Chapter 2
Melanie’s POV
‘Melanie, we need to leave.’ Maddy spoke softly after this morning’s beating with the warriors. I sent back a quiet ‘okay,’ listening to my wolf. I pulled myself up and struggled up the stairs. Packing a small bag of the only clothes I owned, I rushed downstairs, trying to leave as soon as possible. Not focusing on where I was going, I ran smack into a wall and was about to land on my arse, but something caught me more like someone. Slowly looking up, I made eye contact with Alpha Justin. “Mate.” My eyes widened in disbelief. “W-what?” Shaking my head, I pulled my arm out of his grasp. Bowing my head, I said, “I apologize, Alpha, for running into you, I was not paying attention, and I am running late for school.” Lie. I was not going to school, but the Alpha didn’t need to know that. “I don’t give a fuck where you are going, and I am not taking you as a mate. Let me make that clear. Leave my sight this instance.” Pain shot through my body and made my once stable stance waiver.
‘Mate doesn’t want us?’ Maddy was silently crying and curled up in a corner. ‘No, Maddy, I’m so sorry this has happened. Don’t worry. I am getting us out of here right now.’ As Alpha Justin pushed past me, I let a single tear streak down my cheek. Once I heard his door close, I walked out the front door. ‘Lucy, meet me in my room in two minutes.’ Stopping all movements, I held my breath. No. He wouldn’t do that so soon, would he? ‘Yes, Alpha.’ Lucy purred back through the pack link. Letting go of the air I was holding, I closed off all connections with this pack and shifted into my pure white wolf. ‘Let’s go, Maddy. It’s obvious that we are not wanted here.’ Nodding, Maddy took over and sprinted into the woods, ignoring the burning sensation I felt all over my body.
‘Slow down and let me take over.’ Huffing, Maddy slowly crawled back and let me have control. ‘Jesus, Maddy, how far did you run?’ Shaking her head, she laid down, resting her head on her paws, not saying a word. ‘I will stop here for now and rest up. Try to get some sleep, please.’ Whimpering, Maddy nodded and closed her eyes. Staying wolf form, I laid down and curled into a tiny ball. My white fur was now an off shade of tan for all the dirt. Closing my eyes, I let myself drift off into a peaceful sleep. I was trying my best to keep all my dreams away for tonight.
My ears perked up when I heard leaves crunching under someone’s weight. Jumping up, I scanned my surroundings, landing on a medium-sized light brown wolf about two hundred feet from me. They jumped behind a tree, and I listened to the bones crunching and forming back into a human. Out stepped a young man around twenty-three. I stayed wolf form, not taking my eyes off the mysterious man. “Hey, calm down. My name is Nicholas. I am the beta of the Midnight Blood pack.” Nicholas stretched his hands and lowered himself to be on my level. “I was sent out here by my Alpha to check out a rouge breech. But you’re not a rouge, are you?” Shaking my head, I took a small step back and nodded toward a tree. “You want to shift?” Shaking my head yes, he tilted towards the tree, telling me to go ahead. “But don’t run off. As much fun as that would be, my Alpha would be pissed.”
Grunting, I walked behind the tree and shifted back. ‘Be careful, Melanie, you remember the stories you heard about this pack.’ Agreeing, I slowly crept back out and faced Nicholas. “Hello, my name is Melanie Harrison. I was a part of the Black Night pack, but I am no longer associated with them. Sorry if I seem hesitant to you. I have bad experiences with all previous males.” Nodding, Nicholas took a small step towards me, hands raised in a defensive position. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I would never strike a female or any of the men here. We carry a bad reputation to all outsiders, but most of it is false and just rumors.” Chuckling, Nicholas took another small step toward me before his eyes clouded over, meaning someone was mind-linking him. ‘Here we go, be ready for anything, Melanie.’ Maddy stood up, ready to fight if needed. “Well, it seems like my Alpha would personally like to meet with you. I can take you to him if you’d like to follow beside me.” Cautiously I nodded, and he walked over to me. Making sure to leave a reasonable distance between us made me feel slightly more comfortable. Maybe they weren’t as bad as everyone has said.
Arriving at the pack house, Nicholas walked ahead of me and opened the front door. Immediately I was greeted by an older woman. She placed a small blanket over my shoulders and handed me a water bottle. “Here you go, dear. Nicholas told me you were coming, so I grabbed something to help keep you warm and thought you might be a little thirsty.” Smiling, I took the bottle and thanked her before continuing to follow Nicholas to two giant doors. “Alright, Alpha Daemon is right through here. This is where we separate for now. Knock before entering, be respectful, and you will be fine.” Bowing my head, I spoke quietly, “Thank you, Nicholas. I appreciate everything you have done for me. I will keep that in mind.” Smiling, he shook his head and nudged me forward before walking off.
Taking a deep breath, I raised my hand and gave one of the doors a minor knock. “Enter.” A deep voice bellowed out from the other side. Pushing the door open, I walked in and sat at one of the two chairs in front of a large desk. Behind said the desk was a huge man that had bulging muscles. Shaking my head, I kept my gaze low as he began to speak. “So Nicholas has told me that you aren’t a rouge but a previous member of the Black Night pack. Is that correct?” Keeping my head down, I replied in a small voice, “Yes, Alpha Daemon, that is correct. My old pack had made me the omega and treated me poorly. I decided that I’ve had enough and left for my safety.” Nodding, he wrote something down, moved out from behind the desk, and sat on the front, getting slightly closer. “Well, I understand your predicament, and I am willing to give you two different options. Option one is to stay here, become one of our pack members, and live amongst us. Or option two, continue on your journey and take this as a rest stop.”
Whipping my head up, my eyes widened in shock. Did I hear him correctly? Was he letting me choose? “W-well, that’s a tough choice, Alpha. May I stay here for two days and make my decision?” Making eye contact Alpha Daemon smiled and hopped off the desk. Reaching out a hand towards me, I hesitantly grabbed it. “That is more than alright. I do hope you choose to stay. I can tell there is something special about you.” Daemon pulled me to my feet and guided me out of his office towards the first room I entered. “Mary, can you please fetch our guest some other clothes that would fit her? Oh, and show her to a guest room so she can clean up.” Turning towards me, Daemon released my hand and nudged me towards the older woman from before. “Clean up and get changed into clean clothes. Then I hope you join us for dinner.” Nodding, I bowed my head before walking up to Mary.
“Hi, my name is Melanie Harrison.” Extending my hand, I smiled brightly at Mary this time. “Well, my name is Mary Gillion. I think you’ve already met my son, Nicholas.” Looking back up, I searched around till I found Nicholas and stared between the two of them. This is his mother? Wow, I would have never guessed. An arm made its way around my shoulders, making me tense up for a second. “Yea, yea, come out and say it. I am the most handsome man ever cause I came from a beautiful woman. Mary blushed, and I shoved his arm off. “Well, one part of that sentence was true, and it wasn’t the beginning.” Giggling, Mary grabbed my hand and led me upstairs and into a huge room. “Wow, I have never seen or been in a room this large.” I admired the room when I felt some clothes plop into my arms, “Here, these should fit you just right. The shower is in that door on the right. Towles are already there, and you should have all the necessary toiletries. Call me if you need anything else.” Thanking her, I placed the clothes on the bed and stepped into the bathroom.
The bathroom had fogged up after my shower, but it felt amazing to sit in hot water. Back at my old pack, I was never allowed to use hot water. So this was a different feeling than I was used to. Stepping back into the room, I let out a squeak. There on the bed sat Alpha Daemon. Gripping onto my towel, I called Maddy. ‘Be ready. I knew something was eventually going to happen.’ She agreed and waited on the edge of taking over, so I knew my eyes were shifting colors currently. “Oh shit, I am so sorry. I didn’t know you would be naked.” Daemon slapped his hand over his eyes before standing up and awkwardly shuffling out of the room, but not before running into the nightstand. As soon as the door closed, I ran to the clothes and threw them on. Opening the door, Alpha Daemon stood there, hand still over his eyes. “It’s alright now, Alpha Daemon. I am fully clothed now.”
Coughing, he slowly lowered his hand and peeked out of one eye before opening both. A light pink rested on his cheeks. “I am sorry, Melanie. I hope I didn’t scare you that badly.” Shaking my head, I moved out of the way so he could enter the room again. “Sorry to disturb you while you are settling, but I did have some bad news. Your old pack Black Night is currently under attack. They have reached out to us for support, and we are responding. I thought I’d tell you if you wanted to come with us to either help or see what was happening.”
Gasping, I looked down at my hands. I promised myself I would never step back into that territory, but one person appeared in my head when he said they were under attack. Lilac. My best friend, she’s in danger, and I have to make sure Lilac’s safe. “If it’s alright with you, Alpha, I’d like to check on one person. She’s my best friend. I need to make sure that Lilac’s fine.” Nodding, he held out his hand and brought me down the stairs and out the front door. “Shift and run with us, you’ll fit right in, and no one should recognize you.” Agreeing, I shifted into my white wolf, stretching my limbs. The same light brown wolf I saw the first time I was here. Nicholas. Yipping I got ready to run. ‘We aren’t there to talk to anyone else, just see if Lilac is okay and get out Melanie.’ Shushing Maddy I shot forward. ‘I know Maddy. Do not worry. No one will make me come back there.’