Chapter 2 Not Our First Rodeo
My jaw dropped in shock. I stared straight ahead to watch Jake claim the blonde-haired beauty, who stood tall at about five foot nine, slender, and dressed to kill, who was reciprocating his carnal response.
I could tell by the animated expression on her face that she could sense their bond. Wide-eyed and with a stiffened position, her body language screamed with desire. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart stopped for a moment. I felt frozen in the very spot I stood in. My stomach twisted in agony as I realized they were each other’s fated mates.
He looked at her like she was destiny. And I finally understood. He was never mine to keep. Not the way he smiled at her. Not the way his wolf stirred for her. Not the way the bond snapped into place between them like it had been waiting all along.
I was just… convenient.
I stood there in the dress I chose for him. The mark still burning on my skin. And in that moment, I stopped fighting for a future that was never truly mine.
The attention of my fellow pack members flickered between the stunning goddess standing beside me and me. They looked just as shocked as I was, but they looked to be laced more with pity towards me.
My heart was breaking into tiny little pieces at that very moment. The love of my life, my chosen mate, my best friend, had met his fated mate, and now all bets were off. There was no way I could ever contend with the goddess-given fated mate bond, nor would I wish to. I just had to be happy for Jake. He had found his other half, but right now, I just wanted to get out of here. Feeling physically ill, fighting the urge to cry a river of tears. I felt broken beyond repair.
Watching as Jake and the blonde beauty embraced and devoured one another passionately for all to see. I couldn’t bear another moment of this. Doing my best to control my emotions and my immediate need to cry my heart out, I turned slowly and made my way to the side of the stage.
I could hear Max calling after me, trying to get my attention. But I needed to be alone right now. Once out of the ballroom, I sprinted on my heels, shifting into my wolf and galloping for the tree line. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I just needed to run for now, howling painfully at the moon as I made my way through the woods.
After running for what seemed like forever, I was tired. I slowed down and tried to take in my surroundings. I had never been this far out of the pack boundaries. I was feeling a little lost. But I was okay with that at this very moment.
My emotional distress and constant running had completely consumed me, leaving me exhausted. I trudged through the woods, looking for a sheltered spot to rest and hide from threatening creatures.
Finally, finding a bush canopy, I settled in the corner. Once I was certain that I was no longer visible to others, I curled up and let out the cries that I had worked so hard to contain for so long.
I eventually gave in and closed my eyes, just for a bit, I told myself. I was utterly exhausted.
The sun’s rays awakened me from my slumber. I did not know what time it was. I knew it was daytime, and even though I still felt broken, I knew it was time to go back. No doubt my parents and Max would try to console me today.
I wasn't looking forward to the looks of pity that I was about to get from my fellow pack members. Over the years, they had warned me that this day would come. I guess I was just so baffled in love and stubborn that I didn’t want to believe it could be true.
“Are you still with me, Indigo?” I asked my wolf in trepidation.
“Always Katya,” Indigo faithfully replied.
“Come on, say it. You told me so,” I snapped at Indigo, who had always maintained this day would come.
“He was never ours, Katya,” she gently reminded me.
I don’t know what I was thinking. And I would never expect him to reject his fated mate for me. We had always been adamant that if one of us were to meet their mate, then we would have to end things. I guess I just never thought that day would come.
“Everything happens for a reason, Katya. We have a mate out there, somewhere,” Indigo wisely counseled me.
“Even if we don’t, it’s irrelevant. I saw the way he looked at her last night. He claimed her, right there, in front of the entire pack,” I said, trying to convince myself more than my wise counterpart.
“We are strong, Katya, we will overcome this,” Indigo declared.
“I know, it just doesn’t feel like it right now, still feels kinda raw,” I replied.
“We need food. Food always makes us happier. Come on, let’s go catch something,” Indigo called out. And before I knew it, we were up on our hinds stalking through the woods. In no time, we found something to sustain us on our journey back to White Pine.
After a little sustenance, we were on our way back home. It was time to face reality. Time to face the inevitable. That Jake and I would no longer be, that the love I had shared with him for what seems like a lifetime was not meant to be.
Now that I bore the official mark, the hurt intensified even more. But I knew over time the mark would fade. I guess I could thank the goddess for small mercies that we hadn’t officially mated. That would have made things much worse.
I didn’t realize how far out of pack territory we had gotten. It had taken us hours, and yet we still felt so far away. Alarms rang internally as I picked up on some non-woodsy scents mixed with something offensive, and my hackles instantly raised, as Indigo and I both knew we now had company.
Three scraggly grayish-brown rogues stepped out from behind a bunch of trees. They were slowly stalking towards us, snarling aggressively.
This wasn’t our first rodeo, we had fought rogues before, but usually, we had backup. We were on our own out here, so we would not be making the first move.
Moments later, the smallest and most pathetic-looking one on the right pounced toward us. We dodged its impact at the last moment, and the wolf fell forward, knocking its head against a nearby tree.
The next wolf, which was slightly bigger, circled us, and then it leaped forward with its canines out, ready to attack. We met it midair and ripped a large chunk from the space between its scapula and neck. We heard it whimper in pain and fall to the ground.
The last one standing was the largest rogue wolf. He watched us momentarily growling; He had seen us fight and felt he could anticipate some of our moves, so we waited for him to strike.
The wolf lunged toward us, latching onto our lower leg. We howled in pain as we felt his canines rip into our flesh. He took a large chunk out of our leg in his vicious attack, resulting in us propelling backward.
We felt defenseless on the ground, the large rogue wolf standing in front of us, sizing us up as if we were his lunch. We played on our injury like a helpless she-wolf, whimpering.
He looked back at his two companions proudly, likely gloating before he was about to go in for the kill. So we took that moment to lunge forward with all of our might, and we latched onto his neck. He shook frantically to maintain control and shake us off, but we weren’t about to let go. This was our only chance.
We sank our canines even deeper, and when the wolf’s resistance lessened, we ripped a large chunk of flesh out. Blood spurted everywhere, all over the wolf, all over us, and on the ground. We watched satisfactorily as he bled out, death taking him.
