The Unmated Love

CHAPTER 13

Leyla had drifted off but was suddenly awoken by the nudge of a cold snout. She opened her eyes and found Zack, gently nudging her with his nose.  She rose to her feet, leaning backwards, as she stretched her limbs with a yawn.

She noticed that everyone else was ready for departure, waiting for her, which made her slightly ashamed. Wops…  

Once again, she reached the point close enough to Caleb that the pull at her insides increased once again. She flinched, as she felt it, but continued ahead. The pull brought her and the pack to the east, increasing in intensity with each step. Her stomach turned as a response to the uncomfortable feeling, and she had to pause, gagging, as she felt like puking.

Zack glanced towards Batch.

Is this normal? He asked Batch, the mate-expert in his ranks, through their mind-link.

Batch shook his head.

It’s probably, because she’s resisting the mating bond, or maybe just the thought of Caleb is making her sick.

Batch’s wolf shrugged, and Zack made a face, but patiently waited for Leyla to regain her composure.

A moment later, Leyla shook her entire body, shaking off the uncomfortable feeling, and continued onwards with a determined huff.

_-..-_

By this time, Jocky and his team had located Leyla. Her shiny brown coat was hard to miss, and you’d never forget that scent of hers. And the size of that female! Caleb was a lucky man…

The size of the pack with her, made Jocky slightly nervous. It was a good thing, they had visited the shaman, before they left the pack behind. Being invisible and scentless were a huge advantage, especially in situations like these.

All they had to do now, was to wait for the right opportunity.

_-..-_

Leyla was trotting along, while she focused on the pull, as she adjusted their route according to the increase in intensity.

Suddenly, a commotion further back in the line, made her turn her head backwards, her ears peeking to tune in on the sound. Wolves were yapping and growling in the back.

Zack went to check on the commotion, while Batch stayed behind with Leyla. All of a sudden, Batch was knocked over with a surprised yip. Leyla bristled. Something was wrong. The thought just about brushed her mind, before she felt something around her neck, though the feeling was so light that she didn’t think much about it.

Batch got back up on his feet, looking around with horror in his eyes. He looked, as if he had lost something valuable, and when he yapped out, obviously calling for something, Leyla peeked her ears at him, tilting her head to one side, curious about his behavior. Then, she noticed, how his eyes didn’t seem to register her at all, and a chill ran down her spine.

She huffed loudly, trying to get his attention, when suddenly she felt something heavy lock around her neck, and just as it did, four men appeared around her, grinning like idiots. She growled loudly, biting at the man, who had just put the collar on her, thrashing her head around, but nothing happened. The collar was obviously silver, not just making it impossible for her to break, but also reducing her strength. As three of the men yanked at the chains attached to her neck, she couldn’t stand her ground. Instead, she was dragged along with them, her paws making tracks in the soft earth beneath them.

She growled loudly, desperately trying to pull back, howling to get the attention of Batch and the pack, but to no avail. She glanced back, her stomach plumping to the ground, as somehow the pack wasn’t able to hear or see her.  She could do nothing but watch as the distance between her and her friends increased.

The men began chattering, practically cheering about the fact that her capture had gone so well. At this point, Leyla had stopped fighting, as the silver collar was gnawing into her skin, making her neck hurt like s**t. She did not want to be poisoned by silver. Furthermore, the pull in her chest was starting to hurt.

“I can’t believe, it was this easy! Four werewolves in their human form and two werewolves in wolf form, wreaking havoc in the pack lines, were all we needed.” One of the men said out loud with a cheerful laugh. They were pretty much high on adrenaline.

Another one of the men looked at Leyla, checking her out.

“This is some female, the boss found for himself.” Her eyes flickered to his. They flashed red, and she revealed her teeth in a loud snarl. It only made him grin. “Feisty one too. Do you think, he would mind, if we had a little taste?” She felt a shiver run down her spine at his words, and her back bristled.

The man walking just to the left of her head shook his head. “The orders were clear. We are not to touch her.”

He was obviously the man in charge here.

The disgusting guy huffed in disappointment. “Not even just a little taste?”

The man to Leyla’s left raised his eyebrows. “Sure, why don’t you have a taste then… I would love to see the punishment you’ll get, when Caleb finds out, you touched his mate.”

The man in front of her flinched at the sound of that. He glanced once more at Leyla, before he turned around.

Leyla huffed loudly in defiance, which made the guy to her left glance at her.

“I would behave, if I were you. He was very patient with you, the last time we met, but he’s rarely like that, and he’s no fun, when he’s mad.” The guy unconsciously brushed his arm, where a large scar was drawn all the way down from his shoulder to the back of his hand. For a werewolf to scar that wound would’ve had to be deep as f**k. The thought of it made Leyla shiver.

The pull in her chest became unbearable, painful, as they reached the territory of Caleb’s pack. Leyla’s thoughts became hazy with the pain, but somehow, she managed to recognize the place. They had already been here in their search. How the hell did they miss it? It wasn’t exactly subtle.

Her walk became increasingly slow and sluggish, as the pain of the mating bond increased, and the weight of the silver collar weighed her down.

The man to her left looked at her in concern, just as a shaman stepped out of a tent. She was a short, slightly obese, older lady with long white hair and a staff in her hand, which she used to support her walk. She was wearing a long colorful dress, mainly red, and several necklaces in all the colors of the rainbow.

The man in charge of the team looked to the shaman for help. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked with concern in his voice.

The shaman walked straight towards Leyla, staring into her eyes. It felt like she was reading her soul.

“She’s resisting the mating bond. Her body’s trying to force her into acceptance. The silver isn’t helping either.” The shaman said, her voice low but clear. She didn’t sound old. “Young woman, I heavily advice you to accept your fate. It will make it a lot easier for you.”

Leyla didn’t have the strength to answer, but the shaman didn’t expect her to. The old hag looked to the man in charge, who suddenly looked very concerned. Leyla wondered, if it was concern for her or concern for his fate, if she ended up dying, before he could deliver her to Caleb. She certainly felt like dying.

“Should we take off the collar then?” the man asked, which made the old hag laugh out loud. She sounded like a witch, when she laughed.

“Resisting the mating bond makes her weak, but if you take off the collar, she would still kick your asses.” All the men standing around Leyla, glanced at her, scowling, their egos hurt, and Leyla couldn’t help but huff in amusement. However, the shaman continued, though in a much more serious tone this time.

“Jocky… She will get better, when she gets close to Caleb. It will trick her body into thinking that she’s accepting him. Get her there fast.”

The shaman turned around and walked straight back into the tent with a speed, Leyla hadn’t imagined an old woman like her could muster.  

Jocky, the man in charge, gestured for the men holding the chains, to keep moving. She stumbled along with them. Too weak to fight back.

Suddenly, the sound of chatter and laughter appeared, as they closed in on the birthday celebration. The sound was coming from a huge hall, which Leyla was being dragged to, getting closer by the second.

Slowly, but steadily, the pain decreased, and she regained some of her strength with every step bringing her closer to the hall. Relief flooded her body, but then she realized, what it meant – she was getting closer to Caleb.

Just as the realization hit her, they reached the entrance to the hall. Leyla stopped dead in her tracks, refusing to continue, which made the men surrounding her stop involuntarily.

The crowd inside the hall went silent, as they noticed the brown wolf standing in the entrance with a collar around its neck. The wolf’s eyes went wide, as it scanned the room. It didn’t stop, until it caught the sight of Caleb, sitting on his throne, smirking.

_-..-_

Caleb could feel her being near, long before he saw her. The increasing intensity of the mating bond had made his body shake with anticipation, and finally… There she was. Just as beautiful, as he remembered her.

“Bring her closer,” he said, with a loud and clear voice.

Jocky gestured for the men to move, and the three of them holding the chains began pulling, but the female fought back, yanking them a few meters back, as she thrashed with her head.

Caleb couldn’t help but chuckle, as he admired the strength of his mate. Even with a silver collar on her neck, she still managed to stand her ground against three of his better warriors. Magnificent.

A man to Caleb’s right cleared his throat. It was Hackle, Caleb’s biggest and strongest man, who mind-linked Caleb.

May I?

Caleb smiled, gesturing with his hand.

Be my guest.

Hackle got to his feet and walked towards the female. Her eyes went wide at the sight of him. Caleb couldn’t blame her. Hackle was a f*****g beast. He grabbed one of the chains, pushing the man who had held it aside. He grabbed the chain with both of his hands, bringing the chain above his shoulder and walked forward, pulling the female along with him.

The female growled loudly, thrashing with her head, trying to wriggle the chain out of Hackle’s hands, but to no avail. She was slowly but steadily dragged forward to the base of Caleb’s throne, where Hackle finally stopped.

Caleb looked at Hackle, who stood panting in front of him, still holding the chain.

“Thank you, Hackle. You may sit down.”

Hackle nodded respectfully, before he went back to his seat with a smug look on his face.

Caleb turned his gaze to the female, once again feeling the strong attraction towards her. She stared him down with her bristles raised down her back and her teeth showing. She looked ready to pounce at any moment, but Caleb didn’t take note of that. She would never compose a threat to him. He was an alpha, after all, and alphas were miles above the strongest betas out there. She could pounce at him, all she wanted. He would enjoy it.

_-..-_

Leyla felt utterly trapped, standing there in front of Caleb with a crowd pretty much surrounding her. It was either fight or flight, and flight was not an option. So, there she stood, ready to pounce the second someone made a wrong move.

She was still panting from the resistance, she tried to bring against the boulder that had pulled her all the way up here. His strength was ridiculous. Her eyes flickered to the monster in mention, who was sitting to her left, wearing such a smug face, she wanted to punch him.

Caleb cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him. He was slowly walking towards her, staring at her with such intensity that she wanted to shrink to avoid his gaze.

She stood her ground, standing tall and proud. She refused to show him any weakness. Her lip twitched, as he reached the ground level at the end of the stairs. With each step he took, bringing him closer to her, she could feel her body rejoice in his closeness. It made her want to puke.

His eyes gleamed with wonder at her mere existence. He could feel his body reacting to her, just like it had, back when they first met. It was a marvelous feeling.

He studied her fur, taking in every single detail. It was such a beautiful warm brown, and the light in the hall made it shine like glitter. He reached out to touch it, and she tried to bite down on his hand. He reacted instantly, flicking her nose, which made her jump back in surprise and yelp in pain.

Those f*****g alphas and their ridiculous powers. At least, he hadn’t broken her nose.

He gave her a stern look. “Behave.”

She huffed in annoyance, which only made him smile. He stepped forward and once again reached out to touch her fur. This time, she let him, though reluctantly. As his hand brushed through her fur, she had to restrain a purr, as her body shivered in pleasure at his touch.

He noticed, of course, and a smug smirk appeared on his face. She could fight him all she wanted, but her body knew exactly, where she was meant to be.

Suddenly, the collar snapped open and fell to the floor with a loud clank. Caleb had opened it, revealing her sore neck, where the collar had gnawed.

Caleb looked at the gnaw marks disapprovingly.

“We don’t need that anymore. I suspect, you’re well aware that even though you are strong, you’re no match for an alpha.”

A low rumble erupted from her chest.

He walked to her front once again, giving her a few meters of distance.

He looked at her with so much hunger that she flinched, when she made eye contact with him.

“Now, let’s try this again, shall we.” He said, sounding as if she was a bad student, who didn’t listen to her teacher. “Shift.”

She froze but didn’t otherwise react. She couldn’t shift here! She was way too vulnerable.

He raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Last chance, my dear. You have half a minute to shift, or I will personally make you shift.”

Leyla began backing away, but the look he gave her, made her freeze once again. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Her heartbeat raced, as the seconds ticked by. She opened her eyes again, when the desperation began to take over her entire body.

She looked around wildly, trying to find an escape route. A very quiet, almost inaudible, whine escaped her throat, which she instantly regretted, but there it was… She was afraid, and now, they knew.

Caleb cleared his throat once more to catch her attention. His gaze was much gentler this time, as he had realized that it wasn’t just pure defiance that had kept her from shifting. It was fear too.

“It’s okay. No harm will come to you.” He said, his voice surprisingly gentle, though the next words were said with the commanding tone of a true alpha. “Now… Shift.”

The command in his voice wrapped around her chest, as she kept resisting. The effort of going against an alpha’s command settled into her body, making her tremble.

Leyla closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, before she finally gave in. Her beautiful wolf slowly turned into a beautiful woman, right in front of Caleb’s eyes. He studied this gorgeous human being in front of him; the warm color of her hair that was the exact same color as her wolf’s fur, her beautiful deep green eyes and her plumb lips, by which he lingered for just a second longer. Her slim neck and down to her full breasts, moving further down…

Caleb’s gaze returned straight to her eyes, when his groin began to throb at the look of her naked body in front of him. He could feel the lust clouding his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to f**k her right then and there, forget about the audience, but he had to restrain himself for now.

Suddenly, a loud cheeky whistle was heard from the back of the hall. Caleb’s eyes flashed red, as a loud rumble escaped his chest, the sound bouncing back from the walls. The entire crowd looked down at his warning.

Leyla flinched at the sound. She felt so incredibly vulnerable, as she stood there under Caleb’s gaze, surrounded by enemies, in her human form. Her traitor of a body rejoiced at his gaze, but at the same time, she felt sick to her stomach.

“Hackle.” Caleb said, loud and clear, though his gaze never left Leyla.

“Yes, sir?” the monster of a boulder said to her left, standing up straight.

“Please, give the lady your shirt.”

The boulder, called Hackle, took off his shirt with no hesitation and walked straight to Caleb with it, before he went back to his seat. He didn’t look at Leyla once.

Caleb stepped closer to her, handing her the shirt. She snapped it out of his hands and wore it in a flash. The shirt was so big, it reached to just above her knees.

With her naked body covered up, Caleb could finally think straight again. He would have to claim her soon, or his body would make a mess of it all.

“So… Beautiful, tell me your name.” he said to her, still being very gentle.

She hesitated, opening her mouth, but then shutting it once again.

He raised an eyebrow at her, which made her spine shiver. He had an ominous aura, despite his relaxed body language and gentle tone, which made you fear him, without him needing to threaten you.

At that moment, she decided once again to stand tall and proud. She had nothing to be ashamed of and telling him her name wouldn’t make a difference. Except it might stop him from calling her all sorts of annoying pet names.

She stood up straight, lifting up her chin, as she stared him down. A small smile played upon his lips, as he saw her pull herself together. There we go, darling.

“I’m Leyla.” She said with a loud and clear voice that emanated nothing but strength.