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Chapter 5

Ashley

I looked up at him, my tear-streaked face reflecting the pain in my heart. He studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable, then sighed and said, "I reject you as my mate, Ashley." My eyes widened in shock and I stumbled back as if being hit by a ton of bricks.

"You—you are my mate," I stammered, my voice trembling but he only scoffed in annoyance.

"It does not matter. I do not want to see you in my room. Now get out," he growled, his voice rising and his eyes turning a dark gold. My head immediately tilted down in submission from his Alpha voice and my legs began to move on it’s own,my heart shattering with each step.

I fled his room, tears streaming down my face, and wiped them away quickly before anyone could see. As if fate wasn't cruel enough, Azura stormed towards me, her face twisted with rage.

She grabbed my hand, her nails digging painfully into my skin. I winced but followed her as she dragged me to the back of the palace that was filled with trash.

"What the hell were you doing in my soon-to-be husband's room?" she spat, glaring at me. I kept my head down, staring at my shoes as I could not form any words.

"Look at me, you bitch," she demanded, yanking my hair to force my gaze upward.

“You’re hurting me,” I cried out and I tried to pull my hair out of her grasp but she only tightened her hold.

"Now look at all this trash. This is what you are—nothing but trash. You are a weak, wolfless Omega, and if you think you can seduce my man, you are wrong. He wouldn't think twice about killing you, you whore." she mocked, her laughter echoing in my ears.

Her words, "wolfless Omega," stung deeply. I was weak, too weak to defend myself from my stepmother, Azura, or anyone else. I didn't belong in this world.

A hot slap landed on my face, sending me to my knees. "You make me sick. Get out before I tear you apart. No one would ever ask about you or your dead body. If you died this very minute, nobody would care," she hissed, her words cutting like a knife.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, not knowing where I was going. I just needed to escape. I was worthless. I didn't fit in. The guards at the gate didn't even bother to ask why I was leaving; they just opened the door.

I kept running, not looking back. It was just like two years ago when I gathered the courage to run away from my abusive stepmother. I ran into the woods, hoping to find a place where I would be accepted, where no one would look at me like I was a piece of trash. Was that too much to ask for? For the Moon Goddess to grant me this one wish?

Finally, I stopped running and leaned against a tree, with tears streaming down my cheeks.

“Why me!” I cried to the moon and pulled at my hair.

After a while, I stood up and continued walking, my legs growing sore and my stomach rumbling. I hadn't eaten anything all day, but I couldn't give up. I needed a place to rest for the night.

I looked around and spotted a large tree with thick foliage. It would have to do. I rolled up my sleeves and rubbed my palms together, jumping up to catch a branch. I laughed victoriously when I succeeded, though there was no one around to see it—not even a bird.

I fell the first time I tried to place my foot on a smaller branch, but I tried again and succeeded. I found a comfortable position and slowly drifted off to sleep.


I woke up in the middle of the night as I heard footsteps approaching. I immediately jumped down from the branch and hid behind the tree, my heart pounding in fear and the sound of the heavy footsteps was strong and growing closer.

My heart beat in a rapid tattoo pace as a giant bear appeared and my eyes widened in fear. I started moving back slowly, hoping the bear wouldn't notice me but just as fate would have it, it always wasn’t on my side as I stepped on a twig, which made a sound.

The bear turned its head and faced me and I froze in my spot as different imaginations ran through my mind, knowing fully well that today I might not make it out alive. I snapped back to reality and started running as fast as I could, with the bear chasing after me.

But my small legs weren't fast enough, and the bear was getting closer. I wished I could just turn into a wolf, but I wasn't able to. My leg caught on a stone, and I fell flat on the ground, hitting my head in the process.

I could feel the warm liquid of my blood tickling down the side of my head and I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the bear to tear me apart.

I waited a second, then two and three but nothing happened. I didn't feel any pain… nothing. I froze, wishing the ground would swallow me, but I still couldn't hear the sound of the bear. It sounded as if something had fallen to the ground, so I opened one of my eyes to check.

I thought maybe I was seeing things, but the bear was lying flat on the ground in a pool of its own blood. I gasped in shock and immediately pushed myself back with my hands until I my back was pressed to a tree. There was a man, whose face I could not see holding the heart of the bear in his clawed right hand.

Suddenly, a full pack of wolves emerged from the woods and stood beside him and at that moment, thunder struck, and rain began to pour down on us.

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