.

The guy stepped in front of me and helped me to my feet, he had a warm smile on his face "you alright?" I blinked at him and nodded, he extended his hand and shook mine "I'm Darious, and the idiot that attacked you was a rogue werewolf who was just hungry" my eyes widened and I shuddered under the horrible thought of being ripped to shreds and eaten by a werewolf, I realized that I was still holding Darious's hand so I let go and cleared my throat "hello Darious, thank you for  saving me- oh I'm Rain by the way"

Darious put his hands on his hips, his smile never leaving his face "Rain huh? Nice name. Can I ask what's a beautiful human like you doing here? I mean it's fine by me but you almost became dinner" I started to look around, anywhere but him- and I was looking for Jacks who for some reason hasn't shown up yet, did he leave without me? , finally I answered "well, it turns out that I'm a werewolf's mate, but my mate has been missing and the alpha left to find him leaving me here with one of his men'' Darious had a confused expression, he looked towards the tree line and like was thinking about something, then he looked back at me and his smile was gone "you know Rain, if an alpha gives a wolf a task especially while he is away, the wolf should respect the orders and you shouldn't be alone here , because you just crossed into our borders- I was just doing rounds when I spotted the rouge werewolf and found you by chance- can you imagine what could've happened if I hadn't shown up?". I processed his words and nodded, he nodded back and asked "who's your alpha?"

"Alpha Cedric" Darious nodded again "and who's your mate?" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair "his name is Zevrus". All of a sudden Darious's eyes widened and he stilled, his hands fell to his sides and he stared at the ground then he shook his head, I frowned "what? What's wrong?" Darious opened his mouth to answer me when suddenly Jacks' voice came up "Darious if you know what's good for you , you better keep your muzzle shut'' Darious lift his head and sneered at Jacks who emerged from behind the trees, Jacks came to stand right beside me and growled "you should keep your junk in place and your tongue in your mouth, this female belongs to its mate" Darious looked at Jacks with anger "you should tell that to yourself, I can smell your arousal all the way here, hey Rain, watch yourself around this guy, he is known for being an asshole" I gulped and felt uneasy , Jacks snapped his teeth towards Darious "shut up before I tear you limb from limb" then he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the woods where he came from, I tried to pull my hand free but his grip was like iron , I looked back at Darious who stood there with his hands crossed, he had a deep scowl on his face and he was staring at Jacks, his eyes moved to meet mine then he  smiled at me and shouted "nice meeting you Rain, if you need anything you will find me here, just shout my name and I'll be right here" I nodded and smiled back then I continued walking with Jacks back to the pack area.

 

Chapter 10

After a nervous walk back to the pack house, Jacks finally let go of my arm, he didn't say a word while he stood there eyeing me from head to toe, then he turned around and walked out of the main house door closing it behind him. 

I took a deep breath and sighed, finally I can relax and take a decent shower, I climbed up the stairs to my room and took a bath, it was so hot and the air was full of dampness so I settled up on wearing some shorts and tank top, I braided my hair then laid in bed, I thought about what Darious wanted to tell me, why did Jack's shut him up? Where is Cedric? I hope he doesn't have any longer time to come back. I eventually drifted off to sleep, at some point I woke up with a dread feeling that someone is watching me, I was facing the door in my bed, so I slowly rolled to the other side to face the window- only to come face to face with two glowing eyes and pointed ears, I blinked thinking that it was my imagination, bit the huge head with those eyes and ears didn't go anywhere, realization that I wasn't dreaming hit me and I gasped and screamed as I shot up from the bed towards the door. I ran out the door and slammed it shut behind me, then I stood there clenching my chest and breathing hard as I tried to recover from the jump scare that I just had. Finally composed, I took a deep breath and decided to go down to the kitchen and grab a glass of water, as I went down the stairs, I heard the front door of the main house being knocked and rattled, I started to tremble and tears gathered behind my eyes, what if that rouge decided to come back and kill me? But then I heard a familiar voice "Rain, you in there? Open up its Jacks" part of me was relieved but then I looked up at the hanging clock on the wall- 3 A.M .

what's Jacks doing up at 3 in the morning? Maybe some patrolling? I shrugged and walked to the door, unlocking it I partly opened the door and looked at Jacks who was standing on the porch wearing only some shorts, had he shifted? He stood with his back to me as he scanned the clearing around, he seemed to be searching for something- I cleared my throat and he turned around to face me "I heard you scream, is something wrong?" I gulped "there was a werewolf standing outside of my window watching me but it's-" I was going to tell him that it's probably gone but he pushed me back and stormed into the house , his head turned left and right while he checked around , He climbed to my room and searched it, nothing. 

Jacks descended the stairs while I stood near the kitchen table holding a glass of water, "well, it's clear , no one is in the house" I raised a finger to stop him "I didn't say it was in the house, I said it was outside" at that moment jacks eyes locked with mine "I know, but I was checking the inside too- because I already checked the outside- especially your window" then his eyes glowed the same shade that the werewolf by the window had.

At that moment I knew- it was him; he was watching me asleep like some creeper, my eyes widened in realization and I took a step back, Jacks grinned and his eyes widened as if he was excited "go on, run, I always like a good hunt." I felt myself starting to tremble while I took another step back, but I had to ask "are you going to kill me?" Jacks chuckled and it sounded so deep "oh I am, but first I want to play with you, taste you on the outside before the inside- maybe it will be the best death you'll ever have" his eyes devoured my body as they roamed all over me, at this point there is only one thing I could do - fight or flight, but of course I had to pick up the wrong one so I smashed the glass of water that I had into the side of his face , he grunted and roared in pain as he held his head in his hands, I took the chance and decided to run, but before I could pass him he grabbed me by the beck and slammed me to the floor, it was a powerful impact and I felt dizzy, I reached a hand to the back of my head and groaned in pain, my eyes were shut but I felt the whoosh of air across my face, I opened my eyes to see Jacks crouched in front of my, the side of his face was already healing but there was blood all over his temple and cheek "you dare hit a werewolf little human? I could've considered bravery if only it wasn't equally stupid" he stood up "now, enough with the foreplay, let's get down and dirty" horrified I started to scatter back but he bent down and grabbed my ankle, the he started to walk dragging me behind him, I looked ahead and realized he was dragging me towards the couch, OH GOD he's gonna.. I screamed with all my heart "NO! Help somebody! Help please!" Jacks laughed "go on, scream all you want, it only makes it hotter- no one dares approach me" I started to cry, what do I do? He let go of my ankle then stepped on top of me with his feet at the sides of my body while I laid on the floor frozen with fear, next he bent down and grabbed my arms then threw me on the couch, I yelped and tried to get up and run but he was quickly on top of me, I screamed again and again as if I was falling in an endless black void, Jacks clamped my mouth shut with his hand, he looked me in the eyes"shhhh.. don't cry little human, I promise to be gentle" I stared at him wide eyed and  trembling while his other hand caressed my check and went down to my neck, his eyes hungrily following, he sighed "I've been dreaming of this moment since I first saw you, I want you, my wolf wants you- and I have a bad habit of spoiling my wolf, he wants it, he gets it" I closed my eyes while my tears kept streaming down my cheeks, I started to sob- finding it hard to breathe as he lowered his lips to my neck and started to kiss and nibble it, I was frozen and my body refused to move, but when his hand reached for my tank top and tore it exposing my bare chest to him- I found my voice again and screamed harder, then my hands started to work again- I started to hit and slap him while screaming with my eyes shut, he didn't seem to affected- he grabbed my hands and pinned them on top of my head while his other hand grabbed my neck "stop resisting! "he yelled "surrender to me already!" I screamed "NO! let me go!" he tightened his grip around my neck "at that moment I gathered the last of my breath and screamed the only name that came to my mind "CEDRIC!". Jacks tightened his grip around my neck and I started to see black dots , he said through gritted teeth "shut up !" I stared at his elongated canines as he grinded himself on my core, he lowered his head and grunted as his breath fanned on my breasts. 

I started to loosen up and surrender when suddenly a deep long howl pierced the night silence, Jacks froze, and I opened my eyes and stared at his horrified face "no, it can't be" he muttered, the door was blasted open and flew to the other side of the room -then a huge black werewolf squeezed himself inside he looked around then his eyes settled on me and moved up to look at Jacks, they widened and a guttural growl sounded while he bared his teeth at him. Two guys appeared from the door, Cyprus and Jud darted to the side of Cedric, "what's going on, what happ- " Cyprus took in the scene, he cursed and turned his face to the side away from me "Jud! look away she is bare" I didn't realize Jacks had ripped my shorts and underwear too while he raped me, I looked at Cedric's werewolf and sobbed, his eyes moved to mine and I sent him a pleading look while my tears streamed down my face, that seemed to trigger him, he snarled at Jacks, Cyprus and Jud cowered back and bent their heads , I was scared too. Jacks let go of my neck and I gasped and started coughing and sobbing, I tried to use my hands but they were still pinned by Jacks who was staring at Cedric, they seemed to be talking through telepathy, Cedric roared suddenly and I flinched as he took one step as warning towards Jacks, Jacks lowered his head and let go of my hands, then he moved away from me and I sat up covering my bare breasts with my arms, I was so embarrassed, my cheeks were flushed and I lowered my head, Cedric growled and reached for the table cloth, he threw it to me and I covered myself, I looked up at his face and to my surprise his features were soft, he looked at me with sad eyes, his ears bend backwards and his teeth were covered – it was as if he's saying that he's sorry. 

That look made me feel worse, I started to cry again and sobbed into my hands as I covered my face, Cedric's growl came up again and this time I looked up to see his head turning towards Jacks who was standing far away from me held by Cyprus and Jud- they both looked at Cedric as he gave them an order, then they both nodded "yes alpha" and dragged Jacks outside. Once alone, Cedric calmed down and looked at me again with the same sad face, he took another step towards me but then I flinched and grabbed the sheet harder, he paused and looked at himself as if he had a coffee stain on himself, his ears perked up and he looked up at me- then he raised his huge palm and signaled for me to wait. I nodded, then he took a few steps to the stair and crouched down, with one leap he landed upstairs with a heavy thud.

Chapter 11

I listened to Cedric's werewolf footsteps, a while later, I heard softer footsteps coming down the stairs, it was Cedric in his human form- he had changed and put clothes on, wearing a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans, his feet still bare, he came closer to me and crouched down Infront of  me, he looked at me with the same sad expression, I wasn't used to seeing his sharp features like that- he looked down at his hands and cleared his throat "I'm sorry Rain, this is all my fault, I shouldn't have left you with that bastard", I wiped my tears and looked at him "don't be sorry, you never knew what his intentions were, neither did I" Cedric nodded and stood up, he went to the kitchen, crossing and stepping over wooden splinters that remained from the door , he noticed the blood and the shattered glass near the kitchen table, he raised a brow and looked at me "he hit you?" I shook my head "I had a glass of water in my hand and hit him with it" Cedric's features turned to amusement "you dared to hit a werewolf? You are lucky he didn't tear and shred you" I nodded but then started to cry again, Cedric's face fell and he sighed, grabbing a new glass of water he came back and gave it to me "drink up, how are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere?" I looked at my body which was covered in a cloth, instantly I remembered Jacks' weight on top of me and the tears and sobs came harder "Cedric, he…" sob "he…" I collapsed in sobs and cries.

To my surprise, Cedric took the glass from my hand and placed it on the floor, then he wrapped his arms around me and placed my head on his chest, I stilled and my eyes were like saucers, did Cedric just hug me? I was even more surprised when his hand touched my hair and soothed me "shhhh, I will punish him tomorrow, for now you calm down and try to rest, why don't you go upstairs and sleep in your room?" I nodded and moved to get up, Cedric let go and stood away to give me space- I stood up, but then the whole room swayed and my head felt like it weighed a ton, I felt myself falling but I hit a hard chest and felt strong arms embracing me.

Cedric

I looked down at Rain's face, she raised her eyes and met mine, my mouth felt dry as I held her flushed to my chest, under the thin table cloth I could feel her body- NO! What the hell is wrong with me? She's my brother's mate, I shouldn't lust over her, but then I looked again into those big hazel eyes, those red cheeks, her lips, what is she doing to me? A whisper broke my thoughts "Cedric…I can't feel my body" I looked into her eyes again but they soon shut and she went limp in my arms almost falling down, shit, I put one arm underneath her legs and the other on her back and raised her up, her head fell back, her hair tickled my arm and the table cloth threatened to fall off, fuck, it's been too long since I was with a woman, this isn't good.

I stood there holding her in my arms, I noticed her long lashes, her long neck and milky flesh, she was really beautiful, then my eyes fell on the tooth marks on her shoulder, did I really cause that? My inner wolf growled at me and shook its head in disappointment, how could I? My hate for the human kind blinded me and caused me to harm an innocent soul, now I feel too bad for her, how do I tell her- about Zevrus? What should I do? 

I had left her with that fucker Jacks, I let my guard down while I knew what he's capable of, he already raped many human girls, every one he hunted he raped then ate. And I left her here with him all alone, I hope I showed up at the right time, I hope this is the first time he tried to rape her. I was on my way home with Cyprus and Jud when I heard her screams- I thought I was imagining things, but then she screamed my name "CEDRIC!" my wolf responded right away, I couldn't stop him and honestly, I didn't even try. When I broke down that door and saw her underneath Jacks while that fucker was drooling all over her, something inside me started to boil, and when she looked at me with those pleading eyes I just snapped, I growled at the thought but I stilled again as Rain moaned and squirmed in my arms, her soft moan makes her look and sound even more fragile, I closed my eyes and sighed.

"s-sir" Jud cleared his throat, my eyes snapped open and I snarled at him and held Rain's limp body closer to me, why am I being protective over her? What is happening to me? Jud's eyes went wide and he looked at Rain then back at me, but then his eyes turned back to Rain and lingered there, I followed his gaze and realized the cloth had partly fallen exposing one of her breasts, I growled and glared at Jud "get the fuck out!" he cowered back and swallowed hard then bowed his head, "forgive me alpha, but we have Jacks locked up in the cell as you ordered", I took a deep breath and clamed myself down, "alright, keep an eye on the fucker, tomorrow he will face his death", Jud nodded and kept his head down while he walked out the door.

I carried Rain upstairs to her room and tucked her into bed, I covered her well and then stood there watching her, I was tempted to lean down and place a kiss on her forehead but then again what the fuck am I doing? What am I thinking? - Rain, what are you doing to me?

I took a deep breath and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me- I closed my eyes and refocused on the main issue here- Jacks. Outside Cyprus and Jud waited with their hands behind their backs, being with them since we were pups only reassures me that I can trust them with my life, I stood Infront of them, noticing Jud had his eyes narrowed at me as he studied me, I asked him straight "Jud, is there something you want to ask?" Jud blinked as if he was daydreaming, he shook his head and lowered his gaze, I nodded then looked at Cyprus "I want a full report about that son of a bitch, meanwhile Jud and I will descend the cells- I got some questions demanding answers" Cyprus gave me a curt nod and left while Jud and I began walking towards the cells.

The air turned heavier and colder as we went down the round stairs, our cells were designed underground in order to prevent escapes and as shelters for the women and kids in case of a war or an emergency. We reached Jacks' cell, he was pacing back and forth with his hands on his head, he stopped and looked at us then turned around so that he was fully facing us. I crossed my arms and spread my legs to show confidence and dominance, "I want to know why you dared to break one of the sacred rules with my brother's mate", Jacks scuffed "she hasn't been marked by your brother yet plus they didn't bond too" he exclaimed the in and out movement with his hands, disgusting asshole, " Zevrus claimed her as his mate in front of the whole pack of the men, that would be enough till he comes back, but you, as the fucker you are, couldn't keep your paws off of that girl could you?" , Jacks scowled "alpha, we've always shared human women among the men in the pack, this one is no different-" I cut him with a growl, "this one is different, I declared since day one that she is off limits" Jacks mimicked my posture "even for you?", that fucker!, I roared and hit the iron bars, making the whole room rattle "you dare speak to me with disrespect? I am your alpha! You will know your place!" I felt Jud's hand on my shoulder "alpha, that's enough, he's toying with you- don't let him get on your nerve" Jacks laughed "well, I think I just hit a nerve if you'll ask me", that was it, I grabbed the iron bars and with all my might I bent them wide apart and stepped inside the cell, Jacks didn't budge he smirked "well well, I understand now- poor Zevrus left and became another sample for the human scientists after the R.A.Ws caught him, it hasn't even been a week and you're already lusting over his fucking mate- that human bitch brought trouble with her!", when he was finished I was standing with my fists balled , the next thing I knew I was in my wolf form tearing him apart, blood splashed on the walls and oozed all over the floor, panting- I spat the last piece of his flesh from my mouth and walked out of the cell leaving Jud frozen in his place with his eyes wide as he stared at Jacks' torn body- parts of him were all over the place. 

I dashed to the woods, I ran and ran- the burn in my lungs didn't match the burn in my heart, Jacks knew the truth, that my brother was captured and is now lying somewhere in a lab with his chest and stomach opened for those scientists to do whatever they wanted with him. I stopped at the lake in the middle of the woods, stepping closer to the water I bent down to drink, but then noticed the blood all over my muzzle and face, I looked at my hands and my fur they were soaked in blood, I decided to jump into the water to wash it off- I dived down then rose back up and got out, sitting at the age of the lake I thought about what Jacks said right before I tore him, he was right, the whole time I was gone my mind kept trailing off and I thought about Rain a lot, maybe it was because I was worried about making the wrong decision about leaving her with Jacks, at the end I was right, but so was him- my brother is gone and I already held his girl in my arms and felt something fluttering in my chest. I feel disgusted with myself but my wolf isn't regretting anything- does he feel something that I don't?

 Looking at the full moon shining in the night sky I took a deep breath and let out a mournful howl, it's time for everyone to know that Zevrus is…dead.

Chapter 12

Rain

I woke up to the loudest howl that I've ever heard, raising my head slowly. I looked around and outside the window, it was still dark, how long was I asleep? Suddenly another howl pierced the night silence, I got up quickly and noticed that I was naked, the table cloth was laying on the bed tangled with the bed sheets- putting on some clothes I quickly walked down the stars and outside the broken door, I bumped into a hard chest, but before I could fall a strong hand grabbed my arm and steadied me, I looked up to see Jud, he was looking down at me with a strange look- concern.

"What are you doing out late?" he let go of my arm but didn't move, I tried to look behind his shoulder to see a number of werewolves heading towards the forest, I frowned "what's going on? I heard a howl and woke up" Jud grunted and looked away as if he didn't want to meet my eyes, I started to feel uncomfortable "Jud, was that Cedric's howl? Is he okay? Did something happen?" Jud looked down and sighed, "look, nothing's wrong it's just a call for a gathering" my frown deepened "that's strange, it sounded...mournful" Jud raised his head and looked at me with a sad expression, but before I could ask another question he turned around and walked towards the forest, I called for him to wait up, but he didn't, so I followed him and the other wolves.

After a long walk we reached a lake, I recognized it was the lake I swam in earlier when I was with ...Jacks, right Jacks! Maybe this is a gathering to discuss what Jacks' punishment will be tomorrow, I searched for a spot in the dark and stood there waiting for the announcement, after a huge number of werewolves were gathered- I spotted Cedric in his human form, he stood on a high rock naked with all his glory- I tried my best to keep my eyes up on his face, I frowned, his face was sad- eyes glossing with what seemed to be tears- why was he crying?

Cedric's voice boomed "everyone, listen up- I gathered you here right now because I have something urgent to share with you all.." he trailed off for a minute, his head hung down then he raised it again "after searching for my brother and your beta- Zevrus, we found out he was captured by the R.A.Ws '' everyone growled and I felt my heart clench, I grasped my chest while I kept listening to Cedric "Zevrus was captured and sent to the labs, he is....dead" , with the last word I felt my heart clench harder this time and all the air left my lungs, I gasped hard like a bird struck by lightning- and I fell to my knees, Cedric suddenly froze and looked at my direction, I felt the color fall from my face, I still had my fist on my chest, I couldn't breathe- Zevrus is dead? DEAD? Because I left him, because of me, he's dead! 

I felt a hand squeezing my shoulder, I looked up from the ground to meet Cedric's eyes ''breathe, Rain? Listen to me, breathe- how the fuck did she get here? Who the hell brought her along?!" Jud emerged from behind the crowd, everyone was standing in a circle around Cedric and me, Jud stepped closer and told Cedric that I followed him, Cedric stood up and grabbed Jud by the collar of his shirt- I couldn't watch any longer, I had to get some air, I felt like choking so I found the strength to stand up, then I turned around and dashed away from everyone, everything, I wanted to be alone- I ran until my legs couldn't run anymore. Stopping somewhere alone, I plopped to the ground and started to sob and cry like I've never cried before- I couldn't understand why my heart feels so broken over a guy that I barely knew, but I felt shocked by conscious- maybe I shouldn't have listened to Cedric and left, maybe I should've fought harder for Zevrus, I was careless and let go simply because I felt like I owned Zevrus nothing- but the guy's life depended on me, literally. 

I stood up and started calling his name hoping that he would hear me and come to me "Zevrus! Zevrus! I'm so sorry! I'm here, please come back, please! Zevrus!"

I heard a twig snap and whirled around thinking it would be Zevrus but it wasn't, I was a bear , a grizzly was a few meters away from me, I should be scared, but I wasn't- it's like I didn't care anymore, let him come to me, I opened my arms and raised my chin "come get me" the bear reared on its hind legs and roared at me then it went back on four and charged towards me, I kept my arm wide open and closed my eyes, but when the ground thundered underneath me, I opened my eyes again to find the bear getting closer I took two steps back and lost my footing, the next thing I was falling from a height, I shrieked and closed my eyes bracing myself for the fall on the hard ground, but instead I fell into deep water. Water filled my ears and I floated underneath the surface. I opened my eyes slowly and observed the darkness underneath me while the moonlight shone on the surface. My lungs burned and cried for air but I didn't comply, I wanted this peaceful silence to last a bit longer.

Soon black dots started to appear in my vision, strange, I don't recognize that kind of fish- my thought was cut when a head of me the water surface broke and a figure started to swim towards me, did that bear honestly jump after me to eat me, I smiled to myself, stupid bear. But then the figure came closer and two icy blue eyes appeared in front of me, before I could register, I was held and lifted above the water surface, I gasped and coughed- I heard a voice "breathe, breathe" I closed my eyes and kept breathing until my breath steadied, then I was grabbed and dragged through the water until I felt the ground underneath me "Rain? Rain! Open your eyes!" I opened my eyes slowly and saw the familiar blue eyes hovering over me, for some reason I saw them hazel for a second "Zevrus" I whispered, but the hazel eyes were gone again- a hand snaked behind my head and seated me up- my vision started to clear bit by bit- the blue eyes were staring at me, his hair was draping wet and pushed back, his nose, his mouth- still I wanted him to be Zevrus "Zevrus?" the guy shook his head, "Rain, it's me, Darious" I blinked a few more times and my vision cleared finally , "Darious, what happened? What are you doing here?", he sighed with relief and sat next to me "well, you called the wrong name but I heard you and showed up anyway" he chuckled, that smile of his warmed my heart, tears started to fall down my cheeks again, I couldn't control them - Darious turned serious "Rain? Why are you crying? What happened?" I looked at him, how do I say it? The only word that came out of my mouth was "Zevrus". Darious looked confused at the beginning but then his face showed realization and he said "oh" and looked away, I could see his jaw set and unset while he nodded and closed his eyes, "you knew?" came out my question with a squeak, Darious nodded again and kept his eyes closed, I wasn't mad at him, he did try to tell me before Jacks interrupted- so Jacks knew too and still he tried to. at that memory I started to cry harder and sob, Darious' eyes turned to me in panic "Rain, hey hey it's going to be okay, shhhh don't cry, I hate it when a girl cries, please don't cry", but I couldn't stop , I found myself leaning into him, and he stiffened, I wrapped my arms around his torso and cried on his shoulder, slowly he adjusted his position so that I was sitting between his legs and hugged me, squeezing me tighter while I sobbed with my head on his chest and my nose at the crook of his neck.

Chapter 13

After a long cry I finally calmed down, Darious stayed quiet the whole time and I liked the silence so I stayed quiet too, observing the trees, the grass, the moon shine all over the flowers and grass, it was peaceful. I almost dozed off when suddenly a deep growl sounded from somewhere, Darious stiffened and lift his head to sniff the air, then he seemed to relax and patted my head "your alpha is here" I nodded and moved away from between his legs, I slowly got up and Darious followed-I looked around and finally spotted Cedric in his human form ,dressed up this time-he was standing between the brushes and looking at me with a scary scowl on his face.

Darious stepped beside me "alpha Cedric" Cedric nodded "Darious", then he looked at me intently like he was staring into my soul- suddenly I felt uncomfortable under the heavy silence and started to squirm and look around. Darious looked at me and raised his brow "you ok?", I met his gaze and smiled "um, yeah I'm fine-thank you for saving me"-" Cedric cut me "from what? what happened?" his demeanor changed from angry looking to something else-less dominant, and I thought I saw a flash of worry in his eyes. I cleared my throat "I was attacked by a bear and fell into the lake when I tried to escape" Cedric blinked and relaxed "are you ok?" I nodded, and he looked at Darious "thank you- but I can see you already know Rain. You seemed rather comfortable a few minutes ago" Darious chuckled "alpha Cedric- you have nothing to worry about, Rain is my friend and we met the first time I saved her life" Cedric scowled "the first time? What the hell are you talking about?" Darious explained everything to Cedric- he came closer to stand with us and listened the whole time while his arms were crossed and his stance reflected dominance.

When Darious was done, I looked at him and smiled- but when I looked at Cedric he was staring at me and then he gave Darious a strange look- I thought I sensed jealousy but then I shook the thought away, why would he be jealous when I mean nothing to him- Zevrus face jumped into my thought and I immediately remembered that he's now dead- now what?

After saying goodbye to Darious, Cedric and I walked back to the pack area- we were silent, he seemed to be lost in thought just like I was-but I had to ask "Cedric, how long have you known that Zevrus is...gone" he stopped and sighed, then slowly turned to face me with a sad expression "when Cyprus, Jud and I reached the human borders, we had searched the whole radios, he was nowhere, I reached other alphas of all the packs in the areas nearby-they haven't seen him. The whole time I had doubted that he was captured by the R.A.Ws but hoped not, when we reached the human boarders I decided to take the risk and act as a soldier in disguise- my fears were confirmed, the other soldiers confirmed that they caught a grey werewolf and he didn't fight back, instead he shifted into human form and gave himself in.." he was quiet for a second and I felt my heart being crushed, he continued "they said that they found it strange of a werewolf to simply surrender- usually werewolves fight back and cause casualties, but this one they called their "lucky draw" didn't fight back or show any aggression, and he was transported to the labs to be killed and used for scientific purposes" he clenched his jaw and his eyes turned golden, it was clear his wolf was close to the surface, I found my voice and asked "how do they kill werewolves?" he closed his eyes "wolfsbane- it's a venom that kills werewolves if given in heavy dozes".

We continued on our way in silence until we reached the pack house, I noticed the door was fixed, when we stepped inside Cedric told me that he had some pack work to deal with and excused himself. I stood there looking around and couldn't help but remember the night Jacks almost raped me, I wondered what happened to him, when is he going to get the punishment- I got busy thinking about Zevrus and forgot to ask Cedric about it- tiredness fell over me like a warm blanket and the morning light had broken, I climbed the stairs and took off my filthy clothes, after that dip in the lake they stank so I threw them away- then I took a shower and spent the next three hours sleeping.

I woke up to a loud thud- I realized it's the front door of the house, raising my head up I looked around and outside the window, the sun is high in the sky and I had just about enough sleep. I got up and walked into the bathroom, after a quick fresh up I exited my room and went down to the kitchen- I needed coffee desperately. I was brewing the coffee and waiting patiently next to the coffee machine to finish while holding my coffee mug when suddenly a strong scent of cinnamon and vanilla washed over me- I closed my eyes and inhaled the aroma, the sound of someone clearing their throat made me open my eyes and look behind me- it was Cedric, with his hair disheveled everywhere and wearing only grey sweat pants that hung down to his hips while he had no shirt on- I gulped loudly.

Cedric scratched the back of his head "hey" he said and I noticed his voice was hoarse, looks like he had a good sleep as well, I smiled at him "hey yourself" he pointed towards the coffee machine- "can I get some too?" I nodded and reached up to the cupboard to get another mug for him, I hadn't noticed when my shirt climbed up revealing my stomach until I heard Cedric's breath hitch for a second, when I looked at him, he was looking away with his hand on the back oh his neck while he leaned against the door frame. I poured two mugs of coffee and sat on the bar stool and Cedric sat across, we drank in silence for a few moments- but then I had a question that had been nagging me since yesterday "Cedric, can I ask you about something?" he looked up from his mug and cocked an eyebrow "sure" I bit my lip and looked at my coffee mug "what's become of Jacks?"

At that moment someone knocked at the door, Cedric rose from his stool and walked towards the door, I had a good look at his rippled back and shoulders as he walked with such grace towards the door, then he opened it and Cyprus got inside, he looked stressed and didn't even look my way "alpha, we have a problem" Cedric tensed up "what is it?" Cyprus stepped aside to let Cedric look outside the door, Cedric's eyes widened and my curiosity had me running to look what's outside the door- they were about three guys holding up a fourth guy that was bruised and beaten up, his clothes were torn and he was bleeding in different areas of his body.

Cedric

I stared at the guy bleeding, it took me a moment to realize it was Tempo- the son of one of the oldest warriors in our pack, Numbers, Rod and Black were holding him up- it was obvious they were straining to keep him up, Tempo was no little guy- like his father, he is one of the strongest wolves on our pack, to me he is a general at war. Seeing him like this meant that someone out there is strong enough to beat him up which means bad news.

I heard a low gasp and looked beside me to see Rain shocked, she had her hands covering her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at Tempo, she took a few steps back then looked at me, she didn't need to see that, in our world this kind of scene of blood and gore is something regular while in the human world in was something out of the ordinary- I decided it was enough for her to see the damage and called for Cyprus "yes alpha?" he looked prepared to take any order , but this next order had taken him aback "stay here with Rain while I investigate what happened with Tempo" , Cyprus stared at me for a while as if waiting for me to say it was a joke but then I stared back at him and raised my eyebrow, he looked at Rain then cleared his throat and looked down "yes alpha, I'll be right here". I nodded and walked outside closing the door behind me.

"alright Tempo, now that you're comfortable tell me who did this to you?" after he cleaned up and drank some water, we were sitting in the conference room where we usually had our pack meetings, for some reason Tempo had asked to talk to me in private instead of everyone and although he earned some frowns and glares from the others because we usually shared everything and kept no secrets, I respected his wish and asked everyone to give us some privacy.

Tempo cleared his throat and met my gaze "alpha, I found my mate" I stared at him for a second then smiled and slapped his shoulder "good for you pup! You sure have grown a lot" Tempo grimaced and hung his head, I frowned "what's wrong?" He sighed "she's from the Amara pack" I nodded "okay...does her alpha know? Have you come clear with him?" I stared at Tempo waiting for him to answer but when he didn't, I had a bad feeling "answer me!" A hit the table with my fist, Tempo didn't hesitate to answer eight away "no one knew, I used to meet her in secret" I narrowed my eyes at him "when was that?" He sighed "whenever it was my turn to do patrols" I growled at him "you ditch your duty and put everyone in danger just to go meet your girl? Have you lost your mind?!" Tempo held his head in his hands and I felt that he had more to say "one time one of the wolves from her pack saw us, fucker wasted no time and went straight to alpha Dracus, when he knew he got mad and sent after me- little did I know that I was walking straight into an ambush" at this point I stood up and started pacing around the room to calm my wolf , Tempo swallowed hard then continued "turns out that alpha Dracus had her checked to make sure she was still a virgin .. " when he paused I stopped pacing and locked eyes with him "tell me that she is still a virgin Tempo" he looked down then shook his head, I lost it , grabbing him by the collar I threw him across the room, he hit the wall with a grunt and fell to the ground. "You broke the rules and stepped over the law! How dare you show your face here?!".

Tempo groaned and started to get back up but I snarled at him and he got back down, the door flew open and Numbers and Black got inside "what's going on?" I looked at Numbers "well, Tempo here grew some balls and decided to break a rule, he fucked his mate before getting the approval from her alpha!"

Numbers and black looked at each other then at Tempo , I ran a hand through my hair and pulled at it "now what am I gonna do? They will demand a virgin in return from our pack to mate with one of their wolves, if we say no this will be war! Tempo you motherfucker!" I walked to him and kicked him hard in the ribs, now I know why they beat him so hard.

Rain

I looked at Cyprus who was busy playing a video game while we waited for Cedeic to come back. I started to feel bored so I thought I would start a conversation with Cyprus, I got up from the bar stool and walked towards the sofa he was hanging on, we I sat down he stiffened and looked at me "need anything?" I raised my eyebrow " how old are you?" Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow "why do you ask?" I shrugged "just getting to know you, since we're here bored and all" he huffed "I'm not bored" I looked at the huge TV screen then back at him "right, that's why you've been playing super Mario for a while now" he finally sighed and turned it off, then he turned himself to face me "29" I blinked "what?" He huffed "my age- 29" I nodded "I'm 26" he nodded back and fell silent. awkward. I fumbled with the whim of my shirt while he leaned back and looked outside the window, I cleared my throat "tell me Cyprus. What was Zevrus like?" He stared at me in shock then his features softened and he rubbed his face and sighed "Zevrus was like a brother to me- we grew up together, ever since we were young, he had it in him to be the protector of the weak, always defending other kids and girls" he smiled and continued "when we reached adulthood he was already one of the strongest wolves in the pack, while Cedric was the strongest with no doubt- their father alpha Alexander was kind and loved every body in the pack as if we all were his family, but when it came to rules of the chosen wolves of battles, he was strict- so he ordered that each and every one of the adult males fight against his sons- that way he would make sure to know who will become alpha after him "For a whole day there were lots of matches , some against Zevrus others against Cedric, then my turn came and I fought against Cedric- at some point Cedric lost control over his wolf and he became too aggressive" I looked at him confused "how exactly do you lose control over your wolf? Isn't it like you own him?" Cyprus chuckled "it is a wolf not a pet dog- we don't own our wolves and they do not own us, it's more like a brotherly connection we are one. But when our wolf reaches adulthood, it will always try to take control and by taking control the human for starts to fade deep inside until the werewolf takes over and doesn't transform back into the human form" I stared at him with huge interest "wow" was all I could say, I was learning a lot from him. He continued telling the story "when Cedric lost control over his wolf he defeated me but then he almost killed me, when a wolf surrenders he shows his neck and the stronger one bites it slightly as a show of a winner , that day Cedric but me and almost tore my neck open, and that's when Zevrus pushed him off me and fought his wolf until Cedric came to realization and transformed back to his human form" I looked down and nodded "so Zevrus saved your life" Cyprus nodded and looked outside the window "hey, speaking of the devil".

Cedric

I opened the door and stormed inside, the first thing that I noticed was that Rain and Cyprus were sitting really close on the couch, the second thing that I noticed was that they were all smiles and laughs- Cyprus never smiles, let alone laugh, I narrowed my eyes at them suspiciously, Cyprus turned pale and stood right up "alpha, you're back, may I ask about what happened with Tempo?" I looked at Rain who scooted forward to the edge of the couch and looked at me intently, I looked back at Cyprus "not now, come with me we'll talk in my office" then I walked towards it and Cyprus followed.

He closed the door and came to stand in front of my desk as I rounded it and sat in my chair, "everything alright alpha?" I gestured for him to sit down as I fumbled around the drawers, "I need to find the little notebook that has the names and contact info of the alphas of the packs in the area" Cyprus raised his brows "what for?" I found the notebook and slapped it on the desk then sighed and scratched my head "well, we may have a war ahead of us, with the Amara pack" Cyprus stared at me then blinked "why? We have a good political relationship with them" I nodded and balled my fists "well, Tempo just fucked it- literally" when Cyprus looked at me confused I told him everything that went down with Tempo the whole time his scowl deepened and when I was down he let out a growl "that idiot! he just doomed us all to hell" I sighed and nodded again "I need to call alpha Dracus and try to come up with a solution to this problem" Cyprus nodded and stood up "tell me what to do alpha" I searched for alpha Dracus' name "make sure we are prepared in case of a war, all the cells need to be filled with food and supplies , tell the others that we have a meeting within an hour" Cyprus nodded and headed out.

I dialed alpha Dracus' number and placed the phone on my ear as it rang, I started to weigh all my options, not that I had many, the problem was that we had no virgins in our pack-they only virgins are little girls no older than 5 or 10 that won't happen, so I prepared for the second option which is war.

My thoughts were cut when a deep growl sounded on the phone "hello" I cleared my throat "alpha Dracus, this is alpha Cedric speaking" I heard some shifting sounds and a low feminine moan , looks like he's been busy " alpha Cedric, I was hoping you'd call, I need to speak with you" I sighed "I know, Tempo showed up and told me everything-I assure you alpha Dracus, Tempo got his share of beating and punishment as well" suddenly alpha Dracus laughed "I like your forwardness son, but you know that's not how it goes- we have laws and rules and by that I am going to head to your territory tomorrow in order to claim a virgin for one of my wolves" I clenched my jaw "I understand and respect the law, but there are no mature virgins in my pack yet, so I must be excused " alpha Dracus snorted "well the virgin doesn't have to be a she wolf" I froze "what do you mean?" he hummed "I heard that you have a human girl in your pack-" I cut him "that is my brother's mate, she is off limits" alpha Dracus' voice turned serious "your brother is dead, the girl doesn't carry a mark and she did not mate with your brother, I see no reason for her being off limits" I felt anger start to boil in my stomach and my wolf stirred inside of me, alpha Dracus broke the silence "think about it till tomorrow, when I arrive- I expect your approval , otherwise you know the consequences. Think about it-the girl vs your pack" then he hung up. I started to breathe faster as I stared at the phone , anger built up and started to rise inside of me and I crushed the phone in my hand, my wolf started to come out as my claws elongated and my canines started to grow out , suddenly a knock on the door made me whip my head towards the direction of the sound -who dares interrupt me in my office I snarled and then saw a pale Rain stare at me with her mouth agape and her eyes wide with fear , is this the girl who's going to brake me? It was her vs my pack, I should kill her and then alpha Dracus won't have to attack, NO! I started to take back control over my wolf but it was too late, my wolf launched itself on Rain and her scream echoed in the whole house.

Chapter 14

Cedric

I landed on top of Rain with heavy thud and saw her eyes close slowly as she went limp and her  hands dropped to her sides, her head tilted to the side showing her neck as a silent sign of surrender, my wolf roared and snarled at her again like it was daring her get up and challenge him, but she didn't scream anymore and she didn't move any more, she stood at the slightly open door and when I attacked her, we both fell back and the door flew open as we landed outside the office. Suddenly the front door flew open and Cyprus stood there looking at me with horror then down at Rain then back at me in shock "alpha , calm down, shift back" he took a step closer and I stood on all fours above Rain's body as a sign of possessiveness then snarled at him, he froze and looked even more shocked but as I growled at him he bowed his head and spoke slowly "alpha Cedric, I beg you, shift back, please" suddenly I felt my wolf retreat and within seconds I was above Rain in my naked human form. I looked at Cyprus who looked at me with horror " alpha, look" he gestured towards Rain and I followed his gesture till.my eyes landed on her stomach-it was bleeding and her blood made a small puddle beside her.

I panicked as I stared at the gash on the side of her stomach, I started to touch around and feel how deep it is but then Cyprus stopped me "alpha, no, you could cause greater damage- let me take her to the pack healer" I swallowed hard and breathed fast as I looked down at Rain who had fallen a victim because of my recklessness, I looked back at Cyprus and nodded "take her, I will be there shortly, I need to calm down". Cyprus nodded and walked slowly and carefully towards Rain, as he knelt down beside her and moved to touch her, I suddenly felt my wolf push forward and snapped my teeth at him, Cyprus froze but kept his eyes down as he waited for me to calm down, I decided that the best solution would be for me to get out of there, so I darted upstairs to my room and locked myself inside.

I could hear Cyprus' foot steps down stairs as he walked outside the house, I stood by the window and watched him walk towards the healer's shed as he carried Rain in his arms, he had her slightly lifted up so that her head rested on his shoulder while her arms dangled down- I felt my wolf growl at the scene- I caused Rain harm and I'm losing control over my wolf around her, she is affecting me and my wolf in a bad way. Right now I have all the reasons to give her away to the Amara pack, she is a virgin, in fact she is the only virgin in my pack who's ready to bare pups, but it is known how a wolf would treat a woman that isn't his mate, especially a human, I've almost killed her myself-the first time I saw her with Zevrus I literally bit her and crashed her into a tree, then she was almost raped by Jacks, and the next day she knew about Zevrus' death- it's a miracle she can still stand on two feet.

I thought about the idea of handing her to alpha Dracus again, and decided it's not gonna happen. Now I needed a plan to avoid war, setting a trap for another alpha and his escorts would be shameful of my side to do, and it's against the law, what am I going to do? I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it's time for the gathering I called upon. After putting on some clothes I headed to the conference room, every wolf bowed their head as I passed by them and reached for my chair ahead of the huge round table, "everyone, sit down" I gestured for them then rubbed my face with a sigh. After everyone was comfortable and quiet, I cleared my throat "I gathered you all here tonight because I have news to share with you, and I have a plan witch I need every one of you to approve." Everyone nodded and I continued "the rule of the virgin mate says- as we all know, that a female should stay untouched until the alpha of the pack she belongs to gives his blessing to her bond with the male" again everyone nodded and kept quiet "sadly one of our wolves broke the rule" at that moment I heard growls and curses around the room , I banged on the table with my fist "silence!" The room went silent again and I continued "if a virgin is deflowered by her mate without the approval of her alpha, the alpha of the pack has the right to choose another virgin for one of his wolves without necessarily having the virgin's approval" I sighed and rubbed my face "the virgin mate of one of our wolves belongs to the Amara pack, alpha Dracus will be here tomorrow to claim.one of our virgins" instantly everyone panicked and growls combined with shouts and curses and promises of blood spelling were all over the room, I banged again on the table "shut up! Hear me out!" I continued "the only virgin that is mature enough to be mated is Rain, but as we all know, she belongs to Zevrus and therefore we must protect her, now my brothers I need to hear ideas from you in order to set a plan for tomorrow" I stood up and eyed everyone, most of the wolves seemed to be in deep thought, my eyes landed on one wolf who was shaking his head in disapproval "Castor? Is there something you wanna share?" He looked up and met my gaze "alpha, forgive me but I don't believe that it's worth it" I narrowed my eyes at him and everyone seemed to take a step back from him so that I could see him clearly "what do you mean exactly?" Castor looked around him then he swallowed hard and continued "why should we protect Zevrus' mate when he's dead? If Zevrus is dead she doesn't need to be here" I growled him but he must've mastered all his courage "I am not willing to put myself in the face of danger and in a war all for the sake of an unclaimed human" I snarled at him "you will respect her and all of you shall treat her as an equal in our pack, Zevrus claimed her in front of all of you that night, we all know that was his wish- and you will respect it even after his death".

The room went silent for a while, I walked to my chair and sat in it, then kept eyeing everyone and waiting for someone to throw an idea toward me.

One wolf named Jason stepped forward and raised tipped up his chin to get my attention "alpha, I have a plan, but I need you to hear it patiently until I'm finished" I nodded at him to continue "when alpha Dracus arrives tomorrow, we will act normal and give away Rain" I growled and stood up, Cyprus placed his hand on my shoulder "please, let's hear his plan" , I closed my eyes and took a deep breath then opened them again and nodded for Jason to continue, he cleared his throat "after they leave we send two wolves after them to know where they would be keeping her- then we take her back," I shook my head "that plan is way too obvious, I think alpha Dracus is smart enough to be aware or any intruders or run-aways" Jason nodded "yes I know, that's why I volunteer to be one of the two wolves to do the mission" I looked at Cyprus then back at Jason "and how exactly are you planning to go in and out?" Jason smirked "well I happen to know an old tunnel underground that leads exactly to the tree lines behind the Amara pack's territory, it used to be an escape route for prisoners at war-now it's abandoned and still can be used" I scratched my chin and thought about it for a while, it seemed like a good plan , but still "let's say you reached that tree line, you'd still be outside and far from the room or cell or whatever place they would be hiding her" Jason nodded "I know, that's why I plan to cover my smell and sneak in" another wolf called Colton spoke up "but they will know that we took her back " Jason shook his finger "they won't because she will "escape" and I will take her somewhere away from our pack" I growled, "where exactly do you plan on taking her Jason?" He raised his hands in surrender "alpha, I don't have any intention in becoming another werewolf torn to shreds like Jacks. In order for my plan to succeed I need you to trust me, besides, I'm doing this for Zevrus." ." Colton stepped to stand next to Jason "and I'll be his partner in the plan" I studied them for a while then nodded and spoke up "is anyone against the plan?" No one spoke up so I knew everyone accepted it. I wrapped up the meeting and walked out of the conference room - it's time to check on Rain.

Chapter 15

Rain

I woke up feeling pain in my side, I slowly opened my eyes then squinted them, there was a bright light in my view- as my vision slowly adjusted I started to look around, soon I figured I was in a Clinique, to me the smell of alcohol was refreshing so I inhaled slowly and deeply and hummed as I relaxed, I heard shuffling near me so I looked to see Cyprus walking towards my bed "good, you're up" I smiled at him, though he didn't smile back I still felt cared about. I tried to sit up but gasped as white hit pain shot through my side "hey! Easy, your wound is still healing don't make any sudden movements" I frowned, what wound? Then I remembered Cedric attacking me. I heard a knock on the door and Cedric stood there, all of a sudden I turned into a crazy monkey and grasped Cyprus' shoulders and arms in pure panic "no please! Don't hurt me! I didn't do anything I swear" Cyprus was trying to untangle me from him and his expression was annoyed but then averted his gaze towards Cedric and I followed, his head was bowed and his fists clenched at his sides, slowly I let go of Cyprus and stared at Cedric- I felt regret for acting like that. Afterall, Cyprus had told me that Cedric lost control over his wolf once.

Cedric hung his head "I'm so sorry Rain, I was having a temper when you came into my office and I wasn't thinking straight- I hope you forgive me" I studied him for a moment then decided that I should take into consideration all the pressure he's holding along with Zevrus' death. My eyes watered at the thought of Zevrus but I blinked them away and sniffed with a smile "Cedric you really don't have to apologize, Cyprus gave me a background on your control over your wolf" Cedric whipped his head up and glared at Cyprus who clenched his jaw and lowered his head , I realized I just messed up so I hurriedly said "but it's ok! really I'm fine, plus I like this love and hate relationship between your wolf and me- Afterall, this isn't the first time he attacks me, while later he saved me, YOU saved me Cedric" Cedric's features softened and he took a few steps towards me, suddenly he did the most unexpected thing ever, he hugged me! , I was wrapped in strong arms and the scent of Vanilla and Cinnamon, my eyes went wide and my arms stayed on my sides while my heart did a flip inside my chest. I was hugged before but this- Cedric's arms, they made me feel different, something inside me woke up and I shuddered.

Cedric let go and took two steps back, I snapped out of my daze and looked at Cyprus who was shocked, he looked like he'd seen a ghost or something. When he looked at me, I felt my face flush red and I looked down, Cedeic's next question made me look at him "how are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?" I sighed and cleared my throat "it hurts here on my right side, I pointed towards the wound, Cedric's face spoke guilty, then he looked at Cyprus "what did the healer say?" Cyprus, who looked lost in thought blinked twice "what?" Cedeic frowned "I asked you about what the healer said about Rain's injury", Cyprus rubbed his face "oh, about that he said that the injury was minor-luckily your claw punctured slightly through the skin, no vital organs or soft tissue were damaged". Cedric nodded and released a relieved sigh, Cyprus continued "the healer had her wound cleaned and stitched while she was passed out, he said it will take a while to heal completely, the stitches will melt away and there will be a permanent scar". He looked at me as he said that and I nodded, I hated the fact that I will be having a scar on me but the fact that it was caused by Cedric made me feel almost proud, as if I wanted it to be there from the beginning, I closed my eyes and shook my head -the hell.am I thinking?

Cedric cleared his throat and crossed his arms "Rain, now that you're up and Cyprus is here, I'm going to explain to you a few things that occurred before and while you were out of it" Cyprus leaned forwards and I stared at Cedric as he updated me about that beaten up guy called Tempo, the phone call with alpha Dracus and the plan Cedric and the pack set for me. Slowly I started to understand why Cedric was furious and lost control. When he finished, he went silent and studied me for a while. I needed to process what he was saying and apparently, he needed my confirmation of the plan, Cyprus was staring at me as well, waiting for my answer. I closed my eyes and held my head in my hands-if I go with the wolf from the Amara pack, I'm going to be in danger, I have no guarantee that he won't try and rape me, hit me or even enslave me, but still the fate of the Steel pack was in my hands, there are families here and children, they don't have to suffer because of me. I blew out a breath and nodded "ok, I'm ready" Cedric and Cyprus blew out a breath of relief and nodded back, Cedric stepped forward and held my hand in his, his eyes locked with mine as he said "my pack and I owe you our lives, I promise you that you will be saved tomorrow, you will not sleep even one night in the Amara pack's territory- you have my word". I nodded and looked down at our hands, my heart flipped again and my cheeks flushed, I must be dumb, they guy may not mean anything intimate with his gesture and here I am drooling all over him, I needed to get it together.

The night passed by and the next morning came quick, I was up early, I barely slept through the night- all sorts of thoughts were in my head, about the plan, about Zevrus and mostly guilt about Cedric, I thought about his eyes, his smile and his hands and scent- I am scared that I might be developing some feelings towards him. I took a long shower and prepared myself mentally for the events of today, I brushed my hair and twirled its strands around my fingers, I was so nervus and doing this calmed me down a little. Heading out of the main house I walked outside of the shade under the light of the sun, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth- it's a nice day, too bad I won't be enjoying it for long.

I heard footsteps behind me, the scent of vanilla and cinnamon made my smile warmly, Cedric stood beside me- when I looked up, he was looking at the distance, I studied his profile, his strong jaw, his dark blond hair, his strong brow and sexy frown, those lips- I gulped loudly. Cedric suddenly smirked and looked down at me "well good morning to you too- someone's feeling a little too happy to see me" I stared at the ground and held my hands on my face to cover my red cheeks, Cedric laughed, and his laugh is something out of this world, "adorable" was all he said about me as he turned and walked the other way.

After a little while, the rest of the wolves from out pack started to gather around, Cedric and Cyprus stood by my side as we waited for the Amara pack wolves to arrive, I was very nervous I thought my heart was gonna beat outta my chest, I felt a hand brush mine- Cedric looked at me and smiled "try to steady your heart beat, if it keeps beating at this rate, everyone here will start dancing to the beat" his joke made me laugh and I relaxed a little bit, but then he stiffened and looked straight I looked around to see everyone perked up and attentive, I couldn't hear anything but since werewolves have a very sensitive hearing they may have heard the Amara pack wolves approach. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, stick to the plan, remember Cedric's promise I told myself as I opened my eyes and saw a number of wolves walk towards us.

All of those wolves were in human form, I studied them one by one, they were quiet just like our wolves, no birds were singing, no crickets, nothing but the sound of the trees. A man stepped forward, he was huge, he wore a pair of black jeans and boots, leaving his chest bare, there was no way to describe his muscles- the guy's muscles had muscles, he had an evil aura to him, everything about him screamed danger, I took a step back and hid behind Cedric.

Cedric's voice broke the silence "alpha Dracus, welcome to Steel pack territory" , so the muscle guy clearly is alpha Dracus, I stole a few more glances at him, he had dark skin, bright green eyes, short buzz-cut dark hair, and his smirk showed white teeth with long canines, I couldn't kid myself by saying he wasn't handsome, as the matter of fact he was extremely attractive-until he noticed me and his smirk turned into a menacing smile, I stared at him. Wide eyed as he spoke "alpha Cedric, I take this is the virgin you promised me?" Cedric tensed in front of me "yes, this is her- this is Rain" alpha Dracus chuckled darkly, it was very deep as was his voice, I took a step forward so that he could see me clearer, his eyes devoured me from the top to the bottom, then he took a step forward "your virgin is accepted" he extended a hand towards his wolves "the wolf who will be having this virgin is.." each one of them stared at me with hungry eyes as they waited for their alpha to declare the winner, I took a deep breath remembering Cedric's promise and repeating his words again and again in my head, then I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly , alpha Dracus smiled at me then said "me".

Some wolves gasped, other scowled and growled, Cedric blinked and cleared his throat "what?" alpha Dracus laughed "I said the wolf who will be having this virgin is me'' Cedric's eyes widened, and he looked at me, then he looked back at alpha Dracus "but you were supposed to give her to one of your wolves" alpha Dracus shrugged "and then I chose to have her as mine, is there any law that is against such thing?" Cedric looked confused, he looked down and his eyes were darting around as if trying to come up with something fast.

Cyprus 

I stood aside watching everything with complete shock, the plan was that Jason and Colton get into the Amara pack area and take Rain and disappear- simple, but it only was relevant if a wolf from the Amara pack got her, now that alpha Dracus claimed her, our whole plan has just blown out- Cedric's posture showed that he's thinking exactly as I'm thinking, I could see his eyes darting round I could even see his brain working out to come up with a new idea.

I looked around the crowd for Jason or Colton, my eyes locked with theirs, they happened to be standing together across me, I nodded at them and they nodded as well, then I moved to a clear area far from the crowd to meet up with them. Jason shook his head "alpha Dracus just fucked up our plan, everyone knows how barricaded his quarters are, if the girl goes in there, we'll have to have an army to get her out." I ran a hand through my hair and looked at Colton who had his hands on his hips as he looked towards the crowd "any ideas man?" he sighed and shook his head- "it's up to the alpha now".

I've never actually had a human friend, let alone a female human, but this girl Rain is special, I felt uncomfortable being near her before- but after that conversation we had, I feel that she's close to me and I would hate for her to suffer under alpha Dracus' rule. Everyone knows how cruel and manipulative he is, he has no sympathy towards werewolves or humans.

Colton was right, it is up to the alpha now- Cedric needs to think fast, but I can at least buy him some time, so I ran back to the gathering and shouted out "alpha Cedric, may I speak?" Cedric looked at me confused, but he nodded "go on"- I took a deep breath and looked at alpha Dracus- "alpha Dracus, it is your right to claim the virgin, you're right, there is no rule against it- but I believe that in return- Tempo has the right to have his mate, I mean this whole situation is because of Tempo and her, and she's no longer a virgin so she's practically useless". Alpha Dracus studied me with narrowed eyes for a second, then he nodded "alpha Cedric, this wolf has a point, we will be leaving shortly, now" he extended his hand towards Rain "come here", Rain stiffened and took a step back, she put her hands on her chest as to protect herself.

Alpha Dracus scowled "I said, come here" I noticed alpha Cedric approached her and whispered something in her ear, she seemed to relax a little bit, then she swallowed and nodded then approached alpha Dracus slowly- but when she almost reached him he quickly extended his arm and pulled her by the waist, she yelped and I took a step forward as did Cedric, I looked at him and noticed that he his muscles are flexed and his canines were extended- oh no... his wolf is close to the surface- I need to do something before he loses control and we all go into war mode.

I approached him slowly and carefully put my hand on his shoulder, his head whipped to the side to look at me and I shook my head- I spoke to him through telepathy "alpha, please keep your wolf under control, it's almost over- let him take her and I promise that tonight we will get her back" Cedric was breathing heavily, he answered me through mind link "he's touching her, look at his fucking hands" I looked at alpha Darcus's direction, he was grabbing Rain by the waist Infront of him, his other hand was touching her neck and chest, my breath hitched and I felt my own wolf surfacing, but then I lowered my eyes and took a deep breath. Alpha Cedric moved and I quickly followed as he stepped closer to the middle area between the two packs. Then he said his words that made the world turn upside down "I, alpha Cedric of the steel pack- claim this human woman called Rain, as my mate".

Chapter 16

Rain

I stared at Cedric in complete shock, did he just claim me as his mate? I must be imagining things, but my moment of daze crashed when I felt Alpha Dracus' arm tighten around my waist. For a second, I couldn't breathe- I tried to squirm to loosen his grasp but he tightened it even more and I gasped in pain. He laughed and clicked his tongue "Cedric you son of a bitch, what a complete piece of shit, you lust over your dead brother's mate" Cedric growled loudly "she's safer with me than to be treated like a sack of flesh in your hands" this time Dracus growled and took two steps forward dragging me along his side, I realized our plan has been ruined by the time alpha Dracus said he was taking me instead of giving me to any wolf of his pack- I noticed Cedric's reaction and Cyprus' disappearing and coming back, they must be improvising. Alpha Dracus bellowed, causing me to startle "wolves of the steel pack! Low and behold, your alpha is claiming this virgin as his mate- if you accept it, you will bring war upon yourselves, now is your time to speak, but beware of the consequences!"

Everyone started to look at each other, Cedric didn't move, he locked his eyes with mine the whole time- it calmed me down a bit, Cyprus moved to whisper something in Cedric's ear- I watched as Cedric's eyes widened, he clenched his jaw and looked at Cyprus who had an apologetic look on his face, Cedric snapped his teeth at him and he lowered his head and stepped back slowly. That moment I knew, the pack didn't accept Cedric's claim- therefore alpha Dracus is having me.

Cedric looked at me with an apologetic look, I closed my eyes and sighed as my tears started to roll down my cheeks- I felt desperate, but who am I kidding? Some of the wolves in the pack have families, of course they wouldn't put me first. Alpha Dracus spoke "well? What is your decision?" Cedric fixed his posture by pulling back his shoulders and standing straight "you may take the virgin, as for the girl from your pack- one of my wolves will be going with you to bring her to our pack" I shuddered as my worst fear was confirmed, I felt the rumble of laughter as alpha Dracus held me impossibly tight, suddenly he let go of my waist, grabbing me by the arms he pulled me in front of him, I stared at him with horror as he locked his gaze with mine, one hand came up to brush a strand of hair out of my face, but then he fisted his hand in the back of my head and pulled me into a ruff kiss, I kept my mouth shut and tried to push away but then his other hand grabbed my ass and I gasped- immediately his tongue slid into my mouth and devoured me, I tried to break the kiss but he wouldn't stop, hearing Cedric's growl I opened my eyes and looked at him in the corner of my eye- he looked furious and about to pounce.

I noticed everyone's gaze on me and I got an instant panic attack, I tried to push alpha Dracus harder from me but he wouldn't budge, so I bit his tongue hard- he growled and let go of me pushing me to the ground, he put a hand over his mouth and cursed- then he looked at me angrily and took two steps towards me, I started to crawl back but he grabbed me by then neck and pulled me up.

I gasped for air as he tightened his grip around my neck "you dare bite me little human? Let me tell you something, when I want something, I take it- this was only a warm up- I will do whatever I want with you later, feel free to take it willingly or choose to resist and suffer" he released my neck and I fell to the ground coughing and gasping. Suddenly Cedric bellowed "that's enough! You are disrespecting the pack and me as an alpha- no one wants to see your demonstration of rape". Alpha Dracus was still standing in front of me and staring at me angrily while his chest was heaving with anger- suddenly, he tilted his head to the side and a smirk showed on his face. "Time to go" was all he said before he bent down hollered me by the arm, I felt his claws dig into my arm, I gasped and winced from the pain it caused me.

Alpha Dracus turned around and dragged me behind him as he marched towards the huge gate of the pack area, I took a last look behind my shoulder at Cedric and the others who stared back in silence.

We walked in silence, the whole time I didn't want to think about what's waiting for me as soon as we reach the Amara pack's territory-I decided to think about what happened back at the Steel back, replaying Cedric's words over and over again in my head, him claiming me as his mate- was it because he really wanted me as his mate? His pained look towards me as I took a last look at him, he was furious and I could almost see his wolf surfacing- but who the hell am I kidding? Even if he really wanted me-there's no way he'd put me first instead of the whole pack, without his pack he's no alpha. I just wish that he would really come and get me, I don't care if he doesn't really want me, but I don't want Dracus to touch me- I need a plan to buy me some time before Cedric sends someone to my rescue.

I bumped into a hard back all of a sudden, startled. I took two steps back and looked up ahead, alpha Dracus had stopped and he completely ignored the fact that I just bumped into him- as if I'm a small fly. I looked at him and noticed that he was standing still, the others were standing still as well, and they were all sniffing the air, suddenly alpha Dracus whirled and grabbed me by the arm, I yelped as he snarled and yanked me behind his back , I felt like my shoulder was dislocated , hissing in pain I opened my mouth to ask what's going on when suddenly a roar pierced through the air I gasped and out of instinct grabbed alpha Dracus' arm hard , he looked at me behind his shoulder and raised an eyebrow-I was shaking so bad with fear, I've been among werewolves for a while now, but I still can't get used to the wolf side of them, they terrify me, gulping I closed my eyes and let go of alpha Dracus' arm- crouching down I rested my forehead on my knees and put my hands on my ears, it became really hard to breathe- I realized I was having a panic attack.

I heard one of the wolves behind me ask "what's going on with the girl? hey! Stand up!" Alpha Dracus' voice came up "leave her alone! Focus! There's a pack of rouges heading our way, looks like they picked up on the girl's scent, they think it's lunch time". As soon as he finished the sentence another loud roar came up and then I looked up to see two huge werewolves jumping from the trees, I gasped and grabbed my chest, I thought I'm having a heart attack, the two werewolves headed straight at alpha Dracus who smirked and punched each of them right on the jaws, they yelped and flew to the sides, from behind me I heard another fight starting up, but I didn't dare look.

A sudden idea occurred to me, I looked around me, we were still within the steel pack territory, if only I could escape then I would be able to find my way back to the pack, to Cedric's safety, I mustered my courage and slowly started to get on my hands and knees, I was trying to make myself as small as possible. Then, slowly I started to crawl a few inches at a time and stop until I reached the tree line-this was my chance! I stood up quickly and darted deep into the woods without looking behind me. I ran as fast as I could, and kept my ears strained for any sounds or voices I could pick. After a while I got tired, I was pretty sure I'm far away from the fight so I decided to take a break - wondering around, I found an old tree with a big gap in it's trunk , I fit easily and sat there taking my breath until it was steady again, looking around me I started to feel like I was going the wrong way, something about this spot wasn't right, it wasn't familiar- maybe I actually got lost in the woods, and it was already getting pretty dark, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, now what? Where am I gonna go now? How do I find my way back to the pack, what if I shouted Cedric's name like the last time when I needed his help? I let out a groan and shook my head, that would be stupid.

I opened my eyes again, and it was pitch black outside, did I doze off? I started to move and hissed as my back was stiff from the possession, I fell asleep in. I slowly crawled outside the tree trunk and stood up, looking around. I squinted in an attempt to see anything but it was useless, I couldn't see my own hand in the dark, I looked up to the sky, it was a moonless night. Just my bad luck- with a sigh I started to walk, I decided to go according to my gut feeling, I walked until I started to hear a sound of streaming water, I smiled, finally! Some water after all the running and walking, as I approached the sound, I heard a twig snap behind me. Frozen, my eyes started to dart around, I felt myself-start to shake again as a sudden wave of fear struck me, a few seconds passed and I couldn't hear anything, I decided to continue on my way slowly, but whenever I walked, I heard heavy thudding footsteps walk along with me, whenever I would stop it would stop, whenever I would walk it would walk, I was sure that I'm being hunted, I am a prey.

I reached the water stream, before bending down I took a useless glance around, of course I couldn't see anything , I had to drink, the thirst was burning my throat, crouching down I put my hands together and scooped some water then I brought them to my mouth and drank, there could be thousands of bacteria and god knows what in the water, but right now I didn't care, it tasted heavenly, after a few more gulps I felt better, sitting back on my rear I sighed again- but then I heard a another twig snap, this time it was louder, and there was a sudden guttural growl that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I froze as I heard heavy footsteps approach me from behind, until I felt it breathing on me and sniffing, then it snarled and I felt my head growing heavy.

Suddenly it moved from behind me and I saw a huge dark brown werewolf stepping at the water line and bending to drink from the stream, it drank just like a dog would, then it straightened up and looked at me, the second our eyes met, the green glint in his eyes told me exactly who it was, it was alpha Dracus. I whispered "no" and started to get up, he tilted his head to the side and observed me quietly, I managed to stand up without my knees giving up and stood there breathing heavily, the werewolf got into the position like it's ready to pounce and I felt my tears starting to run down my cheeks, the werewolf licked its mouth and took two steps forward, I screamed and turned around then started to run as fast as possible , I looked back and was surprised as the werewolf wasn't chasing me, I slowed down and stopped, while I still looking behind me trying to anticipate where it would emerge from , a sudden growl right in front of me shocked me and I whipped my head around to see the werewolf standing right in front of me, I was standing at his abdomen level, seeing his 6 pack up close, my eyes slowly climbed up until I craned my neck up to look at his face, when our eyes locked it grinned at me, and it was so terrifying that it caused me to trip back and hit my head on a rock.

The hit made my head swim and as I was beginning to lose consciousness I saw the werewolf shift into human form until a naked yet blurry Dracus was standing in front of me, he crouched and raised my chin with his finger, smirking he said "you shouldn't have ran, beautiful" then my eyelids felt too heavy and everything went black.

Chapter 17

I opened my eyes and found myself lying in a big comfortable bed, I stared at the black painted ceiling, the image of the dark wolf emerged into my mind out of nowhere and realization hit me- I gasped and sat up straight, ignoring the pounding and sharp pain in my head- my eyes searched the room I was in, its huge, I was in the queen sized bed, in front of me were two steps that would go down into a small area with a sofa and a coffee table, there was a small room that I expected to be the closet and the next to it I saw the bathroom with its door wide open-I was alone, for now. I noticed the sun was up because of the light coming from the big windows in the room, the curtains were closed but they didn't block the sunlight completely. I got up and walked to the window, pulling the curtain to the side, I looked outside to see that I am on the second floor and beneath were fences and barb wires all over the place, also there were two guys stationed far from each other along the fence, I gulped and closed the curtain, I already established that I am in the Amara pack's main house- now what?

I eyed the closed door, what are the chances that it isn't locked? I decided to try it anyway, I grabbed the handle and twisted it, to my surprise it wasn't locked- I opened it and peeked my head outside, there was a l wide corridor- to the left there were more closed doors, to the right there were some stairs, one staircase went down and the other one went up- I figured that the exist is down so I started walking slowly and as quietly as I could towards the stairs, of course considering that the house is all wood, there were some creaks here and there , and I had to stop and listen for any commotion every time the floor creaked.

I managed to get to the bottom floor, to my surprise it was pretty dark and there were a few closed doors while only one was open and light spilled from it- I took two steps before stopping abruptly, I heard two male voices talking- I recognized the deep voice of alpha Dracus, but the other one was foreign to me. "Alpha Dracus, please hear me out, we cannot take the risk of having a human girl within our pack-she might drag problems with her, I beg you to reconsider" I closed my eyes and said "Amen" in my mind, a chair was dragged back and then I heard footsteps walking around, "well, my dear friend- I believe our guest has just woken up" a pause "dear Rain, feel free to come inside" I froze, how did he know I was here? But then I slapped my forehead, he's a freaking werewolf, of course he smelled me, I sighed then walked inside the room. 

It turned out to be an office, just like Cedric's- it was huge and full of dark wood furniture, Dracus was standing next to the door with his hands behind his back as he observed me with a serious look, the other guy was sitting on the chair in front of the desk- his eyes were scanning me with a narrowed suspicious look- just like every other werewolf that I've seen so far, this one was gorgeous , his eyes were dark brown, his hair was the same shade I noticed he had a small scar on his eyebrow, a light stubble on his face and a strong jaw. He moved slightly and as he did my eyes studied his body, strong biceps, broad shoulders, strong defined chest, abs-he was wearing a sleeveless leather black cut with nothing underneath it, black jeans and black biker boots- his style matched Cedric's so well.

"Hey!" He called at me and snapped his fingers in front of my face, when did he get up? I blinked twice, when did he move to stand in front of me? I cleared my throat and stared at him in the face, he scowled as if it was rude of me "don't look at me with those lusting eyes of yours human" my face turned deep red and I moved my eyes from his to look behind him, on the wall behind the desk, there was a huge painting of a man sitting on a chair, he looked a lot like alpha Dracus, but his features looked harder and scarier, he was sitting with his legs apart and his hands rested on each of his thighs, in one hand he was holding what looked like a glass of scotch, in the other one he was wearing a ring that had the shape of a wolf's head. This must be alpha Dracus' father.

I lowered my gaze to the floor and that seemed to satisfy the guy in front of me "that's more like it" he scuffed and then moved back to sit in his char "I was talking to you but you seemed to be drowned in your own lustful thoughts at the time, I appreciate the flattery, but don't dare ignore me again", I nodded "I'm sorry" he gave me a once-over and nodded back "alright, now I was asking- how old are you?" I looked at him "26" ,he smirked "are you truly a virgin?" my face turned red and I looked down and nodded "I am"- he looked at alpha Dracus and chuckled "well, young, virgin and hot- you sure are lucky alpha" I heard alpha Dracus laugh from behind me as he stepped closer and held a strand of my hair then smelled it "your smell so good, it makes my mouth water" he let go and went to sit behind the desk "Xavier, I need you to keep your eyes open and your ears on full attention- after Cedric claimed the girl in front of everyone, I don't think he'll let go that easily" they guy named Xavier nodded and stood up, just before he would go alpha Dracus stopped him- "hold on, you haven't met properly, Rain- this is Xavier, my beta, Xavier- this is Rain, my new toy" they both laughed and I felt ridiculous, it angered me how he addressed me without any honor, toy? my anger surfaced any the words came out before I could stop them "I'm no toy of yours" their laughter died and they both stared at me in shock and anger, I tipped my chin up and pushed back my fear, alpha Dracus spoke in a low menacing voice "what did you say?" I took a breath "I said, I am not your toy, alpha Dracus". 

Alpha Dracus features hardened and he stomped towards me, I walked back until my back hit the wall- he raised his fist up ,I thought he was going to hit me and squeezed my eyes shut as I turned my head to the side bit instead his fist hit the wall right next to my head and it cracked, I opened my eyes and turned to look at the huge hall in the wall "next time you raise your voice or speak without respect to me, I won't miss" I shuddered, but then when I looked up to met alpha Dracus' stare his features softened, he raised his hand again but this time when I flinched his finger grazed the side of my face and neck, something in this notion made me relax, I whimpered as his hand drifted down and touched my stomach , I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, when I opened them again he was smirking "I can almost hear you purr like a kitten" I swallowed and looked behind him to find Xavier looking at me with a strange look on his face,his chest was heaving, his forehead was sweaty and his fists were clenched at his sides and his jaw was set 

I frowned in confusion, what's up with him? Dracus followed my gaze and chuckled "my friend, there is no need to worry or get angry, this human female is perfectly safe, and even if the whole Steel pack come to her rescue, they got no chance- alpha Cedric knows better than to start a war against us, after all" he paused and looked back at me "we are way stronger and bigger in numbers" I looked at him with pure hate, there was no need to remind me of my problem.

Chapter 18

Cedric

I was squatting down in the same spot Rain was standing on yesterday, I could smell her faint scent on the grass where she had fallen, last night I didn't sleep, my thoughts were running and I was thinking what's become of Rain so far, I tried hard not to imagine that bastard Dracus touching her or raping her, every time I imagined her naked underneath him just like when Jacks did, my blood starts to boil and my wolf fights to come out- her scent helped me calm down.

I sensed Cyprus approaching me, I stood up and turned to face him, from the way his features look I think he didn't sleep either. he stood in front of me and bowed his head "good morning, alpha", I grunted "morning" and took a deep breath as I scanned the area. Cyprus cleared his throat "alpha, I'm sorry that the pack didn't agree to have Rain as your mate yesterday" I frowned, that moment was one of the worst moments of my life, Cyprus continued "but because of the sacrifice she did to protect our pack from war, our pack members asked me to deliver a message" I tilted my head to the side and nodded for him "go on" he cleared his throat "alpha, we have a plan to get Rain back". I raised my eyebrows and put my hands on my hips "you do?" Cyprus nodded , I sighed "alright, gather everybody up in the conference room, I'll be there in five minutes".

walking into the conference room, everyone was there chattering and talking- I rounded the table and sat on my chair, everyone went quiet and I leaned on the table and laced my fingers "alright, I heard you all came up with a plan to save Rain, I'm ready to discuss it" everyone glanced at each other, then I saw Cyprus, Jason and Colton stepping up, I nodded for them to talk, Cyprus spoke up "alpha, we are all fully aware of our pack status, we have few warrior wolves and the others have families and responsibilities to take care of, therefore we decided that the best plan would be to contact the packs that we have peaceful agreements with- that way our numbers would increase and we would be able to fight." I shook my head "no one will agree to go to war over something that isn't against the law- alpha Dracus used the law as an armor and calculated things wisely before he acted" Cyprus looked at Jason and Colton and sighed, I tipped my chin towards Colton "any other plans" Colton nodded "yes alpha, as a matter of fact, the plan that Cyprus shared was actually plan B" I cocked an eyebrow "is that so? and what's plan A?". Jason smirked "well alpha, if I may- I would like to tell you what the plan is" I looked at Colton who nodded, looking back at Jason I nodded.

I stood up from my chair, after hearing Jason's idea, I actually started to have hope- this idea was improvised and alpha Dracus certainly would never think of it. Everyone stood watching me with anticipation, waiting for my agreement, I paced around the room back and forth, thinking of Jason's idea- finally I stopped and turned to face everyone- "I agree to the plan".

Rain

I stood in the large bedroom by the big window with my arms crossed, I observed the pack area ahead of me, just like any normal day, people were roaming around, women were cooking and children were playing and laughing. I noticed a little boy and a girl playing together- they reminded me of Jake and I when we were kids, I smiled to myself but then tears started to blur my vision, I missed him terribly, if he hadn't died, I wouldn't have been here today- being either prey for food or some truce gift passed over from one alpha to the other over my virginity. maybe if I had sex with some of the losers I used to date back at high school , I would've spared my life this whole long chapter, I sighed and wiped my tears. I need to be strong, Cedric promised me that he will be here for me, he will save me, and as much as I doubted it I still wanted to believe that I will not spend the night at alpha Dracus' quarters.

"enjoying the view?" I jumped and shrieked as alpha Dracus' voice broke the silence, I turned around and clenched my fist at my chest- one day I'll have a heart attack and die of jump scares like these. Alpha Dracus laughed and crossed his arms ''did I startle you? you sure seemed deep in thought" I sighed "I was watching the pack" I stuck my thumb back towards the window, alpha Dracus' eyes followed and he nodded, still smiling he approached me- I stood still as he stopped next to me and looked outside the window "funny thing, I thought you were thinking about your alpha" his eyes moved to look at me, I blushed and looked down, he chuckled "ah, young love, you two sure seemed to be on the same page-I saw the way he looked at you when I had you between my arms back there- there's no mistake, he loves you" I blushed harder but didn't say a word, does he really love me? Alpha Dracus held my shoulder and turned me to face him "look me in the eye, and tell me you don't feel the same towards him" I gulped, I don't know how I feel about Cedric, do I love him too? What about Zevrus? I closed my eyes and looked down but alpha Dracus raised my chin with his finger "do you love Cedric?" I couldn't answer him, he studied my face and nodded, his stare lingered on my lips for a second then he looked away and let go of my chin. he walked towards the bed and my heart started to beat faster as he sat on the edge of it and patted the spot next to him "come sit with me" I froze and stared at the spot next to him, he sighed "Rain, I don't like to repeat myself , either you come sit here or I get you to set here, you won't like it", I swallowed and moved to sit next to him "good girl", he patted my back with his heavy hand and I coughed, then he buried his nose in my hair and took a deep breath, I tried to be as calm as possible, alpha Dracus put his finger under my chin and made me face him, "tell me, Rain, how did you get to the Steel pack in the first place?" I shuddered, it was a relief that he wasn't going to do anything to me right now, I sighed and started telling him my story.

After I was done, alpha Dracus seemed to be deep in thought, he was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and fingers laced under his chin, with each breath his muscles seemed to move and ripple under his shirt, I sat quietly and waited for him to say something. after a few seconds passed by, he finally moved to stand up- then he turned to face me "well, after what Cedric did to you, I still don't understand how he managed to make you love him" I blinked, that wasn't what I expected to hear, I looked down at my fingers "well, nobody is perfect, and I believe that if someone is capable of hate, they are also capable of love" alpha Dracus squinted his eyes at me, then he stepped impossibly close to me and towered over me, I craned my neck to look him in the eyes, he spoke with a different tone "well then, do I need to bite you, throw you into a tree and pounce at you- to make you love me?" my eyes widened and I opened my mouth to say something but no words came out. what the hell is wrong with these people, I had to ask him a question "alpha Dracus, what makes me so special that everyone seem to fall in love with me or want me to love them" he smirked and tilted his head "well, it's obvious, you're pure- never touched, never kissed- you are rare". I frowned "what makes you think I haven't been kissed? How do you know that?" he shook his head "I don't, because I can't smell a human male on you- but when it comes to being kissed by a werewolf" he tapped his nose "my nose doesn't lie" then his smirk turned into a smile and he winked at me.

Chapter 19

Cyprus

I walked across the woods along with Jason, we were heading towards the Golden Moon pack, according to Jason's plan, this is the first step- gods I hope it works, for some reason I'm starting to miss Rain, she is the first person to make me smile in years, I recall our conversation, how she showed me sympathy and understood me, we shared our pain of losing Zevrus. Then I remembered Cedric's sincere words when he claimed her in front of the whole pack. If he hadn't done it- I would have, not that I think of her like that, but it was the only way to try and keep her in the pack.

Jason and I halted, we looked at each other as we both sensed a werewolf nearby. I signaled for Jason to go the other way, we need to split in order to confuse the werewolf- that way if he finds one of us,he would fight him as the other one would carry on. I reached a clearing, just as I got out of the tree line I was shoved to the ground, immediately I jumped up and faced the attacker- but then I relaxed, because it was exactly who I was searching for, I smiled "hello, Darious".

Darious stood in front of me, he had a confused expression on his face "Cyprus of the Steel pack? What are you doing here? and tell your partner to show up, I can sense him on my left side between the trees" I nodded and looked in the direction he mentioned "Jason, you can tag along now" soon he emerged from the tree line and came to stand with us.

Darious studied us with suspicious looks, then he crossed his arms and spoke "well? what brings you to the Golden Moon pack territory?" I sighed and looked around then met his gaze "it's Rain" in an instant Darious' whole demeanor changed his arms fell to his sides and he balled his fists "what about Rain? Is she ok?" I told Darious everything that happened, the whole time his jaw was ticked. When I finished, Darious was looking at me with a furious expression, his eyes seemed to have fire in them while his hands were at his hips, I could see the vein in his neck bulging, I rubbed my face and sighed "well? what do you think?" Darious blinked as swallowed "you're saying that alpha Dracus took Rain to himself, and fucking kissed her and touched her infront of everyone- against her will...the hell were you all thinking when you let him take her?! Gods know what he's done to her so far, or what he's doing to her right now" I glared at him "Darious, you and I both know that there was nothing we could do- our pack is small and we don't have enough warriors, that's why alpha Cedric sent us to find you. he claims that you and Rain are... close" Darious closed his eyes and took a deep breath "alright, I understand you need my pack's help, I will deliver the message to alpha Christian and he will contact alpha Cedric. right now I want in" I frowned "what are you talking about?" Darious raised his eyebrows "I want to go with you, to save Rain. Now tell me how you plan to go into the Amara pack's territory." I looked at Jason who smirked and nodded.

Rain

I sighed for the tenth time as I stared at the clock ticking on the wall, I was still in Alpha Dracus' bedroom- after our conversation, he left to handle some pack business- leaving me here for the last 3 hours. A knock on the door startled me. I jumped from the bed and stared at the door. a second knock made me take a step back "Rain? you better be in there" I frowned, that voice- Xavier , I swallowed "come in, I'm here". Xavier came into the room and shut the door behind him. His eyes scanned the room, when they settled on me he squinted, I cleared my throat "hello Xavier, do you need anything?" he set his jaw and nodded "as matter of fact, I do" in a flash he was standing right in front of me, his arm snaked around my waist and he held me flush to his body. I gasped and opened my mouth to scream but his other hand clamped my mouth shut "if you dare scream, I will be the last person you lay eyes on" he jerked me "do you understand?" I was breathing fast with panic, but I nodded jerkily,he removed his hand and I took a deep breath "what are you doing?" His hard features softened "since the moment I met you, the smell of your arousal made me lose my mind, I can't remember the last time a female had that impact on me" he squeezed me and I exhaled sharply, his face came close to mine "what's wrong? don't you think I'm handsome anymore?" His voice sounded hoarse and sexy, I studied his eyes, those deep brown beautiful eyes, the scar on his dark brow, his straight nose, then his mouth- what's happening to me? I shouldn't be doing this, I snapped out of it and tried to push him as I squirmed in his arms, he didn't budge, the struggle seemed to amuse him- he chuckled, making me feel the rumble of his chest against mine. I glared at him "you will not touch me, I belong to Zevrus and only to him" Xavier laughed "well, I respect that, except Zevrus is dead- and he was foolish to leave you untouched and unclaimed" his words made me angry "I said get your hands off me!" it came out as a yell, Xavier raised his hand and clamped my mouth again "what did I tell you about screaming?" I stared at him with wide eyes- my struggle seemed to be helpless so I stopped, my tears began to roll down my cheeks and I closed my eyes.

the nightmare I had with Jacks seems to be happening again, this time with Xavier, he chuckled "good girl, now open your eyes" slowly I opened them, his features were soft again, when my eyes met his again, I started to feel aroused, they were mesmerizing- he removed his hand and held me tighter, then his eyes went down to my mouth, slowly he inched closer until his lips brushed mine- my heart swelled and I felt my body respond to him- his hand caressed my hair and my cheek, for some reason, his touch felt familiar- I took a breath, picking up his rich scent- mints, wildflowers and pines- I exhaled with a shudder and he growled."you are truly unique" my eyes were closed as I listened to him "your eyes, your hair, your smell- so pure, Rain, kiss me" his mouth crashed over mine, and I couldn't help but kiss him back, his voice was so familiar, his scent reminded me of- Zevrus! I gasped and opened my eyes, now I know why he's so familiar, but how? Zevrus is dead. He broke the kiss, his eyes were fixed on mine as his forehead touched mine, I exhaled "Zevrus?" he shook his head "I wish I was him, he is so lucky- to have your loyalty both alive and dead" with that my face crumbled and I covered my face with my hands and started crying. Xavier let go of me, he seemed guilty- I removed my hands from my face and looked at him, he sighed and shook his head again "I apologize for my behavior" I stared at him in shock, he turned around and walked towards the door, when he opened the door alpha Dracus was standing there with his arms folded and a smirk on his face.   

Chapter 20

I stared in horror at alpha Dracus as he gave Xavier and I a once over, Xavier moved aside as alpha Dracus entered the room and closed the door behind him. The fact that he had a smirk on his face made it even worse. I felt like a cheating wife, but I shouldn't feel like that, alpha Dracus means nothing to me and he doesn't own me. Finally he stopped in the middle of the room, and brushed his stubble "I'll start by saying that I heard your conversation- all of it" his eyes moved to Xavier who stiffened "from the moment my beta knocked on the door till this very moment". He shifted his stare to me and I froze. "Why did you call him Zevrus?" I lowered my gaze and sighed "he smells like him" alpha Dracus scuffed "does he taste like him too?" my face burned and I looked at Xavier who clenched his jaw- alpha Dracus chuckled "you know, I can smell him all over you, Rain- you kissed him didn't you?" I closed my eyes, this is so embarrassing, I nodded.

Xavier's voice came up "alpha, it was all my fault- I decided to check on her, and one thing led to the other" alpha Dracus scowled "I know exactly what your intentions are Xavier, I've known you since we were pups- do not dare lie to me, if you lust over the girl and want her that bad, you can have her, but be honest! be a man!" I winced at his yelling, but then I felt like I'm about to explode. How many times am I going to be passed between wolves? I glared at alpha Dracus "who do you think you are? how dare you people pass me between you as if I'm a sack of potatoes?!" Alpha Dracus growled "watch your tone" I clipped back "I don't care anymore, you may kill me, eat me or even shred me- I will not stand this bullshit!" Alpha Dracus' hand came up and slapped me across the face, I fell to the floor with a thud. "you fucking human! you will know your place, I am the alpha and you will stay with Xavier for your own good, I don't have any interest in killing you- if I wanted to kill you I would've done it already, but you don't get it do you? you think screaming or yelling will get you anywhere?" he grabbed my arms and hoisted me up, I yelped as his claws dug into my flesh, the next thing I knew he crashed his lips over mine and devoured my mouth, I hated it, being defenseless and vulnerable. he pushed me to the wall and I gasped in pain, his tongue glided over mine and one of his hands let go of my arm to go down and grab my hip tightly, I opened my eyes and looked at Xavier who was standing there looking away with his fasts by his sides. alpha Dracus broke the kiss, he backed away from me and his eyes roamed all over my body. he sighed "you taste so good, I can't blame Xavier for wanting to try" he chuckled "he's lucky that I love him as a brother- so as a present from me, he'll have you" he turned around to look at Xavier who swallowed hard "take her, have fun, but never go behind my back again" Xavier's eyes turned from alpha Dracus to me, he nodded to me and cleared his throat "come on Rain, let's go" he extended his hand to me- I stared at it, between alpha Dracus and Xavier, Xavier is the better option, at least he's gentle with me. I glanced at the clock on the wall, it showed seven PM- great, now all I had to do is buy myself some more time and hope to the Gods that Cedric is on his way to save me, after all, he promised.

I put my hand in his- tingles went up my arm as I walked with him outside, I looked behind my shoulder at alpha Dracus- he smirked at me and made a goodbye gesture with his fingers then winked. I looked back ahead the rest of the way till we got out of the main house. It was getting dark outside, but I looked around me. The pack area was pretty much like the Steel pack area, but this one had a radius of fences and guards around the houses. My eyes moved up to look at the tree line, wishing that Cedric would emerge from somewhere in the darkness.

we enter Xavier's cabin, it's smaller than the room in the main house, but it sure is bigger than my apartment- as soon as the door closes Xavier grabs me and kisses me, I feel shocked and decide that if he keeps it any longer things will get serious- so I gently placed my hands on his chest and pushed him back, to my surprise he actually backed off. We stayed silent and I watched him head towards one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and sit there. I followed him and sat on the chair across from him, his eyes were on the fire as he said "I'll help you escape".

my eyes widened, did I hear him right? "what?" he sighed and looked at me "I said I'll help you escape" I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips, but then it fell and I asked "why would you do that?" he closed his eyes ''I'm doing it for Zevrus" I froze and my tears started to blur my vision, is this real? "What do you mean? you knew Zevrus'' he nodded "I did, we both were in that fucked up lab- I escaped but he refused to come with me, he said he didn't have anything to return to" I hicked and my tears started to roll down my cheeks, my conscious burned with regret, it was all my fault. I sobbed and covered my face as Xavier continued "Zevrus had spoken of you, he told me he had a mate whose beauty was so angelic, hazel eyes, milk white flesh, tall, beautiful body, beautiful brown curls- and her name was Rain'' he paused to look at me "he told me why you left him, and he was in pain the whole time he talked about it, he said he loved you since he laid eyes on you" I looked at Xavier and my tears continued to roll down my cheeks, he smiled at me "the last time we were in the same cell- the scientists did an experience on us where they took blood from each of us and injected it in the other's body. That explains your attraction to me, I smell like Zeverus because I have some of his blood running in my system. But to be honest, I actually liked you because of his words about you- his words made me curious and I wanted to know what you look like and how you taste like'' I frowned and he chuckled "I'm sorry, I know it sounds disgusting, but now I know, and for Zevrus, I'm going to help you go back to where you belong- to the Steel pack".

Cedric

night fell, and I was ready to start with the plan to get Rain back. Cyprus, Jud, Jason and Colton stood by my right while Darious from the Golden Moon pack along with three more wolves from mine stood on my left side, the plan was clear Cyprus along with Jud and colton, will go with Jason through the old tunnel he talked about to get inside the Amara pack's territory, while Darious and the others will be the distraction- they will keep the patrollers and guards around the area busy.

While everyone went to get ready, I gave Numbers an order to make sure the females and pups were safe by staying and patrolling along with five other wolves.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes while I thought about Rain, what's she doing right now? Is she ok? The thought of her being harmed caused my blood to boil, I shove those thoughts away and focus on the current situation. Tonight, tonight I will get her back.

Cyprus

We made our way towards the secret tunnel deep in the woods, like me, everyone knew exactly what we needed to do- get inside, get Rain and get the hell out of the Amara territory. Of Course it won't be that easy, but when it comes to Rain, I won't hesitate to burn the whole fucking area to the ground if I needed to.

my thoughts were cut when Colton nudged me and jerked his chin forwards "we're here, this is the tunnel". I followed his gaze and my eyes landed on a secluded old metal door, it was rusty and slightly ajar, around it I saw rocks and large stones, I looked back at Jason " hey Jason, how do we know that the fucking tunnel won't go down on us?" Jason chuckled "this ain't the first time I used this tunnel man, don't worry- it won't go down" I raised an eyebrow and shared worried stares with the rest of the guys then looked back at Jason "you sure?" he nodded "trust me".

we went inside the tunnel one by one, it was narrow for humans and even narrower for us, how did they breathe in there? Jud coughed twice and I noticed him stopping, I studied him "Jud? you alright in there?" he puts his hands on his hips and takes two deep breaths, then looks at me and nods "yeah, I happen to be claustrophobic" I hear Colton and Jason laugh "what the hell is that? an allergy?" I growl at them "shut up, it's an inner fear that can't be controlled- now keep fucking going". I couldn't tell them that I, too, was a little uncomfortable.

After a while, we finally made our way out of the tunnel. The first thing we did was to sit down and take some air, the air inside the tunnel was heavy and the further we walked the harder it was to breathe. I stood up and looked around- the moonlight illuminated the pack area located right underneath us- I noticed we were standing up on a hill. the others joined me, Colton sighed "alright, first step is done, now we wait for Darious' sign before we go in" everyone nodded, I looked at Jud "did you get the mud for our disguise?" He nodded and pulled a big jar from his backpack then handed it to me "alright guys, you know the drill, rub the mud over your faces and necks, under your armpits and around your crotch." I took as much as I needed from the Jar then passed it to the others, now we are all set. it was up to Darious to lead the way now.

Darious

my partners and I reached the tree line across the Amara pack's borders- I gave silent signals for the guys to get to their spots, the whole time we were pin drop silent, we couldn't take the risk of being spotted by the werewolves doing the rounds- it took some serious skills to avoid them, fuckers are too good.

I observed the guards on the borderline, that fucker Dracus didn't waste any time in setting barb wire and fences all around the pack area, but I knew that at some point the guards needed to switch with other guards- after all they had to take a break to eat and freshen up. We waited patiently for the new guards to come and take turns- it took them long enough until finally they moved from their stations. I made sure that we stood against the wind so that they wouldn't pick our smell from this far away. As soon as the stations were clear of guards I raised my hand and focused the mirror in my hand towards the moon to reflect the light towards Cyprus and the others- this was the sign we agreed on back at the Steel pack area. Soon enough I saw a white dot reflecting in the darkness, Cyprus had picked the sign and now they're going in. I looked around at the guys waiting in their stations and I nodded at them. When they nodded back, I took a deep breath and howled as loud as I could. I wanted Rain to know that we're here, I'm here- to save her.

Chapter 21

Rain

Xavier and I stood up, we both heard a loud howl- I looked at Xavier and noticed that he was grunting and breathing hard, it looked like he was telepathing with the other wolves, suddenly he whipped his head towards me, I flinched and took a step back, "they're here for you" he smirked "alpha Cedric wasn't lying after all" I frowned and looked at him confused "lying? about what?" he shook his head and grabbed my arm, "never mind, come on, I'll help you meet them halfway".

We walked cautiously in the shadows outside of the wooden cabins, the whole time Xavier walked in front of me and signaled for me to wait every time we reached a corner or a turn between the cabins-he would check and look around for anyone, luckily it was pretty late so no one was around-except for the guards.

At some point we reached an open area where I could see the fence across, behind it is freedom and the way back to Cedric and the pack. Xavier finished inspecting around and looked back at me with a nod as a go. I smiled at him and opened my mouth to say thank you but then I screamed instead "look out!" Xavier whirled around and met the huge fist of alpha Dracus, he flew past me and hit the ground with a heavy thud, I screamed again, Xavier groaned and started to move slowly , a snarl made me look back at alpha Dracus who was standing in front of me, I started to move back but he scuffed and clasped my arms- I felt his nails or claws dig in my flesh and I whimpered, it hurts so bad- he jerked me and I looked into his eyes "you slithering bitch- you manipulated my beta and convinced him into betraying me?" I stared at him with wide frightened eyes, I wanted to say something but then all words fled as he started to shift into his wolf form while he still held me- I watched as his jaws and nose elongated, fur sprouted all over his face ,his canines showed up and then his ears which were right on top of his head, when he was completely in his wolf form- his eyes scanned my face and when they met mine again he snapped his teeth at me, I shut my eyes tight and screamed the top of my lungs as the thought of being eaten alive by him came into realization.

I could feel his hot breath fanning over my face as he inched closer, but then we both stilled as a loud howl pierced the air, and then the sounds of yelps and barks. I opened my eyes again and saw that alpha Dracus' wolf was looking up ahead towards the fence, I followed his gaze and saw werewolves fighting, there seemed to be two big werewolves and two smaller ones attacking the others , I saw a white flash and thought it was Darious, I must be going insane- why would he be here?

Alpha Dracus' wolf let go of my arms with a push and I stumbled back and fell to the ground, he went on all fours and bolted towards the fray, I couldn't believe how fast he ran, he clashed into the white one and when I saw it's eyes I knew who it was, that striking ice blue belonged to Darious- I felt my heart swell with ease and gratitude to see him here, he must've came for me. My thoughts were cut when I heard the sound of cracking bones behind me-I turned around slowly and met the stare of two dark brown eyes, Xavier had shifted into his wolf form, his fur was almost like a German Shepard's- brown with spots of black. He grunted and I met his eyes again, he was trying to deliver a message to me but I couldn't understand him- I shook my head "I don't understand" his hand came up and he pointed backwards with his thumb, "stay behind you?" He nodded and I nodded back and got up to stand behind him.

The fight had grown worse since more werewolves started appearing from everywhere, at some point I saw Darious' wolf slip behind the thick trees . Alpha Dracus' wolf was vicious , the way he ripped over werewolves' throats and tore pieces of their flesh gave me chills. Finally everything turned quiet again, I looked around at the scattered bodies of dead werewolves- it was horrible, alpha Dracus's wolf was standing in the middle breathing hard, and them he turned around slowly and looked at me with those green eyes shines- I froze and Xavier's wolf moved to stand closer to me.

Cyprus

The small battle between Darious and his partners against the Amara werewolves ended pretty quick, from where I was standing I located two casualties- but everything was going exactly as we planned, Cedric knew that there would be casualties, and so did all of us. I waited for Darious to reappear as planned, after a few moments his wolf emerged from the thick bushes behind our group- I noticed he was holding his arm and it was bleeding pretty bad ,I nodded at him "shift, now" and so he did. The moment he was back in human form he held his arm tighter and cursed as he leaned against a tree "that fucker Dracus is too powerful, I fought him as much as I could, but I had to back off so that I could heal before we do the second attack" I nodded "good thing you did, what about Rain? Did you locate her?" He nodded and frowned "I actually did, and she saw me too-but the weird thing was that she was standing next to another werewolf, he seemed to defend her" I cocked a brow "how do you know that? Maybe he's got an order to guard her so that she wouldn't run away" he went quiet for a second then nodded again "yeah, maybe you're right". Jason stepped forward "Darious, what did the other werewolf look like?" I turned to face Darious again, I was interested to know as well ,he sighed and shook his head "I never saw him before but he looked like some German shepherd -the dude could be a fucked up outcome of a werewolf breeding with a dog pet" everyone around us laughed except for Darious, Jason and me, Jason looked back at Colton and they nodded together , I looked between them "what? What do you know?" Colton ran a hand through his hair "that would be Xavier, he's alpha Dracus' beta- the guy's pretty strong" I raised my eyebrows "so?" Jason looked at me "so, this changes everything, because if he's on our side then we will get Rain without trouble" I nodded "and if he isn't?" Colton shook his head "then we will probably get back empty handed" his words sparked my anger and I growled "the hell are you talking about?! There's five of us here against two, it will be a piece of cake- since when do we give up that easily?!" I looked at Jud who was silent the whole time "what are we doing here? If we wanted to give up we wouldn't have come this far" Jud nodded and opened his mouth to say something but suddenly a scream pierced the air , it was Rain's.

Rain

I screamed in horror as Alpha Dracus' wolf launched towards me ,it happened so fast- one moment he was standing across the field, the other he was right in front of me. I ducked down and prepared myself for the hit that's coming , but before his claws could reach me- Xavier blocked him and shoved him backwards sending him flying a few good feet away. I stood up breathing hard in panic as I saw alpha Dracus' wolf prop itself up and shake its head- he lifted his hand towards his face and saw that there was blood on it. I swallowed hard as he growled loudly and when he looked back at Xavier he snarled and attacked again, this time another werewolf emerged suddenly and hit Alpha Dracus' side, sending him to the ground, I stared at the other wolf mouth agape , its fur was so brown it looked red , and when it looked at me I knew those eyes right away, it was Cyprus.

Cyprus' wolf's eyes went from me to Xavier's wolf- they stared at each other for long and when I saw their ears flickering I knew they were telepathing. Meanwhile I searched for alpha Dracus' wolf and to my horror, the spot that he landed in was empty, my eyes widened and they started to dart around trying to find where he is- they finally landed on him and he was standing right behind Cyprus "watch out!!!" I screamed but it was too late, Alpha Dracus' wolf bit Cyprus right on the shoulder , Cyprus yelped and started to jerk around, his hand went up scratching alpha Dracus across the face and he released a loud growl, I looked up at Xavier "please! please help him!" He looked down at me with a thoughtful look then back up at the two fighting then he grunted, lifting a hand up he signaled for me to stay then he bolted towards Alpha Dracus and Cyprus, I watched as Xavier's wolf clamped his jaws around alpha Dracus' arms which was wrapped around Cyprus' neck. Growls and snarls filled the air along with the sounds of flesh being ripped and torn and the smell of blood. At one point alpha Dracus manages to shake off both Cyprus and Xavier off- I stare wide eyed at both of them lying at each side of alpha Dracus, then I flinch when he twirls around and snarls at me, all covered in blood, long canines shining and eyes glowing, I look around me desperately looking for someone, anyone who could help me- I hear a huffing sound and look ahead to see alpha Dracus' wolf walking towards me slowly while making a laughing sound- I take a few steps backwards in order to keep some distance between us but it only makes him smile and lick his lips- I've seen that look before, he's about to hunt me down, he wants me to run.

Chapter 22

Darious

I pace back and forth waiting for Cyprus' signal- he said that he 's gonna hoot twice as a signal for us to attack as the second wave and finish the fuckers off, but it's taking too long, I look at the guys and then back at the direction where we're supposed to head when time comes. I hear a loud piercing scream and I recognize it- it's Rain. I glare at the guys "forget the fucking signal! let's go!" We charged and the moment I got back to the war zone I saw Cyprus and Xavier lying on the ground still, I slowly scanned the area until I saw alpha Dracus' back turned to me, he was holding something and growling loudly. I growl and bark at him, his head snaps up and he turns slowly with a grin on his face, in his arms, I see Rain covered in blood her body is numb and her head is fallen back, her white dress is now mostly red, her white legs and feet are covered in mud and dirt, apparently she tried to run from alpha Dracus' wolf- and judging the grin on his face he seemed to enjoy it, I growled at him again, his grin grew wider and his eyes lit with excitement his claws dug into Rain's thigh and side and there was blood seeping through the fabric.

I spoke to him through a mind link. thank shit he didn't block me "let her go" alpha Dracus' wolf cocked his head to the side "really? why do you care anyway?" I looked around at the other wolves with me then back at him "you don't have much choice fucker, you put her down now" he huffed and laughed "well, I got other plans for her, you see for a moment we spoke and I thought she is good enough to be my Luna, but then the seduced my beta and caused him t betray me- just to let her escape me" I looked at Xavier's wolf who was slowly getting up from his position- he appeared to be fully healed, Cyprus was slowly moving his head from side to side- soon we'll be stronger.

alpha Dracus interrupted my thoughts "I think our forest walkers friends are hungry, why don't we give them some snack to eat" I stared at him shocked, the forest walkers are also known as bigfoot or sasquatch- they hate humans even more than we do, because humans took their young and killed most of them for sports. I took a step forward but before I could say another word, alpha Dracus raised his head and let out the calling howl for the forest walkers. I started to panic, and shook a look towards Xavier and Cyprus who were both on their feet now and glaring at alpha Dracus, I connected to Cyprus' mind "now what the fuck are we gonna do? forest walkers are much stronger than us- and the fucker just called the whole community in the area" Cyprus looked at me and shook his head "fuck it, let's kill him first then we'll deal with the forest walkers" I swallowed then refocused on alpha Dracus, I raised my hand in the air and looked at the wolves who were waiting for my signal to attack, then I barked and and charged towards alpha Dracus, he threw Rain in the air sending her falling on the ground at his far side, that made me angrier and my wolf snarled then leaped at him, soon everyone else joined me, all of us against him and the fucker still managed to fight and push us back like we're flies.

"focus on his nick! it's his weakness" I heard Cyprus' voice in my head, I ran on all fours to gain power at impact, but just as I was about to jump I changed my direction, I had taken a side glance towards Rain, but she wasn't lying on the ground anymore, the forest men were here and one of them was holding Rain up in air by one of her arms, at that moment Rain began to regain consciousness, she slowly raised her head- and when she locked eyes with one forest walker the scream she let out was blood curdling. if there's one thing that the forest men hate- it's screaming, especially when it's a female scream, the one holding her let go and she fell to the ground with a thud, just a she stood up I was right there, I shifted to my hind legs then I swept her up right under the forest walker's nose. Rain held on to me like her life depended on it and so did I. finally I stopped a few feet away from all the racket, I put Rain down slowly and gently, after the way Dracus shoved her to the ground I was pretty sure something's got to be broken in her. when our eyes met she pointed towards the forest walkers with panic "what the hell are those? Is that bigfoot?" Despite the tension and the harsh events, I could help but chuckle at how innocent she sounded, she didn't even know half of the monsters out there. I decided to shift back into my human form to explain the whole situation to her.

Rain

I waited for Darious to finish shifting back, finally he stepped closer to me and hugged me, I hugged him back and enjoyed the warmth his body gave me. He pulled back and cupped my face "Are you ok?" I nodded and hugged him again "just hold me for a second, please?" he chuckled and hugged me again, then he pulled back with a serious face "listen to me Rain, I'm going to tell you exactly what happened and then I'll tell you what to do- and you will do as I say, alright?" I nodded again. Darious told me everything that went down while I was out, I was shocked to know that not only werewolves were real but also bigfoot, at that he joked "wait till you see blood suckers" I didn't comment at that, his face fell and he scratched his head "um, don't think about it" I shook my head and stared back at the fight, I wonder how alpha Dracus can still stand in front of all those wolves, Cyprus and Xavier were badly injured, the rest of the wolves were also injured but not as bad, I looked back at Darious who was looking back at me "Cyprus is calling for me, I need to head back- Rain, you go that way, keep running until you reach a large oak tree, from there you take right and keep running" he held both of my shoulders "do not stop, do not turn back, no matter what you hear- do you understand me?" I opened my mouth to answer but he clamped it with his hand "I don't want to hear anything else, now go, hurry" he stepped back and shifted to his wolf, his ice blue eyes locked with mine one last time before he bolted towards the fight. I watched him attack and bite alpha Dracus on the back of his neck, he growled and roared loudly, suddenly there was a louder roar and the forest walkers appeared again, from the forest, they ran into the clearing towards the fight, as they ran I noticed they had huge wooden logs in their hands, the started to swing them in the air, and one of them hit a werewolf, he yelped and flew in the air, another one raised his log to hit Xavier on the head, he wasn't paying attention, and I know I should've ran but I couldn't leave them, so I screamed "NO! Xavier !".

Xavier 

I heard Rain calling my name, and I turned around just in time to see the huge log swinging towards me, I ducked down and the log hit Dracus instead of me, that sent him to the ground, I smirked inside- now that he's down we have an advantage, while the others were busy fighting the forest walkers off, I saw my chance, I looked at Cyprus and two more wolves standing around alpha Dracus, they all nodded to me "do it" I heard Cyprus' voice in my head, I nodded back and walked slowly towards alpha Dracus who was lying on the ground, I bent down and opened my mouth to deliver the last bite, but then his eyes popped open and he moved fast, almost biting me in the neck, but I was faster so I grabbed his muzzle and shut it tight with my hand, then I turned his head to the side and bit down his neck hard, he jerked around and his hands and claws delivered several hits and slashes, I grunted and bit harder until he started to slow down and finally went still. Alpha Dracus is dead.

Cyprus

the battle was over, the forest walkers retreated to the woods and everyone was lying around taking their breath, Xavier stood with one foot on alpha Dracus' body and howled his victory, it was a loud long howl that everyone in the area could hear- Xavier is the new alpha of the Amara pack.

I felt a hand on mine, looking down I found Rain looking at me with teary eyes, I tilted my head to the side as in as asking about what was wrong, but she started to sob and covered her face with her hands, quickly, I changed to my human form then I hugged her tight "hey, it's all over, you're okay" she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest "I can't believe I almost lost you all today" I huffed a laugh "hey, hey, where's that coming from? open your eyes and look around- do you see any of us missing?" She slowly calmed down and looked around, Jud was standing next to a tree, his leg still recovering from a nasty bite. Darious was talking to Xavier while Colton, Jason and the others were searching around and asking members of the pack for some clothes.

she finally smiled and looked back at me "yeah" she sniffed and wiped her face with her hands "I guess you're right, we're all okay now" I smiled and held out my hand to her "let's go home".

Chapter 23

Cedric

I stood outside on the porch of the main house, looking at everyone doing their daily jobs and going on with their normal lives. I couldn't help but feel my heart swell in gratitude for Rain. if it wasn't for her bravery and sacrifice, we wouldn't all be here today while she's away suffering, truth is, I'm suffering now too, I've been suffering since alpha Dracus took her with him, I close my eyes and remember her as she walked away, it hurts that she's away, and it isn't helping with keeping my wolf at bay- he's antsy and keeps stirring inside.

I take a deep breath, and that's when my eyes pop wide open, for a second I thought I smelled roses, I close my eyes again and take another deep breath, there it is! fucking roses! I shifted into my wolf form, and before I could stop myself, I bolted towards the smell, I had to know where it's coming from and I hoped to God that it is actually who I think it is.

I ran and ran and the smell grew stronger , finally I slowed into a stop, I watched as the sun started to go down, there, a small figure started to appear, the smell overwhelmed me, there was a hint of fear, excitement, and something like lust and happiness, the figure stopped and I squinted my eyes to get a better look, the sun finally went lower into the horizon, and there she was, Rain.

I took a step forward, two steps and then I kept walking as she ran towards me and closed the distance between us. I bent down and engulfed her in my arms, lifting her in the air. she circled my neck with her arms and buried her face in my neck, this is not enough, my wolf had his share, now it's my turn. I slowly put her down, she stared at me with confusion and a little hurt, I took a step back. She wanted to come closer again but I lifted a hand and shook my head. Slowly I shifted back to my human form.

Rain

Finally, after a night and a long day, I'm standing face to face with Cedric again. my eyes watered as I stared at his handsome face, those eyes, his hair, his olive skin, that stupid cocky but sexy smirk, he reached his hand up and brushed a strand of hair from my face "Rain... I've missed you" I didn't realize the tears were rolling my cheeks until his finger flicked one off my face, I sniffled and threw myself in his embrace. he buried his face in my neck and I buried mine in his neck, he smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, he smelled like home I closed my eyes and drew back slowly, I kept my eyes closed as I planted a soft kiss on his neck- he stiffened but didn't push me back and stop me, and I didn't know what's become of me- I couldn't stop myself either, I trailed a line of soft kisses along his jaw until I reached his mouth "Rain... look at me" I slowly opened my eyes and they locked with his- his eyes were dark with lust and soft with passion, he wanted this as much as I did, and when his eyes fell to my mouth- my lips parted slightly, he slowly brushed his lips to mine, the world around me felt like it vanished, I was floating and everything around me was a wide space of blackness and stars that shined all sorts of colors. When Cedric's hands snaked around my waist and pulled me flush to his body I gasped and he invaded my mouth with his tongue, my heart fluttered and my knees buckled- he held me up with his arms- I tasted him, he tasted exactly the way he smelled, cinnamon, vanilla and lots of masculinity, my eyes rolled into my head even as they were closed and I couldn't hold the moan that escaped me, he grunted and held me tighter, then one of his hand went up and fisted my hair as our kiss turned hotter and more passionate.

someone cleared their throat and that made both of us break the kiss, we were both panting and breathing hard, Cedric's face was dark with lust and he looked impossibly hot, his chest had beads of sweat , so did his face, and I wanted to lick them all- I'm losing control over myself, it's like my body is acting on its own. I looked around to see a surprised crowd of guys, Cyprus was looking away scratching the back of his neck, Jud was staring with his mouth open, Colton and Jason were as always snickering while Darious was standing with a scowl on his face, last there stood Xavier who looked furious and his jaw was ticked- he was looking at Cedric, but when our eyes met I felt my face heat up and I looked down and bit my lip.

Cedric turned fully to face everyone "welcome back, thank you for bringing back Rain- you've done a successful job" Darious chuckled and shook his head "yeah man, sure, we do all the saving and you get all the love and kissing" at his words my face flared and I covered my face with both of my hands as I looked down, Cedric growled and Darious laughed "whoa, whoa, just kidding man- damn you are way too serious, try to have a laugh sometime yeah?" Cedric chose to ignore him, he focused his stare at Xavier "you must be the new alpha of the Amara pack, Xavier nodded "seems like word does go fast around here" Cedric nodded, then he opened his arms "brothers, everyone, let's gather in the conference room- I wanna know everything that went down, later we'll celebrate the victory, the new alpha and Rain's return". Everyone cheered and murmured their agreements. Cedric shook Xavier's hand "welcome to the Steel pack".

I approached them both "well, I'm going to take a shower, and rest while you guys finish the meeting" I reached my hand out to shake Xavier's "thank you for everything, and I'm sorry for all trouble I've caused" , he took my hand, kissed it and put it flat on his chest "I would do it all over again- just to be that close to you", my heart fell to my stomach and I stared at Xavier dumbstruck, I froze and slowly moved my gaze only to lock with Cedric's, he was looking at me with surprise and suspicions, but thankfully he didn't say anything, so I slowly removed my hand from Xavier's and walked towards the main house in silence.

Cedric

as I listen to everyone from the team who went on the mission, I feel like I'm in a tunnel of feelings- angry, worried, pissed and happy, but mostly pissed, because Xavier's words and the way he held Rain's hand never left my head, the fuck did he mean when he said just to be that close to you ? Was he close in the first place? Did anything happen between them? For some reason I felt that I knew this guy, although he's an outsider, my wolf didn't notice him being in my area from the beginning. Was I too engulfed in the moment with Rain? "alpha?" my thoughts were cut , I looked up to see everyone staring at me, Cyprus cleared his throat and pointed at the table in front of me "uh, you should probably stop carving the table surface with your claw, you're creating a hole in it" I looked down and saw the damage, shit, I ran a hand through my hair "I apologize, what were you saying?" Cyprus gave me a weird look before he looked back at Xavier "I was saying that Alpha Xavier was the key to the success of our plan, we didn't know that until we breached the border" my eyebrows shot up "is that so? Alpha Xavier, I'm really grateful for your actions, but I have a question for you" Xavier tipped his chin up "what was the motive behind helping Rain? surely you were the beta of alpha Dracus, you were bound to be the alpha of the Amara back anyway and you were alpha Dracus' best friend-like a brother to him, so again, what made you help Rain, in the end she's just another human virgin'' Xavier's smirk was gone by the time I finished, instead he turned angry, I raised my brow at him as we all waited for his answer, finally he took a deep breath and looked down "Alpha Cedric, I will answer your question, but in private if I may ask" to my surprise Cyprus and Darious took a step forward as if saying they aren't going anywhere, this made me even more agitated, but still I needed an answer so I dismissed everyone. after everyone was out- I was left with Xavier, Darious and Cyprus. Xavier cleared his throat "alpha Cedric, I have a message from Zevrus".

Chapter 24

Cyprus

At the mention of Zevrus' name, the whole atmosphere changed into electricity. I could see Cedric's eyes widened a fraction but then he hid his emotions and stayed serious "Zevrus? you mean my brother?" Xavier nodded "yes, Xavier and I were both in the same cell inside one of the fucked up laboratories" I leaned in closer, this was very interesting. "They put us in the same cell to know which one of us was stronger, of course we fought and he won. Afterwards they left us for days alone, no water, scarce food, he rarely ate, and he always gave me all the food" Cedric closed his eyes and leaned back "my brother, kind as ever, always puts others first" alpha Xavier nodded "as days passed by, we began talking and became best friends, at one point I suggested a plan to escape, but he refused, he said there was nothing to go back to, and when I asked why, he spoke of Rain" I scrubbed my face with one hand and sighed, looking at Cedric, he was breathing hard, eyes locked on alpha Xavier as he continued "one night before I escaped, the scientists ran an experiment, they transferred some of Zevrus' blood into my body, they were talking about using one alpha's blood to create equally strong werewolves- right now, I have Zevrus' blood running in my veins, and that's the only way that made me win against alpha Dracus'' Cedric looked thoughtful for a moment, then he nodded and closed his eyes ''that's why you smell like him, that's why I thought you were familiar- the eyes look a lot alike too" alpha Xavier nodded and swallowed "after that experiment, Zevrus got sick, I wanted him to escape with me, but he said that he'll be a burden- he said that he'll help me escape, but made me promise him that I'll deliver a message to you" Cedric sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "I'm listening" alpha Xavier took a breath "get Rain back to the pack, protect her and keep her safe, and if he doesn't come back, she is to be your mate" I froze, Zevrus wanted this? Cedric shook his head in disbelief "but, why?" Xavier nodded "I asked him the same question, he said that Rain will make you see that not all humans are bad" Cedric nodded and closed his eyes.

After a brief moment of silence Darious spoke for the first time since the meeting began "that doesn't answer alpha Cedric's question- what made you betray your alpha for Rain?" we all stared at alpha Xavier , he shook his head "the way Zevrus spoke of her, the way he described her, that triggered something in me- and I promised him that I'd protect her" I had to say something "is that why I smelled you on her?" Cedric's eyes darkened "answer the question" alpha Xavier sighed "fine, I kissed her". Before I could blink Darious was on his feet holding alpha Xavier by the collar of his shirt "how dare you lie about this? Rain would never let you even touch her- we all know how loyal she is to Zevrus" alpha Xavier smirked "well, first she pushed me back and declared her loyalty to Zevrus- but then she smelled him on me and well.. she enjoyed the kiss" this time alpha Cedric's snarl echoed through the room "you son of a bitch!" I quickly stood in front of alpha Cedric and tried to hold him back, alpha Xavier delivered a punch right on Darious' jaw which made him let go of the shirt and stumble back, Darious charged forward but I reached a hand up "enough!" they froze as they stared daggers at each other, I took a deep breath "what's done is done, alpha Cedric, you can't forget that it's thanks to alpha Xavier that Rain is alive and well, if it wasn't for him, I really doubt our plan would've worked- we got to move on" alpha Cedric sighed and closed his eyes, he walked away and brushed his hair back as he took a few more deep breaths, I looked at alpha Xavier "alpha Xavier, let's not forget that you are here to deliver a message from Zevrus- let's make it respectful and leave this room as friends and future allies" I reached my hand out to shake his, alpha Xavier nodded and shook my hand, then his attention turned to alpha Cedric "alpha Cedric, I apologize for my lack of words, I have nothing but respect for Rain and you" he reached out his hand "I look further to future alliance" alpha Cedric studied alpha Xavier's hand for a second and looked at me, I nodded to him, he nodded back and shook alpha Xavier's hand "all is good".

Cedric

after alpha Xavier left, I headed towards the main house- all anger and exhaustion left me the moment I got inside and smelled Rain's scent, those roses that made my stomach churn in a good way, I slowly walked upstairs reaching for the door of her room, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, enjoying her presence. Slowly and quietly opening the door my eyes fell on her sleeping form, she's angelic, sleeping on her back, one for her arms is on her side while the other is next to her head- her fingers barely grazing her cheek, her hair splayed on the pillows- so brown I wonder if tastes like chocolate, her long lashes fluttering in the top of her cheeks, those beautiful lips slightly parted as she breathes slowly and peacefully. Her beauty is so intoxicating that my body moves by itself and I walk to the bed and lay beside her- I sigh and stare at the ceiling, Rain's presence is becoming known with every day that passes, soon I'll have many more wolves sniffing around her. I think about Zevrus' message, he wanted me to mate with Rain, I had no problem with the idea but the real question was if she'd accept it, one thing is for sure, if I wanted everyone to know she's claimed, and keep her safe, I had to tell her about Zevrus and claim her as fast as possible.

Rain stirred beside me, she crossed her leg over mine and placed her head and arm across my chest- the movement had me surprised but then a smile crept access my face, like a stupid teenager having the first moment with his crush, the only thing I was missing was the bunny front teeth and the nerdy glasses, after a moment of hesitation I put my arm over her and pushed her closer to me- then I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Rain 

the morning sunshine pooled over my face and I squinted my eyes, grumbling I put my hand over my eyes and stretched- but then I froze , the soft pillow under my head suddenly felt hard and leathery, a slowly removed my hand from my eyes and opened them- my gaze fell on hard abs , long stretched legs covered in black jeans that ended up in biker boots, then they travelled up to meet a hard chest that was rising and falling making my head rise and fall with it, I tilted my head a little backwards and my eyes continued to travel up the hard neck, to the jaw line, to the slightly full lips, to the straight nose, and lastly eyes that were actually open and looking at me- startled, I yelped and jumped up "Jesus Christ Cedric!, you scared the hell out of me" his laugh echoed in the room "you should see your face right now, judging the way you were ogling me- scared isn't exactly the reaction I expecting" then he laughed again , I was so embarrassed that I'm sure I was all red, I stumped my foot on the floor " stop laughing, I was not ogling you" he paused with a grin "did you just stump your foot?" then he laughed again "oh man, I haven't laughed like that in a long time- and yes you were ogling, stop denying it" frustrated and out of excuses I lifted my hands in the air "argh! ok! I was ogling, you're so handsome it hurts, but the question is, what are you doing here??" he sobered and slowly got up to his feet "nothing, just came to check on you last night and fell asleep" I blushed harder, he cared, I opened my mouth to say something but then he spoke "there's something I wanna talk to you about, go get ready and meet me downstairs" I nodded "ok" and then he left.

ten minutes later I walked downstairs, Cedric was waiting for me in the kitchen, sitting on the bar stool, leaning forward while holding his coffee mug- he looked so deep in thought, judging by the frown on his face and the way he was looking outside the window like he's gonna kill someone- I expected the subject of our conversation isn't exactly going to be cheerful. cleaning my throat, I stepped into the kitchen and started preparing my own cup of coffee, he looked at me "how'd you sleep? Did you have a good rest after all that shit yesterday?" I sighed "yeah, I guess it's all behind us now, I'm right here and so are you and the guys, to me that's what's important" he chuckled so I frowned and turned around "what's so funny?" he shook his head and looked down "you don't understand, the situation is exactly the opposite, what's important here is you Rain- your safety" I looked at him like he's grown a second head "what are you talking about?" he tipped his chin towards my mug "finish making your coffee, we'll talk on the way" I raised my eyebrows "on the way? where to?" he smiled and got up "we're going on a walk, I'll be outside" he winked at me and walked outside.

Chapter 25

The forest was quiet in a peaceful way- at least this time it felt like so. I noticed the tree leaves were starting to turn a little yellow which meant that autumn is coming, I frowned as I started to understand how long I've actually been here.

Cedric was silent the whole time- I studied his back as he walked in front of me, all that muscle and flesh and handsomeness covering a monster underneath, I looked down at his prints, of course he was wearing boots but even they left huge prints. finally he stopped, I stopped right next to him and stared at the beautiful scenery, this area was all green grass, flowers and high pine trees, and the air smelled amazing "you like it here" his words were more of a statement than a question , I nodded "it's beautiful and peaceful" he smiled and nodded back "there's a big tree log there let's go sit" I followed him, at that point my brain was swollen with all possible topics that could be. after we sat down I put my now empty mug aside and crossed my fingers as I leaned forward attentively, Cedric closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then with a heavy sigh he shifted so he was facing me "Rain, before I even start- I want you to know that this isn't easy for me, and I know it won't be easy for you too" I studied his face with worry "is it that bad?" he shook his head "I guess it depends on how you handle it" I swallowed and nodded, he went on "yesterday I had a private meeting with alpha Xavier- Cyprus and Darious were there too, alpha Xavier passed a message to me, from Zevrus." at the mention of Zevrus' name I shuddered and ran a hand through my hair "what was it? the message" his eyes went down to his hands then back to me "Zevrus always tried to prove to me that humans weren't always bad, after my mate was captured and killed, I had a really hard time trying to contain myself. My hatred towards humans never settled.. but after you came along... something inside me changed". My heart started to beat faster as he continued "when I first saw you, I felt angry and disappointed with Zevrus-  he said that you were different, but my hatred blinded me and I almost killed you... now that I think about it, Zevrus was right. You ARE special Rain". I blushed deeply and looked down at my hands "Cedric thats sweet of you, but why are you telling me all this?" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair "well, according to alpha Xavier - he and Zevrus were both in the same cell in one of the laboratories" I nodded "yes he told me about that, but he managed to escape" Cedeic looked at me and squinted his eyes "did he tell you anything else?" I thought back of our conversation but couldn't remember anything else, shaking my head I shrugged "no- he just told me that they were best friends and  that Zevrus often spoke of me and that's all" Cedric nodded and looked at the tree line"the night alpha Xavier escaped from the laboratory, Zevrus asked him to deliver a message- the message is  that if you ever come back to the Steel pack- you are to be the Luna , in other words my mate."

I blinked twice "say that again?" His eyes searched mine for a second then he said it again, this time he was hesitant "you, as my mate" my face stayed solemn, but I slowly moved my head to stare at the scenery, this isn't the first time that Cedric lables me as his mate, he did it once infront of the whole pack when Alpha Dracus took me- bit I know that back then he didn't actuallly mean it, it was a desperate move to keep me indoors. This time it's different, Zevrus wants me to be Cedeic's mate "but why?" The question slipped from my mouth before I could stop myself, Cedeic shook his head "I asked the same question, it's because Zevrus wanted me to see that there's still some good in humans -and that would be through you" I felt my eyes water, but I blinked the tears away and sniffed "and what about you?" He looked confused "me? What about me?" I tipped my chin towards him "do YOU want me as a mate regardless?" His face relaxed and he chuckled "Rain, let me tell you something" he scooted closer to me then looked me in the eyes "since the moment I heard you calling my name when you were in distress, something inside me clicked- and then your eyes and that pleading look you gave me when that bastard tried to rape you, I felt like.." he sighed and rubbed his face "how do I explain it?.." he talked to himself and murmured something before he focused on me again "I had the same feeling that I would've felt if my actual mate was in that situation"  his words shocked me and I stared at him wide eyed as he contiued "I felt rage, my wolf wanted to pounce and rip Jacks to shreads, I wanted to protect you and keep you under my arm" his eyes searched mine "do you know what I mean ?" I stayed quiet but nodded, he nodded back "I ignored that feeling, whenever I looked at you when you were asleep or napping around- the way you looked so fragile made things worse for me, because it agitated my wolf and made it harder for me to control him" he raised his hands and looked at them "whenever you are around, I control my wolf better, it seems that you keep him calm" I nodded again and closed my eyes, at that point I still didn't know what to say- Cedeic continued "when that fucker Dracus took you, my wolf was hurt- I never told this to anyone, but the whole time you were away, I couldn't summon my wolf, I couldn't shift Rain!" My lips parted and I looked at him with tears in my eyes "I don't know what to say" he shook his head "don't say anything yet, to answer your question - yes, I do want this regardless of  Zevrus' wish" I closed my eyes , my mind felt fuzzy and my heart swelled with feelings, Cedeic actually wants me. But then what about me? Do I want him?
 I stood up and spoke without looking at him "I need some time to think" he stood up too "of course" then he pursued walking back towards the pack area "come now, we need to go back" I followed him. Both of us stayed silent the rest of the way back, and when we reached the pack area we seperated , Cedric had some pack business to do while I had to go back and maybe cry myself to sleep- we never spoke to each other again for the whole week .

Chapter 26

Cyprus

 Sunshine lit up my room, I opened my eyes lazily, it's another day that I'm alive. I always think about it first thing when I wake up- another day being alive without getting caught by the R.A.Ws and without a war. Still, I know it's only a matter of time before it happens, before this "judgment day" for us werewolves finally comes- and then no one will survive. Shaking my head, I stand up and stretch, welp, better make the best of everyday before that dreadful day comes.
My optimistic beginning of the day fades when I reach the main house, I see Rain sitting outside on the stairs holding a mug of coffee while staring into nothing with a frown on her face, I stand up in front of her "morning grumpy" she lifts her head and meets my gaze "morning" I lift a brow, something serious is going on with her. Sitting next to her on the stairs I cleared my throat "uh, you ok?" she slowly nods and then shakes her head as a no and starts sobbing- that took me aback "hey, hey, what's wrong?" she puts down the coffee mug and sobs into her hands, I stare at her like I'm trying to dislocate a bomb- scared that she might explode if I touch her, but can't leave her without doing anything.
after she finally calms down I sigh and ask again "what's wrong?" she takes a deep breath "Cedric and I had a conversation about the message that Alpha Xavier delivered" oh, that, I nod "okay… what happened exactly" she looked at me "you know what happened, you were there" I shrugged "yeah I was, and?" she sighs "Zevrus wanted me to be Cedric's mate" I nod again "I know" studying me for a second she continues "why does that seem to bother only me?" I chuckled "Rain, I'm sorry but I don't see the problem here- please tell me what's on your mind so that I could help" she runs a hand through her hair and sighs deeply "I like Cedric, alot" I nod "okay…" she continues "but I can't get over Zevrus, the thought that he turned himself to the R.A.Ws because of me is killing me everyday and night, the fact that I was living my life while he was suffering in some lab because of me is really heavy on my conscious" the idea of Zevrus suffering is hard on me too, I rub my face with my hand and think carefully about my next words "Rain- look, I get it, I understand you and the way you feel about all this- but try to look at the bigger picture here, Zevrus is gone, and I'm not telling you this to make you cry so please stop crying and focus for a second" she wipes her tears and nods, I hold her hand "Zevrus' wish was that you become the pack's Luna, and Cedric's mate, HE wanted this, and it's ok to have feeling towards Cedric- I mean he can be an asshole sometimes but the fucker sure is handsome and caring" that made both of us laugh, I patted myself for finally making her laugh, I turned serious again "so I'm asking you to give it a chance,lay back everything that happened in the past- life goes on" Rain sniffed and took a breath as she looked around, after seconds she finally nodded and smiled at me "you're right Cyprus" I smiled back at her "great" but then she took me by surprise when she leaned forwards and kissed me on the cheek then hugged me, I froze and my lips were slightly open like an idiot- her giggle made me snap my mouth shut "oh please, don't be too stiff about this- you're my best  friend and you actually deserved that hug" I smiled and hugged her back.
 
Cedric 

smiling stupidly, I watched from my office window as Cyprus said goodbye to Rain and walked away. I heard the whole conversation and I knew Cyprus knew that judging the look and wink he sent me just as he was turning to leave, what would I do without him? The guy's always had my back in everything.
A knock on the door cut my thoughts, I knew who it was before even turning around- her smell is in the whole house, but when she's close it grows stronger "come in" I turn around to face her and she walks inside and stands in front of me, she's looking downwards, holding her hands in front of her and her cheeks are flushed "hey" I reach my finger under her chin and lift her head up "hey" we stare at each other's eyes for a second then she clears her throat and breaks the stare "Cedric, I thought about your proposal" I lift a brow "you did?" she nods "yeah" I nod back "and?" she hesitates for a moment, but then she sighs and smiles at me "I'll be your mate".
At her words I feel myself relax, reaching out- I touch her hair and tuck a strand behind her ear, her face turns red, I love it when it does. stepping closer to her I cup her face and kiss her gently, but then our kiss deepens and I feel like I can't get enough of her, she tastes so sweet. I grab her waist and lift her up and she wraps her legs around me, I break the kiss to go down to her neck, she throws her head back and sighs "Cedric" that makes me lose it, I draw back and look her in the eyes "I want to claim you" when she hesitates I reassure her "I promise I won't harm you, you will feel a little pang of pain when I bite down but then it will be gone real fast" her eyes widen and she unwraps her legs from me, I put her down and she takes a step back "bite? like you bit me on the shoulder once?" I shake my head "no, this one's different- this bite is gentle, it will leave a mark for others to know that you are my mate" she swallows "isn't there any other way? you know, to claim me?" the fear in her eyes makes me curse myself for what I did when I first met her- I caused a trauma, I sigh and step closer and sigh in relief inwardly when she stays still instead of taking another step backwards, I hold her hands " Rain, I really am sorry for what I did to you back then, I didn't know you and it wasn't personal- now it's different, I'll try my best not to hurt you" she looks down and bites her lip then she raises her head back up and nods.
I smile at her then I kiss her again, I hold her tight and her hands climb up my back until they reach my hair, I relish at the feeling of her hands touching me,holding her tighter and my hands go down her back and squeeze her ass- she moans softly as I kiss her jaw and neck, this needs to continue elsewhere- I bend down and haul her over my shoulder, she squeals and laughs and I go upstairs to my bedroom.
I put her down on my bad and stand there for a second, watching how beautiful she was- those huge hazel eyes, those brown curls, those lips and red cheeks "you're beautiful" she smiles and looks at her hands "you're just as beautiful as I am" I smile at her "and it's all yours babe" her smiles grows wider and she starts taking off her shirt, I watch her strip out of her clothes, her body is creamy white, she is flawless- as she stands in front of me confidently I admire her, soft curves, long lean and tight legs, small but perky breasts, I hold her hand and spin her around- her back is lean and her ass is just beautiful. She turns back around to face me, I smile at her "my turn".

Rain

my heart started pounding as Cedric started to take off her clothes, his shirt was first- those muscles, biceps and abs and strong arms, my eyes travel down as her takes off his pants then his underwear, I freez, this is the first time that I see a man bare in front of me, my eyes go back up to meet his stare, he had that stupid sexy smirk of his "like what you see babe? cause I sure like what I see" I blush harder and cover my face, he laughs "I love it when you blush like that- so pure" I smile at him but then my smile vanishes as he steps closer and hold a hand for me to stand up, when I do, he holds me flush to him- the feeling of his skin against mine sets fire inside me, I feel myself getting wet, his nostrils flare "I can smell how much you want me, do you want me Rain?" The way he said my name made me melt I closed my eyes and put my head on his chest, he kissed the top of my head "tell me you want me" I sighed "I want you, Cedric" his chest rumbled and he lifted my head with his finger then he kissed me.
lying on my back with him on top of me, I stared into his eyes and touched his face, "are you ready?" I nodded and closed my eyes "look at me" I opened my eyes again, then as he entered me I started to feel the burn, I squeezed my eyes shut and whimpered, Cedric was the first man to touch me and I wouldn't want anyone else to do so. I felt his lips on mine and our kiss deepend as he continued entering me, it hurt like hell but his kiss made it a bit better- finally he was all the way through. I opened my eyes, he was breathing heavily, his face was covered in sweat beads "you ok?" I nodded "good, I'm gonna draw out and then enter you again, ready?" I nodded again, he did it once, twice, three times, the pain faded with each thrust and it was replaced with something else, pleasure. I couldn't help but say his name again and again as he said mine and grunted. After a few more thrusts I exploded, I felt like I was surrounded by a million stars, falling into thin air and floating, but then I heard a growl and felt a sharp pain on my neck- I kept my eyes closed as the pain passed and the feeling I had was pure bliss and  I surrendered to the darkness.

Chapter 27

Cedric

I watched Rain fall into deep sleep, the smell of her virgin blood that is now covering my length and the sheets under her, reassuring me that she was indeed a virgin, comforted me after worrying about her being raped by Dracus. Kissing her eyes gently I covered her and got inside the shower. Whenever I closed my eyes I could see her standing naked in front of me or lying naked underneath me, this beautiful woman, this little fragile human is now my mate.

After a quick shower I got dressed and headed straight to the dialogue hall, there, I saw Cyprus and Jud working on a computer- I went to stand next to them, suddenly both of them raised their heads  and stared at me, I frowned in confusion and looked down at myself- as far as I know I'm squeaky clean and so are my cloths, finally I asked them "what?!" Jud swallows "n- nothing alpha, excuse me" he scurried away and I raised my brows as I stared at Cyprus "why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on me ?" Cyprus smirked "yeah, you got Rain all over you" I glared at him "what do you mean?" He chuckled "Cedric, you smell exactly like her right now, don't get me wrong, your smell is there but faint" I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose "virgin blood" Cyprus nodded "yup, you know how a virgin's smell sticks on a male for at least two days" I sigh "I know, but that saves me the trouble, cause now the whole pack will know that I claimed her" Cyprus smiled and nodded "how did it go? Did she accept it and all?" I smirked "yeah, thanks for the help" but then my smirk faded and I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lift him up "and what the fuck was that about me being an asshole?" Cyprus stumbled and lift his hands in surrender but also laughed "well, I also said that you are handsome and caring" I let him go with a huff  "caring my ass" then I left him to continue his stupid laughing and went into the seperate room aside - here , we keep all records and reports of R.A.W movement across the area, for the past week I focused on keeping an eye on the R.A.Ws while Rain took her time of thinking about being my mate. 

My wolves have always kept an eye on the pack's surroundings, I make sure that there are always patrollers and watchers around the area , even if there were regular humans having a picnic with kids or some shit , we always made sure that they don't see us, and if they do , we bolt out of their sight before they could take pictures or record videos. I always follow the basic and best technique - scaring them off , one growl , add to that a snarl and they scurry away the second they see our canines. My boys even started to do it for fun, whenever a bunch of wolves come back from a patrol they start telling the others stories about how they scared a human and the reaction they got, then the whole pack would start to have their laughs. I admit, I enjoyed these too

I lift my head up and found tempo standing at the door "Alpha,  may I come in?" I nodded and gestured for him to sit, "Tempo, how have you been?" He smiled "fine, thank you alpha" I hummed "and how's your mate?" His smile grew wider "oh, Alissa is great, she's pregnant" that surprised me but in a  good way, I reached my hand and shook his "congratulations man"  he nodded "thank you Alpha Cedric". After having a further conversation about family and having a kid and all, I decided to switch into the more important issue "I need a report about the R.A.Ws movement for the past two days , Tempo turned serious "yes Alpha" he handed me a brown folder, I opened it and studied the pictures of the R.A.Ws- i  all those pictures they seem to be around houses,one particular house I recognised right away "  why are the R.A.Ws around Rain's house?" Tempo swallowed "Alpha, according to the information that I got, they are looking for her, the girl's been missing for months now" I shook my head  but we faked a crime scene" Tempo sighed "well, the detectives believe that it was actually fake and DNA tests of the blood showed werewolf along with the human one"  I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, that night I might've accidentally cut my self too when I held Rain's hand.

I stood up "alright , Tempo, call for a meeting within 5 minutes".

Rain

When I woke up,I was alone in Cedric's bed, looking out the window I saw that it was already noon- he's probably gone to handle some pack business. I removed the covers and was shocked to see the blood , then when I stood up I noticed how sore I was - I guess it is true what they say about the first time. Later on I found myself roaming around the area, I observed the women cooking, hanging laundry and cleaning around while little children played around- it amazes me how normal everything looks, until you remember that you are surrounded by werewolves.

Soon I got bored, like really really bored, I searched for Cyprus but couldn't find him anywhere, I was told that Cedric was having a meeting so I knew that he wouldn't be available till God knows when- the only option left? Darious. After making sure that no one noticed, I sneaked towards the tree line , by now I think I know the way to the border between the territories, I just needed to reach the lake I had a dip in once and from there continue straight.

Finally I was standing a familiar spot where I had sat and cried with Darious, I called his name once, twice , nothing, so I decided to try another way, taking a deep breath I screamed the top of my lungs "Darious !!"Several minutes passed and then I heard rustling and tree branches breaking close by, the noise kept coming closer until finally the familiar white and silver werewolf stood in front of me, I put my hands on my hips "finally! About time you showed up!" The werewolf cocked it's head to the side but then I noticed it's gaze was focused on my neck, I touched it and it occurred to me , Cedric's mark! When I met Darious' gaze again I could see the sides of his mouth lift in a wolfish grin, my face reddened "argh! stop it you look creepy!- shift  back so we could talk will ya!" The werewolf opened its mouth and huffed ,great now he was laughing at me.

I sat there waiting for Darious to shift and come back, when he finally emerged from the bushes he was wearing his signature smile "well, well, well,looks like sombody got laid" he sat beside me and I swatted his shoulder "oh my god Darious shut up!",he laughed "why? Even if I do, that mark over there" he pointed on my neck "is like you're holding a sign that says I HAD SEX WITH CEDRIC, plus you smell just like him- that's why you got here safely without having any werewolf attacking you " I frowned "really?" He nodded and batted his lashes at me. I smirked "huh, I like that" he smirked back "yeah", I sighed and nibbled my lip "hey Dee?" He raise a brow "excuse me? Did you just call me Dee???" I nodded "yeah, Dee as in Darious, why? " He shook his head "Dee stands up for other things you know" I thought about it for a second and then I laughed and he chuckled "well, I didn't mean it that way but it's easier to give nickname than to call you Darious all the time, plus it's less formal" he smiled at me "then Dee it is".

Chapter 28

Rain

Darious and I sat on the grass talking about various things, about Cedric and I and any future plans with Darious, like finding a mate or something, he shrugged "haven't found the one yet, but it's ok, I'm not in a rush" I hummed "yeah, just let it be, it will come along" he nodded, I stretched my legs "tell me something funny" he raised his eyebrows "funny? like what? " I shrugged "I don't know Dee, anything, I'm bored" he looked at the distance while he seemed to think, then he smiled "I met a human once, it was a man and he was hunting in the woods" I leaned closer and listened intently as he continued "when I heard him approaching I ducked down and tried my best to hide harder, the man got closer and closer and I was surprised that another guy was following him far in the distance" he shook his head "when the man was passing by me he suddenly stopped, them he made a face and yelled at the guy in the back 'you smell that?! there's a strong smell here!' and the other guy was like 'yeah, maybe it's a dead animal' , but then I moved a little and the guy saw me, his face turned white and he grabbed his phone and took a picture of me. I frowned at him and he started to prey- I wanted to tell him to calm down so I said 'hey', but since I was in wolf form it came out as a snarl. The guy freaked out and ran away. But just as he turned around I grabbed his phone from his back pocket and smashed it" I frowned at him in confusion "why would you do that?" he raised his hands in frustration "for God's sake, because he took a picture of me while I was taking a shit!" my eyes widened as I processed his words and I burst out laughing as he scowled at me with irritation all over his face, that made it funnier and I clapped my hands as I laughed hard "oh my God! so that's why the guys smelled something like a dead animal!" I laughed harder and hooted, Darious' scowl dissipated and he started to laugh along "well, that day I had a boar for lunch, so that sums it up" at that point I was holding my tummy and tears rimmed my eyes, I'm pretty sure I was all red and my face looked ridiculous but I didn't care, Darious sure is the best. he fluffed my hair causing it to frizz "hey!", we laughed some more and after a while we sobered, he sighed "you have the goofiest laugh that I've ever heard" I raised my eyebrows "oh really?" he nodded and smiled "yeah, your laugh made ME laugh" I giggled and he chuckled. A sound of rustling from behind us made both of us snap into attention, Darious stood up and I followed, turning all serious, he grabbed my arm and moved me behind him "stay back"- I nodded and stared ahead, Darious lift his head and took a deep breath, he smelled the air and then I could see he relaxed. Turning around he smirked at me "there's an old friend here, wanna see who?" I cocked my head and frowned "who is it?" Darious grabbed me and moved me to stand in front of him "look there, at the right side of the bush" I squinted my eyes and soon saw the grizzly bear who attacked me once, it was sniffing around and moving "maybe it's hungry?" I shrugged, the bear suddenly turned to face us, it growled and stood on its hind legs, then it let out a loud roar, I gasped and scurried behind Darious, that bear was huge and terrifying, but Darious just chuckled and looked at me behind his shoulder with an arched brow "wanna see something cool?" I looked at him and decided that whatever he was gonna do, I don't wanna see it, so I shook my head violently but he nodded with excited wide eyes and that shit eating grin of his.

taking a few steps forward, Darious removed his shirt and pants, luckily he kept his underwear- but then he shifted and the underwear turned to shreds- the bear continued to roar and Darious' wolf stood there silent, when the bear stopped roaring Darious left his head and released a roar mixed with screaming sound, I flinched and the bear went down on all fours then ran away. Darious turned around, I looked at him and smiled "that was so cool", he seemed to forget that he was in wolf form because he started to grin at me- and it wasn't pretty, because all of his canines were showing and they were long and sharp, combined with those icy blue eyes and wolf head, it was menacing. I shivered and Darious seemed to notice so he bent down and grabbed his clothes then jumped behind a tree and shifted back.

The sun was starting to settle, Darious and I sat on the grass and watched as the sun began to go behind the trees and mountains on the horizon. "What's it like? to have all that power and be at the top of the food chain" Darious sighed "it's amazing, everybody fears and respects us, but it also causes others to misunderstand us" I frowned "how?" he shrugged "humans seem to put all of us in the same category, but just like you humans, each of us has his own personality- not all of us are wild, filthy and monterous animals" I raised a brow "you forgot stinky and smelly" he scowled and flicked my nose "ow!" I laughed and covered it.

It was almost dark, and I had to go back to the main house, standing up and stretching I looked at Darious "it was nice talking to you today, thanks for all the chat and laughs" he stood up and ruffled my hair "you're welcome, I'm all about the service, sweetcheeks" I swatted his shoulder "don't call me that, it sounds weird" he smiled "well I meant your red cheeks but" he moved to look at my rear "either way is true" I laughed and punched his chest "such a rude guy!" he barely flinched but chuckled and put his hands on his hips "want me to escort you back?" I looked around the dark forest "I think I'll be fine, after all, I smell like Cedric don't I? so no one will dare touch me" he nodded and smiled "clever girl". I opened my arms and hugged him tight then kissed him on the cheek "see you later" he pinched my cheek slightly "bye,Rain".

As I walked home, I enjoyed the sounds of the wild animals around me, the air was fresh and I noticed it's starting to get colder at night so I crossed my arms and hurried back. I finally reached the pack area, I noticed that everyone was in their cabins, lit windows surrounded the dark area, and the main house was all lit up with extra bright sensory lights around it. My eyes met golden ones and I flinched when I noticed Cedric standing at the dark side of the stairs, hands folded and legs apart with a huge scowl on his face, he sure did not look happy to see me.

I smiled at him "hey" he grunted and shook his head "where the hell have you been?" I shrugged "I was with Darious" he huffed "why were you with Darious?" I started to get irritated with his tone so I squared my shoulders and put my hands on my hips "I was bored, I searched for Cyprus and the guys told me he's busy, and you were having a meeting, so I went looking for Darious" he shook his head again while I could see him practically furious "I don't like that shit between you and Darious " my jaw dropped and my anger flared, but I bit my tongue since I remembered we were outside and I didn't want anyone hearing me yell or have a fight with their alpha. Stomping inside I walked past Cedric into the house, only to find Cyprus and Jud looking at us from the couch with raised eyebrows, just as I was about to take the first step upstairs Cedric grabbed me by the waist and pushed me to the wall "this is the last time you turn your back on me while I'm talking to you" I scowled at him "well I already did, what are you gonna do Cedric?" We stated at each other in what seemed like a stare down contest for a few minutes, at this point Cyprus stood up from the couch and stepped towards us "guys you need to calm-" Cedric snarled at him and he immediately raised his hands in surrender "okay, okay, sesh" he turned and walked towards the door "let's go Jud, those two need to have a talk" the whole time I listened to what's happening without breaking contact with Cedric's gaze, I was eager to test his limits, afterall, I was bored wasn't I?

Chapter 29

Cedric

I stared at this woman challenging me, she won't break the stare or look away or even look down. The strange thing is that her behavior was actually amusing to me and my wolf who clearly considered it as a game, I could feel him practically wagging his tail and waiting for the next move.

I smile at Rain which seems to surprise her, she raises her brows and shakes her head as if saying 'what?', I take a step back and lick my lips "run" she frowns in confusion "what?" I smile and repeat "you asked me about what I'm gonna do if you turn your back to me again, now that we're alone- I'll show you- run!" Rain's face pales for a second, but when I snarl at her playfully she squeals and heads outside the door, I stand there giving her some time to run- then I run after her.

Rain

I run faster and faster into the dense forest, then I hide behind some bushes and wait for Cedric to show up. Panting, I crouch down and wave at my face to cool it off a little, with all the running I don't feel cold anymore- in fact, I feel really hot.

A few minutes pass, I start to wonder where the hell Cedric is, with the excellent sense of smell that he has there's no way he wouldn't find me, I try to move closer to inspect the area, a twig snaps in the process and I curse silently. Not long after, the whole forest grows eerily silent and I know it's a sign that a predator is in the area.

Taking a deep breath I study the darkness and squint here and there to see any shadow or eyeshine- nothing, but still, even the crickets are silent, so the predator is still around. 

I sit there still crouching behind the bush for a few more minutes, finally, I decide that I've had enough so I stand up and just as I turn to leave I bumped into a hard chest and I feel strong arms circling me, I raise my head up to meet dark eyes, this isn't Cedric- I squint my eyes and then I recognize the guy right away- it's Cyprus.

I smiled at him and I could see him smiling back. When I open my mouth, he shushes me and bends down to whisper in my ear "how about you hunt Cedric, instead of him hunting you?" My eyes turn wide with excitement and I nod at him, he smiles and gestures to me to keep quiet and follow him.

After sneaking around we finally see him between the trees, Cyprus whispers to me "when hunting, always stand or sit against the wind direction- so that your prey won't pick up your smell" I nodded and looked back at Cedric who had his back to us while he seemed to be sniffing around, I noticed that he was in his human form, apparently to keep it fair, I smiled and focused when Cyprus whispered again "remember, always attack your prey when it's unaware of your presence, especially when it has it's back to you" I licked my lips and prepared myself, he whispered again "ready?" I  answered "yeah" he gestured for me to take a deep breath and when I did he put his finger on my mouth "hold it in, now pounce!"  Just like that I stood up from the brush, took a few silent steps then jumped at Cedric, but before I could land on his back he whirled around and grabbed me then shoved me to the ground.

I landed with a thud and all the air escaped my lungs in a rush. Groaning!, I raised my hand to my head "ouch", I opened my eyes to see Cedric's panicked look, he rushed towards me "Rain? Rain are you ok?" I started to sit up slowly and he helped me "gotcha!" I laughed but coughed in the middle of it, his features softened and he chuckled "I thought you were a stranger" I nodded "yeah, figures" he smiled "that was good, where did you learn to sneak up like that?" I looked at the brush "well, Cyprus taught me" Cedric frowned  "Cyprus? He's supposed to be doing rounds" at that moment Cyprus' voice came out of somewhere "sorry alpha, won't happen again". 

Cedric and I walked under the moonlight. With all the sweat after the running, I felt cold again so he and I walked back to the house and I grabbed a sweatshirt that I had luckily grabbed while I was out of my bedroom door back when I left the apartment with Cedric. Sighing I looked at Cedric, he had his hands in his pockets, his signature biker boots crunching the leaves and stones, then my eyes start to go up to his strong legs, arms, and neck, he's absolutely delectable, I sigh again and look down, "one more sigh and I'll start to think that you're bored again" Cedric's voice is full with amusement when I don't comment he stops and I stop with him  "hey Cedric, can I ask you something?" He shrugs "sure", rubbing my arm, I think about what I'm gonna ask him really hard "well, what if I want to become like you?" He looks confused "like me? In what way exactly?" I lift my shoulder "you know.. a werewolf".

Cedric stares at me for a second then he laughs , his laugh is so rare and is absolutely fascinating , for a second there I forgot the whole situation and focused on this rumbling deep manly laugh of his, he shook his head "Rain, babe,either  you read too much fiction stories or those werewolf movies seriously fucked up your thoughts'' I groaned and covered my face "oh God, I just embarrassed myself didn't I?" He chuckled "no, it's ok to ask, but let me tell you something" he walked a few more steps and I followed, then we sat on the grass watching the full moon- Cedric continued "we are born this way, a human can't be changed or turned into a werewolf and a werewolf can't turn into a human" I frowned "but you are all in  human forms most of the time" he raised a finger to correct me "we shift into human form and can stay like that most of the time ,but eventually we have to shift into our wolf form at least three times a week" I nod "oh" he nods back and smiles then he leans back on his hands "so ,Rain, you've been around for a while now- but I don't know anything about you" I smile at him "what do  you want to know?" He curves his lips ``I don't know, your family I guess" I sighed "well, my parents died in a car crash when my brother and I were younger- we stuck together, and when we grew up my brother passed away too" Cedric looked at me with compassion "how did he die?" I ran a hand through my hair "cancer" he hummed and looked around, I decided it was my turn "how about you? What's your family like?" Cedric closed his eyes and sighed "I'm just like you, my parents passed away just when Zevrus and I turned into our mature age, my father used to be the alpha of our pack for years and years, but eventually he got sick at an old age and passed away- my mother was consumed with sorrow, and she died two months after him" although his words were confident and he showed no feelings while talking about his parents' death, I still felt bad for him "I'm so sorry Cedric" I leaned in and hugged him, he hugged me back and took a deep breath of my neck, then he seemed relaxed "thanks".