In Love With My Best Friend

1. Unforgettable

** Sequel to The Warrior's Abused Mate*** can be read as a standalone

Astrea

Gasping for breath, I ran for my life. I didn't know that wandering into the woods alone would be dangerous. But here I am, the future alpha of the Dark Howl pack, the only daughter of Alpha Miles running from those strange rascals.

I should have listened to my dad and stayed in the packhouse. Although I had shifted and was an alpha wolf, I hadn't completed my training and was still very young. I still had a long way to go. Yet I had to be stubborn. I had to wander into the woods and try to look for the rogues that had been sighted in our territory. My dad, the alpha, tried to warn me several times, but I didn't listen to my parents and I regretted it.

I was wrong to be angry that the grown ups wouldn't let me join in when they went to capture the rogues. They left me and Kiara in the packhouse to watch the pups. We had three young pups in the packhouse - uncle Cade's son, and two other pups who were around his age. Well, it's not that I didn't like them, but I wanted to feel the thrill of hunting the bad guys. So when the pups went to sleep, I sneaked out of the packhouse, after asking Kiara to keep an eye on the sleeping babies.

I knew she could handle them. She was twelve yet putting a one year old back to sleep wasn't a hard job for her. In fact, she was much better at that than I was. So she had no complaints and thankfully, she didn't suspect a thing when I told her that I was going to the infirmary to get some medicine.

Running as fast as I could, I looked over my shoulder. Three rogues were galloping after me on all fours.

"Oh, God!" I gasped, trying to speed up, but the rogues were fast and they were catching up.

"Shift!" I heard Ash in my head. Without any hesitation, I quickly shifted into my midnight black alpha wolf and we sped at top speed.

After some time, I thought I didn't hear them following me. Ash looked back. I was right. I had lost them. A smirk formed on her face.

"We lost them!" She exclaimed through our link in excitement.

"Let's get out of here!" I quickly stated. But that was it. Before we could run to safety, a heavy body jumped on top of us, making us lose balance. Ash yelped as she stumbled onto the ground. The rogue held me down as more of them surrounded me.

"We got one! Is she the one?"

"Of fúck yes! The alpha's daughter!"

The sound of their laughter was like thunder to my ears. My heart thudded as I gasped for breath. Were they after me the entire time? Does this mean I had walked right into their trap? I struggled against them, but, it was a waste of effort. They were too strong for me. Perhaps if I had completed my training and was a little mature, Ash could have overpowered them. After all, they were rogues and I was an alpha wolf.

"Quick! Give it to her!"

I heard shouts and hisses and then I felt a prick in my leg. My eyes widened when I realised that they were injecting something into my bloodstream.

"No!" I screamed, but they wouldn't hear me since I was in my wolf form.

I tried to resist, however, I felt that I was losing strength. My muscles relaxed against my will and I started to feel drowsy.

"No!" I gasped as I fought to keep my eyes open. The rogues let me go. I guess they knew that I wouldn't be able to stand up on my own after that injection. To my horror, my limbs started to rearrange. I felt my body morph back to my human form, yet I wasn't able to do anything to stop it. I knew the rogues were gleefully staring at my nude body. My fear reached its peak. I was lying naked and vulnerable in front of the untamed scoundrels, unable to fight back and protect myself. I didn't want to give up, yet, I was exhausted. A lone tear rolled out of the corner of my left eye as I slowly gave in.

"Ash… I am sorry" I was able to whisper to my wolf right before darkness enveloped us.

***

"Astrea…. Hey… wake up…."

I heard my wolf's faint voice in my head. Groaning, I moved my head and opened my eyes. I blinked. The cold night breeze blew and the atmosphere was filled with the sound of the rustling leaves. I lay still staring at the star studded sky, trying to remember how I ended up out in the open. I could hear the water gushing, indicating that I was near the waterfall.

My breathing caught in my throat as the memories of the events flooded back to me. I was captured. Gasping, I sat up and looked around, only to find myself lying nude in the centre of what looked like some kind of a ritual circle. A large star was drawn inside a massive circle using white chalk on the ground and I was in the centre of it.

I looked around fearfully. I was alone. Where were the rogues who caught me?

Gulping down the lump in my throat, I rubbed my hands together. The fear in my heart had made my limbs go cold.

"Ash, what happened?" I asked my wolf.

"I don't know," she paused. "Maybe we should go back home."

I agreed with her. I didn't want to find out what might happen to me if I waited any longer in this weird ritual circle. After shifting to my wolf, I sped towards the pack house which was a short distance away. I was glad that I could no longer smell the terrible scent of the rogues. Maybe they were gone. What they did to me or why I woke up alone in a bizarre circle remains a mystery. Maybe, it was best that the obscurity of this situation stayed like that. At least I wasn't r***d. I don't think I was.

"Yeah… we weren't. The hymen is still intact but that is so strange. I don't understand why they wouldn't take advantage of a helpless she-wolf," Ash confirmed my implicit assumption.

I was about to say something but was interrupted by my father's angry growl that resounded throughout the pack ground.

"Oh, s**t! Maybe dad has come back!" I panicked. Ash skidded to a halt at the back door of the packhouse and hastily let me take over. I quickly covered myself with a baggy shirt that I had hung on the line before I left and ran inside.

I was right. They were back and none of them looked good. Their bloodshot eyes gaped at me as soon as I entered. I noticed Kiara's tear stained face as she gawked at me. What scared me the most was my father's angry demeanour. His fists were clenched and his muscles were bulging. Gulping, I glanced at my mother. Usually, she was the one who showered me with unconditional love even when I got in trouble, but this time, she looked like she might kill someone.

Smiling anxiously, I timidly stepped inside.

"What. Have. You. Been. Up to! Young woman!!?"

I flinched when my father growled at me.

"D...dad…" I stammered, trying my best to remain calm.

"Don't even try to tell us you went to the infirmary because we know you never went there! We can literally smell the earth you ran on. You just came back from the woods!" Scowling, my mom hissed, shaking her forefinger at me.

"We told you, Astrea, it isn't safe for a young wolf and you went there alone! What would we have done if anything happened to you?" Uncle Cade scolded.

I started to feel worse than I already did. My uncle never scolded me in the past. He was the one who tried to annoy me or fool around and get on my mom's nerves. I have seldom seen him angry, but when he did, he was damn scary.

Tears stung my eyes and I lowered my gaze.

"I…. I'm sorry," I mumbled, despite the tightness of my throat.

I heard sighs and soon I was wrapped in a warm hug.

"Astrea. Don't you be so reckless ever again. I'm glad that you came back in one piece," my mom sniffled as she spoke, holding me tightly in her arms.

Dad came forward, his muscles now slightly relaxed.

"You scared me, Astrea. You scared us all. You are only seventeen, for heaven's sake. You still have a lot to learn," he said.

More tears rolled down my cheeks as I nodded. He was right. I should have listened to him.

"Am I grounded?" I asked, trying not to sniffle.

"Oh yes, you are! You can go out only for your training and that, too, under my supervision," my dad stated firmly.

"I'm sorry, dad," I muttered, trying to blink the tears that blurred my vision away.

Pulling me into a warm embrace, "don't scare me like that. I have only one of you," he whispered as he ran his fingers through my hair. The tears that I fought against won the battle and started to stream down my face. Sobs and sniffles escaped my lips and I cried in his arms.

Nodding my head, "I won't," I promised.

I looked around. The members of dad's council seemed to be relieved. I forced a smile at them through my tears. Sobbing, Kiara walked up to me and gave me a playful shove.

"I hate you for scaring me," she mumbled before hugging me.

"I'm sorry…"

"No, you lied to me. I'm telling Leo about this."

My heart skipped a beat when she mentioned my childhood best friend who was completing his training in the lycan Palace. What would he say if he knew what had happened? What would my family say if they found out what I had gone through in the woods? Shaking my head, I looked into her face.

"No… please?" I pleaded and glanced at the beta couple. "I promise I won't go out alone ever again," I vowed, hoping that they would concur. I was sure that Leo would try to squeeze the details out of me if he ever found out that I had gone out alone and that might lead me into more trouble.

"He will be very upset if he finds out," the pack's beta female, Leo's mom, Ava, said.

"Fine! I won't tell! But you have to buy me chocolate because you lied to me!" Kiara stated, pouting her lips.

I smiled at her. "Okay. As soon as my dad says that I'm no longer grounded," I promised, grateful that Leo wouldn't be hearing about this ordeal. I just wouldn't be able to lie to him if he tried to interrogate me and I feared what might happen if my family found out what really happened to me in the woods.

That incident should remain as a secret.